YouTube Ends 2006 With Technical, Customer Support Fiasco December 31, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : BlipTV, GooTube, Online Video, Revver, YouTube , 15comments
YouTube is ending 2006 with dozens of technical support problems, and customer service that is reminiscent of AOL when it had a virtual monopoly. In fact, YouTubers have organized a “Bed In” to bring the company’s attention to problems. Ironically many can’t participate because the site, for days, hasn’t accepting videos in a timely manner. My videos in the past 24 hours have been held in a cue despite confirmation messages. And YouTube’s “recent” section shows that there are gaps of time where very few videos made it live (relative to the massive amounts that are uploaded typically).
Technical problems in the past weeks have included:
- Severe problems with messages and comments
- Videos are encrypted beyond recognition. Look at this one.
- Loads of spam in YouTube mail
- Errors reporting the quantity of mail
- Several days of chronic bugs related to uploading videos
- And now, in the past 24 hours, the site confirms uploads but doesn’t post them. Most of mine have vanished, and others have appeared 10-14 hours later.
In recent months I’ve come to appreciate YouTube and the powerful community it has fostered. I’ve met people via YouTube and have collaborated with fellow YouTubers on The GooTube Conspiracy (which mocks the power accumulated by Google and YouTube).
But it’s perplexing how indifferent YouTube has appeared despite this technical fiasco. The response is less excusable than the technical snags:
- I’ve never received a response from a message sent to customer service or technical support. Not once.
- There have not been messages on YouTube that alert people to the problem, or plan to fix it. At best we’ll see occasional red error messages when certain functionality (like uploading) is down.
- YouTube’s technical support fails to alert YouTubers through their YouTube mail (or e-mail) when problems arise.
- There’s virtually no way to reach YouTube via phone
This is a stark contrast from the way other video sites handle problems. Revver has been one of the less stable sites, but uses its blogs and forums to update users. blip.tv’s founders answer problems via their cell phones at dinner.
YouTube has obviously been swarmed with users, videos and customer-support and technical inquiries. And there’s a certain amount of this that can be explained by rapid growth. But some of these issues can be addressed simply by communicating. But YouTube appears to be sweeping the issues under the carpet.
Here’s hoping the site has a New Year’s Resolution to stabilize its technology and improve its communication with users. The community is tight, but if there was a viable alternative I’d suspect an exile of many users in 2007. Especially since many of the traditional portal sites are beginning to recognize the power of community, and rapidly developing tools to foster it.
My Fox Appearance December 30, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 18commentsI was on Fox. Nobody cares except my neighbors and family, who suddenly think I’m famous.
Here’s the video. And no- I didn’t win the Butterfinger contest.
Top 10 Online-Video Predictions for 2007 December 30, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : AOL, BlipTV, Blogs on Video, Future of Online Video, GooTube, Google, Online Video, Revver, Video Advertising, Video Business, Video Contests, Video Online Tools, Video Sites, Viral Video, Web 2.0, Yahoo Video, YouTube, advertising, google video, metacafe , 87comments
I pulled out my crystal ball this morning, and I’m predicting the most significant online-video highlights of 2007.
I’ll be citing these selectively at the end of 2007 (only those in which I was right).
Okay I didn’t use a crystal ball. This video tells a better story about the process I used to arrive at these today.
- Online video and television collide then converge. We’ve seen small steps toward this, but they’re trivial relative to what will happen in 2007. We’re first going to see some territorializing between online-video players and larger networks and media distributors. Then we’ll start to see great partnerships between major networks and online video sites, as well as deals with Verizon, Comcast and TiVo that give online video creators much broader exposure.
- Consolidation of online video sites will increase exponentially. Eventually there will be only a small hand-full of sites (GooTube, AOL, Yahoo) where people upload videos, because those sites will gain critical mass and cut exclusive deals upstream. Almost every industry starts with hundreds of players, consolidates to a dozen, and finally matures with 2-3 major entities. Small sites will get acquired or fade. There will still be niche sites like Break.com and special-interest sites.
