Difference between JibJab and SmashMash
Everyone needs a good does of humor once and again, and sites such as JibJab and applications such as SmashMash are only too happy to feed the demand. Both offering tons of humorous videos, eCards, animations and so much more, these two provide a much needed distraction during those slow moments at work or the odd rainy night alone. Let's see what they have to offer.
Profile
JibJab is website launched by the Spiridellis brothers in 1999. The site became a near instant success, after the release of a video that featured the Founding Fathers of the United States in a rap number. A similar video, this time featuring George Bush and Al Gore subsequently introduced the site to new audiences by way of several major television networks. At present, the site is one of the most popular sources of political satire and humorous content, as well as customizable funny emails.
SmashMash was established in 2000 by a team comprised of former Lucasfilm Games employees. The program has since been released for free, and it provides users with the ability to animate photos, create cartoons, and edit video as well as audio.
Features
SmashMash offers numerous features and capabilities for the creation of video content that can be emailed, blogged and shared via any one of the many social networking sites. The application is quite easy to use even for new users, and if you are able to find your way around it, you should be able to get similar quality results with JibJab.
That being said, JibJab does have a number of added features that aren't offered with SmashMash. For one thing, you can choose from a selection of pre-made videos that are ideally suited for pasting your friends’ head in. Other than that, it is just as easy to use as SmashMash, although the latter's availability in a professional version at no cost makes it a slightly better choice at present.
Advantages And Disadvantages
As excellent as these two services are, they do have their own drawbacks. JibJab for instance doesn't allow for a lot of customization. The most significant restriction is the inability to upload videos for editing and subsequent publishing to sites such as FaceBook or YouTube.
SmashMash does allow for such a feature, although there are many videos of less than stellar quality on the site. To make things considerably easier, MetaCafe has released a tutorial video that deals with subjects such as how to make photos talk.
Another important issue is cost. While both services are quite inexpensive, the fact that you have to pay to make videos doesn't sit well with many people. In this regard, SmashMash would appear to be the better option of the two, since users are more likely to produce videos that have the potential to last as well as earn money.
Summary
JibJab
- Became a near instant success, after the release of a video that featured the Founding Fathers of the United States in a rap number
- One of the most popular sources of political satire and humorous content
SmashMash
- Provides users with the ability to animate photos, create cartoons, and edit video as well as audio
- Allows users to upload videos for editing and publishing to sites such as FaceBook or YouTube
