The Download - Week of 052509

This week in Interactive Media.................. Have a great Memorial Day, everyone!

The Problem with Lost's ARGs
Obligatory linkage from me as I'm a Lost fanatic. But it is also a detailed look at what works and what doesn't when it comes to interactive Alternate Reality Games coinciding with broadcast television.

Google Invades Upfront Marketplace
Advertisers commit to "upwards of seven figures" spending for the next year on Google TV ads.

VOD Crime-Solving Service in Connecticut
My home state is putting interactive media to some real use! They should do that here, it sounds like fun.

Hulu To Stream First Piece of Long-Form Entertainment Content Live with Ads
More obligatory linkage, as I'm an even bigger Dave Matthews Band fanatic. Love to see my boys making Hulu history! New album next week!

Copyright Meets a New Worthy Foe: The Real-Time Web
Intriguing about the seemingly dated Digital Millenium Copyright Act in today's world of "virality on steroids". Must read.

Twenty Hours of Video Uploaded to YouTube Every MINUTE
Well, now I'll never catch up.

YouTube Launches YouTube Biz Blog
Good for keeping partners and advertisers (and New Media dweebs who have nothing to do with them like me) informed!

Nielsen: 99 Percent of Video Watched on TV Screen
Yeah, according to which Nielsen? Leslie? This seems like a joke.

Webware 100 Winners Announced!
The People's Choice Awards of Web 2.0 chooses YouTube, Hulu, and Amazon, among others.

Time: YouTube a Top 10 Tech Failure
"Oh hell naw" says Liz Gannes of NewTeeVee.

The Download - Week of 051809

Another exciting week in Interactive Media news! Join us for our sweet little recap, won't you?

Clearleap to Bring Trio of New Media Studios to TVs
Next New Networks, blip.tv, and Revision3 content will be accessible on television.

Facebook Prepares To Launch Live Video Chat Product
I prepare to delete my profile.

Search Function Goes Down on YouTube
A low point in all our weeks, I'm sure.

Web Series: Four Things to Ask Yourself Before Starting
As written by the Internet's beautiful Felicia Day. Very good read.

Comedy Central Signs Midwest Teen Sex Show
A web series too racy for YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace finds a home... on television?!

CBS CFO Talks Hulu
Says CBS content would only be available on Hulu non-exclusively.

Hulu Questions Nielsen's Count of Its Audience
Nielsen reported 8.9 million visitors in March, while comScore counted 42 million. Which one do you think Hulu prefers?

Facebook On the Verge of Being a Top Ten Video Site
Well, now I have to keep my profile. I need as many kitty videos as I can get!!!

Owned? Legal Terms of Video Hosting Services Compared
Make sure you're not being screwed over by manipulative legal jargon!

Mobile Web Users Surge, Building Revenue
iPhone owners are most likely to watch mobile video. Especially while on the can. The last part is my own little hunch.

The Download - Week of 051109

Saturday Night Live's Sequel to "D*ck In a Box" - "Motherlover"
First and foremost, watch this. You will thank me when you know what everyone is talking about and you feel included.

13th Annual Webby Awards Nominees & Winners
Now that you've watched "Motherlover"... Congratulations to all!

Web to Soon See :30s
An interesting new take on online ads and the user experience. Although, something tells me placements described as "deliberately intrusive" will not be received well. Call it a hunch.

Metacafe Terminates their Producer Rewards Program
What a crippling blow to the people who could really use that extra six bucks every three months. Zing!

60Frames Halts Operations
We hardly knew ye.

Crisis in Metrics, Say Digital Media Execs
"It gets pretty crazy," says one exec in this article, which is about as lucid of a quote I've heard on this subject from anyone.

Crackle Cuts Off User Uploads
Who cares about users these days anyways? We don't even know them.

YouTube Advertising Revenue to Grow Soon Says Analyst
What a special day it will be when YouTube makes its first penny of profit for Google. Like a Quinceañera.

Yahoo Video Gets "Streamllined"
The No.3 U.S. video site according to Nielsen is going through some changes. Not unlike a young girl at her Quinceañera? Last gratuitous Quinceñera joke, promise.

Fred Seibert Drops Knowledge, Perspective at New York Web TV Meetup
And the guest for the next Meetup is supposedly "ridiculously awesome"!

