Yahoo and Google's media upload division faces stiff new competition with 7Pic Uploader
Yahoo and Google face fierce new competition in social media support and picture hosting space with the rise of next generation media host 7Pic.Com
- (1888PressRelease) April 07, 2011 - Las Vegas, NV - Yahoo and Google haven't been doing too well when it comes to business category expansion lately. Yahoo, in particular, has been on an unlucky streak of paying a fortune for online properties that later go bust. Most recently, Yahoo mothballed early search pioneer AllTheWeb.Com which it bought along with Overture in 2004 for $1.63 Billion. Earlier, it closed Geocities which it purchased for a $3.6 BILLION (caps for emphasis considering the type of site bought-a free web page provider/"portal"). The same fate is set to happen to Mybloglog which Yahoo acquired for $10 million. Only slightly more lucky is Delicious.Com which Yahoo is rumored to have bought at between $10 to $30 million dollars. The rumored sale price? Around $1M. Tough times indeed for one of the "winners" of Web 1.0's First Wave-the age of long promises and theoretical income.
Google is doing slightly better than Yahoo. While Yahoo tended to buy its way to market category/niche expansion, Google tended to create its own divisions. Good for Google that its own project failures are less public than yahoo's. Still, who remembers the facebook/social network killer that fell hard and quick--Google Buzz? How about Google Wave, the supposed harbinger of the 'seamless integration' of collaborative tools like email, instant messaging, wikis, and tons of other online application goodies? Google Answers right a bell? The big difference between Google and Yahoo probably has less to do with dollar figures-each of Google's long list of failed projects may cost as much or higher than Yahoo's later and smaller purchases---but degree of publicity. Except for the spectacular flameout of Google Buzz (and its trail of lawsuits), Google's project failures have been more, shall we say, discreet.
It looks like both Google and Yahoo's track record of pouring huge amounts of development dollars into doomed projects aimed at market expansion may have yet hit another wall-this time, the battleground is media upload. The media upload space is the glue that holds social media together. From forum posts to blog posts to Myspace and Facebook posts, picture hosting greases the wheels of social interaction. While Yahoo has Flickr, it is quite burdensome and unwieldy. Also, its rights management system, while giving creators a lot of control, gets in the way of content viralization. Google has Picasa but it doesn't have much traction owing to the same factors holding Flickr back. Facebook also has picture hosting but it suffers from much of the overhang surrounding its "walled garden" approach-it's not very portable and isn't very friendly to non-members. These multibillion dollar giants might have to look into buying a new upstart media upload program that aims to overthrow Picasa, Flickr, and Facebook media by solving their problems.
7Pic is the latest stage in the evolution of media upload sites. It succeeds where previous picture hosts like Flickr, Facebook, and Picasa fail. It supports picture uploads and could threaten Youtube's dominance because of its ease of use and hassle-free operation. Simply browse your file, click upload, and share. Easy as 1 2 3. Sharing media links have never been this easy. "We have studied previous image upload and hosting sites very closely," says I. Dmitry, 7Pic's Media principal. "Our goal is to deliver where they fail while offering competitive features for details they manage to execute well." At its most basic, 7Pic delivers the same level of data hosting stability as Picasa, Flickr, and Facebook. "However, we got the big 3 beat when it comes to portablity, open usage, and ease of use. We also offer features they don't have-the biggest one being we give picture uploaders a free standalone tool that lets them upload pictures faster, easier, and better," says Dmitry. From drag and drop sharing, one click multiple file sharing to even paying users who tell their friends to install 7Pics standalone uploader software and toolbar, 7Pic has clearly paid attention to the shortcomings of existing picture and file host sites and built its strategic advantage fixing the competition's shortfalls.
Given the solid set of features 7Pic packs within such a simple and small site, it would not be surprised if 7Pic becomes yet another "strategic acquisition" by a venture capital-backed up and coming online media/social media player or perhaps a strategic target by an established online brand. "Regardless of how established brands may see us, we remain fully committed to one goal only-to deliver maximum value to end users the world over," says Dmitry.
About 7Pic
7Pic is the category leader in next generation in free media upload services. 7Pic lets users supplement their social network and social media pages with free hosting for their pictures. 7Pic stands apart and above the competition when it comes to ease of use, portability, and giving users standalone upload support.
###
space
space