Wikipedia: The future home of video.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)The long-rumored addition of video to online encyclopedia Wikipedia is finally near. According to a report in the Technology Review, Wikimedia, the company behind Wikipedia, is just a few months away from adding video to the site.
The Technology Review is reporting that Wikipedia will soon feature an "Add Media" option, which will allow users to search for copyright-free video. They will be able to drag the clip into the respective Wikipedia article.
Users will also be able to edit clips, as well as rearrange segments.
I'm excited. Wikipedia is one of my favorite destinations on the Web. From updates on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" (I have no shame) to information on brain surgery, the site provides us with a lot of great information.
That said, one of the issues facing Wikipedia is that the information can't always be corroborated. And some feel that it can't be trusted, due to editor bias or shallow research.
I think that video can help change that.
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If you've been following The Digital Home, you know that I said on numerous occasions that Google needed to bring professional content to YouTube.
Well, it has done just that.
Google announced last week that YouTube will now feature television shows and films from Crackle, CBS (publisher of CNET News), MGM, Lionsgate, Starz, and others. The company claims there are now thousands of shows and hundreds of films available on the site. The videos feature pre-roll ads, as well as in-stream commercials, similar to Hulu. All the content is currently limited to U.S. viewers, but Google hopes to open it up to international viewers in the future.
Though Google has dabbled in professional content via partnerships with Seth MacFarlane and film studios in the past, this is the first meaningful step it has taken to make YouTube more reliant upon professional content. It's about time.
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Google and Universal Music Group last week announced Vevo, a music video site that will feature Universal's music videos running on YouTube technology. I use YouTube as my primary source of watching music videos, and I'm not convinced that I, personally, need a Vevo-like site in my life.
That doesn't mean there isn't room for a site like this. Vevo could still become a great site--but not if it just streams music videos. Here are five features that I'd like to see on Vevo at launch:
1. High-quality video Whenever you try to watch music videos on sites other than MTV.com, the video quality is usually poor. But if Vevo offers outstanding video quality, it will certainly make pople notice. If you're going to a site to watch music videos, wouldn't you expect them to look good? Yeah, me too.
2. An awesome community I love reading comments on YouTube. Popular music videos have hundreds, if not thousands, of comments from both fans and haters alike who want everyone to know their opinions. Vevo needs a community like that to be successful. Watching music videos is fine, but if Vevo really wants to keep people coming back, allowing them to comment is a must. There's a reason why most sites allow users to post comments; they keep people interested in content they've already consumed. That's what Vevo needs.
... Read MoreI was surfing around the Web today and didn't have to go far to find a quick column by Matt Asay over on CNET's "Open Road" discussing YouTube and Hulu.
In a piece entitled, "Quality pays: Hulu trumping YouTube," Asay makes the point that because of Hulu's $12 million profit, Google needs to do more with YouTube. Asay believes that Google "needs to show equal care for the [entertainment] industry's IP" and "improve quality."
Generalizations aside, I need to disagree with my colleague on what YouTube should do. Asay claims that YouTube shouldn't become Hulu, but I think that's plain wrong. Hulu is a success today not because it has high-quality programming or respects intellectual property. Hulu is a success today because all the content contained on the site is controlled and demographic data is readily available.
Rest assured that no matter how much money Google is losing on YouTube, it's well worth the cost. No matter what we may think about YouTube and its obvious issues, we can't lose sight of the fact that without all that copyrighted material, YouTube wouldn't be half as popular as it is today and whether Google wants to admit it or not, it needs those clips on there.
It's no longer a question of whether user-generated video is important -- it is -- or if it should be kept on YouTube. User-generated video is how YouTube can bring people to the site and allow it to funnel those people to professional content that Google can monetize. User-generated video isn't the key to making money, it's the professional video that matters most to advertisers.
... Read MoreUser-generated video is great, but there aren't any opportunities for making money, which makes it useless to video services. Find out why in my latest video.
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I don't think MTV's new music video site is enough to beat out YouTube and MySpace. But will it eventually get to a point where it will? Find out in my latest video.
Even better news: you can now subscribe to this show. Just add it up right here!
And as always, drop me a line or follow me on Twitter!
NBC may launch a new SNL video site? Let's hope it never happens..
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I've been extremely tough on YouTube lately. About one month ago, I called for its head if Google doesn't turn things around quickly and I've also said that it's the garbage bin of the Internet. And while I still believe the second point, I'm starting to think Google is doing just what I said it should -- start working with major players and turn things around.
After it announced that YouTube would be working with Seth Macfarlane and feature his own channel, two big announcements from the YouTube camp have me changing my tune and thinking that Google may be on to something big here.
First, YouTube is coming to TiVo Series3 and HD boxes. At first glance, this deal may seem like a big deal, but in reality it's nothing more than a way for YouTube to expand its horizons and hopefully make it such a valuable attribute of set-top boxes (it's already on the Apple TV) that companies will be willing to enter sweetheart deals to have it included in their own boxes. In other words, it could have some long-term effects, but right now, it's not going to have any impact on the service's losses.
But in a far more important announcement that will have an impact on the entire service and probably have lasting effects, Google also announced that it has struck a deal with Lionsgate that will see the independent film studio enjoy a revenue-share agreement with YouTube and get a branded video channel to broadcast movie clips.
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 | EPISODE 22 |
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In an important announcement that could have a major impact on Google's future in video, the New York Times is reporting that Seth MacFarlane, the creator of "Family Guy," will start "Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy", which Google will syndicate (using AdSense) to thousands of Web sites that fit with MacFarlane's target audience. Instead of a static ad, Google will place the video clip on the site.
Interesting, huh? Not only has the company found a way to bring video to the Web and finally make some money on it, but it has nothing to do with YouTube.
Am I missing something here?
Did Google just happen to forget that YouTube is still hanging around with no prospects for revenue and no advertising platform? I commend Google on forming this deal with the world's most popular cartoonist, but why wouldn't it try to do something on the YouTube front?
Ostensibly, Google believes this idea will yield better revenue, but it still doesn't solve the one problem it can't figure out: YouTube is becoming the company's albatross. And if you ask me, this "Cavalcade" would be best served on YouTube.
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