The independent web series Dating in the Middle Ages explores the difficulties of being a romance novelist with an unsatisfying love life. I don’t know much about what it’s like to be a romance novelist; fortunately, I have an in with someone who does. Read more »
Compulsions creator Bernie Su quit his day job to focus full-time on projects in the digital space, and today he gives his thoughts on the future balance of power in the web content world and takes his life into his hands by dissing ninjas (sort of). Read more »
Partners Project, which focuses on YouTube creators finding success with full-time video making, is not for anyone who hasn’t heard of Sxephil or LisaNova. But for those who are invested emotionally or financially in the future of online video, there is much of interest here. Read more »
At CES today, Skype confirmed it has acquired mobile video startup Qik in a deal that will accelerate its move to capture the mobile video chat market. Skype also named new TV partners that will enable consumers to chat with others on their TVs. Read more »
The branded series Suite 7, directed and written by some of web video’s best known talent and starring known players like Shannen Doherty, Brian Austin Green and Illeana Douglas, has a few issues with length — but is otherwise a unique and intriguing experience. Read more »
Funny or Die has outdone itself when it comes to Dawson’s Creek nostalgia. Today’s launch of Vandermemes, featuring James Van Der Beek, is just part one of VanDerWeek — a social media campaign using Tumblr, Twitter and more videos to come. Read more »
In our 12th episode of Cord Cutters, Janko spotlights the WD TV Live Plus, a set-top box that also supports for locally-hosted media, Ryan reads out some great Twitter comments we’ve received recently and Liz talks up the popular YouTube series Black Box TV. Read more »
The Best of Clicker 2010 Awards may start getting recognized as the online video world’s awards season kick-off, for the second year running announcing audience favorites from ontent available online, including TV, film and web original series — with web shows dominating in terms of vote totals. Read more »
A survey conducted by the film scene hosting site Movieclips.com indicates that watching a scene from a movie almost definitely impacts a person’s decision to watch it. And using clips as a discovery tool is something that Movieclips hopes to turn into a viable business model. Read more »
Reader Doug van Kirk and his family were cable subscribers for a while, but Comcast’s package deals just weren’t working for them. So with some upgrades to their home entertainment solutions, including a connected PC and Windows Media Center, they joined the ranks of the cable-free. Read more »
2010 was a year of shifts and experiments as the power of streaming content began to truly change the business of entertainment. And 2011′s undoubtedly only going to be more crazy in that regard. But what’s going to be the source of those changes? Read more »
It was a great year for online video, thanks to the vast and varied quantities of serialized content available: shows, memes and experiences that went beyond the single-serving to engage audiences and change how we saw advertising, parenting, dancing and live-streaming. Read more »
The gang at YouTube had a busy year when it came to creating new features and improving on new ones — so here’s a quick look at five things you may not have known you could do while using the world’s largest video site. Read more »
AT&T and Time Warner are both planning rate hikes in 2011, well out of step with projected inflation. But while cable companies pass along the costs of a decrease in subscribers and an increase in retrans fees, online services adjust their rates to consumer need. Read more »
It’s almost the end of 2010, and the best way I can figure to recognize yet another inspiring year in web video is to individually honor the stand-alone projects, followed tomorrow by the serialized ones, which really stood out since January. For me, anyway. Read more »
BBC America received a ratings boost when it aired this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special mere hours after the BBC did — a strategy that it plans to repeat for future episodes, as the BBC evolves its international distribution plans to match a technologically savvy audience. Read more »
Over the course of 2010, professionally produced content, not cats and stunts gone wrong, was what people were watching online. While the power of viral spread will never disappear, the decline of amateur found footage indicates that in 2011, sustainable brands will eclipse the viral video. Read more »
2010 was a major turning point in home entertainment, especially when it comes to the decline of physical rental outlets like Blockbuster. As even smaller chains start to go under, though, it’s worth remembering what we’ll lose once the last video store shutters. Read more »
For 55 years now, NORAD has been updating little girls and boys about Santa Claus’s progress around the world on Christmas Eve. The operation has been upgraded since its early days, thanks to corporate sponsorship, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Google Earth. Read more »
Today on the Internet: Google and Netlfix may start paying for film distribution rights before the films are completed, Comcast VOD had more than 200 day-and-date releases in 2010 and FilmOn’s founder has some not-so-nice things to say to CBS. Read more »
