Today I’m going to proudly introduce you a life-saving video service: Videojug.com. I have mentioned it before and now you have a great possibility to have a look from inside at it. Please, welcome Nancy Cruickshank, Chief Executive Officer of VideoJug Corporation.

1. Could you please tell us about some specific features of your video service? What makes Videojug so special?

VideoJug has created the largest global library of short-form factual content. With circa 50,000 professionally produced films, we advise, inspire & entertain our audiences across a wide range of subject areas – from Food & Drink to Beauty & Style and on into Technology, Health & much more. VideoJug has also developed one of the most effective video players available on the web achieving over 90% customer satisfaction ratings. As the site grows, so does the community. We have busy discussion boards on almost every topic and people get actively involved in rating and commenting on all of our films, fuelling debate and discussion around our topics. We actively encourage people to share their own knowledge and wisdom on anything in life, and are constantly working on new tools to encourage this.

2. The users are able to upload videos of their own. How do you manage to sort them all? Because, the videos available are of a great quality.

Quality is vital to us, our audience & our advertisers. We review every film uploaded to the site and each one has to go through a quality check process with our producers. We also have some really prolific users who are producing their own quality films on a vast range of subjects, so we have a team of editors who curate our user generated content. We want to be credible when the customer comes to the site and we want the experience to be a consistently positive one. Our content must be useful. We refer to our users as ‘proactive knowledge seekers and sharers’.

3. How big is your community and how many videos are viewed/uploaded per day?

VideoJug has over 350,000 registered users who have the ability to comment, rate and discuss the huge range of video content available. Users are able to upload not only videos but also webcam videos, articles and slideshows. We receive approximately 1,000 pieces of content a month which then go through our editorial approval process. VideoJug attracts over 160,000 global visits per day, 4+ million unique users per month and 300,000 video views per day.

4. Do you use Videojug to make your own life easier? Was it ever so that you could not find the right solution within the service?

I LOVE our recipes and have converted many of my friends to the service.

5. What was the best video/advice you happened to come across on the website?

I think that our ‘how to beat box’ and ‘how to moonwalk’ films are fantastic and they always make me smile! I also rate our building self-confidence films. How to walk into a room and exude self-confidence is genuinely compelling and helpful in my view.

6. Please, tell us more about the competition and its winners.

VideoJug runs a monthly competition giving video uploaders the chance to win up to £1,000 / $2,000. Users just need to submit their videos to VideoJug and the prizes will go to the 3 videos that have the highest number of views during each month. The winning videos each month also have to be liked by the VideoJug community – so, even if a video draws a huge audience, it must also achieve a 3 star rating or above to be eligible for one of the three top prizes: 1st Prize £1,000 / $2,000 2nd Prize £500/ $1,000 3rd Prize £250/$500.

So far, VideoJug’s users have already contributed some great videos to the Made by You channel showing other users how to make 3D glasses, curl hair with straighteners, or get a flat stomach in under 9 minutes ! Whether practical advice, hilarious skits or educational insights – VideoJug welcomes it all!

7. Your website has a very nice and handy interface. How many upgrades did it take for VideoJug to have its today’s look?

We are continuously upgrading and improving the site for our users. Since VideoJug launched in September 2006, we have made a range of changes that have contributed to increased dwell time, return visitors and registered users including:

1. Introduction of a fresher and crisper design sitewide to improve usability and navigation.
2. Development of successful new content types – interactive quizzes and informative text articles and a pop-up information box to describe its format (video, text, quiz etc), what it’s about and any other useful info such as film duration, and ratings.
3. Enhanced navigation and organization throughout the site and new video player controls.
4. Greater editorial presence and improved systems of content recommendations.
5. New tools and features to encourage user engagement and participation including user profiles and forums.
6. Ability for users to subscribe to different content areas, receive updates and alerts that are specifically relevant to them, as well as our increasingly popular monthly newsletter.

8. All of the videos have laconic and informative names. Do you have a special person for this or do the users themselves give names to their videos?

Each video title has been researched and created by our in-house professional production team for one of three reasons; it has viral potential, is easily found by the search engines, or has been recommended by our users. Each video is accurately named according to the actual content contained within the film. In the case of user generated content (5%), the individual user decides on the name of the film as we perceive the original creator as the most reliable judge of the video’s content.

9. So far, how many videos were shot by VideoJug staff?

There are currently over 50,000 videos on VideoJug. The majority of this video library (95%) has been produced by us at our production studios. All VideoJug content has been carefully researched and professionally produced in high definition with an eye toward quality and value. The video content on the site takes a variety of formats that include informative “How To” and “Ask The Expert” films that guide you, step-by-step, through everything and anything in life. The “How To” format delivers easy-to-follow, bite-size tutorials on a wide variety of topics from cleaning tips and sport, to relationship advice and recipes. We search the globe to find leading experts in their respective fields for the “Ask the Expert” format - be they celebrities, professors, high-flying professionals, coaches, teachers, or consultants - who provide answers to common questions and concerns. There are a growing number of articles on the site as well.