Was just turned onto this video in a meeting less than an hour ago…unreal and one of the best audio/video edits I’ve ever seen…DJ Earworm out of San Francisco edits top pop videos together for a rather unique mix…
“Ed Stafford is walking the length of the Amazon river in South America from the source to the sea. He has been walking for 472 days. He started on 2nd April 2008 and is expecting to finish in May 2010.
No one has ever done what he is attempting….”
Walking The Amazon is definitely worth some time to check out if you’re into how Technology and the Internet has effectively changed exploration of our planet. This is one of the best examples of getting real-time updates from 21st century explorers as Ed Stafford updates his travels via blog, pictures, video and other means from the Amazon. I especially like how he’s updating their latest coordinates and morale throughout the journey.
On a side note, though it’s a British reality TV series and not specific to the internet like Walking The Amazon, Long Way Round (and it’s sequel Long Way Down) is another compelling look at a unique journey around the globe. Actors Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman set out to take their motorbikes from London all the way to New York via Russia, Mongolia, etc. Fascinating to watch if only to see how alike people really are throughout the world…
I recently spoke on a panel at the Streaming Media East Conference in New York on Compelling Video Advertising Campaigns and while there had a chance to attend a few other sessions. This is a great conference to attend if you’re interested in anything related to video – digital, streaming, mobile, or other formats. Two real-time video technologies stood out and I wanted to briefly spread the word on each as I think they’re game changers in the world of real-time interactive video.
The first technology was called Qik (pronounced “Quick) and this is an application that allows you to shoot streaming video on your mobile phone and upload it to social communities like Facebook. They demo’d this technology at the conference track I attended and I have to say the quality was pretty impressive – especially when they showed the near high-def video a new Nokia handset was going to be able to stream. They also have an app in beta for the iPhone but nobody is quite sure yet how video will be shot on the iPhone 3.0. With current support for close to 100 mobile handsets, this is definitely a technology that will continue to usher in the era of real-time interactive video while mobile and on the web.
Unfortunately, I could not find any videos to embed but you can go to Qik’s Top Community Users (called Qikkers) and see some of the live and archived broadcasts. And yes, you’ll notice that Mrs. Kutcher is the #1 Qikker. It seems like the Kutchers are bent on domination of the live streaming world…
The second technology was called Mogulus which has recently rebranded to LiveStream.com. Livestream is an application that allows you to broadcast your live feed and chat live with your audience. Similar to UStream, Livestream also allows you to place ads in your broadcast allowing an additional layer of interactivity. To show how serious this application can get, the Pro version (which starts at $350/month) offers all your traditional broadcast tools (overlays, wipes, etc.) so you can literally be your own one man production crew. Though right now most of the Livestream broadcasts are news based, there are some entertaining uses of the live stream platform like below:
We’re big believers in video, and definitely loved the cinematography on this Phillips site. A little more interactivity would have been nice, but it’s definitely beautiful.
Mashable recently blogged about an updated version of Justin.tv that completely integrates MySpace, Facebook and Twitter across their website and more importantly, on their video pages. In a previous blog entry, we mentioned that real-time interactive video sites like Justin.tv and Ustream would be the next big thing in terms of integrating video and social media. In fact, Ustream has already taken this a step further with integration of Mobile, Video and Social Media on their recently released iPhone App.
It’s not a news flash that Interactive Video is poised to be the next huge growth area online and with YouTube’s recent move towards Premium content over User Generated Content these real-time social video communitiesshould see even more explosive growth. The new social video sites allow both a one-to-one and one-to-many interaction that happens in real time. Factor in the ability to go mobile with social video and you then have the ability to broadcast anytime, anywhere and to anyone you choose. That is powerful.
Liz Gannes at NewTeeVee recently posted about an IAB report on 2008 Q4 Internet Advertising Revenues. For brevity’s sake, I’ve included the 2008 chart from the IAB report (pdf) here:
Bottom line – digital video commercials brought in $734 million up from $234 million in 2007. Why is this important? Well, because of the explosion in consumption of video content online (UGC & Professional), this market for Digital Video Ad content will increase. Take into consideration we’re at the very infant stages of monetized Online Video content on Hulu, YouTube, ABC.com and other Online Video content portals. And this is just taking into consideration the minimal ads that are currently placed on most Online Video content. Do people really view their favorite TV shows online though?
