Citizen journalists have increased both in number and importance in recent years. And Google is now seeking to bring some order to the chaos of how amateur footage is delivered online with YouTube Direct matching citizen journalists with news media organizations.

Citizen Journalists

There was a time when news coverage was strictly professional, delivered by paid reporters, photographers, and cameramen. And then everything changed with digital cameras and video cameras standard on cellphones.

Now, any Tom, Dick, or Harry can be a citizen journalist, reporting the news as it happens in front of them. Twitter and social networks are an important facet of this trend, as is online video and in particular YouTube.

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The BBC iPlayer continues to go from strength to strength. Last week saw the service win the Judges’ Award at the 2009 Royal Television Society Innovation Awards and get its own dedicated channel on the Nintendo Wii.

BBC iPlayer

The BBC iPlayer has shone like a beacon since its full launch almost two years ago in December 2007. The catch-up TV service lead the way not only in the U.K. but around the world, with Hulu being its big-name opposite in the U.S.

Rather than rest on its laurels, the BBC carried on improving the service despite already providing millions of streams to viewers. The current iteration of the iPlayer service is more user-friendly and easy-to-use than any Web application or online video site.

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The rise of online video stars has been rapid and taken a lot of people by surprise. YouTube now has the power to make someone a household name, and Fred Figglehorn is one of those success stories. And he’s now set to take Hollywood by storm.

Fred Who?

Fred Figglehorn first came to my attention early in 2008 when his YouTube channel started gaining fans faster than most teen pop stars manage.

In June, I covered Fred’s story, which in actual fact is Lucas Cruikshank’s story, as he’s the kid who created and plays the character in numerous YouTube videos.

In short, Fred is the six-year-old alter-ego of a 14-year-old kid from Nebraska. His charms are talking in a squeaky voice, mugging to camera, and ranting and raving in a way most six-year-olds are incapable of. At least the ones I’ve met.

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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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