The Download - Week of 050409

This post marks the beginning of the Interactive Media Peer Group's weekly links to the biggest headlines in Interactive Media. IMPG Governors Marcelino Ford-Livene and Geoff Katz would like to introduce IMPG member, blogger, hacker Paul Gulyas. Until recently, Paul was a marketing strategist and a creative for HBO Lab for the past two years and is now a freelancing writer/producer who has lots of time to keep up on interactive media. Please, feel free to make suggestions during the week by e-mailing articles (or video, because who really reads these days) to paulgulyas@gmail.com. That way, if we miss something huge, we can partially blame you! Enjoy and have a great week!

Disney Decides to Dance the Hulu
And their evil plot to destroy the world comes that much closer to fruition.

ABC-Hulu Deal a Blow to YouTube
YouTube kills in traffic ratings, but can't catch a break with advertisers. Is that what this is about, you guys? Money?

Disney's Anne Sweeney Talks Hulu: It's All About Casual Viewers
And then these casual viewers become unhealthily addicted to LOST viewers like myself, correct? I see your mind, Disney.

Panel debates future of television
"Outlook Not So Good", says my Magic 8-Ball.

Verklin: Web Media Still Faces Many Challenges
In more recent news, we've landed on the moon!

Digital Downloads Worth Half a Billion in Q1
How is the economy effecting online video? Here's a few educated guesses.

Food Network Cooks Up Food2, Targets Adults 21-34 Using Social Media, How-To Videos
Still waiting for Bobby Flay to accept my Facebook friend request.

As Hulu Gets More Mainstream, Long Viewing Sessions Wane
But it's Minutes Per Viewer is still WAY more than anybody but YouTube, so... Let's not chop three minutes off all our content just yet.

How To Showcase Your Web Series On a Web Site
On the one hand, web series are not viewed on their own sites as much as host sites like YouTube. On the other hand, your web series is more legitimized by having its own destination site. Read this article to make it the best it can be.

Sony's Crackle.com adding series, movies
...including Kevin James' new web series "Dusty Peacock" about an "inept stuntman". I'd list things I'm more excited about, but these things usually have an ending.

OFFICIAL ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS 2009

2009 INTERACTIVE MEDIA PEER GROUP
PRIMETIME EMMY® AWARDS

OFFICIAL ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS
CATEGORY - JURIED 37:

OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA –
FICTION OR NONFICTION

For complete information visit our IMPG website.

ENTRY PROCEDURE:
Interactive Media Peer Group members will review the submissions to select the nominations and determine the Primetime Emmy Award winner(s). There may be one, more than one or no Emmy statuette awarded to the individual(s) or company(s) that is directly involved with and principally responsible for the recognized Interactive Media Programming.

The Interactive Media Award recognizes excellence in the interactive media components of a fiction or nonfiction-related program or series, which have been commercially deployed, domestically, in the period of (June 1, 2008 - May 31, 2009). Entries can be made online at http://www.emmys.tv.


ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

Areas of competition: Eligible entries in the Fiction area of competition include the associated interactive media components of a Drama Program or Series, Comedy Program or Series, Made-for-Television Movie, Miniseries, or Dramatic Special. Eligible entries in the Nonfiction area of competition include the interactive media components of a Reality Program or Series, Reality Competition Program or Series, Variety Comedy or Music Program or Series or Non-fiction Program or Series.

NOTE: News, Sports, Daytime programming and Documentaries fall under the National Academy of Arts and Sciences (NATAS) areas of eligibility. Related entries should be submitted to the appropriate categories through NATAS.

Timeframe: Interactive media components of a Fiction or Nonfiction-related program or series must have been available to the public during the period June 1, 2008 through May 31, 2009.

Interactivity: Entries must include user interaction that goes beyond traditional playback options (Play, Stop, Pause, Fast-forward). NOTE: Broadband-only linear narrative programs or series that do not include interactive elements beyond these controls may be eligible within the main Primetime Emmy® Award categories.


ALL ENTRANTS MUST SUBMIT:

1. Demo Video: A linear/non-interactive video recording that demonstrates the viewer experience and clearly details the interactive features and functionality of the program or series. The demonstration video recording must:

• be between two (2) and five (5) minutes in length,
• include the salient interactive features, either contiguous or edited, in an order that is closely representative of the actual viewer experience
• be submitted as a digital video file (digital video files delivered on DVD-ROM discs are acceptable), a consumer DVD-Video playable on a standard DVD player or as a Digital Beta tape.

