Category Archives: YouTube

book, Making Videos, Online Video, popular videos, Revver, Video Advertising, Video Business, Viral Video, Web 2.0, YouTube

First Interesting Article on Online Video (in a While)

1 Comment

I’m getting so tired of the hype articles, or the latest story about an instant viral video classic. Finally, here’s an interesting piece.

Source: The Ultimate Middle East Business Resource. Go figure.
On YouTube:

“But this bandwidth is expensive. It’s estimated that bandwidth costs YouTube US$1 million per month. But the investment – YouTube has raised US$11 million in venture capital – is money more than well-spent. YouTube estimates that it could already earn US$10 million a month by putting ads at the start of every video. So far, it hasn’t, because it doesn’t want to alienate viewers. Instead it’s looking for new and creative ways to get advertisers on board.?

On Advertising:

“For advertisers, the beauty of video sharing sites is being able to target highly niche audiences. All videos are tagged with different keywords, from the general “music” “sport” “comedy” to specifics such as “Britney” “golf” “kittens”. Nearly a third of YouTube’s visitors are aged 18-24, a key youth market that is getting harder for marketers to reach.”

Three Lessons:

  • There’s a lot to learn from YouTube. The first lesson is that internet users are desperate for compelling, quirky and entertaining multimedia content. And they are happy to get it in small bites. They may not want to pay for it, but they’ll probably put up with a short TVC or banner ad for the privilege of watching.
  • The second is universality. Anyone, anywhere, on any system – even mobile devices –middle-east.gif download, you don’t need a particular browser or the latest version of Windows. This is going to be a harsh lesson for video sites that try to force users to specific (usually Windows-only) formats. Accessibility is the only way.
  • The third – as NBC has learnt (WVFF editor’s note- poor writer CLEARLY can’t spell), but the RIAA still shuts its eyes to – is not to fear and resist the New Media Revolution, but to embrace it. The internet is here to stay and here to grow. It’s impossible to try and control the machinations of millions of hungry bright minds. If people want to see a video, they’ll find a way to rip it, copy it, encode it. Forget proprietary formats, forget copyright protection – the hackers and crackers will always be ten steps ahead.
copyright, google video, Making Videos, Online Video, popular videos, Revver, Video Business, Video Sites, Viral Video, YouTube

When a Copyright Violater Gets Violated

I like scoring my videos with copyrighted songs, but I started to realize that it’s not sustainable. So now I’m carefull with copyright issus — using royalty free content or my own creations on GarageBand (Mac).

I had a new awakening about copyright violation yesterday when speaking to a guy from Google Video. I realized (see image below) that my “Google Earth: Has it Gone Too Far” had been submitted by two other people. Then while we were speaking I realized his team had selected Crackberry as a “Google Pick.” He asked why I hadn’t included the name of my company and I said it must have been an oversight. But when I went to edit the video entry I realized… I hadn’t submitted Crackberry! Someone else scraped it from YouTube or Revver.

As he observed, this isn’t an issue for those seeking viral fame. But for those with content they hope to commercialize, it’s a bummer. It’s also a risk as someone could easily edit my work, add something offensive and submit it as me.

To be honest, I’m flattered that someone would go to the trouble. Yet if someone starts making money on my content I’m going to have to create a fake URL of an attorney’s website and send out really good BS letters from him. I think I’ll use the name Mike Huntz.

copy.jpg

AOL, Blogs on Video, Diet Coke, google video, Killer Video, Mentos, Online Video, popular videos, Video Sites, Viral Video, Web 2.0, YouTube

The Mad Search for the Most Popular Videos

2 Comments

I’ve noticed that my most popular posts are not my deepest thoughts about the future of online video, or about how amateurs can make money. Nope, if I want blogger popularity I simply write about what video is hot that week.

popular.jpgIndulge me, dear readers, in an experiment. In this post I will write about the hotest videos. I’ll report back how many views this post gets. Did you know that Emmalina is the most popular YouTube uploader? BritBot& Simula Special gets more comments than most. The Diet Coke and Mentos fad, unfortunately, is not over. Today I’ll get at least 4 e-mails asking me if I’ve seen the Comcast guy sleeping. Don’t ask me why, but computer animation with musical scores are all the rage. Check out Naruto AMV- Hinata’s Perfect World. It’s one of the top rated videos on YouTube.

