December 26, 2008
louisgray.com: Quantcast Shows Which Services Rely Most on Their "Addicts"
If you're like me, you have a list of sites you visit just about every day, without fail, and some may even be visited multiple times a day. Whether you're a frequent visitor of Google News, CNN.com, Facebook or Twitter, site and service owners know they can count on some consistent traffic from their regular visitors, in addition to natural traffic from external links or search engines. Web traffic measurement company Quantcast tracks much of this data, and has even gone so far as to categorize the most frequent visitors to some sites as "addicts", defined as those who visit a site more than 30 times in a single month - the "hardcore segment of a site's audience". As it turns out, some popular Web services rely on these so-called "addicts" for more than a third of their total traffic, and at major social networks, that number is as high as two-thirds of all visits.
Glassdoor.com Lists Naughtiest and Nicest C.E.O.’s of 2008 - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com
By Claire Cain Miller Glassdoor.com, a site that lets employees anonymously review their employers and share salary information, is out with a list of the naughtiest and nicest chief executives of 2008, based on those reviews
Wii to Get Video on Demand…Sorta « NewTeeVee
Nintendo to offer videos on Wii › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion
Nintendo: Nintendo Wii to Have Video On Demand
Why is ReadWriteWeb's traffic going down and Mashable's going up according to Compete? Discuss here: - FriendFeed
Voicetag Brings Voicemail To Facebook
For those of you who don’t think voicemail is counterproductive, there is a new app on Facebook called Voicetag that lets you send voicemail messages to individuals or groups. This is not the first such app on Facebook (see Voicemail or TringMe), but it works with regular phones and incorporates SMS messages.
Snackfeed, a video recommendation site that tries to aggregate the web’s hottest videos, has made impressive progress since its launch last fall. We were first introduced to the site at the DreamIt Ventures
(a startup incubator similar to Y Combinator and TechStars) first funding day, and it held its private launch three weeks later. Since then the site has seen impressive growth, with a reported 150,000 unique visitors in November. Snackfeed is currently in private “b’alpha” but TechCrunch readers can grab one of 1000 invites by visiting this site and entering the code “snacktastic”.VatorNews - Interview with Power.com CEO Steve Vachany
December 25, 2008
Nintendo Adding Video To Wii: No Threat Yet To Apple, Cable, Netflix
Some of the companies best positioned to connect your living room to the Internet are those that already have a box hooked up to your TV -- like the gaming industry. So it's no surprise that Nintendo (NTDOY) is teaming up with Japan's largest ad agency to add video to its Wii videogame consoles.
This makes sense: The Wii is already wildly popular, and its main rivals both offer video -- Microsoft (MSFT) via its own digital distribution platform and Netflix (NFLX) movie streaming, and Sony (SNE) via its own digital distribution platform and Blu-ray movies.
Sony Vaio Pocket leaked — hope you have cargo pants » VentureBeat
Guest Column: Tips for Your Web Series Pitch « NewTeeVee
Everyone has a story they’d like to tell. As COO for digital media entertainment company Safran Digital, one of the best parts of my job is being pitched those stories, in the form of new web show ideas. The first step in getting your project off the ground is a successful pitch, so if you’re an artist looking to tell stories online and you need financing, here are a few suggestions on how to best construct — and deliver — one.
2008: The Year in Wisecracks | John Paczkowski | Digital Daily | AllThingsD
Vid-Biz: SlingPlayer, FCC, Web Series « NewTeeVee
Qik | Support for 20+ NEW phones so you don't miss any holiday moments! by bhaskar
By Miguel Helft
Most retailers, online and offline, appear to be feeling the pain from the rotten economy. But, of course, even in bad times, some businesses manage to do well. Take Raymond Galeotti, the owner and president of Evesaddiction.com, a five-year-old online seller of sterling silver jewelry. Mr. Galeotti said his business, whose annual sales are approximately $10 million, is up about 25 percent this holiday season.The secret to his success: more aggressive online advertising, especially on Google.
