Broadband Jungle Blog

Jane '08

A candidate you won't want to miss...Jane just decided to enter the race.

Courtesy of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.

Zannel

For everyone not yet familiar with social networking / mobile / vc2 community Zannel: Consider giving the Zillion Channels destination a spin.

Launched in March 07 and recently upgraded to full blown networking capabilities, Zannel  already engages 100.000 plus members in instant chatting, mobile video and photo upload. With cool new widgets available, the site could be described as the Brightcove in the mobile space or 'Twitter with Pictures and Video' (recently in a terrific write-up in TechCrunch).

The model is clear and simple: Users create profiles and in return receive their personalized channels that can be shared and connected to any number of friends. Particularly impressive: Blazing-fast upload speeds that put the service ahead of its competition. In a recent  ad-hoc demo from Zannel staffers during a meeting in Santa Monica, a test clip shot midway during a conversation made it straight into Zannel in between two sips of decaf-latte. I'm not kidding.

Co-founded under the guidance of serial web entrepreneur Steve Hoffman last summer, Zannel also integrates its sizeable online following into the mobile experience.  I'm comfortable to predict lots of Zannel-surfing in the near future and plenty of room for everyone, including Kyte.

goGOOROO Video Embedding

Progressing towards branded hosting solutions as announced earlier this year, our own Internet video community goGOOROO.com recently added a video embed function for its users.

Channel and Video of the Day have moved to the homepage with embed video players prominently on display front and center. From here on, every channel and video added to goGOOROO contains embed code when available, pushing us closer to our next release: goGOOROO-curated  channels  with a revenue sharing model for  our content partners.

We've also modified our catalogue function and are editing a series of top links covering everything from the best online TV links to sports sites and movies currently in release.

Visit the GOOROO and come back often.

The Broadband Generation: The revolution will not be televised.

From an article I wrote for the current issue of Documentary Magazine:

The Broadband Generation
The Revolution Will Be Digitized, Webcast, Streamed, Vlogged, Podcast...

The broadband video age actually already started back in the 1970s with the invention of the VCR. Rewind, Pause, Record for the first time in the history of the moving image, viewers could adapt their viewing pleasure according to their lifestyle and not resign themselves to the limitations of "live" exhibition and broadcast.

The audience quickly rid itself of linear viewing habits and hungrily requested technological innovation from entertainment giants like Sony, Philips and Apple. The resulting digital development boom still ripples through to this day.

 

The only difference today is this: The consumer is in charge and dictates what, when, where, on which platform and in which type and file size the industry is allowed to serve up video and entertainment. Within 24 months, thousands of video portals have launched to quench the audience's insatiable thirst for short-form video clips, movie downloads and television programming delivered through the Internet pipeline.

On-demand, speed and portability are the new standard for the broadband generation, and the parallels to the early days of television are remarkable: Back in the 1950s, a new technology was introduced to the mainstream with the tube, spawning innovative ways of storytelling, distribution, advertising, financing and monetization--just like today.

The audience consumed moving images at home instead of visiting the neighborhood movie theater. Today, computers, iPods, game portals and mobile phones lure viewers through their ability to display moving images on the go.

Even if broadband video might not quite equal the lasting impact of the dawn of the television age, it's certainly comparable to the advent of cable television in the late 1970s and early 1980s. From one day to the next, a handful of trusted broadcast entities exploded into dozens of analogue networks, eventually leading to hundreds of digital stations.

Click here for the entire article.

Paris Hilton takes a cab ride to the Darkside at DocuWeek

Paris Hilton a documentary lover? 
The notorious heiress accompanied actor and budding documentary filmmaker Adrian Grenier of HBO's Entourage fame to a screening of Taxi to the Darkside at DocuWeek, the annual Oscar-qualifying showcase of documentaries organized by the International Documentary Association.

Filmmaker AJ Schnack of the excellent Kurt Cobain About A Son which is also screening at DocuWeek, has all the good stuff on his nifty All These Wonderful Things blog:

Paris Hilton Goes to DocuWeek (No Lie) and Adrian Grenier's Next Doc Project

It's not often that we, in our relatively doc-centric little world, are allowed to get all Just Jared on your ass, but lo and behold, DocuWeek - at least for a brief moment - found itself in the middle of a paparazzi moment when celebrity friend-couple of the moment Paris Hilton and Adrian Grenier dropped by the Landmark to catch Alex Gibney's excellent TAXI TO THE DARKSIDE.

