ClipBlast Aims To Simplify Video Search Process

Web video-search platform ClipBlast is adding a number of features to its proprietary engine in an attempt to simplify what many consumers feel is an inefficient process.

ClipBlast's Video Navigator, which crawls the entire Web for video content, now lets viewers browse video in several different ways. They can select categories ranging from animals to wellness and major content providers from ABC to YouTube. For example, die-hard hoops fans can choose basketball as a category and ESPN as a provider to return real-time clips of the day's games, as well as all previously released videos.

ClipBlast's Navigator is specifically designed for video-viewing, as it augments the search toolbar to zoom in on the most pertinent video.

"The toolbar approach is effective for text search, where users expect to zoom in with laser-like focus on a particular piece of information, said Gary Baker, ClipBlast founder and CEO. "On the Video Web, viewers still search for information, but they also spend time browsing, watching and being entertained."

In a recent online, nationwide Synovate survey that ClipBlast commissioned, 40% of consumers described their search for video online as frustrating or inconsistent.

Users can also build their personal Video Clip Library by saving their searches, preferred categories, favorite providers and individual video clips. They can sign up to receive email as new, similar clips become available. Built-in contextual search helps ClipBlast deliver future results and recommendations based on past behavior.

To avoid the legal issues plaguing so many video aggregators today, ClipBlast's Video Navigator delivers search results that link viewers directly to content provider sites. Not only does this protect copyrighted material, it also allows content providers to grow Web traffic, control the viewing experience and monetize their own content.

"Posting online video today is like launching a site in the Web's early days, said Baker. "If you build it, they may not come because they can't find you."

Participating sites can customize and embed ClipBlast technology, enabling viewers to search and view a specific content provider's video without ever leaving that particular site.

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