Shai Coggins

Just found the article, Beyond YouTube - The Best Free Online Video Hosting Sites, and started wondering about this growing online video industry. There seems to be a new hosting site coming up everyday.

Anyway, do you use any of these? How? As in, do you use them to watch videos, share videos, and/or distribute videos (by re-posting or emailing them)?

In any case, here are 15 Top Free Online Video Hosts (+2!) —

• YouTube - Undoubtedly the most popular free online video hosting service available. Good for getting eyeballs, of course. And, it’s generally quite reliable. Probably will keep growing in this space. I have two accounts there: a personal one and a freshwavetv channel created for myself and my co-blogger on FreshWave.TV.
• MySpace - I don’t really use this to upload videos, as I’m not too keen on it. I tried it once but never really kept up with it. I’ve never really been a MySpace fan, truth be told. But, I’m slowly trying to learn how to make the most out of this.
• Revver - Although the whole process of uploading, waiting for approval, and such can be a bit taxing, the good thing here is that you know they’re trying to maintain quality control in their service. Also, the service offers ways for both producers (those who upload original videos) and distributors (those who share/re-post the videos in their own blogs and sites) a chance to make some money. They have different codes and formats available for embedding/sharing - to make life easier for those who wish to re-distribute the videos. Anyway, overall, I really like this service. View my Revver channel.
• Blip.TV - This one’s meant to be another service where you can make money from your original videos. But, I’m still unsure about this, as I haven’t seen any signs of such a thing happening in my short experience with them. The upload process is a lot easier and quicker than Revver, but I find Revver’s video conversions and output nicer. There are some aspects of it I like, though, so I’m willing to keep giving it a go.
• Vimeo - Never used it. Don’t know if I will.
• OurMedia - Tried using it when it was first released. You need to have an account with Internet Archive to get this to work. I never liked it. It was too clunky and unreliable when I gave it a go. Admittedly, I haven’t tried it again recently. But, I’m not sure if I’d like to.
• Google Video - In terms of views, this one probably got the most views and ratings for my videos. It also has a few nifty features that I like. I just wish there was a way to link directly to an account!
• Yahoo Video - I’ve never tried this service until today. The first time I tried to upload a video, it crashed my computer. Obviously, this put me off. But, maybe I’ll try again another day.
• iFilm - Looks interesting but not sure if I’ll give it a go.
• DailyMotion - Nice looking site, but looks quiet. Not sure if it’ll be worth trying.
• Grouper - Heard about this free online video hosting service a while back, but never signed up. I might try it one of these days.
• Multiply - I like Multiply as a social networking site. They’ve added a lot of nice features over the last few months, including free video hosting. You can even import videos from other services like YouTube. I tried that function and it worked well. Just not sure if it’s best to upload/import there - or just post embedded links to videos from elsewhere (like Revver or YouTube).
• AOL Uncut Video - Just found out about this. Very uninspiring.
• MSN Soapbox - Even more uninspiring than AOL Uncut. But, it might grow in popularity. I’ll just have to watch this.
• Metacafe - Another new discovery for me. And, I like what I see! I’ll definitely give this a go when I get the chance. Will report back when I do.

Oh yeah, I ended up not including the following in my poll:

• Motionbox

- Again, it looks nice. But, I’m not sure if I’ll give it a go.

• Brightcove - Very professional looking service. Lots of professionally-made videos, as they’re obviously geared towards the commercial market. There are ways to make money as a producer and/or as a distributor. Not sure how it works yet, though. Or, how easy it is to get in to the action.

Hmmm… I wonder if I missed anything else? There’s probably more. Let me know if you’ve got other services that you’re using! Oh, and don’t forget to vote in the poll.

Well, I did say that I wanted to do more multimedia blogging this year. So, yeah, here you go… Episode #11 of FreshWave.TV (link goes to FWTV’s page).

It’s just a quick one-minute “video snapshot” of a trip to this popular beach called Boracay in the Philippines. Nothing grand. In fact, it’s probably the shortest and simplest video on file over at FreshWave.TV. And, I recognise its faults. It doesn’t matter.

