An editorial at MercuryNews.com (registration) argues that, as the popularity of Internet video booms, the popularity of amateur content will give way to big media.

“Whenever a new technology makes personal expression easier, from desktop publishing in the 1980s to video sharing in 2006, denizens of Silicon Valley leap to the same conclusion: Finally, amateurs will triumph over those self-satisfied professionals, kicking aside the titans of the publishing industry/music industry/movie industry/TV industry,” writes Mercury News’ Scott Kirsner.

“If Web video was dominated by citizens with camcorders in 2005 and 2006, the pendulum in the coming year will likely swing toward professional content producers and big media companies,” adds Kirsner.

Kirsner makes his case by pointing out that David Letterman clips get 900,000 views a day at YouTube, and that the iTunes store has sold about 500,000 full-length Disney movies.

While it’s inevitable that content from well-known personalities and companies will be popular, suggesting that mainstream content providers will crowd out so-called “amateur” content disregards the current state of Internet video, historical precedents for Web content and basic rules of economics.

The Corporate Podcasting Summit Europe has announced seven industry case studies that will be featured at the March 19-20, 2007 UK podcasting show.

• First Direct Bank will discuss how their podcasting campaign is helping them maximise the online channel, build relationships with customers and add to their bottom line
• PricewaterhouseCoopers will outline how companies can prepare themselves for podcasting and blogging (internal guidelines and damage limitation)
• Sun Microsystems will share how they are using podcasts as a B2B communication tool
• Edelman explain how companies can leverage the podcast to build a marketing message, with examples from their own and client campaigns
• Alcatel will case study their podcast project used for internal training and communication activities
• A London livery company, by video link up, will outline how their podcasting campaign offered a new way to communicate and engage with members
• The European Food Information Council will discuss how podcasts offered a simple, listener friendly way of disseminating complicated information to their community

What do you get when you mix Diggnation’s Kevin Rose with beer?

Details on the upcoming Apple iPhone.

According to Kevin, there are two models, 4 GB and 8 GB, priced at $249 and $449, with support for multiple carrier systems. The device will feature a slide-out keyboard, a touch screen and two batteries (one for the MP3 player, one for the phone).

Video below……

UK podcast forum Britcaster will be closing December 15th, according to a post at Blogger News Network. Neil Dixon the man behind it, who now works for Adam Curry and Ron Bloom’s PodShow in the UK, has decided to pull the plug after two years.Dixon cited reasons of having insufficient time available to manage the forum.

A new UK Community Podcast forum, National Grid, has been set up by the UK Podcasters Association. National Grid is UK-centric but open to podcasters from any country.

via Blogger News Network

UK regulatory office Ofcom has announced that the use of low power FM transmitters which wirelessly connect MP3 players and other personal audio devices to radios and in-car entertainment systems will be legal for use in the UK starting December 8, 2006.

FM transmitters that will be legal to use in the UK will carry a CE mark indicating approval for sale in the European Union. Their use will be legalised under the Wireless Telegraphy Regulations 2006. The regulations set out the technical specifications for FM transmitters.

The iBreath Alcohol Breathalyzer is a new iPod accessory that combines an FM transmitter and a breath alcohol analyzer.

Fold out the BAC blow wand and exhale into it for a full 5 seconds. 5 seconds later, this jail-saving gizmo let’s you know if you’re safe to drive. It even houses a timer that can be set from 1 minute up to 4 hours in order to remind you when it’s time for the next test.

And if keeping you out of the pokey isn’t enough, this cool gadget doubles as a wireless FM transmitter to beam your tunes directly to any FM stereo!

Authorities warn that the device is an unscientific toy, and the device’s range has been limited to a maximum .12 percent blood-alcohol content, out of concern that it might be used for drinking contests.

While the iBreath may help keep you out of the pokey, it apparently can’t keep you from getting drunk and watching lame pirate movies.

MarketingShift is reporting that podcasting’s 15 minutes of fame is almost up.

“Podcasting probably will never become an ‘impact media’ like online video or satellite radio, and deservedly so,” says MarketingShift’s John Gartner. “The multitude of independent podcasters will scratch and claw for the occasional hour when people want to hear about a niche of their interest, but podcasting will have about the same long term business impact as e-books.”

MarketingShift highlights a recent survey by Pew Internet & American Life Project, which found that 12 percent of Internet users have downloaded a podcast, and about 1 percent do so each day.

Some may view these percentages as small. However, based on Pew’s Internet audience size estimates, the percentages translate into about 18 million podcast listeners in the US alone, with about 1.5 million users downloading podcasts each day.

While podcasting may not yet be mainstream, the technology’s audience of tech-saavy users is too large and too attractive of a demographic to be ignored.

Griffin Technology has announced that its new iTalk Pro, an accessory that turns an iPod into a CD-quality audio recorder, is shipping.

The iTalk Pro plugs directly into the iPod’s dock connector. One-touch operation is designed to let users concentrate on what they’re hearing, instead of how to operate the equipment.

iTalk Pro can record in stereo or mono. Built-in twin microphones record in stereo at 44.1 kHz to yield “CD-quality” recordings. The iTalk Pro also features a stereo 1/8″ (3.5 mm) input jack to accommodate external microphones for greater stereo separation.

Google and YouTube are proming hundreds of millions to the Time Warner, News Corp, NBC and other major content companies to buy time to work out the legal issues raised by its purchase of YouTube.

Google calls these monies licensing fees. In effect, though, Google appears to be saying “Don’t sue us over copyrights. Take this substantial payment, and trust us to figure out how we’ll all make serious money once we get advertising and revenue sharing worked out.”

By offering these “licensing fees”, Google may be gambling that it can establish YouTube as the default location for finding video content, much as it has become the de facto search for many surfers.
“The theory is that if you were to aggregate enough exclusive content in one place, you could actually change viewing patterns,” says an executive familiar with the cross-company talks.

1&1 Internet has launched two new tools to help publishers create blogs and podcasts.

The 1 &1 Blog tool, bundled with the company’s hosting package, is aimed at first time bloggers. It features a posting and commenting interface, the ability to change the template design and drag-and-drop image posting.

1&1 RSS Creator allows customers to create RSS feeds for their text, audio and visual content. The photocast feature also allows users to post their latest pictures, and the Podcast feature can be used to upload sound files to a website.

via: Computeract!ve