Andy Plesser

We are impressed this morning with the way live video feeds of tropical storm Hanna have been integrated by Gannett’s USA Today and other Gannett television properties.  The video interface is from Mogulus, the Manhattan start-up which was recently funded by Gannett.

Getting digital content from multiple home computers and servers to the television is the goal of HP, Apple, Microsoft and others.  Earlier this summer HP introduced Media Smart Connect, a $349 device which pulls content from various PC’s, Macs and servers via WiFi to a television set.

Congratulations to Walt Mossberg, veteran Wall Street Journal reporter, who was just named by Vanity Fair as one of the top most powerful people in the world.  He comes in at number 100; Vladmir Putin comes in at number 1. 

Viewing of live online video streams of Hurricane Gustav has reached a record 1.4 million  streams since midnight, as of 4 p.m. EDT, a CNN spokesperson has told Beet.TV.  This sets a record for the most live video streams in one day at CNN.

For small and big publishers, the key to successful search optimization is “compelling, original content,” says Adam Lasnik, Google’s Search Evangelist.  Having the tools to share and filter high quality editorial links is essential, he says in this interview.

The Washington Post has begun streaming live video via mobile phones to the newspaper’s site using Comet Technologies.  The first implementation has come from Ed O’Keefe, reporting live from the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Blog coverage of the DNC is high with a record 120 blogs credentialed to cover the convention. CNET reporter Kara Tsuboi goes behind the scene in the “Big Tent,” a sort of giant blogger lounge sponsored by Google, YouTube and Digg.  I’ve posted Kara’s report here.

Although the Olympics ended this weekend, much of the online material from the Games will continue to be available through December 31 on NBCOlympics.com, a site hosted by Microsoft’s MSN, Beet.TV has learned.

Netscape founder and prolific entrepreneur Mark Andreesen and his long time business partner Ben Horowitz are making an investment in Qik, the Foster City-based mobile video streaming platform.  Terms of the investment have not been disclosed.

Not surprising that Microsoft will be a strategic investor in Move Networks, the small Utah startup which has introduced a new way to stream high quality online video through a process called adaptive streaming.

Fora.tv, the San Francisco-based, high-brow content site, has an agreement with Georgetown University to host and distribute speeches and conferences from the University. This adds to Fora’s alliances with The Aspen Institute, The New Republic, The Brookings Institution and others.

With 72 million video streams of NBCOlympics.com viewed through Saturday, developers at Microsoft have reason to celebrate. 

We think the success of online advertising will result from user interaction.  Beyond just watching a video or seeing some snazzy Flash ad, users who opt-in to explore an ad will be more likely to establish brand loyalty…and buy stuff.

In what we consider a milestone in the syndication of live online video news, CNN has introduced a widget for its live streaming service.

Just read Saul Hansell’s big piece in The New York Times about Verizon’s huge investment in bringing fiber optic television and Internet service to consumers around the country.  One analyst likens FiOS to a "Maserati for the price of a Volkswagen."

The campaign videos of presumptive Republican Presidential candidate Senator John McCain, are being hosted on Blip.tv, the small New York-based video publishing site, Beet.TV has confirmed.

As network television has largely abandoned live coverage of the national political conventions, the online media world is expanding coverage and resources.

Kara Swisher blogs about Beet.TV this morning and publishes a video interview with me.  I have been grateful for the support and feedback of so many accomplished and experienced journalists who admire our work.  Having Kara compliment our work and take the time and effort to publish a segment about us is incredibly gratifying.  — […]

The Web site of the campaign of Barack Obama had 3.3 million unique visitors in June, double the 1.6 million uniques for the John McCain site.  Time spent per visit on the Obama campaign was over 11 minutes vs. 5:30 minutes on the McCain site, Nielsen Online has told Beet.TV

CNET News.com, now part of CBS, and CBS News are collaborating on the coverage of the Democratic and Republican national conventions.  Three News.com staffers, Declan McCullagh, Stephanie Condon, and Kara Tsuboi, will be covering, writes News.com editor Dan Farber today.