Klessblog's Top 10 of 2013 (Part 2)

Well, the hangover has finally worn off and with the new year in full swing, I can continue this top 10 Klessblog countdown. I picked this top 10 list based on my best experiences of 2013. The last four covered the first part of the year and these top six will bring things up to date. It was a busy year for everyone, with some upheaval,  lots of change and a lot of things stayed the same.

Online video growth continues to skyrocket, as we've seen more brands shift their advertising dollars into online video, a new wave of short-form video creators arose from people are uploading their Vines and Instagram videos, the majority of marketers are jumping into the waters of online video en masse to tell their stories and sell their brands. According to comScore's most recent data of online video rankings, 188.2 million Americans, watched 52.4 billion online videos in December 2013, and video ad views totaled 35.2 billion. That's means 86.9% of Americans who accessed the Internet last month watched online videos, and the average video duration was 4.2 minutes. The average video ads viewed were 15 seconds and they accounted for 40.2% of all the videos viewed and about 5.7% of all the minutes spent viewing online video.

In addition, according to Pew Research, the percent of online American adult who have either created their own original content for viewing or download has doubled from 14% in 2009 to 31% in 2013, with many hoping their videos will go viral. Additionally, the number of adults who watch or download videos has grown almost 10% since in 2009, from 69% to 78% today, with the growth fueled mainly by rapid increase in the use of mobile devices and the growing popularity of social media sites.

But this isn't news to those of us who've been following these trends over the years. We all knew online video would grow and prosper. I could go on and cite countless sources that covered the trends, but again, I refer you to all the great sources I listed in my last post, on the side bar of this blog, including ReelSEO, Beet.TV, Fierce Online Video, OnlineVideo.net, Dan Rayburn's The Business Of Online Video, StreamingMedia.com, VideoNuze, and many more.

I started this blog in November 2007, to join the voices of the streaming media community as a way to share my knowledge, ideas and analysis of the online video industry. As I said in my 100th blog post and my 600th blog post,  I'm grateful for the support of my family, friends, followers, readers, supporters, community members, colleagues, and to the many of you who have contributed to this blog by sharing your time with me to meet and be interviewed by me, sent me press releases and kept me up to date on the latest news and information. I look forward to an even bigger year in 2014 and look back one more time to wrap up Klessblog's Top 10 of 2013.


6. My Google+ Hangout with Neil Davidson on, "The Core of a Successful Corporate Video"

As I said in my from July 1st,  had the pleasure of joining Neil Davidson, Founder and CEO at MyWebPresenters, in a Google+ Hangout to discuss, "The Core of a Successful Corporate Video". I had a great conversation with Neil and you can see the topics we discussed were focused on what are the commonalities that all of the good corporate videos share (hint: tell a story!), how should a business go about fitting a video production into their marketing strategy (hint: start with a good story and shoot video with what you have, either a prosumer camcorder or mobile phone, and try to get good video and audio quality), which businesses are leading the way in using video as a marketing tool (Zappos), what was the biggest video failure and what did I learn from the experience (always have a back up plan), and what are other opportunities for corporate video in 2013 (shoot live action video and don't rely motion graphics with a witty voice over to tell your story). My thanks again, to Neil Davidson for the great conversation. Watch our Google+ Hangout video here.


5. The Strategic Video Awards and Content Marketing Awards

Over the past four years, I've had both the privilege and honor of being as a judge for the Strategic Video Awards, a video competition "created for everyone who uses video to communicate for corporations, associations, non-profits, public institutions, colleges and universities, PR firms and ad agencies, and custom publishers. The Strategic Video Awards differ from other programs in that we judge the effectiveness of the message versus the technical aspects of the video." The Strategic Video Awards entries range from Flip-cam videos to highly-produced corporate documentaries, lighthearted executive vlogs and serious video news programs. Each year the entires get better and better and the 2013 winners will be announced this month. You can view entries from 2010-2012 on the Strategic Video Awards YouTube Channel and watch my favorite entry from 2010, Nationwide - The Musical, which was also the Grand Prize Winner.

Prior to judging this year's Strategic Video Awards, I was asked to be a judge for the Content Marketing Marketing Awards, presented by the Content Marketing Institute and sponsored by McMurry/TMG. According to Content Marketing founder Joe Pulizzi, "content marketing has gone from hot buzzword to a needed universal strategy for enterprise marketers. The Content Marketing Awards are a combination of two esteemed awards programs, the Magnum Opus Awards, honoring the very best in content projects, and CMI’s Orange Awards, honoring the best people and agencies in the business." Open to all companies, organizations, and institutions, this year's Content Marketing Awards had over 800 entries from all the best content marketers in the business in print, digital, publications, strategy, social media, mobile and of course, video.

