People have been posting their reactions to the Google/YouTube deal at YouTube since the deal was announced. Seems natural they would. Cuddlybear1200 thinks “it’s a great merge.” vlog33 gives us his opinion which should matter to you Wall Street types, since he is a shark. ihateevathang (who is my nominee for the next - but real - lonelygirl15) just wants to know what to make of it. Aussie timewarlord wonders if this is the Google apocalypse, while MrJohnson1 has put together a, um, music video I guess, that combines Google, YouTube and - of course - Abe Lincoln. Finally, an overmodulated but otherwise not bad graphical guess at what integration may look like from FableForge, appropriately put to some copywritten music.
My MacBook Pro crashed this week in the Great Irony Bug of 2006, so I’ve been reinstalling the software. No problem there. And with my music and videos safely backed up on my iPod, it should have been an easy restore process. But of course, thanks to DRM, that’s not so. Apple makes restoring music easy - if you bought it from iTunes Music Store. If it’s your own stuff - there’s no way to re-import it back to your computer. So I searched “iPod rip” and sure enough, there was a nifty little program called “iPodRip.” (A lesson there in Google keywords, my friends.) It easily opened the “hidden” folders on my iPod, transferred my songs and videos back onto the computer, and synched up everything nicely. Alert the RIAA and MPAA: I have just stolen 1,844 songs and videos from myself. For every software barrier there is a software tank.
I agree with Poynter’s Amy Gahran. One of the many reasons for YouTube’s success has been its use of Flash video. Flash just works. It embeds gorgeously on a page. The Flash player software either comes with your browser or is a download you need anyway. It’s cross-platform (you don’t want to alienate Mac users when it comes to video production), and you don’t have to download another $^#%@ proprietary player for every site you visit. It’s also the lowest quality video/audio experience of the big four: Real, WindowsMedia, QuickTime and Flash. And it doesn’t matter. Just like “broadcast quality” doesn’t matter. Want to increase your site’s video plays tomorrow? Switch to Flash. Yeah - there are Flash haters. But there are haters of every platform except QT, and QT just ain’t gonna win this one.
Antiques Roadshow, Nova, Now and Arthur are just a few of the PBS TV shows now available for the standard $1.99 each on iTunes. This brings the total number of shows on iTunes to 220 from more than 40 broadcast and cable networks. Press release…
While the rest of the media world was watching the formation of media tycoon 2.0 yesterday as google and youtube got hitched, I was lunching with media tycoon 1.0: Ted Turner. Ted spoke at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., where I am a member of the Broadcasting and New Media Committees. While his remarks focused on his global philanthropic efforts, the environment, and nuclear proliferation, he did talk some media soup during the Q&A. The “Mouth of the South” has arguably one of the biggest scars from the .com bubble pop, saying “Invest in Internet companies. Don’t put everything into them” during questioning about the future of news. The transcript is available to club members, and audio from the lunch will air on the NPC XM radio show in the near future. In the meantime, I pulled a few choice quotes of interest to lost remoters…
Nielsen is buying the remaining 39.5 percent stake in Nielsen-Netratings and moving ahead with plans to provide a “fusion” ratings service that combines the TV sample with comparable people in an online sample. “The fusion process matches panelists based on common demographics, including age, sex, household income, household education and region of country, to link the two databases, thereby providing a comprehensive picture of consumers’ television and online activities,” said Nielsen CEO Susan Whiting. A six-month test begins in January. (Free reg. req.)
Chad Hurley and Steve Chen comment on the acquisition. Not too flattering. OK, it’s very YouTubish and informal and fun. But a little strange, you have to admit. And I can’t stop thinking about how they’re giddy with all the $$$ they just made.
My MacBook Pro crashed this week in the 
While the rest of the media world was watching the formation of media tycoon 2.0 yesterday as google and youtube got hitched, I was lunching with media tycoon 1.0: Ted Turner. Ted spoke at the 
