From the proving the obvious category:
According to a study released today by the Online Publishers Association (OPA), video viewing online has reached the point where it is a routine practice for many Internet users.

Other earth-shattering findings include:

• News Leads: While humor gets the buzz, news/current events is the most frequently viewed online video category.
• From Ads to Action: The vast majority of video viewers have seen video ads and many are being driven to take action.
• Specific Destinations Popular. Visiting specific Web sites is a very popular way to find online video; general surfing is nearly as common.

No word on whether larger files take longer to download, though. (more…)

An article at the Wired site takes a look at director Deborah Scranton, and how she used footage shot by GIs for her new war documentary, War Tapes:

Shot by soldiers on consumer-grade digital video cameras, the documentary offers an immersive, sobering and often shocking slice of life (and death) in Iraq. It premieres this week at the Tribeca Film Festival and opens in select cities this summer.

Director Deborah Scranton described War Tapes as the result of a “virtual embed.” She gave cameras to 10 Iraq-bound soldiers, and then used e-mail and instant messaging to provide them with advice on technique and technical issues.

By the end of their yearlong tour of duty, the soldiers, all from New Hampshire’s National Guard, had sent Scranton 800 hours of what she considered thoughtful, often beautifully shot, footage.

“They became journalists,” Scranton said. “This isn’t like soldiers making home movies. This was a process, a conscious effort for us to together tell the experience of what it means to go to war.”

An article at CNN Money looks at the business of video blogs:

Amanda Congdon, 24, is running through the wintry streets of Manhattan in a purple cape and leotard. This may not seem like a milestone in Internet history, but it is: The perky actress is starring in the first commercial to be aired in a brand-new medium - the video blog, or vlog. Her silly superheroics are worth $40,000.

Congdon is the host of Rocketboom, a satirical news show and the most popular vlog on the Net. Despite having no budget, Rocketboom has 250,000 visitors a day, and that number is rising fast. Now Congdon and producer Andrew Baron are taking a cue from the ad-driven revenue of top bloggers: “We want to make a business out of vlogging,” Congdon says.

While it’s great to see both video blogging and Rocketboom get some much-deserved attention, business is not the primary motivating factor for many vloggers. It’s likely that the commercial potential of video podcasting and vlogging will be more seriously explored as mainstream content providers jump in.

Michelle Malkin, a right-wing blogger, author and media personality, has introduced new site, HotAir.com, described as “a conservative Internet broadcast network.” The site is video-podcast based, letting users subscribe to a video feed, or browse the site and view videos on demand.

Malkin introduced the site to provide an alternative to other political video sites, which she describes as “all produced by liberals for liberals.”

(more…)

“There’s a big shock coming,” according to BBC Director-General Mark Thompson. “The second wave of digital will be far more disruptive than the first and the foundations of traditional media will be swept away, taking us beyond broadcasting.”

Thompson outlines his views in a recent speech that suggests that the BBC needs to completely rethink itself around the Internet.

“On-demand changes everything. It means we need to rethink the way we conceive, commission, produce, package and distribute our content. This isn’t about new services, it’s about doing what we already do differently.

“The BBC should no longer think of itself as a broadcaster of TV and radio and some new media on the side. We should aim to deliver public service content to our audiences in whatever media and on whatever device makes sense for them, whether they are at home or on the move.” (more…)