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New Media News Every Morning

Paltalk and Stephen King to deliver the first ever live fan & media press conference

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Real-time, video-based online community Paltalk is taking online viewers worldwide, for the first time, into an exclusive press conference with best-selling horror and fantasy author Stephen King on Monday, November 12th at 2PM EST.

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The press conference in New York is for the upcoming film adaptation of his 1980 novella The Mist. Paltalk’s one-of-a-kind technology will allow viewers to communicate directly with King himself, as well as the show hosts and other viewers, in real-time using voice, video and text chat as the shows air, providing a first-of-its-kind interactive and participatory user experience.

What’s cool about this innovative conference is that viewers will also have the opportunity to ask their own questions alongside those of professional seasoned journalists. The success of this new style of conferencing will open the doors for better interaction and collaboration between popular personalities and their fans.

Paltalk’s pioneering brand of socialcasting combines elements of broadcasted video content, social networking and live interactive video communities to form the next evolution of visual entertainment.

Originally posted on November 11, 2007 @ 12:25 pm

Drew Carey talks about marijuana at Reason.tv

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In a new Reason.tv video examining medical marijuana and the war on drugs, The Price Is Right and Power of 10 host Drew Carey wants the federal government to reclassify marijuana and that “people who need it should be able to get it safely and easily.”

In 1999 the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, concluded that marijuana has “therapeutic value” that relieves pain, controls vomiting and nausea, and stimulates the appetite.

This year, in a study funded by the state of California, doctors at the University of California at San Francisco and San Francisco General Hospital proved marijuana provides significant relief to HIV-infected patients suffering from neuropathic pain.

“The DEA is ignoring a large and growing body of evidence and needs to reschedule marijuana. Cancer patients, HIV and AIDS patients, and millions of sick Americans deserve access to the drugs that ease their pain and suffering, and Congress can and should facilitate that,” said David Nott, president of Reason Foundation.

Originally posted on November 4, 2007 @ 9:42 am

Best Buy launches online video sharing service

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videosharing.pngBest Buy today launched Best Buy Video Sharing, an online-based solution for customers to safely store and share home movies and videos via the Web.

Best Buy Video Sharing is a subscription-based service for users to upload their personal videos for sharing on web sites and blogs, with family and friends, or in e-mail messages. Unlike many other video sharing services, Best Buy Video Sharing allows the user to choose who can view their home videos, and enables the user to do so in an advertising-free environment.

Best Buy Video Sharing was created in partnership with Mydeo, a provider of quality streaming video hosting for home and business users. The service will be merchandised online and in Best Buy’s retail stores. Best Buy will also take a minority, equity stake in Mydeo.

Base plans start at $6.97 for 100 minutes of video hosting and video lengths up to 30 minutes each. Customers can chose premium plans for extended video lengths, additional video storage capacity, and other sharing features.

Originally posted on October 30, 2007 @ 11:57 am

Hulu starts private beta testing

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As promised, NBC and Universal Corp’s highly anticipated video-sharing site Hulu has finally started its private beta testing with 90 TV series clips including Lost, Heroes, House M.D., Prison Break, The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, and many more.

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Contrary to popular belief, Hulu does not want to be the so-called YouTube-killer. According to Reuters, this site wants to be “the premier destination for full length shows and movies” and regarded for its “high quality approach to content.”

Hulu’s partners include Fox, NBC, E!, Bravo, FX, SciFi, USA, and Universal. Although convincing big content producers is a big challenge to this startup site, it managed to include Sony Pictures Television and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. in its roster.

Unfortunately, Hulu’s official blog stated that “not everyone will receive an invitation to the private beta today, but we will be ramping up the number of invitations to the private beta each week.”

Originally posted on October 29, 2007 @ 8:59 am

Metacafe debuts “Director’s Cut” Channel

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metacafe.pngMetacafe launched its new “Director’s Cut” channel. The channel showcases short videos made for the interactive Internet medium that honor the art of storytelling and the craft of filmmaking. To qualify for “Director’s Cut,” videos must be narrative-driven, of high production value, and fall into one of the specified categories: Comedy, Animation, Documentary and Action & Drama.

“Short-form online video is a new genre of entertainment well-suited to today’s pace of life, enabling fans to enjoy a ‘media snack’ whenever and wherever they like,” said Erick Hachenburg, CEO of Metacafe. “The ‘Director’s Cut’ channel features some of the best original content in this new genre, short videos created and nominated by members of the vibrant Metacafe community.”

Videos showcased in “Director’s Cut” are chosen from those submitted to the Metacafe Producer and Producer Rewards programs. Registered members of the Metacafe community are invited to nominate or submit their favorite original videos for inclusion in the new channel.

Originally posted on October 25, 2007 @ 9:56 am