What is Media Literacy? Media literacy is the ability to bring critical thinking skills and about asking pertinent questions about what's there, and noticing what's not there. And it's the instinct to question what lies behind media productions - the motives, the money, the values and the ownership— and to be aware of how these factors influence content. In our world of multi-tasking, commercialism, globalization and interactivity, media literacy isn't about having the right answers - it's about asking the right questions. (Source: Jane Tallim) Photo credit: lumingopereira Inside this Media Literacy Digest:

• Community Information Hubs - Finding relevant information about a local community is challenging in a sea of global information.
• How Social Media Is Changing College Admission - Instead of marketing to 100,000 students at once (mainstream media model) they now focus on connecting to groups of 10-20.
• Visualization and Search - Searching and finding useful information really shouldn’t be as difficult as it is today.
• Technology as Philosophy - Technology is a philosophy and we MUST understand what it embodies, discuss its future impact, and explore what we are becoming.
• LearnTrends - Jay Cross hosted a 24-hour learn-a-thon this week.
• Pay Attention! - ...attention is a skill that must be learned, shaped, practiced; this skill must evolve if we are to evolve.
• Rough Week for Higher Education - Established institutions like higher education are increasingly targeted as bloated, inefficient, and thoroughly corrupt.

If you are into understanding how technology improvements are shaping new and different paradigms in the way we conceive and experience education, this weekly digest provides you a good set of pointers, facts and resources to make sense of the challenges that awaits our society in a not-so-distant future. Here all the details:


eLearning Resources and News learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends by George Siemens


Analysis of Emerging Trends Affecting the Use of Technology in Education Becta has published a new report Analysis of emerging trends affecting the use of technology in education. The report does not contain anything significantly new, but provides a good overview of current trends in information technology (in particular, multimedia habits, mobile technologies, parental encouragement of educational use of tools, and growth of TV on demand). Growing awareness of trends impacting education is important. More attention is being paid to trends today than was only a few years ago (Horizon Report was an early initiative in trend analysis). We are now getting to the point where trends analysis needs to lead to the creation of future scenarios. Developing a futures thinking mindset would serve educators well (the future is about future thinking?).




Community Information Hubs Finding relevant information about a local community is challenging in a sea of global information. I subscribe to several local blogs, news sites, and related information. In networks, local information teeters on the brink of generating global conversation. All it takes is one unique conversation, violation of rights, a novel happening and suddenly global attention floods local scenes (high attention status is fleeting, however, and disappears as soon as the next novelty attracts the attention of online participants). In spite of following local information sources, I do find that I miss much of the mundane local conversation (gossip?). Given the global decline of newspapers, what can we expect from community hubs? MediaShift suggests: “There’s no shortage of quality information. The issue is recognizing the type of information that people need expanded access to and finding a trustworthy mechanism for delivering it.” A list of suggestions for information hubs then follows. All of which could be achieved through distributed means... and none of which require a central site. It’s here that I’m finding some personal dissatisfaction with information interaction. The notion of object-centered sociability suggests that it is objects that lead to socialization. I would like to turn it around and offer the view that online and community conversations are socially-centered information artifacts. They do not exist prior to the conversation and interaction. Information, in a socially centered view, is a by product of learning that emerges through socialization, rather than an artifact that centers socialization.




How Social Media Is Changing College Admission Media and advertising are obviously intertwined. Attention draws marketing schemes. There is value in watching how the PR industry has moved from centralized controlled messages in mainstream media to decentralized messages on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. College and university admissions are also taking note. At University of Manitoba, for example, our PR department is actively involved with: News blogs, Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, and other tools. And they subscribe to Google alerts on “University of Manitoba” (which is how they will find out about this post... I was recently interviewed by our student newspaper on Facebook and our handbook of emerging technologies because the editor discovered references on Google Alerts. It does make me wonder about how effectively our organizations are designed to handle and understand information flows when external tools do a better job of connecting people on a campus than internal tools and procedures). The intent with PR and marketing to connect with prospective students in various forums and various tools. Instead of marketing to 100,000 students at once (mainstream media model) they now focus on connecting to groups of 10-20. How social media is changing college admission (.pdf) demonstrates the significant use of blogs, wikis, social networking services, and other tool by universities / colleges. In most categories use is significantly higher than by Fortune and Inc. 500 companies. The discussion on how admissions departments use social networking and web search (p12) as part of the admissions process is interesting... and something that younger learners need to be aware of. (via Academica Group). UPDATE: For some reason, the paper has now been moved. Member only access…




Visualization and Search Searching and finding useful information really shouldn’t be as difficult as it is today. When Google first appeared, it introduced new expectations of search. Instead of categorical Yahoo Search or only marginally effective Lycos search results, users now expected fast and relevant responses to queries. And so things have stayed. I’m sure Google has been very aggressive in improving search results behind the scenes, but my experience of searching is almost identical to what it was in early 2000. Search innovation has been limited. This is partly due to the sheer complexity of language and matching results to sometimes undeclared intentions. While Berners Lee appears on the scene occasionally to declare the need for the semantic web, he soon fades and for most of us, search continues as it was. When Google purchased Trendalyzer, there was an expectation that search would now become more visual - providing not just the results, but an indication of patterns, trends, and related factors. Not much has happened since then. At least, not much that I’ve experienced in my search habits. WolframAlpha is now receiving attention (though it hasn’t launched) as a tool to assist in making sense of complex data. And Google has revived lagging search innovation by adding public data to its results (only American states / counties to date). Other novel declarations of new search engines (cuil and a9 come to mind) haven’t made much of an impact. Perhaps Google has attained Microsoft status: finding it difficult to innovate and having grown so prominent that those who are innovating are unable to compete.




Technology as Philosophy Technology is not neutral. We don’t apply it to our teaching in a “plug in and use” approach. Technology is philosophy. Tools embed views and influence action. Google permits access to information (when not blocked). Blogs and wikis permit openness and information sharing. It’s not much of a surprise then that we see the creators and advocates of emerging technologies to desire to exert their influence into traditional establishments and problems. I’m starting to see the field of technology as a quasi-religious system based on assumptions of progress, constant change, individualism, distrust/disdain for established structures of society, and hope for an every expanding brighter future. As any system of this nature, the will to power is strong. The desire to re-create society on the premise that drives the technology field forward is natural. In Iraq with Web 2.0 Luminaries: The idea is to use the brains of this small collective to give ideas to Iraqi government officials, companies and users that will help it rebuild. Iraq is short on the mojo that widespread internet can bring and the fast-track economic jolt that entrepreneurs feed on. Who knows that stuff better than a contingent of internet goombahs heavy on the Google juice and includes the guy who thought up Twitter? When stories like this appear, it should cause educators to stop spouting silly things like “technology is neutral”. Technology is a philosophy and we MUST understand what it embodies, discuss its future impact, and explore what we are becoming.




LearnTrends Jay Cross hosted a 24-hour learn-a-thon this week. Any experimentation with teaching and learning that challenges assumptions of courses and conferences is intriguing. Jay reflects on the event: “Our goal was honest dialog among as many members as possible. No commercials. No presentations. Few or no slides. Often, we threw three or four great people into an online fishbowl and let the conversation go where it would.”




Pay Attention! How do you handle students / colleagues who are actively handling email, twittering, facebooking, and whatever-else-ing while you are conducting a class or attending a meeting? Some educators adopt a “it’s the student’s choice” attitude, while others require learners to be present. Howard Rheingold posits attention as a form of literacy: I want my students to learn that attention is a skill that must be learned, shaped, practiced; this skill must evolve if we are to evolve. The technological extension of our minds and brains by chips and nets has granted great power to billions of people, but even in the early years of always-on, it is clear to even technology enthusiasts like me that this power will certainly mislead, mesmerize and distract those who haven’t learned - were never taught - how to exert some degree of mental control over our use of laptop, handheld, earbudded media. Related: PR 2.0 tackles attention from the perspective of the consumer, suggesting advertisers / organizations follow the eyeballs and “compete for attention where and when it’s captivated.”




Rough Week for Higher Education General Motors is now the new standard insult to organizations that need to innovate, but don’t. Established institutions like higher education are increasingly targeted as bloated, inefficient, and “thoroughly corrupt”. Harsh. Ivory Tower: Crumbling from Within quotes a presentation by Jeff Sandefer (who is highly biased as the founder of an business school to counter traditional universities): “the bureaucratic “pedagogy of arrogance” may soon collapse, much like the General Motors and even the former Soviet Union” (insert joke here about how effective business schools were at preventing economic collapse in late 2008). We then hear of David Wiley (slightly misquoted) declaring universities will be irrelevant by 2020. Each era of history creates its knowledge institutions to reflect how information (in that era) is created, disseminated, shared, and re-created. History has given us libraries, monasteries, universities, and research labs. What does the future hold for knowledge institutions when the information cycle is under the control of individuals and amateurs? I don’t agree fully with the harsh assessment in the articles linked above - universities appear to be awakening to the changed reality - but our current challenge is that we have no alternative to move toward. We know what we don’t want universities to be. We don’t yet have thought leadership on what they should become.

Originally written by George Siemens for elearnspace and first published on May 1st 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and News.

About the author To learn more about George Siemens and to access extensive information and resources on elearning check out www.elearnspace.org. Explore also George Siemens connectivism site for resources on the changing nature of learning and check out his new book "Knowing Knowledge".

Photo credits: Analysis of Emerging Trends Affecting the Use of Technology in Education - vacuum3d Community Information Hubs - Tatiana53 Technology as Philosophy - Anatoly Tiplyashin Pay Attention! - Dmitriy Shironosov Rough Week for Higher Education - Ana Blazic

As the traditional advertising revenue stream keeps its downtrend slope for many a web publisher, what are the alternative online business and revenue making models that independent online publishers can leverage to increase their overall income and profitability? Beyond traditional banner ads, skyscrapers and Google AdSense strips, there is indeed a universe of alternative monetization opportunities that allows most online content publishers out there to increase, extend and diversify their range of revenue making channels in more ways than one would ever think. As I am myself working at diversifying MasterNewMedia own online revenue streams, I have spent some time researching and trying to identify which are the actual alternatives to the popular advertising revenue strategies most use, and which are the characteristics and traits that differentiate such alternative monetization models from each other. Unexpectedly, I have found much more than I was looking for. There are over 25 different ways to create new profit online open to just about any entrepreneur or independent web publisher out there. To understand and be aware of them is a responsibility that no serious web publisher can escape. But as I am not an economics professor nor an expert, my identification, labeling and grouping of all these online business and monetization models may be neither exhaustive nor perfect for everyone. But it is a starting point that reflects my own view on what is out there. In fact it would a fantastic thing, if you did actually add or provide extra information, comments, examples and ideas to my rough initial work. That's what I would like. To do so you can use the comments section at the end of this article or join me, later on today, for a live webinar on alternative online business models. In the webinar (you can register here if interested) I will share and provide free access to all participants to a unique editable mindmap of all online business models and monetization alternatives I have created. Here is what amounts to a base starting list of online monetization options, that I have separated between traditional advertising options and other monetization strategies. I'd love you to help me make it better.


Alternatives to Advertising-Based Online Business and Monetization Models




Online Advertising-Based Business and Monetization Models




Find More About Online Business Models

• Better Than Free
• E-World - Online Business Models
• Monetizing your Web App: Business Model Options
• Alternative Online Business Models
• Business Models On The Web
• Gaining Online Advantage: Understanding online business models
• Internet Marketing--Various Online Business Models
• The Long Tail Of Business Models

Originally written by Robin Good and Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia and first published on April 29th, 2009 as "Beyond Ads: Guide To Alternative Online Business And Monetization Models".

If you are an Internet user and are concerned about future control and regulation of your ability to freely access your preferred content and services online, no matter where you live it is now the time for you to stop and understand what the European Parliament is about to pass in the coming days unless you and I do something about it.

