• by Steve Smith , Staff Writer @popeyesm, May 21, 2008

It's taken more than a decade to get neighborhood bistros and tarot card soothsayers even vaguely interested in the most basic local Web advertising. Are they really prepared to roll out their own online video spots?

One True Media, the Web 2.0 multimedia mixer site for consumers, says mom-and-pop shops already do it every day. Typically, the Web application was used by young consumers to mix videos and slides they embed in blogs or on YouTube. "Last year, we noticed many videos being created by businesses as video ads or testimonials," says COO John Love. Hundreds of restaurant and real estate spots found their way to YouTube. In May, the company repackaged its tool set into SpotMixer, a DIY digital one-stop spot shop for small and medium businesses.

Novice business owners can fill countless templates with their own images, video clips, text messages and voice-overs to create a polished, custom ad. For national directory and agency partners, SpotMixer can be a platform they offer to clients that enhances their Web sites and online listings. The model blends the two sides of Web 2.0: increasingly sophisticated, accessible Web applications and the super-distribution channels of search and social media. Now, Natasha the Tarot Queen can use the $79/month service to enhance her yellow pages listing or populate a YouTube profile page with enticing animated offers. Come on down - palms read free this Saturday.