BlogTV CEO Leaves Company « NewTeeVee
Just two weeks after we profiled his live video startup, BlogTV CEO Guy Eliav has left for greener pastures. Eliav, who had worked for more than nine years at BlogTV parent company the Tapuz Group, took a new gig as CEO of Israeli TV web portal nana10.
Five Festivus Grievances for Online Video « NewTeeVee
OMG, We're Not BFFs Anymore? Getting 'Unfriended' Online Stings - WSJ.com
Is Time Warner Having Second Thoughts About Bebo?
Most would agree that Time Warner overpaid when it bought social network Bebo back in March. Given the challenges faced by the company’s online businesses since then, among them declining ad sales and the difficulty of monetizing social networks, the $850 million price tag for Bebo has come to look even more expensive. And now it appears that Time Warner is having second thoughts. CEO Jeff Bewkes told The Wall Street Journal that:
“I don’t want to rule [acquisitions] out, but they have been the cause of most of the value destruction in media companies, and that certainly has been the cause for a lot of value destruction at our company.”
Conversational Media Marketing: Social media marketing predictions for 2009
If you've yet to read Joe Pulizzi's 42+ Social Media and Content Marketing Predictions for 2009 you should because it contains some eye-opening predictions from leading marketing professionals. While, as you might expect, there is a wide range and divergence of opinion, some themes emerge.
- Advertising will gradually be replaced by information.
- Content and conversational marketing strategies will converge.
- Social media marketing will continue to gain acceptance
Disqus Blog » Facebook Connect now available on Disqus
Beet.TV: Predictions for 2009 from Ad Age's Michael Learmonth: Most Media Companies Will Do Deals with YouTube
Most media companies will do deals with YouTube in 2009, ending what has been a confrontational relationship for many, expects Michael Learmonth, staff reporter at Advertising Age and veteran reporter of digital media having worked for the Industry Standard, Reuters and Variety. Michael recently blogged for the Silicon Alley Insider.
Michael thinks that the ownership of exclusive, unique content is key to monetization, not aggregation or syndication schemes. We agree.
I sat down with Michael at the Mogulus studio in downtown Manhattan where we taped several segments last month. This is good overview of the business. Check it out.
Read out Michael's story about Hulu published yesterday.
-- Andy Plesser, Executive Producer
Commentary: Long tail isn't wagging Hulu just yet
t wasn't supposed to be this way. When NBC Universal and News Corp. announced in 2007 that they were getting in business together to launch an online home for their TV and movie offerings, it became a laughingstock. Two media companies collaborating successfully? And online no less?
Well, look who's laughing now. Hulu has emerged as an unexpected triumph, home to thousands of top-shelf episodes and movies from more than 100 premium content partners. Although the proud parents of Hulu initially downplayed notions that the venture would be a "YouTube killer," there are already estimates indicating that Hulu is pulling in just as much ad revenue with a fraction of the video tonnage. But in what might be an act of contrition on the part of the blogosphere that so clearly underestimated Hulu, there is now a countervailing hype enveloping the site.
The Associated Press named Hulu its Web site of the year. Mark Cuban declared "Hulu Kicks YouTube's Ass." Influential blog TechCrunch issued a mea culpa. And if that guy Barack Obama hadn't arrived on the scene, surely Hulu CEO Jason Kilar would be Time's Person of the Year, right?
Could this Christmas really be the swansong of the CD? Analyst Gartner certainly hopes so, having issued a challenge to the music industry to move to a ‘digital first’ strategy by the end of next year, in order to stop being held back by its reliance on CD revenues. Or, as Gartner’s research VP Mike McGuire puts it:
“By propping up the CD business, rather than fully investing in online distribution alternatives, the major labels and the larger music industry have neither succeeded in stamping out piracy nor done much to recreate the business models of the old ‘record business,’. Music labels should instead emphasize ‘digital first,’ making all new releases and catalog issues via digital services and moving CDs to an on-demand publishing mode.”Gartner backs up its claim by saying that physical music revenues went from 91% of overall sales in 2005 to 77% in 2007, while pointing out that by 2012, 77% of US households are expected to have broadband internet. The analyst appears to be suggesting that the remaining 23% will either get their CD’s burned on-demand, or will buy their music through Wi-Fi laptops and 3G mobile phones.
