Another article about online video? Yup.

This one, again from the New York Times, is about Heavy.com a site that attracts young men, who seems to be a favored demographic of marketing types. Obviously some people believe in this medium:

“Last year, Heavy, which is privately held, raised $10 million from Polaris Ventures, its first outside capital since 1999, to pay for a series of expansions. It expects advertising revenue of about $20 million this year, up 300 percent from 2005.”

Here’s the whole thing.

It seems like everyday I read another article about video online. You know why? Because everyday there is another article about video online. Here’s a blurb I saw in Stuart Elliott’s NYTimes advertising newsletter.

“AOL, part of Time Warner, signed four advertisers as the initial sponsors of a new free video service, In2TV, that offers computer users a chance to watch episodes of vintage television series. The shows include “Alice,” “Chico and the Man,” “Falcon Crest,” “Maverick” and “V.” The sponsors of the service (television.aol.com/in2tv) are Hershey, Intel, Kia Motors and Kraft Foods.”

We just got back from the NTEN conference in Seattle. It was great. If you are a nonprofit or work with nonprofits, you should know about NTEN and be a member. NTC – The nonprofits and technology conference is an annual event where folks from all kinds of nonprofit organizations and those that support them gather to talk about trends in technology and how it is impacting the sector.

Last year the conference was in Chicago. Last week it was in Seattle and next year it will be in Washington. The talk of the conference was the whole Web 2.0 phenomenon, with lots of talk about blogging and tags and all that good stuff.

We had the pleasure of dinner (sushi) with Andy Dale, from ooTao who explained what’s happening with emerging standards for identity online. Things seem to be moving quickly in that area.

For us, the agenda was to talk about See3 and what we do – helping nonprofits utilize audio and video and photography in the new broadband web. We also introduced the sector to DoGooderTV, a place to showcase nonprofit media online. It was amazing to me that given the importance of video online – and there seems to be an article everyday about it now – that there was only one session at this year’s conference on anything to do with video, and it was a session that was given last year as well, about the technology of streaming.

My guess is that like Web 2.0 is now the headline at these events, it won’t be long before the theme is video. Nonprofits need to SHOW their work and now have the ability to do so in a way they could never have done before. It was a message that really seemed to resonate in Seattle.

See you at next year’s conference.

By Christina Timmins, EVP See3

One way to reduce production costs for video that’s destined for the web is to get a hard-drive based camera. Sony is releasing it’s first version of this type in May of this year (DCR-SR100 Handycam). Other cameras, like the JVC Everio series, are already out there.

Organizations looking to outfit their communication departments with a digital still camera might consider spending the extra dollars for a video camera such as this.

A hard-drive based camera not only saves on tape stock costs, but eliminates the need for digitizing. After recording (Sony claims its 30 GB drive can store up to 7 hours) you simply hook up the camera to our computer and download the media.

Pros

Compact, no tapes to buy, carry, label or archive

Long recording time without worrying about swapping tapes

Footage is digital so no need to spend the hours digitizing from tape before editing

You can scan hours of footage by scene and delete unwanted scenes without wearing down tape heads or tape

Cons

The hard-drive based cameras store data using a compression not suitable for broadcast. The current format being captured is MP2. Recording for a long-format program distributed via television or to transfer to film, would not be recommended on this type of camera.

The Sony model, which will cost about $1000.00, already has improved features over cameras of its kind, like Bluetooth microphone, Carl Zeiss lens for image clarity.

Related links

http://www.digitaltechnews.com/news/2006/01/sony_dcrsr100_h.html

http://www.ces-show.com/2006/review/sony_camcorders/sony_dcssr100_hdd_camcorder.html

By Danny Alpert, Executive Producer at See3 Communications

Another great article in today’s NY Times, Internet TV Aims at Niche Audiences, explores how the internet is beginning to compete with TV for viewers and how the net holds a huge advantage over TV when it comes to reaching small, but dedicated, niche audiences.

Columnist Saul Hansell begins by telling the story of a frustrated English sailing enthusiast, who wanted more content out their on his passion. Faced with thee idea of hundred of thousands of dollars in startup costs to a satellite channel, he turned to the web and started Sail.tv, which had 70,000 viewers in its first month.

The article goes on to illustrate a number of similar stories— from vegetarian cooking, to horror films, to news from Ukraine— of groups or individuals who know that they have a committed audience that they can now reach through a phenomenon that Hansell calls “slivercasting” (I love it!).

This must be working because now the big boys are starting to pay attention: “The next wave of media is to unleash the power of serving people’s special interests,” said John Hendricks, the chief executive of Discovery Communications, which is developing a series of specialized video services. “Every time I walk into a Borders bookstore, I spend a lot of time looking at the magazine rack — because staring at you are all the passions of America. The bride who is about to get married, there is a magazine for her. And for the person who is a little older, there are wonderful travel and leisure magazines.”

