A Connected World TV From Vizio

July 8, 2009 By

No, it’s not my new video podcast, but an actual hdtv from Vizio with build in wifi networking. The so-called digital convergence has been talked about for years, but here is the first product I have seen that might actually make it a reality. The Television has built in wireless networking and support for Blockbuster, Netflix, Pandora, Amazon Video and an open architecture that will allow for future upgrades and additional services. It even has a remote control with a QUERTY keyboard. Large media companies are in fits over services like Hulu and Boxee but clearly pandoras box has been opened and this kind of connectivity between the Internet and common devices like a television is where things are going. It shouldn’t matter so much to the big media companies, however, as they should realize their bread and butter is the content not the delivery mechanism. The real problem is the incredibly complex and integrated businesses and licensing model this is all based on. Like many other business models, this one is going to have to be completely deconstructed and rebuilt from scratch for the new connected world.

So the question we always want to answer here at Connected World Media, what does this mean to your business? It means the world of the big screen TV may be opening up for you. In the past there was virtually no way anybody but the largest businesses with the most money could get onto television. TV advertising is just too expensive for most businesses. But now, the TV is open to the Internet and services that nearly any business can participate in. Already there is opportunity with YouTube as Apple TV will show those videos. I can’t imagine it won’t be too long before the Vizio connected TV starts supporting YouTube and possibly other Internet video services. You could develop a Boxee application and gain access via that route. Bottom line, there are effective and inexpensive ways for your company, your brand to get onto peoples big screen TV’s. But don’t hit them with the same old garbage from your marketing department (sorry marketeers). You had better be engaging, relevant and entertaining.

Filed Under: Blog, Technology, Video Tagged With: , , , , , ,

YouTube and Apple: Together We'll Take Over The World

July 1, 2009 By

Well the online video world at least. The latest statistics on the new iPhone 3GS and YouTube are staggering. The iPhone has a history of taking something that has been around for awhile on other mobile phones and blasting it into the mainstream. Browsing the web was nothing new on a mobile phone when the iPhone was launched, but Apple took it to such a level and made it so easy and fun to do, mobile web traffic has exploded since. Now it’s happening with video. Nokia phones especially have always been great for taking video, but it has taken the new iPhone 3GS with it’s built in video capabilities to make it massively popular. Again, Apple takes mobile video to the next level by allowing simple on phone editing and super simple distribution to YouTube. I’ve always thought mobile video was going to be the next big thing and it looks like the new iPhone is going to confirm that thought.

What does it mean for your business? All this new video is going to drive more people to YouTube to watch. It will solidify YouTube’s dominance in the online video world. If you are doing any kind of video for your company and you do not have a YouTube channel yet, you are passing up a massive opportunity. You simply cannot afford not to be on YouTube. You should also be watching and monitoring YouYube for videos about your company or your industry. What are people saying, what are they thinking? This is the best market research/customer opinion lab you have ever had. You may not like all the content, but you had better pay attention and be ready to respond and engage.

What kind of opportunities are you giving your customers, your raving fans to share their videos? Maybe you should share the best YouTube videos on your main website. What other ways can you encourage people to create good video content about your company? These are the kinds of things you should be brainstorming with your social media consultant. Don’t have one? You might want to give me a call, I’m happy to help.

Filed Under: Blog, Mobile Computing, Video Tagged With: , , , ,

An Overview of Online Video Services

June 23, 2009 By

I’ve been experimenting with video more, as you can see by my Connected World TV episodes. I am learning on the fly and there is a lot to learn, so again I thank you for your patience. Part of the learning curve is determining how to distribute video on the Internet . There are a vast array of services that you can post your video to, all with their own particular advantages and disadvantages. Here I offer you an overview of some of the more popular sites.

YouTube is the granddaddy of them all and is an important platform to be on because that’s where the numbers are. YouTube has far and away the largest numbers of viewers. I don’t think you an afford to avoid YouTube under any circumstances. YouTube is also compatible with both Apple TV and the iPhone so there is another large and growing channel.  The video quality is decent, maybe not quite as good as other services, but the HD video looks on par to me. YouTube also makes it super easy to post videos to your blog and has a customizable player.