Photo credit: graffoto

On May 5th in fact, the EU Parliament will vote a package of new regulations (the so-called "Telecom Package") which may free European Internet providers to decide which content, services and applications European users can access and use.

The Telecom Package will force users to choose among pre-packaged options of accessibility. Internet providers will tell you WHERE to go and WHAT to use online, dismantling instantly the essence of the Web as you know it today.

In this article you can find out details about the Telecom Package being reviewed, what its consequences could be, and what action you can take now to prevent this from happening.

If you care about the Internet and about the amazing opportunity that offers to each one of us, I warmly invite you to read closely this report and to evaluate by yourself how to best act to stop this Telecom Package from becoming official law.

Here all the details:

Voting In EU Parliament 5th Of May 2009

by Blackout Europe Team

Internet access is not conditional.

Everyone who owns a website has an interest in defending the free use of Internet… so has everyone who uses Google or Skype… everyone who expresses their opinions freely, does research of any kind, whether for personal health problems or academic study … everyone who shops online…who dates online…socializes online… listens to music…watches video…

1. What They Want to Enforce. The Telecoms Package

The internet as we know it is at risk because of proposed new EU rules (the Telecoms package) are being discussed now at 2nd reading in the Parliament stage.

Under the proposed new rules, broadband providers will be legally able to limit the number of websites you can look at, and to tell you whether or not you are allowed to use particular services. It will be dressed up as ‘new consumer options’ which people can choose from.

People will be offered TV-like packages - with a limited number of options for you to access.

It means that the Internet will be packaged up and your ability to access and to put up content could be severely restricted. It will create boxes of Internet accessibility, which don’t fit with the way we use it today.

This is because internet is now permitting exchanges between persons which cannot be controlled or “facilitated” by any middlemen (the state or a corporation). This possibility improves citizen’s life but force the industry to lose power and control.

Access providers have now learned that controlling access they can control the information society development.That is why they are pushing to act those changes.

The excuse is to promote competition, offering choices to users which fit better their behavior on the Internet and, by collaborating with sectors interested in the promotion of lawful content (aka the entertainment industry), to control the flow of music, films and entertainment content against the alleged piracy by downloading for free, using P2P file-sharing. However, the real victims of this plan will be all Internet users and the democratic and independent access to information, culture goods...

2. Consequences for All of Us

Think about how you use the Internet! What would it mean to you if free access to the Internet was taken away?

These days, the Internet is about life and freedom. It’s about shopping, booking theater tickets... holidays, learning, job-seeking, banking, and trade. It’s also about the fun things - dating, chatting, invitations, music, entertainment, joking and even a Second Life. It is a tool to express ourselves, to collaborate, innovate, share, stimulate new business ideas, reach new markets - thrive without middlemen...

Listen to one of the fathers of the World Wide Web talking about network discrimination and how it could affect to the openness of the Internet.

He talks about the USA… but in Europe the same can happen if the Telecoms Package passes as it is now.

Just think - what’s your web address? Unless people have that address in their “package” of regular websites - they won’t be able to find you. That means they can’t buy, or book, or register, or even view you online. Your business won’t be able to find niche suppliers of goods - and compare prices. If you get any money at all from advertising on your site, it will diminish.

Yes, Amazon and a select few will be OK, they will be the included in the package. But your advertising on Google or any other website, will be increasingly worthless.

Skype could be blocked. (As it is in Germany in the use from iPhone, already). Small businesses could literally disappear, especially specialist, niche or artisan businesses.

If we don’t do something now - we could lose free and open use of the internet. Our freedom (of choice in information, market, culture, pleasure) will be curtailed.

3. The Value of Our Opinions and Our Votes

Tell the European Parliament to vote against conditional access to the Internet!

Remind them that they need your vote in June and that the Internet still give us the tools to be watching and judging what they are doing!

You must know you are not alone: hundreds of organizations are working on that and thousands of people have already contacted their parliamentarians about that.

In scambioetico website you can also find some letters responding.

4. What Our Politicians Want to Pass

The EU proposals hold an enormous risk for our future. They are about to become Law - and will be virtually impossible to reverse.

People (even the members of the European Parliament who are voting on it) don’t really seem to understand the full implications and the legal changes are wrapped up in something called “Telecoms Package” which lulls people into thinking it is just about industry. However, in reality, hiding from public view, the amendments are about the way the Internet will operate in future.

Text about your rights to access and distribute content, services and applications, is being crossed out. And the text that is being brought in, says that broadband providers must inform you of any limitations, or restrictions to your access.

Alternative versions use the word ‘conditions’ - and it is seriously being proposed that you will be told the conditions of use of Internet services. This is made to sound good - it is dressed up as ‘transparency’ - except that of course it means that the broadband provider will have the legal right to limit your access or to impose conditions, otherwise why would they need to tell you?

If the Telecoms Package as it reads now is voted in, the changes will not be reversible.

5. How We Will Respond

We all have a stake in the Internet! You need to act now to save it!

• Ask to your leaders and representatives’ in the European Parliament to support a free and open Internet, where restrictions and limitations are only decided by a judicial ruling and monitoring is forbidden.
• Demand that Internet access providers will be required to offer a service open and without discriminations.
• Promoting growth and competition of the European economy should not be detrimental for citizen’s rights and the democratic participation.
• A fair welfare will not be reached if Internet does not stand free and open.

6. How to Do It (Tools)

Click here to find a technical explanation by Monica Horten, article by article, so you can check with your own eyes what it is going on.

The open coalition has also sent a number of letters to the European Parliamentarians (MEPs) with an explanation of the controversial articles.

As suggested by La Quadrature, you can:

1. Email, write to or phone your MEP - Follow the link to their website. to get the details.
   • You can use this letter as a model if you want
   • You are welcome to personalise the letter and include information that will make MEPs sit up, take note and take appropriate action. (Please do not be aggressive as they will not listen to you).





2. In this link you will be able to send these recommendations directly to all the Parliamentarians, (hacktivistas) Believe, they will really receive it and they will really feel the pressure.





3. Join this Facebook group





4. Send this page to everyone you know so that they can take action





5. Syndicate this page so that you keep been informed: disinformation is what they count on, we must be aware

Related Resources:

• Fac-simile letter for EU Parliamentarians
• Mail addresses of all EU Parliamentarians, categorized by country
• Political memory wiki page - Track and record vote of EU Parliamentarians
• La Quadrature Du Net - Info and resources

Originally written by the Blackout Europe Team and first published on April 20th, 2009 as "URGENT – VOTING IN EU PARLIAMENT 5th of MAY 2009".

Photo credits:
Voting In EU Parliament 5th Of May 2009 - mipan
What They Want to Enforce. The Telecoms Package - Ruslan Gilmanshin
The Value of Our Opinions and Our Votes - James Steidl
What Our Politicians Want to Pass - kmitu
How We Will Respond - Konstantinos Kokkinis
How to Do It (Tools) - Yanik Chauvin

The online video advertising market seems to show no decline despite the economic crisis. The last report from LiveRail shows that average CPMs keeps growing bravely, and internet video consumption has been experiencing a massive growth of 40% and more. Since this trend has kept growing almost unstoppably since 2005, there's no sign it will ease off pretty soon. That's why it is so important that you keep up with both technical and creative aspects of online videos, and the new entrants in this filed are those in-stream ads you can see on the big video platforms like YouTube or Hulu. If you want to get a comprehensive overview of the opportunities to monetize your existing video archive or your upcoming daily video production, the International Advertising Bureau has put together an official set of guidelines and metrics to make sense of the emergent set of standard in-stream video ad formats. Here the IAB Online Video Ad Formats guidelines:


Digital Video In-Stream Ad Format Guidelines and Best Practices by Internet Advertising Bureau Digital Video Committee In order to simplify the digital video advertising buying and selling process, the Digital Video Committee of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has developed these guidelines and best practices for the most common current in-stream ad formats, including:

• Linear video ads
• Non-linear video ads
• Companion ads

These recommendations have been constructed for these ad formats in order to meet the following marketplace needs:

• More efficient operations through a common set of creative submission guidelines
• More efficient development of ads and players through minimum common creative guidelines, including click functionality and duration definitions
• Easier digital video ad buying across multiple sites through minimum common ad sizes for overlay and companion ads
• Better consumer understanding of ad interactions and environments through best practice recommendations for creative development and player environments

There are three types of recommendations contained in this document for each ad format:

• Ad Format guidelines
• Common creative submission recommendations
• Additional best practices

Publishers will be able to self-attest to the IAB for a compliance seal by adhering to these Ad Format Guidelines. All other recommendations in this document should be considered best practices and should strongly be considered for adoption, but are not necessary for compliance. It is also important to note that this document has certain scope boundaries:

• This document supersedes the 2005 Broadband Ad Creative Guidelines; the original 2005 document is now obsolete
• Measurement of impressions or other metrics is not addressed in this document
• Although many of these formats can apply to full-screen and live experiences, this document does not specifically address those environments because of the high level of customization between publishers. The IAB encourages, where possible, that these guidelines be used in those situations.

While this document’s purpose is to develop more standardization in the most common areas of the digital video landscape, the IAB continues to encourage creativity and innovation in video ad formats. As with all IAB guidelines, this document will be updated as the dynamic digital video advertising landscape progresses and new ad formats become more widely adopted.







Video Formats Click above to open the full image In November 2005, the IAB Broadband Committee (now the Digital Video Committee) released creative guidelines for online video commercials to further enhance the user experience and improve the efficiency of planning, buying, and creating online media without constraining creative opportunities for marketers. Since 2005, both the experiences and consumption of video content have evolved significantly and newer video ad formats have been introduced to compliment these emerging types of video experiences and environments. This document is meant to build upon those guidelines by offering more detail on both the creative and technical aspects of video player and ad development. Currently the most common digital video ad experiences are either viewed within or around “in-stream”, “in-banner” or “in-text” video formats.

• In-Stream Video is generally played or viewed from a video player.
• In-Banner Video is generally displayed in IAB standard ad units.
• In-Text Video is generally user-initiated and triggered by relevant highlighted words within content.

This document delivers standards and best practices around in-stream ad products only.







In-Stream Video Advertising There are two core video ad format categories in today’s in-stream ad experiences. These are, “Linear Video” ads and “Non-linear Video” ads:

• Linear Video ad: The ad is presented before, in the middle of, or after the video content is consumed by the user, in very much the same way a TV commercial can play before, during or after the chosen program. One of the key characteristics of a linear video ad is that the user watches the ad in addition to the content as the ad takes over the full view of the video. Common linear video ad formats include pre-rolls, interactive takeovers, and short bumper vignettes that appear prior to the video content stream.


• Non-linear Video ad: The ad runs concurrently with the video content so the users see the ad while viewing the content. Non-linear video ads can be delivered as text, graphical ads, or as video overlays. Common non-linear video ad formats include:
  • Overlays which are shown directly over the content video itself. Note that an overlay ad can also be delivered over a linear ad experience as well, generally prompting the user to interact with the ad when the user mouses over the ad.
  • Product placements which are ads placed within the video content itself.

Both linear and non-linear video ad formats have the option of being paired with what is commonly referred to as a “Companion Ad”.

• Companion Ads: Commonly text, display ads, rich media, or skins that wrap around the video experience. These ads come in a number of sizes and shapes and typically run alongside or surrounding the video player. The primary purpose of the companion ad is to offer sustained visibility of the sponsor throughout the video experience. Companion ads may offer click-through interactivity and rich media experiences, such as expansion of the ad, for further engagement opportunities.

The following sections detail the ad format guidelines, recommended submission guidelines, and best practices for the following in-stream video ad formats:

• Linear Video Ad with or without Companion Ads
• Linear Video Interactive Ad
• Non-Linear Overlay Ad
• Non-Linear Non-Overlay Invitation Ad

This document was written to address the informational needs of advertising agencies, advertisers, vendors and publishers.







