April 9, 2007

Create Customized Dance Video Channel with Magnify.net

I've been experimenting with Magnify.net, a new site that lets users create customized video content for their audiences. This new application is very versatile and not only allows you to select which videos to include, but also allows your users to add and rate videos. Plus, you can generate revenue from text and video ads.

For dancers the obvious application for Magnify.net is to create dance-focused video content. I created a sample video channel on Magnify.net for Great Dance Videos.

For a more elaborate video setup, you can visit the TechCrunch Magnify.net channel as well as read this post about this new service on TechCrunch.

How Magnify.net Works

Here's an overview of the feature set and functionality of Magnify.net. You can click on any of the below images for larger screen shots. Or for a more hands-on approach, just sign-up for a free account and set-up your own video dance channel.

When you create a video channel, you control who has the right to upload and add videos. Plus, you can specify a specific rating that a video must have before it is publicly viewable by your channel's visitors:

During the set-up process you can select a template for your video channel. You can also access the design tools to create a completely customized look for your content. If you go back to the TechCrunch channel, you'll see that the headers and footers are completely customized and the latest blog entries are in the left-hand column. Here's the initial template-selection screen:

I added one of the Anaheim Ballet's podcast videos to my video channel by adding its web address from YouTube. You can change the video's title and description as well as add any tags that you wish.

One of the intriguing features of Magnify.net is that you can monetize your video content. You'll see in this screen capture that there are a lot of Google ads:

And in the following screen shot, you see that there are a number of ways to configure how you generate revenue and configure the display of text and video ads. Revenue is based on a split with Magnify.net from either Google AdSense and/or Revver:

Finally, here's a screen shot of a public view of a dedicated video within your Magnify.net channel. I just clicked on the rating button and you can see the different ways that viewers can rate each video. Plus, users can comment on, share and tag videos as well:

Conclusion

I've just started experimenting with Magnify.net and I'm not certain about how to use all of the features and I was confused a couple of times about how to implement different capabilities. But overall, this application looks worthwhile and could be a good way to build a community-oriented video site focused on specific types of dance videos.

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