Read AJ's entire post here.
Photos and a video with all the pertinent Paris and Adrian pics can be found here.

Magazine publishers finally going digital?

Inventive business development or are magazines finally realizing that it's them who could own the crumbling TV media pie? With plenty of experience in quality content and localized advertising departments in place for decades, no one is better positioned to resurface as the media networks of tomorrow. Everyone dealing with traditional print publishing companies (and some of their employees) knows that the industry has approached the online digital age wearing iron shackles and cement breaks.

Erik Sass writes in Media Daily News: Mag Bag: MPA Counts 62 Digital Initiatives In 2Q

The Magazine Publishers of America has tallied up a record 62 new digital initiatives from magazine publishers in the second quarter of 2007--a 139% increase over the second quarter of 2006. Coming amid a raft of announcements for specific new projects, the overall count underscores the migration of magazine brands to more digital distribution.

Here are the official stats from the MPA. 

Helio on the block?

After Amp'd's colorful demise, how strong of a foothold has niche cell phone provider Helio managed to carve out, especially at the sight of the iphone's arrival?

Mobile Media News in MediaBistro reports: Could Helio Be Shut Down Next?
We've watched with interest, though not exactly surprise, the downfall of specialty cellphone carriers Mobile ESPN and Amp'd Mobile. Helio doesn't seem to be in any stronger a position than Amp'd was; in fact, it's bleeding cash like there's no tomorrow.

MocoNews is reporting that Helio's parent company, Earthlink, is continuing to infuse cash but is seriously weighted down by Helio's losses. The small carrier, with just over 100,000 subscribers, is slated to lose between $160 million and $180 million for the calendar year 2007.

HBO dismantles 'This Just In'

What’s the matter with television networks in the broadband space?
Even the storytelling masters at HBO can’t seem to get a popular portal off the ground?

Steven Zeitchik in Variety.com about the site's departure: HBO comedy site shut down.

This Just In, the comedy site HBO envisioned as both a brand extension and a potential development pipeline, is being shut down just six months after launching.
HBO announced the site in late 2006 to much fanfare, saying it would allow advertisers to work with the company and also serve as a breeding ground for new talent. Former Icebox CEO Steve Sanford was brought in to run the site, which offered a mix of celebrity riffs and goofy videos from assorted standup comics.

Here’s how the cabler plans to play it safe instead: Back to the proven distribution models.

HBO has been developing a broadband site together with cable operators that will allow users to access on-demand programming via the Web.

Discovery Networks warms up to rebrand

Early word about Discovery Networks’ re-branding and relaunch effort expected for October. SoCal based 72 and Sunny just won the account.

 

Gregory Solman in AdWeek: Discovery Picks 72andSunny

The Discovery brand "is still caught up in the intellectual space," Dan Bragg, (client vp and creative director at Discovery,) said. "The brand itself is not as heartfelt as our programming. So the marketing will try to move the brand to being more culturally relevant and more emotionally engaging."

Glenn Cole, partner and creative director at the El Segundo, Calif.-based agency, said the rebranding push would "speak from a place of enthusiasm as opposed to the point of scholarship."

Added Greg Perlot, agency partner and strategic director: "We have a feeling that the culture is in a really curious place right now. It's interested in adventure, experience, the planet itself and stewardship of it, so we'll position Discovery at the center for those who are curious."

Yahoo's Steve Mitgang new Veoh CEO

Has Dmitry Shapiro's pioneering VeohTV broadband network finally found who it needs to  turn into a portal that really matters? Niche talk is on.

Abbey Klaassen writes in AdAge: Yahoo Veteran Looks for Veoh's 'Great Business'

Steve Mitgang arrived at Yahoo via its Overture acquisition in July 2003. aBut now as Veoh CEO, he believes there's a big business in online video advertising. That is, if marketers can figure out how to target the intentions of viewers.

Ad Age: Why has it been so hard to create a viable business around online video? It seems to be wildly popular among consumers.

Mr. Mitgang: According to the reports, YouTube only sold $30 million in ads last year because they didn't build a system to support ... that healthy tension between editorial and advertising. They just didn't build it.

The flip side of understanding those user behaviors and recommendations is for targeting purchases. We can say, look at the car enthusiasts ... [these ones] are primarily interested in German cars or muscle cars. Being able to tell that to the brand manager of Mustang or Mini, we'll be able to help them better than anyone else. Whether watching user-generated or premium content we'll help target against the right users.