Web creator Scott Gairdner is a genius, and Funny or Die was a genius to hire him to produce things like The 1982 Tron Holiday Special, a super-nerdy spoof that’s topical two ways and racking up views despite its lack of star power. Read more »
There’s always some reason people have for holding onto their cable subscriptions, and one of the more common excuses is this: Parents are afraid of cutting the cord to their kids’ favorite shows. But there are plenty of ways to access children’s entertainment cable-free. Read more »
Two-year-old Digital Artists has avoided the pitfalls experienced by companies like 60 Frames by seeking new ways to create content in the digital space, with a focus on making online personalities into monetizable brands and partnering with entities outside the digital space for online experiences. Read more »
Fans of the indie web series Gold, which focuses on the world of table-top RPG gaming, have been waiting for a second season since 2009. But while they wait, there’s the stand-alone miniseries Night of the Zombie King to re-engage its fanbase. Read more »
As the CEO of Boxee, Avner Ronen has become a fierce advocate for the viability of streaming content. For today’s Five Questions With…, he addresses the potential alienation of early Boxee adaptors and proposes a radical new distribution plan for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Read more »
Vimeo has always nurtured the artistic side of its user community, but now it’s hoping to broaden its base even further with the Vimeo Video School, a massive offering of video tutorials for a wide range of potential creators, from new DSLR users to amateurs. Read more »
Facebook may become more directly engaged in your television consumption, thanks to a new press to media companies for greater integration. With Clicker already using Facebook to power its recommendation engine, the social network’s abilities to suggest what to watch may grow further. Read more »
YouTube’s place in the online video ecosystem could change dramatically, if today’s rumors that it will acquire Next New Networks are true. The two companies already have a relationship beyond distribution, and if they were to merge, it would possibly have ramifications for other content providers. Read more »
The thriller anthology series BlackBoxTV has been steadily pushing the web series world’s boundaries since launching last August. Today, for example, it’s stepping away from scripted programming this week for a little field trip to Iowa, live-streaming for 24 hours straight from a haunted house. Read more »
Next New Networks’ Auto-Tune the News and Key of Awesome topped YouTube’s most watched list for 2010, but the company’s success goes well beyond the fact that it’s mastered the art of the parody viral video. The question is now: When will it reach profitability? Read more »
While there are plenty of set-top boxes and fancy devices out there to help you drop your cable subscription, it turns out that with the right combination of cables and adaptors, a laptop can fill the gap just fine for any aspiring cord cutter. Read more »
There are many services enabling users to listen to music in the cloud, but Pandora and others have to contend with the delightful entities that are music labels. The site Tubeify is sparing itself that headache by not hosting content, instead indexing what’s already available online. Read more »
The indie series Asylum is off to a very intriguing start on Blip.tv, but while the first season does a great job of hinting at the mysteries lurking in an isolated mental hospital, it ends with little resolution and a definite need for a season 2. Read more »
Since 2006, Big Fantastic’s Chris McCaleb has been creating web content for Vuguru, TheWB.com, Wonderland Sound and Vision, Generate and Seth Green. Today, Chris talks about what goes into building an audience, premiere parties and how things will be changing for Big Fantastic in 2011. Read more »
Today on the Internet: Senator Bernie Sanders’ eight-hour live-streamed filibuster was a big hit for C-SPAN, Blockbuster is experimenting with pricing and kiosks, and when will Netflix add live TV to its content offerings? Read more »
Standard and Poor’s Christmas present to Netflix and Cablevision came early this year: Both companies have been added to the S&P 500. The reindexing may prove valuable for both companies, each of which is currently struggling for a stable foothold in their respective marketplaces. Read more »
YouTube has released their list of the 10 most watched commercials of 2010, and looking at it proves how when it comes to creating online advertising experiences, today’s Mad Men are finding real success by looking beyond the 30 second broadcast spot. Read more »
It’s that time of year again, when publications like the New York Times overflow with profiles of actors up for Oscar contention. But while the Times’s coverage features an innovative use of video, MTV’s got the edge in capturing who an actor really is. Read more »
In the world of independent production, there’s a lot to be said for keeping one’s concept in scale with the production value available. Today’s example: the action comedy miniseries Today of All Days, which pulls off its objectives with flair and originality. Read more »
The guys at Machinima.com just got done proving their l33t status, thanks to an epic live-streamed gaming marathon that lasted over three weeks. But the real purpose of the Call of Duty challenge was to see if an epic live event might have potential for advertisers. Read more »
