Is online video more than just YouTube? What do you think?

WebProNews caught up with the CEO of Revision3, Jim Louderback, at the Blogworld Expo in L.A. where he discussed his optimism in regards to the future of online video. He told us that there were 4 major platforms that people need to be thinking about in terms of online video.

The first is, obviously, YouTube. The video giant is just that – a giant. It has created multiple opportunities for people in the online video space and, with its latest move, hopes to create more. Last month, the company announced that it was adding more than 100 channels of original content from media companies and celebrities including the Wall Street Journal and Madonna.

According to Louderback, these new channels will raise the bar of professionalism on YouTube. In addition, he believes they will raise the “perceived value” for advertisers. He thinks that YouTube will package this new content with the big online video players, such as Revision3, in order to build itself into a multichannel bundle similar to Comcast or Viacom.

However, Louderback told us that, even though YouTube is the “next big platform as TV gets disintermediated,” there are other platforms that need to be focused on as well. Secondly, he believes that Apple should be taken seriously as a video platform because Apple developed iTunes, which produced podcasts and multiple online video outlets. He suspects that they’re working on “something” else as well.

“When Apple does ‘something,’ things happen,” Louderback points out.

The third platform that Louderback thinks people should be acknowledging is Microsoft. Already its Zune product runs content across Xbox and Windows, and with its new Metro OS rolling out soon, Louderback sees this content coming to phones, tablets, PCs, and potentially, TVs.

Lastly, he thinks that Amazon belongs in the video platform game. He told us that Amazon’s Kindle Fire would be the biggest selling consumer electronic device and that it would “revolutionize the way we consume media.”

Although he didn’t categorize it as a platform yet, Louderback hinted that Facebook could become a potential player going forward.

Do you agree with Louderback that these other companies are video platforms that we need to pay attention to? Let us know.

For 5 years, WebProNews has partnered with BlogWorld and New Media Expo, the world’s first and largest new media conference, in an effort to broadcast how new media can grow your business, brand, and audience. Stay tuned to WebProNews for much more exclusive coverage.

Rick Fox speaking to WebProNews at the BlogWorld Expo about his passion for new media was one of these moments. Fox, who is known for his successful NBA, acting, and producing career, told us that he turned to the Internet because he wanted to tell his story.

He is currently working on a Web series called Off Season, which is a comedy based on a basketball player that is struggling to stay out of trouble. Fox told us he tried Hollywood but found that his standards and its standards didn’t match.

“What I realized rather quickly was that the Internet provided me the same opportunity that television provides or the movies provide… it’s a self-distribution model that is there for all of us if we’re passionate enough and persistent enough to bring our story to life,” said Fox.

Even though it’s not always easy to ‘make it big’ online, the opportunities and potential for success are much greater than they are offline. According to Fox, “we are all received online,” whether it is by one person or one million people.

“The thing about the Web is that viral effect that great content can have where, instantly, you can go from one minute sitting in your living room and ranting about something that just bothers you, and you find that 1 million other people out there in the world are bothered by the same thing,” he said.

Fox went on to say that the world’s perception of what entertainment is, isn’t really what people want to see. This is why John Doe is able to create a remix of a song and get more hits than the original song itself.

He believes that the future of the entertainment industry lies in the individuals that create content based on their point of view. For too long, people in high places have tried to dictate what society wants, but the Internet has changed this. Fox told us that the entertainment opportunities online would increase moving forward and that the people who have embraced the space early will go on to tell us who the next generation of entertainers will be.

“Those people that are brave enough to step out and have that persistence of speaking to 1-10 followers one day and [are] now speaking to 10 million people – these are the people that are going to be galvanizing communities and they are gonna curate content… and they’re gonna tell us what we should be focused on, and they’re gonna become the next generation of entertainers,” said Fox.

For 5 years, WebProNews has partnered with BlogWorld and New Media Expo, the world’s first and largest new media conference, in an effort to broadcast how new media can grow your business, brand, and audience. Stay tuned to WebProNews for much more exclusive coverage.

