Bwana.org » Youtube

Some Changes for 2010

Bwana — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:28:21 +0000

Special announcement coming tonight regarding my audio podcast. Be on my live stream at about 8:45PM. http://bit.ly/ATUVlMay 21 via BrizzlyBwana
Bwana

As some of you know, I’ve been producing an audio podcast, Bwana.org Radio, since 2005. I’ve had a lot of fun doing it and what started as a hobby, turned into something that people really enjoy. This is why it saddens me to inform my listeners that I will no longer be producing Bwana.org Radio as of episode #250.

Why am I doing this? Time. I simply don’t have it.

I’ve given this a lot of thought. I’ve been experimenting with various formats for my video show, Bwana.TV, and have polled my users for their preferences. As a result, I’m going to continue producing content that was on Bwana.org Radio, but in a different format. There won’t be an audio only format and it won’t be 20-40 minutes in length. Instead, I will produce shorter videos on the same content, kind of like my “Story of the day” experiment I conducted on Youtube a few months ago.

I thank all of you who have supported me by subscribing to my audio podcast, by downloading the episodes, which have given me the funds to pay for web hosting and even conduct a few giveaways. The time has come to change, and I look forward to it.

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Youtube Comments: Necessary, But Add No Value

Bwana — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:02:25 +0000

Youtube comments have a bad reputation. It is a well deserved rep, that cause many to ignore or even install custom software to avoid. It’s a playground for trolls, racists, and people who are mean spirited and want to get a rise out of content providers. In the midst of the cesspool of comments, there are usually some nice people who have genuine feedback to offer. I’m starting to pay more attention to Youtube, and the more I do, the more I find that people there don’t want to read:

Youtube is a video site and people treat it as such. There’s no reading in video! Just like millions of Americans loathe subtitled movies, millions of Youtube viewers will not read the comments.

Why is this an issue anyway?

Well, most of my videos are howtos, tutorials and Q&A, so I get a lot of followup questions on certain topics. Most times, the Youtube community is generous enough to answer, and so do I, but as time passes, the comments get buried.

Buried comments are generally ignored on Youtube.

That is the issue. Here’s a prime example:

I have a very popular video (#1 on Google Search) on how to create free iPhone ringtones simply by changing a file extension.
A common question that people ask is how do you “chop up” an existing song to make a ringtone. I’ve made a video on this topic and I’ve also answered the question numerous times in the Youtube comments.
As soon as the answer gets buried to page 2, the question is repeated.
It’s very annoying.

Do I fault Youtube users for ignoring the hundreds of comments that address their concern? I’d like to, but in reality, users have a short attention span, especially those who are attracted to 5 minute tutorial videos.

Why even bother with Youtube comments?

Youtube has a metric called “Most Discussed” which displays videos with the most comments. Some users like to watch videos that have a lot of comments. They don’t actually care what the comments are, but they measure a certain buzz factor by this metric. In my opinion, it’s an invalid metric to measure, but I’m by no means a Youtube authority.

So this is the double-edged sword with a barb wired handle: Hardly anyone pays attention to anything prior to the last 10 comments, yet the videos with the most comments, get more views. A big part of me would like to disable Youtube comments due to the fact that people don’t read them. Ironically, they will take time to send an email or Youtube message, rather than finding the answer in the comments. At the same time, I have to recognize that Youtube comments provide “juice” to your video and promote viewership. Notice how a lot of bigtime Youtube providers are encouraging their users to comment? This is why.

It’s ironic that I’m complaining about text comments on a video site, but if you produce videos like I do, you’ll find community interaction is pretty important. It’s sad that I have to constantly repeat the same answers over and over again due to this glaring issue, but at least users are watching. How about you? Does your Youtube community pay attention to comments past the first page?

Let me know in the comments

Tweetree’s Value Is Embedded Media

Bwana — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:56:13 +0000

I’ll admit, when I first saw Robert Scoble‘s Tweet on FriendFeed about Tweetree, I was immediately skeptical. Robert posted that it was a decent app, but not going to replace TweetDeck for him. I saw the name, and I thought: “Great, another Twitter application that’s going to try to hack conversation context“. You may recall, I wrote about Quotably back in March 2008, and their attempt to capture Twitter conversations in a nice format.

I went over to tweetree.com and saw threaded conversations which met my expectations, but I also saw something else:

Embedded media.

Dave Winer has been begging Twitter to do something like this for quite some time. Dave has went on record to state Tweetree is on the right track:

This is brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. And exactly what I asked for, which of course makes me happy!!