My category was "Best Topic Specific Video" which had over 40 entries with a variety of styles and techniques. After viewing all the entries the ones that really stood out for me were real stories with real people shot as live action video productions. Many marketers rely just on animated, motion graphics and voice-overs which end up looking like boring animated Infographics that just leave viewers uninspired. So my advise is to actually shoot video to tell your story. See the winners of the 2013 Content Marketing Awards here. Thanks to Program Chairman David Murray and also Benjamine Knight from McMurry/TMG who did an incredible job organizing the competitions.


4. Streaming Media Magazine articles Part 1 and Part 2, "Best Practices for Live Events"

Thanks to the encouragement of my friend and Streaming Media Magazine, StreamingMedia.com, and OnlineVideo.net editor Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, I wrote a two-part article for Streaming Media Magazine titled, "No Second Chances: Get Live Events Right the First Time".  Earlier in the year, Eric asked me to write a 2500 to 3000-word overview of production, lighting, audio, stage, talent, capture, and delivery, and by the time I completed my first draft I was well over 5000 words. So Eric suggested I turn it into a two part article for the June/July and August/September 2013 issues. The first part looked at the five core elements of a successful live event in the enterprise setting. It's a culmination of key learnings from years of producing live events and offers battle-tested advice to ensure live enterprise events come off without a hitch. The second installment looked at different ways to make the overall webcast experience engaging for your online audience using a variety of different video production techniques interactive tools.

Thanks again to Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen for the opportunity to write for Streaming Media Magazine, and contributions from Nick Balletta, Harvey Louie, Donn Kanagaki, Casey Wilms, Harvey Woo, Steve Dung and to the many people who I have worked with over the years to help me learn what works best for live events, and what doesn't work so well.


3. The 2013 ReelSEO/Liveclicker Video Summit

In July 2013, my good friend and online video superstar Mark Robertson, founder of  ReelSEO, joined forces with Liveclicker to co-host the first ever video marketing summit, held in tandem with Liveclicker's annual Video Commerce Summit. The sold-out event was Liveclicker's 5th annual and an inaugural event for ReelSEO and drew a cross section of over 300 retailers, brands, and agencies attending either summit. Over the last few years, I've interviewed attendees and speakers at the Liveclicker Video Commerce Summit, and I was there again this catching interviews but this year the tables were turned, when Tim Schmoyer asked me to share a video marketing tip for his weekly ReelSEO Creator's tips. The event was largest and only annual event devoted to all things video marketing and video commerce and it was a huge success and according to @JuliePerry, it's game on for #vsummit in 2014, so stay tuned for more awesomeness! A big thanks to Mark Robertson, Jen Fahey, Justin Foster and Dave Holland for putting on a great show and to Kevin Edwards for the video production support!


2. Online Video Conversations

I've been producing and posting short video interviews with online video publishers, producers, entrepreneurs, industry executives and innovators on this blog over the last number of years. But in November of 2013, I launched Onlinevideoconversations.com, as a new home to my many online video conversations. Over the years, I've shot my videos using the Flip Camera, Kodak Zi8, Canon Vixia FH30, with variety of microphones and edited them with Windows Movie Maker, iMovie and Final Cut 7. But just last month, I took the plunge and bought a new MacBook Pro and Final Cut Pro X (which takes some getting used to after years of editing in Final Cut 7) and I'm settling into a workflow. I already have a handful of new videos there, including Mike Folgner, SnappyTV, Tom Morgan of Net2TV and AJ McGowan, Unicorn Media (now Brightcove), and I'll be be cross-posting the videos there and here on this blog with more in-depth coverage. Look for more online video conversations soon and throughout the year.


1. Don't be Afraid to Let Them See You Dance!

I sometimes joke that when I write my memoirs, it will be titled, "Don't Be Afraid to Let Them See You Dance", which is my metaphor for believing in yourself without worrying about being embarrassed. I work with so many people at so many levels on a daily basis and it's always come easy for me, because I'm such a people person and I have honed my communication and customer services skills for the last 20 years. My daughter once asked me, how do I meet new people all the time and not be awkward. I told her that even if you're nervous, you can't worry about it and you have to work right through it and be yourself. Even though you may dance like Elaine from Senfield, don't be afraid to let them see you dance. So, thanks to my good friend and ever-faithful video director Dominic "Baby Dom" Bonavolonta, I'm now the star of my own Gangnam Style JibJab music video and you can see me in my natural habitat, working and having fun and of course, dancing... (or not!)



Thanks again to all my loyal readers, followers and supporters. Many thanks as well to Kris Drey at Vidcompare for the years of advertising and all the best to him in this ever-changing industry. As we move into a new year, we'll see continued growth and experimentation as standards and distribution models mature. I know I'll be busy as ever and even more so at both my day job and my own business venture with new clients, new challenges and always new adventures.

My best to everyone all in the new year!


