Is there a role for consumer video beyond all the LonelyGirl115 wannabes and budding Aaron Sorkins (The Burg)? Is this a sustainable trend for social networking or is this just a fad like CB radios in the ’70s. Can we shape this trend to integrate it as deeply into people’s lives as the Internet itself?

Sharpe Partners’ research gives us the place to start. We know that 54% of online consumers take video. We know that there is a group of people who have traditionally been the most dedicated to sharing their lives with pictures and video: online parents over 35+ with children, HHI $50k+. Over 30% of that highly lucrative marketing target is online and taking video. Just 11% are putting it online.

Why the log-jam? Simple: lack of time and tools. These people are taking the equivalent of video snap shots. They don’t have time to figure out video editing software, nor do they necessarily want join a site (sorry, jumpcut.com) to do it. They just want “to make the video I want and send it to who I want”. They’d love to cut in some extra video – a shot of Mickey Mouse, supplied by Disney - but don’t want to spend more than 5 minutes doing it.

How do we get them going? Start with delivering the simple tools - the point and shoots of the video world. Stop handcuffing them to sites, but connect them to the brand with value added content. Hey stream it. Finally think about the long term: this market will only fade away when parents stop taking their kids’ picture, moving or otherwise. That’s something to build a monetization model on.

Kathy Sharpe, CEO

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