‘YouTubers’ outshining old-school television

SAN FRANCISCO, United States — A media revolution is taking place, and most people over 35 years of age aren’t tuned in.

Millennials and their successors are shunning old-school television in favor of watching what they want whenever they wish on Google-owned YouTube or other video platforms like Dailymotion or Facebook.

“Young people don’t really watch TV any more; they watch online videos that are shorter and more talent-driven,” says Fabienne Fourquet, a former executive at A&E Television and France’s Canal+ who now heads the multichannel network 2btube.

“They don’t want to be Hollywood stars when they grow up, they want to be YouTubers. There is this whole other world.”

The new multichannel networks, or MCNs, are talent agents of sorts for creators of videos shared at online venues.

They help creators, often referred to as YouTubers, with video production and promotion along with finding partners or sponsors in return for a percentage of revenue.

Fourquet said popular subjects include music, comedy, sports, video games, fashion and beauty.

She noted that three-quarters of her viewers were younger than 34 years of age, and half were under 25.

“There are very few of us old people,” Fourquet quipped.

– World tunes in -Self-described YouTuber Caroline Artiss has been a chef for 20 years, but opted out of restaurants and went to work for herself in catering in 2008.

Then, a friend showed her how simple it was to make videos for YouTube.

“It was just me and a tripod in my kitchen,” Artiss told AFP.

“Then people starting tuning in from all over the world.”

She recounted cooking her way across the United States for a multi-episode show after catching eyes at BBC America and a television network in Malaysia.

Artiss said she approaches her cooking videos from the perspective of a single mom — short on money and time but needing to feed a family.

She was signed on by a video network that describes itself as being tailored for a mobile generation and focused on “tastemakers” sharing passion for food and travel.

“It still blows my mind,” Artiss said.

“I am coming from a single mom, living in London, struggling to pay my bills to having an opportunity to start my own TV channel in a way.”

Artiss teamed with other chefs to open Gorgeous Kitchen restaurant at London Heathrow airport.

She has a cookbook due out later this year and works with Youth Policy Institute to raise money to get fresh produce to low-income families.

Naturally, she did a video. It can be seen online at app.mobilecause.com/vf/YPIFRESH.

– Television tomfoolery -An annual Vidcon gathering in Southern California has become a hot venue for YouTubers to connect with business opportunities and ecstatic fans.

Some 25,000 people were reported to have attended this year’s Vidcon, which took place in June.

“With the onset of digital video platforms and the fact that everyone has a smartphone in their pockets, we have democratized being a creator,” said Paladin co-founder James Creech, whose California company specializes in technology for finding budding stars in a vast universe where anyone can post content online.

“A 17-year-old in his or her own bedroom can compete with the likes of CBS and build an audience that would rival a major media company.”

Keys to hit online videos include being creative and regularly posting content, according to Creech.

Amateurs can outshine polished professional content with authentic connections that make viewers think of them as friends, he said.

“Regular TV is about cartoons and YouTube is about real people and the games I like,” 11-year-old California boy and online video fan Henry Crawford told AFP.

“Television is tomfoolery.”

Paladin indexes millions of channels, providing analytics that can narrow down videos by popularity, topic, language and more.

The YouTube channel with the most subscribers is that of Swedish video maker and comedian PewDiePie, who provides captivating commentary while playing video games.

Hot online video trends include “unboxing,” in which people film themselves or others opening packages with unknown contents.

A popular YouTube channel called Hydraulic Press features videos of things being crushed by just that piece of equipment.

Amazon-owned Twitch on Friday announced that it is experimenting with a new “Social Eating” category in which people streaming broadcasts on the service socialize with viewers over meals.

Traditional media companies would be wise to be worried by the trend, according to Creech.

“It’s a huge disruption,” Creech said. “We are in the midst of a revolution in media and it is very exciting.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

Google will back Apple in court against the FBI

SAN FRANCISCO— Google will back Apple in its court battle with the FBI over the security of its iPhone.

Last week, a court ordered Apple to help the FBI hack into a locked iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers in December’s shooting spree. Apple opposes the order.

Google now plans to file a “friend of the court” brief on Apple’s behalf within the next week, a person familiar with the situation said. The person asked not to be identified because Google is still drafting the document.

Google makes the Android software that powers most smartphones in the world. Like Apple, it fears creating a precedent that authorities could use to read messages, photos and other sensitive information stored on phones.

