Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, the first democratic candidate to officially throw his hat into the 2008 race, now has a video blog.
Check it out at
In it he talks about how he is going to use the internet to help his campaign. I give hime props for having a myspace page. Finally candidates are trying to appeal to a younger demographic.
I guess this new venture is his campaign managers attempt at making Vilsack look like the new “Internet Candidate”, the new Howard Dean.
However video blogging is not so cutting edge. All it takes is a camera and a computer and some talking points (kind of like cable news). If he really wants to do something cutting edge he should hire a filmmaker (like myself) to do a video blog which is edited together with footage of him on the stump.
If any of you get the chance rent Primary, the breakthrough 1960 documentary about Robert Kennedy Jr. and his primary campaign against Hubert Humphreys in Wisconsin. Produced but a team that included Robert Drew, Richard Leacock, D. A. Pennebaker, and Albert Maysles, all considered the fathers of american documentary filmmaking, it was the first film to use the true cinema verité style with sync sound and no voice-over.
Technology should always be embraced but it should not be embraced in a bubble. Vilsack is making a concerted effort to be open and honest and forward-thinking about his presidential campaign.
But maybe he should take some time to watch Primary and perhaps he will realize that presidential politics can be so much more than just another talking head.
OK it has been out for a while but I just stumbled on it last night while searching for a new audio editing tool for my Intel iMac. This is going to be a process as I am for the most part a video editor who uses Final Cut for my video and audio editing. I am not convinced that Logic or Logic Express is going to satisfy my needs and I do not have the wallet to go Pro Tools. I am not looking to create music but edit audio for video and podcasts.
Continuing on the topic of Net Neutrality, Bill Moyers, one of the most esteemed commentators on American society, has produced an in-depth documentary on the idea of who owns the internet.
The questions it raises are simple: Who owns the internet? The owners of the few phone and cable lines who want to create a two-tier structure over which corporate content providers would pay for faster delivery.
Or the millions of content creators, bloggers, videomakers and web-based businesses that rely on the neutrality of the internet for their own income and well-being and the tens of millions of net users who cherish the democratic ideals of the Internet.
OK what do you all think? Democracy versus iTunes. Wow if that title doesn’t get people to my blog nothing will.
Of course this is about the Democracy Video Player (DVP) not a political structure – we can leave that discussion to the hoards of political bloggers.
This is a simple comparison of iTunes versus DVP. Nicholas Reville did a comparison on the Democracy website.
My assessment: iTunes is a music/audio based software. For my music and podcasts I use iTunes – though I am working on shifting my music library and podcasting to Songbird. I also use iTunes for watching paid programs I subscribe to, namely “Lost” and “Battlestar Galactica”.
But for videos Democracy is a useful tool and getting better. Its channel list is also growing. It is like a weird mash-up of iTunes, YouTube and Blip.tv where you can watch all manners of video from pro to joe schmo’s video blog. But the depth of pro videos is Democracy’s best asset.
Sorry for all the Democracy topics this week but I had a lot of time on my hands this week so I finally got a chance to really check the software and what it has to offer.
Here is a link to a well thought out article from Nicholas Reville, Executive Director of the Participatory Culture Foundation, about his view of the future of online video and his support of open standards, open source and deep linking.
This is my first installment of The 5 a weekly list of five things that have something to do with online video and podcasts.
Since my posts this week have focused on online video, here is a list of my 5 must listen to podcasts (News and Politics Genre).
Please note my preference for
1. This American Life – NPRs best radio program is finally a Podcast, rejoice.
2. ABC World News Now – The best of the big three news programs, web only.
3. Shields and Brooks – The best round-up of the week’s news and politics.
4. Real Time with Bill Maher – Uncensored political commentary from HBO.
5. Now on PBS – 60 minutes for the internet age (and people under 60).
Please add comments – I am always looking for new podcasts.
The full-length film of the award-winning, thought-provoking, hyphen-inducing documentary The Corporation is now available on your Democracy Video Player.
Haven’t downloaded your Democracy Video player yet? Click below.
Lost Remote (as well as Yahoo and Reuters of course) is reporting that starting tomorrow, users can submit photos and video via Yahoo for display on both Yahoo News and Reuters.com.
Following CNN’s citizen journalism (marketing) initiative iReport, You Witness News – Citizen Journalism on Yahoo News is a nice concept that needs a new name.
But yes you will be paid.
So pack that camera and hope you stumble onto some real-life tragedy!
Everyone drop everything and go and download Songbird, a desktop web player that will – God willing – replace iTunes as the web’s music player of choice.
It is built from Mozilla, cross-platform, open source, under development and getting better…
Last month I subscribed to CNN’s video service – CNN Pipeline. Although I was at first skeptical, I was pleasantly surprised not only by the breadth of content but also by the interface and image quality.
Pipeline offers four simultaneous live feeds and On-Demand Video. On the same interface you can read (and click on) headlines, top stories, see the Pipeline schedule, browse videos and send feedback. PC users can download the Pipeline player. Mac users can watch in a browser window.
The focus is on hard news videos and the topics may be geared toward CNN viewers not in the US (like myself). The service also streams some original content and has a few hosts who anchor news programs exclusively for Pipeline.
CNN Pipeline offers three levels of subscriptions:
A one-year subscription for $24.95 USD
A one-month subscription for $2.95 USD
A one-day subscription (called a “Daypass”) for $0.99 USD;
I know it is almost unheard of to pay for any online video service. But for 3 bucks a month you get a connection to one of the best news sources on the planet.
All other things aside, CNN Pipeline Player is the best news video player available. While it is not for everyone, news junkies are well served by this news service.
