Late Night in the Bedroom

Episode 30 of This Is Toronto is now available.

This latest edition profiles Late Night in the Bedroom, an online talk show that features local artists, musicians and cultural players.

www.thisistorontopodcast.blogspot.com

NEXT EPISODE: July 30, 2010

What Does Internet Radio Mean: Technological Implications for the Larger Media

I have written a couple of times now about the arrival of internet radio: The devices that look like old school radios and use a wi-fi connection to deliver tens of thousands of radio stations from around the world. Similar solutions are hitting the streets for iPhones and other portable devices.

The arrival of internet radio and the looming death of satellite though is not what media companies need to focus on. It already happened and, if their planners know what they are doing, they've made the necessary adjustments and are already there.

The important thing to look at, as with all new technology, is what it means. What does it imply for what's coming down the road? The answer here is a fairly easy and obvious one. First it will shortly mean internet television : television delivered directly via the internet (and of course the ability to use your television to access other internet services). If it can be done with radio it can be done with TV - to a 'television' or a mobile device but internet radio and television delivery is just the start.

The more important signal here is the end of the need to store media on a portable device. Customizable audio and video libraries and playlists stored in the clouds and accessible from anywhere will shortly follow. This means unlimited storage capacity and much smaller portable devices.

For content producers this is great news. It is a huge opportunity and maybe the last shot at redemption for 'big media.' Because none of the media people consume will be stored locally people will largely get their content via streaming. They will be able to have their own libraries of media and stream it to themselves but you may be able to save them the work.

Think of the cable model, with a provider giving consumers access to hundreds of 'channels' for a fee. This could work on the same basic model, with content producers bundling their content into libraries and a content provider providing bundles of those libraries to consumers who can then pick and choose from the available content and access it via customized playlists or on demand.

Yes consumers could do this on their own but if you can save them the time of downloading everything and storing it somewhere you will have an audience. If you can provide them a library containing everything and available all the time most consumers, I believe, will pay a monthly fee for that service rather than creating their own. The pitfall to be aware of though is overplaying your hand.

1) Do not overcharge. The more you charge the more consumers will go around you.

2) Don't try to strengthen your position by blocking out your competitors and/or smaller companies - the idea here is to offer consumers everything they are looking for and trying to strengthen your hand by limiting their choices will be fatal - it's the kind of priggish arrogance that caused the problems you are facing now.

Who gets paid how much is something that producers and distributors will have to work out between them. It is also important to remember that technology will continue to change and something could happen that alters this. However, there is finally the semblance of a potential business model emerging. Old/traditional/big media has, over the last few decades, acquired a well earned reputation for being slow to move, for turning opportunities into liabilities and for trying to legislate their way back in time. Can we take a shot at breaking that mold?

Jim Dupree Returns: Enthusiastically

Dan Misener and his alter ego Jim Dupree are back with two new episodes of the crazy popular "Jim Dupree: Enthusiast"








Jim Dupree: Nickname Enthusiast



and

Jim Dupree: Cat Enthusiast




If you've missed any, or if you've never heard of it but would like to check out some more visit http://www.collectiveproductions.com/jimdupree/page/2/ : Dan's blog is at danmininer.com (if the name sounds familiar but you can't place it, Dan is an integral part of Spark on CBC Radio.

Boost: New Media

Earlier today I mentioned the other Boost Groups. This one kindof completes the set. It will be the last for awhile, perhaps the last altogether but I've just created Boost: New Media: This one deals with new media in the broad sense: That is to say it is for content that is only available online podcasts, video podcasts, video games, internet radio, web tools and more. In other words it is about Canada's rapidly exploding digital world. Once a week I will send out a new email pointing you to a new online treasure that is either wholly Canadian or has heavy Canadian involvement. (This is the internet after all, it crosses borders frequently.)

I'll also include a blog of the week, it may not be an "art" but it is media and has become an important one. As with the other Boost groups I'll let it grow for awhile before sending anything out, feel free to sign up and spread the word if you're interested.

NFB Films Go Online for Free

The National Film Board has launched a 1.3 million dollar project to make it's films available online through streaming according to a report by the CBC.

"Oscar winners such as 1952's Neighbours, 1977's I'll Find a Way and 2004's Ryan are among the more than 700 films now available for screening online at NFB.ca..."This is part of our ongoing response to the digital revolution," NFB chair Tom Perlmutter said in an online news conference on Wednesday.

The NFB, which restructured its film programs over the past 18 months to free up resources for the digital project, plans to put 10 new films a month online.