These guys are brilliant. Great stuff. They’ll be rich next week so be nice to them

We’ve seen threaded Twitter before. Heck, even Twitter search has a “Show conversation” link which tries to give the complete conversation context. What we haven’t seen (or at least I haven’t seen) on Twitter is embedded media.

Tweetree supports the following:

Youtube
Flickr
TwitPic
FriendFeed (Yup!)
Seesmic
Qik
Lala
Blip.fm
xkcd

So if you link to any of the above, Tweetree shows you the associated media right on the website. If you would like to see examples, just search for the service in Tweetree’s search box.

Now I know we saw very similar functionality in Pownce (may it rest in peace), Rejaw, Plurk, and others, but this is Twitter. The big kahuna. The main squeeze. That’s the reason why it’s a big deal. I’ve been using Tweetree for less than a day, and what keeps me coming back is the embedded media.

I’ll be following this one closely. You can check out my timeline on Tweetree at http://tweetree.com/bwana.

*** UPDATE: I’ve asked FriendFeed what they think is more valuable at Tweetree. Join the conversation here.

*** UPDATE 2 I’ve performed a quick walkthrough of the interface in this video:

My Top 10 Websites of 2008

Bwana — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:07:30 +0000

It’s coming to the end of 2008, and along with the holidays, vacation, shopping, we also tend to find a lot of “best of 2008″ tv shows, specials, and even blog posts. I’d rather not go into why I’m doing this, I just find that it’s a fun activity. Last year, I did a video on my top 5 console games of 2007. It was met with a potpourri of comments that mostly disagreed with my choices. I didn’t care obviously, but I found that it’s something people like to be a part of. So, I’m going to do a few of these this year. The first, is my top websites of 2008. These sites will range all over the place, but I’ve found these (web) sites to be my best of the best for 2008. Let’s count it down.