Viddler is another good site with some unique features. Video quality on Viddler is very good and the real draw is the built in ability to overlay your own logo onto the video. This custom branding of videos is very desirable for any brand.

Blip.tv has very good video as well and it’s unique feature is that it can convert video into multiple formats at one time. Upon uploading of a video it will crate a Flash video and, if you choose, an iPod compatible version. Blip also has some mild personal branding of their player but nothing as good as Viddler. Blip has very good sharing, allowing you to post your videos to your blog and even to Facebook.

Vimeo is a popular site with some because it’s video quality may be the best of all. I have not used Vimeo much at all and it appears to be somewhat limited in it’s capability other than excellent video.

An important thing to remember are the upload restrictions when dealing with these general purpose video sites. YouTube is pretty generous but has as limit of 10min. Viddler and Blip have decent limits and Vimeo has the most restrictive. HD uploading is sometimes different than non-HD video. Many of these sites will allow you to upgrade your limits with a premium paid account. Check each site for details.

Ustream is a good platform if you are going to be doing live broadcasting. Ustream is strictly a live platform. You don’t upload pre-recorded videos although any live videos you to shoot are saved to the service for viewing later. Among the live broadcast services, Ustream has the largest audience and a good set of tools, including an interactive chat room along side your video. Ustream doesn’t have a strong mobile client yet but for shooting with a built in webcam, it works well.

Qik is a specialized service for cell phones and is an amazing live mobile video service. It works really well from a jailbroken iPhone and you can even view Qik videos from a special iPhone web page. There are also Qik clients for many other cell phones including most modern Nokia phones. I use Qik for all my live mobile video.

Seesmic is a special case. Seesmic is really for video “conversation”. Videos on Seesmic are usually recorded by webcam and are very short. You might think of Seesmic as the Twitter of video. People watch videos and often start conversations with videos going back and forth, all in a public stream. The problem with Seesmic is it’s a walled garden. Inside Seesmic, you can meet good people and have interesting conversations, but video from Seesmic rarely gets outside of Seesmic. It’s a very limited audience. The other big problem with Seesmic is it can take a great deal of time to view all the videos in a conversation. A 5 video thread with each participant talking for 2 min would take 10 min of time to view. And that’s just one conversation. I don’t use Seesmic anymore as I don’t have time to view and respond to all the videos. Conversation on Twitter is faster and more efficient. Seesmic is an interesting idea, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere.

That is a somewhat technical overview but, of course, the other shoe to drop is what do you actually do with these services? How does this help my business? Stay tuned, the answers are forthcoming.

Filed Under: Blog, Video Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Dominos YouTube Disaster

April 18, 2009 By

From the past post, we learned how damaging video can be to a brand online. What’s even worse, is when employees do it to their own company. This video, originally posted to YouTube and since taken down, features two Dominos employees in North Carolina doing disgusting things to the food during preparation. They thought this was very funny and posted it to YouTube. A marketing nightmare.

Fortunately for Dominos, someone notified them of the video and they took quick action to get it taken down. They also did a great thing by putting their president on video with a response, also posted to YouTube. The president is great in this video. He is serious, a little angry and authentic. Domoinos did well limiting this disaster but it brings up several points.

  • Brand monitoring: It was very fortunate that someone notified Dominos of the video, but Dominos should have been monitoring social media sites themselves. They might have been able to catch the video even faster.
  • Training: It is now critical to train all employees on the use of social media while at work and while not at work if it involves the company at all. Sensible guidelines for all employees will help safeguard employees and the company.
  • Speed and Transparency: The big lesson here is the speed of response and the transparency and open honesty. Dominos did not try to hide anything that happened or sugar coat it in any way. They dealt with things head on.

Filed Under: Blog, Marketing, Video Tagged With: , ,

Universal Music – Caught In It's Own Bear Trap

February 5, 2009 By

In the ongoing saga of dumb entertainment companies doing dumb things online, Universal Music Group has a new page on it’s website for a new Eminem single they are promoting. There is a link on this page leading to a YouTube video which has been banned by Universal Music for unauthorized copyright. Talk about getting caught in your own bear trap. This has obviously become an embarrassment as the page as of now (11:02am) gives a message of Access Denied.

