Break.com
Break.com (formerly Big-boys.com) is a humor website founded in 1998 that features adult videos, flash games, and pictures among other material. Although much older, the website is considered a rival to YouTube.
Content
The main focus of the site is on the videos, which consist of short clips of varying humorous merit in many [1] categories including animation, military, sports, humor, movies and entertainment. These often include home video footage of people being injured, usually as a result of their own recklessness or foolishness, on purpose or on accident, the site also includes television clips, viral and adult videos in its NSFW and EASTEREGG sections. Most content echoes that of the MTV series Jackass. Generally, any video has a chance at being featured so long as it is humorous or entertaining in some way.
Visitors are able to rank site material on a scale of 1 to 5, which is factored into an average score. In recent months, some visitors to the site have questioned the validity of the ranking system because of the home page videos, which are chosen by editors. Users can also comment on most of the individual entries.
In January 2006, Break.com introduced a new file hosting system for its users to share their files. Shared files can be promoted to the homepage to be featured. Users that host original files promoted to the homepage are paid as much as $50 for pictures, $400 for videos and $2,000 USD for short movies, thereby relinquishing all rights to their material under contract. [2].
Break.com has an Alexa rating hovering in the high 200s (as of February, 2007).[3]
The website is owned by TMFT Enterprises, LLC.
Culture
A tradition that has arisen in Break discussions is a tendency of certain users to insist that submitted material is "fake." This likely first arose from a reasonable skepticism that some of the content posted on Break consisted of staged "injuries" or "pranks" aimed at garnishing payment for being posted on the main page. These claims have since evolved into a kind of self-mockery, with users now insisting that even material depicting thoroughly-verified news events are fake.
Remarks relating to contributors sexual preferences are present within the comments, as are the attacks and racial slurs that plague many video community sites. [4] , KKK kid , [5].
Mainstream media content
In August 2006, Break.com and Showtime partnered to promote Weed by encouraging Break.com users to upload original videos matching the themes of the show, with winners eligible for airing on the channel.[1]
In March 2007, Break.com signed a contract with NBCU Digital Studios to develop a streaming broadband series to be featured on Break.com, tentatively titled Breakers.
References in the media
- [6] Break partners with Audible Magic for copyright compiance in 2007
- In January 2007 Break.com was featured on Australia's national prime time current affairs program "Today Tonite". The program featured screenshots of numerous soft and hardcore adult content on Break.com and questioned the websites suitability for kids within the 13 - 25 age bracket, Break.com's target audience. Also recommended that Break.com have a restricted adult rating on search engines.
- CABLE PLAYING CATCH UP TO ONLINE VIDEO SITES (AdAge.com)
- On November 27, 2006 Keith Richman of Break.com was interviewed by socalTECH.com.
- Break.com announces partnership with Showtime
- In the spotlight: Keith Richman, Break.com
- Break.com Teams with StuffMagazine.com
- Break.com Review
- Break set for Web content
- SocialTech.com Interview with Keith Richman, Break.com
- Faith, Family and Keith Richman
- Digital Hollywood Profile
- Keith Richman Profile
- Keith Richman Digital Media Summit
- Keith Richman Wall Street Journal
- Keith Richman Break.com. My experiment in E-Lebrity (Inside Dateline)
- Big media beats up on YouTube (CNNMoney.com)
See also
References
- ^ Heather Green (August 22, 2006). "Break.com's Innovative Marketing Deal With Showtime". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2007-03-24.