Linear Video Ad Formats
Linear Video Ad With or Without Companion Ad User Experience Description A time-limited video advertisement that can be shown before, in the middle of, or after the user sees the content in the video player. A clickable companion ad is typically run adjacent to the player content window.


Linear Video Ad Format Guidelines

• Insertion point: Can be placed pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll.


• Maximum ad display duration: 30 seconds or 15 seconds max. Ads may be less than but not exceed these maximum durations.


• Click Event: Both the video window and companion ad may be clickable with links to advertiser site


• Controls:
  • Since ads are displayed when a user opts-in to view content, it is recommended that all linear video ads be host-initiated
  • Minimum player controls present should be Start/Stop and Volume On / Off / Softer / Louder. Other recommended and acceptable buttons include Fast Forward / Rewind, Pause, Zoom and other Interactive buttons as needed. All buttons should be enabled throughout the video ad play, with the exception of Fast Forward.


• Companion ad sizes: If a publisher offers companion ads as part of a linear video ad product, as per the “companion ad” section of this document at least one of the following companion ad sizes should be accepted:
  • 300x250
  • 300x100
  • 468x60
  • 728x90
  • 300x60

It is important to note that this is a minimum consideration set and that other ad sizes may also be offered by a publisher in addition to at least one of the listed sizes.


Linear Video Ad Submission Recommendations It is recommended, but not required for guideline compliance, that publishers adopt the following list of specifications in order to encourage standardized and more operationally efficient submission practices.

• Video file technical specifications:
  1. Bit rates: Greater than 2Mbps.
  2. Resolution (in pixels): 640x480 preferred; 400x300 minimum; these dimensions may be adapted to accommodate wide screen videos.
  3. Color depth: 32-bit.
  4. Key frames: every 1 second.
  5. Frame rate: At least 15 frames per second.
  6. Recommended codecs for video asset submission: MPEG2, WMV, H.264 / AAC.


• Aspect ratio: 4:3 (standard screen) or 16:9 (wide screen). Publishers may scale the submission to fit their player (e.g. colored bands may be added around the ad.)


• Leaders (slate): Video creative may be submitted without leaders (slate) before ad content.


• Scalability: If scaling of ad is possible, publishers should disclose to buyers in creative specs how scaling may occur.

Linear Video Ad Best Practices for Publishers

1. Video players should gracefully accommodate both aspect ratios (4:3 or 16:9) by adding color bands or adjusting the player size to fit.


2. Publishers should disclose to advertisers when running multiple ads in a pod during commercial breaks.
   
3. Other durations commonly accepted:
   • Short-form video creative (aka "bumper", 3-10 seconds in length)
   • 60 second spots (should be run sparingly and only as post-roll or during extended mid-roll ad slots)


4. Publishers should accept at least one of the following formats for companion ads: jpeg, gif, png, swf (Adobe Flash), and xap (Microsoft Silverlight).
   
5. In order to deliver optimal user experiences, publishers should continuously manage and analyze the ratio of ads to content.
   
6. It is recommended that frequency capping practices be employed. When frequency capping is practiced, publishers should disclose frequency capping practices to the buyers.

Linear Video Interactive Ad
User Experience Description Ad experience allows a user to interact with an ad message within a video window. The ad plays for a prescribed minimum length of time (usually length of video creative) inviting the user to interact. Ad duration can continue if the user continues to interact with the ad based on publisher criteria. The ad may include video, animation, or images. A key aspect of this unit is that everything is displayed within the video frame.


Linear Video Interactive Ad Format Guidelines

• Insertion point: Can be placed pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll.


• Maximum ad display duration: 30 seconds or 15 seconds max. Ads may be less than but not exceed these maximum durations.


• Click Event: Both the video window and companion ad may be clickable with links to advertiser site


• Linear Video Interactive Ad Unit format: Publishers should accept one of two types of interactive ad unit with the following format requirements:
  1. Full-video-window rich media interactive unit file format: Publishers should accept at least one of the following file formats: swf, flv (Adobe Flash), and xap (Microsoft Silverlight). It is important to note that some integration with publishers may still be required.
  2. Linear video ad with interactive overlays. See format guidelines for linear video ads.

Linear Video Interactive Ad Submission Recommendations It is recommended, but not required for guideline compliance, that publishers adopt the following list of specifications in order to encourage standardized and more operationally efficient submission practices.

• Video file technical specifications:
  1. Bit rates: Greater than 2Mbps.
  2. Resolution (in pixels): 640x480 preferred; 400x300 minimum; these dimensions may be adapted to accommodate wide screen videos.
  3. Color depth: 32-bit.
  4. Key frames: every 1 second.
  5. Frame rate: At least 15 frames per second.
  6. Recommended codecs for video asset submission: MPEG2, WMV, H.264 / AAC.


• Leaders (slate): Video creative may be submitted without leaders (slate) before ad content.

Linear Video Interactive Ad Best Practices for Publishers

1. Video players should gracefully accommodate both aspect ratios (4:3 or 16:9) by adding color bands or adjusting the player size to fit.
2. Publisher should disclose to advertisers when running multiple ads in a pod.
3. Publishers should clearly outline integration requirements for developing creative.
4. In order to deliver optimal user experiences, publishers should continuously manage and analyze the ratio of ads to content.
5. When possible, simple interaction cues, such as a small graphic or animation, should be included to ensure users understand when and how to interact with the ads.

Non-Linear Video Ad Formats
Overlay Ad
User Experience Description Overlay ads run concurrently with content. Invitation unit ads are displayed on top of content while video is playing.

• If user interacts with invitation, content is paused and full video ad is displayed in the video window.
• If user does not engage with overlay it may disappear, collapse to a “leave-behind” companion ad or be persistent for entire content play.

Note that some overlay ads can be served over linear video ads as well.


Non-Linear Video Overlay Ad Format Guidelines

• Insertion Point: During video play.


• Maximum ad display duration: 5-15 seconds or persistent.


• Click Event: Click or rollover on overlay expands to auto-initiated video, interactive ad, or takes user to advertiser’s site.


• Overlay Ad Sizes: Publishers should accept at least one of the following overlay ad sizes: 300x50, 450x50. It is important to note that this is a minimum consideration set and that other ad sizes may also be offered by a publisher in addition to at least one of the listed sizes. The overlay ad should not be more than 1/5 of the height of the player.

Non-Linear Video Overlay Ad Submission Recommendations It is recommended, but not required for guideline compliance, that publishers adopt the following list of specifications in order to encourage standardized and more operationally efficient submission practices.

• Video file technical specifications (if video is used for overlay ad):
  1. Bit rates: Greater than 2Mbps.
  2. Resolution (in pixels): 640x480 preferred; 400x300 minimum; these dimensions may be adapted to accommodate wide screen videos.
  3. Color depth: 32-bit.
  4. Key frames: every 1 second.
  5. Frame rate: At least 15 frames per second.
  6. Recommended codecs for video asset submission: MPEG2, WMV, H.264 / AAC.


• Non-video file formats: Publishers should accept at least one of the following: jpeg, png, swf (Adobe Flash), and xap (Microsoft Silverlight).


• Maximum file size: 100k.


• Audio: No audio allowed in overlay invitation unit; once full ad expands or begins audio should be host-initiated.


• Opacity: Text and image - 100% opaque; background - 70% maximum.


• Animation: For animated overlay ad units, publishers may allow an extra 20 additional vertical pixels (beyond the 1/5 limit) that can be used sparingly by the advertisers to enhance the ad message, such as for drop shadows, flying sparks, etc.

Non-Linear Video Overlay Ad Best Practices for Publishers

1. Publishers should include a persistent close button in the upper right corner of the overlay ad unit.
2. Publisher should clearly use overlay labels to identify unit as “Advertisement” within frame or next to overlay unit.
3. The ad is most commonly presented anchored to bottom of player, but may be anchored along the top or side of player at the publisher’s discretion.

Non-Linear Non-Overlay Invitation Ad
User Experience Description Like the overlay, this unit presents an invitation to engage with the ad concurrently with the content experience. However, rather than overlaying the content, the non-overlay ad’s invitation resides outside the live video frame but within the video window. This format is used when publishers do not wish to overlay the content.


Non-Linear Non-Overlay Invitation Ad Format Guidelines

• Insertion Point: During video play; within player but not within video content frame.


• Maximum ad display duration: At least one of the following two durations should be offered: 5-15 seconds or persistent.


• Click Event: Click or rollover on overlay expands to auto-initiated video, interactive ad, or takes user to advertiser’s site.


• Non-Overlay Ad Sizes: Publishers should accept at least one of the following overlay ad sizes:
  • 300x50
  • 300x60
  • 234x60
  • 400x20
  It is important to note that this is a minimum consideration set and that other ad sizes may also be offered by a publisher in addition to one of the listed sizes.

Non-Linear Non-Overlay Invitation Ad Submission Recommendations It is recommended, but not required for guideline compliance, that publishers adopt the following list of specifications in order to encourage standardized and more operationally efficient submission practices.

• File formats: Publishers should accept at least one of the following: jpeg, png, swf (Adobe Flash), and xap (Microsoft Silverlight).
• Maximum file size: 100k.
• Audio: No audio allowed in overlay invitation unit; once full ad expands or begins audio should be host-initiated.

Linear Video Interactive Ad Best Practices for Publishers

1. The invitation should be presented as anchored to either the bottom or top of player.
2. Expandable rich media banners enabling users to rollover or click to view an expanded ad experience may be offered.

Companion Ads The primary purpose of companion ads is to offer sustained visibility of the sponsor throughout the video experience. Companion ads may offer click-through interactivity and rich media experiences, such as expansion of the ad for further engagement opportunities, and may include text, graphics or rich media and may be combined with any of the format standards listed above to create unique experiences for users and opportunities for advertisers. Creative specifications for companion ads are not detailed in this document and should continue to be governed by each individual publisher. If a publisher offers companion ads as part of a linear video ad product, at least one of the following companion ad sizes should be accepted:

1. 300x250
2. 300x100
3. 468x60
4. 728x90
5. 300x60

This is a minimum consideration set. Publishers have significant inertia around the companion sizes they use on their sites today. Publishers may continue to accept companion ads in other sizes, however, the minimum requirement is to accept one or more of the listed sizes for companions. The purpose of this minimum is to provide a core group of sizes so media buyers can rely on the portability of their creative.

Originally written by IAB Digital Video Committee for IAB and first published on May 1st 2008 as "Digital Video In-Stream Ad Format Guidelines and Best Practices".

About the author The Digital Video Committee of the IAB is comprised of 145 member companies actively engaged in the creation and execution of digital video advertising. One of the goals of the committee is to implement a comprehensive set of guidelines, measurement, and creative options for interactive video advertising.

Make tons of money online with my internet marketing secret formula! At one time or another you have probably already landed on a sales page claiming to be able to make you become another Internet millionaire only by reading and applying a few simple tactics, "anyone" can use. Haven't you? And ever since you have been wondering if there is really a secret to be discovered to make fast money online. Photo credit: Aspen Country The answer to that question is: yes, there is a secret to most of the apparently successful internet marketing offers you increasingly see online. It may not be the secret you expect to hear about, but it is nonetheless a quite well kept secret. The unique thing is that the secret is in front of everyone and yet many can't see it. In this article, Enrico Madrignano, a true internet marketing expert explains in a simple and direct way why internet marketers are so effective in selling you their secrets and why you may be deeply disappointed with the results you are going to get. Here all the details:


Make Money Online or Doing Web Marketing? I believe that whoever consciously mixes "making money online" with "Internet marketing", does it more to increase her revenue than to help others better understand how things really are. As a matter of fact, the phrase "make money online" helps catching many more fishes and it's not strange that the keyphrase "money online" is often among those most searched on internet marketing blogs. One of the basic marketing principles is: "give people what they want." The trick works simply because the phrase "to make money" triggers desires and impulsive attraction much more than the word "internet marketing" does. The new "internet marketing" gurus have well understood this and they also know that mixing the idea of "internet marketing" with "making money online" creates the perfect mixture. It has worked for a long time in the US and it also works well in Italy. Can we say it's their fault? I don't think so: just like you, they want to make money. Can we scold them? Absolutely yes: if those two concepts are not clearly and distinctly explained, then you are playing a cheating game.

