The Utube Blog

News:  So what happens when Web 2.0 hits the traditional book world?  Well, Stephanie Meyer, the 34 year old author of the absurdly popular Twilight vampire books (a kinds of a cool version of Harry Potter), has the answer.  You can sell millions of books.  Read this week’s Businessweek article.  All book publishers should be studying and copying this model.

News:  In a very important decision, in The Cartoon Network v. C.S.C. Holdings, Inc., the Second Circuit (in NY) reversed a trial court’s decision in favor of copyright holders against cable companies planning to use a “remote storage” DVR.  The opinion is here.

A remote storage DVR means that the actual digital files are stored, not in the set top box in a person’s home, but instead remotely on the servers of the cable companies.  The functionality, however, is the same:  TV viewers want to “time shift” record shows for later viewing.  The Sony case in 1984 recognized the fair use right of viewers to time shift record on the VCR.  The “remote storage” DVR takes the storage from the home to some remote server.  

Several media companies representing copyright holders said that this change made the recording illegal b/c it was no longer taking place in the home.  The trial court agreed, but, interestingly, no fair use argument was considered in the analysis because the parties apparently did not present it.  So the decision turned on analyzing whether the remote storage constituted direct infringement.  On appeal, the Second Circuit held that it did not and reversed the trial court’s decision.

News: YouTube was sued again for copyright infringement, this time by Mediaset in Italy for allegedly infringing its programs in 4,643 unauthorized clips on YouTube. Mediaset seek 500 million Euros ($779 million US). More.

Analysis: YouTube already faces 2 major copyright lawsuits in the U.S. (one by Viacom for $1 billion and a class action lawsuit, both in NY). YouTube also was sued by Telecinco in Spain, and some news reports indicate that YouTube lost. The lawsuit in Italy just adds to YouTube’s headaches. The U.S. cases will test the scope of the DMCA safe harbors. I am not sure whether Spain and Italy have any comparable safe harbor.

For more about Prof. Randy Pausch’s death, click here.

Gillian Anderson’s new do looks great, but does anyone think we needed another X-Files movie?

Danica Patrick is not making friends on the IRL circuit.

Details here.

Video here.

One of the most amazing and inspiring stories ever.

News:  My buddy Doug Berman has already blogged about this interesting story involving YouTube and criminal sentencing.  Two teenagers in Florida pulled a “fire in the hole” prank at a Taco Bell.  Basically, the kids went through the drive-thru and then, before leaving, threw a soda at the employee through the window, yelling “fire in the hole.”  The boys captured the prank on video and posted it on YouTube.

Well, the Taco Bell employee did some great detective work on YouTube and then located the boys on MySpace and then called their mothers.  According to the news report, “as part of their sentence, the teens had to write, film, and post their video apology on YouTube, as well as pay $30 to clean the restaurant and serve 100 hours of community service.”

The Taco Bell employee said that she wants a face-to-face apology, however.

Here’s the apology:

Request for help: Rachel Widomski is a 28-year-old Ohio State art student who was a bartender at Haiku restaurant (and also BlueFish and Paul Liu’s restaurant) in Columbus. A couple weeks ago, Rachel was severely injured in a horrible crime when a man reportedly drove over her and Haiku’s co-owner Julie Liu as he tried to flee the parking lot of the restaurant in his Jeep without paying his bill. A local paper reported that “Widomski’s spine was broken in two places and crushed in others, which will leave her hospitalized for months and paralyzed for life.”

Many caring people in the community have organized ways for people to help Rachel and her long term medical care. For more information, visit www.haikuhelp.com.

1. Donations to the Rachel Widomski Medical Trust Fund can be made online at www.haikuhelp.com. Donations can also be made at any Huntington Bank.

2. If you are in Columbus this weekend (June 6-8), several events before, during, and after the Gallery Hop will conduct fundraising for Rachel:

Friday-Sunday, June 6-8

Tip Drive

A portion of tips received by servers from more than a dozen bars and restaurants in the Short North and Downtown areas will be donated to the fundraising effort, and over 20 area businesses will have donation buckets on hand.

