Ember Regis

Interesting reports about augmented reality CVs http://emberregis.tumblr.com/post/1290772360/augmented-reality-cvs #ARCV #augmentedreality

An interesting article (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/oct/08/augmented-reality-cv) about the future of virtual CVs. Allowing applicants to dynamically display their portfolio, a trigger image is held up to a webcam so an augmented reality CV can engage with you. It will be quite fascinating to see how this develops.

As many users will have already seen, Twitter is undergoing a significant change in its layout and usability. The timeline now occupies the left hand side, while the right hand side will feature embedded photos and videos along with related tweets.

Having negotiated partnerships with major media content sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, TwitPic and Flickr, Twitter’s users will now be able to see linked content without leaving the site or having to open a new window. The advantages of this new ease of access are clear, particularly for organisations that rely on their videos being shared around social networking sites.

A disadvantage is that the increased complexity will confuse casual users and unpracticed organisations. Like when Facebook updated its layout, there will be brief cries of outrage followed by most users efficiently adapting. The disadvantage remains that, with the new level of complexity, users will have so much content to look at that individual videos will not gather any more attention than they did before. Wired (http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/09/twitter-announces-media-rich-twitter/) notes that it looks like there is plenty of room for advertising, another complication that will make it difficult for your organisation’s content to get noticed.

Professor Manuel Castells, former advisor to Barack Obama and member of United Nations technology panels, has predicted that by 2014 the number of mobile internet users will surpass the number of those accessing the internet on a desktop computer (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/sep/30/mobile-internet-overtake-desktop).

The increasing prominence of mobile internet users will have a large effect on the future of many companies and organisations. Should these organisations now start marketing their online presence specifically towards mobile users? Moreover, does anything differentiate a mobile internet user from the more typical computer user?

One major point is that mobile internet integrates particularly well with social networking sites, allowing users to update their Facebook or Twitter as they go about their daily business. Far from the commonly-held criticism of people ‘wasting time’ with inane updates, mobile internet can help illustrate a more progressive and productive idea behind social media.

At any time, and from any location, people can find out what’s going on and contribute to, or instigate, discussions on the matter. This perpetual connection to both their friends and online correspondents, as well as other sources of news, media and commentary, keeps users mentally active and informed up-to-the-minute. Crucially, they are always connected.

The growth of mobile internet users may show that social networking is not so much an evening’s entertainment behind a computer screen as an integral part of the modern day-to-day life of both individuals and businesses.

Ember Regis is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of Ember Television. The new company, part of the Ember Regis group, will concentrate on producing high-quality content for both broadcast and corporate clients, as well as providing training and support.

More and more organisations are reaping the benefits of online video. It’s improving their search engine rankings, their brand awareness, customer loyalty - and ultimately their bottom line.

But with so much video content already out there - two billion videos are watched every day on YouTube alone - how do you make your video stand out from the crowd?

And that’s where Ember Television come in. They’re at the cutting edge of this fast-changing industry and have a thorough understanding of how it operates. They apply their guiding principles of quality, service, value and innovation to everything they do.

Their background is in broadcasting. They draw on many years of experience of working for the BBC, ITV and BSkyB to provide clients with creative and engaging films with broadcast-standard production values.

They work for a whole range of organisations and for all kinds of purposes. Whether it’s a video pitch for a start-up, a promotional film for a multi-national company, a training film for a public body or a fundraising video for a charity, they strive to provide the very highest level of service - from concept to delivery.

They also film events such as seminars, exhibitions, awards ceremonies and annual meetings; and, if required, they can stream them live on the internet or via a feed of video tweets.

But they’re far more than just a production company. Their comprehensive range of services offers clients all the expertise they need to harness the power of video to its full effect. Here are some examples:

Strategy: Ember Television assist organisations in developing an online video strategy tailored to their exact requirements. They also advise on how to ensure that clients engage with the largest possible audience by utilising both social and traditional media.

Training: Ember Television help organisations to make their own videos. Even clients on the tightest of budgets want their films to look professional, and they have several different training courses and support programmes to meet their needs.

Facilities: Ember Television provide camera operators, editors, producers, presenters, voiceover artists and graphic designers. They also have professional-standard camera and editing equipment for hire, as well as a DVD duplication and printing service.

Based in Birmingham’s new and innovative Digital District, they cover the whole of the UK.

Their website is coming soon. In the meantime, you can get in touch or keep updated by following them on Twitter @EmberTelevision.

The reported government ‘crackdown’ on council-funded newspapers and magazines is aiming to protect media groups and hopes to encourage the success of independent local papers. Free newspapers are produced by councils using taxpayer money, so far from getting anything for ‘free’, local residents are actually paying for their council to promote and advertise itself.

The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2010/sep/29/council-run-newspapers-trinity-mirror) highlights the issues raised. Council-run free papers that have been pushing independent editions out of business may now have to commericalise themselves. The question is whether such “commercial” newspapers will be able to criticise the council that is behind it.

With news usually available on a global scale, local newspapers need to be protected in order for each community to have a separate voice that is concerned with their own particular issues. In their community, people deserve independent news that does not delve into propaganda, and could investigate or criticise their council if it were necessary. The problem is that the decline of local newspapers means that without the council-funded editions, there might not be any local voice at all, and also that this crackdown may well sabotage council-funded papers that nonetheless strive to bring fair and balanced community-based news.

ITV have suggested that they could charge for access to previews or alternative endings of Coronation Street. The show, and ITV itself, would remain free, but less basic content would cost the viewer to watch.

On the positive side, such a move would allow ITV to make a profit from fans who already watch their programming for free and would be willing to pay for extra content.

However, with the amount of free content available elsewhere online, a concern should be that viewers would ignore anything which they had to pay for, or even turn to a rival show instead.

Attention has recently been focused on The Times’ online paywall – a concept soon to be implemented by the News of the World – and its subsequent loss of 90% of its online readership. While an important experiment for the future of online newspapers, a big problem right now is that, because anyone accessing the Times’ website is now “locked out” unless they pay, blogs and tweets are no longer going to link to articles there.

Similarly, no one is going to be linking to ITV’s extra content if its hidden behind a paywall. This is unfortunate, because such links could provide rather more exposure, and perhaps more significant revenue than the paywall. Today, music artists give away an mp3 or two, or even a full album, and find themselves blogged about across the internet, leading to increased sales in paid-for downloads and people rushing to order their limited-edition vinyls and cassettes. Some television shows that can be streamed in their entirety on sites such as Hulu find their physical DVD releases soaring as, thanks to this online availability, more people become fans and begin to promote it themselves.

Both newspapers and broadcasters like ITV may need to find a similarly successful balance between free and paid-for content.

BBC Worldwide made £40 million profit, increasing revenue by 15% http://bit.ly/9mcm0D

New blog post on the BBC and pay http://bit.ly/8Y6b2k

Predicting the failure of The Times Paywall plan http://bit.ly/8Zm1IP