Creating Value Doing "internet marketing" means creating value that is built around the needs and desires of the customer or the market. And this value must be discovered by doing extensive analysis, tests, and experiments. "Making money" only means selling something to someone who is willing to buy, even in a short time, and even if no additional value is created. To provide an example, I could make money going to a crowded beach and selling ice-creams with a cart at the hottest hours, when the sun is high in the sky. I have a product that sells itself automatically, no matter how good or bad it really is (my customers can only find out after they buy it). But if I want to transform my ice cream cart into a multinational ice-cream corporation, then things change drastically. Now I really need marketing to take my business to the next level, otherwise, in one year I will still be at the same beach, selling ice-creams to the beach-goers.

A Gambling Card Game The cheating card game of these "internet marketing" gurus is built specifically around the idea that marketing is actually that ice-cream cart. Here is how they do it:

1. They make the whole thing look as simple as possible and accessible to anybody out there. Do you need an astrophysics degree to sell ice creams on the beach? Anyone can do it, you too! Just think of this: While you are reading this page, thousands of entrepreneurs are already out there making billions of money by selling ice-creams on the beach, while you...


2. If I write a 500-page ebook to tell you how you can buy the ice cream cart, where you can buy it, which wheels you need for it, what kind of ice cream refrigerator you need to install on it, and so on... I won't need to waste my time explaining you the strategies to distribute, promote and add value to your product (that is "marketing"). Why? There is nothing better than having an ignorant customer. They let you believe that they hold the key to success, while the reality, is they are just selling you information to setup an ice cream cart. If you understand the problem, then you get mad and you stroll around discrediting the guru or, if you still buy into the cheating card game, you fall into the final trap, which is this.


3. You have understood that with the ice-cream cart you can make money, but you have also understood that to make real, significant money, you need something much more advanced than an ice-cream cart. And it's now, that the guru suddenly pulls out from his magic hat a secret envelope and lets you sniff it. Obviously, you have a hard time resisting to such offer, and you buy the expensive envelope with the secret formula. You open it slowly, excited and curious... and what do you find inside it?

Good or Evil Gurus? If the guru is an evil one, then in the envelope you'll find some marketing strategies. But, to be put to use, these strategies require you to buy a new, motorized, 12-wheel ice-cream cart that your guru is going to sell to you, or yet worse, you will have to become a reseller of his motorized 12-wheel ice-cream carts, s/he has been selling for years that will make you a millionaire in a very short time... I guess you have understood how the story goes. On the other hand, if the guru is a good one, then in the envelope you will find some real good marketing strategies. Too bad that on the way to get there your good guru had you spending all your life savings. And not taking into account that now, if you really want to make money online, you will need to roll up your sleeves and start working very hard for quite some time.

Conclusion The two concepts, "making money" and "internet marketing" go perfectly hand in hand as long as they are clearly distinguished by whoever promotes them. Whoever consciously mixes these two concepts, creates an inviting dish that is as poisonous as venom. This approach can be valuable at a first stage, but in the long run it bears only disgraces. I have seen this mix utilized for many years in the American market, almost in every field, but firstly in "internet marketing", where marketing gurus grow faster than mushrooms. It is always the same story, with the same plot being sold over and over again. "How to make money online with the superninja formula", "find the ultimate web marketing secret", are the typical slogans that characterize this ambiguous universe. As a matter of fact, there would be nothing intrinsically bad with all this, if it wasn't for the fact that these slogans and tactics are always the same, copied over and over again, and promoted by supposed gurus who have never tried and experimented them for real in their own strategies. Here in Italy, it is a little bit better, because culturally we are much more prepared to sniff out situations where someone wants to take advantage of our ignorance. But I don't know if this will last. Making money online is something that sometimes can happen fully naturally, in a short amount of time and without excessive efforts. On the other hand, to do effective marketing you need real dedication, perseverance and a lot of time to try and experiment all possible venues. To say it in simple words, in marketing you really need a lot of experience gained by having experimented lots of strategies in a real world situation. Who has gotten this experience through lots of efforts and over many years, out of respect to you or by being coherent with his hard-learned skill, will never sell it you as the magic formula to become a millionaire in 24 hours while selling ice-creams on the beach. Many understand all of the above right away, while others need to be caught in the trap before they start realizing how this internet marketing magic works. And this is part of the game too.

Originally Written by Enrico Madrignano for Web Marketing Forum and first published on January 11, 2009 as "Il Web Marketing NON è il guadagno online".

Photo credit: Make Money Online or Doing Web Marketing? - Rido Creating Value - Eduard Härkönen A Gambling Card Game - Visual 7 Good or Evil Gurus? - Piksel Conclusion - Xiao Fang Hu

In this issue of the Media Literacy digest George Siemens deals with the predominance of advertising in Web 2.0, usage statistics of social networks, alternative approaches to teaching, and the need to improve existing learning platforms. Photo credit: Rogers Furthermore, today digest points to an interesting MIT experiment devoted to try out new teaching approaches. MIT is gradually dropping long lectures, and focusing on smaller classes where learners can collaborate and interact with each other more actively. A small and intimate learning environment is the best way to let students improve their skills. And from such a view it should appear as comforting news that such a long-established and respected academic institution decides to try a different solution where teachers and learners can truly share their knowledge, instead of being just put together in the same room following the sterile approach "I teach, you learn". If you want to know more on alternative teaching approaches, and understand better the disruptive changes that our educational system is facing, this weekly digest with George Siemens is a good starting point to get more involved. Here all the details:


eLearning Resources and News learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends by George Siemens


Web 2.0 Called; It Says It’s Just an Ad Platform Now I’ve whined before about how web 2.0 was / is a threat to open source software. Open source is an ideology (although watered down from Stallman’s initial version) about openness, democracy, and participation. Web 2.0 is about free of cost. It’s a soul-less version of open source that relies on certain external conditions for its existence. Ideologies can outlive many waves of change. It’s too early to say that web 2.0 is on the wane due to economic pressures, but a concept tied to external realities (markets, politics) will always be challenged to live in tumultuous times. Web 2.0 Called; It Says It’s Just An Ad Platform Now: “Time and time again, many of the most innovative services online today run out of money before the huge number of potential and diverse users that could find value in them end up discovering them. Those services end up serving instead the world of advertising, or as is the case with many of the most awe inspiring research technologies - financial services professionals.”


Adults and Social Network Sites Pew Internet’s recent report - Adults and Social Network Sites (.pdf) - doesn’t offer anything dramatically new for those who have been active in online social networking sites. Of greatest interest is the growth over the last three years - 35% of adults have a profile, four times the number from 2005… but significantly less than the 65% of teens with a SN profile. As is often the case with new technology adoption, the percentages decline with age (down to only 7% for those in the 65+ category). The adoption of SN sites does reveal some interesting distinctions by race and income: non-whites are more likely to use these services and use declines as income increases.


Time to End “Courseocentricism” Aside from winning the most awkward new term - courseocentricism (why not just course-centricism?) - this article makes a compelling case for the limitations of current views of courses. The author appeals for ending course silos as a way to improve consistency across curriculum and thereby produce a more integrated or connected body of knowledge. From the article: "At a time when amazing new forms of connectivity are made possible by new digital technologies and when much of the best recent work in the humanities has made us more aware of the social and collective nature of intellectual work, we still think of teaching in ways that are narrowly private and individualistic, as something we do in isolated classrooms with little or no knowledge of what our colleagues are doing in the next classroom or the next building and little chance for each other’s courses to become reference points in our own." I like the idea of thinning our classroom walls and allowing connections to be formed between concepts from other subject areas. But that responsibility shouldn’t rest on the educator. “Getting on the same page” (author’s words) seems a bit at odds with opening up class rooms. We need to all get on our own page, form our own connections, our own understanding of different fields. It seems that the desire still runs high for educators to apply increased organization when problems become intractable. What is really needed is a complete letting go of our organization schemes and open concepts up to the self / participatory / chaotic sensemaking processes that flourish in online environments.


The Season of Predictions The season of predictions is upon us. I’ve never been fully convinced of the value of predictions (if someone says 2009 is the year of the mobile phone, what does that mean to me? What should I do differently? Use my phone more? Text more?). Ironically, the value of predictions is less in what they predict… and more in how they provide a framework for existing trends. Predictions that only look one year into the future are really a “pause and reflect” activity. A few recent articles / predictions:

• eLearn magazine’s 2009 predictions (short statements from numerous well known elearning personalities)
• Top Trends and Technologies (from a librarian’s perspective)
• Top Teaching and Learning Challenges

At MIT, Large Lectures Are Going the Way of the Blackboard It’s encouraging to see universities adopting different approaches to teaching. While research on the so-called learning sciences is not fully settled, enough is understood about learning to warrant significant reconsideration of how teaching occurs in universities. At MIT, Large Lectures Are Going the Way of the Blackboard: The physics department has replaced the traditional large introductory lecture with smaller classes that emphasize hands-on, interactive, collaborative learning. Last fall, after years of experimentation and debate and resistance from students, who initially petitioned against it, the department made the change permanent. Already, attendance is up and the failure rate has dropped by more than 50 percent. Changes of this nature still occur within the existing structure of universities. The next, somewhat obvious, question to tackle is “how should universities be structured when access to information and ability to create learning networks shift from instructor to learner control?”.


Frustrating Conferences… Conferences are terrific opportunities for meeting colleagues, encountering new ideas, and getting as sense of what’s happening “over there”. For dissemination of knowledge (information, really, but knowledge is the term most people relate to), few processes are more valuable. But conferences can be frustrating. Very frustrating. Who hasn’t encountered the joy of sitting in a conference room, listening to droning presentations, feeling as if though they’ve lost the “which session is going to be the least bad” lottery from the program brochure? Several years ago, I was asked to join the ED-MEDIA steering committee. As a group, they have been very willing to entertain different approaches for improving the conference. Now, under the umbrella of AACE, we’re pleased to announce Spaces of Interaction: An online conversation on improving traditional conferences. (Ning site for the event). The discussion happens February 18-20, 2009. It’s free. It’s online. And it’s open. If you’re a conference organizer, sit on a conference committee, or attend conferences, we’d love to hear your input on how the experience can be improved. You may find this article - Conference Connections: rewiring the circuit - to be a useful lead up to the online event.


What Not to Build I met with an individual today who is creating a virtual world for young teens. The project is conceived as serving a niche market. Of course, we all feel our ideas are unique or our particular circumstance is different from others. I left the meeting with a sense of “why are people still building these things? why not take advantage of infrastructure that is already in place?”. Operating systems and platforms that are used as the base of innovation are increasingly free. The value is in the creativity and innovation unleashed by many contributors. Google gets this. That’s why they announced OpenSocial. And Android. Competition based on openness. Stephen Downes continues his reflection / future thinking with What Not to Build (this follows his important Future of Online Learning: 10 Years On). In this (shorter) paper, he offers advice to the elearning industry on what not to build… what is being built… what is a fad… and what might be worth building. I don’t agree with all of his statements. iPhones are hyped, but I don’t think they are a fad… though Android and RIM may impact their market share. Cloud computing will not be noticed because, well, that’s the point. The technology becomes transparent. People are already “using the cloud” without being fully aware of it. This may depend on how one defines cloud computing - i.e. if it includes Google Docs, Gmail, MobileMe, and other hardware / software applications that don’t confine computing to a particular device - then I don’t think it’s a fad. Those two small points aside, Stephen has written a good article that will make edtech professionals rethink future / emerging projects.

