Torrent sites continue to be blamed for the many ills of society. But wait, is it not just a case of the technology not being used correctly and the way in which it was intended? VODO thinks so, and is attempting to open up torrent sites for filmmakers to utilize.

Torrent Sites

What are torrent sites used for? Many of you would have answered that it’s pretty much all pirated content being shared via torrents. And while there is a lot of copyrighted material being shared illegally on them, there is also much that is legal and copyright-free.

There are very few companies and organizations who have taken advantage of the technology as a way to distribute content thus far. But VODO is one of these, allowing and encouraging filmmakers to use torrent sites to seed their features and get them out there being watched.

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On Sunday, U2 played a gig at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in California as part of their current world tour. It streamed live on YouTube and managed to rack up 10 million viewers. Which is a huge success for both Google and the Akamai content delivery network which handled the event.

Live Success

YouTube is no stranger to live streaming, having experimented with the method of broadcasting a few times since being acquired by Google. However, Sunday night’s U2 concert was a hit like the site has never experienced before.

When competing with the bread and butter of YouTube – the viral videos generated by users – the U2 concert was a relative failure, but gaining such a large audience for an event such as this is nothing short of spectacular.

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I think the expression is three strikes and you’re out. And with three execs involved with Hulu now having hinted at paid content on its way, I think it’s safe to assume this is more than just an idea of something that could happen in the future. In fact, I’d suggest it’s now guaranteed to happen.

Free Hulu

Hulu is currently the free home of premium online video content in the United States. The fact it’s only available in the U.S. is annoying for those of us outside the country but there is at least hope of an international roll-out to come.

The problem is that it doesn’t look as though Hulu will be completely free for much longer. In fact, if the people in charge have their way, which they undoubtedly will seeing as they are indeed in charge, Hulu could be charging by 2010, which is just over two months away.

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Arqiva has taken on the remains of Project Kangaroo and is building its SeeSaw VOD service around it. But can it succeed against the likes of the BBC iPlayer, Hulu UK, MSN Video, and all the other competitors?

Kangaroo To Arqiva

When Project Kangaroo was killed at birth, there was little that the BBC and its partners could do but sell off the assets. This included the technology, infrastructure, and branding.

A buyer was found in the shape of Arqiva, a company which owns and operates the network for terrestrial TV and radio, as well as licenses for two of the six digital TV multiplexes. It hasn’t any experience in delivering online video however.

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Full-length episodes of television shows and movies are an important part of YouTube heading forward. Which means the company must be delighted to have signed a deal with UK broadcaster Channel 4 which will see 3,000 hours of content coming to the video sharing site.

YouTube and Channel 4

YouTube has for a while now been moving away from user-generated content and trying to entice broadcasters into providing content via the site. It’s had mixed success but it has now nabbed a major broadcaster in the form of Channel 4.

Channel 4 was the first UK broadcaster to launch a video on demand service, doing so in 2006. But 4oD failed to get the attention it deserved and the BBC iPlayer snatched the limelight instead. 4oD has gone through some major changes since then and now rivals the iPlayer for user experience.

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BSkyB is giving one hand while taking with the other, or at least trying to take with the other. While Sky News is now available for anyone to watch for free online, BSkyB is busy putting the boot into the BBC over its plans for Project Canvas.

Kangaroo To Canvas

First came Project Kangaroo, a joint online video on demand venture from the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4. Things were going well until BSkyB and Virgin Media, the providers of satellite and cable television in the U.K. complained about the proposals. This lead to the Competition Commission killing the project.

So the BBC regrouped and began work on Project Canvas alongside partners ITV and Five. Canvas is an effort to develop a new open standard for online video which could be used by all who wanted to do so. New set-top boxes would be released to enable people to watch a range of television programs over the Internet.

But BSkyB, run by the irrepressible Rupert Murdoch, isn’t happy. Again.

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Twitter has become the darling of social media by keeping things simple, with 140-characters or less messages. Currently, only text and links to external sites are allowed in tweets, but could video messages soon be showing up in the public timeline?

And if so, what does that mean for third-party apps such as Twiddeo, Tweetube and 12seconds which already offer similar off-site services?

Tweeting It Simple

Twitter is growing in popularity and influence all the time. What started out as a small, niche social networking site is catching up with the likes of Facebook and MySpace.

Part of its appeal is the lack of anything complicated or messy clogging up the site. Twitter sticks to the 140-characters or less tweets while letting developers use the API to expand the service outwards.

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