Today thanks to Google sponsors you can watch Felix the Cat for free (which is nice, because I’ve been wanting to watch him for a while, but didn’t want the guilt of searching for an illegal posting of him… that was sarcasm on both fronts). Paris Hilton is the number one video on Google Video. That name still gets searches, doesn’t it? Or is she yesterday?

Learning how to fold a perfect shirt seems to be hot on MetaCafe. And here’s one of the shortest most viral clips: Hiding the beer gut. And Dancing Around the World is one video that deserves the viral status it’s getting. Most people will stop watching this video of an Asian woman performing what appears to be an illicit act but is actually an ad.

Okay- I’m fried. It ‘aint easy finding the good stuff.

google video, Killer Video, Online Video, Search, Video Business, Video Sites, Web 2.0, YouTube

Who Will Help Me Find Good Videos?

3 Comments

Since most online video sites are now swelling beyond their capacity, I’d say there’s an interim (and maybe permanent) market for editors that are willing to sift the good from the garbage. It’s not easy, but it adds value. And anyone can do it. Even a 15-year-old kid from New Jersey.

binocular.jpgAs the big video sites are battling for content, eyeballs and advertisers, it will be interesting to watch people that find a niche and identify good content regardless of what site features it. Let’s call it “video host agnostic.” Bloggers like to create new terms and hope something sticks.

Eventually the sites will do a better job of helping ensure the good content rises to the top, but it remains an imperfect science. Take YouTube- the most popular video site. Are YouTube’s “most viewed” videos a representation of what our culture values? I’d like to think not. It goes like this… a small group help fling a video into slight popularity, and then it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. The more that watch, the more that want to watch. In theory bad stuff will drop out of this upward spiral but that’s not always the case. And “bad stuff” to me might be an “LOL” to you.

The way to master the art of video organization (by interest area or category) is via social networking. People vote for videos, and as my vote matches the taste of others it becomes more powerful. Some day, for example, I’ll find a few other nuts with  similar sense of humor to me and we’ll all help each other find the best videos. Sounds futuristic, doesn’t it? But I met with Adriana Lukas yesterday. She makes me think this weird stuff is possible.

book, Killer Video, Online Video, Video Advertising, Video Business, Video Sites, Web 2.0, YouTube

Fun Stats on Online Video… Watch Out YouTube!

2 Comments

Mary Hoddler (Napsterization) collected some interesting stats during Friday's SuperNova event. Check them out here.  

Courtesy of Heather Green from Business Week Online.

What she forgot to mention was that Chapter11TV just received 2nd round funding of $6.5 million from venture-capital firm Sequoia Capital (the firm behind YouTube.com). Watch out YouTube!

Blogs on Video, Online Video, Uncategorized, Video Business, Video Sites, Viral Video, Web 2.0, YouTube

Will the “Video Revolution” Be As Muted as the “Audio Revolution”?

My friend Jack wrote this rant about online videos, and he said I could steal it. Click "more" below for the entire piece. Here are some highlights.audio.jpg

  • The revolution will be televised; but its just seems we needed to wait untill the television is really a large flat-panel LCD monitor with a PC hooked into the Internet.

  • The Consumer Generated Content Internet “Video Revolution” needs four things to hit tipping point: 1. eyeballs, 2. adoption, 3. famous and/or popular mavericks, and; 4. easy-to-use payment systems supporting artists.

  • Want to predict the future of the Video Revolution? Look at the Audio Revolution. Common independent music artists are still eating Ramen Noodles just like the 80’s and 90’s. Thanks to software like Garage Band, we have lots of tools to make the stuff…. However, no one really showed up with a system that paid artists directly and easily.

