• by Tameka Kee , August 1, 2007

Future US, publisher of special interest magazines and Web sites like gamesradar.com and PSM: Independent PlayStation Magazine, has launched Gloob.tv, an online video aggregation community.

According to Jonathan Simpson-Bint, the company's president, the human component is what separates gloob.tv from YouTube and other video sites--as a group of some 20 editors or "spotters" has been employed to "find the coolest, most interesting stuff on the Web" daily, and upload it into categories like games, music and sports.

Users can rank and comment on the videos, and even embed their own relevant clips, and spotters will be compensated based on the traffic generated by their comment streams. Future US is hoping that the dialogue will generate what Simpson-Bint calls "stickiness that fosters user interaction," and of course, page views for advertisers.

Although the ad models currently running on gloob.tv are of the standard banner variety, as the community grows, Future US is set to explore page sponsorship opportunities and other promotional partnerships.

When questioned about copyright lawsuits and the struggles many video sites are having with media companies, Simpson-Bint added: "We are only embedding videos at gloob.tv. None of it belongs to us, so we're not in breach of any copyrights."

Although Gloob.tv is open to all users, the site is currently in beta stage, and will officially launch Aug. 7.