Classics such as Mon Oncle Antoine and Nobody Waved Goodbye are free for online screening, along with pioneering animation by Norman McLaren and animated films such as The Big Snit and The Cat Came Back."

The streaming site is at NFB.ca and the open source video software they use is available at http://agit8.turbulent.ca/bwp/ - this link is for those of you who are into open source software, you don't need to to watch the movies. Oh by the way, you can also embed them!

twitter.com/thenfb if you want to follow them on Twitter.

the Cat Came Back

The Birth of the Gentleman Reg Video Blog

Gentleman Reg (Vermue) who's next album Jet Black will be released on Arts & Crafts at some point next year has just sent out his first ever video blog along with a note that reads:

Watch the first, in what i'm sure will become a regular and ongoing video blog. All to do with things Gentleman Reg. You'll be amazed!
There really is no other video blog on all of the internet with this exact content.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ64BPJreok

The perfect thing for you and a loved one to do during this holiday season. A little five minute getaway from the hustle, the crowds, the snow, that uninvited guest, the sound of your relatives crying baby, or anything else you're trying to escape.
Trust me. Just Watch it.


xo reg

If you'd like to hear about these things first hand you might want to join http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11830434807.

Learn Sign Language with Bob Wiseman

Having trouble with sign language? Bob Wiseman can help. No expensive classes, no cost and .. well not all that useful when talking to people who can't hear. But it will only take two minutes and fourty three seconds to learn so what the hell right?

New Stuff Added

So first there was an election and then there was a move and over that time I've sort of neglected some updates. Listed below are the new blogs, podcasts and other feeds that I've added to various categories.

I've also tweaked the feeds (see the bottom of each page to find out how to subscribe to that feed - feed reader, desktop or email) and made them easier to read at a glance.

So, the new feeds (and the sections they are in):

Music Blogs

Danny Michel

Emm Gryner

For the 'records'

Lonely Vagabond

Tokyo Police Club

Performing Arts

One Big Umbrella

Play Anon

CanBlogs

Department of Culture

Herkind.com

Julianna Yau's blog

Naomi Klein

Steve Pratt

News and Politics

the Agenda with Steve Pakin

Allan Gregg in Conversation

the Canadian

Department of Culture

Naomi Klein

Rabble

the Tyee

Views from the Lake - Eh?

Literature

What is Stephen Harper Reading?

CanCasts

the Agenda with Steve Pakin

Allan Gregg in Conversation

Band Blogs

Catlow

Kyrie Kristmanson

Nif Dee

Internet Video

Boredomcorner

Halifax

Jon McKiel's Myspace Blog

Peterborough

Peterborough Politics

Edmonton

Wheat Pool

Winnipeg

BREAD AND WINE CULTURE IN H.M.S. PEG

Gone In 30 Seconds

The Department of Culture wants to know how you feel about the Tory cuts to arts and culture - in 30 seconds or less.

"Speak up. Speak out. Speak fast.

The Department Of Culture wants you to get involved! Show Canada in 30 seconds how you feel about the Conservative government?s dramatic dismantling of arts, cultural and social programs since 2006. . Use your skills — in design or computers or film or acting or singing or playing the kazoo or blowing bubbles or — well, you get the point.

These submissions will be entered into a national online contest. Celebrity judges will pick the winning entries, which will be showcased at the DoC's huge kick-ass fundraising concert on Oct. 9th at the Phoenix Concert Hall in Toronto.

DEADLINE: 9 a.m. EST, Wednesday, October 1, 2008"

For more info visit http://departmentofculture.ca/30seconds/

L'Brondelle Solves Problems of Religion and Racism

L'Brondelle's Universe solves the long perplexing problems of religion and racism and that's just in the pilot. "L'Brondelle's universe, in which the creator of the universe explains the facts to you. This episode covers religion, racism, and animal rights." L'Brondelle, by the way, may bear some resemblance to PDF Format (the Band) and David Dineen-Porter. Don't let that bother you.

Part 1



Part 2

Bell Shapes Traffic to Its Own Ends

From Dr. Michael Geist: It appears that, not that it is shaping it's traffic, it wants to shape it in a way more advantageous to, who else, Bell (tell me you're not suprised).

Bell has decided to launch it's own internet Video on Demand Service in direct competition with cable and satellite companies and even other online video distributors. Because video is one of the highest bandwidth services on the internet - it would now appear that Bell needed to do traffic shaping to hurt the competition and boost it's own service and that it had nothing (contrary to Bell's statements) to do with customer service.

From Michael Geist:

"The major ISPs claim that throttling is needed to ensure better quality of service to all customers, yet it also has a significant effect on the video marketplace. Cable and satellite companies have begun to sell new video on demand services to consumers, which compete directly with video distributed over the Internet."