Gartner - Christmas 2008: The Last Year of the Retail CD
TheFutonCritic.com - The Web's Best Television Resource
NewTeeVee’s Top Posts of 2008 « NewTeeVee
12seconds.tv Interview | TheAppleBlog
is a boot-strapped startup that has been a labor of love for the three founders, Sol Lipman, Jacob Knobel, and David Beach. A host of other characters have helped along the way, influenced by promises of burritos, but the small group hasn’t taken any outside money. The project was conceived in January, launched in July, and now has an iPhone app ready just in time for the holidays. They got some attention from a write-up on TechCrunch in July and have built a loyal and passionate community of over 10,000 users.
BBC Rolls Out AIR iPlayer, Ditches Kontiki P2P, Proposes Tiered Broadband Services « NewTeeVee
The BBC has just rolled out a new desktop version of its popular iPlayer service based on Adobe’s AIR platform. The new client is available for UK residents as part of the BBC iPlayer Labs beta test, and it will be released to the public some time next year. BBC’s iPlayer client previously only offered downloadable content for Windows PCs. The new client will also be available for Mac and Linux users.
Animoto On The iPhone: Trust Me, You Want It
Video Plugin For Wordpress - All in One Video Plugin for Wordpress
Streamingmedia.com: NewTek TriCaster Selected by SportsLink to Produce and Live Stream Coverage of U.S. Army All-American Bowl Week Events - Students to produce and live stream first Football University Youth All-American Bowl showcasing nation’s top seventh and eighth-graders
Download YouTube Videos and Convert for Your iPod and iPhone - Wired How-To Wiki
Want to quickly download YouTube videos and/or convert YouTube videos in order to watch them on the device of your choice? With Movavi Flash Converter (YouTube downloader and YouTube converter) and this tutorial, you can download YouTube videos and convert them into any video format in just a few clicks.
Things you need:- Computer with stable internet connection
- Tool: Movavi Flash Converter
Lessig: It's Time to Demolish the FCC | Newsweek Technology | Newsweek.com
We'll stifle the Skypes and YouTubes of the future if we don't demolish the regulators that oversee our digital pipelines.
December 22, 2008
Recapping 5 Broadband Video Predictions for 2009
posted by: Will Richmond
For those who weren't up for reading 700-1,000 words each day last week, today I offer a quick recap my 5 broadband video projections for 2009.
3. Net Neutrality Remains Dormant
4. Ad-Supported Premium Video Aggregators Shakeout
5. Microsoft Will Acquire Netflix
Top TV Stories of 2008: Fey does Palin - VIDEOS - TV Squad
Forbes Knows How to Make Money Online - Digital Media Studio Blog - For Your Imagination - develops and markets high-quality original web video
"Even in this tough economy, if you can wrap a compelling video around useful, practical information that appeals to a specific audience, large sponsors will pay good money for it," writes Maureen Farrell from Forbes.com in her articles, "How To Make Money Online". With low barriers to entry and costs, online video is an appealing venue for producers, writers, talent and brands. For Your Imagination targeted online video has served as a model for sponsored and branded entertainment monetized through brand relationships. Thanks Maureen!
Viewser Awards Anoint Top Web Video Sites
The online video site OVGuide.com recently crowned several winners in its second annual Viewser Choice Awards for online video sites.
Top honors went to anime site Naruto Wire, which won the popular vote (we all know how important that one is!). Anime has long been one of the most popular video categories on the Internet and is typically one of the top-visited genres in OVGuide.com's database, OVGuide said. OVGuide also selected winners in various categories with input from a range of judges, including yours truly. Here are some of them.
