Showing posts with label Content creation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Content creation. Show all posts

Friday, February 14, 2025

Happy birthday YouTube!

Today marks the 20-year anniversary of YouTube—a platform that has defined online video, reshaped digital culture, and empowered millions of creators worldwide. What began on February 14, 2005, as an online video dating site founded by ex-PayPal employees Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, has since transformed into the world’s largest video-sharing platform and the second-largest search engine after Google. Just a year after its launch, Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006—a move that cemented its dominance as the #1 video sharing site with over 5.1 billion videos. 

With its massive reach, YouTube has cultivated an entirely new industry of YouTube Creators, giving rise to web series, podcasts, music videos, personal vlogs, with over 360 hours of content uploaded to YouTube every minute. It has become a launchpad for influencers, musicians, educators, and entrepreneurs—turning everyday people into global sensations with 83 million people watching 1 billion hours of video content daily.

For a closer look at YouTube’s impact, SEO.AI’s content team has broken down key statistics in comprehensive detail, highlighting the biggest YouTube channels and most-watched videos of all time, and a lot more interesting YouTube statistics are here. The platform’s massive success has shaped the online video industry, making it the default destination for video creators and viewers alike. 

NPR’s Taylor Haney pointed out that YouTube’s role in viral moments, such as the iconic “Lazy Sunday” video, helped define the early days of viral content and brought online video into the mainstream and finally gave the power to independent online video publishers.

 

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan shares four big bets for YouTube in 2025 in this video from the YouTube Creator Liaison. As Mohan states, TV is the primary device for viewing YouTube in the U.S. surpassing mobile by watch time.

According to Mohan:

  1. YouTube will remain the epicenter of culture
  2. YouTubers are becoming the startups of Hollywood
  3. YouTube is the new television
  4. AI will make it easier to create and enhance the YouTube experience for everyone
 

Over the past two decades, YouTube has evolved from an online video dating site to global media giant for digital entertainment, reshaping the way we consume content and engage with creators worldwide. It all started on April 23, 2005, when co-founder Jawed Karim uploaded the first-ever video to the site, “Me at the Zoo”—a simple 19-second clip video that unknowingly ignited a revolution of user-generated content. This democratization of online video transformed YouTube into a global hub for content creators, offering anyone with an internet connection the chance to self-publish videos and reach millions without the need for expensive equipment, professional video skills, or traditional media networks.

As YouTube celebrates its 20-year anniversary, its influence continues to grow—shaping culture, empowering content creators, and revolutionizing how we experience video content. 

Happy 20th birthday, YouTube! 🎉

Friday, May 8, 2015

Animoto Survey Says: Consumers Want More Video Marketing on Web, Social and Email [Infographic]

According to a new survey released today by Animoto, the leading cloud-based online video creation service, consumers are hungry for video and four times as many of them would rather watch a product video than read about it. In fact, of the 1,051 U.S. consumers surveyed, 1 in 4 actually lose interest in a company if it doesn’t have product video. The company issued a press release and infographic detailing the findings of its 2015 Video Marketing Cheat Sheet.

eMarketer estimates that US video advertising will climb to $7.8 billion this year and social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter continue to attract and build content partnerships. Animoto CEO Brad Jefferson sees video as a huge opportunity for businesses to engage with consumers:
"The growth of online video marketing in recent years has been tremendous," said Jefferson. "Today, there are more than 7 billion videos watched every day on Facebook and YouTube. Historically, in order to create and distribute high-quality video to your customers it was cost-prohibitive for all but the largest brands. However, today's tools and platforms ensure that small and medium businesses can reach their audiences where they hang out online. This represents one of the biggest marketing opportunities for small businesses in a long time."
AnimotoSMBVideoInfographic
Three key themes emerged from the study, data presented below is directly from the press release:

1. Video Marketing Resonates With Consumers (Video drives brand lift)
  • 63 percent of consumers say companies that use video know how to reach their customers
  • One quarter of consumers lose interest in a company if it doesn't use video
  • 56 percent of consumers believe that if a company has a website, it should have video
2. Video Boosts Email Marketing and Social Media Engagement (Connect with consumers)
  • 84 percent of all consumers said that they have liked a company video that has appeared in their newsfeed
  • 43 percent of consumers are more likely to read email newsletters that include links to video
  • 56 percent of consumers have watched a company video that came through email
  • Nearly half of all consumers have shared a company video on their own social media profile
3. Video Boosts Email Marketing and Social Media Engagement (Tell your story)
  • 80 percent of consumers say a video showing how a product or service works is important when learning about the company
  • 56 percent of consumers says customer testimonials are helpful when purchasing a product/service
  • About half of customers say that 'about the company' videos are the most helpful when purchasing a product/service


About Animoto: Animoto makes it easy for businesses to create effective, professional videos within minutes with no video editing experience. Businesses use Animoto to enhance and promote their brands, drive website traffic, increase sales, and create dynamic email, social and online marketing campaigns.Founded in 2006, Animoto is based in New York City with an office in San Francisco.  For more information go to: http://animoto.com/business.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Why Every Brand Should Hire a Professional Video Producer - Bruce Alfred, Cobblestone Inc.

Video is well on its way to becoming the dominant medium for communication. In the past, text had been the main vehicle for communicating within the business, entertainment and news and information worlds, but that has changed dramatically in recent years with the rise of low cost video production tools and distribution platforms. The explosive growth of user-generated content on YouTube has spawned a new generation of amateur video producers which has, in turn, made it more acceptable for lower quality productions. It's true that anyone with the right tools and know-how can shoot and edit video. And, to some degree we are all able to craft an interesting or even compelling story. But what about the art and craft of producing a professional video production? Does knowing how to use a Flip camera make you a video professional?

