Oh, lordy — another humongous Google shoe just dropped.
At present, Google Video allows you to search within an expanding archive of TV content — sports, docs, and news, mostly. But today, with the launch of the company's Video Upload Program, Google has begun accepting video content from anyone who cares to upload it. Submitted content won't be available for viewing right away, the Google faq says — they're just now starting the gathering phase. And yes, would-be sharers must consider certain legal and technical details. Screenshot of the uploader app follows.
What is the Google Video upload program?
The upload program lets you submit videos electronically to Google Video, as long as you own the necessary rights (including copyrights, trademarks, rights of publicity, and any other relevant rights for your content). Just sign up for an account and use our upload tool to send your videos to Google. The program is still in beta so you won't see your videos live on Google Video immediately.Your work deserves to be seen. You've made a great video. Now who will watch it?
Whether you produce hundreds of titles a year or just a few, you can give your videos the recognition and visibility they deserve by promoting them on Google – for free. Signing up for the Google Video Upload Program will connect your work with users who are most likely to want to view them.Sign up and upload…
We're accepting digital video files of any length and size. Simply sign up for an account and upload your videos using our Video Uploader (please be sure you own the rights to the works you upload), and, pending our approval process and the launch of this new service, we'll include your video in Google Video, where users will be able to search, preview, purchase and play it. Find out more here.For major producers…
If you're from a TV station or production facility, we have a separate process to help you join the Google Video Upload Program. Find out more here.
Link (Thanks, anonymous informant!)
Update:
Boing Boing reader Michel adds:
Here is the link to the Google Video Uploader 1.0 application. Also, you can charge for your videos and Google will take a small revenue share to cover some of their costs. The complete FAQ is here.
BB reader Kris says:
You posted about the ability to submit video to it, but you didn't look at what was already up. I did a few test searches on it, no video came up, but I thought something in the explanation was fascinating:
Just type in your search term (for instance, ipod or Napa Valley) or do a more advanced search (for instance, title:nightline) and Google Video will search the closed captioning text of all the programs in our archive for relevant results.
Like all Google products, that's a pretty neat function, but the implications are also interesting. Not all shows get closed-captioning, so like the registration-only systems that keep certain news sources off the general web, not having closed-captioning could close off a lot of shows. It makes me wonder if certain media outlets will restrict access to their closed-captioning archives, or perhaps even (in an optimistic world), make sure their programs DO have closed-captioning so they will show up in searches.
Matt Yohe says,
According to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 section 713, all new programming made on and after January 1st, 2006 will be required to have captioning. Google is just ahead of the game.
Jacob Kaplan-Moss says:
I've taken a look at the Video Uploader terms of service, and they contain some… suspect clauses, including the provision that Google can bill you for excessive bandwidth. Thought you might be interested…
