Bamboo Mediacasting

User Generated Content on the Go – by Mobile Monte

Bamboo Mediacasting — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:00:40 +0000

Most of us love ourselves, want exposure and think we are worthy of others’ admiration. Thus the supply side of User Generated Content services (“UGC”) is clear. What is remarkable is that we (me included) actually enjoy watching amateur videos of others. And we do, as evident from YouTube’s millions of downloads a day, and its recent acquisition by Google.

But can UGC go mobile? Will people be willing to both create and consume UGC videos on the go? In my opinion, the clearest advantage Mobile UGC offers is the fact that most new phones can capture video. Thus we can all join in the UGC fun and create our content spontaneously, or capture something interesting we see happening on the street.

However, several key issues must be addressed if UGC is to go mobile. [1] Creating a video on the handset is relatively simply, yet posting it to a YouTube-like site is complex and costly in terms of data-charges. Cost issues are addressed below, but transferring “mobile-phone video” to a website requires Bluetoothing it to a PC, then uploading it to the UGC website, a process few of us will bother with. A dedicated UGC client on the phone can resolve this and allow users to capture the video, then upload it to the UGC website virtually with a single click.

As to receiving and viewing videos on the handset, there are several ways to accomplish this. A WAP Pull model involves the UGC mobile service provider posting many videos on a WAP Portal for users to browse and pull. This model will fail, as have most WAP services, given the cumbersome click & wait, menu intense experience of mobile internet. The subscription-push model is a viable alternative, where users subscribe to a specific UGC topic (say Entertainment), then have the “Top Entertainment clip of the Day” delivered to them automatically. Push allows for the automatic delivery of large files (say, overnight), eliminating the need of users to browse-pull, then wait for the download of a large file in real-time. Customizing the service to the user’s specific area of interest is easily accomplished using a simple web-based (preferable to WAP) registration page, which allows the user to subscribe to a precise channel of interest.

Should the Mobile UGC service provider (say Vodafone) build its own community, or partner with a YouTube-like service? The latter is the clear answer. A few years ago I was responsible for designing and selling an advanced client/server mobile Instant Messaging solution. Effort spent trying to persuade
U.S. operators to buy an IM solution then build new mobile-IM communities rather than wait until AOL, AIM, ICQ and Yahoo agree to interoperate were futile. Operators had no desire to build new communities, and also realized that users would not duplicate communities – one mobile and one PC-based. Verizon Wireless finally bought our platform, brought the enemy IM communities together, and created a killer service. Thus service providers interested in offering Mobile UGC must partner with existing communities, not build their own.

Cost to the user is a critical factor in determining who will operate the Mobile UGC and how the user will be charged. Unless Mobile operators are intricately involved in the UGC service, the service will fail, primary due to cost issues. The sending and receiving of video content is data intense, and extremely costly to the user, unless a clear monthly fee is established for the service. Mobile operators control the cost of data traffic on their network. Thus, unless the Mobile operator adopts the USG service and creates clear and reasonable fee-structures for it, no one will use it.

Do Operators want to launch such services? You bet. From a revenue perspective, most operators subsidize the expensive handsets we use, only to see us load them with MP3 files from the PC, for which the operator seeing no revenue at all. Operators must find ways to get users to fill their phone with Operator-based content. From a “Branding” perspective, it would be Verizon and Vodafone’s wet dream to launch a YouTube branded service.

To summarize, UGC services appear headed for mass-market adoption. Such a service can easily port to the mobile environment. A smart, appealing client and simple registration process can offer great functionality that is easy to use. Operator involvement is crucial. Given the brand-value of a YouTube Mobile service, I assume that we will see such a service in the near future.

(1) For purposes of this discussion, the term Mobile UGC service refers to a service which allows users to both create content on a handset and post it to a PC/web based community, as well as to receive content from that web-based community.

Mobile TV and the Great Vendor Conspiracy – By MobileMonte

Bamboo Mediacasting — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 15:50:47 +0000

Feature Article of Mobile Europe Magazine – October

Since GPRS, there has been a constant hype around non-SMS data applications. Attending mobile trade shows, one could easily identify the annual killer-application. WAP, MMS, Streaming and Mobile TV have all enjoyed much more than their deserved 15 minutes of fame, but none have delivered anything but a trickle of early-adopters. While there can be no single explanation for this failure, the unspoken truth is that these network-oriented services have failed mainly because they been generated to serve the interests of industry, and primarily network and handset vendors. Unfortunately, the user’s interest is low on the totem pole. Although we all hold devices and constantly fiddle with their buttons, we refuse to adopt the data services offered. If services continue to be network-oriented and to primarily serve the industry, rather than the user, expensive DVBH and HSDPA networks will be launched, but used by few.

It can not be disputed that streaming services generally, and Mobile TV specifically have been the dandy of vendors for years. Attending Symbian events as early back as 2002, developers could watch Nokia keynote speakers demonstrate the live streaming of TV programs, and promoting it as the next big thing. At 3GSM, the industry’s main trade show, topics such as Push to Talk and Instant Messaging have received some attention, but Mobile TV has for years enjoyed unparallel exposure. In the high-tech industry, where Next Big Things enjoy a short shelf life, the on-going obsession with Mobile TV requires examination. …

For the full article, visit: http://www.mobileeurope.co.uk/magazine/features.ehtml?o=2508

Mobile Podcasting – Hype or Reality?

Bamboo Mediacasting — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 18:03:58 +0000

By Monte Silver aka Mobile Monte

The cellular industry has repeatedly attempted to port popular consumer services to the mobile environment. Internet became Mobile Internet. TV became Mobile TV. Despite the investment of billions of dollars in data networks, spectrum, devices, and marketing campaigns, very few services have ported successfully.

