Archive of TheNextWeb.org
Written on January 7, 2009 – 12:39 pm
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Dagan Cohen presenting the list
My co-editor Zee reported about it last night, yet co-editors Boris, Patrick and I actually went there: Upload Cinema. A monthly gig in Amsterdam where organizers Barbara de Wijn and Dagan Cohen take web videos to the big screen. It’s sponsored by Amsterdam advertising agency Draftfcb and invitation only, however you can apply for membership here.
On Monday, Upload Cinema presented their fine selection of last year’s best viral videos. Cohen explained that they left out the Idols/ X-Factor stuff, as that’s sooo 2006. One of the most sexiest virals was also excluded by the strict judges, since they already showed that one during a previous edition.
We were all surprised by the original and sometimes artistic entries. So give yourself a well deserved break and watch the ones you haven’t seen.
The list
1. Mankind Is No Island
Made by: JASON VAN GENDEREN
2. Wassup 2000
Made by: DOOMWITHBOOM
3. Wassup 2008
Made by: 60FRAMES
4. Yes We Can
Made by: WECAN08
(more…)
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Written on August 28, 2008 – 10:42 pm
Mike Sheetal, Next Web WebTipr in Japan
First it was “Prirates of Silicon Valley” that set the geek standard for biography films, now it seems that social networks are the next frontier in film inspiration. Aaron Sorkin, has started talking about starting the project to write about the formidable days of Facebook, commissioned by Sony Pictures according to several news sources. Sorkin previously wrote for TV series, “The West Wing” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”, as well as writing the screenplays for “A Few Good Men”, “Malice” and “Charlie Wilson’s War”.
The fun starts with the account set up for Sorkin on Facebook where the announcement was apparently first announced. I say apparently, because Sorkin’s facebook account (which you can see listed at the top of a search for his name on Facebook) has the privacy setting set high enough that nobody can see any information about Sorkin or request a friend relationship without knowing a direct email address.
Surprise, surprise, as it turns out, Sorkin is not so familiar with the internets. Via Worst Previews, here is what he had to say on the Facebook page :
“I’ve just agreed to write a movie for Sony and producer Scott Rudin about how Facebook was invented. I figured a good first step in my preparation would be finding out what Facebook is, so I’ve started this page. (Actually it was started by my researcher, Ian Reichbach, because my grandmother has more Internet savvy than I do and she’s been dead for 33 years.)”
Lets hope Aaron learns a few things about Facebook before he gets too far into the script.
Written on May 7, 2008 – 8:00 am
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
You might have read about this on Mike Butcher’s TechCrunch UK: Hobnox, a Germany-based start-up that aims to become the next big thing for people in the creative industries. It’s an online music and video platform where users can watch, connect, collaborate and create. Co-founder David Noël sent me an invite so I decided to give it a shot, as his plans sounded very ambitious. What struck me the most when testing the service were the über cool flash-based audio and video Noxtools. I’ve made a screen shot of the audio Noxtool to give you an idea:
Once you’ve figured this tool out it’s possible to upload your masterworks to a personal library. You can then create a playlist that you can publish to the stage for everyone to see. There are also three Channels which are maintained by Hobnox’s own editorial team and streamed in high quality. This team is screening the work of the community to find some hidden talent.
It’s an original concept, yet I’m afraid it’s not original enough to function as a closed platform. To me it sounds like MySpace on steroids. The only part of the service I haven’t seen on the web so far are the super sophisticated Noxtools that bring the music and video editing to the browser. Therefore, the guys from Hobnox should work on integration with other services. I don’t feel like starting another blog, I’d rather import one. Same goes for pictures (Flickr), movies (YouTube), songs (MySpace), and calendar (Upcoming). If you want to show your ‘old work’ on Hobnox you’ll have to upload it all over again, or link to it from your blog.
I’ve e-mailed David to ask whether this will change or not. He replied: “Good point. We plan to add API’s to sync with other services but they haven’t been created yet. We’re still working down the list of features. Users can simply upload their content into a Hobnox profile.”
They’d better hurry, since David also told me Hobnox will launch a rather impressive marketing campaign this summer, aiming it UK, US and main-land Europe. “We will start a contest in the early summer with which contestants can win a 25K€ artist development package. We are also looking for other means of directly approaching creative people. Bar camps, trade fairs, events etcetera, all centered around music, film, and culture.”
Hobnox is one of the coolest start-ups I’ve seen lately - the design, high quality Web Tv and Noxtools certainly make an impression. If they take the walls of their garden down, I’m sure they can attract the creative crowd they’re aiming for.
Written on January 11, 2008 – 12:03 am
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Tripr is a recently launched travel site where people can post video reviews of the hotels they’ve visited. The goal of the Dutch founders is to create an archive of reviews, so that visitors on the basis of the videos can determine whether they want to stay in a hotel or not.
When a visitor decides to book a hotel based on a review, the makers of the video earn 33 percent of the commission.
Jan Kooman, founder of Tripr.TV: “We’re some sort of YouTube for the travel industry. Because the videos are shot by hotel guests, visitors can get a good impression before booking. Moving images are more realistic than those often outdated pictures”.
In the press release (Dutch), the founders claim that the visitor gets an independent impression of the hotel. I dare to differ.
If I were to shoot a video for money, I would show the most beautiful parts of the hotel and, for instance, not zoom in on the dirty parts of the bath room. And really, I’m a nice guy. It’s just that I would feel like I was shooting a commercial, instead of a review. Why would I tell about my negative experiences if I could earn more money by drawing a nice picture?
When asking Kooman for a reaction on this remark, he said: “The good thing about video is that it is particularly hard to disguise the truth. On traditional websites with the well-known pictures, faking beauty is way easier. You just take a good picture from the right perspective and you’re done. When you’re filming, you’re actually walking through the hotel. Moreover, we’ll also publish video reviews made by an independent Tripr adviser”.
The customers and ‘independent’ adviser have the same goal though, and that’s making money. I agree with Koopman that it’s harder to disguise the truth when using video, instead of stamp-sized outdated pictures. Those photographers can turn crappy rooms into royal suites. Yet I don’t think that the label ‘review’ is the right one, since it’s more like a user generated commercial.
This doesn’t mean I don’t like the idea. I’m pretty sure that next time I want to book a night in a hotel, I can’t resist the temptation of checking what the room is like through the eyes of others.
Update: Tripr is now also available in English
Ben Affleck, film, Mario Kart, Rickrolling, sarah palin, star wars, Tina Fey, Upload Cinema, Viral video
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The Next Web Blog is closely associated with The Next Web Conference which is held annually in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. At this event speakers from all over the world come together to talk about, and show of, the future of the Web. (
