The company behind Rounds – a video hangout app for mobile and Web – has decided to keep the socializing just among friends. Referring to its "young user base" (it says 70% of its users are under 25, though it has yet to catch on at my son's high school), this week announced that the less than 3-month-old app was "retiring" its "Meet New People" feature "to focus on longer, more meaningful video … [Read more...] about Details, context on Rounds, Vine & other video-sharing apps
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Substantive followup to ‘Kony 2012’: Support Hope North
This article was originally published March 14, 2012, then my service’s server crashed, losing months of data. So reposting 10/8/12. Leaving all criticism in the dust because it's more distraction than action, here's the natural response to "Kony 2012," the most viral digital-video campaign in history (so far): "This Thing That Happened" about Hope North, the boarding school and haven in … [Read more...] about Substantive followup to ‘Kony 2012’: Support Hope North
‘Am I pretty?’ videos by teens
There is no data cited, but the San Francisco Chronicle's Mommy Files blog reports that "a growing number of tweens and teens, mainly girls, are posting videos on YouTube asking commenters if they’re ugly." Writer Amy Graff says, "Type ‘Am I ugly?’ or ‘Am I pretty’ into the YouTube search box and dozens of videos pop up." Sexuality researcher, author and educator Kris Gowen pointed one such … [Read more...] about ‘Am I pretty?’ videos by teens
Readers want video too
Just another sign of how our world and use of media are changing, and how "video-fied" we're all getting: Ad Age's subhead for its review of last year's top "print" apps was "App Revenue Suggests Readers Want 'Bells and Whistles' Like Video and Interactivity." To make articles more "accessible" to readers, magazine designers used to call for lots of "entry points" for readers – and not just "eye … [Read more...] about Readers want video too
Oscar’s Best Musical Performance: P.S. 22’s 5th-graders
I can't stop watching/listening to them, so – if you didn't catch the Oscars last night (or stay tuned till the so-not-bitter end) and aren't already a fan – catch this: P.S. 22's 5th-grade chorus singing a cover of MGMT's "Kids" or Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" (Jared soloing), which has so far been viewed more than 1.6 million times. Or catch amazing soloist Denise in their cover of "Firework" … [Read more...] about Oscar’s Best Musical Performance: P.S. 22’s 5th-graders