Bruce Alfred, Principal of Cobblestone Inc., is asked over and over, how important is it to create high quality video? Can I just use my consumer HD camera to make something and put it up on my business website? As professional video producer and web video consultant, Alfred's answered that question many times and his answer is no, that's not the best idea.



Alfred says,
"When you're putting your own video on your site you want it to increase and raise your image. You don't want it to join the YouTube, user-generated, quickly shot and thrown up on the web type of video because there's so much of that. You want to rise above the noise. So, in short, make sure that you hire a video producer or a video production company that knows how to tell stories, that knows how to connect with any audience, that can learn your goals quickly and be able to interpret those goals into a message that calls people to the action that you need."
Certain content requires high production value and other content may not. It all depends on your audience. But for brands, you want to make sure you're above the fray and not just another low quality YouTube video. While there could be places on your site where you have user-generated video, when it's your creation you want it to reflect well on your brand.

With text, anyone can write, but that doesn't make you a great writer. Alfred says that a professional video producer is an expert that every brand should hire.
"Any good producer will really be a visual storyteller. They are going to know how to build your story and your story is how we as humans connect to others. What you want to do with your video is build some kind of loyalty, bring people into whatever your organization is. A professional video producer will help you reach that type of goal by using storytelling, by building emotion, perhaps by humor – all things that draw the users in."

On the Cobblestone Inc. blog Alfred answered The Top Seven Questions About Web Video, and expanded on why brands should invest in professionally produced video.
"Video is your public face to the world.  Make sure you don’t have egg on it. The less cheeky answer is more nuanced: it depends on your goals and the expected shelf life of the video.  If you’re producing video to build brand awareness, or generally promote your organization it makes sense to produce a high-quality professional video. In most cases, the same applies to any evergreen subject that you will highlight on your website for the foreseeable future. The video needs to not only convey information but your professional image as well.
If you are providing product details or how-to information to potential or existing customers, the production still needs to be professional.  But in this case, viewers are looking for specifics, and don’t need bells and whistles.  Here simplicity, clarity, and brevity are the elements that count most. When you want to create a community around your product, an event, or your business as a whole, it is worth asking your users to upload relevant videos. User generated content is an excellent way to deepen engagement, and allow users to inform others."


About Bruce Alfred
Bruce Alfred is an award-winning producer/director/writer, and web video consultant. During a career which has spanned 25 years, Alfred has produced non-fiction works for clients of nearly every size and stripe -- for broadcast, web, corporate, governmental, and non-profit. Alfred’s video projects have taken him from the operating room to the board room, from a Somali immigrant community to the south of France. Yet, all of his programs have one basic commonality: Alfred’s work speaks to his audiences in ways that are at once informative, understandable, and engaging.

One of his better-known documentary projects was a four-hour mini-series on the group of French impressionist artists. Alfred led all creative processes on The Other Revolution: The Impressionists, which became one of A&E Television’s most sophisticated and successful Biography programs. The series continues to sell well on DVD, and has been rebroadcast multiple times.  Projects prior to his establishment of Cobblestone include his role as coordinating producer for Ken Burns' Baseball, the 18- hour series for PBS.

Alfred has long embraced emerging technologies when such technologies lower costs, increase efficiencies, or allow new opportunities. As streaming video on the web became practicable, Alfred saw the challenge and opportunity in delivering a highly satisfactory results-oriented web video experience. After in-depth web-video related research and much testing of software and hardware, Alfred now serves as a consultant to organizations interested in optimal video delivery to internet connected devices, as well as video SEO, monetization, and analytics. He also works with clients on instituting best practices for integrating video into websites, social media, and video sharing sites.

Related:

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Delivering Content to Mobile Devices

With the phenomenal success of Apple’s iPad and iPhone, and the increased adoption of Google Android-based phones, it’s never been more important to get your content on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. This session at the Online Video Platform Summit, features three industry experts in the field of mobile video delivery who discuss why you need to care about things like HTML5, Adobe Flash Mobile, and other video format-and standards-related topics, as well as provide an overview of how online video platforms can help you publish once and deliver everywhere. The session was moderated by Onlinevideo.net Senior Associate Editor Troy Dreier who introduced the session with data from Nielsen which stated 28% of U.S. mobile subscribers now have smartphones, and 41% opted for a smartphone over a standard feature phone, up from 35% last quarter. That number will continue to grow as consumers move away from the desktop and embrace the mobile experience. But of the 5.3 billion mobile subscribers (which is 77 percent of the world population) the largest growth is outside the U.S. and is led by China and India

According to Jeff Malkin of Encoding.com the growth of mobile has been fueled mainly by Apple's iDevices. Gannon Hall, of KIT digital says that mobile is important, because it's become the fastest growing video segment of video consumption and that they're seeing increasing demand from their customers to be able to make it much easier for them to deliver full featured, high-quality video experiences to mobile platforms. David Dudas of Sorenson Media agrees that the iPhone really was the game changer and with other devices entering the field, it's made video delivery to the various devices more complicated, primarily around video encoding. Dudas says if you're going to do it, spend your money wisely, hire a professional don't try to do it yourself. The complexities of device compatibility go far beyond the formats and if it's done wrong your encoded content may not play back, or it may look horribly compressed. Dudas says, "doing it right means your customers will be delighted rather than frustrated, captive rather than fleeting, which translates to more time and money spent with your business."

