User Generated Video

Prior to the start of the VidCon conference Friday, a steady stream of starstruck teenage girls approached Tom Milsom requesting a hug and a picture. The 22-year-old self-made London-based YouTube musician, performer and poet mostly appeals to girls ages 13 to 18. Brands love him, too.

[itvt] is pleased to present videos of the two "Creative Visions" sessions from The TV of Tomorrow Show 2011 (took place May 17th-18th in San Francisco). The sessions--which were hosted by Nick DeMartino of Nick DeMartino Consulting and founder of the American Film Institute Enhanced Television Workshop (subsequently renamed the AFI Digital Content Lab)--featured lectures and presentations that showcased new creative visions in interactive television and video.

Ratcheting its "Oh Yes We Did" brand transformation campaign up another notch, Domino's Pizza is now posting comments from customers on a 125-foot-wide electronic billboard in New York City's Times Square.

In development for nearly two years, Ogilvy's Advanced Video Practice will work with brand clients to take video engagement beyond the "viral" view by targeting measurable engagements that place viewers directly into the sales funnel.

Much of what Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is doing and saying points to solving the expansive online video monetization challenge by logical progression rather than a leap of faith. Facebook's new visual calling and messaging service, through the already broad-based Skype, has implications beyond the obvious threat to wireless voice carriers, especially as premium paid functionality is added.

Free time in front of potential customers doesn't happen for advertisers often, but a video ad model on YouTube makes it a reality for Scripps Network and other advertisers -- as long as the viewer opts out before the 30-second spot concludes.

Many businesses are damaging their online reputation by publishing video of poor quality on their websites: the video often stutters or stops, the image is embedded with logos from the hosting site, surrounded by advertising (often from competitors!), and the video is often confined to a limited file size, player dimensions and duration.

The startup has until now been all about helping the makers of web series, like "Misadventures of MindCraft Chick" and "Old Jews Telling Jokes," distribute and make money from their work on YouTube, large portals and other sites. But now it is launching its own consumer-focused site, a cross between Hulu and iTunes, and is giving indie web series a face lift with "poster tiles" so they'll be displayed like an episode of "Desperate Housewives" on iTunes or Netflix.