Well, folks, it’s finally here. Welcome to the brand spankin’ new Revver.com! It’s been a hectic few weeks/months/who knows anymore? We couldn’t be prouder or more excited. Many thanks to those who have helped us by test-driving the site and providing valuable feedback. Keep it coming. And a huge group hug to the amazing (and ever-growing) Revver team for pulling this all together.

Our launch comes at a key point in time for the media industry. Things are changing. Fast. As the “user-generated” media space grows up, creators are beginning to demand more control and more reward for their work. With new technologies making self-expression easier and more accessible, we are all becoming creators. And as consumers, we are demanding the ability to enjoy media how and when we want to. At Revver, we are commited to the open media movement. We are commited to supporting artists and empowering them to do what they do best. We are commited to the open source movement. And we are committed to our community. We are honored to be a part of creating the revvolution with you.

Perhaps the biggest news about the launch is that our new site is totally powered by the Revver API. In fact, the old Revver has been running on the API for a while now. We figured if we were going to share it with the world, we’d better be willing to use it ourselves. You can still peruse the old site, which we’ve dubbed “Revver Classic.” TWO Revvers running off of the Revver API! Once we release the API into the wild, you can build your own Revver or CrazyCatVideos.com or MySnowGlobeCollection.com and syndicate Revver’s content to your own video community (and make 20% of the advertising revenue).

So what does all this mean to you? What’s new on the site?

1. Revver is not a portal. Revver is a publishing platform for video. We provide the tools for you to share and monetize your videos. The goal is to spread those videos far and wide across the open web, growing the network virally for the good of everyone on the network.

2. Holy dashboard, Batman! You can now manage your account easily from your new dashboard page. Keep track of your earnings and see how your videos are doing all in one place. We’ll contact you via messages to your dashboard with any news on your account and Revver updates.

3. Please enjoy the new Flash player. You can now choose between Flash and QuickTime as your default player on Revver. We’ve created a secure Flash player for your embedding pleasure. You can still download QuickTime files to share via email and P2P networks, etc.

4. We hope you dig the new web-based uploader. No more client necessary.

5. Collections! IMHO, collections are the coolest of the new 1.0 features. You can collect and share your favorite videos in lots of ways. By creating a “smart collection,” you can aggregate videos automatically based on a set of rules that you define. For instance, if you want to make a collection of videos about dancing, you can create a smart collection that automatically adds all videos tagged “dancing.” Every time a Revver member uploads a video tagged “dancing,” it will be automatically added to your collection. So cool.

6. Create your own site on Revver.com. You can share your videos and your favorite collections on your very own Revver.com site.

A few other things have changed worth noting:

- First of all, the new site has different rules for usernames. Not everyone is effected by this change. We’ve contacted all impacted members but if you haven’t yet changed your username and you’re having trouble logging in, please visit http://userupgrade.revver.com to select a valid username.

- You may notice that the number of views on your videos has changed. The old Revver displayed the number of times your video was started as “views.” Now, the number of views displayed reflects the number of times your video is viewed to completion. Because videos often load automatically, this is a more accurate reflection of your video’s activity.

- Please note our new payment policy: We make payments once a month, usually around the 1st of the month. Balances of over $20 will be paid out after a 30 day verification period to protect against fraud. Please see the new FAQs for more information.

Speaking of new FAQs, read em! We’re expecting a back log of support emails with the new launch so please make sure to check the FAQs before submitting a support ticket. Still, we’d love to hear your feedback so don’t hesitate to let us know what you think of the new site. You can help us make Revver better by providing feedback and submitting bug reports.

Revver 1.0 is the first of many planned upgrades to the Revver service. We’re launching into an aggressive iterative development schedule which will mean rapid updates and improvements. If you’re interested in monitoring our progress, you should check out the Revver Change Log on a weekly basis. Of course, we’ll also keep you informed here on the Revver blog.

GO! Check out Revver 1.0. We hope you like it!