Miro Magic

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I first came across Miro when watching Channel 5’s ‘The Gadget Show’ a couple of weeks ago. It’s a free application for channels of internet video (podcasts and video rss). The website says, “Miro is designed to be easy to use and gives you an elegant full screen viewing experience.” Unlike YouTube the videos are usually very high quality and download completely before you start watching, lessening the chance of skipping and stuttering. (It works on the same principle as the BBC iplayer.)

The way Miro stores and manages videos is very neat, creating a library (similar to itunes) which holds your videos for five days unless you specify for it to be held for longer. The automatic deleting stops the library from clogging up with too many videos - this is particularly useful when using the automatic grab function which saves all of the videos from your favourite channels.

It was developed by the Participatory Culture Foundation, a non-profit organisation. Their mission is to "enable and support independent, non-corporate creativity and political engagement." The software was previously known as Democracy Player but as Steve O’Hear, editor of last100, explains “the feedback received was that the name evoked different, yet equally negative responses. For many Americans it conjured up an image of yet another left wing media project, and to the rest of the world it was, rather bizarrely, being associated with the policies of the Bush administration. In contrast, the new name is purposely abstract.” Take a look at Steve’s blog for some useful tips on using Miro.

With over 1,500 channels and a slick, easy to use layout, it’s hard to see why Miro won’t become the new choice for downloading videos. My favourite video so far is the world record for xylo throwing (a frisbee type toy designed by NASA).

For an easy step by step video guide on how to use Miro follow the link to watch it now.

Pakistan bans YouTube

Whilst reading the good ole Yorkshire Post with my morning coffee and toast I read a snippet of news about how the country Pakistan (that’s right the entire country) has banned the use of video sharing network YouTube. The government has banned access to the site because it contains ‘anti Islamic’ movies. Whilst I do not agree with slander, whatever happened to the right of free expression? And isn’t the whole point of religion that you choose to believe despite what anyone else has to say? Having faith in something and living a life by that belief should be a choice rather than enforcement and does banning something not make it more desired? I ask myself what is the government afraid of? That when people see these movies they will suddenly turn against the Islamic religion? What little faith the government has in its people.

I understand that some videos may be offensive to the Islamic religion but there are lots of videos on YouTube that I do not agree with, but I simply choose not to view them. It is surprising that in this democratic country where recent elections spurred hopes for change and development that the government has been so closed minded about an Internet revolution that is taking the world by storm. By banning the site, a taboo will be generated around these videos and they will ironically end up with more views than if they had never been mentioned in the first place.

Leave Britney Spears Alone! Another YouTube Phenomena

Whilst on YouTube a couple of days ago, I discovered a very humorous yet at the same time slightly disturbing video by a man named Chris Crocker . Apparently the video is huge across the world with millions of viewings. The video is of Chris under what appears to be a bed sheet, hysterically crying over the media’s negative portrayal of his favourite pop star, Britney Spears. If you haven’t already seen this video, you must watch it, if not for comedy then for its sheer craziness. I actually believed that Chris was a Christina for the entire video as the openly gay man has a bleach blonde bob and a mascara stained face from crying…

What I find fascinating about this is that the video only lasts for 2 minutes and yet Chris became so popular with YouTube fans that he was actually given his own American TV show. The ability to broadcast yourself using YouTube meant that Chris’ (freakishly unhealthy) obsession with Britney Spears and his hatred for the press was exclaimed to more than 4 million viewers in only two days. This is just another example of how powerful social networking sites are becoming as well as their stars, the public.

The space cowboy returns and joins in the social media revolution

At Wolfstar we are always looking out for interesting stories which get us all talking, and we often like to cherry pick the best and closely examine them to see what is good and what is bad.

Yesterday, we saw a great story about the disco, funk and pop band Jamiroquai, who have launched a new social media website. Seb and I both love the disco funksters, so we found this very intriguing and had to check the site out ourselves.

The band, who have always been known for being forward thinking in their music and marketing, already have a myspace, Facebook group and YouTube channel. So to enhance their offer to their fans they have developed a new website which has incorporated all of these mediums.

The website looks great as it is packed with interactive elements. In fact, the group themselves will all be blogging when they are next on tour - so if you are into Jay Kay (no relation to our Beth) and the guys, make sure you look out for that. I am positive there will be some interesting stories to come out of it. Hopefully, there won’t be anymore expensive car crashes like when Jay Kay last totaled his Lamborghini - see right.

We have been working with a number of musicians recently and reading this article, we noticed that some things which were in our proposals were also included in what they did. If we are honest, there were also some things that we didn’t propose but we will be using them in future as good examples. I personally love the fact that people can download Jay Kay widgets and use them on their own blogs. There were also some things which we proposed which weren’t in what they did, so its good to see we still have some good ideas which will benefit the music industry.

Anyway as it’s Friday, here’s one of my favourite videos of all time which features the guy with the big hat - Virtual Insanity! Obviously, please watch this in your own time and not in your employer’s but that goes without saying.

So what’s the joke?

Tom Murphy has just blogged about a video that his wife had sent him. I can’t see the joke, but my wife Karen found it amusing….

 

WAX 2.0

After six months of heavy hints from the Wolfstar pack, several beers, and serious company growth, one of my favourite UK nights, Wax On has finally got its web 2.0 act together by matching its online offer to the artistic design work it has long been known for.

The team have worked so hard to develop the business and are in my opinion, leagues ahead of most of their competitors. So far the new site contains videos and excellent podcasts (although the RSS feeds appear to go down when being updated) from the likes of the Riotous Rockers and Nightmoves, but my favourite by far comes from Simon Lister, one third of People Get Real, who, along with Oli Pattern and TC Monkton make up Wax On’s resident line up.

Whilst I still believe there is a massive need to keep the underground pioneers away from commercialisation, Wax On has in my eyes, simply always been about the craic and good tunes. And for this type of brand, social media is exactly what’s needed. By brands and promoters restricting themselves to only the night itself, they could be losing tens, hundreds and in some cases thousands of potential supporters. Once online, they have the potential to build on their relationship with current fans, but also develop a global profile and increase their awareness throughout the market.

Dan - see you on the 27th!

Could ObamaGirl awaken interest in politics 2.0?

Been busy, so I’ve only just found out about ObamaGirl (via Loic Le Meur). The YouTube video below alone has had almost three million views.

It’s already had coverage in The Observer, The Economist and People magazine to name but a few.

Can’t see politics 2.0 in the UK ever being like this.

UPDATED: Unlike Loic (who worked for Nicolas Sarkozy on his French presidential campaign) I’m glad I didn’t have this idea while working on Alan Johnson’s deputy leadership campaign!

XP: Wolfstar blog, A PR Guru’s Musings, Stuart’s Soapbox