Pro-SEO

The popular video site stage6.com is planning to shut down in 3 days (28 Feb) forever which has caused outrage amongst it's members.

On visiting the website you are greeted with a message from Tom (aka Spinner) explaining that the reason for the closure is basically that stage6 was too successful and outgrew it's self and has become a very expensive and time consuming operation. Forgive me if i'm wrong, But this stinks of a cop-out. stage6 is owned and operated by DivX, The video software company. Surely they know a thing or two about raising funds and running an online enterprise. And even if the reasons given are true, Why not sell it! I'm sure there are countless companies (Google, Yahoo, MSN) who would love an online video site of this magnitude.

I’m Tom (aka Spinner), a Stage6 user and an employee of DivX, Inc., the company behind the service. I’m writing this message today to inform you that we plan to shut down Stage6 on February 28, 2008. Upload functionality has already been turned off, and you’ll be able to view and download videos until Thursday.

I know this news will come as a shock and disappointment to many Stage6 users, and I’d like to take a few moments to explain the reasons behind our decision.

We created Stage6 with the mission of empowering content creators and viewers to discover a new kind of video experience. Stage6 began as an experiment, and we always knew there was a chance that it might not succeed.

In many ways, though, the service did succeed, beyond even our own initial expectations. Stage6 became very popular very quickly. We helped gain exposure for some talented filmmakers who brought great videos to the attention of an engaged community. We helped prove that it’s possible to distribute true high definition video on the Internet. And we helped broaden the Internet video experience by offering content that is compatible with DVD players, mobile devices and other products beyond the PC.

So why are we shutting the service down? Well, the short answer is that the continued operation of Stage6 is a very expensive enterprise that requires an enormous amount of attention and resources that we are not in a position to continue to provide. There are a lot of other details involved, but at the end of the day it’s really as simple as that.

Now, why didn’t we think of that before we decided to create Stage6 in the first place, you may ask? That’s a good question. When we first created Stage6, there was a clear need for a service that would offer a true high quality video experience online because other video destinations on the Internet simply weren’t providing that to users. A gap existed, and Stage6 arrived to fill it.

It's very bad business to say "argh! My company got too big! I must shut it down!
Sure quick growth can cause problems, but it's a problem that i would be prepared to live with.

It has been suggested that the message if a hoax, Which is believable after the last fiasco where hackers obtained passwords of thousands of stage6 members.

Labels: stage6