I’ve had a few inquiries why Lost Remote is embedding YouTube clips of copyrighted material rather than linking to the video on the originating media site. It’s a legitimate question, but I’m staging a protest. As a blogger, YouTube’s functionality allows me quickly find and embed the player on the site with a simple copy-paste. When I went to ComedyCentral.com, I tried searching for the clip, but no luck. Once I found it, I tried to find the URL to link directly to it. Nothing. And of course, there’s no functionality to embed their player on the site. So YouTube it is. Media sites must realize that YouTube is becoming the Google of video. People are “YouTubing” to find video before visiting the originating site. And an army of bloggers are embedding YouTube players on their sites, which as an aggregate probably makes up a good third of YouTube’s total video traffic. Why aren’t media sites copying YouTube search and share functionality? Good question.
As part of the “Better Know a District” segment on the Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert interviewed Congressman Robert Wexler, who’s running uncontested in November. As a joke, Colbert asked him to say some things that would normally lose him the election, like how much he enjoys cocaine. And as a joke, Wexler did. Funny stuff. But the Today Show and Good Morning America followed up with a story that wondered why Wexler would do such a thing. “(It exposed) the uncomfortable truth about journalists,” writes Jeff Jarvis. “They have no sense of humor.” So true. And here’s Colbert’s follow up…
By an overwhelming vote, the U.S. House has passed a bill that would require public schools and libraries to prevent minors from accessing “social networking sites” and “chat rooms.” Initially designed to apply to MySpace — that great evil — the bill is worded so vaguely that it may apply to sites like Amazon, LinkedIn and Slashdot. “(Social networking sites) have become a haven for online sexual predators who have made these corners of the Web their own virtual hunting ground,” said Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, one of the original sponsors of the “Deleting Online Predators Act” or DOPA. As you can imagine, I think this is absurd. So here comes the rant…
The user video site Grouper has just added a feature that allows people to post video comments on clips using their webcams. A great idea and a natural evolution for comments. Plus, check out that sharing functionality at the bottom of their embedded video player (below). Download to desktop, iPod or PSP. And one-click publishing to MySpace, Wordpress and other blogs. “It is our philosophy that video should be enjoyed everywhere,” explains the Grouper blog. “Whether it is browsing through great clips on Grouper.com for hours on end or creating a more personal viewing experience in the place of your choosing.” Ah, if only media companies would understand that philosophy…
In Google’s first foray into broadcast media, the search giant is now selling radio ads in Detroit through an online interface. The idea is to give smaller advertisers more access to the medium. Six months ago Google acquired dMarc, which designed the system. “We’re anxious to see how it works in the real world,” said Mary Schiemel, senior VP and director of local broadcast for TargetCast tcm, a media buying company. (Free reg. req.)
IBM is no stranger to organizing online brainstorming sessions. However, they are hosting their largest one ever this week, inviting some 100,000 people to participate. They are calling the project, “Innovation Jam”. Even more interesting, the ideas generated by the brainstorm are not exclusive to IBM. “Without risk, there is no innovation,” said Ed Bevin, vice-president of communications for IBM research. IBM plans to invest $100 million in the strongest ideas. The broadcast industry desperately needs to think about doing one of these. Doesn’t it?
According to the Newspaper Industry Compensation Survey, online editors saw an increase of 8.1% in base pay from 2005 to 2006. Print positions only rose 2.58%, slightly lower than last year’s 2.71%. This stat demonstrates where newspapers now want to invest their money. (Either that or they weren’t paying online editors enough in the first place.) If you want to compete, the best and the brightest don’t come cheap!
On August 22, Electronic Arts will release Madden NFL 07, the next edition of the incredibly popular video game series. Since ESPN and EA have a working relationship, both ESPN and ESPN.com will debut a one-hour sneak peek on August 4th. But here’s the catch: it’ll cost you $19.95. That’s right, 20 bucks to watch a promo. But truth be told, I’m sure many Madden fans will fork out the cash to watch.
Comcast Interactive Capital and Turner New Media Investments have invested in Revver, a user video site that pays its contributors based upon how many times people view their respective clips. Earlier this month, Revver said the guys behind the popular “Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment” video clip earned a cool $28,000.
IBM is no stranger to organizing online brainstorming sessions. However, they are hosting their largest one ever this week, inviting some 100,000 people to participate. They are calling the project, 
On August 22, Electronic Arts will release Madden NFL 07, the next edition of the incredibly popular video game series. Since ESPN and EA have a working relationship, both ESPN and ESPN.com will debut a one-hour 
