Video-on-demands enhancements - Yappo

Video-on-demand site Yappo.com today announced the launch of a substantially enhanced user control interface, fully interactive functionality, and a new design that emphasizes the high tech nature of the site. ''Yappo 2.0 is a major step forward in the VOD world,'' said Liam Colins, brand & product manager.

''We took everything we learned from the first incarnation of Yappo and combined it with some of the best practices from mainstream entertainment sites and requests from our users to create the new look and functionality.''

Yappo’s new user controls allow viewers to reorganize, expand and contract navigation menus, rate movies, and compose their own reviews for publication on the site. Colins said that the new features are all about putting Yappo’s members more in control of their experience on the site.

''The site offers some incredible features and the ability to use as much or as little of the customization as the user wants,'' Colins said.

Q Boyer, marketing coordinator for Yappo and its sister companies TopBucks and Pink Visual, said that Yappo users will appreciate the improved navigational options offered by the new version of the site.

''You can have all the nifty interfaces and slick design that you want; at the end of the day it doesn’t mean a thing if your members can’t find what they’re looking for,'' Boyer said. ''On Yappo 2.0, that’s not going to be an issue; we provide so many browse and search options, a near-sighted illiterate could find the porn he’s looking for in there.''

In addition to the new controls and revised look, Yappo 2.0 also offers users more viewing options, including the ability to watch thousands of titles in H264 Flash format.

''The inclusion of H264 Flash was an easy decision for us,'' Colins said. ''It fits with the driving vision of the site; it’s durable, scalable and easy to use, which is everything we wanted the new Yappo to be.''

The site’s flexible new structure doesn’t just benefit customers, Colins noted; it makes ongoing maintenance of the site far easier, as well.

''Part of what is so exciting about the new Yappo 2.0 is its scalability,'' Colins said. ''Because the site is widget-based, we can do almost anything with the layout or the features of the site itself. This allows us to respond to user requests with features, rather then fixes.''

Colins said that even after the months of hard work and testing that went into creating Yappo 2.0, the company is not resting on its laurels, and additional innovative functions already are in the works.

''We are actually launching with a very rudimentary set of tools,'' Collins said. ''What’s in development now – and the suggestions we are getting from our members – promise to take the site to a whole new level.''

ainews.com