Malkin says that content producers are a bit shellshocked by all the complexity and says there's good new and bad news for the. The bad news is that it's going to get worse before it gets better – as far as having to prepare video the multitude of mobile devices, but the good news is that companies like his are getting better at making it easier for you. Malkin adds, "If there's any point I could make any more clear, it's something very complex that should not be done in house." Malkin admits that sound very self-serving and says, "Use somebody else then, don't use Encoding.com. The bottom line is that it takes a serious attention and focus to keep reinvesting engineering dollars into infrastructure to keep being able to prepare video for all these various devices. And from a content producer standpoint, I'd rather focus on content, the user experience, the community and not worry about the headache of transcoding video."

Watch the video below to hear more of the discussion on HTML5, H.264, WebM, Adaptive Bit Rate streaming and the growing format wars. Also, see my interviews with each of the panelist that followed this session.




Speaker Bios and Online Video Conversations

Troy Dreier, Senior Associate Editor, OnlineVideo.net
Troy is Senior Associate Editor for OnlineVideo.net and StreamingMedia.com, and is also a regular contributor to Computer Shopper, PCMag.com's blogs, Datamation, and Wi-Fi Planet. He writes a weekly consumer technology column which is published in the Jersey Journal newspaper. As a freelancer, he enjoys writing for many of the biggest magazines and Web sites in tech, and his favorite topics include online video, portable devices, GPS navigation, games, and all things Macintosh. He’d love it if you followed him on Twitter You can drop him a note here.




Gannon Hall, EVP, Global Marketing, KIT Digital

As Executive Vice President Global Marketing, Gannon leads KIT’s overall global marketing strategies. Gannon brings nearly two decades of entrepreneurial leadership experience within the emerging and established consumer Internet and enterprise software industries. Prior to joining KIT, Gannon was the COO of Kyte, a leading online and mobile video platform, where he led the company’s product strategy, marketing, business development and operations. Gannon also was a Principal at Horn Group, a premier technology marketing and digital communications agency. As head of the agency’s New York office, Gannon was responsible for client strategy, business development and operations. Under his leadership the agency won several industry accolades for their innovative approach to brand building through integrated digital marketing, communications and social media. Prior to Horn Group, Gannon led Hall Consulting, a pioneering San Francisco web design and development consultancy that he founded in 1994. Clients included a diverse set of software companies including Vitria, AvantGo (Sybase), Commerce One, and PlaceWare (Microsoft).

Read more: Connected TV: Why Google will succeed where others have failed - FierceOnlineVideo





David Dudas, VP of Product Management, Sorenson Media
As the vice president of product management, Dudas is responsible for defining and executing the online and desktop product strategies. He has more than 15 years experience developing consumer and enterprise product lines, including expertise in hosted digital media platforms and software-as-a-service. Prior to Sorenson Media, Dudas was co-founder and CTO at Eyespot, a cutting-edge technology startup that launched the world's first Web-browser-based video editing application in 2005. Under his leadership, the company filed for five patents and was granted numerous industry awards for innovation and usability. Previously, he was director of engineering at MP3.com, where his team developed the company's flagship product and helped build the company into the leading digital media service provider of its time. He has also held management positions at Universal Music Group and DivX, and holds a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Michigan State University.





Jeff Malkin, President, Encoding.com


Jeff is a fearless entrepreneur with a proven track record for launching technology startups. He has been the CEO / founder of two venture-backed companies for the past nine years. The most recent, Razz Inc. (funded $12M by Mayfield, Cardinal VP, Siemens Mobile Accelerator, and Garage Technology Ventures), is a technology company providing consumers in the mobile and social media space with entertaining audio and telephony-based applications. Razz services have been distributed by leading wireless carriers around the world including Telefonica Moviles, Orange, AT&T wireless, T-mobile and Vodafone For Razz, Jeff led all aspects of the business including business development, strategy, product development, operations and financing.

Prior to Razz, Jeff was CEO of FreeSamples.com, a research and analytics service provider for the consumer package goods industry (funded $17M led by GE Capital, Advance Publications, United Business Media). He grew FreeSamples.com to be the leading online sampling and product research company with clients including The Proctor & Gamble Company, Unilever and Ralston Purina. Jeff graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Michigan and remains an active musician in the San Francisco community.

Read more: Larry Kless' Weblog: Encoding.com Sees the Future of Video Encoding in the Cloud

The Online Video Platform Summit is a two-day event designed to help organizations of all types, not just those for whom video is their core business. Held on November 2-3 in conjunction with
Streaming Media West in Los Angeles, the Online Video Platform Summit is designed for video publishers of all types and sizes, whether small businesses looking to publish content for the first time, independent entertainment content creators, large media organizations, or anywhere in between.

Related:

Sunday, April 17, 2011

New Strategies for Marketing and E-Commerce

Businesses that sell product online can benefit greatly with an online video marketing plan. Studies show that video is more effective than any other medium for building brand recognition and generating sales. Although today’s consumers are savvier and more skeptical than ever, and will quickly click away from obvious pitches that don’t provide them with any intrinsic value. But according to Rico Nasol, Content Team Senior Manager for Zappos, "Online video is another way for the customers to see the product and the company culture.” The E-Commerce giant sells over 300,000 different products, and the company sells anywhere from 6-30% more merchandise when accompanied by videos. This session from the Online Video Platform Summit, "New Strategies for Marketing and E-Commerce", was moderated by Justin Foster, Founder of the non-profit Video Commerce Consortium, who was joined by a panel of retailers that are each using their own innovative strategy with video and social media to create brand awareness and loyalty, and to increase sales conversion rates.

