blinkx and VideoJug have announced a partnership whereby blinkx will index the entire library of VideoJug’s films and make them searchable.

VideoJug is focused on becoming the leading global provider of educational, factual and self-improvement video content, and already produces hundreds of videos every week, across a wide range of subjects, including Relationships, Health, Home, Food & Drink and Sport.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with blinkx to extend the availability of our content,” said Dan Thompson, Global CEO of VideoJug. “With blinkx’s powerful search technology, users will be able to find answers to all the questions life throws at them quickly and easily.”

“People often turn to the Web to answer many of life’s little questions, but the search results can be overwhelming,” said Suranga Chandratillake, CTO and founder of blinkx. “That’s why we’re so delighted to be partnering with VideoJug. Through this partnership, we can provide users with an easy way to find answers and helpful hints to address all of their burning questions.”

blinkx uses advanced speech recognition technology to deliver results that the company claims are more accurate and reliable than standard metadata-based keyword searches.

NBC Universal and the News Corporation, have announced that they will debut what is being described as the largest Internet video distribution network ever assembled, with comprehensive content from television and film.

The site will debut this summer with thousands of hours of full-length programming, movies and clips, representing premium content from at least a dozen networks and two major film studios.

AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo! will be the new site’s initial distribution partners. Their users, who represent 96 percent of the monthly U.S. unique users on the Internet, will have unlimited access to the site’s vast library of content. This media alliance will offer consumers free long- and short-form video and could create a compelling platform for advertisers, targeting the rapidly growing audience of online video consumers.

Charter advertisers include Cadbury Schweppes, Cisco, Esurance, Intel and General Motors.

Peter Chernin, President and Chief Operating Officer of News Corporation remarked, “This is a game changer for Internet video. We’ll have access to just about the entire U.S. Internet audience at launch. And for the first time, consumers will get what they want — professionally produced video delivered on the sites where they live. We’re excited about the potential for this alliance and we’re looking forward to working with any content provider or distributor who wants to take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity.”

Jeff Zucker, President and CEO of NBC Universal added, “Anyone who believes in the value of ubiquitous distribution will find this announcement incredibly exciting. This venture supercharges our distribution of protected, quality content to fans everywhere. Consumers get a hugely attractive aggregation of a wide range of content, and marketers get a novel way to connect with a large and highly engaged audience.”

Content at launch is expected to include full episodes from:

• Heroes
• 24
• House
• My Name Is Earl
• Saturday Night Live
• Friday Night Lights
• The Riches
• 30 Rock
• The Simpsons
• The Tonight Show
• Prison Break
• Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader
• Top Chef

In addition, the site will feature content from the studios’ vast television libraries. The programming lineup will include films like Borat, Little Miss Sunshine, Devil Wears Prada, The Bourne Identity and Bourne Supremacy, with bonus materials and movie trailers.

The video service will ad-supported. (more…)

Metacafe has launched Café Confidential, a new video confessional channel created by acclaimed Hollywood producer Steven Bochco. The site features short videos of twentysomethings sharing personal experiences such as My First Time, My Weird Family or Most Embarrassing Moment.

The unscripted content is designed to encourage viewers to respond by posting their own video stories, which are immediately eligible for cash payment through Metacafe’s Producer Rewards program.

“Online video provides an extraordinary forum for intimate, personal storytelling,” said Steven Bochco, whose numerous television successes include Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue and LA Law. “Instead of dictating an entertainment experience, Hollywood can now have a dialogue with an online audience and transform the narrative in partnership with them. I’m excited to create a community of new storytellers who are using the Web to share their experiences.”

“Metacafe is the perfect site to launch an interactive channel designed for high audience involvement and participation,” said Erick Hachenburg, CEO of Metacafe. “We actively support content creators by giving them access to a huge global audience and offering the industry’s most straightforward and lucrative payment program. Steven has been a force for realistic storytelling throughout his career, and Café Confidential moves beyond TV to encourage true audience interaction and participation.”

Café Confidential is designed to encourage Metacafe’s 18 million monthly viewers to pick up a camera and join in a structured community conversation. Response videos gain immediate visibility by being included in Café Confidential and are eligible for cash payment through Metacafe’s Producer Rewards Program, which pays $5 for every 1,000 views.

Metacafe’s community panel and VideoRank technology work together to make sure the most interesting audience stories get noticed on each topic: My First Time, My Worst Date, My Weird Family, My Craziest Day at Work and My Most Embarrassing Moment.

YouTube today announced the first-ever YouTube Video Awards, established to recognize the creative achievements of the YouTube community. The 2007 YouTube Video Awards commemorate the best original user created videos of 2006 and the artists who made them.

Unfortunately, the categories and the nominees are anything but edgy:

• Most Creative – Innovative And Cutting Edge Video
• Most Inspirational – Things That Make You Think Or Feel
• Best Series – The Best In Serial Entertainment
• Best Comedy – They Had Us In Stitches
• Musician Of The Year – Celebrating YouTube’s Home-Grown Musical Talent
• Best Commentary – The Bloggers Who Caught Our Attention
• Most Adorable Video Ever – So Cute It Hurts

YouTube Video Awards nominees, drawn from the site’s most popular original videos, are centralized in a gallery of separate lists, one for each award category. YouTube community members can browse each list and place the nominees in a ranked order from their favorite to least favorite. The voting period begins on Monday, March 19 and ends on Friday, March 23. YouTube Video Awards award winners will be revealed on YouTube on Monday, March 25. Winners from each category will be prominently featured and will receive a trophy to honor their achievement.

“Our community was at the forefront of the most creative and popular user-generated content in 2006,” said Mia Quagliarello, director of programming for YouTube. “On a daily basis, new videos were created, uploaded, discovered and popularized through the site. We want to honor and celebrate the individuals who helped foster the community through their creativity. We hope that this recognition will continue to inspire users to create content that entertains and informs.”

Ze Frank has wrapped up a year of The Show with a special Saturday post, below.

Ze Frank has become one of the few “rock stars” of video podcasting and video blogging. His site and show offer some of the best examples of combining viral video with online content to create a community. As a result, if Frank asked his viewers to send him pictures of their vacuum cleaners dressed up in clothing, he’d get hundreds.

Amazing!

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