Chad Hurley (co-founder of YouTube) and Michael Robertson (counder of MP3.com) July 31, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video, Video Sites, YouTube, advertising, copyright , 5commentsHere’s a video from ZDNet that features part of a round table about consumer-generated media at the AlwaysOn Stanford Summit in Palo Alto, Calif. At first I’m bored by Chad. Then Michael kicks in, and I almost think we’ll have an intelligent debate. But it seems like the themes are:
- YouTube is creating a stage that anyone can play on
- The copyright violations isn’t YouTube, it’s the submitters
- In the end, YouTube isn’t accountable as long as it agrees to remove something when a copyright owner complains.
Wrong, wrong and wrong. YouTube is amassing a huge audience. Will everyone have their moment, or will that go to the content that can sell the most ads? YouTube certainly bears responsibility for hosting videos that are clearly stolen. Do a search for any brand name or television show.
Finally… I’m getting sick of this “if they complain we’ll take it down.” That’s like me borrowing Hurley’s car and telling him that he can call me on my cell if he needs it back.
Smaller Online Video Site Finds Large Partners July 31, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video, Revver, Video Business , add a comment
Revver, one of the less popular video sites, just got invited to the “big media” party. In its B round funding, Comcast Interactive Capital and Turner Broadcasting have invested. Revver will use the funding to drive market expansion, team-building and technology development.
This is fairly significant news as it’s the first start-up in the online video space that has significant investment from larger media companies. If this is done well, you’ve got entrepreneurial spirit combined with deep media relationships and connectivity and access to channels beyond the web. That said, I couldn’t resist satiring it on Revverberation (the unofficial Revver blog I’ve maintained).
“Bald Lady at the Bar” Video July 31, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Killer Video, Making Videos, Online Video, Revver, Viral Video, YouTube, advertising, popular videos , 1 comment so far
In the interest of search-engine optimizing this video, I had to give up the punchline in this post’s title. What happens when you meet a hot woman at a bar and she happens to be bald (or, uhm, suffering from “male pattern baldness”?
The video, titled “Awesome Bar Scene,” is hysterical, and worth watching twice. The first to see the gag. The second to watch the guy in the background as he takes great pleasure in screwing his friend.
The Revver version (quicktime)
The YouTube version (flash)
Source: Post 94 at TheStunners.com (this is one of a series of four that roll out in August).
P.S. Despite rumors this is not Jodi Applegate at the bar (after her hair fell out due to stress).
A New Audio Podcast About Vlogging July 31, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video, vlogging , 1 comment so farThe irony isn’t missed by the creators, but here’s an audio podcast about online video blogging (aka vlogging). Courtesy of Steve Garfield’s “Off on a Tangent.”
Want to Get Rich? Develop a Tool that Allows Video Submitters to Hit All Major Sites at Once. July 31, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video, Revver, Video Sites, Yahoo Video, YouTube, google video , 5commentsCalling all tech-savvy entrepreneurs. There’s an unmet need among us online-video nerds. We spend hour submitting to multiple sites, and it’s quite time consuming and tedious. When there were dozens of search engines, website owners had the same problem. A few free/paid tools emerged that promised they could submit your URL to a variety of the top tiered search engines.
Your task for videos is more complex because each site (Google Video, Yahoo Video, YouTube, Revver, etc.) requires different information and has different field requirements. For instance, some sites allow for a set number of tabs, and some require commas while others require spaces. Passwords are also different by site. Most sites accept .mov files but some (Metacafe) require .avis. However I would think this can be done for ate least the majority of the big-tier sites… the old 80/20 rule (80 percent of the traffic belongs to the top 20 percent of the sites).
The most frustrating requirement is that some sites require the same information each time you submit. Revver, for example, asks me my web address and e-mail each time I submit a video. That gets old quick.
The market won’t absorb a huge price, but I’d easily pay a modest monthly fee to use this service- especially if I knew it would be updated as site data requirements are in constant flux.
Who Wants to Be a SuperHero? Who Wants to Make an Online Video Mocking ‘em? July 30, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video, Yahoo Video , 3comments
The Yahoo Buzz index (what people are searching on Yahoo) features a very high rating for “Who Wants to Be a SuperHero?” This new show debuted last week and episode 2 appears on August 4 on SciFi. The winner of this six-week competition will walk away with their character immortalized in a new comic book developed with Stan Lee. And the winning character will also appear in an original SCI FI Channel movie!
Episode 1 featured a fake superhero trying to get the contestents to break character. Then they had a race in which a crying child was strategically placed near the finish line. Would the contestentds ditch her to finish first? One of the heros who ignored the kid was sent home.
This show has great satire potential. Amateur videographers… start your engines.
The Audio in My Videos Stinks! July 30, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Making Videos, Online Video, Video Sites, Video Software , 4comments
When I posted “Lay Me Off,” I got a lot of comments about the lousy audio. Part of my problem was the music was too loud (a mistake I make far too often). But I also use the camcorder’s built-in mike. So if I’m far from my subject then audio becomes a problem. I was reasearching alternatives and found a great site for tips.
Here’s CNET’s “Inside Secrets,” and quick tips for better home-video sound. Best of all, it’s explained in a short article and a brief instructional video. I also liked this story about how to capture flash video on your hard drive.
The Venice Project by Kazaa and Skype Creaators Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis July 30, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video, Video Sites , 1 comment so farA direct lift from PaidContent.org on July 24. I really can’t add any insights, but it seems to be important. The best judge of future entrepreneurial success is past entrepreneurial success.
Skype-Kazaa Founders Working On Online Video Distribution Project [by Rafat]
Maybe they should start by talking to Masayoshi Son, who has his own plans of changing the world with TV distribution…now Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the entrepreneurs who created the pioneering application Kazaa and Skype, are working to develop software for distributing TV shows and other videos online, reports BusinessWeek. The project is called “The Venice Project“…the two have assembled teams of software developers in about a half-dozen cities around the world, including New York, London, and Venice.
The teams are currently in negotiations with TV networks, although it’s not clear whether any agreements have been reached. A formal announcement of the new venture could come as early as this fall. Not clear: both entrepreneurs are still working at Ebay, and whether eBay will put some money in or use the services of the new project. It is expected Niklas will put in some of his own money (after all, he has tons now, with Skype’s sale to eBay).
Perky Blonde Hosts YahooTV’s “The 9″ July 30, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video, Video Sites, Viral Video, Web 2.0, Yahoo Video , 2commentsThe 9, a daily show available on Yahoo TV, identifies interesting sites or videos. Worth a look. The videos are a bit closer to “Entertainment Tonight” humor than “Jon Stewart,” but it’s still worth a glance. Maria Sansone, the host, is eye candy… but the commentary isn’t as biting as WebJunk’s host, Patrice O’Neal (he cracks me and himself up).
Top Keyword Searches That Led to WillVideoForFood yesterday July 30, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Killer Video, Online Video, Viral Video, popular videos , add a commentEvery once in a while you blog about something that happens to be highly searched. My recent post about Jodi Applegate’s video rant resulted in the following top keywords that people searched before finding this blog.
- Jodi applegate
- Metecafe
- Jodi Applegate video
- Healies
- Jodi applegate prank
- Jodie applegate video
Again this reinforces three things:
- The criticality of search-engine optimizing your blog and video titles, tags and descriptions. Even if it means spending hours retagging them like Marquis did. I really need to figure out how to tag words (not categories) on Wordpress if anyone knows how.
- The fact that people are still starting with Google before dipping into video sites.
- That I’m not above manipulating the search engines by reposting with the same keywords.