Archive for March, 2007
US TV networks plan YouTube rival
March 22nd, 2007
News Corp and NBC Universal have today announced that they are teaming up to launch the “largest” internet video distribution network, which will directly compete with video-sharing sites such as YouTube.
The site will debut this summer, and provide free access to full-length programmes and films such as House, 24 and Heroes. The portal will be supported by advertising, with brands such as Cadbury Schweppes, Cisco and Intel already lined up.
The initiative will allow the US TV networks to have much greater control over their content, and hopefully minimise the chances of unauthorised clips of their content appearing on YouTube.
Viacom, which owns MTV and Nickelodeon, has similarly signed a deal with internet TV service Joost, to offer rights to its content once it launches this summer.
Yahoo! delivers on mobile search
March 20th, 2007
What’s this? Yahoo! beats Google with the launch of a new service? It’s true I tell you, and if there was ever a significant sector for Yahoo! to make its stand, mobile is certainly it.
And no, I’m not referring to Google Phone.
Yahoo! oneSearch is a search platform delivering local results. This differs from traditional search as it focuses on local information, such as news headlines, images from Flickr, business listings, local weather and links to other websites.
It’s not new, it has been available on a select number of devices for a while and was highlighted at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at the start of the year as part of the Yahoo! Go 2.0 mobile platform. Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and LG have all adopted the platform and it continues to build in popularity.
The important part is that the service is now available to more than 85% of all web-enabled mobile phones…in the US, with other international markets due to follow this year.
It appears Yahoo! has made a concerted effort to get ahead in the mobile market, deemed by many to be one of the most important, not just for search, but for the web as a whole.
What’s more, early reports suggest oneSearch not only works, but advertising is subtle and does not interrupt usability. Let’s hope this trend continues through to launch in the UK.
Coull.tv unveils contextual ads for UGC
March 19th, 2007
The internet video space is a fascinating one to watch at the moment, as anyone in the digital industry will know.
Over the last couple of days, news of a contextual, ad-supported video player called Coull.tv, has surfaced. The beta version launched on Friday, and can be embedded into websites, blogs or MySpace pages, creating contextual advertising opportunities for user-generated content.
Vecosys is calling this an industry “first”.
Coull’s interactive features allow viewers to click on objects of interest to tag, comment and rate, as well as link directly to a specific micro-site or product page.
This is a big step for the user-generated content market, as well as the commercial internet video space. Both are too much in their infancy for us to predict how they will work together, but I suspect social media functionality will be the key differentiator. People don’t just want to watch video anymore - they want to be able to interact with it.
Coull.tv is certainly a step in the right direction. The beta version is clearly not finished, and there’s a fair amount of development still to be done, but I can’t wait to see the finished version.
March 14th, 2007
With the inevitable lawsuit against YouTube taking centre stage, and CeBIT, the world’s biggest technology show, about to open its doors tomorrow, I almost missed the news that Scoopt has been acquired by Getty images.
Scoopt is a citizen journalism photo aggregator and distributor, founded by Scottish journalist Kyle MacRae and his wife in 2005.
It has been a key source of user-generated editorial content, focused on photographs and videos captured by eyewitnesses who have observed headline-making moments.
Scoopt members text or email still images and video to the agency so it can sell images on their behalf to the international press.
Photographers who submit imagery to Scoopt retain copyright but grant the agency a 12-month exclusive license that authorises re-license to one or more publishers.
A lesson YouTube may have to learn the hard way.
According to Journalism.co.uk Getty plans to fully integrate Scoopt into its organisation and to distribute images captured by non-professionals alongside its current supply of pictures.
So congratulations to the MacRaes who were one of the pioneers of photo-based UGC and have got their just rewards.
March 13th, 2007
A literary prize for the best books based on blogs has been announced today, by self-publishing website Lulu.
The prize celebrates ‘blooks’ that have begun life in the blogosphere. Fifteen titles have been short-listed, including the much written about Frank Warren’s ‘My Secret: A Post-Secret Book’, which grew out of a blog that encouraged young people to mail in their secrets anonymously on a postcard.
Blooks are said to be creating a new genre of literature. The BBC website cites last year’s winning blook - ‘Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously’ - which has now sold over 100,000 copies and is being made into a film.
The 2007 Blooker is offering a total prize fund of $15,000 (£7,750 ) for winners in the three categories of fiction, non-fiction and comics. The overall winner - announced on 14 May - pockets $10,000 (£5,170).
While citizen journalism has received a great deal of press, the growing phenomenon of blooks is yet to be explored properly. The prize is certainly a step in the right direction.