And what about all those other magazines—social issue and commentary, world affairs, medicine, art and so many others— that deal with the same issues that non-profits advocate for and work within? The connection is clear. Nonprofits should and can be in this game. See3’s DoGooderTV is the foundation for a future non-profit network, a place that can aggregate your passionate supporters, your sliver, into a larger audience. Get the point? Join us at DoGooder.TV

See3 to launch “DoGooderTV” the first nonprofit media hub

CHICAGO, March 9 – See3, a communications consulting firm that works exclusively with nonprofit organizations, is building an online media hub for nonprofits at www.DoGooder.TV. The website will allow nonprofit organizations to present new videos and existing media assets to new audiences. Once site visitors see the compelling stories of nonprofits, DoGooderTV gives them a direct way to donate to the organization, join, volunteer or simply find out more information.

“Many nonprofits are awash in video that no one sees,” said Michael Hoffman, CEO of See3. “Videos produced for fundraising and PR can have a new life online, where video is exploding. Organizations can produce new videos for the web and generate interest from those they can’t reach using direct mail. Nonprofits can’t afford to be behind. DoGooderTV gives organizations a free platform to become media savvy and leverages the online social networking trend to bring in a new audience.”

Each video uploaded to DoGooderTV will have a unique web address so nonprofits can send the link to their own constituents. DoGooderTV will allow nonprofits to embed the videos into their own websites as well, providing organizations with a low-cost, high quality solution to host media. DoGooderTV will also provide information to nonprofits about how to create more media for lower cost, supply detailed statistics about viewing habits, and give nonprofits the tools to turn casual viewers into supporters.

Site visitors will have the opportunity to help organizations by donating online and leaving their email address to join organizational mailing lists. They will be able to share the media with friends via email and create community around shared concerns. Their clicks on text ads and book purchases will generate income that will be shared with the nonprofit. Videos the user community deems compelling get showcased daily on the homepage, giving organizations a built-in viral marketing platform.

Each video will have keyword tags, linking videos to each other thematically and introducing individuals to organizations they otherwise would never know. Site visitors will be able to save their favorites and be notified by email and RSS when new videos are posted to the site. Video from DoGooderTV can be downloaded onto an iPod or other mobile device.

DoGooderTV expects to the launch the site in summer 2006, and is currently collecting nonprofit video that will be included in the launch. Any of the 1.5 million nonprofit organizations listed with GuideStar can publish videos online free of charge. More information is at www.dogooder.tv.

About See3
See3 has been at the forefront of assisting nonprofits in making better use of media assets. See3 helps nonprofits continually document their work and nimbly create media products for events and for the web on a regular basis. See3 believes that the media culture we live in today, and the blossoming of the broadband Internet, require organizations to spend less money on expensive print materials and shift resources to media creation and dissemination. More about See3 is at www.see3.net

In today’s New York Times there is a story about the Oscar-nominated documentary “Street Fight,” which is about the race for mayor of Newark, NJ four years ago.

What’s interesting about this story is how the publicity around Street Fight has taught people how their issues can be exposed through film. The mayor of Newark, Sharpe James, talks about how this film is a biased ad for his opponent. He wrote letters against it when it aired on PBS in New York. But he has realized what he really needs to do is fight fire with fire and now he goes and makes his own films!

“Now, Mr. James appears to realize the impact of the cameras he so vigorously shoved aside during the filming of “Street Fight.” His State of the City address last month included a 10-minute documentary tracing the city’s history from the riots of 1967 through the present, and a video of his visit to a new Home Depot on Springfield Avenue. Both films are now prominently displayed on the city’s Web site, www.ci.newark.nj.us.”

In the article people are talking about having cameras around to document all the campaign’s dirty tricks.

See3 is all about documenting and the power of film to move issues. We know the impact of the camera. Your film doesn’t have to be a Oscar worthy to have an impact.

I learned yesterday that Magen David Adom USA will be merging with American Red Magen David for Israel. You can see more about this at the Magen David Adom website.

What is interesting about this is that we have two nonprofit organizations with the same mission — in this case raising money for Israel’s version of the Red Cross — and they are merging. It’s a rare occurrence. Usually, egos and competitive natures get in the way. Anytime we see two organizations getting together, reducing their overhead, taking the best of both organizations and joining forces, this is something to celebrate.

My friend Gary Kenzer, who was the co-ED of Magen David Adom USA is moving on to become the first National Executive Director for the One Family Fund, an organization that helps victims of terror in Israel.