A web series about the inner workings of a comedy website is the kind of formula you’d think would only work once. But Cracked.com’s Agents of Cracked proves yet again that execution makes all the difference. To be clear: Agents of Cracked is really quite funny. Read more »
Maybe web video junkies have the back-to-school blues? According to new numbers released by comScore today, there was a slight dip in online video viewership last month, with the total number of Internet users watching online video dropping from 178 million in August to 175 million. Read more »
Anyone But Me, one of the web series world’s most-watched teen dramas, has called an end to their efforts to crowdsource funds for a third season, having raised approximately $33,000 towards the production of episodes — which will ultimately mean five new episodes, or more. Read more »
The International Academy for Web Television announced today that it is opening up membership to anyone who wishes to join the organization, following a vote by the IAWTV board of directors during their Oct. 5 board meeting. New members will join the organization in 2011. Read more »
It’s been almost two years since we last wrote about Jon Lajoie — whose comedy sketches and songs helped him build international fame online — but while he’s been doing pretty well for himself thanks to acting gigs and an original album, he’s still maintained his web popularity. Read more »
Six months of Five Questions With… have meant 25 of new media’s biggest players sounding off on the biggest issues facing this industry. This seems like a perfect time to look back on what we’ve learned so far — and consider where we go from here. Read more »
The wonderful world of online comedy is diverse in scope and gigantic in scale, which occasionally necessitates posts like these. Here are four very different comedy series currently making the rounds online: three newbies, and one old-timer back for its last hurrah. Read more »
The horror original web series Camera Obscura, picked up by Dailymotion for an exclusive run, tells the tale of a young woman who inherits a camera with the power to trap demons, and is well-produced and full of dark imagination. Read more »
The steampunk web series Riese, which will be relaunched on SyFy.com within the next month, is getting even more cross-platform than before, thanks to a iPhone/iPod Touch game to feature narration by Felicia Day, a potential series of novels, and just maybe a TV adaptation. Read more »
The bar for interactive YouTube advertisements keeps getting higher and higher; today, we have a full-on choose your own “bear-venture.” Tipp-Ex, the European equivalent to White-Out, has launched the Tipp Experience, an innovative campaign that incorporates the corrective tape into the YouTube page. Read more »
Regular production on the classic web series Ask a Ninja, created by Kent Nichols and Doug Sarine, dropped off about ten months ago. But this week, the show returned with daily updates, special guest stars and a new creative partner in web series creator Brett Register. Read more »
The Karate Kid is on shelves and VOD now, but won’t be available for DVD or Blu-ray rental through Netflix until Nov. 2, 2010: 28 days from now. However, that doesn’t mean Netflix has signed a windowing deal with Sony. Read more »
If 3-D is ever going to become more than a way for Hollywood to inflate box office returns, the technology for creating content has to become more accessible. In this interview, Panasonic’s Jan Crittenden Livingston demonstrates the AG-3DA1, the world’s first integrated twin-lens 3-D camcorder. Read more »
Accessing Netflix in your living room just keeps getting easier and easier, thanks to recent updates to the service, including on-screen search for the Wii as well as the ability to play the Watch Instantly service from one’s iPhone onto the TV. Read more »
Hillcrest Labs announced a new edition of its TV-optimized Kylo browser today, with major integration with Clicker.tv’s TV-optimized programming guide to help users view online content on a 10-foot experience. Kylo also now offers a UK edition, as well as Windows Media Center integration. Read more »
Today we’ve got Kent Nichols, who co-created one of web video’s truly old-school series, Ask A Ninja. After a period of dormancy, Ninja is beginning daily updates on Monday, Oct. 4; here, Nichols discusses “buzzlingo,” fear of change, scalable content and the Olson Twins. Read more »
A film adaptation of cult graphic novel series ElfQuest has been in development for years, but new media actors/producers Stephanie Thorpe and Paula Rhodes aren’t waiting around; they’re creating a fan trailer, starring some of web video’s best-known actresses, with support from ElfQuest‘s creators. Read more »
Blip.tv is joining the HTML5 party, and it’s doing it with a brand new player, due to launch in the next couple of days. The new player supports advertising, maintains Blip’s previous look and feel, and will be about five times faster than the Flash player. Read more »
In the early days of user-generated content online, the only point of comparison many people had for popular viral videos was America’s Funniest Home Videos. And the production company behind AFHV is embracing that with CuteWinFail, produced in partnership with YouTuber Phil DeFranco. Read more »
A post to the official YouTube blog unveiled new international expansion of the partners program to Argentina, Sweden, New Zealand and the Czech Republic, technical updates and general upgrades to the site, including an indicator for when you’ve already visited a video on the site. Read more »