Your digital video file must not be larger than 2 GB and must be in one of the following file formats:

File Extension	File Format
.flv	VP6 Flash video
.3g2	3GP for CDSM phones
.3gp	3GP for GSM phones
.asf	Streaming format for Windows Media Player
.avi	Windows video format
.dv	Digital video
.mov	QuickTime multimedia format
.mp4, .f4v	H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10), MPEG-4 Part 14
.mpeg	MPEG-1
.mpg	MPEG-1
.qt	QuickTime video
.wmv	Windows Media Video

Upload your demonstration video file, or mail the demonstration digital video file on DVD-ROM, Digital Beta videotape or DVD (along with a Thumbnail JPG) by May 12, 2009 to:

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Interactive Media Peer Group Primetime Emmy Awards
5220 Lankershim Blvd.
North Hollywood, California 91601-3109

2. Written response: Provide a brief (300 words or fewer) description of the intended goals of the entry program or series along with specific emphasis on the interactive elements based on the Evaluation Criteria listed above that support the stated goals.

3. Thumbnail: A screen shot representative of your entry: For use as a thumbnail identifier in the balloting process. The file must be submitted as a JPEG 320 x 240 pixels in dimension.

4. Entry Fee: $400.00 for an individual or group of individuals (maximum of four individuals) submitting as the Official Entrant; $600.00 for a company (or partnership of up to 4 companies) submitting as the Official Entrant.

NOTE: Any Academy member of an individual/group entry has his/her entry fee waived. For example, if there is one entrant, the entry fee for that person is $400, and it is waived. If there are two entrants, the entry fee for each person is $200, and it is waived for each member. If there are three entrants, the entry fee is $133 for each person, and it is waived for each member. If there are four entrants, the entry fee is $100 for each person, and it is waived for each member.


Any Academy member making a company/partnership entry has the $600 fee waived. For example, if there is one company, the entry fee for that company is $600, and it is waived. If there are two companies, the entry fee for each company is $300, and it is waived for each member making an entry on behalf of his/her company. If there are three companies, the entry fee is $200 for each company, and it is waived for each member making an entry on behalf of his/her company. If there are four companies, the entry fee is $150 for each company, and it is waived for each member making an entry on behalf of his/her company.

5. Application: Complete the official entry form online at http://www.emmys.tv. All entries must be completed online by May 12th, 6:00pm PDT.


If you have any questions, please contact the Interactive Media Peer Group Awards Working Group: Suzanne Stefanac / sstefanac[at]afi.com / 323.856.8429 or Richard Cardran / cardran[at]gmail.com / 323.376.9222


EVALUATION CRITERIA:

The purpose of the linear video recording is to provide a "Demo" that fully demonstrates, or "walks through," the experience for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences judges who may not have access to the project during the voting process. Voiceover or other explanatory methods are allowed as necessary to provide a reasonable facsimile of the interactive experience. DO NOT include "promo," "marketing," or "sizzle reel" elements or examples of program material out of context. Including clips from the aired program that do not appear in the interactive offering is discouraged. Emphasis on non-interactive elements will result in a judging penalty.

Judging will be based on the following evaluation criteria:

User Experience: Interactive media scenarios should provide user experiences that are easy to navigate, flexible, responsive, robust, and rewarding. Each element of the overall whole should be seamlessly integrated and optimized for the intended platform(s).

Creative Achievement: Creative elements should exhibit a compelling overall vision, masterful execution, consistent integration of elements, and the fulfillment of the goals expressed in your written response.

Advancing Interactive Media: Submitted examples of interactive media should reflect the evolving state of today’s entertainment landscape by providing interactive experiences that are fresh, engaging, relevant, and commercially viable.

Design/Interface: The overall look and feel of interactive media entries should be attractive, intuitive, and consistently implemented. Graceful integration of layout and navigation elements, palette, graphics, video, audio, social networking opportunities, and other features are considered essential to audience enjoyment and usability.

Enhancing the Fiction or Nonfiction Scenario: Interactive media elements associated with linear fiction or non-fiction programming should extend and enhance the viewer experience, and provide opportunities for acquiring more information such as communicating, playing games, engaging other users, submitting user-generated content or other ways of directly engaging the user.