With a background in both traditional and digital forms of media, Uygur understands the differences between conventional television and online video very well. If you remember, Uygur had his MSNBC show canceled earlier this year for, as he put it, his tone in regards to politics and Washington.

The cable network offered him another show during a different time slot, but Uygur declined the offer. He, instead, turned his efforts to his online show The Young Turks because he doesn’t think TV is the “end all beat all.”

Is traditional television becoming irrelevant? Let us know your thoughts.

As he explained to WebProNews, the traditional news format puts you in a box. For example, on MSNBC, he said that politicians represent their donors instead of the people. Even though this boldness gave him good ratings, it ultimately didn’t matter to MSNBC management.

The story online, however, is quite different because there is much more freedom.

“Online, you can do anything you like,” said Uygur. “There are no gatekeepers, there are no executive producers you get to let people know what the reality is.”

“Since there are no gatekeepers, it opens up the media for everybody,” he added.

Uygur told us that he believed more people would transition to online video going forward. Incidentally, the latest Philips Wireless HD Net Connect Survey found that one in three consumers is watching more online video content than one year ago.

Although it is not easy to be successful online, he said that there are a lot more opportunities online as opposed to offline because the corporate hoops do not exist. Uygur pointed out that, while these opportunities are beneficial for the growth of online video, they are detrimental to traditional television networks.

“These old television networks are big ships that are hard to turn around,” he said. “I think, at some point, they’re going to hit an iceberg.”

Uygur went on to say that he believed online video and television would eventually merge and that people would forget they were ever different.

“When that happens, I kinda feel bad for the networks,” he said. “I feel bad that we’re gonna rip them up.”

While Uygur plans to continue his online program, he will also debut his show on Current TV on December 5. He did, however, assure us that he would display the same honesty and freedom on Current TV as he does online.

“We’re here to serve the audience, and if we veer from that, believe me, the audience lets us know,” said Uygur.

For most, online video is just the “big DVR in the sky“, as CEO of Revision3, Jim Louderback, recently told us. People visit sites like Hulu, CBS, TV.com, etc. to play catchup, because that’s where you go when you’ve missed them the night before. Louderback went on to say:

“There is this whole other part of online video where people are trying to create stuff that looks like television. Like comedies, dramas, news… but that’s done at less of a budget or more focused and targeted and the people doing it are able to be more experimental. There is a lot of experimentation that can happen with video when you break out of that structure… when you blow up that bottle that it’s contained in.”

So is the experimentation with online video a good thing? In this case yes. Louderback says that we’re seeing more professional stuff going in, it’s easier to create, the tools and compression are getting better, and it gives talented people the ability to go out and cover things in their own way.

During his interview with WebProNews at the Blogworld Expo, Louderback stated:

“You couldn’t do this on TV, but you can do it here, build an audience and make it as long as it needs to be. You don’t have to hit a network timeout, you don’t have to hit a particular advertising break, if I’m boring… you cut me off and we’re done. I think that’s great because it allows the creativity of people before that had to be focused. They had to go to New York / L.A., you had to pay your dues, you had to sit within these rigid formats, and now you can do it in Lexington, Kentucky.”

For the most part, network TV and online video are both getting better and better… but they’re both still trying to figure out what they want to be when they grow up and where they should intersect.

For 5 years, WebProNews has partnered with BlogWorld and New Media Expo, the world’s first and largest new media conference, in an effort to broadcast how new media can grow your business, brand, and audience. Stay tuned to WebProNews for much more exclusive coverage.

“Operating just like a technology company would, Ford is leveraging software to continuously update and upgrade the driver experience, a Ford spokesperson tells WebProNews. “The new upgrades to MyFord Touch will contain simpler graphics, larger font sizes, faster touch screen response, easier-to-use controls and even compatibility with tablets including the iPad.”

Some have voiced concern about the dangers of touch screens in cars. For example, there’s a comment on YouTube about the video below that says, “Touch screens don’t belong in cars, period. They’re dangerous and unreliable. Stick to knobs and buttons that can be operated without looking at them.”

