“The Lost Seinfeld Episode” Featuring Michael Richards (Kramer) Laugh-Factory Rampage November 30, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Viral Video, popular videos , add a commentCourtesy of the MediaMoGirl blog, I give you one of the funniest timely satires I’ever . It’s a “Lost Seinfeld Episode” done by National Lampoon. This parody video combines classic Seinfeld clips with actual footage of Michael Richards’ rascist rant at the Laugh Factory. It also includes some of the Letterman appearance. I can’t imagine how many Seinfeld tapes the National Lampoon went through to create this.
They stream the video on the National Lampoon website with ads, and have distributed it as well via Revver (below).
P.S. Here’s another Kramer apology spoof by a comic on YouTube. He’s Carter Comet from Vancouver. The laughs/time ratio is lower but there are some funny moments.
Writing About YouTube/Verizon While in Ambien Haze November 29, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : YouTube , 4comments
It’s conventional knowledge that Ambien causes a mild “black out” period if you don’t go to sleep when you take it. It also makes you gorge carbs. Last night I popped a delicious Ambien and got settled into bed. Just before dozing off to the final episode of Prison Break, I decided to check e-mail. The DailyReel (www.thedailyreel.com) editor IM’d me and asked if I’d provide perspective on Monday’s Verizon/YouTube deal. So I did… here’s the article.
Now what’s fun about this piece is that I got to be a scrutinizer reader of my own work. Seems this morning I had only a vague recollection of what I’d written. Usually I loathe reading my own work, but this was refreshing. I agreed with everything the guy said.
Note to self… write on Ambien. Side effects vary.
I’ll just have to be careful about articles that end with “bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbnnnnnnnnbfdsssssssssssss” (head on keyboard).
The Ultimate Revver Fan November 28, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Revver, YouTube, google video , 8comments
I’m a big fan of Revver because it splits ad revenue. Maybe you are too. But this guy has us both topped. See the Ultimate Revver Fan. He pits Revver against YouTube and Google Video in this weird and amusing rant.
This just in! Visit the Revver blog and you’ll see three videos. Play them all at once and you can watch him argue in favor of YouTube and Google Video. This is at the top of the “I wish I’d thought of it” file.
Viral Video with a Cause November 27, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 1 comment so farThis certainly isn’t the only cause-driven use of viral video, but I thought I’d showcase it as further proof that online videos don’t have to be funny and profitable.
A neighbor of ours (whose kids play with our kids) is on a mission to help save and improve lives of animals who are left at empovershed shelters. She founded www.CanineLifeLine.org recently. and traveled to a very unfunded animal clinic in West Virginia. She brought video footage back, and I interviewed her to put this piece together.
Will people ever see this video clip (called “Forgotten Animals in Appalachia”?) Hopefully. Will they visit the site and take action? Not in any great numbers, but it only takes a few people who are wealthy, charitable and share a passion for this cause.
Maybe you know someone who cares for animals and wants a simple way to get funding directly to those in need. Like many charities, CanineLifeline is selling donation cards for the holidays. More interestingly, they’ll collect your used items and put them on sale at eBay, Craigslist and other websites. The revenue goes directly to the shelters in need.
Assert Yourself. Vote for Me on the Butterfinger Video Contest. November 25, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Video Contests , 3comments
In keeping with the tradition of yesterday’s Metacafe post, here’s another shameless self promotion.
I’m a top finalist for the Butterfinger video contest. I’m not sure what the prize is, but I want to win this thing. I’m so sick of being a finalist and not getting a prize.
So how about voting for “Eviction Moment” on the Butterfinger contest page. You can enter to win one of 10,000 prizes too. I think “Size vs. Quantity” is going to beat me, but not with your help.
Second video on the right column. Just click and vote. You can do it each day. Maybe make it part of your morning ritual. Brush teeth, shower, vote.
Thanks
Taking Metacafe WAY Seriously November 25, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : metacafe , 4comments
So I’ve made some decent money on Metacafe, and I’ve decided it’s time to “take it to the next level.” A friend of mine (ZackScott) cracked $8,000 by posting various mind tricks. So I’ve uploaded as many of my favorites as I can find.
Feel free to watch them on Metacafe. For every 1,000 views I take home a crisp $5 dollar bill.
LonelyGirl15’s Father November 24, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 3comments
One Last Post on LonelyGirl15…
…Then I Promise I’ll Stop.
Meet the founding father of LonelyGirl15 in this Forbes.com interview (click to see interview).
Video Creators Exposed for Cheating Their Way to Popularity November 24, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Revver, Yahoo Video, YouTube, advertising, popular videos , 6comments
Having plenty of people viewing your YouTube videos has achieved such social status that prominent YouTube creators are “cheating.” In this video Redskulled describes the simple method to inflate total views on your video, and identifies some of the “famous” YouTube cheaters — and shows the crude and simple ways to cheat.