One thing I remember when I started experimenting with multimedia blogging was that I just wanted to learn. To have fun. To enjoy the process. To share — and to connect. But somehow, both with podcasting and vlogging, I ended up feeling the pressure to create great stuff. And, the more I thought about it, the less I managed to do it.

That’s why I stopped podcasting. And, that’s why in 2006, there were only TWO measly videos published on FreshWave.TV. Agh.

So yes, I decided that from hereon, I’m hoping to do more podcasts and videos. They won’t always be great and polished. In fact, I imagine I’d end up creating a lot of fluff. But, when it comes to podcasting and vlogging, I think I need to apply the same lesson that I learned in writing and painting — Creating more leads to creating better. In order to come up with great things, one must be able to put up with rubbish. One just needs to keep on going, to keep on creating.

Anyway, if you don’t feel like going to FWTV’s page, you can also watch the video right here:

You can also go to this page at Revver to watch and rate the video. Feel free to grab the code and share the vid in your blogs/sites too.

Well, I did say that I needed to create videos again.

So yes, after months and months of not making any episodes for FreshWave.TV, I finally got in to video making once more. And now, we have our first Philippine-based video — Enchanted Kingdom Theme Park Rides: Episode 10. Yes, you’d find me there (with my sis and mum) riding the Jungle Log Jam and Space Shuttle. It was my first theme park visit in years.

Before this, I think the last time I visited a proper theme park was back in 1997, when I was in California. Boy! Did I have a blast back then - what with Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland, and Six Flags Magic Mountain. But, we’re not talking about them right now.

Now, it’s about Enchanted Kingdom, probably the Philippines’ most popular theme park.

Anyway, I can’t say that Episode 10 is my best vid work. But, it feels good to get this going again.

‘Hope you have fun watching!

It’s been months since my friend Berns and I have updated FreshWave.TV. Admittedly, a big part of it is my fault. We’ve been alternating the creation of episodes since last March 2005, when we first launched our vlog/online TV show (yes, we’re one year old!). And, it has been my turn since December. Unfortunately, I haven’t done any video editing for a very long time.

Thank goodness Berns (and her partner Glen) decided to do the update to our Beeswax-Making episode (ep. 7). The result of this update is the quick, fun version of a craft tutorial: our Soap Making Fun Episode (ep. 9).

Now, technically, I owe two episodes. Will I manage to make at least one video before Berns and Glen create another one? Who knows. All I know is that I better get cracking with video making again.

A few months ago, About.com ran an internal contest on audio and video production for all Guides. I’m not sure of our exact number, but there’s roughly around 500 topics.

Me, being me, I knew I just had to take part — especially since I’m already in to podcasting and video blogging. I don’t know how many entries there were, but not all Guides submitted audio and video clips. I submitted one for each.

My audio didn’t cut it. But, my video ended up as a finalist. There were about 10 or so videos in the finals and all Guides were encouraged to vote for their favourite.

After the votes were counted, the 3 winners were announced. And yep, my video received second place — with a cash prize of US$1,000. Needless to say, I was rapt. And very very grateful to those who gave me such positive feedback.

Anyway, now About has prepared the video for public viewing, with the hope of adding such “new generation” content in areas such as About’s video library.

My winning video is Top Video Making Tips for Video Bloggers. It’s less than two minutes long. So, it shouldn’t be too bad when it comes to download. I hope you enjoy watching it.

I’m looking in to making more videos of the same nature. So, if you have any ideas or suggestions, I look forward to hearing all about it.

Hmmm… Current.TV, here I come.
And yes, congrats to my fellow Guides too. First place went to Theme Parks Guide Arthur Levine (see video) and Third Place went to New England for Visitors Guide Kim Knox Beckius (see video).

A few days ago, David Cohn of Wired News wrote to me asking for a sample video from FreshWave.TV. He said that Wired is doing a “best of the best” round-up of video blogs.