Originally written by George Siemens for elearnspace and first published on January 15th 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and News.

About the author To learn more about George Siemens and to access extensive information and resources on elearning check out www.elearnspace.org. Explore also George Siemens connectivism site for resources on the changing nature of learning and check out his new book "Knowing Knowledge".

Photo credits: Web 2.0 Called; It Says It's Just an Ad Platform Now - Eric Isselée Adults and Social Network Sites - Cathy Yeulet Time to End "Courseocentricism" - moori The Season of Predictions - Andrei Kiselev At M.I.T., Large Lectures Are Going the Way of the Blackboard - Luis Louro Frustrating Conferences… - Fleyeing What Not to Build - xavigm

The celebrated openness of the Internet in which internet providers are not supposed to give preferential access or treatment to any Internet traffic keeps quietly losing powerful defenders. Photo credit: Norma Cornes Internet providers are still free to sell higher-speed traffic and better overall service levels, but letting big companies like Google get an unfair advantage in distributing their content online just because they can afford to pay more, represents a big threat to the democratic and egalitarian approach independent web publishers have been vouching for. Net neutrality boils down to one basic concept: Don't make audiences pay for artificially-created scarcity. That means that Internet providers of all kinds can be still free to sell "bigger pipes" and better overall service levels at higher prices. What should instead not be allowed anymore is for artificial cartels of content and Internet bandwidth providers to gang together and create preferential access routes to their own content by virtue of reserving faster and broader chunks of their bandwidth to their commercial gang partners. Here is John Blossom reporting on this story:


Net Neutrality Spin: WSJ's Take on Google's Caching Plans Draws Fire by John Blossom

WSJ vs. Google on Net Neutrality Talk about a bad hair day for WSJ tech journalists. When The Wall Street Journal ran an article on a Google plan to add "edge caching" servers at key internet service provider facilities, this fairly common practice to accelerate content delivery to audiences via the Web was mangled into a political imbroglio. To wit, their lead: "The celebrated openness of the Internet - network providers are not supposed to give preferential treatment to any traffic - is quietly losing powerful defenders. Google Inc. has approached major cable and phone companies that carry Internet traffic with a proposal to create a fast lane for its own content, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Google has traditionally been one of the loudest advocates of equal network access for all content providers." Google was quick to correct the WSJ's outlook, as noted on their public policy blog and in a subsequent AFP story. Their point: "Despite the hyperbolic tone and confused claims in Monday's Journal story, I want to be perfectly clear about one thing: Google remains strongly committed to the principle of net neutrality, and we will continue to work with policymakers in the years ahead to keep the Internet free and open." Intellectual property guru and net neutrality proponent Lawrence Lessig noted that his take on Google and the political ramifications of this move were a bit off-key in the WSJ article as well: "The article is an indirect effort to gin up a drama about an alleged shift in Obama's policies about network neutrality. What's the evidence for the shift? That Google allegedly is negotiating for faster service on some network pipes. And that "prominent Internet scholars, some of whom have advised President-elect Barack Obama on technology issues, have softened their views on the subject." Who are these "Internet scholars"? Me... I've not seen anything during the Obama campaign or from the transition to indicate it has shifted its view about network neutrality at all."


Is the Open Web a Possible Future Scenario? With more moving pieces than a Swiss watch in Washington right now, the current political environment surrounding net neutrality and other Web access issues during a transition in Washington's power brokers is bound to be subject to as much jockeying and bullying as possible. Today the U.S. Federal Communications Commission canceled a vote on making radio frequencies available that would provide free Internet access as a public utility, bowing to pressures from both industry advocates and politicians. There's a big push for open Web access, but plenty of pressure from all points of view keeping things comfortably in neutral for now. Net Neutrality and related issues such as public Web wireless frequencies seem to boil down to one basic concept: Don't make audiences pay for artificial scarcity. Carriers are still free to sell "bigger pipes" and better overall service levels, but artificial cartels based on reserving audience-facing Internet bandwidth for private use will only create more challenges for publishers in the long run. If you want to have proof that this is so, just take a look at the balkanized state of mobile service carriers that lassoed content providers for many years into deals for distribution on their private networks. What publishers now confront are scattered and overpriced deals for growing but underperforming mobile markets, even as the carriers now reach for ad revenue shares to sweeten their take.


Net Neutrality and Its Implications for Online Publishers Proprietary mobile breakthroughs such as the iPhone and the Amazon's Kindle are great for publishers in many ways, but they represent a relatively small share of the potential marketplace for mobile content and ultimately just continue the myth that artificial network scarcity can benefit the publishing industry as a whole. All these devices do is lock publishers in to proprietary networks that are bound to make it harder to reach their audiences cost-effectively. The truth is that the fastest-evolving, most cost-effective technology changes are best for publishers, making it imperative to enable an environment in which mobile and Web technology providers are not resting on proprietary laurels that hinder the development of Web and mobile markets for publishers. Without these breakthroughs, the audience reach that content producers need to make mobile networks a highly profitable distribution medium is not likely to materialize. Let's keep the future of publishing out of the hands of companies that still can't tell us whether to dial "1", an area code or nothing extra to make a phone call to the next town. Net Neutrality will ensure that there is a cost-effective, rapidly evolving electronic distribution infrastructure that serves publishers best.

Originally written by John Blossom for Shore and first published on December 15, 2008 as "Net Neutrality Spin: WSJ's Take on Google's Caching Plans Draws Fire".

About the author John Blossom's career spans more than twenty years of marketing, research, product management and development in advanced information and media venues, including major financial publishers and financial services companies, as well as earlier experience in broadcast media. Mr. Blossom founded Shore Communications Inc. in 1997, specializing in research and advisory services and strategic marketing consulting for publishers and consumers of content services.

Photo credits: WSJ vs. Google on Net Neutrality - Olga Demchishina Is the Open Web a Possible Future Scenario? - Alfredo Angeles Net Neutrality and Its Implications for Online Publishers - Wikimedia Commons

How do you go about distributing your videos online in an effective fashion? How do you choose the right keywords to title your clips? If you are just starting up with online video marketing, these are probably some of your most pressing concerns. Lasse Rouhiainen and Robin Good - Photo credit: Robin Good In this second interview (here part 1) I asked Lasse Rouhiainen to share some basic tips and advice for those like you who are beginners in this field, and want to know more. Lasse Rouhiainen is a professional video publisher and web marketer who works in the tourism sector in sunny Spain. Lasse helps travel agencies and professionals become proficient in online video marketing and promoting their offerings in a better way. Given his passion and his desire to help other people, I asked Lasse to kindly share with you some of the stuff he teaches every day to his customers. Where to start and how to simply avoid common mistakes when you decide to approach the fascinating, yet competitive, sector of marketing through online videos. Here the video interview along with a full text transcription:


Online Video Marketing - Video Interview With Lasse Rouhiainen - Part 2 Duration: 17' 27"
Full English Text Transcription
Intro Robin Good: Hi everyone, this is Robin Good from Rome, and this is the second part of my insider video interview with Lasse Rouhianen, who's in Alicante, Spain, and is a video marketing expert. He works with all kinds of guys, especially in the field of tourism and he helps people understand how you can use your video to better market your message. How to use your video to do some serious business and not just get a million of views. If you haven't seen the first part, go check it out. It's on YouTube, on MasterNewMedia.org. Just search for it on Google, you'll find it right now. Lasse welcome again! Lasse Rouhiainen: Thanks Robin, it's great to be here!


The Key Factor to Increase Views on YouTube Robin Good: Good, let me shoot at you immediately another good question: what is that one thing that, no matter what the video is, not changing the content, one thing you can do when you upload a video to YouTube, that if you do it right is going to positively increase the number of your views? Lasse Rouhiainen: You are meaning that when you upload your video to YouTube? When you have your video ready and you upload to YouTube? Is that your question?
Robin Good: Yeah, my question is what is one factor that can affect the number of views that your video will get independently of content, that you can become more aware of and use it better for your own sake. Lasse Rouhiainen: Yeah, I understand. That's a good question. To answer I'd like to give a bit of background. I see a lot of people just uploading videos to YouTube, and one thing is that you upload the video, and the other thing is that you optimize the video. When you optimize the video, one of the most important thing is to use the right long-term keywords, and that's the same as writing an article, or writing a blog post, or publishing whatever. If you do some keyword research and if you use the right keywords you can have really nice results with your video. Because YouTube is kind of an authority site nowadays, and many YouTube videos will come up in the first page of Google search. Keyword research: I would say that's number one thing. Keyword research and using the right long-term keywords in the title of your videos is the number one thing I would say.


How to Find Relevant Keywords For Your Videos Robin Good: Well, those ideas are very clear for me, but let's say I am somebody who has a new book business and I've got a new title and my book is about how to cultivate tropical flowers. What are these long keywords, and how do I go about finding them? You said that I have to use specific long-keywords in the title, can you give me an example on how you go about this? Lasse Rouhiainen: I would start by using some free tools that you can use to do keyword research and one of the great ones is by Google. In Google if you type "AdWords Keyword Tool", you will find the Google's own tool which will give ideas of what kind of keywords people are searching. So, there, you would type your main keyword which was "tropical flower... something", and then you would see what kind of variations there are and that's how you start your optimizing, or that's how you start finding keywords. By the way, I want to emphasize here that when you do this exercise it will also give you ideas for your next video because it will see what kind of other and related keywords people are searching for. It could be "how to best protect your tropical flowers" or something, and now you can do one video for that. It can also give you more ideas on doing more content.
Robin Good: Let's see if I understand this correctly. You suggest that every time I'm going to title a video, I'm going to try to find what people would be searching for, if they wanted to see that video. One way to do it you suggest is to use the Google AdWords Keyword Suggestion Tool, and I just noted today that if you go just only also on a simple Google page, and you just type something, even before you click the search button, Google is going to show up for you a drop-down menu with all suggestions. These suggestions are very significant because they show how other people are thinking, or better how they are phrasing, what they are looking for, differently than you. So you think, because you wrote a book, that you're dealing with "cultivating tropical flowers", but maybe in the head of many people, this is just "raising flowers in hot climate". Maybe people think of it this way. Lasse seems to be suggesting you need to find out which way people think. the Google search box and the suggestions that come out is a way, the Google AdWords is another one. There are many tools out there that people can use for this purpose. Great, now I understand better what you're referring to.


Is Uploading Videos to Multiple Sites a Good Strategy? Robin Good: I've heard a lot of people talking about getting your video to as many video sharing sites as possible. Is that a good strategy to use? Why? Lasse Rouhiainen: I think it's a good strategy, because there are tools, and let's say there are good sites, similar to YouTube, where people are searching for content. My answer would be that if your video is good there's a good reason to share it. It's kind of like if you have a good article, which is adding value to people. You want to share with as many people as possible. In addition to YouTube, there are great video search engines and video sharing sites. I would definitely share it and upload to those sites, but you have to have a good quality video so if you're just doing junk or something that doesn't make sense or add value, then of course there's no meaning. I would say that's a really important thing, and also for you to understand that YouTube is a great place but it's not the only place. There's like 20 or 25 really good video sites, and those can also rank in Google and also have their own traffic, and their own users that are looking for your content. I would definitely use them.
Robin Good: Ok, that's pretty much my general feelings, but as I've been thinking about this, I've realized that, first of all, Google evidently gives a lot of advantage to video results that are inside YouTube and Google Video. They will not bring up results from other video sharing sites if they have that stuff.


