BloGiza

Short Vids are Here to Stay

Despite all the hoo-ha about Web 2.0, it's becoming increasingly clear that short-form video is the real Internet story of 2006. In the last week we've heard rumors that YouTube is looking for a $1.5B valuation. Not to mention the fact that this year's Web 2.0 conference will feature a showcase of short videos hosted by John Battelle.

We've grown accustomed to thinking about sites like YouTube as the distribution channels of the future, but I (at least) envisioned it as a channel for distributing traditional long-form content such as movies or TV shows. However, it seems that video nuggets have developed into a media form in their own right.

One of the more interesting developments surrounding short-form video content is the recently announced NBBC. NBBC is a joint endeavor between NBC Universal and NBC's affiliates. In brief, the service acts as a marketplace for quality video content. Content creators use the NBBC platform in order to place their content on publisher web sites.

Content creators can use the site to increase the exposure of their videos and to receive ad revenues (the service works on a rev share business model). Publishers have access to new content. And NBC can use the platform both as a new avenue for monetizing its existinc content as well as get a cut of a brand-new revenue stream.

Significantly, the service is open to anybody with video content. NBC does not seek exclusivity nor does it seek to own the content.

Interestingly, this seems like the first example of a major content provider extending its brand to user-generated material. If NBBC manages to take off, you can be sure that other media entities will follow.

So, where is YouTube going?

YouTube is quickly becoming the poster child of what I (half-) jokingly refer to as "Bubble 2.0". With millions of users, endless amounts of hype, and bandwidth charges which reportedly run $1 million a month YouTube critically needs to figure out how to start monetizing its tremendous potential.

To their credit, YouTube management is trying to think creatively and coming up with a variety of different business models and approaches. Obviously, they are using the standard text ads but this isn't enough to generate serious revenues.

YouTube has been talking about providing "pre-rolls", or short 10-20 second advertising spots before the clips. I've been reading some interesting discussion about why this will or won't work, and whether it has the potential to turn YouTube into a company with $150 million a year in revenues or $20 million a year.

More intriguing is the site's recent foray into channel branding.  YouTube has been offering the ability to define content channels for a while, but they have recently tried to harness the approach for commercial purposes. Content owners can use their branding channel as a new marketing avenue by providing music videos, trailers, and advertising materials in the form of YouTube clips (with all the Web 2.0 goodness that implies).

Unfortunately, YouTube's choice for its first celebrity channel was Paris Hilton, currently hawking her debut album. By most accounts, Paris's album is a dud and the same can be said about her YouTube channel. Still, the idea has a lot of potential, especially if YouTube manages to sign some heavy-duty content partners.

Personally, I would imagine that the company will have to utilize a multi-faceted business model. Traditional webvertising and branded channels (especially of the non-Paris Hilton variety) seem like no-brainers to me. To some extent, the same can be said about embedding ads in the videos themselves.

This is a thornier issue, since it will force YouTube to institute some kind of mechanism for quality control, or at least some way to sort content into different quality categories to best maximize its CPM/CPC potential.

It will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Widgets are the new Black

Hooman Radfar has a potentially interesting new blog called Widgify devoted to widgets. He has inaugurated the blog with a series of posts entitled "Widgets are the New Web Pages".

Money quote from the first installment:

Although there are a number of terms used to describe Web Widgets (Modules, Gadgets, Badges, Elements, Capsules, Snippets…), one thing is certain - these seemingly innocuous little modules are popping up all across the World-Wide-Web. For now, the use of Widgets has been limited to the techno-elite. However that is all about to change. The same corporations that were unsure of the value of the original web, are rushing to embrace this new medium. Marketers are encouraging them to capitalize on the new channel, recognizing the foundational role that Widgets will play in the emerging Web as a Platform. Just as web services enable developers to mix and match digital content and services to deliver new applications, Widgets will enable non-technical users to mix and match pieces of the web to create custom experiences for themselves and others.

The Rise of a New Device?

As the old saying goes, once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend. A few weeks ago, I started hearing a lot of buzz about this little thing. Sony's Mylo (which stands for "My Life Online") is being hyped as the next must-have gadget, a small wi-fi enabled device that allows for IMing, VoIP, Web surfing, and listening to music and media.

Now, this week's gadget buzz centers around Chumby, which has been described modestly as an alarm clock for the 21st century. Actually it's a fully hackable wireless computer that can be encased in whatever you wish (cuddly toys, fake rocks, etc). Chumby's biggest selling point is the fact that you can download a variety of open source widgets from the Net to configure the device any way you would like.

(Neither device is on sale yet; they should be generally available for consumers sometime in early 2007).

Both Mylo and Chumby are small wireless gizmos that allow the users to load 'em up with stuff from the Web. Granted Mylo is a proprietary device while Chumby all but begs its users to hack it. But beyond that they are quite similar in overall concept. Question is: Are we seeing a new class of consumer device coming into being here?

We've gotten used to thinking about convergence as the point where the Internet, mobile communication, and television will meet. I think many of us have assumed that convergence will take place only on those devices, or else on one kind of unified device. Could it be that we will see many types of specific-purpose converged gadgets such as Personal Entertainment Devices or, well, fancy wi-fi clock radios?

Judging by the reactions in this post (referring to the Mylo), it could go either way. On the one hand, you have those that grumble that Mylo is nothing more than a PDA phone with neither PDA nor phone functionality. On the other hand you have those who point out that:

[I]f an iPod had come out yesterday with video support, wi-fi, mobile internet, skype a long battery life and replacable memory for $350 everyone would have been amazed and jumping for joy saying "when can I get one of these!"