The Future of Online Video

The Scene:

After arriving early one dark London morning at a hidden back entrance of the renowned ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) which had opened its cafe early just for us, and having passed through a labyrinth of backstairs, passages and big black doors, we arrive at a cafe overlooking the Mall - with Buckingham Palace at the end of the road.  We are greeted with the sight of roughly 60 people from a broad range of industries: geeks, broadcasters, educators, musicians, video and film producers and social media'ites.  The common thread appears to be the eager possession of some bit of interactive kit - phones, cameras or laptops. All are intently fiddling - be it setting up their devices, preparing for the interactive streaming of the event, or chatting with others present either virtually or in person via the twitterstream which is projected on the wall. #amp09  is underway.

The Discussions:

Online video is moving so fast that there is much to debate. In small groups - preferably seated with those you didn't know - discussions ranged from:

•  Has the use of UGC had an impact upon the traditional 'professional' video companies as first feared? In a few instances maybe - but in general it seems that consumers still prefer good, high quality content.
•  People are turning more to online video, but where can you go to find a listing of good quality online video content which would appeal to you, but is not from the mainstream providers (like TED for example)? Search engines and recommendation engines are possibilities, though they need a critical mass to take off and also have their drawbacks (people use varying descriptive 'tags' which leads to folksonomies making finding relevant content difficult and not as straight forward as text-based search).
• How do we now digest video content and what will be the norm in 10 years time? We have our laptops on while watching TV (often on demand) - but will the content we watch on each be different, the same or will we increasingly use one to interact with the other? Is watching a film on your iPhone the same experience as watching it on a large screen? When will we reach the point where we have personalised TV channels?
• The economics of creating online video is still up for debate given the high cost of production for good quality content. Sponsorship of higher quality short form media which is repeated seems to be working, as are the 30 second ads on long form media.

One of the most interesting discussion groups I entered (on webcam and with people from all over the world able to take part via the online chatroom) was about the mashing of UGC, online gaming and the film industry. We discussed how film makers could 'give' some free content (under the Creative Commons Licence) to the community - allowing them to create online content.

Embracing advocates for any brand online can only be a good thing. Sizemore mentioned  'the Die Hard Song' and how 20th Century Fox originally demanded that a parody video created by the band Guyz Nite be taken down from YouTube. They later changed their minds and brought the band on board for the fourth film, offering to pay them to repost the video, using additional video clips to promote the film! I wonder whether we will reach a point where you go to the cinema to experience not just the watching of a film but to take part in games created around the film - all members of the audience being given handsets so they can 'battle it out' on the large screen?

The Finale:

The convergence of minds from various industries meant that everyone has learnt from each other - and that was the point of the first of the many Amplified '09 events. Added to this was the subtle cheerful glow of knowing that #amp09 started trending higher on Twitter than Obama's inauguration (even if it was a day later...). It was enough to put a smile on the face of any serious member of the Twitterati!!