Blip.tv, the videoblogger's control panel

Mike Hudack, the CEO of Blip.TV, is on a mission to rescue videobloggers from video hosting sites and services that "aren't about individual empowerment." He feels that most of the video sites snag all the digital rights they can and make money on the backs of other peoples' work. Which sites? You(tube) know which ones.

Although Blip.tv does allow consumers to surf for videos on the Blip site, the core function of the service is that it allows its users to take video they upload to Blip's servers and easily push it out to external sites, including blogs (it directly supports Wordpress, Moveable Type, Blogger, and more), iTunes, del.icio.us, Flickr (snapshots only), and many other formats. It can also act as an intermediary for your cameraphone, automatically crossposting videos you sent to Blip.tv to whatever blogs or sites you're configured.

Like the viral video sites, the Blip service hosts the video streams. But unlike other services, Blip.tv does not brand the videos with its logo, so users can take full advantage of the service without confusing their viewers about whose site they are watching.

What's in it for Blip.tv, then? It's not fully rolled out yet, but the service will be advertising-supported. If users will accept ads on their videos, Blip.tv will share the revenues from the ads 50/50. Blip, for its part, will run the ad network and host the videos, and give users a lot of control over the ads they'll take. For example, users will have the option of accepting video ads that run before their content (pays well, but obtrusive), or after (the reverse), or even during -- although the technology to find good places to insert mid-stream commercials is still being developed.

There are plenty of video hosting sites, and even some with similar advertising revenue schemes, such as Revver. The market for video sites and services is still very young, but so far Blip.tv looks like a solid toolkit for video bloggers.