It should go without saying that online video remains a booming media category, but a recent comScore
study offers further evidence nonetheless. Nearly 172 million US Internet users watched online video content in December 2010 for an average of 14.6 hours per viewer. That translates to 5.9 billion video ads viewed by Americans last month alone. With numbers like these, expect to see a flood of new video content this year, as well as new tools and services created with the video trend in mind.
Pummelvision: As one of the co-founders of
Vimeo, Internet entrepreneur Jakob Lodwick knows a thing or two about the digital video format. Though he parted ways with the
IAC-owned site back in 2007, he recently launched a new service that marries several modish consumer passions, including photo documentation and curation, with video. Offering a more artful take on the
lifecasting phenomenon, Pummelvision pulls all of one’s photos from sources like Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, DropBox, and DailyBooth and exports them into a video, hosted on either Vimeo or YouTube, that “flashes your life before your eyes.” It’s no ordinary slideshow tool, however. Rather, the end product is more
VEVO than KodakGallery—which makes sense considering Lodwick
credits a mushroom trip as his inspiration.
Vimeo Video School: With online videos now being shown in
art museums, the criteria of what constitutes a well-crafted video is being redefined constantly. Though camera phone footage
can have merit, more studied directorial and editorial skills are becoming increasingly expected by viewers. Serving the next generation of auteurs, Vimeo’s new Video School is a “one-stop-shop for Vimeo Lessons and user-made video tutorials about a variety of video-making topics.” The
Video 101 curriculum is a training ground for newbies, while more specialized content, like
“How to do a Sky Replacement with Adobe After Effects CS5,” speaks to more advanced directors. The school doesn’t hand out degrees, but it may be an apt substitute for those who don’t want to start a relationship with Sallie Mae.
Foundation: As the founder of
Digg, Kevin Rose popularized the social news concept. Fast forward nearly seven years, and the voter-driven content formula has permeated a host of
competitors. With his latest endeavor, he’s introducing a new digital format: the video newsletter. The centerpiece of the monthly Foundation newsletter is a 20-30 minute video interview. Additional
content includes “product reviews, rants, and early access to pre-launched websites.” The
first Foundation video, which featured Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey, recalls the revered
TED Talks series. Whether enough people will be willing to pay the $3.99 monthly subscription rate used to subsidize “equipment, travel and editing” is another story altogether.
