Dynamo Player – Instant Monetization Tool for Videos Unveiled at SXSW
March 14, 2010
Rob Millis and Will Cohlan, the pair beyond the web show Political Lunch, gave a presentation at SXSW called "Beyond Advertising: Can Online Video Finally Pay?" The discussion led to the unveiling of a tool for online video monetization called Dynamo Player.
The goal (short-term at least) of the tool is to simplify the process of uploading a video to the web, making it portable, and quickly getting viewers to pay for it.
WebProNews pulled Millis and Cohlan aside after the presentation to discuss Dynamo Player a little bit more:
Dynamo's slogan is "Powering independence." This concept comes from the idea that the product lets content producers have more control than with other options. Users can set their price, upload the video, and publish it anywhere on the web, and start making money immediately. Each time a viewer pays to watch your video, the money is deposited directly into your account.
For payments, the Dynamo player uses PayPal. Viewers are asked to pay, when they press play, right from the player. Of course, you'll have to provide content that people actually want to pay for, and Millis and Cohlan made a fair case as to why paid online video content will likely become more accepted by users (with sites like iTunes already paving the way).
Dynamo is not about competing with a site like YouTube, as far as offering a destination for users to go and watch online video (at least at this point), although they did say a future option could be to present featured videos on their site. Dynamo is geared more at the producers themselves, to put their videos wherever they choose.
Content producers who want to give it a spin can send an email to the guys at beta@dynamoplayer.com, and let them know.
YouTube Solicits Ideas For Partner Program
March 12, 2010
YouTube Partners are, pretty much by definition, some of YouTube's most important users. They create original content, don't violate copyright laws, and have huge audiences. It makes sense, then, that YouTube is now looking hard for ways to improve its Partner Program.
The hunt has taken the form of a crowdsourced project. Just as the Ideas Page for YouTube was created not too long ago for the sake of the whole site, the new Product Ideas Page for the YouTube Partner Program covers this single subject. People can submit ideas and vote on which ones they think are best.
It's an effective process. On the YouTube Biz Blog, Filipe Lima noted with respect to the first effort, "It was a success, receiving almost 3,000 ideas and more than 300,000 votes. We even launched a few features that directly addressed some of the requests - namely, an HTML5 Beta (there were many HTML5 advocates who participated) and a sneak peek of our new cleaner video page (some desired a 'less cluttered' YouTube)."
So now we'll see where round two takes us.
The deadline for both new submissions and votes is April 12th. If you have any suggestions, get them in earlier, though, for the sake of giving them more time to become popular.
Google Checkout Gift Messaging Gets Some Changes
February 17, 2010
Google Checkout's Advanced Buyer Messaging (gift messaging) feature has been taken out of beta. This feature, which was released over a year ago lets Google Checkout customers add gift messages, add additional instructions, and request gift receipts.
The new beta-less version of the feature comes with a few changes. Google explains, "Based on user feedback, we have streamlined the number of tags making the feature more straightforward to use. We will support only the gift-message, include-gift-receipt and special-instructions tags going forward."
Users who are currently using any of the old tags can continue to do that, but Google wants users to switch to one of the supported tags. "If you haven't used the Advanced Buyer Functionality yet, we encourage you to explore how these features may be able to improve your customer experience," the company tells users.
There is an extensive explanation about how to use the Advanced Buyer Messaging feature of Google Checkout on this page. It covers messaging options, gift messages and special instructions, gift receipts, and HTML tag definitions.
On a semi-related note, Google has reportedly hired an eBay veteran to fill its vice president of commerce position. Stephanie Tilenius would presumably oversee Google Checkout.
Old Version of AdWords API Nears Expiration Date
February 2, 2010
Update: Google is reminding users of the AdWords API that on April 22, most of the services related to v13 will be turned off.
Google is telling users to switch to v200909 as soon as possible to avoid any complications.
Original Article: Google has launched the newest version of the AdWords API v2009 beta. That would be version 200909. Google cites the following as the highlights of the new API:
- Asynchronous calls - Asynchronous calls allow you to work with large sets of data faster and more easily. Instead of having to wait for our system to fully complete your request before you can make another one, you’re now able to make another call as soon as the API service confirms that it has received your previous call. No more waiting for the server to complete large requests. V200909 will continue to support Synchronous methods as well.
- Keyword and placement ideas - With the new TargetingIdeaService, you'll be able to get keyword and placement ideas through the API, leveraging the functionality of the search-based keyword tool.
- Location Extensions preview - Limited location extensions functionality is now available as a preview of the full functionality in development.
These are just the highlights. Google has a complete list of all of the new features in its release notes.
The company says that over the next few months, it will continue to introduce new features and additional AdWords functionality. New features will include ReportService, AccountService and the ability to pre-check for errors.
"Given that v2009 introduces new concepts and features, we have extended the sunset period for deprecated services to 6 months," Google says. "If you haven't already begun migrating your systems to the v2009 API, we strongly encourage you to start right away."
v13 services CampaignService, AdGroupService, CriterionService, AdService, InfoService, KeywordToolService, and SiteSuggestionService will sunset on April 22, 2010. Other v13 service sunset dates will be announced in due time.
