At a break between panels at SXSW, Austincast’s Paul Terry Walrus interviewed Blogger Reps CEO, Marjorie Kase. Fun and informative!
Archive for the 'Video' Category
Facebook, in conjunction with Comcast’s Ziddio, has had a new project in the works since February: Facebook Diaries, a weekly series of episodes made up of user-generated content edited professionally. According to New TeeVee, the series will finally launch tonight around 9 p.m.
Judging from previews hosted on Ziddio and Comcast’s VOD platform, the video diaries will largely feature content befitting a college-centered social networking site - heartbreak, drama, and personal stories about users’ adventure creatively edited together. At present, the series is set to stretch eight episodes long, with the pilot, “Who Am I,” already waiting here.
Considering Facebook’s success and the success of social networking in general, it seems likely that these Facebook Diaries, the newest in the tradition of partially candid series (think lonelygirl15), has a good chance of attracting steady viewers. It may even have a chance of ending up on cable TV, which would be just one more feather in the cap of user-gen content’s online success. In the end, is there anything we like better than our own work?
(Source: New TeeVee)
As of July 30th, Netflix has joined the social networking craze. Tech Crunch reported yesterday that the video rental portal has added a new community aspect to its Web site, replacing its former “Friends” page with an entire section dedicated to user interaction.
Most of the community features added seem fairly standard for a site centered around movie downloads. Users can now view peer reviews in real time, see love/hate movie lists on their friends’ pages, get suggestions for movie rentals based on their previous title choices, and find formerly unknown users on Netflix who have similar taste in movies to their own.
There are also a few more unusual features, such as a “Friends’ Quiz” designed to test your knowledge of other users’ taste in movies and a list that shows your friends’ recent Netflix activities (renting, returning, etc.).
Adding a social networking aspect to Netflix isn’t likely to hurt the site at all, though the popularity of some of the features is questionable. Is there really a lot of interest in knowing when friends are returning their rented flicks? It remains to be seen whether social networking will increase Netflix’s traffic and user interaction, or whether there’s little call for community features on a primarily rental site.
(Source: Tech Crunch)
Content consumption now accounts for half of users’ Internet time
The Online Publishers Association today released a study stating that consuming content (reading news, watching video, social networking, etc.) now accounts for 50% of the time users spend on the Internet. This would mean that the time spent consuming content online has increased 37% over the last four years.
Pam Horan, president of the OPA, cited “the online transition of traditionally offline activities, such as getting news, finding entertainment information or checking the weather” as part of the reason for the increase in consumption. The popularity of social networking and video streaming sites may also be affecting this change in time demographics.
Considering how many networks have invested in online video recently, along with the outpouring of social networking, the idea that half of users’ time online is spent consuming content doesn’t seem so far off the mark. For the next generation, online media may even replace books, TV, and newspapers as the norm. Scary thought?
(Source: Online Video Watch)
Now that so many videos and other types of media are available online for viewers to find whenever they want, the companies that produce those media are having to approach their content in a non-traditional way. One of the changes the Online Video Watch blog has observed is fewer current event references in Web broadcasts than their television-based brethren.
With a traditional TV broadcast, the time viewers will see it is controlled, so producers can reference recent events without worrying about their viewers getting lost. Popularity on the Web tends to be inconstant for any particular video, and often comes in spurts separated by a time lapse, meaning producers can’t count on which events will be hovering in the forefront of their viewers’ minds.
Different networks have approached the problem of drawing viewers to them (as with a nightly TV broadcast) in different ways. CBS has made an effort to spread their content as far across the Web as possible, in the belief that wide availability will help catch a viewer with so many choices on his plate. Contrarily, NBC/NewsCorp has focused on producing professional-grade content that viewers must seek out only at select, protected portal sites to force viewers to come to them.
So far, neither strategy has proved superior to the other, but in the constantly changing sphere of Web video (and the access to information it gives online users), attracting a dedicated audience will likely prove as important as the nightly “appointment” of a traditional TV broadcast.
(Source: Online Video Watch)
Didja.com to feature “entertaining advertising”
NBC Universal has announced its intention to launch a new video portal site, Didja.com, in early 2008. This site won’t feature the same streams and webisodes that can be found on other NBCU-sponsored sites, though - Didja.com is going to be dedicated specifically to entertaining TV spots, with product offers and brand pages available as well.
The purpose of Didja.com, and similar sites like Droga5? To bouy the more traditional TV advertising that TiVo, web streams, and file sharing have crippled. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a little fun, either, and TV spots are often rated highly on sites like YouTube, giving NBCU reason to think that a video site dedicated solely to ads could still get quite a few visitors.