Let Each Video-Sharing Site Customize Your Video Individually Robin Good: If you now go and upload your video to 25 different sites with the same title, and metadata, that is same tags, and same descriptions, you're actually replicating your content over the place. To me, and this is just my reasoning in the last 48 hours, it would be a really good feature, and I wrote this in the new media predictions, that these services are going to provide a feature whereby you can modify for each individual service at least the title, if not the description and the tags, so that you can differentiate and broaden up the number of all hooks from which the people can find your content. Because you may use your main keywords on YouTube, and then some other people may using those other different keywords, and so you're stuck. You got 20 videos all with the same label. A good innovation for me would be going that way. What do you think? Lasse Rouhiainen: I think that's fantastic. Sometimes I do that manually. I go to those sites that I've uploaded the video and I change it there after uploading it. If there would be that kind of service, that would be fantastic because you could even optimize your video in all the sites much better. I really agree 100%.


Black-hat tactics in Online Video Marketing Robin Good: Ok, great. Let's talk more a little bit more about this black hat tactics. Black hat means they are not really official, orthodox approaches to marketing, but sometimes, tricky, underground, not very well known, sometimes borderline approaches. I don't use any of these normally but I'd like to learn, experiment, and find out if and how they work. For example, I see that some of the other video publishers out there who get a lot of subscribers to their channel, seem to be using some kind of software that goes out and makes them subscribers to other people's channels over and over again. They appear to becoming friends of you, so you feel: "Oh, that's nice. Robin Good has come to become my friend, let me subscribe to his channel". So you get lots of subscribers and then these people get, I would guess, some kind of e-mail notifications of your videos, and so over time you should get more. Does that happen in your opinion and, is that ok? Should people do that, does it work well? Lasse Rouhiainen: I haven't used those kind of programs, but I can see that many people are using them with success. However, I don't think that they are necessary. YouTube is a great place, where there is lot of other professionals, and you can build relationship by really finding out who are those people and adding them manually. I like to do it that way, and I'm not that excited of those kind of programs however I know that some people have a lot of success with them. However I'd like to highlight that as the time goes on for most of us building out subscribers in YouTube is really important. It's kind of like building your e-mail list or building any other list. For that I would recommend also using the annotation feature in YouTube where they let you write any kind of annotation in your video. It's just giving people and saying them that remember to subscribe to my channel if you like this video. That's a really cool way to do it, I would say. That would be my recommendation there. Robin Good: Good suggestion Lasse, I appreciate that. So put on your notification overlay on your video remembering not only your site and URL but also to subscribe to your channel. Great stuff.


What's the Best Video Format? Robin Good: What about video compression and encoding. What's your secret recipe to get the best quality video out there? Lasse Rouhiainen: My secret recipe is just following your blog and what you have done! But, what I am teaching and mentoring people with video marketing is: number one problem, or challenge, for most people is producing video. That's the big thing, and even tough they have done three or five videos, my next goal is to get them to do 10, 20, 50 videos because then it's really when they start to get results. That's why in my seminar I focus mostly on how to find topics for your videos and what to say on the videos, and those kind of things. And I really don't talk that much about codec and the right format, and so on. However it's important, and maybe we can mention it now, that like many people know, in YouTube you can upload high-definition video which is really really interesting. YouTube normally allows many different formats and for me what seems to be best is the MP4 file format, seems to be really good for uploading videos. That's the thing there. I would say that kind of technical thing is really good to know when you're already doing a lot of video, but the first thing you need to know is how to get right action plan, how to get ideas for doing videos, and above all how to do a lot of videos, because at each video you will learn and improve. So, MP4 would be my selection, and maybe you have much more to add in that topic.
Robin Good: But as I learned from you, that will be in a separate video! "Find out everything on how to encode the video for YouTube!" You need to Google that one separately to get my video on that one.


Cool Video Marketers to Follow on YouTube Robin Good: Last but not least, a difficult question, but one that people want to learn. I'm going to ask anytime and that is: "Come on Lasse, give me one or two guys you look on YouTube to get some inspiration and good ideas on how to do the video, come on!" Lasse Rouhiainen: You mean video producer, people who are adding videos on YouTube?
Robin Good: Yeah, people you would recommend to your own students. I mean if they say.: "Oh, but besides you Lasse, what can we look at, do you know some guy who does video that can inspire me and make me feel okay after I look at him? What do you tell them to go to see? Lasse Rouhiainen: When I was starting I got a lot of inspirations and a lot of ideas from Dennis Karganilla. I can't remember his YouTube channel, but he really is a great teacher and YouTube marketer. But there's a lot of good people and in the Spanish Internet marketing. For example, I have one friend who's doing one video every Sunday to his people, the people who watch his videos, and who are in his e-mail list. I think that's a great strategy when you do one video without any agenda, and the only agenda there is just to build relationships that tell how was the week and tell the news, and what's up and so forth. That was great thing, and he was marketer who's not like video marketer, but he was just so inspired of using video so he got to using it. His name is Phil Alfaro, he lives in San Francisco. For me, I'd just check what other marketers are doing and just get inspiration from them, and what kind of videos they are doing. For myself, for 2009, I think I'll do more those kind of videos rather than doing just a video per week, and not selling anything, but just improving the relationship with my viewers, and people in my e-mail list.
Robin Good: Very good, thank you very much for sharing Lasse and all the best for you to 2009 for your video marketing evangelism. Keep us updated, and you guys who want to follow more directly his stuff, Lasse why don't you share your web site URL for everyone? Lasse Rouhiainen: My web site in English language is powerfulvideomarketing.com, and as Robin said also does something in the Spanish marketing. But for this interview I think powerfulvideomarketing.com is the good one to go to. Robin Good: Can the Latino readers find from powerfulvideo...? Lasse Rouhiainen: The Latino viewers can go to marketingconvideo.com. It's for Spanish and Italian people.
Robin Good: ¡Perfecto! Thank you Lasse, have a great day! Much appreciated indeed, look forward to another one soon! Lasse Rouhiainen: Thanks Robin!
Robin Good: Ciao ciao, ¡hasta luego! Lasse Rouhiainen: ¡Hasta luego!

Originally shot and recorded by Robin Good for MasterNewMedia and first published on January 15, 2009 as "Online Video Marketing: Basic Tips And Advice From A Video Marketing Evangelist - Lasse Rouhiainen - Part 2".

ScreenToaster is a new screencasting web-based service which provides high-quality screen video recordings ready for immediate web publication. ScreenToaster works on Macs, PCs and Linux computers and requires no software to downloaded or installed on your end. To me this looks like the best and most promising free / low-cost screencasting solution available out there. More than anything else it is by far the simplest and most immediate to use. Photo credit: ScreenToaster Though the guys at ScreenToaster.com have been working hard at this since last August (2008), and though MasterNewMedia had already announced the availability of their service some time ago, I have been waiting for the availability of what I consider the key features of this new, impressive screencasting tool. And now, they are all there. Tomorrow, January 15th 2009, ScreenToaster will officially launch publicly the new version I have been able to review and test ahead of the official release. As you probably know, I don't give anymore that much space to in-depth reviews of new tools, as there are many well equipped bloggers who already are doing this, but when it comes to technologies that are really disruptive to existing status quo and which do offer enormous potential for independent online publisher, I can't hold myself silent. ScreenToaster is a dream come true. To do a powerful and effective screencast and have it published online on your site you now need nothing more than registering at ScreenToaster.com and start recording now. In no time at all you can have a quality video screen recording, with your voice over ready to be embedded inside your blog site. It doesn't matter whether you are on a PC, Mac or Linux machine. ScreenToaster works everywhere. Here all the details:


ScreenToaster Preview Duration: 3':57"

Key Features

• Extremely Simple to Use
  This is probably ScreenToaster key winning feature. Even my uncle, who doesn't know yet how to listen to music online or how to upload a video to YouTube, can use ScreenToaster in no time at all. And this is the right way to go for any software, web-based or not, which wants to make a significant impact. Make it stupid-proof when it comes to usability. No doubt that there are still a few rough corners, but overall this is a tool to imitate, not so much for its clever usability or interface design solutions, but for having restrained itself so far in adding too many features and commands. The essence is all there, and if it works, there is really no need to add any more frills unless they are very cleverly hidden from the default view.


• Records All of Your Screen Activities in Real-time ScreenToaster records all screen activity on your computer into a video clip, independently of the software, web site or utility you are displaying on your computer. ScreenToaster records everything that appears on your screen. If you can see it, ScreenToaster can record it.


• Records Your Audio in Real-time One key important and very useful feature is the ability to record your audio commentary while you are recording the screen. While screen capturing a software demonstration or explaining how to use a certain feature, ScreenToaster is capable of recording non-stop both your computer screen activity as well as the audio input from your microphone or other connected audio device. In addition, it is also possible to record the audio after the video has been captured, a feature that video professionals and voice professionals will likely prefer over the spontaneous and direct approach of live audio recording.


• Records and Overlays Your Webcam ScreenToaster is also capable of recording your own video in a small window that can be superimposed near one of the corners of the screen recording. This allows you to show also your face, or to provide a mute language video track alongside the main screen recording.


• Full-screen Recording or via Resizable Viewport One great and extremely useful feature offered by ScreenToaster, is the ability to choose between full screen recording and partial screen recording via a resizable viewport which can be sized and positioned anywhere you want on the screen.


• Immediate Video Playback As soon as you end a screen recording the video recording is immediately available for you to play back and check. ScreenToaster serves it to you right after you click to Stop Recording button and this by itself is a supercool and useful feature. It even beats classical software solutions, where you often need to wait for a long save before you can actually see your recording.


• Download Video Recordings ScreenToaster provides you with the option of also downloading your recorded screencasts in two standard video formats: AVI or Flash SWF. Both formats are widely used and well supported providing the ScreenToaster user with the ability to master these videos on different media such as CD or DVD as well as to edit them with standard video editing tools. Additional formats, more suited for online video distribution are not needed, as ScreenToaster integrates the capability to directly upload to YouTube and other video sharing sites.


• Post Directly to YouTube You can post in one-click any screen recording done with ScreenToaster to YouTube, and to the ScreenToaster.com own public video directory. This is a vital, strategic feature, and if the quality of the videos uploaded on standard video sharing sites holds up, one of those that will bring rapidly thousands of would-be screencasters to this tool. It is just too useful.


• Add Text Notes and Captions After you have recorded a screencast you can easily add multiple subtitles or captions right under the video. A dedicated tool, makes it extremely easy to add any text you want at any point in the video. Very useful.


• Select Still Frame for Screencast ScreenToaster.com provides a tool to easily select which frame of your screen recording should be utilized as the opening still for your video. Touch of class.


• Fast Motion Unique in its category, SCreenToaster provides the ability to speed up the playback up to 10x. This is a very effective solution for demonstrations and tutorials where you need to compress the showcase of certain operations to a fraction of their original time.


• Embeddable Player Widget ScreenToaster provides a ready to embed snippet of code to embed instantly any screencast into your blog or web site. Just copy and paste the code and you are done.


• Upcoming Additional Features There are a number of additional cool features coming up inside ScreenToaster including slow-motion, personal profiles, advanced video and audio controls and a lot more. A set of API, a direct video upload facility and the ability to upload to other video sharing sites will be rolled out in the coming weeks and will complement an already solid basic toolset.
  
• Price Amazingly, all of these features come to you at zero cost. You can start recording screencasts now at absolutely zero cost.

How Does It Work Working with ScreenToaster is as simple as going to its site, signing up and the clicking on the Record screen button appearing on the home page. Once you do that, ScreenToaster will download a small applet and will request your permission to use it. Then, all you need to know is to press Alt-S to start a video recording. To stop or pause the key combination is the same, so one command is all you need to memorize. Before starting a screen recording you can open any software you want to demonstrate or showcase or you can navigate to any web page you wish to illustrate. Once you are set and ready you can press the Alt-S shortcut, and after a brief, 5-second visual countdown your screen recording will automatically start. To pause or stop all you need is to press Alt-S again and a dialog box will pop-up (this may appear on your ScreenToaster page) prompting you to choose whether you want to continue recording or complete and end the recording. If you decide to stop the recording, ScreenToaster will immediately display the video you have just recorded giving you the opportunity to review it. Next to the player showcasing your newly recorded video you will also find a few controls allowing you to start a new recording, edit captions, remove audio or video of the newly recorded one, and the options to save / download and to directly upload to YouTube and to ScreenToaster.com.


