RAMP-The Content Optimization Company

David Beisel of the GenuineVC blog has put down some of his thoughts about online video. David notes that many more people are releasing long-form video onto the network. We have seen that with lots more professionally-produced audio/video episodes and with media producers retasking their content in podcast format.

I think that there does have to be a shift in consumer behaviour first, to really enable broad acceptance of long-form net video. Given that the TiVo has been around since 1999 and has yet to be widely adopted, it might take some time for consumers to adapt.

However, there are a lot of data points to suggest that we might be on the verge of just such a consumer shift. Long form shows are readily availble via iTunes, and my boss was recently forced to leave his iPod with his vacationing family so that they could watch Battlestar Galactica, played from the iPod onto the TV. More Media Center PCs are now sold than XP Home machines (to be fair, most people probably aren’t buying them to put next to their PCs).

In an earlier post, David also states that distribution and tools (like search) are also key to proliferating net video.

This week, PodZinger announced the addition of yet another popular player in the vlogosphere population to its partner roster.  88SLIDE, the popular one-minute daily trivia video podcast, has selected PodZinger to power its search capabilities on its Web site.

Hosted by Rachel Rhodes and Blaine Rucker and executive-produced by Noah Bonnett, 88Slide produces a daily one-minute video trivia challenge, where viewers are invited to submit their answer for a chance to win prizes. They also feature weekly outtakes and bloopers.  The video podcast is watched by thousands of viewers around the world on a number of different platforms and it’s even available on your mobile handset.

It’s no wonder why 88SLIDE has grown in popularity since its inception earlier this year. They are kooky, funny and they provide interesting theme-driven questions each day, sometimes with special guests from all over the world. Check them out!

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – August 8, 2006 – PodZinger (www.podzinger.com), the only audio and video podcast search engine that enables full-text search, today announced that the popular one-minute daily trivia video podcast, 88SLIDE (www.88slide.com), has selected PodZinger to power its search capabilities on its Web site. 88SLIDE joins the ever-growing roster of video podcast creators who have chosen PodZinger to increase the value of their content through speech-to-text search.

Launched in early 2006 with a mission to entertain, interact, and enlighten, 88SLIDE produces a daily one-minute video trivia challenge, where viewers are invited to submit their answer for a chance to win one of many prizes. Distributed at 88SLIDE.com—and as a video podcast in RSS format—88SLIDE is hosted by Rachel Rhodes and Blaine Rucker and executive-produced by Noah Bonnett. With topics ranging from rock bands to baseball, history to holidays, as well as the popular weekly bloopers and outtakes episode, the video podcast is watched by thousands of viewers around the world on a number of different platforms. Most recently, 88SLIDE announced its availability on Amp’d Mobile’s broadband wireless service.

“Since its inception, 88SLIDE has continued to provide its daily viewers with a fun, rewarding experience,” said Noah Bonnett, executive producer, 88SLIDE. “Our partnership with PodZinger enables 88SLIDE to offer our growing viewer base the ability to find their favorite 88SLIDE episodes by unique keywords spoken, opening up a rich archive of our content for replay. We’ve found that once viewers are introduced to 88SLIDE, they immediately dive into our archives to challenge themselves with past episodes. Our archive is a very important part of our brand, and that’s why this deal makes sense.”

PodZinger uses speech-to-text technology to create a text index of the audio, which enables users to find content anywhere within both audio and video podcasts and jump directly to the point where their keyword is spoken. Available immediately on the 88SLIDE Web site, PodZinger’s innovative technology provides search for more than 125 video trivia podcasts. For 88SLIDE and others, PodZinger makes video content more accessible thereby improving the user experience and generating more exposure for visitors looking for the best online content.

“The expanding archives of useful and entertaining content are like silver in the mine for the new generation of video content creators,” said Alex Laats, CEO and chairman, PodZinger. “PodZinger’s technology is the tool that extracts the content users are seeking and brings it to the surface. 88SLIDE stands at the forefront of content creators who realize the value of their content and who are implementing breakthrough technologies to ensure it’s easily accessible to viewers.”

About PodZinger
PodZinger is powered by BBN Technologies, leveraging its 30 years of speech recognition research to transform multimedia content into searchable words. PodZinger opens up a previously untapped source of content via a simple Web search. Also, from the PodZinger site, users can subscribe to podcasts, download, view or listen to them, and have PodZinger deliver new podcasts on their own topics of interest using standard RSS feeds. So when it comes to finding what you want in podcasts and vodcasts…just

About 88SLIDE
88SLIDE is a daily one-minute trivia challenge format, distributed via the Internet at 88SLIDE.com, and through iTunes as a video podcast. Most recently, 88SLIDE announced their availability on Amp’d Mobile’s broadband wireless service. Visit them Monday through Friday to watch new videos and submit your answers; stop by Saturday to view outtakes and bloopers. Our mission is to entertain, interact, and enlighten, daily, in 60 seconds.

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Faithful readers of our largest daily here in Boston—The Boston Globe—may have chanced upon an article written by technology journalist and blogger, Rob Weisman, in yesterday’s paper that highlighted PodZinger as one of five Boston-area companies claiming its stake in the Web 2.0 world. Weisman addresses the small, but growing number of Web 2.0 companies popping up here in Beantown and venture capitalists looking at the new breed of tech companies gaining attention.

