It might be surprising to learn that the largest providers of online video content are print publishers.  The websites of newspapers, magazines and other print publications are now delivering video to their existing audiences, along with their print articles.  Their goal is to prevent the “death of print” by attracting new and younger audiences, which prefer to get their news and information in video form.  In essence, the print world has embraced the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy.

Wired, Forbes, Vanity Fair, Harper Collins and Consumer Reports are all great examples of how popular publications are using online video to stay relevant and competitive in today’s online world.

Because Wired Magazine is all about new technology it’s not so surprising that this publication has embraced video with gusto.  The video page on their website is basically an online video platform offering a dozen or so video categories.

Wired editors also made a major commitment to the iPad version of their monthly compendium of geek chic in May of 2010.  The iPad version of Wired relies heavily on video content to enrich the viewing experience.

Wired iPad video:

Forbes Magazine created its own video network, offering interviews, news stories or general interest pieces covering Business, Sports and Technology.

Vanity Fair’s video offerings are a great complement to their print articles about celebrities, art and popular culture.  Fans can see video interviews, footage from swanky parties and behind-the-scenes footage of the magazine’s world-famous photo shoots.

Consumer Reports offers a series of product comparison videos, showing consumers why products receive the ratings they do, instead of just telling.  These videos add value to the magazine’s subscription price and encourage younger audiences to subscribe.

Marketing Magazine launched a 5 part video series, called “What is the Modern Creative Director.” It’s basically a video version of a panel interview with top-level Marketing/Advertising executives, which would have otherwise been printed.

Marketing Magazine – What is the modern Creative Director (5 part video series)

Book publisher Harper Collins has added an online video channel to their website, featuring short videos of authors promoting new releases and plot summaries.  These “book trailers” also offer a ‘Start Reading Now’ link that allows viewers to read the E-book or order it online.

Twitpic has recently announced that you can now upload videos directly to your Twitpic account and share a video URL over Twitter.  Until now, Twitter users have had to provide links to various websites, like YouTube in order to share video via Twitter.

Having a central location for media uploads on Twitter makes sense, as Twitter has fast become one of the most popular platforms for sharing information in real time. Although not a revolutionary concept, this advancement will certainly spark more innovation for more mobile video applications.

Here’s a list of some popular mobile video applications:

Air Video
Air Video is a great app for watching any kind of video format on your iPhone, a Mac or Windows PC as a server. This way, you can store video files on your computer at home and watch them from your iPhone while you’re out and about. Air Video allows you to watch any kind of video file (mp4, m4v, mov, avi, wmv, asf, mpg, mpeg, mkv, 3gp, dmf, divx, flv) because it transcodes them live, as they’re being sent to your phone. Here’s a demonstration on how the app works:

TScinema
Similar to Air Video, this app allows you to stream videos to your phone from another source. In this case, you must create a free TeraStore.com account to store your video files in the cloud, instead of serving them from your computer.

yxflash
This video file player allows iPhone users to view AVI and Flash video files on their phones. And, according to the makers of yxflash, it’s also the first and only video player that can play Mpeg1/2/4, Flash, DivX, Xvid, WMV and iPod format videos on Android phones.

Qik
Qik allows users to host two-way live video calls, as well as record and upload video to the ‘Net via e-mail, SMS, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and a number of other platforms. All of your videos will also be saved in an archive so you can view them online whenever you want.

JetVision : Web Video Player

The recent CRTC ruling to allow Internet Service Providers to bill users based on bandwidth usage has created a great deal of controversy. And for good reason. Every political party in Canada believes this ruling stifles competition in an already limited ISP marketplace. That means the big broadband providers (Shaw, Telus, Rogers and Bell Canada) will be given even more control over Canadian consumers.

From our perspective, the key concern is how the increased usage fees might curtail the audience for web-based video content. If users are forced to pay extra for every gig of data they use to stream or download video, it’s a safe bet that they’ll drastically cut back their video viewing habits. This translates into a reduced need to create video content to distribute on the ‘Net, because the audience for the content will be greatly reduced. The result is that businesses producing video for marketing, educational institutions creating video for education, or documentarians making movies about important social issues will all cut back on their productions and delivery of content.

Here are a few interesting articles on the subject:

CTV News: Internet users worried about usage-based billing

Globe and Mail: A metered Internet is a regulatory fail

Michael Geist: Unpacking the policy issues behind bandwidth caps & usage based billing

You can sign a petition to stop UBB here:  http://openmedia.ca/meter

2011 is going to be another big year for online video, as viewership will continue to expand on many fronts; from mobile video to branded entertainment and corporate video.

Mobile Video Advertising will Increase

The number of Americans watching mobile video in 2010 increased more than 43% from 2009, while the amount of time spent doing so was up almost 7%  (Source).   Everyone expects these numbers to increase once again in 2011, as more consumers will be using larger-screen tablet devices, like the iPad.  So expect to see a lot more video ads in mobile apps, especially those designed to serve up Twitter.

Expanded, Branded Entertainment

It’s not quite enough for advertisers to serve up a 30 second pre-roll video ad anymore, because that strategy doesn’t take advantage of the ‘Net’s interactivity.  In 2011, advertisers will move more towards engaging viewers through Branded Entertainment.  This is still a new and loosely defined term, but it’s basically centered on advertisers creating entertaining video content that’s tied directly into the appeal of their products and services.  It’s not about “hit them over the head” messaging; it’s about creating an experience for viewers, and continuing to offer that experience on a regular basis.  Advertisers should say “I’m not happy interrupting an addictive TV show like 24 or LOST with a 30 second snippet of my brand, hoping that viewers will associate it with their favorite show.  I want my brand to BE their favorite show.”

YouTube will lose its tight grip on audience share.

Now that online video is no longer a novelty, and viewers are expecting it to meet their everyday entertainment needs, content is going to be just as important as it is on traditional TV.  This is where YouTube is falling short, because it contains mostly user-generated content and unlicensed versions of third party content.  True content providers like Hulu, Google TV, NetFlix and even the websites of traditional broadcasters will start making a more serious dent in YouTube’s online video dominance, while Facebook will continue to chip away at the audience for user-generated content.

Online Video will become a new corporate communications standard.

As of December 2010, there is a shockingly high percentage of medium- to large-sized businesses that are not using video as a regular medium for communicating to employees, investors and the general public.  It’s too bad, because the marketplace is favoring those companies that understand that online video is the easiest and most affordable way to engage audiences.  The good news is that the companies who aren’t using online video yet will feel a greater urgency to do so in 2011.  Surprisingly, a lot of the push will be coming from the C-Suite executive level, where 55-year-old CEO’s and CFO’s are already viewing online video every day.  According to Forbes Magazine, 65% of executives have visited a vendor’s website after viewing their video and 54% have conducted a search to find more information after watching a vendor’s video (Source).  54% of executives also said they share business related videos with colleagues.

In July 2010, TED’s curator, Chris Anderson, took to the stage to discuss how web video is changing the world. Anderson says, “It’s not much to say that what Gutenberg did for writing, online video can now do for face-to-face communication.”

This video inspired the crew here at Zoom, so we wanted to share it with you.

Synopsis (from TED website):
“TED’s Chris Anderson says the rise of web video is driving a worldwide phenomenon he calls Crowd Accelerated Innovation — a self-fueling cycle of learning that could be as significant as the invention of print. But to tap into its power, organizations will need to embrace radical openness. And for TED, it means the dawn of a whole new chapter…”

Posted by: Heather Geddes