Godtube
Encyclopedia
GodTube is an online video sharing platform which strives to have Christian content. It is owned by Salem Web Network
, the Internet division of Salem Communications
. GodTube has a variety of video selections including band
s and singer
s in music video
s, comedian
s and comedy
skit
s, spoofs and parodies
, videos featuring children and animals, sports, news, and videos intended to be inspirational. The site encourages users with this instruction:
In May 2010, GodTube was purchased from Big Jump Media by Salem Communications, a public trading corporation. Since the acquisition, the Salem Web Network team has rebuilt and redesigned the site. Tangle.com was permanently redirected to GodTube on December 1, 2010. The Tangle Online Bible redirects to BibleStudyTools.com, and the prayer wall redirects to the Crosswalk Prayer Wall: http://forums.crosswalk.com/Prayer_Wall/forumid_14/tt.htm
, Jason Martell from San Diego, CA (BooyaMedia.com), Lloyd Chartrand, and Mike Miller (former Executive Pastor of First Baptist Dallas). Wyatt was once an online student at Dallas Theological Seminary
. Wyatt was one of CBS's producers for the 1995 Day and Date show.
Wyatt, a member of First Baptist Church of Dallas, has likened the site to neutral "Switzerland
", in that he claims it is open to all theological viewpoints. He has stated that even atheists are welcome as long as they state their case "respectfully". The terms of use, however, prohibit any content "contrary to the evangelization of Jesus Christ and His teachings, or constitutes blasphemy, or is otherwise offensive to our online Christian community".
According to comScore
, GodTube was the fastest growing US website of any kind for the month of August, 2007. According to Quantcast
, total monthly site traffic has since shed 75% of its users, from 2.7 million, to just over 690 thousand by February 2009. In February, 2008 the company raised $30,000,000 from GLG Partners, LP, at a valuation of $150,000,000 after 5 months of operation.
In February 2009, GodTube was completely rebranded to tangle.com, both a social network and video sharing site. Tangle created community through the building of social networking tools for the Christian marketplace. Unique site features included an Interactive Prayer Wall where users posted prayers, and the Online Bible where they could read the Bible, join online Bible studies and search for verses. Members used their tangle profile pages to share a variety of content including videos, music, photos and blogs. The tangle homepage featured the site's top 10 most-popular videos each day as well as top featured photos, people and blogs. Users could also access the site's featured artist's free weekly song download. They could leave comments throughout the site and share their opinions and thoughts with the tangle community at large.
Tangle differentiated itself from other social networks by monitoring and approving all content before it went live on the site, which works to provide a safe and secure online experience. Tangle had a team of employees who review all of the content that gets posted, rejecting anything with objectionable content that violated the site's Terms of Use. Non-Christians and atheists were encouraged to join, participate and share their points of view as long as it was done respectfully. They didn't expect everyone to agree, but they did expect the community to be respectful of everyone's comments and views.
In May 2010, GodTube and tangle.com were purchased by Salem Communications, a public trading corporation. Since December 1, 2010 tangle.com redirects to GodTube.
In June 2010, GodTube was recognized as one of the "Hottest Texas
Companies" by Lead411.
from direct and network ad buys across the site in the form of display ads, video pre-rolls, email placements, peelback ads, featured video placements and more. GodTube strives to partner with Christian and family friendly advertisers.Godtube allows members to create profiles and add videos to the catagories.
According to Quantcast, there are higher percentages of teenagers, African Americans, college graduates, and middle class people using Tangle.
According to Forbes, GLG's funds under management were deflated 40% after their ill-timed foray into GodTube. The founders of the hedge fund were forced to surrender their salaries in lieu of a $1 per year probationary stipend, ostensibly as punishment for their foolish investments.
KMA Direct Communications was a primary investor in the privately held Web site.
Salem Web Network
Salem Web Network represents the largest faith-based audiences on the Internet and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia with offices in Dallas and Nashville. Salem Web Network is owned and operated by Salem Communications with the goal of to "replicate Salem's leadership position in radio in the...
, the Internet division of Salem Communications
Salem Communications
Salem Communications is a U.S. radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher specializing in evangelical Christian and conservative political talk radio. It owns 99 commercial radio stations, 65 of which are in the top 25 markets. Salem is the fifth largest U.S....
