UNESCO Video Podcast Series

UNESCO just released a series of 9 video podcasts on "human rights, peace, tolerance and the fight against discrimination".

The videos were selected out of more than one hundred proposals from fifty countries submitted under a project on so called 'ICT-enhanced Public Service Broadcasting'. The podcasts have been released on DVD and through podcasting platforms.

This project aimed at putting ICTs, particularly new formats, at the service of content development on major societal and development issues.

“Public service content is not limited to news formats; it can be provided to people/users through different genres: documentary, fiction, TV magazines, animation, etc. In addition to these traditional audiovisual genres, the last few years have witnessed the emergence of new online formats and mobile distribution platforms that have had a tremendous impact on the type of content being generated and the profile of those generating it. Content produced for small mobile devices - commonly called podcasting - will entail different audiovisual choices than those we may apply to images conceived for a big screen”, said Abdul Waheed Khan, UNESCO’s Assistant Director General for Communication and Information.

For more United Nations related issues, check out the Unicef and
'United Nations Yak' podcasts.

Podcasting Industry News

The podcasting network Wizzard Media announced that it has signed a content licensing and advertising agreement with YouTube.

As a YouTube content partner, Wizzard will have its own brand channel that will enable users to access video podcasts from the Wizzard Media Network. Through this agreement, YouTube will run ads against the shows in Wizzard’s YouTube channel. YouTube will share with Wizzard any ad revenue generated by the streamed Wizzard podcasts.

In addition to the ad revenue generated by increased audiences and advertising opportunities, the agreement with YouTube will also allow for content from the Wizzard Media Network to be incorporated into the Google AdSense Network. Wizzard will receive a share of revenues for certain ads displayed in connection with the playback of Wizzard Videos on the Google AdSense Network. Wizzard has opted to share a percentage of these revenues collected with the show’s creators.

In other news, Data Call Technologies, known for its Digital Signage technology, is acquiring Podcast Ready. Both companies are based in Houston.

Data Call said the acquisition will strengthen its business strategy focusing on emerging new markets for audio and video content. Podcast Ready has an existing infrastructure through which it can provide advertisers with content verification, enabling those advertisers to match their ads with content that is custom-tailored to specific demographics.

Podcast's technological capabilities integrate easily into Data Call's technology, products and services, said Jim Ammons, Data Call's chief executive officer. "Crossing the two technologies of Data Call's Digital Signage with PRI's podcasts technology and services contributes significantly to both entities ability to grow significantly. In the world of marketing, it's all about exposure," he said.

Police podcast too!

The Italian state police, who publish one of the country's most popular podcasts, are no longer alone. In Garner, North Carolina (U.S.), the town's police officers have taken a more interactive approach to warning shoppers of the dangers of shopping online. They now use video podcasts.

The shows are the department's way of getting news out to a new audience. "I think you hit the younger generation more so this way," says Sgt. Joe Binns. "A lot of them get their news from the Internet, and a podcast is a little more interactive than just reading."

For the six-minute piece, the police department educates shoppers on checking out merchants, using secure sites and canceling credit cards in the event of a breach.

The shows are five minutes long and feature crime-prevention tips and news updates. The idea came up as a way to expand on the television show Garner police officials have been doing. "We're reaching an older generation with the show, but we wanted to reach the younger generation as well," Binns said. "Plus, we basically record the show, and we're done. This gives us an opportunity ... to do something a little more creative."

One of the next show, for example, will continue with the safety theme but will take place in a store parking lot. In the future, those receiving the podcasts will also get a glimpse inside the town's "most wanted" list.

Vodafone Flattens Rates and Moves Into Social Networks

Vodafone is banking on social networking services and flat-rate pricing to boost data usage and revenues. Last week, the operator launched its YouTube service in the U.K., where a MySpace service will be launched imminently.

This summer, the operator will also introduce flat-rate data pricing so that users pay the same amount for Vodafone Live content and off-portal services. The operator admits that high prices and confusing tariffs have discouraged users from taking data services.

We've made data plans far too complicated, and it's a huge barrier," said Al Russell, head of mobile Internet and content services at Vodafone.

Vodafone wants to tear down the walls to its Vodafone Live portal and offer more open Internet-based services. Even though Vodafone Live has 4 million users in the U.K., the operator says the walled garden approach limits further takeup.

"We're shifting our approach," said Russell. "[Vodafone Live] is a walled garden, essentially... That's why we're missing an opportunity for a wider group to use these services more often." Russell pointed to Vodafone's partnership with Google as a good example of opening the walled garden. "We need to let people access what they want," he said. "We'll still have a portal, but we'll make it easier to use."

Gabriel Brown of Unstrung says that ease of use is a big issue to resolve to encourage more data service takeup. "If they're trying to make it easier to use, that's where they can be really useful," he says.

Non-messaging data accounts for 6.2 percent of revenues for Vodafone's European operations, which generated revenues of £12.5 billion (US$24 billion) and free cashflow of £3.2 billion ($6.3 billion) in the first half of the operator's fiscal year 2007. But investors are concerned that data service revenues will not compensate for the price erosion in voice services.

Vodafone's YouTube service is free for now, and the first few days of usage are encouraging, said Russell.

In January, Vodafone offered video clip downloads of the TV program Celebrity Big Brother for free. The operator found that when the service was offered for free, there was 50 times more volume of downloads than when it had previously charged 35 pence to 50 pence per download.

While the YouTube service has only been available for just five days, Russell said that the usage was "of an order of magnitude larger than the Celebrity Big Brother volume," but could not specify the number of clips downloaded from the TV program service.

Vodafone is also working on a mobile advertising-based service, developed through its partnership with Yahoo, which will launch this summer. Advertising may compensate for free Internet services like YouTube, MySpace, and Google.

"Revenue won't be just from the end consumer," said Russell, "There is an opportunity to ad-fund" the services.

YouTube and MySpace are key to Vodafone's strategy for social networking services. "A big part of our plans are in the community area," said Russell. "We want to mobilize existing online communities… and we want to build out the mobile community we already have and make them do more stuff."

For related news, see:

* Vodafone Offers You Tube
* Vodafone and MySpace Partner
* Vodafone takes MySpace Mobile

Courtesy of unstrung.com