(Editor's note: Sorry for the delay, but the year got away from me. Stay tuned for much more to come)

Read Part Two of my Streamingmedia.com article, "No Second Chances, Part 2: Best Practices for Live Events"

Part two of my Streaming Media article, No Second Chances, Part 2: Best Practices for Live Events - Streaming Media Magazine, is now in print and online. The second installment looks at different ways to make the overall webcast experience engaging for your online audience using a variety of different video production techniques interactive tools. Live events have changed dramatically over the last few years with the evolution of enterprise video platforms and the rise of virtual events and live webcasting. Today, companies are now incorporating new and innovative ways to engage their growing online audiences.

Webcasting tools have become easier to use, and, with the development of interactive and social media tools, they’ve evolved from one-way broadcasts into two-way conversations. But just because you have myriad bells and whistles at your disposal doesn’t mean you have to use every one for every event. As I said in Part 1 of my article, “the key is to use the right technology to make it easy to reach the live audience and virtual attendees and provide them a quality and worthwhile experience.”

Here's a brief excerpt from part two:

THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE

We’ve already established that you need the right team with the right tools and the right capabilities at your live event venue. But what are the secret tricks to creating an engaging experience for your audience with streaming video, audio, graphics, and real-time interaction to move them from passive viewers to active participants?

If you only take away only one thing from this article, remember this tip: Don’t let your online audience be an afterthought. You need to cater to their needs by making their experience as engaging as the live audience’s, but in a different way.

Waiting for the big event to begin, in person and online (Photo credit: Harvey Woo)

Look no further than popular culture to see what "American Idol" has done to capture its live audience. The producers were deliberate with their intent, because they knew that the real show was on the screens of millions of TV viewers; it was not for the hundreds of people in the live audience. They didn’t skimp on production value, and, from the start, they introduced an audience response text-to-vote system that gave the audience the power to influence the outcome of the show.

Just think: What if you put that capability into the hands of your online audience? We’d be able to vote off every boring presenter known to mankind!

Corporate communications departments are seeing the shift as well. Donn Kanagaki, senior manager of IT communications at Kaiser Permanente, oversees the employee outreach events for the CIO and senior IT leadership, which incorporate a combination of a live event, webcast, WebEx, and telephone bridge in order to reach more than 6,000 employees across five time zones. About one-third of the IT employees are able to attend the event live via webcast, but the online numbers are growing. Kanagaki says, “We have to recognize that the majority of our employees that participate are watching online, so we need to look at ways to better engage them.”

While Kaiser Permanente CIO Phil Fasano addresses an in-person audience of several hundred, the live webcast reaches thousands of employees who can watch the event online and submit questions directly to the CIO and senior leaders. 

In the words of Marshall McLuhan, “The medium is the message,” and the message can be delivered more effectively using the latest interactive technologies. You may have to use a hybrid approach with a combination of tools based on the capabilities of your webcast or webconferencing platform. Beyond content design, it really does come down to pushing the limits of any platform and streaming technology to achieve the best two-way experience for your attendees and yourself.

TELL A STORY

The plain and simple fact is that no technology, however great it is, can make a boring presenter better. You have to design your presentation to the right audience using the best set of tools and production value to carry your message. But beyond any technology, presenters need to connect with their audience.

All the great presenters, from Steve Jobs to Gary Vaynerchuk to Isabel Allende, use storytelling to convey their messages. People respond to personal stories because they convey emotion and a universal message.

According to Tim Schmoyer, producer of The Reel Web for Reelseo.com and one of the most diversely skilled and knowledgeable people in the online video space, storytelling is important and the best way to get your message across. “Stories are something that everyone enjoys and appreciates, and there’s an emotional connection to stories,” says Schmoyer. “What we really believe in is that stories are much more compelling, especially if you can tell a story that answers the ‘why?’ question.”


Continue reading the full article at: No Second Chances, Part 2: Best Practices for Live Events - Streaming Media Magazine


My thanks again, to the many people who I have worked with over the years to help me learn what works best for live events, and what doesn't work so well. Also, my thanks to the many clients I have worked with who have trusted me to produce their live events. I also want to thank the following people for contributing to this article, including: Nick Balletta, CEO of TalkPoint, Donn Kanagaki, senior manager of IT communications at Kaiser Permanente, Tim Schmoyer, producer of the Reel Web for ReelSEO.com, Casey Wilms, product manager at Zencoder, Mike Folgner, CEO and co-founder of SnappyTV, Harvey Louie, technical director, producer, and consultant of the webcasting company Event Compression Group, my good friend and creative partner Harvey Woo, owner and creative director of Professional Sound Productions, my production manager and traffic controller  Steve Dung, owner of Visions Plus video production services and my IT partner and colleague James Adams, Manager of Virtual Event Delivery at Kaiser Permanente.

My thank you's could go on and on, so I'll cut it short, and finally extend my thanks to my trusted crew and "A" team for your professionalism and support, you know who are... (Sammy, Dwight, Dominic "Baby Dom", Marcia, Brad, Tom, Alfonso, Jason "JJ", Rachel "Ray Ray", Harold "Dirty B", Luke, Ricker, Lorin, Paul and Weyman "The Pro Sound backbone", and the Young Guns, Sam, Matt, Brandon and Josh, and again, Harvey.)