If we had a reasonable Government (which we do not) or a responsible opposition (also no) this practice would already be illegal. Legal or not it is certainly criminal and further erodes Bells already very low reputation.

The Future of Television is Here: Just rearrange the furniture

I've written about this before, but for anyone who may have missed it Miro (formerly called Democracy) is now on version 1.1. Miro bills itself as "Free and open-source, because media matters" and it does more for your computer than Tivo does for your television.

Miro

Plays video in Quicktime, WMV, MPEG, AVI, XVid and more

Provides free HD content

Allows you to subscribe to anything - Youtube channels, RSS Feeds, podcasts etc., etc., at last count there were 3,440 free channels with more coming online daily.

It will even allow you to download torrents so that you can subscribe to the shows that you watch on traditional television

This is how television is going to work in future, the only large remaining difference is that the monitor will be larger and in front of your couch.

You can download Miro for free for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, Ubuntu and more at getmiro.com/download/

The Return of Jim Dupree

One of the earliest video podcasts in Canada was the wildly popular Jim Dupree: Enthusiast in which Jim Dupree would tell us about his enthusiam for things such as Gardening, Time Travel, Body Building and Anne of Green Gables. The comedy lay in the fact that, although enthusiastic, he actually didn't know much about his topics. Then about a year and a half ago Jim Dupree became less enthusiastic, the plug was pulled and everyone thought that was all. At some point in the recent past Jim Dupree has rediscovered his enthusiasm for enthusiasm and the show is back with a vengeance - 2 new episodes since Feb. 2 and two more due by Friday.

Jim Dupree is once again in the CanCasts and, if you decide to watch it it sometimes looks like this:

Free Bob Wiseman Downloads

Ok, technically I already announced these but now I have permission to move them into the podsafe area. So once again, free, guilt free, Bob Wiseman video in the downloads section.

Some Bob TV For You

Thanks to Mr. Bob Wiseman (aka my oldest daughters new piano teacher!) You can now download portable copies of his new music video (with Leslie Feist) at Who_Am_I(Feist&Bob_Wiseman).mp4 and some live footage from his recent tour of Europe at http://www.publicbroadcasting.ca/bob/YouDontLoveMefeat.Feist.mp4 (with Feist on drums).

For a great variety of Bob related things, check out Bob Wiseman.ca

Free Online DIY workshops

While writing the last little bit about Casey McKinnon and Rudy Jahchan I was reminded of a PodCamp Toronto - where I took a few workshops with them. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, you can too. All (I think) of the workshops from Podcamp Toronto are still available through it's Wiki: http://podcamptoronto.pbwiki.com/MediaArchive. Topics range from the general to the technical: podcasting, blogging, citizen journalism, how to build an audience and DIY everything.

I'm hoping, once the coming facelift for publilcbroadcasting.ca is finished to add a DIY resources section - so, if you have others please pass them along.

Fixing Internet Video

There are few people in Canada who I believe know more about online video than Montreal's Casey McKinnon and her partner in crime (and other things) Rudy Jahchan. Together they have made some of Canada's oldest and best known vLogs (video podcasts) including Kitkast, Galacticast and A Comic Book Orange .

Now Casey has begun contributing regularly to the Guardian (U.K.) on the present and future of internet video. Definitely worth your time!

Now: Give us credit

"While many people making web video don't expect to get paid for having their content broadcast on TV, they do expect recognition. Unfortunately, in contracts I've seen recently from major American broadcasters, these new programmes aren't even willing to credit the producers by name or by web address.
What's more, these contracts often contain exclusivity rights – so not only do they expect you to sign over your content royalty-free, but for a long period of time. And, thanks to the quiet insertion of a waiver of moral rights, the creators don't have any control over spin-offs based on their work."

Later: How do you beat YouTube?

"The sites should also be more customisable - in layout, look and player function as well as in license options. They should give creators the option to choose different licenses, whether it's a traditional "all rights reserved" copyright, or a Creative Commons option. And, if the company behind the site wants to use the videos anywhere else, the creator should be given the option to opt out or refuse. Blip.tv, which acts as a free host and allows users to choose their own licenses and deals, practices this sort of community-based approach.
Instead of giving exclusive ad-revenue sharing opportunities to the most popular show creators, the ideal site should open it up to all original content creators - just as Revver has. It would also be beneficial to the sites to make the ads interactive (although too obtrusive and they annoy the audience). A recent web-based ad campaign by Juicy Fruit is a good example of this, where the banner ads were actually flash games built into the sites rather than a simple gigantic link.