Mashup/Remix Conference 2009 @ The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

Financial Times article about YouTube presidential election 2008

News:  I’ve been quoted in an article in the Financial Times, “Candidates Embrace New Media in First YouTube Election.”  Thanks to Richard Waters for the inquiry.  Once the election is over (thank heavens it will be over!!), I will be writing a comprehensive analysis of the data related to the candidates’ videos.

For a related post, here’s another article I was quoted in for the Philadelphia Inquirer titled “Campaigns Now Making Stops on YouTube.‘

Cartoon of Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms

Vimeo cartoon version

YouTube cartoon version

The original version on Vimeo

I made these videos for the exhibit “Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms,” which just opened at the Wexner Center for the Arts on the campus of The Ohio State University. It’s the only US showing of this fantastic collection of Andy Warhol’s works.

ArtDaiiy review

Columbus Dispatch on how Wexner got Warhol

Wexner Center information

my latest video: Andy Warhol at Wexner Center for the Arts — “Other Voices, Other Rooms”

I’m entering this video in a contest. Wish me luck. You can watch the video in a high quality by clicking this link. Once you get to YouTube, hit the “watch in high quality” button underneath the video.

You can also see a higher quality version on Blip TV by clicking here.

Many thanks to my co-conspirators in this project, who all are so very talented in many, many ways. More to follow.

The Utube Blog study: Ron Paul still rules YouTube, but Huckabee makes a surge

The Utube Blog study on Presidential Candidate Videos on YouTube–click to download

News: You can download from the link above my latest report on the use of videos on YouTube by the presidential candidates. The study was completed before the New Hampshire primary.

Analysis: Here are my 3 key findings:

(1) Republican candidate Ron Paul continues to be, by a wide margin, the most popular candidate on YouTube, in terms of the average number of views per video (105,908 views per video) and the number of subscribers to his YouTube channel (42,858). He also has the most total views (9,320,763) on YouTube for any presidential candidate (although he does not have the most viewed single video on YouTube—Mike Huckabee does).

(2) Republican candidate Mike Huckabee has experienced a dramatic growth in the popularity of his videos during November and December 2007. He jumped from close to the worst in average number of views in October 2007 to the second most views per video by January 4, 2008, with 27,818 views per video. Most impressive of all is the fact that Huckabee is the first candidate with a video that has generated over 1 million views on YouTube.

(3) Finally, as the primary season has begun, the candidates’ YouTube videos have seen a huge increase in the number of views than in previous months.

Happy New Year 2008

Be safe.  See you next year!

The Utube Blog hits the 1 million mark

Dear readers,

I’m often reminded of how lucky I am to have your following, as I chronicle the amazing developments related to this revolutionary technology known as YouTube. I’ve learned a lot from your comments and emails, and have had fun looking at video links sent to me from interested readers.

My blog is just a little over 1 year old and we just went over 1 million views. I couldn’t have done it without you all. Thanks for visiting my website!

Thank you, Sports Illustrated

I just wanted to thank Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated for linking to my post here about the Trinity football game. The traffic to The Utube Blog has been pretty amazing, all because of a Division III football game! My post about the Trinity game is now the No. 13 Top Post for the day among all of the over million WordPress blogs. I owe it all to Stewart (and Google!).

UPDATE:  My post hit No.6 Top Post for WordPress blogs.  I never imagined of ever hitting No.1, but at least today I can dream.

Ron Paul rules YouTube, Fred Thompson flops

News: The Utube Blog’s second report on the presidential candidate videos on YouTube is now available. Ron Paul continues to blow by the entire field of candidates, both Democratic and Republican. Newcomer Fred Thompson had a disappointing first month on YouTube.

Download: The Utube Blog second report on Presidential Candidate Videos on YouTube

Key Findings

(1) Republican candidate Ron Paul continues to be, by a wide margin, the most popular candidate on YouTube, in terms of the average number of views per video (85,194 views per video) and the number of subscribers to his YouTube channel (29,658). He also has the most total views (4,344,904) on YouTube for any presidential candidate (although he does not have the most viewed single video on YouTube—Hillary Clinton does).

