AT&T launches the public beta of VideoCrawler, an innovative new Web application designed to provide a better way for people to search for, organize and share online videos and other multimedia content. Developed in collaboration with Divvio, VideoCrawler indexes hundreds of millions of video clips from thousands of sites, with new sites and millions of clips added every day. Enter a search term and you’ll receive consolidated results from across this vast index. From there, you can organize your favorites into collections, which you can choose to keep private or share with others via the VideoCrawler site or social networking widgets.

The VideoCrawler public beta is the latest example of AT&T initiatives to enable customers to get the most out of social media and networking applications. The company has introduced multiple social networking and media applications in recent months for its mobile and Internet customers, and it also delivers the blue room, an online sports and music destination.

VideoCrawler is a free Web application, supported by banner advertising. The site features a modular, customizable layout that includes a video player window, a collection of some of the most popular videos among VideoCrawler users and a view of search results, including content thumbnails. Users can organize VideoCrawler’s layout to best match their individual preferences.

VideoCrawler’s unique and powerful combination of features allows consumers to search across the entire Internet index or within the public collections of other VideoCrawler users to find relevant content that has already been identified by others as "the good stuff" People have full control over their collections, so they can keep them private or share them with friends, family and other VideoCrawler users. The site even enables portability of collections, so users can create and share them across multiple social networking sites via VideoCrawler widgets.

VideoCrawler does not host content; it quickly traverses the Internet to organize results and enable consumers to view content streamed directly from the source. The site offers a "safe search" feature that helps users avoid objectionable content.

The site’s capabilities were developed by AT&T working with Divvio, a Silicon Valley-based startup founded in 2006 to develop technologies to improve the user experience in searching, sharing and monitoring digital media on the Internet and mobile devices. Divvio pioneered a content discovery, distribution and delivery platform for rich media search that provides the foundation for VideoCrawler’s functionality. Based on a proprietary technology, Divvio indexes millions of rich media clips every day and provides site management and monitoring tools to media content providers and distributors. Divvio’s API-based architecture allows for myriad value-added applications for IP-enabled devices and offers flexible inter-working scenarios including service providers, Web-based content providers, content owners, Internet advertisers, large enterprises and government agencies.

The public beta continues AT&T efforts to develop and deliver new social media and networking applications. The company recently announced a strategic investment in Zvents, a local search engine and advertising network that enables users to find, contribute, share and promote local businesses, entertainment, sports, restaurants, events, performances and sales and weekly specials. Zvents currently provides this search service for the popular YPmobile iPhone application that was developed by YELLOWPAGES.COM, a subsidiary of AT&T.

Additionally, AT&T this summer launched JuiceCaster 6.0, an application that enables people to use their AT&T wireless device to instantly share and post mobile videos and photos with their favorite online communities. The company also recently launched Buzzwire, which allows people to access and customize an extensive streaming media library that spans popular video and audio content, as well as live Internet radio, directly from AT&T wireless phones. AT&T also supports the blue room, an online music and sports destination that helps fuel the sales of the company’s core offerings — high speed Internet, wireless, voice and video — while building an affinity for the AT&T brand in the entertainment space.