Bambuser offers activists and citizen journalists free premium accounts

Bambuser, the live-streaming mobile service has just announced that it will be offering citizen journalists and activists an upgrade to premium accounts for free.

To take advantage of this offer, Bambuser users can send an email to info@bambuser.com with their username and a brief description of their content, and can then expect the upgrade.

The post explains the thinking behind the generous move:

We believe videos from areas with unrest should be ad-free and we also think you should have the opportunity to learn more about your viewers.

Premium Bambuser accounts don’t come cheap, starting at 99EUR a month, going all the way up to 499EUR a month, but citizen journalists will be getting a specially tailored option. This includes an ad-free player, unlimited viewing hours and storage, as well as player customization. Most importantly, it also opens up access to extensive statistics, so activists can get more insight into who’s viewing their content.

Speaking about the offer, Bambuser Executive Chairman Hans Eriksson told The Next Web:

“We think it’s particularly important in terms of the context that videos are viewed by a global audience. We don’t believe ads combined with protests, demonstrations and war-like situations are proper. We know ads are also an issue for the broadcaster as he/she wants the cleanest possible video out. To us, these people are important users and if we can help them to a better total experience in what they’re doing we’re very satisfied.”

Bambuser is a mobile app that has featured heavily in the arsenal of tech savvy activists, everywhere from Occupy Wall Street to the Middle East. In Egypt, it was used to monitor parliamentary elections, keeping an eye out for irregularities, while in Syria it has been one of the few ways journalists have been able to access footage from the bombarded city of Homs.

With major networks including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and Sky News using footage shot in Syria using Bambuser, the service found itself blocked in the country.

Bambuser recently made it easier for citizen journalists to share their content with these major news networks through a partnership with Associated Press.

Speaking about where it all started, during a visit to Cairo, Bambuser co-founder Måns Adler told The Next Web,

“When we started the company, the mission was to democratize the technology of broadcasting. It was a privilege, and it was only the lucky few on CNN or BBC who afforded to have broadcasting buses on the one hand and also channels to broadcast live.”

With this latest piece of news, Bambuser is continuing to make strides in positioning itself as the leading platform for citizen journalists around the world.

➤ Bambuser