This article appears in the August/September 2013 issue of Streaming Media magazine as:  No Second Chances, Part 2: Best Practices for Live Events.

Businesses are increasingly depending on live event streaming. For expert tips on how to pull them off like a pro, read the second part of our series.
by Larry Kless

Read my article on Streamingmedia.com, "No Second Chances: Get Live Events Right the First Time"

I just wrote a new article for Streaming Media Magazine titled, "No Second Chances: Get Live Events Right the First Time - Streaming Media Magazine", that looks at the five core elements for a successful live event in the enterprise setting. It's a culmination of key learnings from years of producing live events and offers battle-tested advice to ensure live enterprise events come off without a hitch.

A big thanks to the many people who have helped me over the years to learn what works best for live events, and what doesn't work so well, and to the many clients I have worked with who have trusted me to produce their live events. Many thanks to Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen and the people at Streamingmedia.com, for their support over the years and for giving me the opportunity to share my best practices in live event production with this article.

Here's a brief excerpt from the article:

The success of any live event is dependent on five core elements: the people, the plan, the technology, the venue, and the audience; they all intersect to either make or break an event. The added layer of virtual attendees creates an even greater challenge, because you have to produce the event for people both inside and outside the room. The key is to use the right technology to make it easy to reach the live audience and virtual attendees and provide them a quality and worthwhile experience. 

 And I can tell you from experience that it better be good!

 Over the last 20 years of producing live events, I’ve learned a lot about how things can go right and wrong, and from good to bad, and from bad to worse. Most problems stem from the things that fall through the cracks: forgotten tasks that didn’t make your checklist or that were not delegated. They can either creep up on you or blow up in your face, and we all know what’s at stake. As they say in the live event biz, “You’re only as good as your last show.”

 You can avoid most problems with proper planning and clear communication. The best shows are the ones where everyone knows what to do, so the show comes off without a hitch. Whether you are in the studio or on location, the same rules apply if you want to be successful. The key to succeeding is that you go in with a plan and strongly dissuade clients from disruptive last-minute changes. They may think it’s not a big deal, but you know better...

Continue reading the full article at: No Second Chances: Get Live Events Right the First Time - Streaming Media Magazine.

This view is of a video village with HD engineering, monitoring, switching, and recording. (This was set up inside a closet! Really, and it actually fit!)

I'll be following up with part two, that looks specifically at how to deliver an effective webcast, including interactive and social media elements, to the audience off-site.

This article appears in the June/July 2013 issue of Streaming Media magazine as "No Second Chances: Best Practices for Live Events in the Enterprise, Part 1."

Learn the five core elements for a live event, then follow this battle-tested advice to ensure live enterprise events come off without a hitch.

by Larry Kless

2010 Predictions From Around The Web - Online Video, Social Media and Technology

It's 2010 now, and many have predicted what will happen in the new year. I shared my thoughts on the subject in the most recent issue of Streaming Media magazine as part of the annual Special Sponsored Section: Executive Predictions - Streaming Media Magazine which features 30 executives and thought leaders in the space who share their online video and streaming predictions. An extended version of my 2009 reflections/2010 predictions appeared as a guest post on Nalts' blog Will Video For Food.

Many of the executives talked about how online video will continue to grow, how online video services and delivery will become more commoditized, how standards will evolve, how television will shift online, how mobile will explode, how we'll see emerging models for online advertising, analytics, monetization and convergence of content across all three screens and new generation portable devices, and many more perspectives. The print version has been published and the online version should be available sometime soon. You can read many of the predictions online at the companies' blogs.

Here's what I wrote:

"Today, virtually every aspect of video has become a business. Content producers, media companies, SMBs to major corporations all have the same opportunities to build their businesses as online video publishers.

What is important for video publishers is the value that video brings to ROI. It won't be enough for companies to just deploy video solutions. They’ll need to engage in the communities where their audiences are through a variety of social networks. Conversation tools like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube will help marketers extend their reach and promote their brands. Video is really becoming part of people’s strategy and part of the ecosystem of their overall marketing plan.

So what did we learn from 2009? Yes, video is big and keeps on growing. But if 2009 proved anything, it showed us that the power of video and social media can change the way we experience world events, like Presidential Inaugurations or breaking news stories from citizen journalists seen first on YouTube or Twitter.

2009 saw a shift in how we do business from the personal to the virtual. From the boardroom to the living room, to the mobile device that will soon do everything -- so it's no surprise that video has become the vehicle for our conversation.

More than any other year, 2009 saw the rise of video one of the most effective communication mediums. In 2010, the focus will be on high quality content, storytelling, and business models that will continue to emerge to foster that growth."