- Education: WonderHowTo
- Food / Wine: Bitchin' Kitchen
- Music / Entertainment: PluggedIn
- News / Business: CNN Video
- Political: Politico
- Radio: Pandora
- Science / Technology: National Geographic
- Sports: ESPN
- Trailers: Yahoo! Movies
- Travel: Raw Vegas
- Video blogs: Justin.tv
PixelFish Picks Up EyeSpot to Develop Platform For Video Advertising
PixelFish, a leading provider of affordable and effective video advertising solutions, has acquired Eyespot Corporation for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition enables PixelFish to accelerate the development of its market leading video advertising platform by augmenting its custom video ad creation and optimization technology with Eyespot’s advanced video publishing, online video production, transcoding and advertising-related applications.
A few weeks back, we posted news about the fact that Youtube was testing HD (high-definition) video playback. Shortly after that, Youtube officially launched HD video playback on their site. When it was first launched, videos in HD would play within the new widescreen 16:9 default player on Youtube. Now, when you choose the HD playback, the layout of the page is modified to display a much larger video player that expands the width of the page. The new video size is a huge 855*480 pixels (actual resolution is 1280×720) and the player is 855*505 pixels. Apparently this change was made back on December 5, but some users are just now seeing the update.
So, How do you Upload Video in HD to Youtube?
For the highest quality, YouTube now recommends the following setting for your video:
- MPEG4 (DivX, Xvid, H.264) format
- 1280×720 resolution
- 128k Mono or 320k Stereo MP3/AAC audio
- 24,25 or 30 frames per second
- Up to 1GB file size and 10 min. duration
Bambuser Gets A Facelift, Rejoins The Mobile Video Streaming War
Pocket Video Cameras - Buying Guide
The year 2008 saw the emergence of some great pocket video cameras that are no larger than your mobile phone, inexpensive, they shoot good-looking video and are almost as easy to operate as an iPod - no confusing controls, just a single record button. These pocket camcorder attach to the computer via the USB port and record video in a straight-to-web format perfect for YouTube and other video sharing websites. If you looking to buy one this holiday season, you have three pocket video cameras to choose from - Flip Video Camcorder, Creative Vado and Kodak Zi6. US Consumers Prefer Streaming Video Content vs. Downloading - Reports a New Study
A new research released by Ipsos MediaCT’s MOTION study found that more than 1 in 6 (57%) of US internet users have streamed online video within the past 30 days versus only 22% that have downloaded a video in the same timeframe. Additionally, YOY, streaming has shown an increase of 50% while downloading has increased less than 20%.
Streamy Awards: Nominations Now Open! « NewTeeVee
Add Video To Drupal - Open Source Video Module for Drupal - New from Kaltura
Kaltura, an open-source video publishing platform, just launched an open source video module for Drupal, a leading open source Content Management Platform used by more than a million sites. This new module, dubbed, “Kaltura’s All in One” enables Drupal site-builders to easily add video and rich-media functionality to their Drupal sites. The module is comes with 10GB of free hosting and streaming that can be later upgraded. It was designed specifically for Drupal and seamlessly integrates with several key Drupal features and modules, including CCK, Views, cron, tags and taxonomy, and user permissions. The module is currently compatible with Drupal 6 (a Drupal 5 compatible version will be available soon).
MediaPost Publications - Video Expected To 'Buck The Downward Trend' - 12/22/2008Even as traditional publishers put the squeeze on digital units, efforts to expand online video are pushing ahead. After initial forays in the last few years, magazine and newspaper sites are upgrading video operations with an eye toward reaping the premium rates that video ads command.
Publishers such as Forbes, Conde Nast, The New York Times and The Street.com relaunched their video platforms this fall with plans for further growth in 2009. Whether those ambitions will be realized is in question as all forms of media and advertising face cutbacks in a deteriorating economy.
Hulu November Viewers Down, but Total Viewing up - Advertising Age - Digital
Online Video Up, Everything Else Down | Online Video Watch
Despite dire warnings, layoffs, and general crappy market conditions, online video is expected to buck the downward trend, according to Mark Walsh over at Mediapost. Richard Glosser from CondeNet said it best: “We certainly expect monetization is going to ramp up as our video footprint grows and it becomes more and more important to us.”
