YouTube is about to get clever with the addition of video annotations. These are a new way to add interactive elements to your videos. Add background information, create stories with multiple possible endings or link to related content. You control what they say, where they appear, when and for how long.
The possibilities are endless, and could open up a whole new set of opportunities for viral marketing. Check out the instructional video, or check out the example below:
New research by the IPA has shown that almost a third of people between the age of 15 to 25 have watched TV via the internet. And around 18% of people aged between 25 and 64 (a very broad ‘old people’ category or what?!) had too.
The IPA Touchpoints report surveyed over 5,000 people and also looked at mobile behaviour. It was found that 30% of 15 to 24 year olds watch video clips on their phones, with 13% of all mobile users doing so.
Jim Marshall, chairman of the IPA Media Futures Group, said, ” the young are still driving the take-up and use of digital media and new technology, however, the older age groups are also moving steadily towards greater adoption.” Personally, I would have thought that more than a third of 15 to 25 year olds would have watched TV online, but I suppose if this statistic was expressed as a number than a percentage it would seem greater.
Just as an extra update - overall broadband penetration now stands at 73% of all UK adults, with internet usage at an average of 45 minutes on weekdays and just over an hour at weekends.
TokBox, the web-based video chat tool is bringing video chat to Facebook via their TokBox Facebook application. TokBox’s current app is just like any other chat facility, but their new functionality takes them into a new league - enabling users to have a video chat within their Facebook chat.
TokBox’s web-based platform is a Flash-enabled browser plugin. It makes the video chat process really easy to use - there are not downloads or any difficult setups - as long as you have a working webcam or computer microphone, you are ready to go…
You just need to install the TokBox plugin for Facebook (which is only supported for Firefox at the moment). Underneath each of your friends’ names there will be a link which will give you the option to start a video chat with them. Then you just need to tell the app that you allow access to the webcam, and you’re off. As with all TokBox video chat conversations, you’ll see your screen on the left, and the screen of your friend on the right (so it will look like below…)
TokBox also allows you hold multiple video chats at once, with each chat in its own window (like standards chats).
Bored with Twitter? Fed up with Twinkle? Step it up a level and stream video direct from your mobile phone to the web using Qik!
The core idea is that you download a small application onto your phone, sign up to qik.com and then simply stream whatever you fancy direct to the Internet. Videos can be watched live or at a later date via qik.com.
To make it happen you’ll need a pretty modern phone though. Windows Mobile and iPhone support has just been added to Symbian OS, covering many modern handsets, but still leaving many needing an upgrade (like myself). Qik also advise that you get yourself an unlimited data plan. I imagine this is a wise step. Qik is probably the sort of app that would ruin someone on pay-as-you-go fairly swiftly.
Right now it all seems pretty fresh. The website looks sparkly and web 2.0 enough, but the videos seem to show people dipping their toes into the service. There are lots of short clips of people videoing their computers / desks / the ceiling etc..!
The functionality is all there, however, and well layered. There isn’t that feeling of being overwhelmed that you sometimes get when confronted with just too much functionality. Most of this is through the clever use of tabs and a well laid out, crisp design.
It has all the syndication features you’d expect from a descent app. You can access user’s video feeds via RSS. You can even make Qik update your Twitter feed every time you post a video!
Fresh from securing $3 million in funding, Qik seems to be securing it’s status as the market leader in live video streaming direct from mobile phones. It will be interesting to see how the service grows and blossoms as it moves beyond the early-adopter phase.
PS: Benn can I have an iPhone please so I can play with Qik?
You may have already heard about this YouTube video as its been viewed over 2,700,000 times since it was uploaded two weeks ago. It shows an ‘unsuspecting’ girlfriend being filmed by her boyfriend’s hidden camera while she tries to keep her hula hoop up on Wii Fit. The video was posted in response to a video “Wii Fit Hula Hoop makes you look stupid”.
The video is a great response to the negative video and will probably encourage a few guys to go out and buy their girlfriends the game - and the creator, Giovanny Gutierrez (who just happens be a Director for an Advertising agency in Florida) clearly knew that when he created it.
So, is the video a response to a secret brief from Nintendo? Many people in the industry suspect that it has to be, and I have to agree with them. According to Nintendo and Gutierrez it’s ‘100% nothing to do with Nintendo” - although they wouldn’t admit it anyway would they?
And if it wasn’t a secret brief, Gutierrez must have known that his video would get his agency, Tinsley Advertising, some positive publicity. I’m sure they’re not going to be short of a few briefs for a while.
BBC1 has just announced that within the next year, all of its programmes will be simulcast as a live video stream on the internet. This makes it the first of BBC’s analogue TV channels to be aired on the web - ITV has already been simulcasting ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 for a year.