“Research shows that activity that draws drivers’ eyes away from the road for an extended period of time substantially increases risk of accidents,” Ford Motor Company Technology Communications Manager Alan Hall tells WebProNews. “Therefore, we developed new technologies with intuitive, simple controls and voice commands as part of MyFord Touch to deliver a safer, smarter way to access vehicle functions and features. Drivers experience many different types of distractions on a daily basis, and our MyFord technology helps reduce some of those distractions.”

The upgrades will be showcased for the first time at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month, where the company will launch the new Escape. At BlogWorld a few days ago, Ford CMO Jim Farley revealed Escape Routes, an interesting promotion for the vehicle. Here’s an interview we did at the show with Ford’s Social Media Director Scott Monty:

Here’s the actual list of the MyFord Touch feature upgrades, as provided by Ford:

· Improved voice recognition experience powered by Nuance

– Quicker voice recognition upon startup and faster command prompt when the voice button is pushed

– Voice commands used in conjunction with navigation are simplified through elimination of the need to provide street direction, e.g., “Main Street” instead of “North Main Street”

– Music requests are simpler by removing the need to include the additional song, album or artist information often found at the end of a name in (parenthesis) or [brackets]

– Customers can find their favorite sports team in action via new Sirius Game Finder simply by saying a command such as “Tune to Detroit Lions game”

· Tablet device compatibility

– Music and other media content from most popular tablet computers like the Apple iPad can now be accessed through a simple USB connection

· Audible.com audiobook support

– Listen to Audible.com content using voice commands or the easy-to-use touch-screen controls

· Connected navigation powered by TeleNav features new map data by NAVTEQ

– Updated map views are richer and feature more 3D landmarks

– Views of freeway junctions and signs are enhanced through photorealistic screen images

– Smart routing options are provided based on a database of historical traffic patterns

· Phone compatibility

– Automatic Bluetooth connection upon vehicle entry has been improved

– Noise and echo cancellation during phone calls has been improved to enhance call quality

· Gracenote album cover art database

– Inclusion of the latest music metadata available enhancing the music playback experience

– Improved voice recognition for music search allowing drivers to pinpoint artists with hard-to-pronounce names or nicknames

Your audience may forget what you posted yesterday, but search engines don’t.

While Forrester also discusses ways to be an authority with social media and what to consider when optimizing for search, the relationship between search and social media was his main thrust. Because of the immediacy of today’s communication methods, as well as the speed at which these social media posts are indexed into search engines, timeliness in your work matters.

Trying to catch the tail of something that was popular/trending two days ago means your late and the impact of your quality content could be missed. Beyond that, however, Forrester provides some information on how social media influences the search industry. He mentions the fact that Facebook content is showing up in search engines, well, Bing, thanks to the Facebook/Bing partnership. To further his point, Forrester mentions people delay making purchasing decisions until someone from their social media circle — friends, family — offers their opinion.

Thanks to the search industry’s embrace of social media, instead of waiting on a Twitter/Facebook update, if a potential customer finds a social media review when conducting a search for the product of interest, leverage has occurred. Granted, if the person searching doesn’t trust the review they find, then your product will probably miss out. That being said, it’s important to get that social content out, and keep the search engines in mind when doing so.

From Forrester’s perspective, social media in search engine results help the trust quotient because of the personal nature of social media. Essentially, if you have people bragging about your product or the content surrounding it on Facebook and these posts show up in Bing’s results, there’s a good chance people will be more apt to trust your brand/product/content.

Another point Forrester mentions is also important, although, you might think it’s common knowledge. But then again, if he’s talking about it to conference attendees, maybe it’s not: Make sure you add a link to when you tweet, and/or, post something useful. If people can’t navigate to the item/content they are enjoying, you have failed to convert. Miserably.

From here, Forrester discussed the sheer amount of content available from the social industry, and seeing it on “paper” is truly staggering. According to his research:

• 25 billion tweets sent on Twitter in 2010
• 35 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute
• 3,000 photos uploaded to Flickr every hour
• 30 billion posts/month Facebook

Yeah, that’s a lot of content, which plays into the previous session’s discussion of how hard it is for cream to rise. The problem is, there’s a lot of cream out there. With such an obscene amount of content from the social industry, leveraging it through search is an important feature, otherwise, many of these gems would be lost forever.