Each panelist brought on interesting story to share how they are approaching the challenge of implementing social video. Foster shared some background on the state of video and e-commerce from a report by Forrester Research, Online Retailers' Adoption Of Online Video Content Is Ahead Of Consumers' Preferences, which found that 68% of the top 50 Internet retailers use video content on their Web sites, compared with 18% in 2008 – a 400% growth in one year. Sunday Sky's Quarterly Research Report, Q2 2010, "State of Video in E-Commerce" also looked on the same category of the top 50 North-American online retailers and found that more than 65% of retailers use videos.

BeautyChoice.com has a unique model of creating, or sourcing, user-generated content through YouTube.  They find YouTubers with a lot of subscribers and sign them into talent contracts, and then do product placement in their videos. Beauty.com's Jordan Blum says they've generated over 340 million views from those YouTube videos alone, with practically no marketing budget. Laurie Williams says Zappos.com uses their "quirky" company culture to build trust with customers. They have been producing short videos  featuring actual Zappos staff members who demonstrate and talk about the products in an authentic and relevant way. They have also been promoting, The Zappos Video Experience, which is a forum where customers can submit video testimonials to share their stories as well. Jimmy Healey says OnlineShoes.com uses a hosted ratings and reviews system that's embedded in the video to increase conversion rates. Watch the video of the session to see how these retailers are reaping the benefits of e-commerce video, social media and YouTube marketing.



Speaker Bios

Justin Foster, Founder, Video Commerce Consortium (Moderator)
Justin is Co-Founder and VP Market Development for Liveclicker, Inc., an early stage technology startup, where he is responsible for developing the overall market for video commerce in the e-commerce industry. Video commerce is a new paradigm for facilitating e-commerce through video content, leveraging both established and emerging online marketing channels. Additionally, Justin is President and Founder of the Video Commerce Consortium, the industry's largest trade group devoted to advancing the use of video in e-commerce. The VCC currently counts over half the Top 500 retailers as members. Justin has extensive experience in the online marketing industry, especially as it pertains to e-commerce. Prior to Liveclicker, Justin led the services practice for WhatCounts, Inc., an email marketing services provider, where he was responsible for all services revenue and management. He also founded the Email Marketing Roundtable, an industry discussion forum that represents over 1,500 email marketers worldwide including the majority of the largest online retailers in North America.


Jimmy Healey, Senior Manager Social Media, OnlineShoes.com
As the Senior Manager of Social Media and E-commerce Jim Healey leads the evolution of Social Commerce for Onlineshoes.com through the use of Social Media, Video, Blogs, PR, Community and Mobile. Including: the evelopment of campaign plans for Social Media as a channel within the overall Onlineshoes.com campaign calendar (PR releases, blogs, videos, and other content/events). Onlineshoes.com is the nation's first online shoe retailer. Profitable since 2000, it's also the only privately held Internet business among its competitors and continues to enjoy revenue growth rates in the high double digits year over year.


Laurie Williams, Video Product Manager, Zappos.com
Laurie helps make Zappos videos go. Laurie Williams is the Video Product Manager for Zappos.com, who she’s been an employee for since January 2005. Before that she served in the U.S. Army. Zappos.com was founded in 1999 with the goal of becoming the premiere destination for online shoes. Since then, Zappos.com has become much more than just an online shoe store.


Jordan Blum, CEO, BeautyChoice.com
Jordan is the President of BeautyChoice.com, a leading online retailer of beauty and personal care products. At BeautyChoice.com Jordan has helped build its pioneering "LaunchPad" marketing platform that takes advertising to the next level by seamlessly placing products in highly popular beauty and fashion related online videos that are being watched by millions of engaged users worldwide. These videos are produced by "BeautyStars" who are credible and proven influencer's. Collectively, their videos have been viewed more than 300 million times and they have over 1.7 million followers on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. Jordan graduated from the University of Southern California with a business degree in Business Finance. Founded by beauty industry experts, BeautyChoice.com is trusted by consumers to carry only authentic, high-quality branded merchandise with a money back guarantee. BeautyChoice.com carries a complete line of premium and popular brands at the most competitive prices, including Andis, Babyliss, Chi, Barbar, Clarisonic, Conair, Elchim, Hot Tools, Helen of Troy, Mason Pearson, Oster, Solano, Wahl, Wigo, and others. Visit www.beautychoice.com for more information.

See this video: YouTube - Product placement on steroids with Jordan Blum, Beautychoice.com at SES New York 2010

Social video marketing for e-commerce: lessons from Streaming Media West

Following the session, I recorded this interview with Justin Foster by Grant Crowell which is posted on the Video Commerce Consortium. They discuss, "the new opportunities with video in for getting discovered and monetization, user-generated video innovations with retailers, and the different priorities around online video between marketers, talent, and producers." I've included a short excerpt of the transcript below. Grant also edited this video and you can read the full interview here.


Social Video Marketing for E-commerce from Grant Crowell on Vimeo.

Grant, ReelSEO: Justin, you had several notable panelists talking about new monetization with search and social media strategies. Tell me, how was that session like?

Justin: It was a great session. Each of the retailers on our panel is using their own innovative strategy to tap into social media using video. It was awesome to moderate.

Grant: What were some of the questions you asked the panelists about video marketing and video in e-commerce?

Justin: There’s been a lot of talk lately about the YouTube Promoted Videos program. So we were asking some of the retailers how many of them are actually taking advantage of Promoted Videos and understand the potential benefits of doing CPC buys with Promoted Videos. We found that it’s pretty early; we really don’t have a lot of retailers that are taking advantage of it yet. But you see a lot of people that are seeing a lot of opportunity.

Same goes for Facebook. I was really shocked that a couple of retailers on the panel really don’t make it possible to share a video that’s on their product detail page; but all of the panelists did think it was a good idea to enable sharing of their videos on the product detail page. So it seems like it’s pretty early. (more...)