Speaking of PodZinger in the news, the company was featured in Mike Cohn’s article in Monday’s Red Herring. As you may have read, we’ve spun off from BBN and we’ve even moved out of the house (well, across the street).

The popularity of online video has gone into the stratosphere in recent months.  I mean, who hasn’t heard of YouTube at this point?

A particularly timely article on this topic appeared in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal.  The article, the second part of a three-part series on online video, highlighted the ongoing battle among the major Web portals to be the top online video destination.  Right now, MSN has emerged as the leader mainly because of its ability to accumulate the rights to an array of programming from major TV networks.  However, film studios and TV networks are beginning to take a more direct approach to an online video offering.  Additionally, sites such as YouTube are attracting significant attention.

So why are major Web portals so interested in online video?  Well, as online video as increased in popularity, we’ve also seen an explosion in online video advertising.  In fact, according to eMarketer, online video advertising is estimated to be at $385 million in 2006 and is projected to grow to $2.35 billion by 2010.

It will be interesting to see how this battle plays out in the future.  As of now, portals like Yahoo! are investing significantly in search technology to improve video-search results.  The portals hope to emulate the traditional search advertising business where advertisers sell ads in relevant search results.  According to Kevin Conroy, executive vice president at AOL, “…search is going to become as important to video as it has been text.”  Yeah. We’re on to that!

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – August 1, 2006 – PodZinger, the only audio and video search engine that enables full-text results (www.podzinger.com), today announced it has closed on $5 million in financing from parent company BBN Technologies. BBN is an advanced technology solutions firm known for its networking expertise, including the development of ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet. PodZinger will use the funding to grow its consumer-facing Web site; add to the roster of companies that leverage the power of PodZinger to fuel their audio and video search; and continue expansion of recruiting and marketing initiatives in order to meet demand for services. In connection with the financing, PodZinger has moved into new headquarters based in Cambridge, Mass.

“PodZinger exemplifies BBN’s goal to develop and bring to market new business opportunities from BBN’s breakthrough technologies.” said Tad Elmer, president and CEO, BBN Technologies. “We established the BBN Delta Division to exploit opportunities to leverage these technologies in the commercial sector. The creation of PodZinger is a major milestone along that path.”

The recent funding reflects the rapid proliferation of online content and the success PodZinger has achieved in becoming the premier search provider of online multimedia content. “BBN’s investment enables PodZinger to function as an independent company and aggressively pursue growth opportunities,” said Alex Laats, chairman and chief executive officer, PodZinger. “Online advertising is fueled by relevant search, and Internet advertising opportunities are growing at record pace. Previously, audio and video has been a black space that cannot be discovered by the traditional search engines. PodZinger’s unique ability to find the relevant words and provide direct access to the location of those words in audio and video content will be a critical enabler of online advertising for audio and video.”

As more and more advertising dollars are funneled away from traditional media and directed online—at a steady 30 percent-plus growth rate over the past two years—search has emerged as the leading recipient for those dollars. Search delivers a level of reach, relevance, and targeting not possible through more traditional marketing methods. PodZinger’s ability to find the relevant content inside each audio and video search enables marketers and advertisers to tailor their messages and deliver higher relevance and targeted, more compelling content to consumers resulting in better online marketing effectiveness, improved brand awareness and consumer loyalty.

PodZinger uses speech recognition technology to create a text index of the audio, which enables users to find content anywhere within both audio and video podcasts and jump directly to the point where their keyword is spoken. From the PodZinger site, users can also subscribe to podcasts, download or listen to them, and even have PodZinger automatically deliver new podcasts on their own topics of interest using standard RSS feeds.

About PodZinger
PodZinger is powered by BBN Technologies, leveraging its 30 years of speech recognition research to transform multimedia content into searchable words. PodZinger opens up a previously untapped source of content via a simple Web search. So when it comes to finding what you want in audio and video… just

New Company Headquarters Address:

10 Fawcett Street
Cambridge, Mass. 02138
About BBN Technologies
BBN Technologies, an advanced technology solutions firm, is focused on solving some of the world’s most pressing problems. From national security, information security, speech recognition and language translation, to integrating disparate systems and networks, BBN has been at the forefront of technological change for more than 50 years.
Known for pioneering the development of the ARPANET, the forerunner of the Internet, BBN continues to create advances in Internet and networking technologies through its work on ad hoc networking, the semantic Web, quantum communications, and advanced protocols. Building on its substantial list of firsts, BBN operates the first metro quantum cryptography network, the first real-time foreign broadcast monitoring system, and has developed the world’s first stereoscopic digital mammography system. For more information on BBN Technologies, visit www.bbn.com.

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Bambi Francisco wrote a really interesting article on how search and the social network should be combined to create a new online advertising model. According to her, even though search is the one basic action in Web activity, most of our Web time is now spent on social network sites.

“By 2008, we might just be saying that one of the fastest growing online ad opportunities is what I’ll call “search-filtered display ads.” In other words, marketers will increasingly take someone’s search history or search behavior, and use that information to target ads on social network pages they browse.”

According to a JupiterResearch report, search advertising dollars will outpace display advertising over the next decade. We already know that search advertising is huge and linking search behavior and browsing activity may lead to more targeted audiences. Social networks are not only a marketers’ goldmine for its vast number of members, but marketers can really make use of the networks with similar interests.