Media Related Story - The Queen's 'Royal Channel' on YouTube

Buckingham Palace has reacently launched The Royal Channel on YouTube to meet the public's needs regarding royal footage.

"always keeps abreast with new ways of communicating with people".

According to Buckingham Palace, the Queen is genuinely interested in the evolution of communication and has heralded the channel as a way to "...make the Christmas message more accessible to younger people and those in other countries."

(BBC Website)

The channel offers clips from throughout the Queen's reign, important events in the royal calendar and links to other sites of royal interest.

The launch of this YouTube channel is quite incredible. It demonstrates a couple of things. It shows that sites like YouTube are becoming more important to organisations who want to spread information to a large volume of people.

It also rather suggests that YouTube has an official quality to it. The Queen obviously feels that YouTube has some sort of status on the World Wide Web and as a result has chosen them to help her broadcast the royal message. The obvious benefit for YouTube is the royal seal of approval for their site, boosting their status and, no doubt, business.

NEWS DESK MWAH HA HA!!! - 15 reasons Facebook may be worth $15bn

Reuben - "Facebook is working again."

Lance - "Oh my God, everyone back to the computers."

This is becoming an ever more common set of events amongst young people nowadays, and it's making Microsoft bosses smile with glee.

Microsoft has invested $240m (£117m) in social networking site Facebook in exchange for a 1.6% share of the company. That puts a value of $15bn (£7.3bn) on a firm that has only been in existence three and a half years.

Here are 15 reasons why Facebook is potentially worth $15bn.

1. The network has gone viral in the last 12 months, with more than 50 million users worldwide and a user base that is growing faster than great rival MySpace. According to Facebook, it adds 200,000 new users each day.

2. The average user spends 3.5 hours a month on Facebook - more than the average user on rival MySpace - which is increasingly attractive to advertisers.

3. Facebook is the current Web 2.0 darling - popular with ordinary users and "tech heads" alike.

4. US research reveals that Facebook users come from wealthier homes and are more likely to attend college than MySpace users - increasing that attraction for advertisers.

5. Microsoft's investment makes them a serious player in the growing market of "social advertising". Social network profiles are full of personal data that users voluntarily hand over, which is very useful for targeting adverts.

6. Sixty percent of Facebook users are outside of the US - so Microsoft's investment buys access to a global audience quickly and simply.

7. Facebook is the new web: The decision to open up the network to outside developers turned Facebook into a destination for many uses, like messaging, photos and video. Of course, as Facebook is on the web it could never really be the new web.

8. Every major content firm with an online presence is either working on a Facebook application or has already launched one - from Google to the BBC.

9. According to a report, 233 million hours of work are lost each month in the UK due to staff looking at social networks. Advertisers can now target people when at their desks.

10. The openness of Facebook is attracting a wealth of talented developers who can launch their applications to millions of users quickly.

11. Facebook messaging is the new e-mail. Everyone feels stressed from a deluge of e-mail from unwanted people and companies. But Facebook messages are always from friends.

12. Facebook's "status updates" have become the easiest way to let friends know what you are doing and how you are feeling at any given moment.

13. Facebook thrives on playful applications such as Pirates, Zombies, Super Wall and Top Friends, which have made the network a place to play as well as communicate.

14. Facebook is the acceptable face of blogging - you can reflect your life and personality online without being seen as a "blogger", which often carries a geeky stigma.

15. Facebook is worth $15bn only because Microsoft says so. The value of Facebook is based on a 1.6% share of the firm being worth the $240m Microsoft paid for it. Microsoft and Google were in a bidding war for a slice of the firm and both companies have large pockets. This was not just business, this was personal, according to some analysts.

BBC Technology Website

Endemol - Ready, Steady...Deal Or No Deal (Did you see what I did there!)

Endemol is one of Britain's largest independent producers of TV and digital media content and is responsible annually for more than 5,000 hours of programming.

