MeanUte’s blog

July 12th post:

According to the syllabus I'm supposed to find a website that uses embedded video in their site and then talk about it.  I would have loved to go out on the World Wide Web to find something fresh and new to me; however, I figured I might be able to give a more appropriate analysis by choosing something I'm already familiar with and what I use on a frequent basis.  I lead kind of a hectic life, so I'm never in one spot for very long and I'm a avid sports fan.  This presents a problem because of my lifestyle I'm never around to see the games I want to see or keep up with all the things happing in sports.  For this very reason I come to ESPN.com almost on a daily basis.  Yes, there are other sports news aggregates out there, but ESPN.com not only has the news articles to read, but they also have a very nice embedded news video service available to you.  It's not quite Sportscenter, which I wish it had, but it focuses more on the aspect of sporting news rather then just highlights, although it will do that on occasion.  This embedded video is pretty spiffy.  You can go straight to ESPN.com and you immediately have access to video content that has a continuous play feature already in play.  The embedded player is Adobe Flash Player 9, which seems to evermore popular with anyone using video in their website.  The clarity is extremely good, but that might have something to do with the incredibly small display they give you.  You can can; however, make the size of the video bigger if you go to the website media center they have in beta.  This is still using the Flash Player; however, it just takes longer to play probably because of its size, which could deter viewers with a low connection speed.  I know I was turned off by it, so I just watch the little one on the homepage.
ESPN is known for their great coverage of sports via their television broadcast division, so I'm not surprised that they would invest in making sure the website incorporated some of their most notable characteristics into their online format.  It works well too because it give the user a since of familiarity when they come to the site to see things they most liked about the television broadcast.  As a user myself this seems to be very effective as I think they correlate well with each other, but you take the embedded video away and you have a gapping hole that ruins the user experience completely.  It would be wise for ESPN to invest more in the online format though because current trends are all heading that way maybe to the point where television will be completely obsolete altogether.  But that argument if for a different day.

June 28th post

So I was supposed to find a website that utilizes streaming media; however, since now that I know the difference between streaming media and progressive download video I can't exactly say that my website of choice will adhere exactly to the assignment.  Too much knowledge is sometimes a curse!  In any event I'm just going to pretend that I don't know what I know now so that you know that I know what I'm talking about.
Back on track now.  I decided on the Seattle Mariners website, since it's a site I go to often mostly to cringe at how bad their doing, although, lately they're doing quite well, so I've been able to sleep better at night.  I'm digressing...the site has everything I like and need for information, but pertinent to this blog, the site also has a video feature that pops up to show you previous game highlights, which is pretty cool especially if you missed the game because you were stuck in class...just kidding Drew...you know I pick you over the Mariners any day.  Now that I've buttered up the teacher let's continue.  The video feature is somewhat annoying though.  There is so much information on the website that there is no room for an normally embedded video at you would typically think.  It is embedded, but it has a drop down feature when the video is getting ready to play it covers up other information you might be looking at.  You can disregard the video by simply closing the embedded video pop up, but it's highly annoying nonetheless, especially due to the fact that the video starts automatically upon entering the site.  It's even more annoying when you forget your volume is turned way up and you forget about the video feature. 
It's a simple use of the technology, but it is compatible with a streaming feature of entire games if you're willing to pay.  When I lived in Utah my roommates and I would get that service to watch all our teams play...it was marvelous. The basic website does, in fact, utilize "streaming media" in other capacities related to Mariner promotions and interviews if you so choose to look for them and watch.  I think despite the annoyance of the automatic video start feature it is still an effective use of "streaming media."

Reflective, stimulated, uneasy, harebrained, humorous, and witty would be the adjectives I would use to describe this week's blog.  No, I'm not referring to or having a bipolar episode...I told you the doctors said I should be able to coexist with the public now...I'm just not allowed near a Costco, but that's a whole other story. Anyway...I'm digressing again, so back to the fact.  We were told to check out Brightcove.com for some hidden treasures in the form of streaming media delight, which I did and came across some interesting stuff.  I've decided that some people have way too much time on their hands after surfing through the various channels; nevertheless, I was able to taper it down to the two channels that I decided to "compare and contrast." They are, of course, centrally located on Brightcove, but individually found on their respective websites Nomadsland.com and CubeNews1.com. 
Let me just simplify this and talk about each website independently, so first up...Nomadsland.com.  How engrossing is this title...don't you think?  But for real, I don't want to take away from the seriousness that this site embraces with independent thinkers who creatively and visually display there perspectives of important social issues in the form of Internet accessible short films. This was a stimulating treat for the socioeconomic and politically minded person looking for a perspective of enlightenment or reaffirmation of what they have previously thought.  It is a great display of the power of the Internet mixed with the artistry of film.  Nomadsland.com is exactly that, but expression does not come without a price especially when you want to address a large audience.  Therefore, in order to support the artists and the maintenance of the site viewers are only allowed to view previews of these films with the option to rent or buy the piece for full viewing.  I don't see anything wrong with charging for full viewing especially when the prices of each movie is only $1.99 to rent and $9.99 to buy, but I didn't find myself inclined to do either, which could deter larger audiences.  Who knows...maybe I'm just an anomaly, which is probably the case.  This site; however, earned my respect and praise for centralizing a site to look at so many different social issues in one place.  Thumbs up!
Now, let's turn our attention to the other channel/website...NewsCube1.com.  What better way to contrast the serious nature of today's social issues than to put it against the relatively insignificant, but easy to relate to everyday problems as narrowly focused as life nuances in a cubicle.  This was such a zany site that is a little cheesy, but I had to add it as a parting gesture to my little cube I have had at Key Bank for 5 years where I will soon be unemployed come this Friday.  I can see so many people appreciating the applicable nature of its content to their own lives, which is probably why this site vaulted itself from a website where the content creator could just vent about her life in a cubicle to a living and mildly profitable website where others can email, blog, and relate to others who use humor as therapy to overcome their frustrations in being a cubicle dweller.  The main attraction manifests itself as the site creator engineers various episodes viewable to her audience using somewhat humorous dialog and simple video editing techniques to interpolate entertaining content, which has created a supposedly loyal fan base.  Why else would she keep making them?  If you're wondering how she makes money, my guess would be through the store and the ads she has posted throughout the website.  Again, somewhat cheesy, but I give it a thumbs up for ingenuity.  PEACE!

