An allegation of rape or other sexual assault is a very serious business, and can lead to a stigma being attached to both the alleged victim and attacker.

Which means the fact that people are starting to use YouTube as well as social networks such as MySpace and Facebook to make these kinds of allegations very worrying indeed.

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NBC Direct has been with us now since last November, when it launched as a beta to offer a download service to those people who wanted to catch up with NBC shows.

Working in a similar way to the hugely popular BBC iPlayer, the service promised much but delivered little. And unfortunately, six months down the line that still seems to be the case.

Less Content Than Ever

Ars Technica decided the service was worth a second look now after NBC has had months to improve the process and system, and also add more content to the woefully small amount that was formerly available.

However, it seems that the service has got worse if anything, with less content available, DRM issues still rife, and problems getting the service up and running in the first place.

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Just two days ago, the makers of successful Web series KateModern confused everyone by cancelling the show at the height of its popularity.

It was announced that the final ever episode of the show will be broadcast on social network Bebo in June. This is despite the show achieving an average audience of 1.5 million viewers per episode.

Deal Between CBS and EQAL

However, with the announcement that the creators (Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried) new company EQAL has done a deal with American TV network CBS, the decision becomes somewhat clearer.

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KateModern, an interactive Web television series, created by EQAL exclusively for the social networking site Bebo is set to end on June 28th.

That will signal the end of series 2, and the makers have decided to leave it there although they haven’t ruled out reprising the drama at sometime in the future.

The series was the follow up to the viral hit LonelyGirl15, which fooled many in to thinking it was a real video diary rather than a carefully written and produced show.

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Anyone left in any doubts as to the value of Web video can argue no longer, as we now have a full length movie being released on DVD, all based on what started as a five minute viral YouTube hit.

Last year saw 300 released, a movie detailing the brave souls of the legendary Spartan army who fought against the Persian army until death or glory became their saviour.

Inspiration For Spoofs

When 300 came out, a huge amount of spoofs were made and put on YouTube, Yahoo Video, Metacafe and the like. Most of these were mash-ups mixing 300 with other films, and pop culture references such as Monty Python.

However, there was one which stood out against all the others, being a well made, brilliantly produced original piece detailing the Spartans who didn’t quite make the movie. Named 305, it was viewed by almost 4 million people, and became a true viral hit.

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Companies, both based online and off, are coming to realise the power of Web video to draw traffic in, and once it’s on the site, stay for a while exploring the content on offer.

One field which is utilising the relative ease of providing We based video to users is that of social networking sites.

Not content with providing people a place to connect and hook up, many of them are now providing content to keep people there long term.

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Mobile TV is one of the fastest growing sectors in the new range of television services emerging, with Asia, Europe and the US all showing signs of a desire to watch TV on the move using mobile devices.

Yesterday, The New York Times published a piece about the phenomenon, how the services, and take up amongst consumers, vary around the world, and how the fight is still on to be the single standard of choice for mobile video.

Asia Leading The Way

At the moment, Japan is the world’s leader in direct mobile television, with over 20 million mobile phones thought to be equipped with television receivers, and capable of receiving signals.

South Korea is not too far behind, with 8.2 million mobile phones in use with the ability. Worldwide, the number of people who view mobile TV is estimated to be about 29.7 million, although this is expected to double by the end of 2008.

Asia may be leading the way, but Europe and America are gradually catching up.

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