Odeo, only 40% bigger than PodServe?
February 20, 2007
We created PodServe as a tool to make it easy for our clients to host their podcasts. We released a public version of PodServe and with very little support it has grown substantially. Lots of people have used it to get their podcast started (most stop podcasting within 3 months) and the successful one (i.e. the guys who need stats) migrated to a paid service within 12 months. The remainder of the users on PodServe are what we call casual podcasters (or videocasters). We have been busy working on custom versions of PodServe for various clients including FX Network (to date we have built custom installs with the PodCall feature for Nip/Tuck, Dirt and The Riches and we recently executed a 6 show deal with FX).
Today I noticed that Ev was selling Odeo. He released the following stats:
- Unique visitors: 684,951
- Pageviews: 3,012,921 (does not include RSS, MP3s, or Flash widgets)
- Flash plays: 1,523,963
- Logins: 76,106
I had assumed Odeo was much bigger, entrenched than PodServe. My assumption was wrong. In rough terms Odeo is only about 40% bigger than PodServe. Maybe we should talk to Ev about merging the PodServe and Odeo brands/sites together creating a bigger and better Odeo 2.0 (just kidding about the 2.0 part). How about a deal where we give 25% of the combined company to Obvious in exchange for the assets and perhaps an ongoing advertising relationship with Twitter? I will have to think about it…
Update: I have been informed, by an Odeo fan, that at least 25% of our traffic is from suspect sources (i.e. people that might be breaking the law). Ouch. Our thought is that combined, we could justify allocating time, resources and money to the combined effort. PodServe alone is an interesting basis for custom built tools, but as a standalone business it is hard to compete with sites like Odeo. Combined, well, we would have a good reason to invest more in it.