The Online Video Platform Summit is a two-day event designed to help organizations of all types, not just those for whom video is their core business. Held on November 2-3 in conjunction with
Streaming Media West in Los Angeles, the Online Video Platform Summit is designed for video publishers of all types and sizes, whether small businesses looking to publish content for the first time, independent entertainment content creators, large media organizations, or anywhere in between.



Related:

Monday, April 11, 2011

But What About the Content? Curation, Aggregation, and Creation

Perhaps the biggest pain point for many organizations isn’t getting their video online, but rather getting their video created in the first place. Whether you need to create your own content, have your customers or employees create it for you, or collect it from other sources, there are ways to get high-quality video content on your site without breaking the bank. At the Online Video Platform Summit, this session, "But What About the Content? Curation, Aggregation, and Creation", examines the growing field of video curation and aggregation services, as well as offer pointers for getting your own content made quickly and inexpensively. According to panelist Steve Rosenbaum, an evangelist on the power of curation who recently released his new book, "Curation Nation: How to Win in a World Where Consumers are Creators", we are drowning in data and curation is the only way to remain competitive in the future. Rosenbaum says that information overload has led to publishers to shift from being an authority, to curating a conversation.

One of the main topics of discussion focused how video quality could affect your brand. Speaking as a long-time filmmaker, Bruce Alfred said it's important to hire a professional video producer – who both knows the art and craft of visual storytelling and technical competencies to create high quality video – if you want break through all the noise out there. With more than 35 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, having a professional produced video helps distinguish your brand as high quality professional content and not just another amateur Flip camera production. Eric Larnard of Thomson Reuters said that video is a structured communication in a narrative format with key messages and calls to action. But that's not all -- getting your video to right audience that you're trying to communicate with using the right combination of curation, aggregation and syndication tools is just as important as content creation itself.

Rosenbaum said that quality is in the eyes of the audience and that website owners should think about what they are trying to accomplish with their site and how video can help meet those goals. While professional video helps empower your brand, there still could be a place for authentic user-generated videos to help build community around your site though contribution and site traffic. Joseph Rueter of Curation Station emphasized that it's all about your goals and strategy and that if the aim is true it will reach the right audience regardless of quality and that usage correlates to value.

Watch the video below for more of the discussion.



Speaker bios

Paolo Tosolini, Social Media and Online Video Consultant, Enterprise & Partner Group and Microsoft Services, Microsoft (Moderator)
Paolo is an Enterprise Social Video consultant with a passion for people and creative ideas. At Microsoft, he focuses on the utilization of social media, online video and enterprise podcasting to foster employee knowledge sharing within the company. Prior to this role, Paolo worked in several other groups at Microsoft including Enterprise & Partner Group, MSN and Office, where he managed the Office 2007 partner early adoption program that resulted in more than 500 partner solutions developed at launch. Paolo also blogs and podcasts about Italy and travel. Follow Paolo Tosolini (tosolini) on Twitter


Eric Larnard, Global Head, Multimedia Communications for Financial Markets, Thomson Reuters
Eric Larnard is presently the Global Business Head for Thomson Reuters’ Multimedia Communications Services business specializing in the Financial Markets. Eric’s business empowers video and online communication in one of the world’s original online social networks: the Financial Markets. Eric has over 10 years of experience driving information-based businesses within the financial industry, empowering communications between corporations, investment banks, financial advisors, research analysts, and institutional investors. Prior to heading the Multimedia Communications Services business, Eric led Thomson Reuters’ mobile application development initiatives for the financial markets space, developing a deep, primary-source insight on mobile behaviors and expectations within professional communities. Prior to this Eric grew Thomson Financial’s First Call research and analysis business, and helped drive Thomson Financial’s StreetEvents business from its infancy to $50mil in annual revenue. Eric resides in suburban Boston and is the proud father of eight children under the age of 12. Follow Thomson Reuters (thomsonreuters) on Twitter


Steve Rosenbaum, CEO and Founder, Magnify.net
Steve Rosenbaum has been at the forefront of emerging media technologies, curated content and storytelling styles since he founded his media company in the early ‘90s. Always focused on empowering emerging filmmakers, and providing tools and outlets for new voices, Rosenbaum is acknowledged as one of the early innovators in both Video Journalism and User-Generated Video. Magnify.net is Rosenbaum’s launch - a video publishing platform that allows web sites, media companies, and content entrepreneurs to empower their communities to embrace User-Generated Video. Currently Magnify.net powers over 2,000 channels of User-Generated Video, and is working closely with a wide variety of media makers, communities, and publishers in evolving their content offerings to include content created by, sorted and reviewed by community members.

Prior to launching Magnify, Rosenbaum was involved in a variety of initiatives supporting the development of user generated content. In 1995 he Created MTV UNfiltered, a program that put the very first user-generated video on MTV. During his career in mainstream media, Rosenbaum produced films for A&E, Discovery, TLC, The History Channel, National Geographic, Court TV, Trio, HBO, VH1, MSNBC, and CNN. As a feature Director, he is best known for his film “7 Days in September”, which chronicled New York’s reaction to the 9/11 attacks. Follow steve rosenbaum (curationnation) on Twitter


Joseph Rueter, Co-Founder, Curation Station
Being the son of a contractor means a couple things: You grow up with a sense of wonder as well as an interest in building and making things better. That background, in addition to studying Theology, Philosophy, and Design gives Joseph a unique lens into the way ideas are formed and executed. Joseph applies his expertise in thinking and making to business and digital products to create "awesome" ideas and ways forward. Curation Station, one of those "awesome" ideas, is a web based software service co-founded by Joseph. It provides a tool kit for organizations to select and "play" relevant online content on their websites much like DJs do for radio stations. Additionally he serves on the programming boards of the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association and Minnesota’s TED event, TEDxTC. Joseph enjoys Twins baseball and drawing connections between baseball, strategy and business. He and his wife are raising their newborn daughter to have the same sense of wonder that was much a part of Joseph's childhood. Joseph's client experience includes: Marshalls, 3M, Allianz Life, PwC, XM, Pillsbury, Jostens, CPPNA, Cadillac and Best Buy. Follow Curation Station (curationstation) on Twitter.