Every week I sit in class thinking to myself that I’m totally outmatched.  I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know a whole lot about digital media let alone streaming media.  I feel as though I’m the fat kid picked lasted on the team, but you know everyone is thinking to themselves, “Why is he even here?”   OK, maybe that’s a little over dramatic because everyone seems pretty tolerant of the fact that I feel space up pretty good, so I thank you all for your patience.  It’s nice to know I play part in some sort of role in the class.  So now that you’re all thinking “Wow, this guy has some serious issues”…I can assure you I’m fully medicated and my doctors don’t think I’m suicidal anymore ;-)  The truth be told, I’m just typing whatever comes to mind trying to think of a clever introduction to this week’s blog…I don’t think I’m succeeding, nevertheless, I do have an opinion of Mr. Bewkes ideas of the future of television, so hold all hostile comments until the end and be forewarned I once took a self-defense class.

So, let’s just start with the beginning.  That was quite the comment Mr. Bewkes made when he said,

“Television is very important and increasing in value, and network-based

interactive TV is very powerful” even more powerful, he said, than the internet.

How do you figure that Mr. Bewkes?  The Internet has been accelerating its speed as the no. 1 source for information and entertainment every year.  I digress, isn’t it funny that we think of the 90’s as the prehistoric days of Internet innovation…it wasn’t that long ago…ok, back on track…it’s just amazing that we go back only ten years and look how much it has changed.  If this article’s numbers are accurate indicators of where we are today, then I think it’s safe to say that revenue for the Internet will someday, in the not too distant future, surpass the revenue from cable television if online utility continues to expand, thus canceling out Mr. Bewkes’ theory.

I guess he’s not totally inept though because I commend him on present day tactics to contend in the market.  A push to cable on-demand to strategically peek the interest of the consumer to buy and incorporate marketers via effective advertising through its own on-demand scheme shows his business acumen, but do we really think this proposal will be able to compete with the Internet charge?  For a while yes, but not in the long run.  My guess is Mr. Bewkes will change his tactics in time though.  All businessmen go where the money is, so maybe someday he’ll finally drop the bombshell on us all and utilize AOL as the centerpiece to a digital display of innovation, but what do I know I’m just the “fat kid.”

I don't really think that finding a website that sucks eggs would be a whole lot of fun, so I opted to find something I thought was cool and, of course, pertinent to streaming digital media.  I checked out stage6.divx.com. This is actually a site I found a while ago just out of my own curiosity, but now I can tell you what I think of it.

There are some really neat concepts that I'd like to address.  First, this site is very much like UTube; however, this site prompts you use it's technology to make your video posts.  DivX, Inc., the company behind Stage6, has designed it's own media format to which Stage6 is composed.  You can download the DivX bundle which includes a web player, a player, a codec, and a converter.  There are also a slue of other products that you can purchase from Divx.com that can enhance your digital media experience.  I don't mean to advertise them, but it's worth a look see.  I think they did a great job to try to make their product line as easy to use as possible...a big benefit to simple minds like myself.
This site is also referred to by it's authors as an experiment.  It's an experiment that tests and asks questions. For example, they ask these questions, how do new technologies and platforms re-shape the content experience? Instead of just making things different, can digital media actually make things better? Is it possible for a video site to offer more than dogs on skateboards?  The Web has made it possible for accelerated accessibility to user-generated-content, which is creating very rich content for the consumer to comment on, expand upon, and distill a free flow of ideas into every participant of digital media.
I like DinX's Stage6 beta site for their business orientation to make a profit, but also to make a product line that will enrich the digital media experience in the process through social networking, creative content, and the encouragement and establishment of forward thinking.