Chris McCumber, the senior vice president of marketing and brand strategy at USA Network (part of NBCU), had this to say about Didja.com’s viewing appeal:
“Advertising should be treated as entertainment. We know people love commercials. You see that around the Super Bowl and Academy Awards. Why not create a destination where it’s celebrated?”
According to NBCU predictions, Didja.com will expand to include things like movie trailers and promotions for TV shows themselves, with higher paying advertisers (and NBCU properties) earning better placement and visibility on the site.
Visitors will also be able to comment on the commercials and use a “mash-up toolkit” to remix them right on the site, which may give Didja.com a little of the user-gen flavor so many Web sites are adopting.
(Source: Media Week)
Major media networks have been focusing on their online audiences more and more over the last few months, and quite a few of them have taken steps toward flooding the Web with their programming. In case you need a refresher on all of the recent initiatives, here’s a sketch (courtesy of the Mefeedia blog) of what the networks have been up to.
NBC and Fox are teaming up to create a new rival site to MySpace, featuring content exclusive to both networks; Fox is also on board with MySpace’s “Storyteller Challenge,” where user-generated pilots could turn into big-time TV programming. CBS has both acquired Wallstrip, a business video blog, and started an “Interactive Audience Network” to spread their content all over the Internet.
Sony’s video sharing site Crackle (formerly Grouper) has morphed into an original content site with quarterly contests that pitch users’ ideas to Sony executives. And between Sony and MySpace’s 6-minute “minisodes” and NBC’s “webisodes,” there’s plenty of video out there for an eager fan to find.
The distance between a TV show and one featured on the Web is quickly growing smaller, and the day may come when there’s no difference between how a network approaches each of them. If this recent trend toward online availability is a solid indication, that day may not even be all that far off.
(Source: Mefeedia)
ABC has started streaming full-length episodes of its shows on the network homepage - in high-def. Ratings toppers such as Lost, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, and more are now available for viewing on ABC.com at the same quality that you’d get with an HD TV, provided your computer screen is formatted to display HD video (minimum requirements 1024 x 768 resolution).
In order to view the episodes, you need a broadband connection, as well as a media player from Move Networks. This player prevents you from skipping advertisements during the episode, which is probably why it’s a requirement to watch the shows.
So far, user feedback indicates that the system has a few bugs to work out - one user commented that the video skipped as they watched it, while another couldn’t see anything but the ads. Full-length episodes are also, for now, available only in the U.S. Still, the idea of HD streaming right to your computer is definitely worth pursuing, and it remains to be seen how ABC will improve on the beta.
(Source: The Next Net)
Give ABC’s HD streaming a try here - just don’t forget Move Network’s media player.
Stars use the Web to make direct connections with viewers
Publicity has always been an important step on the road to success for a movie – a step that has gotten easier with the recent explosion of Internet culture. Now, stars and directors alike are getting directly involved with the promotion of their films, using the Web and online communication to stir up interest, set rumors straight, and relate their personal experiences to millions of fans across the Net.
Celebrity involvement ranges from Bruce Willis’s defense of “Live Free or Die Hard” in an Ain’t It Cool News chat room to Leonardo DiCarprio posting the trailer to “The 11th Hour” on his personal MySpace page, which earned so many views that the page’s counter began to run backward.
Among those making publicity efforts, Michael Moore’s “Sicko” may be the most extensive. Notices of media appearances, requests for personal stories, and YouTube posting are just a few of the ways Moore has capitalized on viewer involvement, ending with 5 million page views for MichaelMoore.com in the last month.
Direct contact with the fans can also help celebrities get a realistic impression of how their film is being received, if they’re willing to hear impressions from both sides of the audience. “Clerks” director Kevin Smith had this to say about balancing fan opinions:
“You have to keep in perspective that you can’t believe the enthusiastic positive stuff or the shitty horrible soul-crushing stuff. The truth is between the two.”
(Source: Variety)
“A Dog’s Breakfast” Will Premiere Out of Theaters
This coming Tuesday, MGM will debut its new movie, “A Dog’s Breakfast,” online via iTunes and Amazon’s Unbox, riding the wave of digital video that’s been sweeping the entertainment scene. The film, which centers on a comedic sibling rivalry, is gaining momentum through a YouTube trailer and its promotional Web site, ADogsBreakfastMovie.com.
The decision to premiere “A Dog’s Breakfast” online had a lot to do with its director, David Hewlett, who stars in MGM’s “Stargate Atlantis.” Since “Stargate” has such a powerful online following, appealing to the digital fan base seemed like an instinctive move, according to Charles Cohen, the MGM senior executive vice president. Cohen said:
“David Hewlett’s film has generated a tremendous amount of interest among the ‘Stargate’ fan online community, and we are thrilled to give them what they want with this initiative.”
If all goes according to plan, “A Dog’s Breakfast” will be available on DVD on Septemper 18th.
(Source: Hollywood Reporter)