Now onto my annual collection of predictions from around the web:

Robin Good and Robin Good and Daniele Bazzano of MasterNewMedia prepared this 2-part collection of predictions:

• Top Internet Trends 2010: A Guide To The Best Predictions From The Web - Part 1
• Top Internet Trends 2010: A Guide To The Best Predictions From The Web - Part 2

I made sure that there were no duplicates from Robin Good's list of predictions:

• 11 Predictions for the Online Video Industry in 2010 - Mark Robertson, Reel SEO - Everyone is giving their predictions for the Internet marketing and online video space in 2010 and I thought I’d better jump on the bandwagon with my 2 cents… Granted, I certainly have some more insightful predictions that I could provide but I figured it’s New Year’s Eve and we should all be relaxing…

• Predictions For Online Video in 2010 | Jeremy Allaire | Voices | AllThingsD
  2009 brought a lot of change to the online video world. We saw the surging growth of new players like Hulu, the advent of TV Everywhere (TVE), the first steps of YouTube’s monetization, more live video and mobile video, and video starting to reach beyond media and into other sectors of society. Video advertising-based monetization also grew 50 percent year over year–the fastest growth rate for any form of advertising during the Great Recession. From the energy of our customers to the phone calls from investment bankers, it is quite apparent that 2010 is going to be a very significant year again for online video...

• Kaltura CEO 2010 Prediction for Online Video
  We will see continued commoditization of the video delivery space. With affordable HDTV-grade online delivery available to all, publishers’ focus will shift from the delivery layer to the application layer. ‘Cookie cutter’ stand-alone video management features will be replaced by highly customized functionalities and work-flows that are tightly integrated with other content management systems...

• 2009 Year In Review – 2010 The Year Ahead | Will Video for Food
• 2010 Predictions: Don’t Get Laid Off | Online Video Watch
• EyeView's Blog: 6 Predictions For Online Video For 2010
• Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010 | VideoNuze
• Online-Video Experts Share 2009 Highlights and 2010 Prediction | Will Video For Food

• 2010 Predictions for Online Video « Online Video and Video Providers - VidCompare - We’re seeing 2010 predictions emerge in the Online Video space by industry leaders and it provides for interesting reading. That being said, there’s nothing shocking being stated, or rather, there are no big surprises or prognostications of something new to come. Everyone tends to agree on what to expect in the New Year including the much hyped TV Everywhere, set-top boxes, multiple screens, and of course, mobile.

Kris Drey also included the following four OV predictions:

2010: The Year of TV Everywhere | www.digitalsmiths.com

A year of evolving technologies for a dynamic market - Corporate Updates - Blog - thePlatform

In 2010, Expect TV Everywhere, a Boxee Bust, and OTT Video - NewTeeVee

Trends in Online Video for 2010 - Part 1 | Brightcove Blogs - Jeff Whatcott's Station

TrendsSpotting’s 2010 Tech and IT Influencers: Trend Predictions in 140 Characters | Trendsspotting

2010 Tech And It Predictions Trendsspotting

View more documents from Taly Weiss.

TrendsSpotting’s 2010 Social Media Influencers – Trend Predictions in 140 Characters | Trendsspotting

TrendsSpotting's 2010 Social Media Influencers - Trend Predictions in 140 Characters

View more documents from Taly Weiss.

2010 Consumer Trends Influencers: Slides Predictions in 140 Characters, by TrendsSpotting | Trendsspotting

Tech, business and social media predictions:

