Apple Inc. has generated yet another sensational stir by announcing its latest in citizen journalism, err, smartphone technology, with the iPhone 3GS.  The next-generation iPhone was introduced on Monday when Apple demonstrated a new video recording function that has the capacity to transform millions of iPhones into tiny video cameras-capturing their surroundings with the touch of a screen.

Completed and complimented with a “Send to YouTube option”, it has never been easier to upload iPhone content onto the most popular web video site.  This feature will essentially create millions of citizen journalists, armed and ready to share their stories and eyewitness accounts at a moment’s notice.  The process of gathering, editing and sharing news has never been faster in the history of journalism, or enjoyed such an open sharing platform.  The public is becoming increasingly savvy and educated on the techniques and best strategies to use while reporting online, and the ettiquette is continuously improving.

In response to the immense growth in online reporting by individuals on YouTube, the company added a “Citizen News” channel to support the increased need (though some report that the channel is not updated frequently enough). 

Technology is improving the method in which users move what they create to where they display it, a very crucial improvement.  To locate availability of Apple’s 3GS, visit their website for details.  Relayed by Deep Blue Interactive, Florida web design and interactive marketing firm.

The largest music company in the world, Universal Music Group, has reached an agreement with YouTube to create an online platform for music videos, to be called Vevo.  The agreement is said to include the licensing of Universal recordings to be used in user-generated videos on YouTube.

This is the latest of efforts on behalf of YouTube to offer a larger spectrum of content to its mammoth audience.  YouTube is owned by powerhouse and major player Google, who is also the leader in the search market.  In the agreement, Universal Music Group and Google are to share revenue generated from advertising on both websites.  Vevo’s anticipated release is later this year, with ongoing negotiations with other major labels to potentially join in. 

Being backed by Google certainly will not hurt Vevo, who will naturally acquire traffic and attention from prior media interest and user anticipation.  Vevo will have the capacity to deliver high quality music videos to the largest online video audience, an impressive task.  Down the line, users will be able to purchase merchandise and concert tickets on Vevo. 

 In 2006 and 2007, music companies were among the first to license their content on YouTube, in large part because music videos are popular on the site.  The new relationships emerging from changing technology are redefining business models as we knew them, transforming them into streamlined modern marvels that are above all, user-friendly.  Brought to you by Deep Blue Interactive, your Fort Lauderdale interactive marketing, web design and branding firm.

The struggling Yahoo is becoming innovative, announcing plans to incorporating ads and images into their paid search results.  It is a new type of search advertising that allows images and even video to appear within paid search listings, when in the past this area was simple text advertisements with links.   

It is typical for marketers to budget part of their online marketing to appearing in top search results, including these text-only ads with links using both pay per click and organic search marketing methods.  Yahoo is calling the new service Rich Ads in Search, and the program gives search some of the advantages of banner advertisements.

Yahoo hopes that Rich Ads in Search will transition online advertising from simple blue links to a more engaging and interactive experience for users.  Yahoo is hoping this new search marketing strategy will make them more competitive with Google, the market leader with 67.7 percent market share.  Yahoo’s strategy in the past has been display advertising, selling boxes and banners on its high traffic pages.  The recession has caused advertisers to redirect spending on the banners and boxes to search marketing, which yields direct measurable results.   Yahoo has addressed the issue with Rich Ads in Search.  Brought to you by Deep Blue Interactive, your Fort Lauderdale search marketing and web design firm.

Boxee is a software package that combines multiple sources of internet video content in a user-friendly interface that you can watch on your television set, and did I mention it is free? Very impressive.  Alas, in the world of technology, there are bound to be some snags along the way.

Hulu announced on Wednesday that it was going to stop allowing its programs to be streamed through Boxee.  Hulu happens to be one of Boxee’s larger sources of content, so their angst is understandable. 
In blog form, Hulu explained its decision to end ties with Boxee was due in large part to its backers, and mentioned never having a formalized relationship with Boxee.  It seems the apologetic tone put forth by Hulu is in anticipation of a response from avid Boxee users.

Hulu is a joint venture of NBC Universal and the News Corporation, with programming from a number of other entities.  Early Boxee testers were sending video to their television sets using the software, sometimes by installing it on their Apple TV set-top boxes.  The shows that appeared on Hulu were competing directly with the same programs that the networks were distributing through traditional channels like satellite and cable.

From a business standpoint, users are already using search engines as a primary source of locating goods and services.  Imagine how that figure will expand when users can utilize search engines like Google from their remote control?  To learn more about search engine optimization-drawing new business from appearing in top search engine results, contact Deep Blue Interactive today.  Deep Blue Interactive is a Fort Lauderdale web design and interactive marketing firm focused on achieving top search engine rankings for clients to generate new business.

The internet has evolved into a fast and powerful medium, acquiring more users annually since its birth.  Still, for some, the soft inviting couch is too much temptation to ward off.  These individuals prefer the old fashioned “entertain me” method, and find it more relaxing than performing searches for programming, pointing and clicking.  Those individuals may be pleasantly surprised with Blinkx.

Today’s web is increasingly being used to watch not only movies, but television shows on sites like Netflix and Hulu.  Many consider the internet to be an active form of entertainment, due to the interactive experience.  For this reason, it comes as no surprise that people have begun to develop ways to utilize the customization and flexibility that is the internet to fashion innovative forms of passive entertainment experiences.

Blinx is a video search engine.  Recently, Blinx has recently added two new buttons to its video search engine: “Inform me” and “Entertain me”.  The inform button displays a TV news show, similar to Google News with clips of various stories from around the World Wide Web in a continuous stream.  The entertain me button displays a stream of short clips that are drawn from popular entertainment sites such as YouTube.

The user can opt to simply sit back and enjoy the show, or use available content controls.  All the user need do is move the mouse over the screen, where available forward and back buttons appear, should they find the current stream boring.  The “more information” button will produce a more in-depth screen with a variety of options. Brought to you by Deep Blue Interactive, your Fort Lauderdale interactive marketing and web design firm.