Online Viewers Just as Likely to Watch on TV Set, Study Says - TVWeek - News
eople who watch movies and television shows online and on alternative devices are just as likely to also watch programming on the television set. That’s the finding from a study conducted this fall by premium cable network Starz and shared with TelevisionWeek.
The online survey of 5,500 individuals 12 and older found that about 18% of that group watched TV shows and movies online, on broadband-connected gaming consoles such as the Xbox, or on cell phones. Of this group, 77% also watch live television on the TV set itself, compared to 75% of the general population who do so.
HD Penetration Increasing, But HD Viewing Lags - TVWeek - News
Web Video Hurdle: Good Recommendations - TVWeek - News
Online video sites want to get to know you better. The Sony-owned Webvideo destination Crackle is developing tools to offer personalized video recommendations to site visitors based on their past viewing history. NBC-Fox venture Hulu introduced a similar feature earlier this month.They join video sites like Veoh and TheWB.com that offer varying degrees of viewing suggestions for visitors. Tailored tips have worked well for Amazon and Netflix.
Andrew Baron - Rocketboom and Lisa Nova Join Forces - It is my greatest pleasure to announce that Rocketboom is teaming up with Lisa Nova to produce additional content for the Rocketboom network. In addition to Rocketboom’s rock-solid anchor, Joanne Colan, Rocketboom will expand from five episodes per week, to seven episodes per week with the addition of Lisa Nova hailing from a new west coast Rocketboom news desk.
Lisa Nova will of course continue to post on her Youtube LisaNova Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/LisaNova in parallel with creating and hosting two news days per week of Rocketboom.
Tilzy.TV » Blog Archive » Lisa Nova Staffs Rocketboom’s West Coast Desk
Video: Peeking Into the Future - TVWeek - NewsBeet.TV: Kaltura Releases Open Source Video Module for Drupal.....Big Think To Use Kaltura in Redesign
We expect that Kaltura's open source video solution will find increased adoption in 2009. We have learned that Big Think, a video site of thought leaders, will implement Kaltura's open source video player, allowing users to edit and mix videos. This will happen in January. Today, Kaltura announced the release of its first version for Drupal, the open source content management system used by many sites.
Earlier this year at the TechCrunch 50 conference in San Francisco, Kelsey interviewed Ron Yekutiel, Kaltura Chairman and CEO. We are publishing this interview for the first time today. Here's the take on today's news by Erick Schonfeld at TechCrunch. Kaltura could be big -- keep an eye on this one.
Beet.TV: Adobe's Flash Dominates the Online Video Ecosystem with Big Wins in Q4Adobe's Flash platform continues to expand its domination of the world of online video distribution. Industry researchers say that Flash is on 99 percent of Internet connected desktops in "mature markets."
Since September, some major video publishers moved to Flash including MLB.com, MySpace Music, DirecTV and Sunday Night Football/NBC Sports. At the Beet.TV Online Video Roundtable at MSNBC in October, Flash was a topic of conversation. This segment is lead off with a question from TechCrunch's Erick Schonfeld on the value of Flash versus Microsoft's Silverlight. Discussing the topic are Fred McIntyre of AOL and Mark Larkin of CBS Interactive.
-- Andy Plesser, Executive Producer
Rounding out 2008 on OMC, and looking at what’s next for ‘09 ¦ Online Media Cultist
It’s been a great year overall here on the OMC. Though there were a few lengthy periods where I was not able to post a lot due to work commitments and other projects, I really feel that I’m hitting the end of the year strong. I’m also thinking a lot about the future of this site. Here are some scattered things that have been on my mind for a while. I’d really appreciate your thoughts on any or all of them.
Business year in review: A-Z of 2008 | Business | guardian.co.uk
Credit crunch became common parlance, the banking system was brought to the brink, and what began as an American property crisis gradually enveloped the world. We cast a backward glance at 2008 A Guide to
The Contextual Web - ReadWriteWeb
It's the end of 2008 and everyone on the Web is hurting due to the economy. But we know that things will get better, because slow-downs eventually bury the old and give birth to new evolutionary ways of doing things. One of these evolutions started quietly in 2008. We are witnessing the rise of a new kind of web: contextual. You might not have heard or thought about it much yet, but you are already using it today. Search remains the killer app on the web, but context is quickly become a viable contender. Why? Because context is what happens instead of search.