Consider, then, the sites that share ad revenue, and the deeper incentive to cheat. Since the creator and the video site are often paid on total views, we can imagine that many views of videos are, in fact, browsers automatically refreshing (instead of new eyeballs). Even sites that earn on click-thru (instead of impression) are vulnerable.
Eventually advertisers will demand that the sites identify and take action of fraud — just like Google is supposed to be policing click fraud. As an example, we evaluate our Google text ads not on cost per click-thru, but on a “quality formula” of what the visitor did on the site- and whether they visited select “quality pages.” If I see clicks without quality page views, I smell “click fraud.”
There are lot of ways to catch cheaters:
- Do the views come from the same subscriber?
- Did views skyrocket in a certain period with a steady instead of random growth rate?
- Did a user view more videos in a period than possible?
- Is the ratio of views/subscribers dramatically off norm?
- Is the ratio of views/comments off norm?
- Are all of the views (regardless of the username) coming from the same IP address — or a masked IP?
Still, it will take a while for reported views to approximate actual views. Why?
- The technology is like radar detectors. When the video site or advertiser (police) finds a new tool, the cheaters (speeders) have already moved on to something new.
- The cheaters benefit the video site in the short term. Even cheat views can create revenue. Although eventually this will undermine the site’s credibility with advertisers, it’s a quick fix for cash flow and to satisfy nervous VCs.
I have advertised on video sites, and have seen lower than average “click thrus” to my “call to action.” That suggests there may be a problem.
Some sites have identified and corrected click fraud. Revver, for instance, is paid not on views but on the click of an ad frame. Earlier this year I noticed some of my videos exploding. Turns out it was click fraud from someone benefiting from affiliate earnings from my video. Revver reconciled and I watched my earnings go down for a sad period.
Click fraud and viewer cheats is unethical, and arguably illegal if it creates artificial revenue for the creator. Here’s hoping more Redskulled folks identify cheaters and keep ‘em honest.
Everything You Wanted to Know About LonelyGirl15 (But Were Afraid to Admit You Want to Ask) November 22, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 8comments
The world comes in three flavors:
- People who have never heard of LonelyGirl15
- People who have heard of her, but don’t really care
- The rest of us who are rather entertained or obsessed
If you’re in the first two categories you probably skipped this post. Or you’re looking for a good reason to stop reading. Well stop. Nothing here for you. Off you go.
The rest of you will love this Wired article that explores the Secret World of LonelyGirl15. It’s jam packed with all of the “behind the scenes” information we’ve long craved. Some highlights:
- Mesh Flinders, a 27 year old, is the originator of LonelyGirl15. It’s his apartment in Beverly Hills that has become the set for the popular YouTube gal. He’s joined by Miles Becket, a plastic surgean in training.
- Bree is played by actress Jessica Rose. She declined the offer to be LonelyGirl15 initially. She finally agreed to work for free, and the founders later gave her $500 a week to keep her from waitressing (lest she become revealed).
- The team makes about $10K a month on its website a month. Obviously they’re looking for more significant ways to commercialize on the fame.
- The e-mails you might get from Bree are actually the voice of Amanda Goodfried, the wife of Flinder’s attorney. Amanda was an attorney’s assistant at Creative Artists Agency.
- My favorite quote: ”The Web isn’t just a support system for hit TV shows,” Becket says. “It’s a new medium. It requires new storytelling techniques. The way the networks look at the Internet now is like the early days of TV, when announcers would just read radio scripts on camera. It was boring in the same way all this supplemental material is boring.”
The LonelyGirl15 storyline is starting to get a bit more dramatic. I just caught up on the recent episodes and I think they’re on the hunt for a man with one arm.
Watch What You Upload: Web as Global Memory Bank November 22, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , add a commentGerry McGovern, an “expert on managing web content,” has warned that Web users are leaving a personal record and history on the web, which may one day come back to haunt them. McGovern’s caution coincides with the release of his new book “Killer Web Content” published by AandC Black on 29th November.
Says Gerry McGovern:
“Everybody who writes emails and blogs, or who leaves voicemails, needs to think a lot more about what they are writing and saying. The Web gives the impression of this informal, casual place, but that’s a mirage. It’s like a court of record, where everything you write can be used for you—or against you—at some future point. “The Web has become a global memory bank. Before the Web came along, denial was a reasonably strong strategy, but that is no longer a case. The Web is rolling 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and so much information is being recorded that can later turn up on Google or YouTube.
McGovern should know. Here’s a recent video of him losing his cool when a “Laugh Factory” bit went out of control.