. GodTube has a variety of video selections including band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
s and singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
s in music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
s and comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
skit
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
s, spoofs and parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
, videos featuring children and animals, sports, news, and videos intended to be inspirational. The site encourages users with this instruction:
In May 2010, GodTube was purchased from Big Jump Media by Salem Communications, a public trading corporation. Since the acquisition, the Salem Web Network team has rebuilt and redesigned the site. Tangle.com was permanently redirected to GodTube on December 1, 2010. The Tangle Online Bible redirects to BibleStudyTools.com, and the prayer wall redirects to the Crosswalk Prayer Wall: http://forums.crosswalk.com/Prayer_Wall/forumid_14/tt.htm
Company History
GodTube was launched in the Spring of 2007 by founder Christopher Wyatt from Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Jason Martell from San Diego, CA (BooyaMedia.com), Lloyd Chartrand, and Mike Miller (former Executive Pastor of First Baptist Dallas). Wyatt was once an online student at Dallas Theological Seminary
Dallas Theological Seminary
Dallas Theological Seminary is an evangelical theological seminary located in Dallas, Texas. It is known for popularizing the theological system known as Dispensationalism...
. Wyatt was one of CBS's producers for the 1995 Day and Date show.
Wyatt, a member of First Baptist Church of Dallas, has likened the site to neutral "Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
", in that he claims it is open to all theological viewpoints. He has stated that even atheists are welcome as long as they state their case "respectfully". The terms of use, however, prohibit any content "contrary to the evangelization of Jesus Christ and His teachings, or constitutes blasphemy, or is otherwise offensive to our online Christian community".
According to comScore
ComScore
comScore is a Internet marketing research company providing marketing data and services to many of the Internet's largest businesses. comScore tracks all internet data on its surveyed computers in order to study online behavior....
, GodTube was the fastest growing US website of any kind for the month of August, 2007. According to Quantcast
Quantcast
Quantcast is a California based company that provides publishers and marketers with the ability to understand, deliver and reach their best audiences at a massive scale...
, total monthly site traffic has since shed 75% of its users, from 2.7 million, to just over 690 thousand by February 2009. In February, 2008 the company raised $30,000,000 from GLG Partners, LP, at a valuation of $150,000,000 after 5 months of operation.
In February 2009, GodTube was completely rebranded to tangle.com, both a social network and video sharing site. Tangle created community through the building of social networking tools for the Christian marketplace. Unique site features included an Interactive Prayer Wall where users posted prayers, and the Online Bible where they could read the Bible, join online Bible studies and search for verses. Members used their tangle profile pages to share a variety of content including videos, music, photos and blogs. The tangle homepage featured the site's top 10 most-popular videos each day as well as top featured photos, people and blogs. Users could also access the site's featured artist's free weekly song download. They could leave comments throughout the site and share their opinions and thoughts with the tangle community at large.
Tangle differentiated itself from other social networks by monitoring and approving all content before it went live on the site, which works to provide a safe and secure online experience. Tangle had a team of employees who review all of the content that gets posted, rejecting anything with objectionable content that violated the site's Terms of Use. Non-Christians and atheists were encouraged to join, participate and share their points of view as long as it was done respectfully. They didn't expect everyone to agree, but they did expect the community to be respectful of everyone's comments and views.
In May 2010, GodTube and tangle.com were purchased by Salem Communications, a public trading corporation. Since December 1, 2010 tangle.com redirects to GodTube.
In June 2010, GodTube was recognized as one of the "Hottest Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
Companies" by Lead411.
Revenue Model
GodTube draws revenueRevenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
from direct and network ad buys across the site in the form of display ads, video pre-rolls, email placements, peelback ads, featured video placements and more. GodTube strives to partner with Christian and family friendly advertisers.Godtube allows members to create profiles and add videos to the catagories.
Demographics
According to a November 2010 Quantcast assessment, the GodTube audience is 60% female and 40% male, with a high percentage of teenagers and baby boomers. Users are also widely middle class, with no college.According to Quantcast, there are higher percentages of teenagers, African Americans, college graduates, and middle class people using Tangle.
Investors
Although it was reported in the trade press in May, 2008 that they had received $30,000,000 in funding from GLG Partners, former Big Jump Media CEO Jason Illian was quoted by The Dallas Morning News as saying the investment was "actually around $17,000,000".According to Forbes, GLG's funds under management were deflated 40% after their ill-timed foray into GodTube. The founders of the hedge fund were forced to surrender their salaries in lieu of a $1 per year probationary stipend, ostensibly as punishment for their foolish investments.
KMA Direct Communications was a primary investor in the privately held Web site.