YouTube may be the go-to platform for posting videos. After all, it’s got wide recognition and a vast reach. But it’s also—in part because of its mass appeal—not the best route for everyone. Maybe your blog’s meant for a specific audience. Maybe you’re more businesslike. Maybe you want a different suite of tools, or a different frame, or a different finish once your video’s run its course. Here are a few options, all of them offering plenty for free and generally much more at a premium:
Vimeo
Believe it or not, Vimeo actually has a bigger user base, along with a high search engine ranking. That and its profile as the place for the cooler and more creative make Vimeo especially appealing for users who are serious about making a good impression on the right audience. Look for fewer cat videos and better comments. Vimeo offers a standard suite, a pro option for more space and HD capacity, and tutorials.
Veoh
On the other hand, Veoh is all about size. Say you’ve got long (or really long) videos, speeches, presentations—YouTube policies can be more than a little restrictive, but not so Veoh. And with this sort of expansive policy on size and length comes an expansive set of tools for getting to those viewers who are looking for just that much more from you. The user interfaces is intuitive and uploading—even those long shows—is easy and relatively quick.
DailyMotion
Now it’s time to get organized—and that’s where DailyMotion comes in. Video length is limited to 20 minutes, and storage capacity is limited to 150 MB, but within those limits, DailyMotion does a good job of sorting videos by category, making it easy to browse, attractive for new viewers, and attractive for users who want to find those viewers—with an emphasis on the professional and opportunities aplenty for the dabbler. For the finer features, such as HD uploads, you’ll need a pro account.
Animoto
Here’s one if you’re more concerned about creating your video. Animoto offers all kinds of design and editing services—more in a premium package, of course, but plenty for free as well, if you’re interested in taking care of everything at once: creating it, editing it, uploading it, and sharing it.
OK, Two for One: Flickr and yfrog
These two are better known, of course, as photo-sharing sites—yfrog for Twitter, and Flickr, well, for Flickr.
Flickr has been building a video-sharing base (“long photos,” they’re cutely called), with basic users limited to 2 90-second videos a month, and premium users unlimited. These may seem like restrictive terms (look for them to change), but the site’s fine for video experiments and quickies—and getting to Flickr’s huge user base.
Yfrog, also growing by leaps and bounds (yes), lets you post your videos right to Twitter, giving you quick access to your social network (Oh, and did we mention the convenience and social reach of posting videos to your Facebook profile?).
The staff at YTD YouTube Downloader has made non-copyrighted video from popular video sites available 24/7 regardless of your internet connection.