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I keep thinking about Seesmic, a fairly new video discussion website that’s currently in alpha phase, and pondering how it might apply to the classifieds space. And I think there’s potentially something big there.
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Briefly, Seesmic combines a discussion forum with video. A user posts a quick video — typically just talking into the web-cam that’s already on his/her PC — and then other Seesmic users respond with their own quickie videos. A Seesmic video turns into a (potentially long) video discussion thread. Why Seesmic is powerful is that it makes video “cheap.” Creating a Seesmic video takes about as much effort (actually, maybe less) than posting a text message (like this one).
OK, now on to classifieds. I hope I won’t get much argument in stating that video is becoming and will become increasingly important for classifieds. It’s now very easy for sellers to make short videos of their products (or whatever) and post them online. What’s needed is for publishers to catch up and support what is by now an entrenched trend of consumers being comfortable in using and producing web video.
Alas, most classifieds publishers are a bit slow to this game. Even Craigslist hasn’t boarded the video bandwagon yet, which represents an opening for newspaper publishers to one-up Mr. Newmark and company.
You can easily imagine how video can enhance the classifieds marketplace:
- Personal ads with video of the man/woman seeking women/men.
- Merchandise and auto ads with videos showing the product.
- Employment ads that are mini-productions showcasing the company. (Like this one.)
- Real estate ads with video home tours. (These already are fairly commonplace.)
OK, that’s pretty obvious stuff. Now where things get interesting is adding what Seesmic is all about to such classifieds videos. Imagine adding video seller-customer discussion to the video ad examples above. For instance:
Personals ad. Apply the Seesmic concept, so that a man placing an ad seeking women posts a short video statement about what he’s looking for. Interested women can respond with their own videos, which the man can respond to. Before agreeing to meet in person, the man and women can see and speak to each other while protecting personal information.
Merchandise or auto for sale ad. Seller posts a short video showing the good for sale, and potential buyers can ask video questions. Everyone sees the video exchange between seller and potential buyers, which means everyone gets added information about the good that’s for sale.
Since we’re talking about reinventing classifieds on this website, this represents taking classifieds where they’ve never been before.
As for Seesmic, I frankly don’t know if that specific service is right for classifieds applications, or if the company has any desire to go in that direction. It’s not set up for this yet. But the model that Seesmic represents does point to what can be done when you combine classifieds and video discussion.
What do you think of this?
Tags: seesmic
Notes from a Teacher: Mark on Media » Wednesday squibs (biz edition) wrote,
[…] Some thoughts on classifieds and Seesmic. Steve outing isn’t sure that Seesmic is the right platform for video classifieds, but it’s the right idea. Publishers need to move on this, I think, whether it’s Seesmic or something else. […]
Link | May 14th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Wednesday squibs (biz edition) wrote,
[…] Some thoughts on classifieds and Seesmic. Steve Outing isn’t sure that Seesmic is the right platform for video classifieds, but it’s the right idea. Publishers need to move on this, I think, whether it’s Seesmic or something else. […]
Link | May 15th, 2008 at 3:32 am
Rich Gordon wrote,
You missed the “killer app” for video classifieds:
Pets!
Especially puppies.
But it’s hard to shoot them with a built-in Webcam.
Rich Gordon
Link | May 15th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Melanie wrote,
Video is definitely a natural progression for classifieds…and there are some sites out there already incorporating it. I run a site called http://www.Listasaurus.com, and we implemented video classifieds last summer. It’s taking a while to catch on, but it’s definitely a great way for folks to showcase their product and really allow users to view the detail.
We are also upgrading to include video auctions, which will hopefully be released in June or July 2008.
We also are the only classifieds site out there to pay users for listing with us, with our Pay Per Listing program.
Check out the site, we’d love to hear your feedback!
Link | May 17th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Alan Jacobson wrote,
Some newspapers are already using video classifieds. Here are two newspapers using the realpeoplerealstuff.com platform:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: http://realpeoplerealstuff.com/videoads/Pittsburgh
Daily Herald: http://realpeoplerealstuff.com/videoads/Salt+Lake+%7C+Provo
And here’s a paper using the videojobshop.com platform:
Post Register: http://videojobshop.com/idahofalls
Link | May 18th, 2008 at 7:54 am
Deb Dreyfuss-Tuchman wrote,
Video has been a key feature/benefit of AdPay’s e-commerce enhanced classified offerings since day one–six years ago. We have made it easy for users to upload a video file in all the prevalent formats. It can be part of the basic package or an up sell. That part is entirely up to the media site. In this age of video, we encourage all of our partners to showcase this important sales tool for their buyers and sellers. Include a little video icon in the print ad, along with a web ID, to direct potential buyers to the enhanced ad. More dollars for print and a call to action for online.
Rich Gordon is correct; Pets have seen great use of this option, followed by the FSBO and rental property walk-through, boats sailing or motoring on the horizon, motorcycles peeling out and the basic walk-around of an RV, auto or classic car. Videos can even be posted to Celebration announcements. There is no limit to the uses for classifieds.
Lou Heldman’s advice to “Promote, promote, promote” is also spot on. You must let the market know what you have as site advantages. Video is a big one. As Ken Bilderback stated, “Newspapers cannot get complacent.” The tools are there to grab classifieds back. You just have to make them easy to use and believe in the platform enough to let your market know you have made a commitment to providing the best local interactive classifieds possible, at a competitive value.
Link | June 18th, 2008 at 9:19 am