The channel will be available via their website, bbc.co.uk, which is being relaunched with improved listings and programme information. BBC Director, Mark Thompson, said that “building on the success of the iPlayer, we want to develop bbc.co.uk to include a broad range of the BBC’s broadcast content, as well as new and interactive forms of media that enable audiences to interact with and contribute to the website.”
Despite the fact that we no longer need a TV to watch BBC1, they are still going to make us pay the licence fee: “You need a TV licence to use any television receiving equipment such as a TV set, set-top box, video or DVD recorder, computer or mobile phone to watch or record TV programmes as they are being shown on TV.”
Viacom are suing YouTube’s video sharing service for its inability to keep copyrighted material off its site. They have identified 150,000 unauthorised television and movie clips on the site, including South Park, SpongeBob SquarePants and MTV Unplugged, which have been viewed tens of thousands of times.
YouTube’s owner Google says that the lawsuit threatens Internet freedom and the millions of people that legitimately exchange information over the web. They maintain that they are faithful to the requirements of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act and they respond properly to all claims of infrigement, claiming that they go “far beyond its legal obligation in assisting content owners to protect their works”.
However, Viacom disagree and believe they do not live up to standards and have done “little or nothing” to stop infringement. They do not believe they should “tolerate any form of piracy by anyone, including YouTube…they cannot get away with stealing our products”.
Ahead of the upcoming Social Media Influence conference (to be held on 4th June in London) the following YouTube Corporate Top 10 list has been compiled - comprising of videos which appear within the first 10 results in a search of the company name. Each one has been viewed over 1 million times and generated hundreds of comments.
Over 80 million YouTube videos are watched every day, making YouTube one of the most influential forms of media today. We can’t understand why some brands don’t value YouTube’s power and recognise the potential threat that it could have to their reputation - take the Disney porn for example.
Visit Social Media Influenceif you want to view the videos. They suggest that while you’re watching, “ask yourself this question - do you know how your company looks on YouTube?”
Here’s their top 10 (in descending order):
Toyota - “Top Gear: Killing a Toyota Part 1″ - 1,132,279 views Jeremy Clarkson tries to destroy a Toyota pick up truck without success
Ikea - “Banned Commercial - Swedish Midsummer” - 1,483,858 views
Ikea banned this ad making fun of Swed made by the German division of the company
Microsoft - “Microsoft Surface Parody” - 2,068,861 views A caustic video parody of Microsoft’s Surface table PC
Budweiser - “Banned Super Bowl 2007 Bud commercial” - 2,149,516 views What happens when you’ve spent millions on a racy Supebowl ad and then the censor bans it? Stick it on YouTube.
Disney - “Internet is for Porn” - 3,278,230 views
This not-so-family friendly mashup of Disney clips is hilarious and completely off brand message.
Unilever - “Dove Evolution” - 6,727,556 views An inspired conversational campaign with unintended consequences - allowing consumer and environmental activists to create their own rebuttals.
Coca-Cola - “Diet Coke+Mentos=Human experiment: EXTREME GRAPHIC CONTENT” - 8,583,526 views. The Diet Coke and Mentos meme has spawned hundreds of copycat YouTube videos and prompted Coca-Cola to join the conversation.
McDonalds - “Fast Food Freestyle” - 11,744,399 views. Funny and flattering McD’s rap homage helps bury far more negative YouTube content.
Pepsi - Britney Spears, Beyonce, Pink - We Will Rock You - 14,050,586 views. Britney, Beyonce and Pink in skimpy gladiator costumes proves you can’t beat celebrity content.
Nike - “Ronaldinho: Touch of Gold” - 22,581,372 views. The master at work seen through this “homemade” viral produced by….Nike.
We have a huge Star Wars geek here at neoco, which is why i thought I’d mention that Blinkx have embraced their inner Star Wars geek and declared the 4th May 2008 as ‘International Star Wars Day’.
They’ve created a special page dedicated to the film series, and to celebrate this day they’ve put together a wall page with some of the best Star Wars clips, including “Star Wars Kid”, Family Guy parody clips, behind-the-scenes stuff, and even a Darth Vader shaped hot air balloon?!
iGliss has just relaunched its redesigned beta, labelled as a ‘media content management service’.
We all know that often there are just too many steps to sharing media online with friends - but iGliss provides one convenient place for you to share all your favorite items including videos, pictures and blog posts.
With iGliss, you can choose to do the traditional uploading ‘by hand’, or you can download their PC content manager, which locates your media for you and automatically uploads it - basically taking all of the human interaction out of it for you. Once your media is uploaded, other users can search the site for your content, using it’s tags and descriptions, and then share it with even more people.
As well as sharing your own content, you can share videos from YouTube and RSS feeds - basically anything that can be shared on the web can be shared here - great for people who do a lot of sharing!