Bruce Alfred, President, Cobblestone Inc.
During his 25 years in the business of non-fiction media, Bruce Alfred has produced works for broadcast, web, corporate, and non-profit clients including PBS, A&E Television Networks, and Mayo Clinic. Alfred founded Cobblestone in 1995, and his projects have taken him from the operating room to the board room, from a Somali immigrant community to the south of France.  One of his better-known documentary projects was a four-hour mini-series on the group of French impressionist artists.  Alfred led all creative processes on The Other Revolution:  The Impressionists, which became one of A&E Television’s most sophisticated and successful Biography programs.  The series continues to sell well on DVD, and has been rebroadcast multiple times.  Projects prior to his establishment of Cobblestone include his role as coordinating producer for Ken Burns' Baseball, the eighteen-hour series for PBS.

Alfred has long embraced emerging technologies when such technologies open new doors in production and distribution.   As streaming video on the web became practicable, Alfred saw the challenge and opportunity in delivering a highly satisfactory results-oriented web video experience.  As a consultant, Alfred analyzes and interprets web video news, technologies, and modalities for small and medium business clients advising on web video strategies, and optimal delivery methodologies and resources. Since moving away from the New York City area in 2003, Alfred has lived in balmy southern Minnesota (nearly equidistant from New York and Los Angeles) with his wife, four medium-sized children, two small cats, and one big dog.CobbleStone Films is an independent cinema company that is committed to discovering and producing intelligent films that are artistically inventive, brassy and have the potential of being financial and critical successes. Follow bruce_alfred (bruce_alfred) on Twitter.

The Online Video Platform Summit is a two-day event designed to help organizations of all types, not just those for whom video is their core business. Held on November 2-3 in conjunction with
Streaming Media West in Los Angeles, the Online Video Platform Summit is designed for video publishers of all types and sizes, whether small businesses looking to publish content for the first time, independent entertainment content creators, large media organizations, or anywhere in between.


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Thursday, March 10, 2011

YouTube's Next New Networks Acquisition and Creator Institute Make Content Creators King

Big Opportunities for Content Partners Open Up with YouTube Next New Networks Deal and YouTube Creator Institute
After months of rumors and speculation Google officially announced on Monday that it has acquired Internet TV platform Next New Networks in its first content deal to strengthen and grow out YouTube's platform to support its Partner Program of over 15,000 partners worldwide. Many YouTube partners are making over $1,000 a month and hundreds of partners making six figures a year, but YouTube says that's not enough so it's taking it to the next level with YouTube Next.
"YouTube Next is a new team tasked with supercharging creator development and accelerating partner growth and success."
This includes spearheading YouTube Next-branded programs, services, grants, store credits at B&H Photo, meet-ups, community events, education and training and audience development. YouTube says that" Next New Networks will be a laboratory for experimentation and innovation" and the team will be working with a wide variety of content partners and emerging talent to help them be more successful.

In his post on AdAge Micheal Learmonth said that the new incentives will help lift the market for small producers and not necessarily turn YouTube into a media company:
"YouTube has known this for years, but is now taking a bigger role in cultivating that industry, acquiring Next New Networks, which has built a track record of building and promoting web series."
Since its launch in 2007, Next New Networks has built its network of original web programming attracting over 2 billion views and 6 million subscribers across its partner networks of channels and shows. It created the shows “Barely Political” and “Indy Mogul” and produces videos for YouTube sensations The Gregory BrothersHot for Words, and Nalts.

As a fundamental part of the advertising business for Google YouTube knows that its own key to success is to have great content that can be monetized. Will Richmond suggested that With its Next New Networks Deal, YouTube Evokes Cable's Early Days and pointed to a recent interview with YouTube CEO Salar Kamangar who talked about future evolution of YouTube into channels.

Kamangar said:
"When you think about the impact cable had, we think we're in a position to have a similar impact for video delivery, like what cable has done with broadcast. In the early '80s, you had three or four networks. Now those three or four networks are responsible for 25 percent of viewership, and the cable networks are responsible for all the rest. Right now, the fraction of traffic that is Web video is small relative to broadcast and cable, but it's growing at a fast rate. What's amazing is that the Web enables you to build a kind of channel that wouldn't have made sense for cable, in the same way cable enabled you to build content that wouldn't have made sense for broadcast."
Keith Richman, CEO of Break Media commented that this deal is
"With this move, YouTube is clearly stating that Hulu and Netflix have won the war for studio content. YouTube is now going for semi-professional and will define that market."
Here's a video from Next New Networks of The Next New Creators Program : In Their Words which they explain how successful the partner program has been.



Next New Networks' entire full-time staff of 17 will join YouTube as part of the deal, with the exception of CEO and co-founder Fred Siebert, who will temporarily act as a consultant. But Next New Networks COO Liam Collins along with Co-founder Tim Shey are joining and Chairman Lance Podell will join YouTube Next Lab global director. Next new Networks raised a total of more than $27 million in venture funding as a company, and as while terms of its deal with YouTube are undisclosed but sources said that deal is close to $50 million.