Short Video Interview with Marco Fucci CEO of ScreenToaster.com Here is short video conversation with Marco Fucci, CEO and founder of ScreenToaster.com. Marco is based in Paris, France and has been very kind to spend a few minutes explaining why he chose to invest in developing a screencasting tool of this kind, who he thinks are his direct competitors and how ScreeToaster is going to win over them and which business model he is planning to use to make his service sustainable.


Review Summary Key Strengths

1. Extreme simplicity and ease of use This is a winning key strength. Few commands and controls. Next to nothing to configure or set. Everything falling into place without needing to be a geek. This is the way all digital tools will need to become.
2. Cross-platform Compatibility As a Web-based solution, ScreenToaster has all of the advantages of not being tied to anyone specific operating system. Users on Macs, PCs and Linux computers can all use without any difference in the functionalities available the ScreenToaster screen recording platform.
3. High-quality Video Recording The quality of ScreenToaster screen video recordings is impressive and when played back in full screen mode often indistinguishable from a live original. This is vital for screencasters as most of the solutions that have been available until now were not generally suitable for video distribution and almost never provided the ability to watch the screencast in full screen in such high definition.
4. No Software to Download or Install ScreenToaster requires no installation or configuration of dedicated software making it extremely easy for non-technical users to approach this tool and try out its impressive abilities.
5. Extra Features Useful extra features, like webcam integration, recording pause and text captioning are all great additions to an already good screen recording setup like this one. Hats to the product design and engineering team.
6. Direct Upload to YouTube This by itself is a great and extremely useful feature as most any video publisher wants to make his content available on YouTube.

N.B.: Some of the features I have listed above are not yet available to the public at large but will become accessible in the coming days.
Areas for Improvement

1. Usability While there is little to say to such a useful tool, there is definitely space for improvement in the usability and accessibility of this screencasting service. Most of all, easier control of the start, stop, pause commands, possibly via an always visible mini panel would be useful for those who prefer to hit just one button or a key. One key issue right now for non technical people is understanding what is happening and what to do when they hit Alt-S during a recording. While the cool mini display appearing next to the cursor shows a P, standing for Pause, the non tech-savvy user will not know what to do right there and then. As a matter of fact sHe will likely keep pressing Alt-S a few times, without realizing that to bring to a complete end the recording sHe will need to bring up to the front the ScreenToaster page where a dedicated dialog box provides the option to do so.
2. Elapsed Time Counter A digital display of the elapsed time while recording would be a welcome addition.
3. Viewport Control The resizable and movable frame that allows to capture specific parts of the screen could be made easier to grab, move, resize, going beyond the present standard abilities. Larger frame borders, larger handle / resize buttons could significantly enhance usability for the non tech audience wanting to use this tool effectively. Also welcome would be a small interactive display of the width and height of the area framed in pixels.
4. Integration with Heyspread or Tubemogul Screencasting is definitely a hot and fast growing market, and the surge in personal educational resources will keep boosting this front for a long time to come. Why not partnering then with one of the two powerhouses of online video distribution, Tubemogul and HeySpread to strike a partnership providing screencasting publishers with the option to deliver their screen recording to multiple video sharing sites instead of just one?
5. Integrated Annotation Tools Screencasting is a promising sector mostly because the demand for customized and specialty video learning opportunities is increasing very fast. With a screencast software can be explained, demos can be imparted to distant listeners and training becomes more personal and enjoyable. For all these reasons integrating a small set of really smart mark-up and annotation tools (nothing like what you see around today) could make a further significant positive difference to those considering to use such a tool.
6. License Integrating options to license ScreenToaster-produced screencasts under Creative Commons and Public Domain licenses would be a necessary addition too.
7. Support for HD ScreenToaster can theoretically record HD video quality from your computer screen. Will it offer this option as an official feature that is well integrated with the increasing number of video sharing sites supporting HD video?

Editor's Comments ScreenToaster is a winner. It has a fast growing market, a technology that works across platforms and operating systems, the right attitude when it comes to product development, a desire to build a service that is first of all EASY, and a bunch of features that make it very difficult for non-advanced users to resist adopting it. ScreenToaster is what Jing should have been a long time ago and never was. It is not a free version of Camtasia, nor it pretends to be so. ScreenToaster is the tool, that more than any other one I have seen until now allows you to produce a very good quality screencast with the minimum effort and time. ScreenToaster surely beats what had recently become my first choice for screencasting work on the Mac: ScreenFlow. ScreenToaster, which is free, offers key advanced features like partial screen recording, pausing, uploading to YouTube or adding text captions, which are not even available in what until yesterday was among the best paid screencasting solutions on the Mac. On the PC side I have Camtasia, a wonderful, pro-level solution. But will I be wanting to go for all the extra features and precision control that Camtasia offers me (at a price), when in many cases I really only need a quality recording that looks good and maximum simplicity of use? Techsmith may have to look into answering this one before its Camtasia sales start to drop rapidly. And again, more than anything else ScreenToaster is by far the simplest and most immediate screncasting tool to use out there. If you want to know what I think, here it is: ScreenToaster is going to toast them all. Seriously.

Originally written by Robin Good for MasterNewMedia and first published on January 14th, 2009 as "Web-Based Screencasting Service Integrates High-Quality Screen Recording And Online Video Distribution: ScreenToaster Is Here".

What does it take to make it as a startup in the web 2.0 world? Does it matter whether you are a European company or a Silicon Valley one? Are the chances and opportunities the same? Photo credit:LeWeb '08 and Ustream Just a month ago at LeWeb08, the two-day Paris event was concluded by a great live session with the Gillmor Gang, a small group of high caliber media technologists and entrepreneurs who, back in 2005 launched a podcast based on a conference call among them to discuss whatever felt hot at the moment. From this unique and memorable live session of the Gillmor Gang, in which LeWeb organizer Loic LeMeur participates actively, I have extracted this delicious 11 minutes of conversation focusing on the differences, the pros and cons, the prejudices and myths, the stereotypes and untold truths about how the real and imagined differences between entrepreneurship on this and that side of the ocean. Steve Gillmor, Hugh McLeod, Marc Canter, Loic LeMeur, Michael Arrington and Loren Feldman give life to a hot and fascinating discussion about the differences between USA and Europe when it comes to launching your own Internet company. Check it out. I found it both enjoyable and insightful. Here is the video with its text transcription:


Entrepreneurship Styles: USA vs Europe - The Gillmor Gang At LeWeb '08 Duration: 11'10''
English Text Transcription
Entrepreneurs in America Just Have to Play the Game The tech conferences in Europe, this is my first tech conference in Europe... they seem different.
American events tend to be a lot more elevator pitches, it's kind of people coming to you and talking like a robot: "Hi, I got this little startup, here's what I do". The European ones... they don't do that so much, but they're very understated... and it's like, to work, to get really pumped up about something takes a lot more work. That's my observation.
Marc Canter, you spent a lot of time in Europe, what do you think about the differences between conferences the Valley and Europe.
Ok, so the game, the reason why Loic moved to America, is to play the game. To suck up to the VCs, go over and hang out with Michael Arrington, and that's the game. But here in Europe you don't have a game like that! You got to go out there and hassle on your own, with your own company, with your own ideas, maybe you don't even speak English as your first language...
Yeah, which is insane right?
Yes, it's fucked up! But here's the thing... In one sense an European entrepreneur is more pure entrepreneur. Because he can't play the game. So, he, or she, has to stand on their own, whereas Americans, you go sleep with somebody, whatever...
That is a bunch of horseshit, ok? Real horseshit. [...] I find it offensive.



Is Silicon Valley an Insiders' Game? I want to finish. Loic, you moved to San Francisco, you live up a 101 or 280, you go hang out on Sand Hill Road. That is an insiders' game, you got an insiders' track, you have a much greater likelyhood success.
It's not an insiders' game, that's a loser attitude!
It is a loser attitude. Marc, calling Silicon valley an insiders' game is...
Totally!
...you're not the loser, you've made some incredible things in life, but people who tend to that, tend to be losers. It's not that... people who say "I've been unsuccessful in Silicon Valley", which is probably the most merit-based society in the world, it is to say: "I just wasn't successful so somebody caused failure". I would actually like to hear Loic talk about the differences because he's been an entrepreneur in both continents, and I think he's going to disagree with you.



In Europe You Have Time for Lunch The differences? You don't know how to take time and have lunch. Here, especially here in Paris, we take like two or three hours to have lunch. Because you want to know people, and "there" I feel that it's something which is like you want to go so fast, and there's always a point. Like if I'd call you Michael, you'd be like: "Why are you calling me?" By default it's like "what's the point?", "why are you calling me?" I invited someone out to a dinner and he said: "Why?". "Why?" Why should we have dinner? It's like always why. Why, what's the purpose. Always. ...and here we just have a lunch for two hours and we have fun and there's no why. That's one (difference).
Is it the two-hour lunches and the constant pleasantries? And all the wine drinking? That's the reason why Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, eBay, are all American companies? Why Skype was sold to an American company? Why Europe constantly looks to United States for leadership and technology? It's because you spend your days... (The crowd boos) Go ahead and cheer, but the point is: look how many American speakers did Loic brought to this conference to come and talk on stage. Why isn't it the other way around?
I can answer that. I can already feel the shit I'm going to get for getting so many Americans here at the last session. But I think it's very good that you take the time and come here, because we can understand better why. And I still don't know exactly the answer, but one of the answers is obviously that you're all at the same place.



Silicon Valley Is The Center of the Business World So, Silicon Valley is fantastic and that's one of the reasons why I moved there, even tough I really love here up in France, is that: you want to do a deal with FriendFeed, you drive around the corner and what I love, now that I gave you some shit about the lunch, is the deal with Bret Taylor was... Let me tell you the story: when I wanted to integrate my company with FriendFeed, I e-mailed on a Sunday at midnight Bret, the founder of FriendFeed. Midnight. I got a mail in ten minutes, back: "Hey sure, that's interesting. Let's talk." Another cultural difference, now to your advantage, is in Europe you tend to say: "Ok, alright, for an appointment we'll see, we'll plan", and it's already a little complicated. Bret, he just said: "Yeah, just come by". I said: "When?" "Well, just come by", so that's something you need to learn. And I took my car and I went there, on Wednesday, three days after, we were integrated with FriendFeed. That is the part of Silicon Valley which I really really love, is that everything is centered. Here you have to fly, you have to fly to UK, you have to fly to Germany, you have to fly to all around, and that's one of the reasons why I started this. At least for two days we're in the same room.


Another Difference between American and European Entrepreneurship Styles I want to say something, ok? Europe! You can be more efficient, you can integrate features in three days. America! enjoy your meals. Do you know what I'm saying? Both are kind of wrong. We need the joie de vivre, we have to enjoy life, you only have one life, you know? Silicon Valley, they don't have lives. All they do is work, alright? But see how efficient it is. So, Loic, he gets some work done. So I say to Europe, please work more efficiently,
But you'd be surprised how much joy you get out of winning. It's important. If you're going to put the effort into creating a startup, but you're only going to be half-assed about it, because you need to balance your life out, you're going to lose, because you have to compete with people... I mean, in the United States, we're starting to get our ass kicked by Asia, because they work harder than us. And the problem is Europe's rich and people like working 35 to 40 hours a week, and so if you're an entrepreneur, and you work 50, 60 hours a week you think you're really put (I know, I'm just talking out of my house right now), but there are reasons... I'll tell you, the other reason why is the tax structure. The tax structure here is just ridiculous. If you have a startup, and you make it big here, here in Paris... Are you looked down on for being successful? Are you looked down on for making money?