• 10 Predictions for 2010 - Reviews by PC Magazine
• 10 Predictions for 2010 In the World of Tech - louisgray.com
• 10 Predictions for 2010-2019
• 10 things that will happen in Search in 2010 | Royal Pingdom
• 10 Tech Concepts You Need to Know for 2010 – DNA Origami, Metabolomics, Osseointegration - Popular Mechanics
• 2010: 5 Media Predictions You Can Bank On
• 2010 Computing: Lighter, Faster, Mobile and Connected - louisgray.com
• 2010 Predictions & Trends: Technology, Media & Marketing | Darren Herman
  I created an uber prediction list back in 2007 and it was a hit. Here are some of the predictions already posted across the net re: technology, media, and marketing – three things I’m very interested in...
• 2010 predictions: Another turbulent year ahead for media - latimes.com
• 2010 Predictions Round-Up - eMarketer
• 2010 Prediction Roundup: From Outlandish to Likely - PC World
• 2010 Tech Predictions that Matter | 2010 Predictions | Technology Predictions
• 2010: The Year of Augmented Reality
• 2010 to bring new resolutions, new attacks on Adobe software
• 5 Predictions for the Music Industry in 2010
• 6 Tech Predictions That Helped Shape 2009 and 6 That Might Shape 2010
• Adobe tops list of 2010 threat predictions
• Advertising - Uptick in Global Ad Spending Is Forecast for 2010 - NYTimes.com
• Big List of 2010 Predictions | CenterNetworks
• Blogging Predictions For 2010
• Buzzwords For 2010: Which Words Will Catch On Next Year?
• CES 2010 Predictions | Consumer Electronics Show | CES 2010
• Eight trends to look for in 2010 | VentureBeat
• Facebook: 5 Predictions for 2010
• Five 2010 Predictions About Tech Companies - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com
• Five Music Predictions for 2010 (and Five Reasons Why 2009 was a Flop)
• Five Tech Themes for 2010 - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com
• For 2010, Expect Display Ads On The Google Homepage
• Five Search Marketing Predictions for 2010
• Internet Marketing 101: Email trends for 2010 - Email Marketing - BizReport
• Location, Location, Location: 5 Big Predictions for 2010
• Mashable’s Pete Cashmore Talks Web Trends 2010 With CNN’s Campbell Brown [VIDEO]
• MediaPost Publications - 2010: A Watershed Year for Digital 12/29/2009
• MediaPost Publications - Four Email Marketing Predictions for 2010 12/08/2009
• MediaPost Publications: Social Media Insider Readers Make Their Predictions For 2010 12/23/2009
• More attacks expected on Facebook, Twitter in 2010 | Safe and Secure - CNET News
• More Media/Ad Trend Predictions for 2010 | WebProNews
• My 5 Consumer Internet Predictions For 2010
• Predictions for 2010? -- Engadget
• Online Advertising Set For Modest Recovery in 2010, M&A to Heat-up and IPO Pipeline to Open a Crack, paidContent's Rafat Ali
• Open source predictions for 2010
• Predictions for Google's 2010
• Reflections of a Newsosaur: My un-predictions for 2010
• Richard Bernstein's 10 Predictions For 2010
• Tech Headlines We'll be Reading in 2010 - Reviews by PC Magazine
• Tech Mergers and Acquisitions to Grow in 2010
• Tech trends for 2010 — a Netscape moment coming up | VentureBeat
• Technology Predictions Are Mostly Bunk | Gordon Crovitz, WSJ.com
• TechRadar's 2010 technology predictions | News | TechRadar UK
• Ten Predictions For The E-Reader/E-Book Market In 2010
• Ten Technologies That Will Rock 2010
• The Wish List: 7 Things We Hope Will Come True in 2010 – GigaOM
• TUAW bloggers post their Apple predictions for 2010
• VatorNews - 5 Most Interesting VC Predictions for 2010
• What To Expect in 2010 | Regular Geek

I know I've missed a bunch more... so let me know if you see any that I should add to the list or if you have any predictions of your own. All the best to everyone in 2010!

Streaming Media West 2009 Red Carpet Interview - Paul Riismandel, Northwestern University

In this Streaming Media West 2009 Red Carpet interview, Peter Cervieri chats with Paul Riismandel, Director of Curriculum Support at the School of Communication at Northwestern University, about some of the challenges that educators face in adapting the classroom and lab experience into video along with the value that video brings for students. Paul specializes in educational technology for higher education, with a focus on digital media and conferencing. He writes for Streamingmedia.com and has moderated many panel discussions at Streaming Media East and West. He blogs and podcasts about other media stuff at mediageek.net and is better known as the @mediageek on Twitter. 

In addition to all his new media work he also dabbles in old media. Paul is the adviser to Northwestern University's WNUR-FM 89.3 FM, where he now produces his radio show, mediageek, every Thursday at 9 PM Central Time. 

At Northwestern University, the demand for video is driven more by tech savvy students who rely on the video recordings rather than taking notes. This helps them stay more engaged since they don't have to worry about missing part of the lecture when they can just watch it later for review. Paul says that video in the classroom rewards the most motivated students who are challenged to do well, and it gives them the extra opportunity to do better. He says that for instructors, the learning experience has to lend itself to a form that translates well into video.

 

Supporting the technology are film students who staff two wired classrooms that have built-in remote controlled cameras, microphones with active mixing, SMART Podium interactive pen displays to capture notations and Mediasite recorders for Powerpoint and screen capture. Students log in through the Mediasite portal to access the content but Northwestern University is evaluating a broader, platform agnostic portal that would serve as a DAM (Digital Assessment Management) system. Paul pointed out that, with the thousands of universities out there, the market is ripe for SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions in higher education. 

Paul also moderated two panel sessions at this years Streaming Media West and the Online Video Platform Summit. The first session, How to Produce Effective Educational Content, featured Scott Nadzan, Director, Technology Services, Syracuse University, Richard Bloom, Course-cast Coordinator, UC Berkeley, Dan Balzer, Training Technology Manager, Retail Learning and Development, BP America and John Morris, CTO, Director of Operations, Drexel University who discussed how they work with subject matter experts, practical production techniques, and the tools used to get optimal results in service of learning goals.

