• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, November 30, 2006

In a finding that underscores the potential of a vast, untapped market for user-generated video, new research conducted by interactive agency Sharpe Partners indicates that more than half (54) percent of adult Internet users currently create their own video offline, but only 11 percent actually upload it to the Internet. That margin, says Sharpe, represents a significant opportunity for software and system providers to help facilitate the migration of a burgeoning consumer generated video marketplace online. It also suggests an even more profound fragmentation of the video marketplace is looming than many industry experts may have predicted.

One of the chief reasons for the disparity between producing and posting video is the difficulty consumers said they have with the process. The study, which was conducted online by Harris Interactive, surveyed 2,125 U.S. adults between June 29 and July 2, and found that more than two-thirds of those who create their own video found it difficult to edit their content due to the lack of consumer-friendly software.

"Clearly, given easier solutions, consumers will be far more likely to edit their videos," said Sharpe CEO Kathy Sharpe. "And those who edit their video are presumably more likely to share it with others, which will expand this market even further."