  • Really the Audio Revolution focused on pirated music of famous artists, not original content. More than six years past the commercial birth of the Internet we tune in to FOX and American Idol (on TV) to find our new music stars and not the Internet…all on a show made famous by a maverick record label guy from the UK who stole the idea for the show in the first place. We use our phones to vote; we can’t even e-mail it in.

  • This Audio Revolution was followed quickly followed by the Lawsuit Era.

  • Why did the Audio Revolution fail? No model to pay content providers. What if a presidential candidate put his/her videos exclusively on Revver (which pays content creators), with ad clicks going to the campaign bucket? “Sorry CNN.com, put the video town hall on your homepage via Revver or nothing at all for you.”

Continue reading Will the “Video Revolution” Be As Muted as the “Audio Revolution”? →

Online Video, Uncategorized, Video Business, Video Sites, Viral Video, YouTube

Seriously, Boss. I Was Surfing Those Sites to Write This Story

pervert.jpgThis quote from a Cnet article on the topic of smut and online video:

A weeklong review of some of the top user-generated video sites by CNET News.com unearthed scenes of beheadings, masturbation, bloody car accidents, bondage and sadomasochism. It's important to note that no child pornography was discovered.

Meanwhile, imagine if YouTube needed to monitor all posts. They'd have to hire hiring people to eyeball each frame of the more than 50,000 videos that get posted daily. Although most flicks are under 2-3 minutes, YouTube allows videos to last up to 10 minutes. So YouTube would be monitoring up to 2,500 hours worth of video a day.

book, Diet Coke, Killer Video, Mentos, Online Video, Revver, Uncategorized, Video Advertising, Video Business, Viral Video, Web 2.0, YouTube

Get Rick Quick? Amazing Case Study on Viral Video Impact (Diet Coke and Mentos)

8 Comments

1150173200mentos.jpgWho would have thought that a few hundred dollars worth of Diet Coke and Mentos could turn into $30,000? According to this Wall Street Journal article, viral videos — which featuring explosive shots of Mentos mixed with Diet Coke — http://www.eepybird.com/ have generated several million of views. This is not uncommon for YouTube, but it's a record for Revver.com, a video-serving company that splits ad revenue 50/50 with its creators.

The result?

  • In the first weeks, the creators made $15,000 of ad revenue from their videos, which included an elaborate display of 101 two-liter bottles of Diet Coke and 523 Mentos to create what WSJ called a "dancing fountain like the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas." (Click here for video). Revver made $15,000 as well, and this data is already weeks old. EepyBird is not posting its videos on YouTube or other sites, and has requested visitors not to either.mentos.jpg
  • Mentos is made by a unit of Italian confectioner Perfetti Van Melle. "We are tickled pink by it," says Pete Healy, vice president of marketing for the company's U.S. division. The company spends less than $20 million on U.S. advertising annually. He estimates the value of online buzz to be "over $10 million." He's talking about EepyBird, as well as the hundreds of other videos posted elsewhere.coke1.jpg
  • Mentos is considering a promotional campaign with the two creators of the viral videos. Diet Coke, however, is less interested. spokeswoman Susan McDermott. "We would hope people want to drink [Diet Coke] more than try experiments with it." McDermott says that the "craziness with Mentos … doesn't fit with the brand personality" of Diet Coke. (kinda reminds you of when the M&M guy passed on having his candy associated with an alien, and then Resees Pieces ate M&M's lunch by appearing on E.T.).  Would Sergio have argued about brand personality? Would Sergio Zyman have turned that down?
  • EepyBird's creators are Fritz Grobe, a 37-year-old professional juggler, and Stephen Voltz, 48-year-old lawyer, from Buckfield, Me. They belong to a local theater company (Oddfellow theater) and have had calls from several late-night talk shows, including CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman."

Typically it's hard to make a mint on Revver (which has limited traffic), but impossible to make money on YouTube (which doesn't share ad revenue with content creators). So how do I move from my GoogleHead, Crackberry and Burger King Outsources videos (which are somewhat popular but nothing like Eeepy) into something with wicked viral appeal?

I wonder if I lit my fart on fire with a Bic if I could get the lighter-maker to do a promotion with me. Ya think?