Viral video creators will “cross over” to television. We saw Amandon Congdon make the leap from Rocketboom to ABC recently. People with talent, like ZeFrank, will land a short segment on The Daily Show or some other television show. Ultimately this will make ZeFrank’s bloated ego explode — something we hope occurs live on Good Morning America. A few name-brand stars will decide they can move online without the hassle of networks. I don’t see any of these succeeding initially, but as the audience for “online video” surpasses (in some areas) television viewers, it will be hard for them to resist.- Many television shows will develop online manifestations. This will include “behind the scenes” shots, extended storylines, and interactions with the show. Some shows will invite submissions by amateurs and even cast amateurs to participate.
- Consortiums will form for economies of scale. Viacom/Fox/NBC/CBS are already toying with an anti-YouTube play. This is as impossible to resist as it is to achieve airlift. Other consortiums will succeed. I see groups of independent online video amateurs forming copperatives to market their content to networks, or networks organizing the coops. Shows like RabbitBites will have higher odds of moving to mainstream when connected with similar content.
- Select amateur video creators will begin to make a full-time living without “crossing over” to television. Metacafe’s CEO Arik Czerniak recently told me he anticipates his top amatuer creators will make six-figure incomes in 2007. I think he’s right. I’d also watch for people earning high revenue via Revver if the company rapidly expands its viewer base through affiliate/syndicate partnerships.
A major news story will break via live (or close to live) footage by “citizen journalists” holding cameras. Remember the impact of the Rodney King footage? Consider how more of these we’ll see now that so many of us are equipped with cell phones that record video. And eventually we’ll see live footage from a cell phone in a major news story — a robbery, hostage situation or natural disaster. If the reporters can address the nation live via satellite, why can’t the amateur videographer via a video-enabled cell phone? It will look like garbage, but it will be horrifically real.- Marketers will get smarter about how they gain consumer mindshare through online video. The self-created viral videos will give way to more creative partnerships between brands and top video creators. These deals will be efficient for marketers, and highly profitable for video creators with low budgets. We’ll see increasingly fewer $250K viral video series created by agencies, and more low-budget, fun videos that were inspired by amateurs but get the media support of advertising budgets.
Real vs. fake will be a major 2007 theme. People don’t understand that some videos are designed to be “story telling,” and others are real footage. LonelyGirl15 was an example of a deliberate ruse, but many other “are they real or not” videos are endlessly dissected by comments. This will catch media’s attention, since they’ll enjoy raising viewer concerns about the integrity and validity of this threatening medium.- The “big boy” sites are going to start sharing advertising revenue with select creators like some smaller sites (Revver, Metacafe, Blip, Brightcove, Lulu). That means Google, YouTube, Yahoo and AOL will finally realize that good content means eyeballs. And eyeballs means more revenue.
Top 10 Viral Video Moments of 2006 December 30, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Blogs on Video, Future of Online Video, Google, Killer Video, Making Videos, Mentos, Online Video, advertising, google video , 15commentsGiven that 2006 was the Year of Online Video, we’d be remiss not to look back at the special highlights of this year.
This is not another “top viral videos of the year” list. Goodness knows there are hundreds of those. Instead we’re looking at the moments that changed the industry or perception of it. Our editors debated literally for minutes on this list, so we’d appreciate your additions in the comments. We’ll revise accordingly. It’s actually just me, but I’m using a royal “we.”
Google buys YouTube for $1.65 billion. Huh? The absurd market cap that YouTube commanded despite low income and pirated content demonstrates the value of you, dear online-video viewer. There’s a race to own your little eyeballs. The moment made us uncomfortable because it flashes us back to the Pets.com era, but it validated the video space to mainstream, and taught people the power of community.
LonelyGirl15 revealed as an actress. Don’t believe everything you watch, folks. This was a sobering moment to millions of people living parasocial relationships with Bree via her YouTube videos. Some celebrated it, and moved to LonelyGirl15 where she serves her videos via Revver. Others groaned because they felt she violated the “realness” of the YouTube community. There are still ‘Tubers that dissect each of my videos to prove they’re fake. People, I did not really steal my neighbors Christmas tree. It’s called story telling, idiots, and you can say what you like about LonelyGirl15 but it’s undeniably a story people want to experience.