On the company blog Seibert wrote:
“We’re very excited to share the news that Next New Networks is now part of YouTube. Our company will become a core component of YouTube Next, a new team that will focus on supercharging content creator development on YouTube, driving deeper expertise in partner audience development, and incubating new ideas that can be shared with the broader community.”
Congratulations Next New Networks, and looking forward to seeing what comes next!

Also, in related news, today YouTube also introduced the YouTube Creator Institute which is a new media program in partnership with with the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles and Columbia College Television Department in Chicago to help advance the education and careers of budding filmmakers.  The application process begins March 11 and submission details are here.

Here's the description of the programs and an introductory video:
"YouTube Creator Programs help develop the next generation of leading content creators. Through programs like the YouTube Partner Program and YouTube Creator Institute, YouTube and its partners help education, train, fund and promote promising creators."


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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Delivering Content to Mobile Devices

With the phenomenal success of Apple’s iPad and iPhone, and the increased adoption of Google Android-based phones, it’s never been more important to get your content on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. At the Online Video Platform Summit, our session, "Delivering Content to Mobile Devices" will discuss why you need to care about things like HTML5, Adobe Flash Mobile, and other video format-and standards-related topics, as well as provide an overview of how online video platforms can help you publish once and deliver everywhere.

Confirmed speakers for this session include:

Troy Dreier, Senior Associate Editor, OnlineVideo.net (Moderator)
Troy is Senior Associate Editor for OnlineVideo.net and StreamingMedia.com, and is also a regular contributor to Computer Shopper, PCMag.com's blogs, Datamation, and Wi-Fi Planet. He writes a weekly consumer technology column which is published in the Jersey Journal newspaper.

Read more: Online Video Platform Summit Preview: Delivering Video to Mobile Devices | OnlineVideo.net

Gannon Hall, COO, Kyte
As Chief Operating Officer, Gannon leads overall product strategy, marketing, business development and operations for Kyte, the 360° video platform. Leading media companies and marketers including MTV, ESPN, ABC, NBA, NATO, Armani Exchange, Monster Energy and many others are using Kyte to deliver innovative, live and on-demand social video experiences to audiences across multiple platforms and devices. Gannon brings to Kyte nearly two decades of entrepreneurial leadership experience within the emerging and established consumer Internet and enterprise software industries. Prior to joining Kyte, Gannon was a Principal at Horn Group, a premier technology marketing and digital communications agency with offices in San Francisco and New York. As head of the agency’s New York office, Gannon was responsible for client strategy, business development and operations. Under his leadership the agency won several industry accolades for their innovative approach to brand building through integrated digital marketing, communications and social media. Prior to Horn Group, Gannon led Hall Consulting, a pioneering San Francisco web design and development consultancy that he founded in 1994. Clients included a diverse set of software companies including Vitria, AvantGo (Sybase), Commerce One, and PlaceWare (Microsoft). Gannon began his career as a software engineer, user experience designer, web developer and consultant for companies including Pacific Telesis Group and US Web San Francisco, where he helped design and build enterprise applications and websites for clients including Rolling Stone Magazine, Proxim and Flextronics.

Read more: Connected TV: Why Google will succeed where others have failed - FierceOnlineVideo

David Dudas, VP of Product Management, Sorenson Media
As the vice president of product management, Dudas is responsible for defining and executing the online and desktop product strategies. He has more than 15 years experience developing consumer and enterprise product lines, including expertise in hosted digital media platforms and software-as-a-service. Prior to Sorenson Media, Dudas was co-founder and CTO at Eyespot, a cutting-edge technology startup that launched the world's first Web-browser-based video editing application in 2005. Under his leadership, the company filed for five patents and was granted numerous industry awards for innovation and usability. Previously, he was director of engineering at MP3.com, where his team developed the company's flagship product and helped build the company into the leading digital media service provider of its time. He has also held management positions at Universal Music Group and DivX, and holds a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Michigan State University.

Read more: Sorenson Media Launches Cloud-Based Sorenson Squeeze Server to Enable High-Volume Video Encoding for Enterprises, Developers and Other Content Creators | Business Wire


Jeff Malkin, President, Encoding.com
Jeff is a fearless entrepreneur with a proven track record for launching technology startups. He has been the CEO / founder of two venture-backed companies for the past nine years. The most recent, Razz Inc. (funded $12M by Mayfield, Cardinal VP, Siemens Mobile Accelerator, and Garage Technology Ventures), is a technology company providing consumers in the mobile and social media space with entertaining audio and telephony-based applications. Razz services have been distributed by leading wireless carriers around the world including Telefonica Moviles, Orange, AT&T wireless, T-mobile and Vodafone For Razz, Jeff led all aspects of the business including business development, strategy, product development, operations and financing.

Prior to Razz, Jeff was CEO of FreeSamples.com, a research and analytics service provider for the consumer package goods industry (funded $17M led by GE Capital, Advance Publications, United Business Media). He grew FreeSamples.com to be the leading online sampling and product research company with clients including The Proctor & Gamble Company, Unilever and Ralston Purina. Jeff graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Michigan and remains an active musician in the San Francisco community.

Read more: Larry Kless' Weblog: Encoding.com Sees the Future of Video Encoding in the Cloud

The Online Video Platform Summit is a two-day event designed to help organizations of all types, not just those for whom video is their core business. Held on November 2-3 in conjunction with Streaming Media West in Los Angeles, the Online Video Platform Summit is designed for video publishers of all types and sizes, whether small businesses looking to publish content for the first time, independent entertainment content creators, large media organizations, or anywhere in between. 