At the Online Video Platform Summit, Paul moderated, Best Practices Round Table - Online Video Publishing Strategies and Tools, which featured Matt DeLoca, SVP, Sales & Marketing, KIT Digital, Wayne Kao, VP, Product Engineering, VMIX, Ken Kaplan, Broadcast and New Media Manager, Intel Global Communications Group and Linda Crowe,Group Manager, Media Strategy & Production, Sun Microsystems who discussed cost-effective tools, techniques, and best practices for online video publishing.

Linda Crowe also did a Red Carpet interview which focused on enterprise video which I'll feature in an upcoming post. Videos from both of those sessions will be available on Streamingmedia.com/videos

Here's a sample of Paul's Streaming Media articles from this past year, read more here:

• Class Act: Form to Enhance Function
  
• Class Act: On Production Values and Flipping Burgers
  
• Class Act: Making Educational Video More Accessible
  
• Class Act: Preserving Your Video Legacy
  
• Advanced Learning: Education Year in Review
  
• Futurewatch: Education—Critical Decisions

Update 11/26/09: Text edits and additions.

Jan Ozer's Streaming Learning Center, An Online Resource for Streaming Media Production

I'm pleased to present a new online resource called the Streaming Learning Center, a web site that collects articles, tutorials and resources written by streaming media expert Jan Ozer. It contains original content, as well as content Jan has written for magazines like Streaming Media magazine, EventDV, Digital Content Producer and PC Magazine. According to Jan, "Basically, I put the site together to provide a forum for thoughts independent about what I write about elsewhere and to collect relevant articles that I've written in the streaming arena. For readers, it's a place to get a very techie streaming centric view of the world."

A few of the articles available on the site include Streaming Basics, Know Your Digital Video Formats, Marketing with Video, Are you using the best streaming encoding tool? and many more. You can also download a free primer on streaming media from the site. The primer is an amalgam of materials already available on streaminglearningcenter.com, along with new content, in a compact, more convenient form freely downloadable and fully printable.

"The ability to produce streaming media has suddenly become a critical skill set for many producers. However, though many of us use streaming-related terms like data rate and bandwidth everyday, there may be some residual lack of certainty as to what they precisely mean and why they are important," he says in the introduction. "Hopefully, this primer, written for beginners, will help fill these gaps for many readers."

It starts by defining commonly used streaming terms like bandwidth, streaming and data rate, and then explains universal encoding parameters like VBR and I, B and P-frames. Then it introduces readers to the big three codecs, H.264, VP6 and VC-1, and briefly compares and contrasts Flash and Silverlight. The primer finishes with a section on how to choose common encoding parameters like data rate and resolution and can be downloaded here.

Jan Ozer has worked in digital video since 1990, and is the author of 13 books related to video and streaming technology. He currently writes for StreamingMedia.com, Digital Content Producer and EventDV. In addition to producing seminars and for StreamingMedia.com and the MCA-I, Jan instructs two and three day video production seminars for the Digital Media Academy. He recently authored Critical Skills for Streaming Producers, a mixed media tutorial on DVD published by StreamingMedia.com and has spoke at numerous Streaming Media East and West panel sessions and workshops and many of the video archives are available here.

Jan will be presenting two sessions at Streaming Media East as it kicks off tomorrow in New York City with a Pre-Conference seminar on Encoding H.264 Video for Streaming and Progressive Download and another session on Streaming Production: Improving Your Video Quality.

This summer, he will teach two courses for Digital Media Academy, Producing Video for the Web (3 days) and Web Video Compression & Delivery (2 days). The two hands-on courses, to be held at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA (July 20-24) and Harvard in Boston, MA (July 27-31), will cover streaming production from set design to encoding using equipment from vendors like Sony, Bogen and Photoflex, and production software from Adobe and Apple. Check http://digitalmediaacademy.org/courses/all-courses.html#videopro for more details.

Streaming Media East in NYC This Week

The annual Streaming Media East Conference now in it's 11th year rolls into the big Apple tomorrow. The pre-conference workshops are on Monday and the conference sessions run from Tuesday through Thursday.

"The Streaming Media East show is the number-one place to come see, learn, and discuss what is taking place with all forms of online video business models and technology. Content owners, viral video creators, online marketers, enterprise corporations, broadcast professionals, ad agencies, educators and others all come to Streaming Media East to see and hear the latest online video technology but, more importantly, to discuss the business models that are coming of age.

I've gone to Streaming Media West for much of the last 10 years and have seen a lot of changes in the online video and streaming market. This year in particular is a really pivotal time for video on the web and the market is exploding with new innovation. It seems like there's a new API everyday that better integrates our video tools into our mobile and connected lifestyles.

A lot has changed in the last 6 months with advances in Flash delivery and H.264 streaming, improved video quality on YouTube, Adobe Air applications, mobile streaming applications like Qik, Flixwagon, video conversation platforms like Seesmic, branded widgets by Kyte, the emergence of advertising revenue models, CDN mergers and acquisitions, Hulu, HD on the web, the end of DRM and new notable music distribution models tried by Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails and the companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and the lot all trying to capture their market share.