Take a recent scenario I encountered. I’ve watched 24 all season and for some random reason my DVR didn’t record the previous week’s episode. Anybody knows with 24, you’re either all in or you’re out. So realizing that Time Warner didn’t offer an OnDemand option to watch the missed episode, I was faced with 3 options:
Spend $1.99 to purchase the episode on iTunes
Watch the episode with limited digital video commercials on Hulu
Go to a torrent site and download the episode for free (with a digital five finger discount)
The quickest, cheapest and legal way was Option #2. I streamed the content from Hulu via my Xbox to my TV (note – PlayOn software made this possible and we recently covered it here). At each ‘commercial’ break there was literally one 15 second digital video ad. That’s it. If anything, this definitely made for a pleasurable viewing experience but also showed how much more room there is for creative uses of Digital Video Ad content online. I was already bracing myself for the habitual 2 minutes worth of re-purposed broadcast commercials so the 15 seconds worth of commercials (specific to internet companies) was a surprise. And I’m not alone in viewing video content online as a recent LRG study showed that of the 18-34 demographic, 42% report that they watch video online at home at least weekly – up from 28% last year.
However, digital video ads will need to evolve into interactive video ads to set the stage for explosive growth. Why Interactive Video Ads? Studies showing that demographics sets like Gen Y are expecting social features and interactivity with their TV viewing experience are becoming more common as viewers consume more video content online. Interactive videos ads can allow for a transformation to a more engaging and seamless experience for the consumer. How these interactive video ads are integrated into the online viewing experience will determine their ultimate success.
What constitutes an Interactive Video Ad? Well I would argue it’s not just content with a URL plastered on it. This is what re-purposed broadcast content is already doing. No, the Interactive Video Ads of the future will need to allow for a more ‘enhanced’ experience for the viewer. This can run the gamut from integrated social video experiences like Harper’s Island to more simple community / social based components like trivia / polls used in the Interactive Video Ads themselves. And of course you have interactive product placement. Any way you slice and dice it, Interactive Video Ads are the future for a jacked in generation and will set the stage for growth in the Digital Video Advertising category.
Recently my partner in crime, Matt, wrote a blog post covering YouTube’s Insight features. One feature in the tool set that is often overlooked is Hot Spots. Insight Hot Spots record the engagement of viewers at any moment compared to other videos of similar length, measuring your video’s ability to retain audience attention. The data is extrapolated and plotted on a hot or cold graph that provides a visual showing when viewers dropped off or rewound your video. For more information see Insight Hot Spots.
Being that Insight Hot Spots quantify audience attention based on videos of similar length, I chose three videos from our 2008 interactive choose your own adventure holiday card. The lengths are not exactly the same, but the data provides some valuable lessons.
The first two I want to review are “Sensei Santa”, runtime 1:43, and “The Way of the Santa”, runtime 3:11. Each show a steady decline in the audience attention graph from the start with a slight rise when the action picks up. When reviewing the Hot Spots in the third video, “Santa’s The One”, we see a much different landscape. The graph stays above average and drastically spikes when Santa takes a bite out of a cookie while he is holding Agent Smith back. The video continues to hold the audience above average with viewers dropping off at the end. When comparing all three graphs with the content presented, the message was clear.
SENSEI SANTA:
THE WAY OF SANTA:
SANTA’S THE ONE:
Both “Sensei Santa” and “The Way of the Santa” start off slow, building to climax with a final joke. In each case, a fair amount of our viewers dropped off before the conclusion, the payoff. Our community responded well to both of the clips, the ratings were high, but the content failed to appeal to a broad audience. It succeeded by connecting with those who are fans or can identify with the two Kung Fu movies. However, it lacked the early spark to maintain viewers that are less familiar with the subject matter or who don’t have the patience. The YouTube generation has grown accustomed to on demand entertainment, with an appetite for speed and to the point content at the click of a button. With online short form video content, creators need to hook their audience early and continue to maintain audience expectations throughout. Hot topic or not, it is essential for content creators to build on anticipation of the resolution in order for their story to be heard.
With “Santa’s The One”, granted Neo is much more of a in the know topic than Bruce Lee and Ralph Macchio, I would argue that the curiosity in seeing Santa as Neo in the famous Agent Smith battle grabbed the users’ attention. However, what kept them from leaving the scene that our viewers have most likely watched several times was the carrot or the cookie. Looking at the graph you will notice the attention spike around 1:02, Santa’s glorious, “Get in my belly!” cookie moment. Viewers rewinding the video to re-watch the segment created the spike in attention. By dangling the cookie halfway through the video we created anticipation for more, for what’s next. This reengaged our viewers, holding them to the end, allowing for our story to be communicated.
With YouTube’s Hot Spots brands and content creators have the power to see what works and what should fall to rest on the editing room floor. It provides meaningful insight to make educated decisions that help ensure your message is being communicated, potentially leading to cost savings and increased profits. When it comes to your story, it is not necessarily about what you want, it is about what connects with your audience.
We Are Organized Chaos (WAOC) is Zugara’s (www.zugara.com) interactive marketing and advertising blog where we’ll be featuring some great projects and discussing upcoming trends in the digital world. Work — good and bad — will be critiqued. Hope you’ll enjoy reading our insights and thoughts on interactive.
