Around the Net
AOL Bows YouTube Competitor
- TechWeb News, Wednesday, May 17, 2006 11 AM
When AOL comes late to the party, it often brings along some solid products, but they don't tend to add anything new. Most recently, the Time Warner company has launched AIM Pages, which expands on AOL Instant Messenger, its 43 million-strong instant messaging network. This will directly compete with MySpace and its mammoth 70 million user base. Today the company is quietly unveiling a user-generated video service called UnCut, which takes a stab at YouTube and its 13 million user base. UnCut users will need an AOL or AIM screen name, but kids under 18 will not be invited to use the service. Looks like AOL is looking to create an online video personals section for AIM Pages. That said, the site will be monitored for piracy and "illegal and offensive postings" by LiveWorld, a company that builds and operates online communities. UnCut, which already has thousands of beta users, will launch as part of AOL's larger video service offering, In2TV, a joint streaming TV venture with Warner Bros. introduced in March. UnCut will integrate with both AIM and AOL Journals, its blogging service. Videos will be rated, searchable, and shareable.