One catch: They wanted only vlogs formatted in QuickTime (.mov). Since FreshWave.TV only has Flash and Windows (.wmv) format, I asked if there’s any way I can submit something anyway. He asked me to send links and said that they’ll see what they can do from there. I complied.

But, it looks like they decided to drop FreshWave.TV from this list anyway: The Vlog World’s Greatest Hits.

I guess I should still be flattered that they think FreshWave.TV should’ve been part of that list. But, I can’t say that I’m not disappointed for not getting in there just because I’m not a QT user, like many video bloggers seem to be… Ah, well…

Really psyched to see this review of FreshWave.TV by tech columnist, Samela Harris of The Advertiser:

You definitely need broadband and a bit of time for this one – but it is a lovely idea cutting the edge of the blogging concept. It is an Aussie-based video blog hosted and edited by Shai Coggins and Bern Relos. I had a bit of trouble with steady streaming – but was rather charmed by the content.

It’s published in today’s edition of Adelaide’s newspaper - in the column, Net Adventures. Yay!

I know it might still take a while before video blogging really takes off en masse due to tech issues (lack of fast Internet connection, cross-platform compatibilities, compression, etc.). But, I’m really pleased to be one of the early starters in this New Media. I’m just so excited to see where this can possibly lead us.

Anyway, I’m off to save the clipping from the paper.

After nearly 2 months of non-vlogging, my friend and I have finally managed to put up Episode #7 on FreshWave.TV. Yay!

It’s our first-ever DIY/Crafting episode. In this episode, we did ‘Beeswax Candle-Making Out Of The Box’. Yep - we thought using a kit will save us from a lot of hassle. And, I think it did, for the most part.
There’ll be another DIY/Craft episode shortly, as this was supposed to have Natural Soap Making too. But, the download would’ve been way too big if I crammed both crafts in. As it is, this one’s already our longest video with a running time of 4 minutes and 34 seconds. Yikes.

Anyway, writing of videos - well, a few weeks ago, I told you about FreshWave.TV being offered as part of Akimbo Systems’s VOD service. Now, they just published their official press release on this. And, we already received a short write-up based on this PR, where we’re dubbed as one of “the most popular video blogs” by Sillicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. Mmmm… popular eh?

Not sure about that. But, it sure is cool to see a few other press and blog mentions from this PR campaign by Akimbo.

‘Wonder what will come up next?

When I first heard of Akimbo, of course the first thing I had to ask was: What is it?

And, I suppose one of the easiest way to explain it is by directly quoting their site, “Akimbo is the first fully functional marriage of TV and the Internet, combining easy access to new and fresh shows with the comfort of watching them on your TV.”

Simply put, it’s an internet-via-television service.

And so yes, my collaborative video blog, FreshWave.TV, can now be viewed on “real” television.

Well, that is if you own the device and subscribe to their service. I’m not 100% sure, but as far as I know, it’s only available in the US as of this time. Too bad, as I can’t watch my own show being delivered in this format. Maybe one day we’ll get one here Down Under.
Anyway, at this time, some of the shows you can watch on Akimbo are: BBC, CNN, The History Channel, and National Geographic, among a few other shows.

And, they have recently added a handful of video blog offerings, including Rocketboom, Steve Garfield, The Carol and Steve Show, Clint Sharp, and yes, FreshWave.TV (the only Australia-based video blog in this list and the only “all female” production. :-)).

Josh Goldman, CEO of Akimbo Systems, gave me this feedback on FreshWave.TV: “… great content recently… I watched your episodes last night on my TV with my wife and we loved them… very high production value and well put-together.”

Thanks, Josh!

This is really exciting stuff. I’m glad to be a part of it.

So, yes, Episode #5 of FreshWave.TV has been online for a week now. It’s all about dogs.

And, writing of videos, I’m just wondering if anyone here has anything they’d like to watch online about blogs and blogging? It can be for entertainment (interviews?) or for information (tutorials or reviews). I’m considering making videos about this topic and would welcome any feedback/suggestions.