The pre-conference sessions kick off tomorrow with workshops on "Using Adobe Media Server to Deliver Live and On-Demand Video, Comparing and Using Online Video Codecs, Deploying On-Demand and Live Media Experiences with Microsoft Silverlight and Planning, Building, and Launching a Successful Podcast."

The two conference days are packed with keynote sessions by industry leaders, panel discussion with CEO's, product managers, producers, bloggers, technology and social media strategists, engineers, content creators and so many others. You can see the final program here.

Aside from many of the familiar topics few highlights I'm looking forward to are the new tracks on H.264 Convergence, lifecasting and live mobile streaming. I heard from Steve Garfield who said that they will doing live streams on Qik and Mogulus for his session on Tuesday.

• Live Broadcasting Over Mobile and Wi-Fi Networks (C104) 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM EDT Moderator: Steve Garfield, Mobile Video Journalist, SteveGarfield.com
  Presenters: Max Haot, Founder, CEO, Mogulus and Bhaskar Roy, Co-Founder, Qik.com
  

I imagine there will be more live streaming for the lifecasting session that social media guru Chris Brogan is moderating on Wednesday.

• Lifecasting: The New Broadcasting Platform (B201) 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM EDT
  Moderator: Chris Brogan, VP, Strategy and Technology, CrossTechMedia & Co-Founder, PodCamp
  Presenters: Scott Monty, Consigliere, crayon; Sarah Austin, Founder, Pop17.com and Brad Hunstable, Founder, Business Development, Ustream.tv

I'll be keeping my eye out on Twitter, Friendfeed and my RSS feeds for updates from the show and share what I find as it becomes available. As in the past, the conference sessions will be video recorded and available on Streamingmedia.com following the conference.

Congratulations Streamingmedia.com on your 10 year anniversary and kudos to Dan Rayburn and the conference organizers and contributors for another year of great conferences and publications! I'm looking forward to attending the Streaming Media West show in September.

More from Streamingmedia.com:

Streamingmedia.com: How to Execute a Successful Webcast

This article comes from Streamingmedia.com and was written by Nico McLane. It first appeared in the February/March 2008 issue of Streaming Media Magazine ( Table of Contents • Digital Version) and is described as, "A primer on selecting the right equipment, making the right production decisions, and establishing a solid webcasting plan."

While webcasts are generally a considered a business tool for corporate presentations they are fast becoming a way for content producers to widen their reach to a global audience. Oprah's 10-week web cast series "A New Earth" is a prime example of how an existing brand can embrace a new medium and garner success as a live and on-demand webcast.

McLane writes that, "While a webcast is, by definition, a live event, a key part of a webcast’s success is the value it retains when it is accessed and repurposed after the fact. An effective webcast will live on long after the event has ended, and it has the potential to be repackaged across infinite channels that have a deeper “measure” of return on investment. If you deliver a meaningful, quality product in the live webcast, these are the opportunities that should not be missed or mismanaged."

Within the business setting it's all about numbers and ROI (Return On Investment) and McLane points out that the companies can save significant annual costs by replacing expensive operator-assisted conference calls with live webcasts and webinars. In additional, the viewers of these web-based presentations become active participants in a rich media experience through the use of live chat, document sharing, full motion video and other features which you won't find in an audio-only teleconference feed.

In her article, McLane highlights several key components on how to execute a successful webcast, which are:

• The “Grade A” Live Webcast Experience: Click and Go (more...)
  
• Respect the Product (more...)
• Site Inspection (more...)
• Learn the Jargon (more...)
• Equipment Check (more...)
• Other Elements of Best Practice Preparation (more...)
• Monitor Your Webcast Onsite (more...)
• The Walkthrough Checklist (more...)

Her "Walkthrough Checklist" offers practical tips for success and are all important considerations when you produce a webcast. Such as, lighting, backdrops, what type of microphones to use, projection, camera positions and room layout. Whether it's a webcast or not, these are all fundamental details I cover with each of my productions.

Since it's related to this post, I included the video from the Streaming Media West panel discussion that I participated in "Best Practices in Webcast Production" which I had previously featured here.




UPDATE: (More from Nico McLane)

• HOW TO: Choosing and Comparing Webcasting Hardware
• Download the presentation (6.9MB PPT)
  Download the Excel spreadsheet (36KB XLS) (Streaming Media East 2007)
• PANEL SESSION: Unique Challenges To Enterprise Streaming
  Audio Stream (Streaming Media East 2006)
• PANEL SESSION: Using Live Webcasting As An Extension Of A Brand
  Audio Stream Video Stream (Streaming Media East 2005)
• Creating An Internal Streaming Infrastructure
  Audio StreamAudio Stream (Streaming Media East 2004)
• Panel: Developing a Streaming Strategy for a Corporate Environment (Streaming Media East 2002)
  (more...)
• How to Execute a Successful Webcast (4/18/2008)
• Futurewatch: Enterprise (2/15/2008)