Windows XP allowed to live again
VHS era is winding down - Los Angeles Times
Pop culture is finally hitting the eject button on the VHS tape, the once-ubiquitous home-video format that will finish this month as a creaky ghost of Christmas past.
Video link: http://www.latimes.com/video/?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=3264348
After three decades of steady if unspectacular service, the spinning wheels of the home-entertainment stalwart are slowing to a halt at retail outlets. On a crisp Friday morning in October, the final truckload of VHS tapes rolled out of a Palm Harbor, Fla., warehouse run by Ryan J. Kugler, the last major supplier of the tapes.
Real World Video Compression » So Long VHS
Ryan Kugler, left, president of Distribution Video Audio in Burbank, and his brother Brad, the CEO, have shipped their last truckload of VHS tapes. “Anything left in warehouse, we’ll just give away or throw away,” Ryan Kugler said.
Long Tail theory contradicted as study reveals 10m digital music tracks unsold - Times Online
The internet was supposed to bring vast choice for customers, access to obscure and forgotten products - and a fortune for sellers who focused on niche markets. But a study of digital music sales has posed the first big challenge to this “long tail” theory: more than 10 million of the 13 million tracks available on the internet failed to find a single buyer last year.
Analyst: Music labels must get over their CD fixation | Media | guardian.co.uk
Will 2008 be the last big Christmas for CDs? Analysts Gartner think so, saying the music industry must away from its dependence on revenues from CDs and invest in online distribution networks.
"Music labels should instead emphasise 'digital first,' making all new releases and catalogue issues via digital services and moving CDs to an on-demand publishing mode," said Mike McGuire, research vice president at Gartner.
Music Labels In Talks To Create Hulu-For-Music (GOOG)
Warner Music Group -- now banned from YouTube following failed licensing negotiations -- isn't the only major record label tired of doing business with Google's video-sharing site. A source familiar with the negotiations tells us that Warner and the three other majors -- Sony BMG, EMI, and Universal Music Group -- all think they could do better creating their own music video Web destinations and are in early talks about forming a joint venture similar in concept to Hulu, the increasingly popular TV-on-the-Web joint venture from News Corp and NBC Unviersal
Is A Music Video Hulu On The Way? | YouTube About To Lose More Than Just Warners?
Will Ferrell site, Funny Or Die, raises $3 million | Entertainment | People | Reuters
Long Tail theory contradicted as study reveals 10m digital music tracks unsold - Times Online
Digital sales figures dent niche market theory
Roku Digital Video Player Now Streaming HD Content from Netflix - TVover.net
Roku has released support for streaming HD content. Through the use of advanced compression technology, Roku can deliver instant streaming of HD content over average consumer broadband connections – bringing HD to the mass market at an affordable price of just $99. Netflix is the first content provider to deliver HD content to the Roku player. Additional providers of HD content are expected in the first quarter of 2009. The new software will be automatically delivered to all Roku players free-of-charge over the course of the next few weeks.
Roku Adds HD Streaming, SD Upscaling, But Drives Netflix's Costs Up | The Business Of Online Video
As expected, this morning Roku announced that the Roku player is now capable of playing hundreds of HD quality movies from Netflix. While my Roku player got the software update over the weekend, Roku says all players will be updated over the next few weeks. In addition to the new 720p HD support, the new Roku software upgrade also allows for up scaling of SD titles to 720p and enables Roku's switch to the new VC-1 AP streams, which previously used to be VC1-MP. The switch to the new encoding gives similar or better quality for lower bit rates. Roku's HD quality videos are now encoded at 2.7Mbps and 3.8Mbps
I’m Sorry Robert, But It’s Time For A Friendfeed Intervention
Scobleizer — Tech geek blogger » Blog Archive Did I harm my blog by FriendFeeding this year? «