Saturday, October 30, 2010

New Strategies for Marketing and E-Commerce

Businesses that sell product online can benefit greatly with an online video marketing plan. Studies show that video is more effective than any other medium for building brand recognition and generating sales. But today’s consumers are savvier and more skeptical than ever, and will quickly click away from obvious pitches that don’t provide them with any intrinsic value. But according to Rico Nasol, Content Team Senior Manager for Zappos, "Online video is another way for the customers to see the product and the company culture.” The E-Commerce giant sells over 300,000 different products, and the company sells anywhere from 6-30% more merchandise when accompanied by videos. At the Online Video Platform Summit, our panel session, "New Strategies for Marketing and E-Commerce", will offer practical advice on how to make your content more compelling and use video to create brand awareness and loyalty, and to increase sales conversion rates.

Confirmed speakers for this session include:

Justin Foster, Founder, Video Commerce Consortium (Moderator)
Justin is Co-Founder and VP Market Development for Liveclicker, Inc., an early stage technology startup, where he is responsible for developing the overall market for video commerce in the e-commerce industry. Video commerce is a new paradigm for facilitating e-commerce through video content, leveraging both established and emerging online marketing channels. Additionally, Justin is President and Founder of the Video Commerce Consortium, the industry's largest trade group devoted to advancing the use of video in e-commerce. The VCC currently counts over half the Top 500 retailers as members.

Justin has extensive experience in the online marketing industry, especially as it pertains to e-commerce. Prior to Liveclicker, Justin led the services practice for WhatCounts, Inc., an email marketing services provider, where he was responsible for all services revenue and management. He also founded the Email Marketing Roundtable, an industry discussion forum that represents over 1,500 email marketers worldwide including the majority of the largest online retailers in North America.

Read more: The Top 5 E-commerce Video Mistakes | OnlineVideo.net

Scott Anderson, Director E-Commerce, Vitamin Shoppe

According to Scott, it's all about the results. No smoke, no mirrors, just an experienced focus on the fundamentals. Scott is a 30-year marketing veteran running a $70MM+ eCommerce P/L for a 460-store specialty retailer. He's a two-time winner of the American Marketing Association's Effie Award for marketing effectiveness (Crayola and IBM). Scott is also a professional musician and part of, 7 in Dog Years, a Westchester band covering rock tunes people love but seldom hear. as well as co-founder of the coolest business on Earth: visit JamSpot.com.

What began as a single store in 1977 has evolved into more than 400 locations in 37 states and an informative and easy to shop web site, www.vitaminshoppe.com. The Vitamin Shoppe offers over 20,000 items from more than 400 name brands. Consumers can choose from the most trusted names in Health & Wellness, Sports Nutrition, Weight Management, and Personal Care.

Read more: Video Commerce: The Quiet Revolution in Online Video - ScribeMedia.org

Jimmy Healey, Senior Manager Social Media, OnlineShoes.com

As the Senior Manager of Social Media and E-commerce Jim Healey leads the evolution of Social Commerce for Onlineshoes.com through the use of Social Media, Video, Blogs, PR, Community and Mobile. Including: the evelopment of campaign plans for Social Media as a channel within the overall Onlineshoes.com campaign calendar (PR releases, blogs, videos, and other content/events).

Onlineshoes.com is the nation's first online shoe retailer. Profitable since 2000, it's also the only privately held Internet business among its competitors and continues to enjoy revenue growth rates in the high double digits year over year.

Read more: Top 500 - OnlineShoes.com hikes up conversions with ratings and reviews - Internet Retailer and here: Video Commerce Summit – A Hugely Creative And Collaborative Experience


Laurie Williams, Video Product Manager, Zappos.com
Laurie helps make Zappos videos go. Laurie Williams is the Video Product Manager for Zappos.com, who she’s been an employee for since January 2005. Before that she served in the U.S. Army. Zappos.com was founded in 1999 with the goal of becoming the premiere destination for online shoes. Since then, Zappos.com has become much more than just an online shoe store.

Read more: Selling Your Business Culture With Web Video – The Zappos Experience

Jordan Blum, CEO, BeautyChoice.com
Jordan is the President of BeautyChoice.com, a leading online retailer of beauty and personal care products. At BeautyChoice.com Jordan has helped build its pioneering "LaunchPad" marketing platform that takes advertising to the next level by seamlessly placing products in highly popular beauty and fashion related online videos that are being watched by millions of engaged users worldwide. These videos are produced by "BeautyStars" who are credible and proven influencer's. Collectively, their videos have been viewed more than 300 million times and they have over 1.7 million followers on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. Jordan graduated from the University of Southern California with a business degree in Business Finance.

Founded by beauty industry experts, BeautyChoice.com is trusted by consumers to carry only authentic, high-quality branded merchandise with a money back guarantee. BeautyChoice.com carries a complete line of premium and popular brands at the most competitive prices, including Andis, Babyliss, Chi, Barbar, Clarisonic, Conair, Elchim, Hot Tools, Helen of Troy, Mason Pearson, Oster, Solano, Wahl, Wigo, and others. Visit www.beautychoice.com for more information.

See this video: YouTube - Product placement on steroids with Jordan Blum, Beautychoice.com at SES New York 2010

The Online Video Platform Summit is a two-day event designed to help organizations of all types, not just those for whom video is their core business. Held on November 2-3 in conjunction with Streaming Media West in Los Angeles, the Online Video Platform Summit is designed for video publishers of all types and sizes, whether small businesses looking to publish content for the first time, independent entertainment content creators, large media organizations, or anywhere in between. You can register online for the OVP Summit or Streaming Media West show and get $300 off Streaming Media West with the discount code of DRF1.