Saturday, June 7

Silent Art Auction

6-10 p.m. at the Art Exchange. All proceeds from the sale of artwork will go to Widomski’s recovery fund.

Reflection Area

6-10 p.m. at the corner of Russell and North High streets

An empty storefront in the heart of the Short North will hold tributes to Widomski, updates on the victims’ condition and an additional donation site.

Benefit Concert

6:30-11:30 p.m. at the corner of North High Street and Hubbard Avenue. Five local acts will fill a stage set up across the street from Haiku.

5:30 pm - DJ True Skills
6:00 pm - Bob Ray Starker
7:00 pm - Megan Palmer
8:00 pm - Karate Coyote
9:00 pm - Paper Airplane
10:00 pm - Two Cow Garage

Sunday, June 8

“Big Night” 4 p.m. at Studio 35

All ticket proceeds from the Clintonville cinema’s one-time screening of the popular restaurant comedy will go to the cause.

For video of a news report, click here.

Cyrus Yazdani was arrested by LA County sheriffs for allegedly spraying graffiti in broad daylight and videotaping it for YouTube.  (More)

Not bad, but not as good as my favorite version of The Robot Dance, below. Wait for the second guy on the vid.

My friend told me about this interesting Internet project started by the Center for Court Innovation, a nonprofit think tank seeking “to promote justice system reform in the US and abroad.”  The Center is using YouTube to spread word about its project.  In this video, the Center relates personal stories related to drug addicts in New York who are trying to pull their lives together.

The Center’s YouTube channel can be found on this link.

Video here.

Video here

Video

Click here for video.

I analyze the answer in an article that you can download from this link.

As the last post mentioned, I’m moving my blog to Typepad (at least for a trial). I’ve renamed it The Utube blog 2.0. I’ll be able to offer high def videos there.

My blog will now be on www.theutubeblog.net.

Please visit! And I’ll need your patience as I work out the kinks.

Dear readers,

Thank you all for coming to this blog.  I get thousands of views every week, more than I ever imagined when I first started writing about this amazing website–indeed, phenomenon–called YouTube.

I have been considering a very difficult decision:  I may end this WordPress blog and start a new blog–The Utube Blog 2.0, if you will–on Typepad software.  If I do decide to switch, the old posts will remain parked here, and there will be a different URL for the the new blog, which won’t look like this one. 

Why change blogs?:  WordPress doesn’t allow embedding of all video players.  In fact, WordPress only allows a few:   Google Video, Youtube, DailyMotion, Grouper, Odeo, and SplashCast.  But there are many more video sites with amazing video content–more and more in high def–that I can’t include in this blog.  The quality of several of these other video sites is absolutely breathtaking, so I feel there’s a gaping hole in my coverage.  I hate to leave this site after I’ve churned out so many posts on WordPress, but I feel very behind the times on WordPress.  I want to be able to show you all the latest cutting-edge video capabilities, but I can’t do it on WordPress.

I’ve already tried other ways to keep my blog the same.  I hired a hosting service to transfer my WordPress blog there, which would give me complete freedom to embed whatever I want.  The hosting service, however, made the switch, but it looked terrible.  It wasn’t the same design as my original blog, and the customer service basically told me to figure out what to do myself.  The switch also erased all of the hundreds, if not thousands, of videos embedded in my old posts. I realized immediately the hosting service was terrible, and the switch to a third party hosting company would not solve my problem.

So when will I switch my blog to TypePad?  Probably soon, perhaps first on a 1 month trial basis.  This site will still be up here, but I won’t make any new posts on this blog.  I still haven’t decided to switch, but, if I do, I will include the forwarding address to the new blog.  And, of course, I hope you follow me to the new blog.

Give me your suggestions:  I’m also open to your suggestions.  Please comment if you have any reactions, or you can email me at utubeblog [at] gmail.com.

Thank you.

More about the draft.  Article from ars technica.

First time a beagle has ever won.  I think it’s unfair all the dogs are lumped into one class.  How is a chihuahua ever going to win this thing?