The New Boob Tubes

Alright. We get it. More men watch online video than women. But enough with the video sites targeting guys, please. You’re not carving out a niche for yourself if everyone’s doing it. (Heh-heh, he said “doing it”). But really, how many sites devoted to fast cars and fast women does one Internet need?

Two new upstarts in the category came through NTV HQ inboxes recently: Kush TV and VIMBY. Though neither site comes out and says they specifically target men, a quick glance reveals it’s definitely a man’s world in there. But these young bucks face some, errr, stiff competition from sites already entrenched in the space.

So how do these noobs differ from the rest? Let’s take a look.

To be fair, sites like Break and Spike rely more on viral-type clips, while Ripe and Kush are out there producing original content, and VIMBY (which stands for Video In My BackYard) has its users create content specific to their neighborhoods.

But how about a little variety? And no, adding coverage of video games and movies doesn’t count. Nor does it mean you should abandon all the male stereotypes to add video about decoupage and give Nina Totenberg her own show. Just do something other than what everybody else is doing.

From a business perspective, it seems like this crowded vertical is not the one you want to get into without a truly unique proposition — something other than in-your-face graphics, crunching geee-tars and tarted up, heavily augmented women.

Though come to think of it, what else do men want? I can’t imagine an outcry from this demographic demanding cleaner design, quieter guitars, or fewer boobs on the Internet.

Sigh.

We are a sadly predictable gender. The LA Times just ran a piece on how well using provocative (read: girls in bikinis) thumbnail images on YouTube to entice (or mislead) users into clicking on your video works.

Is there a happy medium? Can a site targeting young men survive without resorting to cars and women? Send in your ideas through the comments. I’ll be over here, chugging a beer.