What Happened to Putfile.com

Putfile was a free file hosting service that facilitated the sharing of videos and photos online. Founded in January 2004 by Gordon Page in Godalming, Surrey, England, Putfile quickly gained popularity due to its user-friendly interface and versatile features.

It gradually grew into a free digital media service featuring user-generated content, a place not only for individual users to host their content, but also a video sharing site that categorizes different genres and ranks top popular content, just as what YouTube was doing later.

However, FutFile's journey was marked by significant changes and eventual closure, on February 6, 2007, it was purchased by HandHeld Entertainment (NASDAQ: ZVUE, ZVUEW), an internet media company.

Early Days and Growth

Putfile began its operations in April 2004, under the sole proprietorship of Gordon Page, with support from his parents and forum operators - a source close to the company disclosed to newteevee.com.

Despite its humble beginnings, Putfile swiftly garnered a substantial user base, particularly attracting young creative individuals from English-speaking countries and Europe.

By January 2007, the site boasted impressive statistics, including 9.5 million unique visitors and 61 million page views. According to newteevee, the website reports 1.4 million users and about 80,000 uploads per week.

PutFile Website Features

Video Uploading in PutFile

One of Putfile.com's standout features was its user-friendly interface, catering to both casual uploaders and content creators. Users had the option to upload videos either with or without an account, providing flexibility and convenience.

For those seeking enhanced functionality and personalized experience, registering for a free account was recommended. With a registered account, users gain access to unlimited file uploads, though there is a restriction of 25MB per file.

Additionally, users could manage their file collections and enjoy a personalized user homepage, grouped under http://putfile.com/yourname. Putfile.com ensured reliability by hosting media files on its robust servers, guaranteeing zero downtime.

Content Restrictions of PutFile.com

While Putfile.com encouraged users to share their content freely, certain restrictions were in place to maintain a safe and respectful community environment.

Users were prohibited from uploading nudity, adult content, pornography, hentai, illegal material, or content depicting death or gruesome scenes.

File size limits were imposed due to high bandwidth costs, with images restricted to 2MB and videos/Flash files limited to 10MB.

Despite these limitations, users were allowed to hotlink or embed images on their own webpages, provided they included a link to www.Putfile.com. However, embedding videos or Flash animations was not permitted due to bandwidth constraints.

The Video Card Services

During Christmas 2007, Putfile.com launched its Video Card service, allowing users to send personalized greetings with just a click.

Users could browse through Putfile.com's extensive collection of videos and select the perfect one to convey their holiday wishes. After choosing a video, users had the option to personalize their card, adding a personal touch to their message. The video card would then be sent to the destination email address.

The PutStuff Services

In addition to its core video and photo hosting services, Putfile.com expanded its offerings with the introduction of PutStuff, a dedicated subdomain for uploading and sharing files other than videos and photos.

This service, initially hosted on http://www.putstuff.com/ and later redirected to http://putstuff.putfile.com/, provided users with a simple yet effective platform for sharing files with friends, colleagues, and collaborators.

With PutStuff, users could upload files effortlessly and share download links with ease. Files remained accessible as long as they were downloaded at least once every 30 days, with a maximum file size limit of 100MB.

Challenges and Reception of PutFile.com

During its short journey, the challenges and praises went hand in hand.

This video sharing website faced significant challenges related to content abuse, particularly concerning copyright infringement, pornography, and disturbing imagery. In response to high abuse rates, the platform was forced to block access from certain regions. This decision, while necessary to maintain a stable service, highlighted the ongoing struggle to manage user-generated content and adhere to terms of service (TOS) guidelines of the PutFile website.

Maintaining a reliable and scalable technical infrastructure is another challenge for Putfile.com. As user traffic increased and the platform gained popularity, issues such as slow load times, crashes, and server strain became more prevalent.

Despite its challenges, Putfile.com garnered praise from users for its media hosting services. Offering instant upload capabilities for movies, flash content, and images without the need for registration was a standout feature appreciated by many. Users found Putfile.com to be a reliable and convenient platform for sharing multimedia content with friends and online communities.

Putfile.com received recognition from PC Magazine, earning a spot in the publication's prestigious list of the top 101 websites. This acknowledgment underscored the platform's significance within the online landscape and its popularity among users. Putfile.com attributed its success to its dedicated user base, emphasizing the importance of community engagement and support in shaping the platform's reputation.

The Monetization Mode of PutFile.com

As of December 2005, PutFile.com boasted impressive traffic statistics, attracting one million unique users per day and serving approximately 1.8 million pageviews.

With a robust following from around the globe and a growth rate of 15% per month, Putfile.com capitalized on its substantial traffic to generate revenue.

Putfile.com provided two distinct types of ads, each offering unique benefits to advertisers:

Site Wide Link:

Positioned prominently at the top of all media and picture pages for a full day, Site Wide Links offered maximum visibility.

Advertisers could select up to three different links to promote in their slot, leveraging Putfile.com's SMART system to optimize click-through rates.

With an average of 1.4 million impressions and 53,432 clicks, this advertising option was offered at $700.

User Homepage Link:

Tailored for advertisers with modest budgets, User Homepage Links were displayed at the bottom of all user homepages and subpages.

Despite their placement, these links still garnered substantial attention, with approximately 50,000 impressions and 956 clicks on average.

Priced at $50, this option provided cost-effective advertising with a higher average cost per click (CPC) of $0.05.

As of August 2006, PutFile ranked 1110 on Alexa and had a significant reach of 1035 per million users.

PutFile Was Acquired by HandHeld Entertainment

In February 2007, Putfile underwent a significant transformation when it was acquired by HandHeld Entertainment, a consumer electronics company known for its ZVUE portable media players.

The acquisition, valued at $1.08 million in cash and about $6.0 million in common stock, aimed to integrate Putfile into HandHeld Entertainment's network of web properties, thereby expanding its reach in the online video market.

"The Putfile acquisition clearly establishes our place in the online video world," said Jeff Oscodar, chief executive officer and president of HandHeld Entertainment. "With more than 13.7 million monthly unique visitors and 83 million page views combined last month, we have a substantial and engaged audience."

He explained that aside from the substantial increase in traffic, Putfile.com contributes tens of thousands of new videos and flash animations to their network of websites every week. He added that these media assets can now be disseminated across their network. Jeff Oscodar also mentioned that the influx of traffic from Putfile will further expand their audience, benefiting the numerous premium commercial titles already present in their library.

Upon acquisition, the key performances of PutFile.com were:

• In January 2007, there were over 9.5 million unique visitors.
• It also recorded over 61 million page views in the same month.
• The website boasted more than 1.4 million registered users.
• The website also offered more than 408,000 user-generated videos available for free online viewing.
• It held an Alexa ranking of 1,093 the previous week, making it the 1,093rd most visited website globally.

What Then Happened to PutFile.com

Despite its promising future within HandHeld Entertainment, Putfile silently exited the highly competitive arena of online video sharing.

On October 14, 2008, the site ceased accepting new uploads and new user registrations, signaling a halt in its operations. Finally, on April 23, 2009, Putfile went offline, marking the end of PutFile's five-year journey in digital media hosting.

Later, when users attempted to access putfile.com, they were redirected to ebaumsworld.com without any official announcement or press release explaining the situation. This lack of communication caused significant inconvenience for users. Many PutFile user later found that the website was already gone, together with their precious media files.