This is a YouTube video. It was uploaded and published for free. But as my father used to say "Nothing's free boy". Let me echo his sentiments for you: Nothing...is free!
YouTube is great. Don't get me wrong. If you're an indie band wanting to upload and share your latest home-grown music video, there is not a better (read cheaper) approach. But if you're a professional organization hoping to use YouTube or similar free services to effectively convert, distribute and track your online media assets...there are several reasons to look elsewhere. Here are just three:
First-a free service doesn't allow you to protect your brand. It's said you're known by the company you keep, and with free services, you don't dictate who your company is. After viewing one of your corporate training or best practices videos...the viewer could be fed suggestions to view inappropriate content. Do you really want to risk the viability of your brand to save a few bucks on streaming?
Second-a free service offers you sub standard video and audio quality. They are going to provide your streaming files in as low a bit-rate as they can get by with. After all, you're not paying for it!
Third-a free service isn't going to pick up the phone at 3 a.m. on Sunday when you're having a serious problem with one of your streaming video assets.
I've always believed there is a measurable difference between up front price and the true cost of just about anything. If price is your ONLY consideration...well, it makes sense to try a free service. But if you're using online video as part of your business...I would urge you to remember that you get what you pay for.
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