YouTube’s George Strompolos, who handled strategic partner development for the site and was popular with creators like Michael Buckley, announced on Twitter today that this is his last day at YouTube/Google, as he’s leaving the company to found a “digital media start-up” in Los Angeles. Read more »
For any casual C.S.I. viewer, the upcoming Oct. 14 episode “Sqweegel” means very little — but for those familiar with C.S.I. creator Anthony E. Zuiker’s “digi-novel” series Level 26, it means that the cross-platform franchise is adding at least one more platform. Read more »
Is your awesome quotient a little low this morning? Here’s the solution to that problem: synchronized men’s gymnastics. But there’s a hidden secret to this video, and it involves the smooth saxophone sound of 1980s-era George Michael. Read more »
It turns out that while Conan O’Brien isn’t pwning the Internet the way Old Spice did this summer, he’s definitely serious about answering the questions of Facebook commenters. Beginning last week, the former Tonight Show host and soon-to-be TBS late night lynchpin began answering questions. Read more »
Today, Roku is officially confirming that a Hulu Plus channel will be available on the set-top box later this fall. In addition, TiVo has announced that they too will be teaming with Hulu to provide Hulu Plus access to TiVo Premiere subscribers. Read more »
In this video interview, CEO Rob Barnett discusses what’s kept My Damn Channel sustainable over the years, calls out industry naysayers as being “cynical” and says what piece of technology he believes may be a game-changer — for the entire online video industry. Read more »
You guys are lucky: Today’s Five Questions With… features a true new media big thinker. 7Robot founder/CEO Sarah Szalavitz discusses the potential power of 3-D printing, the problem with the term “transmedia” and how online video’s role in the digital marketplace has changed. Read more »
Katy Perry may not be everyone’s favorite singer, but imagine that you got a chance to be on Sesame Street and then you got rejected. Sad, right? But watching the video proves that maybe Sesame Street knew best. Read more »
Every adolescent needs to hear the message that no matter how bad things might be, things improve after high school — but gay teenagers especially need that encouragement. That’s just what Dan Savage and the other contributors to the “It Gets Better” project are offering. Read more »
Microsoft UK head of gaming and entertainment Stephen McGill isn’t a fan of the Blu-ray format. The exec believes that “Blu-ray is going to be passed by,” meaning he agrees with both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates on physical media potentially becoming obsolete. Read more »
Netflix announced an expanded license agreement with NBC Universal that expands the conglomerate’s presence on Netflix Instant to include other NBC U programming from Syfy and USA, just one day after Jeff Zucker said NBC wouldn’t be participating in Apple’s 99 cent rental program. Read more »
White Collar Brawler‘s pitch — that it’s sort of real-life Fight Club — is one of the rare pitches that does, almost, match with the subject matter. Next New Networks and Blip.tv partnered to launch the Portal A-produced series this week. Read more »
The newest project from Goodie Bag’s Kirby Ferguson, Everything is a Remix manages in seven minutes to show how ingrained sampling and remixing are in the music industry, using examples like the enduring baseline from Chic’s Good Times and Led Zeppelin’s greatest hits. Read more »
Interactivity is a key element when it comes to successfully spreading web content. Enter a recently-launched ARG created specifically for the web series community, created by producer Jenni Powell and No Mimes Media, that’s had low participation so far but can live forever online. Read more »
The young people, they sure do love their Fred. The premiere of the Lucas Cruikshank-starring Fred the Movie on Nickelodeon drew in 7.6 million total viewers on Saturday night. And it’s all part of a massive marketing event that doesn’t care about platforms. Read more »
Whether you liked or loathed the premiere of NBC’s The Event last night, the transmedia elements accompanying the series are super-disappointing. While there are a few sites and Twitter accounts, their level of success ranges from mildly entertaining to flat-out disjointed. Read more »
If you’re a hardcore cleantech enthusiast, then you’re familiar with GE’s commitment to environmentally-friendly innovation. While the newest episode of The GE Show seems a little bit like an effort to show off that commitment, it does utilize a surprising amount of engaging interactivity. Read more »
For today’s Five Questions With…, we get some insight from Zadi Diaz, the co-creator and host of Epic Fu, one of web video’s longest-running series. She discusses the importance of net neutrality to online video creators and how HTML5 is helping move things forward. Read more »
The average, tragically unhip American knows of Jenny Slate from her work on Saturday Night Live. However, if you are not tragically unhip, then you perhaps knew that SNL barely scraped the surface of her talents, which especially shine when she works with her friends. Read more »
Today on the Net: A third of young Netflix users substitute the service for pay television, Jeffrey Katzenberg lashes out at 3-D skeptics, Project Canvas incorporates as YouView and Time Warner could lose subscribers in the third quarter. Read more »