Posterous – Blogs are commonplace now and there are so many platforms out there, that it’s hard to really decide on one. When one does decide, there is usually a fairly steep learning curve for new users. Posterous is one of those sites that I just like. I don’t know if it’s because of the ease of use (no sign-up blogging is very cool), or if it’s the look and feel, but I just like it. I’ve been using it as a ramble blog that I can post to from my iPhone (via email). Very handy for when something interesting pops in my head and I just want a quick post. There are lots of other features that make it awesome, but this is why I like it
Socialmedian – Socialmedian shocked me when I found news on it that I didn’t find anywhere else. Usually, there is a huge amount of overlap on the internet and if you find a news aggregation site, you’ll notice some stories you’ve seen elsewhere. This was not the case with Socialmedian as I found a new set of users and with it, a fresh set of news. I did a video about Socialmedian being a refreshing take on news aggregation.
Ustream.TV – Live streaming really boomed in 2008 and sites like Ustream.TV hit the mainstream during the 2008 elections. Barack Obama and John McCain both had live streams on ustream.tv that brought in thousands of simultaneous users. Ustream has always been my favorite live streaming site for their feature set and community. Ustream has not always been the most stable of platforms, but I’ve looked past this shortcoming and enjoyed the site nonetheless. I utilize Ustream.TV for my live streaming show, Bwana.TV Live, where I live stream the recording of my videos as well as my audio podcast.
Youtube – What can I say? Youtube is the biggest and baddest video sharing community on the web. If it’s a popular video on the internets, there’s a big chance that it’s on Youtube. There are tons of videos to explore and you can waste hours there if you’re not careful. I host my Bwana.TV videos on Youtube and through their partner service, I have generated enough adsense to pay for my hosting and other costs. Not only is it fun, but if you’re serious, you can make some serious cash through Youtube.
Twitter – Twitter is the most intriguing site of them all. To say I have a love/hate relationship with Twitter would be an understatement. Here’s a site that I’ve gotten so much value and information from that frustrates me to no end. There’s so much potential with Twitter that it’s impossible to put into words. Much of the web is starting to recognize the power and Twitter is definitely picking up steam. You may recall, I was one of the organizers of a Twitter boycott called the “Twit-Out” which was aimed at taking a day off from Twitter to discuss all the issues and concerns we had with it. We didn’t expect Twitter to make any noticeable changes due to this event, but we got some great discussions out of it, and it gave us time to reflect on why we love/hate Twitter so much. Once Twitter balked on the IM/Track feature, I left the service for a few months out of frustration, but decided to return once I accepted the fact that IM and Track were essentially dead. Since then, I’ve revamped the way I use Twitter and am finding TweetDeck to be an acceptable experience (but no where near what I had with IM/Track). Follow @Bwana at Twitter to see my rants.
FriendFeed – FriendFeed is where it’s at. If you’re not signed up for FriendFeed, then I urge you to join today. Most would call FriendFeed an aggregator with community discussion capability, but I would call it a community discussion platform that has aggregation capability. I find that the best discussions take place on FriendFeed, not only because of the people, but because of the technology. The way the site is built, it encourages you to comment. It doesn’t load a separate page, or load a popup window, but simply expands a nice little box for you to ramble your thoughts in. I love it. The other features add to this, but I believe this is why FriendFeed stuck with me. You can follow me at http://friendfeed.com/bwana
Gmail (Google Apps Mail) – Webmail has been popular since the 90s, but personally, I had been going back and forth between desktop clients (such as Apple’s Mail.app) and using the web interfaces. I signed up for Google Apps For Your Domain (GAFYD) and pointed my bwana.org domain to it to use for email. This gives me Gmail’s interface with my own domain for no cost at all. Since I’ve mastered (somewhat) Gmail’s keyboard shortcuts, I can tear through hundreds of emails in a matter of minutes. In 2008, Gmail was definitely a valuable site for me.
Hulu – I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. I didn’t believe Hulu would take off. I saw it as Universal’s tantrum against Apple and iTunes. Needless to say, I was very very wrong about Hulu. Hulu started small, but eventually grew to the one stop shop for premium online video. If there’s a TV show you like and you’ve missed an episode, your first reaction would be to check if Hulu has it. I’ve watched House, Terminator (the new series), and The Office solely on Hulu. These are shows I used to record on my DVR, but I’ve since moved to Hulu for that content. The experience is great, the commericals are tolerable, and the quality is consistent. If you’re not a part of Hulu, you need to become a part of it today.
Google (Search) – It’s now a verb. To Google something means you are searching the internet for something. It’s become part of our vocabulary. In 2008, Google solidified it’s dominance as the search engine of choice. All other search engines are a distant second to the almighty Google. It’s amazing that 10 years ago, this site was barely off the ground and today’s it #1. When someone asks me a question about tech, the first thought that comes to my mind is “Did you google it yet?”. There’s even a site called “Here, let me google that for you“. You can type in a simple question and it, *gasp*, searches Google for that question. It literally shows an animation of the question being typed in Google, and the search button clicked. It’s a little bit harsh, but it makes a valid point. If there’s something out on the internet that you’re searching for, Google is a great place to start looking.
Google Reader – My number 1 site for 2008 is definitely Google Reader. This is my information hub. This where everything comes in and I’m able to digest it and possibly share it. I use it on my mobile phone (iPhone) and on all my computers, no matter the operating system. Google added features to Reader that allow you to view your contacts shared items. When my friends share news from Google Reader, I can see them in my view. Google also added notes so that I can add my own commentary to shared items to help spark conversation. These notes can be imported into other sites that I love such as Socialmedian and FriendFeed. RSS is a wonderful thing and as I discover new sites on the web, I can syndicate them all in one place, and that one place is Google Reader. It is definitely my most valuable player in 2008.

Honorable mentions: Feedly, Remember the Milk, Toluu, Strands

What were your top sites this year?

In Search Of A Video Micro-blogging Solution

Bwana — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:46:14 +0000

As we become spread out on the internet, we find that we have less time to concentrate on one thought. Over the years, we’ve created a new disease that I call IIADD which stands for I.nternet I.nduced A.ttention D.eficit D.isorder. I have it and if you’re reading this, you probably have it to. We can’t focus on one blog post, one web page, one application at a time. We tend to jump around from post to post, thought to thought, application to application, forever trying to satisfy our lust for more knowledge.

As a result, we’ve taken internet publishing to the “micro” level. We publish snippets of audio, text, and images on what we dub “micro-blogs”. This gives us an excuse to cherish and nurture our IIADD. “Hey, I just read this great post on TechCrunch… Ooo look, this Flickr image of a bird chasing its tail!… I need to record a podcast…Maybe I’ll eat spaghetti tonight…Ooo food network has a great recipe…Wow FriendFeed is weird, I need to get used to it…. I like turtles“. You know I what I mean.

Micro-blogging is the new black on the internets.

Micro-blogging is a form of blogging that allows users to write brief text updates (usually less than 200 characters) and publish them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be chosen by the user. These messages can be submitted by a variety of means, including text messaging, instant messaging, email, MP3 or the web.
-Wikipedia

Although that’s a fairly accurate definition, Wikipedia failed to mention one medium: Video. As our dump trucks fill up with more and more information, we are able to push video media fairly easily these days. Youtube, Viddler, and Seesmic (and others not mentioned) allow us to record a video directly from our web browser. The only requirement is a webcam or camera connected to one’s computer.