Apple filed its formal objection in the case Thursday.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Google launches Chromecast in PH

Television (TV) buffs can now cast their favorite shows, films and music from smartphone to big screen as Google on Monday officially launched Chromecast in the Philippines, a thumb-sized media-streaming device that plugs into the high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port of TV units.

“Chromecast connects your phone, tablet or computer to your TV so you can watch your favorite shows and movies with ease. This powerful yet affordable streaming device is a TV buff’s best friend and we’re excited to make it available to the Philippines,” said Mickey Kim, head of Asia-Pacific Partnerships for Chromecast.

Kim said Chromecast, which has sold more than 20 million devices worldwide, is easy to set up and works across different platforms. Users just need to simply plug in the device to an HDMI port, connect it to Wi-Fi, and cast content using an Android phone, tablet, iPhone, iPad, Mac or Windows laptop or Chromebook.

Chromecast also allows users to access billions of videos on YouTube or watch flicks through Google Play Movies as the device supports both applications. Among other applications compatible with Chromecast are Spotify, Hooq, NBA and Just Dance Now.

Kim added that Chromecast also runs a “simplified” version of the Chrome operating system which allows users to mirror their Chrome tabs or their entire Android phone on TV for a “more immersive experience.”


“Your mobile is the new remote,” he said, adding that multiple users can use Chromecast as long as they are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Chromecast also supports multitasking as users can switch to other applications without disrupting the content being cast to the TV screen. Globe mobile postpaid and home broadband customers may avail of the device with discount or free of charge through various Chromecast bundle subscriptions.

Chromecast is officially available in Globe stores starting today, Dec. 14, at a price of P1,995. RAM

source: technology.inquirer.net

Google to show off smart home gadgets, wearables

SAN FRANCISCO — An Android update, wearable gadgets and so-called smart home devices are just some of the innovations Google is likely to show off at its two-day developer conference, which begins Wednesday in San Francisco.

In recent years, the conference has focused on smartphones and tablets, but this year Google’s Android operating system is expected to stretch —into cars, homes and smartwatches.

Pacific Crest analyst Evan Wilson believes Google will unveil a new version of its Android operating system — possibly called Lollipop — with a “heavy focus” on extensions for smartwatches and smart home devices.

“We think Google will directly counter Apple’s recent announcements of health products (Apple HealthKit) and home automation (Apple HomeKit),” Wilson wrote in a note to investors.

Google’s I/O event comes at a time of transition for the company, which makes most of its money from advertising thanks to its status as the world’s leader in online search. The company is trying to adjust to an ongoing shift to smartphones and tablet computers from desktop and laptop PCs. Though mobile advertising is growing rapidly, advertising aimed at PC users still generates more money.

At the same time, Google is angling to stay at the forefront of innovation by taking gambles on new, sometimes unproven technologies that take years to pay off —if at all. Driverless cars, Google Glass, smartwatches and thinking thermostats are just some of its more far-off bets.

On the home front, Google’s Nest Labs —which makes network-connected thermostats and smoke detectors— announced earlier this week that it has created a program that allows outside developers, from tiny startups to large companies such as Whirlpool and Mercedes-Benz, to fashion software and “new experiences” for its products.

Integration with Mercedes-Benz, for example, might mean that a car can notify a Nest thermostat when it’s getting close to home, so the device can have the home’s temperature adjusted to the driver’s liking before he or she arrives.

Nest’s founder, Tony Fadell, is an Apple veteran who helped design the iPod and the iPhone. Google bought the company earlier this year for $3.2 billion.

Opening the Nest platform to outside developers will allow Google to move into the emerging market for connected, smart home devices. Experts expect that this so-called “Internet of Things” phenomenon will change the way people use technology in much the same way that smartphones have changed life since the introduction of Apple’s iPhone seven years ago.

Google is also likely to unveil some advances in wearable technology. In March, Google released “Android Wear,” a version of its operating system tailored to computerized wristwatches and other wearable devices. Although there are already several smartwatches on the market, the devices are more popular with gadget geeks and fitness fanatics than regular consumers. But Google could help change that with Android Wear. Android, after all, is already the world’s most popular smartphone operating system.

Google may also have news about Glass, including when the company might launch a new and perhaps less expensive version of the $1,500 Internet-connected eyewear. Google will likely have to lower the price if it wants Glass to reach a broader audience. But that’s just one hurdle. Convincing people that the gadget is useful, rather than creepy, is another one.

source: technology.inquirer.net