Diet Coke & Mentos. If you aren’t familiar with this movement, please turn off your computer and return to your couch. This was fascinating mostly from the corporate reaction. Mentos jumped right in and supported the video creators with sponsorship on Revver, contests and special partnerships. Coke distanced itself initially, and then eventually embraced it too late. My favorite remains the Pepsi Girl by Davideo.- People started making money from online video. Don’t trust me? Listen to NPR’s report on it. EepyBird makes more than $35,000 on a few Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment videos. A comedy duo made more than $35,000 via Revver (a site that shares advertising revenue) from a series of videos showing elaborate fountains of exploding Coke. Later they would get a 6-figure deal with Google & Coke for a sequel.
TIME magazine names consumer-generated media the “Person of the Year” in 2006. Hello, mainstream media — this video sharing thing isn’t a fad. It’s profoundly changing the way we consume media, interact and consume advertising. Perhaps the funniest part of this article was the instant response by bloggers, vloggers and video creators. Each decided we were individually the Person of the Year. Except me. I’m above that petty behavior.- Michael Richards goes on racial tirade at The Laugh Factory. This was upsetting, but a reminder of the accountability power of video. Would that have made international news had someone not caught it on tape? It spawned instant spoofs like “The Lost Seinfeld Episode.”
The Lazy Sunday Rap (Chronicles of Narnia) by Saturday Night Live goes wild on YouTube. NBC reacts by sending a 15-page “cease and desist” instead of basking in the free publicity of the ailing show. And it later partners with YouTube. Now the network is even exploring running dress rehearsals online. The sheer number of horrendous knockoffs of this video reaffirms that it was a paramount moment of 2006.- Net Neutrality movement grows. I don’t really understand this, but I think it’s important. Here’s a video on it.
- Public Relations firm busted for making Al Gore Penguin spoof. DCI Group was exposed by the Wall Street Journal for secretly funding a video about global warming and Al Gore.
And lastly, my favorite! Marketers give a giant “Lennie Small (Of Mice & Men) squeeze” to viral video, crushing its lil’ head in adoration. Countless big brands did Lemming dives into viral video by creating such hits as Tea Partay by Smirnoff, GM’s flying cars, as well as some additional case studies. Then there were the ailing video contests and viral commercials we didn’t forward like advertisers promised their clients. People, let’s resolve to make 2007 better on the viral video advertising front. Please read 7-Deadly-Sins of Viral Video Advertising.
What did I miss?
The Coolest Creative, Marketing & Innovation Blogs Ever December 29, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : advertising , 14commentsMark Simons at The Viral Garden started a “Z-list” of blogs that weren’t getting enough attention but deserved it. Paul from 8Wishes was good enough to add WillVideoforFood, as cited in the entry by All My Causes. Then Seth Godin put an adapted “Z List” on Squidoo.
I’m as confused as you are. But there are some schweet blogs in this list from “All My Causes.” Many ways to make your RSS reader even more impossible to ever leave.
Strumpette
A VC
The Next Net
Successful Blog
Will Video for Food
Caffeine Marketing
MarquisDeJolie
Widgets Lab
Guerrilla Innovation.com
No Mans Blog
Viral Garden
MicroPersuasion
Viralmeister
Social Media Optimization
Coolz0r
SEO Black Hat
Creative Think
Movie Marketing Madness
Blog Till You Drop!
Get Shouty!
One Reader at a Time
Critical Fluff
The New PR
Own Your Brand!
OTOInsights
bizandbuzz
Work, in Plain English
Buzz Canuck
New Millenium PR
Pardon My French
Troy Worman’s Blog
The Instigator Blog
AENDirect
Diva Marketing
Marketing Hipster
The Marketing Minute
Funny Business
The Frager Factor
Mindblob
Open The Dialogue
Word Sell
Note to CMO:
That’s Great Marketing!
Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim
Pow! Right Between The Eyes! Andy Nulman’s Blog About Surprise
Billions With Zero Knowledge
Working at Home on the Internet
MapleLeaf 2.0
darrenbarefoot.com
Two Hat Marketing
The Engaging Brand
The Branding Blog
CrapHammer
Drew’s Marketing Minute
Golden Practices
Viaspire
Tell Ten Friends
Flooring the Consumer
Kinetic Ideas
Unconventional Thinking
Buzzoodle
Conversation Agent
The Copywriting Maven
Hee-Haw Marketing
Scott Burkett’s Pothole on the Infobahn
Multi-Cult Classics
Logic + Emotion
Branding & Marketing
Popcorn n Roses
On Influence & Automation
Bullshitobserver
Servant of Chaos
converstations
eSoup
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
John Wagner
Nick Rice
CKs Blog
Design Sojourn
Frozen Puck
The Sartorialist
Small Surfaces
Africa Unchained
Perspective
gDiapers
Marketing Nirvana
Bob Sutton
¡Hola! Oi! Hi!
Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!
Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together
Community Guy
Social Media on the fly
Jeremy Latham’s Blog
SMogger Social Media Blog
Masey.com
P.S. Simply cut and paste the ENTIRE list above to a post on your blog. You’ll get a ton of happy bloggers suddenly coming to YOUR blog to thank you, you’ll get a ton of great new blogs to read, you’ll likely get a ton of links yourself, but most of all, you’ll feel good about making a whole lot of other bloggers feel good about themselves.
The Viral Learning Center ads by Ziddio December 29, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 7comments
Ziddio launched a series of amusing “spoof commercials” promoting the “Viral Learning Center.” Here’s one posted on YouTube. It’s one of 45 on Ziddio’s YouTube channel.
Ziddio is an online and on-demand channel from Comcast that features user-generated content. The content is created mostly through contests that are sponsored by advertisers.
I find the concept really interesting, but many of the videos are painful to watch (I only viewed about a dozen before I was frightened away). Did I not give it enough of a chance? Please tell me there’s hope in the convergence between television and online video. Find me something funny on Ziddio to prove me wrong.
Dove Beauty Video (Parody) December 25, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Killer Video, Making Videos, Viral Video, vlogging , 13comments
You’ve all seen the Dove viral video that shows a homely girl being transformed into a model. Now watch the spoof video, as Nalts gets transformed from a balding, fat video guy into vlogger celebrity, ZeFrank.
I did ask ZeFrank if he’d humor me with a high resolution version of his face to do this. It was no surprise he decided to ignore me, so I hit Flickr and Google Images to find the best I could.
I’ve Earned a Penny from Eefoof December 23, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 8comments
I don’t like to criticize sites when I don’t earn money on them, but this is just too funny to ignore. I’ve uploaded my best videos on Eefoof and after a few months I’ve got the results. The little “my earnings” icon (an image of a pile of gold) revealed my total is exactly one cent.
Do you suppose they’ll mail it as a check or just send a shiny penny?
I haven’t given up on Brightcove and Blip, but I haven’t made any money there. So far I’ve made about $3,000 on Metacafe and $2,000 on Revver.
I know some of you have had luck with Lulu (Davideo for instance) but I haven’t yet given that a ride.
12 Days of Web 2.0 Christmas December 22, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : GooTube, Revver, Viral Video, YouTube, metacafe , 4comments
Here’s my new holiday song. I think it’s going to be a life-long classic. The 12 Days of Web 2.0 Christmas. Feel free to sing along. I’ve provided the lyrics. I spared you from the full, repetitive version.
- 12 blogger pingbacks
- 11 YouTube subscribers
- 10 Digged articles
- 9 Blog comments
- 8 Metacafe dollars
- 7 Stickam friends
- 6 Readers on The Daily Reel
- 5 Stars on my video
- 4 Video replies
- 3 Revver clicks
- 2 much wasted time
- And an e-mail from ZeFrank telling me to leave him alone.
Biker Uses Video to Fundraise for Learning Disabilities December 22, 2006
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 6comments
For a good example of using video for a social cause, check out 8 Wishes. Paul Sanchez is raising money for children with learning disabilities, and took a solo bike trip around the U.S. He’s now half way through his 30-day mission to have these 8 wishes met:
- Raise one million dollars
- 100 million views of this video (the most popular viral video ever, Evolution of Dance, has had 37 million)
- Be interviewed by Oprah
- Interview Paul Orfala
- Interview Sir Richard Branson
- Interview Charles Schwab
- Be on 21 talk shows
- All in 30 days (deadline Jan. 10, 2007)
