When it comes to reputation, YouTube is the Google of online videos, and it’s hard to forget it. But the platform, also owned by the search engine giant, isn’t not for everybody, while its insistence on adverts and sometimes clumsy video suggestions can get annoying.
Never fear though – we’ve compiled a list of alternative sites you can use to upload, watch and share new content with.
Vimeo
This website has fostered its own community with access to free accounts and a beautiful, easy to use interface.
Anyone can sign up to upload up to 500MB of video every week with a free account, but Vimeo is probably aimed more at the serious video content creator.
Upgrading to Vimeo Plus lets you play with 5GB per week for £7.95 a month, while an annual account will set you back £49.95. It also gives you a host of other benefits, such as HD embedded and limitless HD uploading (to your weekly 5GB capacity).
DailyMotion
This site is more for viewers than creators, collecting clips of varying lengths that come predominantly from professional sources (such as films) rather than amateur uploaders.
However, users can get up to 2GB and 60 minutes per video with an account, plus HD, and content creators can add contacts to give each other feedback.
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Blip.tv
Visit Blip for a curated collection of various web shows, interviews and short docs covering everything from fashion and film to music and comedy. This is one for people who love webisodes and web series, with an emphasis on serial content over one-offs.
Anyone hoping to kickstart their own web series could do worse than take advantage of the 1GB of storage per video on offer here, with upgrades available on a pro account.
If you’re interested in earning money from ad revenue and checking out how popular it is via analytics, another option is to use an advertising account.
Metacafe
Metacafe is a real oldie, establishing itself in 2003 – before even YouTube came along. Here you can watch webisodes, music, movies, check out the latest games, and catch up on the sports you love.
Veoh
Unlike a lot of its competitors, Veoh doesn’t feature a size limit when it comes to uploading videos. That means long, feature-length content is just as common as shorter clips, and so some quality shows have found their way online via this streaming site.
While some have criticised the search function, the UI is widely praised, and people can add friends, form groups and conduct discussions in forums, making for an enjoyably social experience.
Vube
Vube has generated huge popularity since its creation in early 2013. The user interface is easy to use and nicely laid out, while subjects covered include a diverse range from news and politics to gaming, movies and music. Simply said, there’s something for everyone.
However, the focus is probably music. The site attracts millions of hits per day, though still not as many as YouTube, and this is not least due to the appealing monthly contests being run by the site: artists and creators can upload their video (cover songs or original material, not always music-based) to Vube and the 25 videos collecting the most ‘likes’ from users win anywhere up to $25,000 in prizes.
Vube seems to be keen on pulling away on the more commercial nature of YouTube, by becoming a platform for emerging artists – not a bad way to discover new music.
