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Saturday, November 21, 2009

Another (Loud, Fuzzy) Peek at Wired’s Tablet Edition

tablet wired storeWant to see Condé Nast’s not-so-secret plans to produce tablet-friendly editions of its magazines? Get yourself to New York’s Meatpacking District. Or check out this grainy YouTube clip.

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Friday, November 20, 2009

YouTube Says Popcorn Hour Is Over

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Want to watch YouTube on your TV? There are plenty of devices and services that let you do that, with more on the way. But starting next month, at least one gadget is getting its YouTube feed shut down: Syabas, which makes a line of set-top boxes called “Popcorn Hour,” says Google’s video site has told it to remove YouTube content from its offering beginning December 2.

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

How to See a Handball: Watch France Cheat Its Way Into the World Cup

thierry henry france soccerIn the U.S., this is no big deal, but in much of the world this is now the sports equivalent of the Zapruder film: French soccer star Thierry Henry cheating, via a handball, and propelling his team past Ireland and into next year’s World Cup.

The Web is full of chatter about yesterday’s game, but video is hard to come by: YouTube has shut down most of the clips. But dedicated searchers–and there are lots of them right now–can find them.

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Vevo, Big Music’s Hulu, Launches Dec. 8

vevo-logoVevo, the music industry’s attempt to create a Hulu-like site for its music videos, will formally launch Dec. 8. The site, which is co-owned by Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, Sony’s music label and Abu Dhabi Media, will host a New York kick-off event that day.

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Who’s Watching What on YouTube? See for Yourself.

youtube mosaicIf you’re someone who gets paid to market to people who use YouTube, there’s a good chance you already know about TestTube, the site’s suite of experimental services. The rest of us will find interesting novelties, like “Insights for Audience”: A nifty way to find out what people like–or unlike–you are watching.

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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

YouTube’s Newest Ads: Ones You Don’t Have to Watch

skippableThe newest twist in Google’s quest to wring more more money out of YouTube: Ads you don’t have to look at. That’s a refreshing change of pace, no?

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Thursday, November 5, 2009

YouTube’s Newest Partner: Will Ferrell

will ferrellSlowly but surely, YouTube has been able to bump up the number of “premium” content creators willing to hand over some of their stuff to the world’s biggest video site. Here’s yet another one: Funny or Die, the comedy site backed by Will Ferrell, Sequoia and HBO, among others.

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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Don’t Tell a Soul! Media, Tech Moguls Take Manhattan for Semisecret Quadrangle Conference.

don't talkWouldn’t you like to bump elbows with media moguls and hear from the likes of Eric Schmidt, Biz Stone and James Murdoch? Me too! Alas, Quadrangle’s Foursquare conference is closed to the public and the press. But at least I can tell you whom you won’t be hearing from.

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Monday, November 2, 2009

Apple’s iTunes Pitch: TV for $30 a Month

appletvWould you pay $30 a month to watch TV via iTunes?

That’s the pitch Apple has been making to TV networks in recent weeks. The company is trying to round up support for a monthly subscription service that would deliver TV programs via its multimedia software, multiple sources tell me. The industry finds this idea both tempting and terrifying.

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

UTube: 10 Million Streams for Bono and Co.’s Live Show

u2 youtubeWhat happens when one of the biggest bands in the world Webcasts a live concert on the world’s biggest video site?

You get a lot of video streams. Close to 10 million, says YouTube, adding that Sunday’s live Webcast of U2’s Rose Bowl concert was the single largest event it has streamed so far.

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

CBS Digital Boss Quincy Smith’s Not-Quite Exit Interview: “Hulu’s a Great Service. That’s Part of the Problem.”

cbs_video_buttonsThe man who helped shape CBS’s standalone Web video strategy explains himself, for the record.

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Monday, October 26, 2009

Meet AOL’s BOD: Tim Armstrong May Be Youthful, but His Directors-To-Be Aren’t

tim_armstrong_lgAOL continues to prep for its impending spinoff from Time Warner. Today’s step: Announcing the board of directors for the company-to-be. Boldface names of note include William Hambrecht, former head of tech investment bank Hambrecht & Quist; Michael Powell, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission; and Jim Wiatt, former head of William Morris. Notably absent: Anyone from Google, Tim Armstrong’s favorite recruiting ground, and any whippersnappers, unless you count 46-year-old Powell.

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Monday, October 19, 2009

Vevo Gets Its Investor: Abu Dhabi Media Joins “Hulu for Music Videos”

vevo-logoVevo, the music industry’s version of Hulu, now has its own version of Providence Equity, the outside investor that took a flyer on the Web TV and movie joint venture: Abu Dhabi Media Company has purchased a stake in the company from owners Universal Music and Sony. No financials released, though I’m told the deal values the JV at $300 million.

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Thursday, October 15, 2009

How Good Is Google’s Growth Story? Time to Find Out.

light-tunnelGoogle CEO Eric Schmidt couldn’t be any clearer: He’s been saying, over and over, that he thinks the recession is in his company’s rear-view mirror. And Wall Street has been listening: It has been steadily pushing up the search giant’s shares for months. Today we get to find out just how good Google’s growth story is.

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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Is There Anything You People Won’t Watch on the Web? Nope: Video Views Up 25 Percent.

stewart-cnnIs there anything you people won’t watch online? Doesn’t look like it, based on the newest Web video numbers from Nielsen. While stats show that the overall size of the Internet video audience has increased by 12 percent in the last year, the amount of video consumed has shot up 25 percent.

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About Peter

Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »

Ethics Statement

Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.

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