I was lucky enough to go along to Endemol UK's facilities in Bristol for a trip around the site. The site consists of a series of brick built warehouses. It wouldn't look out of place in a flick with themes of 80s political oppression in a northern mining town. (Think 'Billy Elliot')

The reason for this is simple, as prices rise regarding hiring facilities built for the purpose, Endemol have chosen to fabricate their own site out of old warehouses which can be cheaply turned into studio facilities and accompanying pre and post-production facilities.

The result is a site which is actually very practical because it means there is room for: Studios, scene docks, workshops, offices, artist and audience reception rooms, production galleries, edit suits and other accompanying pre and post-production facilities; all of which Endemol UK has.

So what is so special about Endemol that warrants my presence?
Well, Endemol are special for a couple of different reasons. They are currently Britain's top producer of content that does not broadcast. They also have some very VERY important, high rating shows under their belt.

These include:
Big Brother
Deal Or No Deal
Ready, Steady, Cook
8-10 Cats

and many others...

So what did you see Michael?
Well, my day began with a pleasant bus trip to the site during which I found a new appreciation for my iPod. I arrived a bit early so went for a stroll around a neighboring graveyard. (Don't look too deeply into that) I went and made my presence known at the reception and was invited into the waiting area where I was joined by Ved, Will, Rob and Reuben...hurrah!

We then met Annalise who took us through the Deal Or No Deal set to the audience reception area where we were given identification tags and introduced to the audience researchers.

Audience Researcher: From my understanding there job appears to be to book audience and then look after them when they are on the site, this involves providing safety information and information about the program and how it works. They also control the audience seating arrangements regarding where people should sit relating to how it will look on camera.

Studio Layout:

Once inside the studio, we watched a recording of the show which was filmed almost in chronological order other than some audience reactions which were 'picked up' after principal shooting had finished.

Some other roles we saw in the studio were:

Floor manager
Makeup Artists
Camera Operators and Camera Assistants

Please click here for a detailed explanation of these roles.

Then what happened?
After the recording, we were shown round the rest of the facilities by Annalise. We were told that they shoot three shows a day and simply rotate the audience. The editing was handled by a seperate company hired by Endemol on the same site, 'The Farm'.
There were I believe five editing suits all using Avid. It takes four days to edit one show together and there is a two month period between the program being shot and the program being broadcast. We were going to meet the production manager but unfortunately she was too busy.

It was a really good day and I think I actually learned quite a lot. I was surprised by the amount of time it took to edit a show and how many shows they shot in a day. I was also surprised by the amount of crew in the studio. And now I finally understand Deal or no Deal. Our episode will be broadcast on the 29/02/08.

So...are you ready for the big question? Deal, or no deal?

NEWS DESK MWAH HA HA!!! - "Extra Extra! Republicans Presidential YouTube Debate Isn't as popular as Star Wars Kid!"

"These mad Republicans and their...'YOU-TUBE'!" Spewed aged Democrat supporter Joseph Bloggs outside congress today. He didn't really, in fact, he doesn't exist...it was a clever ploy to get you reading this post.

Anyway, US Republicans Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have recently held a debate in which they answered voters questions that had been submitted to YouTube.

This is interesting for a few reasons. It opens up a new platform for political debate. If broadcasters can work out a system by which they can broadcast their information over social networking utilities, they will be able to spread their message to many millions of potential voters.

The debate was heralded as 'The youth vote getting a voice.' This leads on to another important factor. Youth vote is very important in politics as it is often the 'Youth Vote' that is not counted. The reason for this is...youth generally don't vote. Only 20% of youth in the united kingdom (18-21) said they would definitely use their vote. (BBC 2001 Election Watch)

Sites like YouTube and Facebook could be key in the future (with the owners of the sites permitting) of getting the Youth interested in politics and their vote.
How long will it be before people can have a live feed over the Internet with two way conversation to a studio or party headquarters? Will 'Question Time' audiences be replaced by macs? When will the 'Vote for who you want to run the country' application be available on Facebook?