TubeMogul, a video analytics and distribution service, has announced its TubeMogul Top 40, and indie video podcasters and new media networks top the list. This is a list of the publishers using TubeMogul to distribute their videos that get the most views each month.

While it’s not surprising that the list is dominated by new media people, who are more likely to need a distribution service, it does show that indie/new media publishers can compete with mainstream media, and that, yes, Chris Pirillo really is everywhere:

 

The BBC today introduced an updated version of the BBC iPlayer, which fully combines radio and TV in one interface.

The BBC iPlayer is an Internet-based on-demand catch-up service for BBC media, and is available on PC, Mac, Linux, Virgin Media, Apple iPhone & iPod touch and Nintendo Wii.

The BBC reports that it has served over 100 million program requests via iPlayer since it launched. 

“The next generation of BBC iPlayer allows UK licence fee payers to catch up on their favourite BBC TV and radio programmes in one place – a completely unique on-demand service,” says the BBC’s Erik Huggers. “Audiences are now able to experience the full range of BBC content – some 250 TV programmes currently available each week as well as all the BBC radio networks – in a new and more accessible way, and all for free.”

The Kraft Group, which owns, among other things, the New England Patriots, has led a group of investors in providing $4.6m SeriesA financing to Blog Talk Radio.

Founded in 2006 by former telecom executive Alan Levy, Blog Talk Radio provides a platform for businesses and individuals to create their own live call-in talk show without the need for special equipment any more specialized than a telephone or computer.

A quick glance at today’s 400-plus BTR offerings shows an eclectic mix, from getting toddlers to eat, to Radio Free Kansas (rock chalk, baby!), to hip hop music and books, to very conservative and very liberal political programming. Program creators range from quirky and opinionated individuals to Sun Microsystems, Intel and the Department of Defense, all of whom have channels on the site.

Levy says that the capital infusion will be used for “major enhancements to our user interface and user experience. We will invest in content and distribution as well as further developing our ad sales platform. We are also looking at developing many new products including a highly differentiated video platform, audio to text transcription applications and much more.”

Beet.tv‘s Andy Plesser snags a nice interview with Vint Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google and the man known to many as the”father of the Internet.”

About 4:30 into the interview, Cerf talks a bit about the history of video distribution over the Internet, and then goes on to say that the popularity and demand for online video will mean that distribution will be done “in download mode,” (aka video podcasting) not streaming. 

He also touches on the idea of using the Internet as a broadcast medium. 

We already know that John McCain is a huge ABBA fan, from his blog.

But what about Barack Obama? What’s on his iPod?

Obama says he has “pretty eclectic tastes”:

The list of bands reads like the acts at a summer music festival, with the Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow and Ludacris all in the mix.

Obama said that, growing up, he listened to Elton John and Earth, Wind & Fire but that Stevie Wonder was his ultimate musical hero during the 70s.

The Stones’ track Gimme Shelter topped his favourite songs from the band.

His selection also contained 30 songs from Dylan. “One of my favourites [for] the political season is [Dylan’s] Maggie’s Farm. It speaks to me as I listen to some of the political rhetoric.”

No mention of the Barack Obama podcast, though.

Where the Hell Is Matt (2008), above, is an amazing video that follows Matt Harding around the world, doing a funny little dance and getting lots of other people to dance with him.

It’s also a fun example of the power of vlogging and Internet video.

New Scientist points out some legalese buried into Apple’s iTunes EULA that you’ll want to keep in mind, if you’re planning on using iTunes to run a nuclear reactor:

“Licensee also agrees that Licensee will not use the Apple Software for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons.”

I’m not sure how this would work, but I’m guessing that the nuclear reactor would show up as a device, same as your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV.

Let me know if you’ve got any ideas on how this would work!

via Freakonomics

Image: tonyc

Logitech today introduced the QuickCam Vision Pro webcam for Mac, an HD webcam which combines Logitech’s autofocus technology with Carl Zeiss optics.

Features:

• Logitech’s autofocus system compensates for in image-edge sharpness and refocuses images in less than three seconds.
• A 2-megapixel sensor captures video images in high resolution,  720p high-definition (HD) video format (960-by-720 pixels).
• With iChat or Skype, you can capture VGA-quality video at up to 30 frames per second.
• Plug-and-play; no software is needed. 

Pricing and Availability

The Logitech QuickCam Vision Pro webcam for Mac is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in July. The suggested retail price in the U.S. is $129.99.

Would YouTube be better if you got rid of most of the videos, eliminated most of the features and gave the site a vivid, primary color interface?

Maybe so – if your audience is young children. That’s the premise of TotLOL, a children’s video site based on YouTube’s APIs.

Here’s how TotLOL works:

1. When scouting parents search the YouTube database via a Totlol interface. The scouting interface lets parents search and watch videos just as they used to do on YouTube. When they find a video that they think is appropriate and relevant they can choose to submit it.
2. When submitting, parents are asked to review the title and tags associated with the video and to provide a review of the content. They are also asked to specify the main language of the video and categorize it. This information, together with the original YouTube information is presented at screening.
3. The screening part of the process is where the community plays the most significant role. Each Totlol user is invited to screen videos submitted by others and to answer screening questions. The answers are collected and analyzed by computer. Only videos that pass the grade are then available for the viewing tots.

We talk a lot at Podcasting News about how new media gives anyone the potential to publish to people all around the world.

This poses challenges to traditional media, though, especially newspapers, because they are faced with tens of thousands of nimble new competitors. As a result, newspapers are losing advertisers to Web media, losing future readers to Web media and losing value in the face of Web media competition.

An article in the New York Times today shows that mainstream media is awakening to these facts, and that it’s clear that some newspapers are facing extinction:

“For newspapers, the news has swiftly gone from bad to worse. This year is taking shape as their worst on record, with a double-digit drop in advertising revenue, raising serious questions about the survival of some papers and the solvency of their parent companies.

Over all, ad revenue fell almost 8 percent last year. This year, it is running about 12 percent below that dismal performance, and company reports issued last week suggested a 14 percent to 15 percent decline in May.”