As you can see, search is still a very important aspect of the overall marketing approach, even when social media is your target. Don’t forget about the people actively looking for products related to your focus.

That is, don’t let the label define what you do, because more than a blogger, you are a content creator, and its this content that will separate you from the crowd. While the panel discussed their various successes, which is supposed to inspire the attendees, the idea of being more than a blogger, that is, escaping the limitations the label suggests is the goal.

Yes, the idea of creating great content for you blog still applies, as well as all that goes along with that. Engage your audience, be an authority, be thoughtful, talk about what you’re thinking, and, as Stelzner points out, figure out what your customer wants by asking them, and then, give them what they want.

If you take this approach, Stelzner believes you’ll never run out of ideas for content.

There’s even a caveat to consider when blogging for a living, which was discussed by Mitch Joel. From Joel’s perspective, it’s hard to get ahead because of the sheer number of people who blog. Yes, the cream rises to the top, but with so much quality content out there, it’s that much harder to accomplish the desired ascent.

All of that in mind, perhaps the most important piece of information concerns perception. If you perceive yourself as just a blogger, complete with all the “everybody’s doing it” limitations that may apply, you’re already starting at a disadvantage. However, Deanna Brown has another idea: Instead of blogger, think of yourself as a content creator. In fact, Brown avoids the term because of the limitations that come with the label. From her perspective, “I would avoid blog and anything that puts you in a box.”

Unfortunately, she doesn’t offer any metrics to quantify her statement, but if you have strong audience that respects your work, it’s easy to conceive this audience taking your advice in relation to product recommendations. Of course, to get this point, you’ll need to create the kind of content that will attract the audience, and this is where the idea of being something more than a blogger — a publisher and a content creator — comes into play.

This was a statement from Jason Falls, the CEO of Social Media Explorer, during his keynote session, This Is All Such BS: How to Tell and What to Do When You Are Being Had in Blogging, Social Media and Beyond, while at Blogworld Expo in L.A.

According to Falls, he has a philosophy in calling bullshit, as he says “I like to criticize ideas, not people. I like to keep that in mind in calling bullshit on people.” He believes so strongly in this philosophy that he wrote a book about it called, No Bullshit Social Media.

It seems fitting that Falls works online, which he calls the single largest depository of bullshit. He goes on to say that people need to do their due diligence regarding the information they read. According to Falls, it starts with people like him, and other social media gurus. One thing you can do is ask better questions. You can’t just hit the easy button and just except what people are telling us is true.

According to Falls:

You probably said we need to know how to use it strategically, drive business and measure success. The social media evangelist I refer to as social media hippies and tree huggers. They used to say you can’t sell using social medial. They made lots of rules and put you in a box. They were social media purists. They say things like don’t post a marketing message on your personal Facebook profile. That is bullshit!

This is where a couple social media evangelist will fall out of their chairs. Not every business needs social media! My friend owns a lawn care company with three or four crews. He asked what should I do with social media? I asked how do you currently get your customers. He said from referrals. I said here is your social media strategy. Put your computer down and go to a neighborhood that you aren’t in and cut someone’s grass for free. Game over!

You’ve probably also heard other people say stuff like, you can’t sell things from social media. This is also Bullshit. Dell sold 6.5 million dollars worth of stuff from a single Twitter account, according to Falls.

If you hear people say you shouldn’t be doing something, ask yourself the following questions:

Where did the data come from?
Where has it been tested?
What are the variables?
How does it apply to my ….?

Do your homework. Ask questions. Don’t stop after the first question. Don’t assume that statistics are true.

Falls further details his thoughts on the myths about social media in the below interview with WebProNews reporter Abby Johnson:

For 5 years, WebProNews has partnered with BlogWorld and New Media Expo, the world’s first and largest new media conference, in an effort to broadcast how new media can grow your business, brand, and audience. Stay tuned to WebProNews for much more exclusive coverage.