 

(2) Republican candidate Fred Thompson has drawn only a relatively few number of YouTube viewers in the first month of his campaign, maintaining a very low average number of views per video (3,780 views per video). He gained only 581 subscribers to his YouTube channel. His most watched video captured over 55,000 views.

 

(3) Overall, the videos of all the presidential candidates have drawn only a relatively modest number of views on YouTube, both in terms of the actual views per video and the average number of views per video.

 

 

Mazda mashup: fastest 3 minutes, zoom3

I remixed my Mazda video, shortening it to 3 minutes. It’s faster.  (For the background to this video, visit here.)

When Mazda meets bloggers, what next?

Magical. That’s the best word I could come up with to describe last weekend, which I spent with people from Mazda along with a handful of talented bloggers (Beatrice, Chris, John, Matt, Robert, Sarah, and Tony) in Monterey, California. The Mazda meet-up was hosted at the five-star Bernardus lodge, nestled in the scenic Carmel Valley.

I’ve been to Monterey plenty of times, having lived in the Bay Area for several wonderful years. But this visit to Monterey was like none other that I had before. Every minute was so unbelievably, pinch-me-is-this-real amazing. I knew things would be different when Mazda had a chauffeur waiting to pick up my sister and me from the airport. We were then whisked away in a new CX-7. After five hours of flying coach, the new leather seats felt — and, yes, smelled — so good.

From the moment we stepped foot on the grounds of the enchanting Bernardus Lodge, we were treated like VIP like you wouldn’t believe. (But who were we? We were just bloggers. I keep on asking that question.) A cheerful, fetching young concierge greeted us with glasses of wine. Then Melanie Froysaa, the Mazda rep behind the entire event–and one of the most warm and gracious people you’ll ever meet, greeted us, making sure to get us on time for our massages and spa treatment, all onsite. Let me just say, I now know the best way to cure the terrible feeling you get after sitting over five hours on a plane is to get an immediate massage. I felt like a new person. Rejuvenated.

I told my sister at that point, if the weekend ended then, it would have been a success. But the weekend didn’t end. It only got better and better. Unbelievably so. There were wine-tasting and bocce ball on the lawn, followed by an absolute feast prepared family-style for our group to partake on a long banquet table, sitting on the front lawn where the lodge hosts weddings, with the mountains overlooking in the background. The chef whipped up so many splendid dishes–caesar salad, mixed salad, grilled veggies, mozarella and tomatoes, prosciutto, lamb, chicken and couscous, halibut and snapper (both freshly caught)–I’m not sure I remember them all. But they all were so good. Heavenly.

Instead of babbling on about how great the weekend was, I’ve put together a short video above of some of the other highlights. If you like fast cars, you’re going to want to watch the end of this video. Trust me, that’s not me driving. Zoom. Zoom. Zoom.

Happy anniversary to The Utube Blog

To my dear readers,

One year ago, I began this blog. A number of people have asked me then and now why blog about YouTube, as if I were nuts. One common response I give to people is that so I can watch YouTube videos at work (just in case if the Dean pops into my office). But the real reason is for my own scholarship: I write about copyright cases, especially ones involving the Internet (see here for a sample).

Something unexpected, though, happened along the way. The copyright lawsuits I thought would be filed against YouTube weren’t filed — at least not until March 2007 and later. Meanwhile, I discovered something else on YouTube — a whole slew of amazing videos created by amateur singers, actors, comedians, artists, commentators, teenagers, eighty-year-olds, you name it.

Today, I am absolutely convinced that YouTube is the most important website to come along in the 21st century. I don’t think the question is even close. Because of YouTube, it no longer takes imagination to see how the Internet will become a predominant, if not the predominant, media vehicle for entertainment. Goodbye, regular tube–hello, YouTube. It will be very interesting to see, though, how all the copyright lawsuits against YouTube shake out this year.

Before I go, I wanted to thank everyone who’s visited my site. There have been a few truly special days when The Utube Blog has cracked the Top 10 — and even Top 5 — Most Visited blogs of the over 1 million blogs on WordPress. I am especially thankful for all the comments and emails I received; I learned a lot from them. And, of course, I have to thank the YouTube community for sharing their incredible and often inspiring works. In the coming year, I hope to announce even bigger and better news. For now, I will leave you with following message (borrowed from someone else’s video below).

Ed