Hayden Black to Give Key Note at OMMA Video

Hayden Black - The best free videos are right here

Online Comedy Series Creator/Exec Producer/Actor Hayden Black will be giving the Key Note at this year's OMMA Video where he will talk about his online video successes Goodnight Burbank and Abagail's X-Rated Teen Diary.

Jamison Tilsner of Tilzy.TV talks to Hayden Black, creator of GoodnightBurbank.com and AbigailsXRatedTeenDiary.com.

SIDE NOTE: Last night one of the cast members of Goodnight Burbank, David Lawrence showed up in the NBC hit series HEROES.

Did You Know About the Big Podcasting Divorce at iTunes?

I just noticed the big break up at
iTunes Podcasts between Video and Audio Podcasts.

This is a very interesting move that I think will make both video and audio content creators happy.

Happy? Yep. Happy.

There are many audio content creators who use to be on top of the iTunes charts until the likes of Dr. Tiki, Johnny Johnny and the very sexy La La hit the iTunes Store with Tiki Bar TV. Since then other video scum like Ask A Ninja, Good Night Burbank, Happy Tree Friends and even that silly video show with those French Maids that explain products have derailed the exposure audio podcasts have in being listed as the most popular on iTunes.

Similarly independent video content has had to compete with big name brands of audio content being distributed as audio podcasts. Now that iTunes is separating audio and video things might look better for independent video producers as well.

What Content Producers Want to Know About the Adobe Media Player

So Adobe came out with the Adobe Media Player and Adobe TV. The desktop player looks like a really cool Flash version of iTunes with very little content in place right now but you can see the potential with this player to reach the PC crowd.

In reading other people's postings I didn't find out what I really wanted to know about the Adobe Media Player so I had to go do some digging (I went to the Adobe Site). Here's what I found out from the Adobe Site:

Adobe® Media Player software gives you new ways to distribute, protect, and monetize your media assets. And with a compelling user experience and a subscription-based model, it can attract and retain more engaged and valuable audiences — all while leveraging your own infrastructure.

Attract, engage, and retain audiences
Deliver compelling experiences at up to HD resolutions via streaming, download, and protected download of individual files. Adobe Media Player leverages Adobe Flash® technology to maintain content integrity, so audiences experience your creations as you intended. RSS subscription-based delivery can help you reach and sustain audience interest. Streaming and new downloadable delivery lets users watch content online and offline.

Drive revenue.
Adobe Media Player allows users to download video content with persistent, contextual advertising that can be kept current long after the file has been downloaded. Other capabilities include content branding, ad insertion, and ad caching, which enable content providers to capture new revenue sources using existing media assets.

Control your content
Maintain control of your content to develop next-generation online business models. Whether limiting access to a webcast or enabling on-demand viewing of an advertising-supported experience online or offline, control who has access to your content when, where, and why.



So it looks like they are connecting Advertisers and Content producers

You can check out the current Participating Networks here.

The Adobe site also has a pitch for Advertisers who want to use it:

Advertising partners

Adobe® Media Player software takes Internet advertising to the next level by allowing you to capitalize on contextual ad placement. You'll have higher recall and take rates, and the compelling user experience will attract and retain more engaged and valuable audiences — all while leveraging your existing tools, partners, and technology.

KEY FEATURES

Capture revenue with flexible advertising models
Adobe Media Player allows users to download Adobe Flash® videos with persistent advertising content that can be refreshed and updated. New capabilities include content branding, ad insertion, and ad caching, which enable you to capture revenue from new sources using existing and new media assets.

Customize branding
Promote your clients' brands by including logo banners at the top of a show listing or as watermarks behind the listing and viewing area. Create brand assets and deploy them in standard formats to help ensure users have a complete branded experience.

Track and measure to maximize results
Gather anonymous usage data using cookies to understand download and viewing patterns, whether users are online or offline.

Leverage full-range creative service teams
Develop a customized, compelling, nonintrusive ad campaign leveraging the latest in-stream and interactive technologies developed on the Flash media platform.

Select from a range of cost-effective services
Choose the appropriate services offered by partners to meet various customer needs and budgets.

Leverage robust measurement tools
Leverage tools from our partners to achieve accurate and timely feedback on your campaign. Ad campaigns are more effective when a team is available to promote maximum results based on your success criteria.

Here are the Advertising Partners:



If you are interested in becoming an Adobe Media Player Content Partner you can submit a form to have Adobe contact you. If you are a developer you might want to check out Adobe AIR.

I see Goodnight Burbank is part of the program. I'll see if I can get Hayden to fill us in a little.

What Revver Really Did

When Steven Starr and his indi-minded crew launched Revver they had a dream of connecting video content creators with an audience then connecting the video content and the audience with advertisers but beyond that they have created a community of Revver creators that are a Farm League for major entertainment companies. By offering money to talented video producers Revver attracted the likes of Ask A Ninja, Goodnight Burbank, Invisible Engine, Zoomilk, Psychic Bunny and Big Fantastic.



Several of these creators have since left Revver due to other deals but the Revver community is still alive and growing.(Last night Revver threw a great screening party.)

Sure these funny videos that the guys from Invisible Engine created for Revver of "What Revver Did" are lots of fun to watch but beyond these entertaining little online shorts what Revver really did was respect talent and reward talented people while letting them retain the rights to their own creations.

As someone who creates original video content for the Internet, as a producer, as an artist I truly respect what Revver has really done.

Thanks Revver!

Make Your Content Evergreen and Simple.

If you are an online video content creator who believes in the "Long Tail" then you should really think long and hard about the type of online video content you are producing and stay away from content that will be of no interest to viewers two months from when you post it.

After spending this past weekend at the Podcast and New Media EXPO, Podcast Academy and popping into Podcamp for a few minutes I realized that there are a lot of people producing video content that is "of the moment" and that "of the moment" content has little or no long tail value at all. Sure CNN.com can make money aggregating a daily audience with news but I don’t think independent content producers should create current affair video programming because you need to make money every way and anyway you can. To do that you are going to need long tail search.

(For those of you who haven’t read the book The Long Tail you should at least get your head around it and understand the concept because I’m not the only one who talks about it.)

Hayden Black from Goodnight Burbank has launched a new video series entitled Abigail’s X-Rated Teen Diaries and while I think the title of the series will get him some interesting traffic I also think it will make advertisers pause before placing their brands next to something that has “X-rated Teen Diaries” in the title. I also think there could be some issues with the type of traffic that finds Abigail through search and becomes very disappointed with what Abigail looks like and that they don’t get to see any naked teens having sex. I could be wrong but I do know from first hand experience with French Maid TV that those types of concerns are real. I’ve mentioned this to Hayden and I hope for his sake I’m wrong. Now that said, I do think that Hayden has been very smart in making this content evergreen much like what Sarah Atwood of Nontourage is doing with her new project Dear Addy May. Sara plays Addy May, a white trash character that gives advise to viewers in a trailer park trash kind of way. This is Dear Abby with a new media spin much like what Ask A Ninja has done.

Ask A Ninja, Addy May and Abigail’s X-rated Teen Diaries are all evergreen, simple to produce and emotionally engage viewers with spectacle and story that take place on screen and in the theater of the mind.

Back to You Looks Like Goodnight Burbank with a Budget to Me

According to CNN, "Grammer's back and Heaton's got him" According to me, "Back to You is Goodnight Burbank with a Budget." and I'm not just saying that because my name is in the credits.

What's next? Ask a News Guy? or TV Tiki Bar? How about Lonely Girl 18? or RocketBloom?