While discussing the benefits of the new Escape model — you can apparently open the trunk with your foot — some of the details of the promotional strategy were revealed. In order to promote the vehicle, Ford is having it take part on some global adventures. It appears as if Ford is tapping into the reality television/The Amazing Race model by having teams compete while showing off the new Escape. However, instead of racing to see who comes in first, the winners will be decided by voters.

The teams will be competing in what speaker Jim Farley referred to as a “series of spontaneous adventures.”

Apparently, the social media aspect of the web is going to come into play a great deal as well, because Farley mentions using the “social media graph” in order to win. To facilitate the social aspect of Escape Routes, the teams will make short videos to promote the competition and each team will feature blogger/content creator with them.

As for the QR codes, if BlogWorld attendees activate one on their mobile device, they can track the progress of the vehicle up until its launch in two weeks.

It’s all about getting noticed, as are new approaches to marketing, which is something Ford is clearly committed to.

First and foremost, it should be understood that not all video content is viral-worthy. There are millions of great videos on YouTube that haven’t reached atmospheric-levels of popularity, thanks to constant sharing among friends. For further clarification, here are some tips Terpin discussed some general ideas concerning online videos:

- Educational videos don’t need virality to be effective

- Video increases engagement on Facebook updates, tweets, Google+ and other social network engagement

- Universal search means that video will show up higher

- Videos continue to grow as a percentage of content in the “how to” space

- video nearly always improves clickthrough for a search result

As you can see, social platform success doesn’t necessarily mean viral-levels of popularity, but when people do share your video content, it almost forces people to interact with it. How to videos are great for attracting visitors, as well as increasing your perceived level of authority. Of course, there are many different ways to engage the social media side of web users with video, and Terpin discusses a few of them:

- Webisodes

- Video catalog with ecommerce links

- Repurpose live footage

- Instructional / customer service (keep it short, entertaining)

- Viral event marketing, tied in with Facebook, email

- Viral video (or at least videos hoping to become viral)

The downside to attempts at going viral is you have little-to-no control once the video goes live. You can’t control how people are going to react to your work. What you may perceive as being funny may be viewed as being lame. It’s important to know what your audience is looking for and create accordingly.

As for people marketing directly to the consumer, with ideas of using YouTube as a platform for your videos, here are some things to consider. First, the good aspects of using YouTube:

- Free, easy to upload

- Can be repurposed into many forms of social media and social networks

- Universal search brings video results gives video a boost in search results

- Mass virality is possible with the right ingredients and promotion into the blogosphere

Now, for some things to watch out for:

- High quality production can be expensive

- Sound quality and lighting makes or breaks a video

- Most videos are doomed to have very few views

- The new ability of filimmakers to monetize both videos and viral videos makes it even tougher to break through the noise

Granted, some of this isn’t as much on YouTube as it is on the video creator, especially the production aspects. Sound quality, as well as lighting, can be controlled by the producer. Because of YouTube’s viral nature, the benefits clearly outweigh the potential potholes. For those of you wondering whether or not video content is the right avenue of marketing for you to travel down, here are some other ideas to consider:

- Are you looking for fifteen minutes of fame, a lasting brand, or to drive a specific action (cause/purchase)?

- Does the video hit the mark? will the viewers get what you’re tring to do?

- Do you have an obsession for crispness and quality?

If so, it’s something to consider, plus, the viral nature of videos makes it almost too tempting to pass up. Just remember, go for quality. When shooting for the viral approach with videos, the risk and reward needs to be considered because of all social media efforts, viral video is the hardest to pull off. That being said, if done well, videos can be the most effective viral content on the web.

Terpin also provided a checklist for viral success, one that contains some good direction:

- Short, fast-paced: two minutes is the gold standard

- Videos should be disruptive: funny, shocking, surprising, adorable

- Celebrities help, including web celebs

- Editing must be crisp; many good tools abound (including new cloud-based service, WeVideo)

- Sound quality is paramount. Nothing should distract from the message

- Key question: would you pass this to a friend?

Because virality success is based almost solely on the sharing aspect the web now rotates around, if you wouldn’t share it with your friend, it’s doubtful the video has the legs to crossover into the land of viral success. Keep in mind, however, not all videos have to be viral to be considered quality content.