I’ve decided to embrace video micro-blogging here on Bwana.org. Why? Believe it or not, I once vowed never to do online video, which is why I jokingly made my Bwana.TV motto, “..And you said it couldn’t be done”. Now I have a partnered Youtube channel and have produced hundreds of videos that are well received by the informationsphere. I also do live video streaming via Ustream.TV and stream my audio podcast production daily for the world to enjoy. I’ve decided to do this because video is where it’s at. Also, I’ve decided to go in this direction because my IIADD said so.

On Bwana.org’s main page, you’ll find a video on the top right. This idea was influenced by both Chris Pirillo, and the guys behind theleetgeeks.com (wirelesspacket, bluefox, 4four1ones). Chris embeds his live video stream on every page of his blog, chris.pirillo.com. As a result, his audience grows by leaps and bounds daily. I played with this idea many times, but never streamed consistently enough to make my show grow the same. The site, theleetgeeks.com, has a wonderful layout which I believe was led by a great web developer, bluefox. They have embedded a small video micro-entry on the top right of their page. After I saw that, I was influenced and began to think:

How can I do that on Bwana.org effectively?

My first thought was Seesmic. Seesmic’s sole purpose is video micro-blogging. It is there for you to record short snippets of video, Twitter style. There is one problem. Seesmic is in “beta”, more like “alpha” if you ask me. I do not agree with the interface and it still has work to be done. I’m not trying to knock Seesmic, it’s just I recognize it for what it is: A work in progress. With their acquisition of Twhirl already making waves on the almighty tubes, Seesmic has a bright future. I’ll be watching them closely. [Update: Seesmic was going through a hardware migration today which explained some of my issues. In that light, they still aren't ready for prime time, but I want to use them]

My next thought was Viddler. Viddler has proved to be a very reliable and flexible platform for publishing video. Their use of inline video commenting is nothing short of ground breaking. I uploaded a test video there today and gave it a shot. While it worked for the most part, I would have preferred a much more elegant solution for my WordPress blog. Namely, I want a simple tag to put in my template which shows a static video, or the latest video in a RSS feed (namely a feed based on a particular tag). This solution has potential, but some kinks need to be worked out to fit my workflow.

Finally, I moved to Flickr Video. Flickr does Video? Yeah. First, the limitations: 150MB file size and 90 seconds of video. My test video (after encoding/compression through VisualHub) came to 4.4MB and 32 seconds. Ok, that shouldn’t be a problem. The next task was ease of integration. The situation was almost identical to Viddler’s. I’d have to manually copy and paste (or later script) the embed code into an include file on my server to show the latest/desired video. Flickr video seems perfect for video micro-blogging as it forces you to condense your material like Twitter (140 characters or less). This solution is what I’m currently testing, but I’m not sure it’s my final one.

So what say you? What is the best video micro-blogging solution for you? I’m definitely open to new suggestions.

Youtube API is nice but…

Bwana — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:29:01 +0000

Youtube recently announced details of their video API (Application Programmer Interface), allowing developers to create their own concoctions powered by Youtube technology. The wildly anticipated game, Spore, is already on board to use the API in their game to send videos of the game straight to Youtube:

Youtube is a massive entity, one of the top 5 websites on the web, and it deserves some praise, but I have a void that I long for.

High definition video.

Vimeo does it and does it well, so why can’t Youtube? They have the massive data capacity of Google behind them as well as the capital, so where is it? I already know about the “higher quality” videos that are coming, but they are hardly HD. I want 720p!

Don’t get me wrong, I like the fact that the API is here and developers can develop, but high definition is here people. I was in Best Buy the other day and MANY ordinary consumers (not like you and me) were buying HDTVs and high definition camcorders. They were flying off the shelves. The age of pixelated telephone videos is passing and higher quality video is here. Another example, look at the top live video shows on Ustream.tv. Almost all of them have a high quality picture to accompany their content. I get many praises and subscribers on my Youtube channel solely based on the quality of my videos. Most people could care less what I’m saying in the videos, but they love the fact that I produce great quality videos with my Canon Powershot TX1 (and also with my Canon HV20).

So while I praise Youtube for their API (because APIs are always awesome), I can’t celebrate too long before I utter the words, “but where’s HD”. Let’s hope it comes sooner than later. Here’s the announcement video of the new API in case you haven’t seen it: