RootZoo Launches Videos!

You might also notice a few small changes to the site's layout. You might have already realized this, but we were running out of space for section links and needed to rework a few things to ensure that every section will still be easy to find and get to. The search box has also moved to the middle, as we feel this is an important thing (especially with videos) that should be utlized any time you're quickly looking for specific information. We now have it hooked up so that based on whichever section you're in, by default, the search will occur for listings in that section (unless you change it, which you're always free to do). You'll be able to search for Videos, as well as Groups and RootOffs, which were added to the search bar a couple weeks ago if you haven't noticed yet.

While we've tried to make the Videos section as easy to use (and familiar) as possible, below you'll find a list of some more specific information about the section.

Point Values

Upload a video: +10 points
Every 100 views your video gets: +10 points
Leave a comment on a video: +2 points

More Details About the Section

1. There are two ways you can upload a video.

a) Upload a saved video from your computer directly to RootZoo. We prefer this way whenever
possible. While it takes a little longer to upload, the RootZoo video player will show, and embedding
these videos on other sites will help to spread the word about RootZoo when others see the player.
There are sites out there like downloadyoutubevideos.com that let you easily download any YouTube
video straight to your computer by simply pasting the link to the youtube video on the site and clicking
download.

b) Embed a video directly from another site like YouTube. Simply take the embed code and follow the
instructions on our "submit video" page.

2. There are some add-ons like our "Favorites" feature, which allows you to favorite a video you enjoy. All favorited videos will be saved so that you'll be able to go back to them any time you'd like.

3. Videos can be nominated for the Weekly RootZoo Awards, so submitting a video will give you extra incentive if you're going for a medal.

4. There is no limit as to how many videos you can submit per day.

5. You can root and boo videos, and we'll also have a 5-star rating system that allows you to rate the videos out of 5.

6. Our videos section is divided into Channels so that you'll be able to browse videos by sport and team. You can also browse all new videos across all sections from the main videos page.

7. When submitting videos, you'll have the ability to add tag words to your videos. These tags should be terms that someone could identify the video with so that someone searching for the video can easily find the video. For example, I submit a video titled "LeBron James dunks the ball over Tim Duncan". Any word in the title, when searched, will show up in the search results, but I might also want people to find it when they search for terms like Cavs, King James, NBA, dunks, and others. This is the purpose of tag words and you're encouraged to all relevant terms any time you submit a video.

8. There will be an embed box that you see to the right of each video you view. If you click inside the embed box, simply copy the text inside the embed box and paste it anywhere on RootZoo (threads, groups, profiles, etc.) or other websites if you'd like to embed the video somewhere. The video will play anywhere that supports embeddable videos.

9. There's a report link that you'll see underneath each video. If any inappropriate content is submitted (which WON'T be tolerated here), flag the video by clicking report. It'll immediately flag it for review on our end to ensure that inappropriate videos are removed as quickly as possible.

10. Within the next couple weeks we'll be announcing a contest to promote the growth of the videos section and our site. Announcement will come in due time.

Feel free to share any and all feedback after having used the section. As with any new feature, there may be a few small glitches or areas for improvement, but we'll stop at nothing to make this the best experience possible for you all.

Together, we're going to build up a tremendous library of sports video footage that captures the great moments in sports history, new things going on in the world of sports, and a lot more. One more thing for us to keep busy with while we're here is never a bad thing.

Have fun, enjoy, and thanks to all of you for being here as we continue to evolve.

-RZ