What good does this do anybody? Now I can’t hear the new song, watch the new video and get excited about telling my friends and buying it. Now I’m just angry because the music industry is yet again messing with me, the consumer. If Universal Music was smart, they would release this video in a high quality format and encourage music fans to put it on their blogs and embed it into their social network profiles. Further, Universal Music should have an affiliate program wherein if I place one of these videos on my blog and someone clicks through and buys a single or an album I get a small payment.

To the music industry I say, please read a book for me. It’s called the Cluetrain Manifesto. After that please take a look at The Long Tail. And by the way, dear reader, if you have not yet read these books, I highly suggest you do.

Filed Under: Blog, Digital Music, Marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

Connected World Radio: The Business of YouTube

January 30, 2009 By

It turns out YouTube is more than just skateboarding dogs and people falling down stairs. Business is being transacted, but you must treat your customers with respect and engage them on the new technology platforms. What you can learn from Warner Music Group and Monty Python.

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Filed Under: Audio, Podcast, Social Networks, Technology Tagged With: , , , ,

Don't Believe in the Power of YouTube for Business?

January 26, 2009 By

And now for something completely different…

Warner Music could learn a lot from Monty Python. Python videos and clips have been some of the most popular items to be posted to YouTube by fans over the years. Sound familiar Warner Music? Viacom? Pay attention. Frustrated by all the “pirate” videos, Monty Python opened their own YouTube channel with high quality videos of all their stuff. In return they ask that you buy the DVD’s. The results? Monty Python videos have increased 23% since creation of the channel. It’s true, treating customers with respect and giving them an easy and fair way to purchase your products online will increase your sales. Contrary to popular belief among the old media dons, most people don’t want to steal your content. But they do want to use the new tools of the Internet to comsume and purchase. For years the music industry believed they were being ripped off because of the Internet. But look at the wild success of iTunes and you can see, given the new technologies and fair prices, people are happy to purchase content.

Congratulations to Monty Python and their fans. I hope more content producers take note of this success and start thinking differently. Please stop fighting with us. Work with us and together we can all win.

Filed Under: Blog, Marketing Tagged With: , ,

Warner Music vs YouTube vs Consumers

January 25, 2009 By

First it was YouTube vs. Viacom in a battle that is still going to this day. Now Warner Music enters the ring, insisting that any music from Warner artists be muted from YouTube clips or, in any cases, the clips have been removed altogether. This includes informal performances by kids on their personal keyboards. Even humming the wrong tune could get you in trouble these days. As far as I know I can still think about a Warners artist while recording a video on YouTube ;)

As you would expect, unless you are Warners which I guess just doesn’t know or doesn’t care, there has been a huge outcry and many videos produced in protest. Maybe I missed it, but contiually alienating and pissing off your customers is something I didn’t get in any of my college business classes. YouTube has indicated in the past that it would like to do deals with major content providors to clear up these copyright issues, but the old media dons hold out for unreasonable demands.

It continues to shock me how the music industry contiues to self mutilate itself trying to enforce it’s antiquated business model. They killed Napster and thought they had won, but it was never about Napster. It’s so much bigger than that. For better or for worse it’s a new connected world order. The old rules don’t apply. Obama just got elected President; greed is out. Again I quote Princess Leia from Star Wars addressing Governor Tarkin. “The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.”

Filed Under: Blog, Digital Music Tagged With: , , ,

The Cameras Are Never Off

July 23, 2008 By

Interesting video as President Bush asks that the cameras be turned off and then makes some remarks we have to assume he didn’t want recorded. Unfortunately these days, especially when you are a public figure, the cameras are never off. Somebody out there has a cell phone with video or some other kind of pocket recording device. We live in a time of constant recording. To many people are carrying devices capable of recording and distributing that recording to millions via the Internet is also so easy now. One camera I saw yesterday specifically records video in YouTube compatible format, a feature that was highlighted prominently on the box. Remember when America’s Funniest Home Videos was a top TV show? Now YouTube is America’s Funniest Home Videos. Watch yourself out there in public because the camera is never off. Neither is the audio recorder or the snapshot.

Filed Under: Blog, Citizen Media, New Media Tagged With: , , ,