The Vente-Privee Example It's more complicated than that Michael. Have you heard of Vente-Privee? Michael? Have you heard of a company, a startup called Vente-privee? (Loic LeMeur asks other panelists).
I'm sorry, but it isn't a matter of we don't know the company. I don't understand what the hell you're saying. I don't understand the words that you're saying.
I'm trying to make a point here. This startup you've never heard of is doing 600.000.000 euros in revenue. And the point is none of you have heard of it. Why? Because you don't care. You don't give a shit.
That's bullshit. I'm sorry, but that's bullshit. You don't think that in a worldwide depression we're not interested in somebody who's is making 600.000.000 euros? Come on! It's bad PR, it's what it is.
Loic, what the hell is your point? I've three full-time writers covering Europe by the way. I didn't know what company you said because I didn't understand what you said. It's great that they're making 600.000.000 euros in revenue, but what's your point? That there's a company here doing well that most of us haven't heard of?
Yes, that's the point.


American Startups Have More News Coverage And somehow that proves that European entrepreneurs are as good as American entrepreneurs?
You don't get the same coverage, we've been hugely...
So start blogs! Start a blog, and...
I know that and you're covering Europe and that' great, but the point is: it's very very tough for hugely successful companies to get above national borders. Like Vent-Privee is very very well-known here and honestly doesn't really care of being on TechCrunch. And it's just super successful. I didn't mean it in any bad way, but my point is that if you're a startup in Germany and you're extremely successful, before you're known globally it takes a lot more time than if you were in Silicon Valley. And how do we fix this? By having TechCrunch France, and UK, and by having Robert come here, and so I think it's great you're here, now that I have said that, but it's also in both sides. It's us trying to connect more with you guys there, but it's also you trying to understand more what's happening here...
End
Watch the full video of the Gillmor Gang session at LeWeb08. (note: in the transcription, I have left out a couple of comments made by Robert Scoble, not to censor him, but because I personally didn't find them very relevant to what was being discussed - Scoble's words are left intact in the video but have been edited out in the text transcription in order to make the text of the whole discussion easier to understand for who cannot see the video)

Originally broadcasted by Ustream during LeWeb '08 and first published on January 12th 2009 as "Entrepreneurship Styles: USA vs Europe - The Gillmor Gang At LeWeb '08".

In this article you'll find more than 30 cool WordPress plugins to customize and tweak the performances of your blog site. Do you want more SEO control, embed videos, or track your RSS feed subscribers? Here's some good stuff for you. Photo credit: egal There are many blogging platform out there and they all do pretty much the same: get you started to publish your own content. But WordPress is by far the favorite one by bloggers. Why? WordPress has an awesome list of plugins to help you personalize your blog and add extra features. So I decided to start from the list by Ruchir Chawdhry on TechVivo, and extend it with some kind suggestions from Robin Good and MasterNewMedia SEO expert, Matteo Ionescu. The result is a collection of more than 30 plugins for professional web publishing with WordPress, organized in specific categories: a) Content sharing b) Spam Fighting c) SEO d) Navigation Enhancement e) Stats f) WordPress Admin Enhancement g) Content Embedding h) Miscellanous Enjoy!


30 Cool WordPress Plugins For Web Publishers

Content Sharing

• FeedBurner FeedSmith The FeedBurner FeedSmith plugin detects all ways to access your feed (e.g. yoursite.com/feed/ or yoursite.com/wp-rss2.php etc) and redirects them to your FeedBurner feed so you can track every possible subscriber. It will forward for your main posts feed, and optionally, your comments feed as well. http://www.google.com/support/feedburner/bin/answer.py?answer=78483&topic=13252 Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• Sociable Sociable automatically adds links to your favorite social bookmarking sites on your posts, pages, and in your RSS feed. You can choose from 99 different social bookmarking sites. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sociable/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry

Spam Fighting

• Akismet Akismet checks your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not, and lets you review the spam it catches under your blog’s comments admin screen. With the ever increasing amount of spam on the web, you’d be dumb not to get this plugin. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/akismet/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• WP-Spam Free Fed up of all that comment spam?< Stop wasting time checking and clearing your Akismet spam queue every day and download WP-SpamFree. It will eliminate 99% - 100% of the comment spam you receive. Yep, I’m not joking. And it does it without CAPTCHAS! WP-SpamFree uses a combo of JavaScript and cookies to stop the spambots. Since 99% of the spambots out there can’t process JavaScript, they won’t be able to submit comments. It also doesn’t slow down your blog one bit. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-spamfree/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• Simple Trackback Validation The Simple Trackback Validation plugin helps to eliminate trackback spam by performing a simple a simple but effective test on all incoming trackbacks. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/simple-trackback-validation/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry

SEO

• All-in-One SEO Pack The All-in-One SEO Pack is the ultimate SEO (Search Engine Optimization) plugin out there. It automatically optimizes your blog for search engines, and has several options for the more advanced users. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• Google XML Sitemaps Generator The Google XML Sitemaps Generator plugin generates an XML sitemap of your WordPress blog. Ask, Google, Yahoo!, and MSN support this format. Having an XML sitemap and submitting it to the search engines that support it can really increase your blog’s search engine visibility, especially when it’s new. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-sitemap-generator/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• Redirection Redirection is a solution to manage 301 redirects. Very useful if you ever need to change the URL of a post / page, Redirection becomes essential when migrating from another platform. http://urbangiraffe.com/plugins/redirection/ Review by Matteo Ionescu



• HeadSpace2 HeadSpace is meta-tag management on steroids. A great alternative to the popular All In One SEO Pack supporting an incredible number of features. http://urbangiraffe.com/plugins/headspace2/ Review by Matteo Ionescu

Navigation Enhancement

• Yet Another Related Posts Plugin Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP) inserts a list of related posts below each post on your blog, and in your blog’s RSS feed. It’s extremely configurable, and a must-have. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/yet-another-related-posts-plugin/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• TweetBacks TweetBacks allows you to search the popular microblogging service Twitter for tweets that link to your blog posts. These tweets are then displayed under the entries on your blog site so that you and your readers know how many people shared your thoughts. http://danzarrella.com/wp-tweetbacks-plugin.html Review by Daniele Bazzano



• SRG Clean Archives The SRG Clean Archives plugin displays your archive listings in a clean and uniform fashion, that’s search engine and user-friendly, on a dedicated page or in your sidebar. If you’re still manually updating your archives page, stop doing it! http://www.idunzo.com/projects/clean-archives Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• Contact Form 7 Even though there are tens of contact form plugins out there, I’ve always liked Contact Form 7. The problem with most contact form plugins is that either they are too simple or way too complex. Contact Form 7, on the other hand, is extensible yet easy-to-use. It supports Ajax-powered submitting, multiple forms, CAPTCHAS, and Akismet spam filtering. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-form-7/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• Democracy Democracy is a simple but effective way to add polls to your WordPress website and enhance user interaction. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/democracy/ Review by Matteo Ionescu



• Wp PostRatings With Wp PostRatings you con allow your readers to rate your posts. Written in Ajax, is very light and unobtrusive. http://lesterchan.net/portfolio/programming/php/ Review by Daniele Bazzano

Statistics

• WordPress.com Stats WordPress.com Stats is a traffic statistics plugin that shows only the most popular metrics a blogger wants to track – such as page views, referrers, top posts & pages, search engine terms, and clicks – and provides them in a clear and concise interface. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/stats/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• Google Analytics for WordPress The Google Analytics for WordPress plugin lets you insert the Google Analytics code automatically throughout your blog. It discounts your own visits, automatically tracks and segments all outbound links from within posts, comment author links, links within comments, blogroll links, and downloads. It even allows you to track AdSense clicks, add extra search engines, and track image search queries. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry

WordPress Admin Enhancement

• One Click The One-Click plugin allows you to upload themes and plugins straight to your WordPress blog from the browser. Just upload the zip file, and it’ll automatically unzip the contents and install the plugin for you. Now you never have to use FTP again! http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/one-click-plugin-updater/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• Dashboard Widget Manager Ever felt your dashboard was too cluttered? Then download Dashboard Widget Manager. It allows you to remove unnecessary widgets from your dashboard so it’ll look clean and load faster. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/dashboard-widget-manager/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• Lighter Menus Lighter Menus creates drop down menus instead of the regular admin menus for WordPress, so you can browse items in one click. It’s fast to load, adaptable to color schemes, and comes with some sleek icons. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/lighter-admin-drop-menus/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• PageMash Customize the order of your pages, manage their parent structure, and hide them, all using PageMash. It features an Ajax drag-and-drop administrative interface, and is a great tool to re-arrange the order of your pages quickly. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/pagemash/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• Manageable Manageable allows inline editing of the date, title, categories, tags, status, and more of both posts and pages without ever having to leave the "Manageable" admin section. No need to load each post or page individually. Simply double-click anywhere in the post or page row and when you’re done, press enter. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/manageable/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• Role Manager Role Manager is a solution to handle user levels and allow deep customization of individual permissions. Very useful if you manage a multi-user blog! http://redalt.com/Resources/Plugins/Role+Manager Review by Matteo Ionescu

Content Embedding Utilities

• Embedit Embedit is a very light plugin (ionly 10 lines of code) which lets you easily embed any HTML code into a WordPress page / post. Works seamlessly across different versions of WordPress. http://www.matteoionescu.com/wordpress/embed-html/ Review by Daniele Bazzano



• Samsarin PHP Widget Very simple but effective way to add custom widgets into sidebars with your PHP / HTML code. Samsarin PHP Widget functionality should be really implemented in WordPress itself! http://www.samsarin.com/blog/2007/03/10/samsarin-php-widget/ Review by Matteo Ionescu



• Exec-PHP Exec-PHP lets you execute PHP code in posts, pages, and in the text widgets of your sidebar. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/exec-php/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry

Miscellaneous

• WP Super Cache I'm sure you’ve heard of the Digg Effect and the Slashdot Effect. They can cause a server meltdown, and if you’re on shared hosting, get your ass kicked out. To Digg-proof your blog, get WP Super Cache. It reduces the load on your server by generating static HTML files from your dynamic WordPress blog. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-super-cache/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• WordPress Database Backup You should always backup your WordPress database regularly. However, doing it manually every time can be difficult and time consuming. The WordPress Database Backup plugin lets you easily backup your WordPress database tables. You can even schedule a backup, and it'll email the file to you every day! http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-db-backup/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• OIO Publisher OIO Publisher is the ultimate ad management plugin. It’s great for those who want to sell ads on their blog by themselves. The great thing about OIO is that it removes all the hassle one gets from self-selling ad space: you only have to approve purchases. OIO Publisher handles everything else. Using OIO, you can sell reviews, links, ads, and even your own products! Heck, it even allows you to create your own affiliate program, so other people can sell your ads and products for you. http://www.oiopublisher.com/ Review by Ruchir Chawdhry



• qTranslate Multilingual support is one of the biggest missing features of WordPress, but with qTransalate you can easily accomplish the task of managing different languages for your blog site. http://www.qianqin.de/qtranslate/ Review by Daniele Bazzano



• WP Lytebox WP Lytebox lets you easily add a lightbox effect when clicking a thumbnail to display the fullsize image. http://grupenet.com/2007/08/03/wp-lytebox/ Review by Matteo Ionescu

Original list by Ruchir Chawdhry on TechVivo, extended with the contributions of Robin Good and Matteo Ionescu. First published for MasterNewMedia on December 11, 2008 as "30 Cool WordPress Plugins For Web Publishers".

Photo credits: Content Sharing - benseguenia khaled Spam Fighting - Andrea Danti SEO - Marco Rullkoetter Navigation Enhancement - Phecsone Stats - Janaka Dharmasena WordPress Admin Enhancement - WordPress Content Embedding - norebbo Miscellanous - Vitaliy Tumanyan