Yet digital music and podcasting prove that users will go to great lengths to mobilize entertainment, including actively connecting a media device to a PC and transferring to it content downloaded from the internet. But can podcasting become a cellular service enjoyed on handsets? Clearly, podcasting has certain attributes suitable for the mobile environment. First, it is an “on-the-go” experience. Second, enjoying audio content is not effected by the handset’s small display screen. Thus should not a porting failure be construed as conclusive evidence that users simply do not believe that the mobile phone is a media device? This article outlines the critical issues that must be addressed if podcasting is to see even minimal mobile mass-market penetration.

Given the handset’s small screen and the cumbersome browsing experience, how mobile users discover and receive podcasts will have a huge impact on the nature and success of the service. There are two alternative models: network-based solutions and client-based solutions. Network-based solutions like WAP offer podcast menus on the Operator’s Portal. Users locate the appropriate podcast, and then initiate a download.

WAP has failed to appeal to the mass-market user. The click and wait, menu-intense experience of Mobile Internet is horrible. Few will navigate countless Portal menus to locate a podcast, and then wait for the download of a large file to end before listening to their podcast.

Podcasts can also be streamed off the Portal. Here, however, in addition to the cumbersome Portal-Pull issues, the user-experience becomes dependent on consistent and sufficient data transmission during the stream. A user listening to a podcast while commuting by train will often lose coverage altogether. Securing bandwidth in peak-hours or in congested areas is very difficult. Thus streaming can not deliver an acceptable level of service.

Whether downloaded or streamed, obtaining content via pull assumes that a user will regularly poll for content. Two problems: First, the active user concept runs counter to the Podcast model. Second, a compelling mobile experience must be simple and automated. The potential mass-market mobile user is not as “early-adopted” oriented as a current podcast user. Thus, the user-experience on mobile user must be as good, if not better than the iPod experience for the mass-market to accept it.

Client solutions reduce the amount of browsing and provide a more immediate, user-friendly experience. The first type of solution, offered by Odeo, involves a client that displays a catalogue-list of available podcasts. The user scrolls down the list and selects one, which initiates a content delivery session. Content discovery is simplified as WAP browsing to the portal is avoided. However, real-time delivery is required, which means consumption delays. Also, a consumption decision must be made daily.

The second client solution is that offered by MobiPod collaboration between Bamboo Mediacasting and Britcaster) and involves background download. Full version video and audio podcast files are delivered to the user transparently, without any user involvement required, for example overnight. Fresh content is available for immediate consumption for the morning commute with no network access required.

Will users willing to pay for mobile podcast services, and will operators actually want to launch anything but a barebones service for PR purposes?

People are clearly taking their entertainment with them. Also, working people have clearly definable windows of dead time while commuting to and from work. During these times, they are a captive audience. Will the mass-market, which holds mobile phones rather than other media-devices, be willing to adopt and pay for services which deliver personalized podcasts to them?

One barrier is the perception that podcasts are and should remain free. Whether users are willing to pay for podcasts on their mobile will depend of factors such as easy of use, quality of content, and price. If the user-experience is easy, it is quite likely that people will pay a small premium in order to receive Tier 1 content on their mobile phones, rather than buy an iPod and then bother with transferring content from their computer to a device each morning.

One thing is certain: the operator is keen to have such operator-provided services succeed. First, from a revenue perspective, operators subsidize the handsets, yet see no revenue when a user transfers music to it from the PC. Second, should the mass-market view iPod-like devices as their default device for media consumption, the mobile handset will be marginalized and become a voice-only device. As iPod develops Skype-like internet telephone functionality over WIFI, operators will lose voice as well. It is thus imperative for the operator that the mobile phone claim a firm stake as a media device.

Mobile podcasting, however, poses a few challenges to the operator. First, mobile networks are inefficient in terms of data transmission, and the cost to the operator of transmitting data is high. While a user might pay 20 Euro/month for unlimited residential broadband access, the same user might be charged 1 Euro/MB for mobile data. As the average 30-40 minute PC-based audio podcast is approximately 15 MB, the operator can not justify charging of a few Euros a month for a mobile podcast service, when a single Pull-downloaded video clip can generate two Euro.

Mobile podcasting be made more efficient. First, the size of podcasts can easily be reduced by simple content transcoding. A 30 minute podcast can be reduced to 1.5MB, without impacting sound quality. Furthermore, the delivery frequency of a podcast service can be reduced. (Delivering shorter podcasts is an option, but Tier 1 podcasters will not create “mobile-versions” of their programs unless it makes economic sense).

Second, the podcast files must be delivered during off-peak hours, ideally overnight. During peak hours and in congested areas, the cost of data delivery is at its highest. Delivery of large data files during peak hours will chill operator enthusiasm. Conversely, during off-peak hours, the network is empty, minimizing the cost of data transmission. This requirement would appear to point to a push service model, with scheduled off-peak delivery.

One final issue is that of billing and revenue. Mobile users will only adopt podcasting if the pricing structure is clear and reasonable. A transparent monthly subscription fee for the service, without any additional data charges, is mandatory. In terms of additional operator revenue potential, one point worth noting is advertising. As audio and video advertisements are easily included in podcasts, the potential for advertising revenue is significant.

To summarize, several key factors must be considered if mobile podcasting is to be even marginally successful. Usability issues are of paramount importance. Early adopters may occasionally pull content, but the mass-market will not. Rather, a client-based subscription push model appears to be the most suitable, both in terms of user experience and network utilization. In addition, a clear charging model is mandatory for user uptake. Finally, Tier 1 content, modified for the mobile experience, is important, yet relatively easy to secure. Now it remains to be seen whether attractive services are deployed and enjoyed.

Mobile Monte can be reached at mobilemonte@hotmail.com