A few new things about Revver--1) The site now takes MPEG4 uploads; in fact, three or four clips featured here are on Revver (awaiting legions of loyal fans) 2) A lot has been made about AOL's new ad-supported TV over the Web model. AOL is not alone; Revver also is working on an ad-supported model.

I haven't mentioned any cool companies for a while, but Video Egg is cool. Very cool. The company offers a platform/system that allows those with videos to add easily add clips to blogs, Websites, etc... Currently, the company's goal is power other services such as Typepad, a blogging ecosystem. The future? Who knows.

Check it out.

Looks like AOL has purchased Weblogs. For the few naysayers out there who believe blogs aren’t real or worth looking at or investing in, this should end all speculation. Everyone is on board. Podcasting is really close behind; major announcements regarding big ticket players and Podcasting are on the horizon.

But, I am most interested in TV over the Web (as opposed to IPTV). It’s the REALLY hot opportunity. Blinkx and Brightcove stepped up big time this week, and you have to think Google isn’t far behind (especially given its airing of “Everybody Hates Chris.”). I know I am working on a few TV channels to be distributed over these new non-politicized networks. For example, do you think I could get every baseball blogger to syndicate (or carry) my upcoming videos of Arizona Fall League? We’d all make money.

Stay tuned!

Today's 'cast is a condensed version of conversations Allen and Mike have. Conversations that typically start something like, "Dude, I just saw the coolest thing . . . "

Clipmarks, FilmLoop and others crop up in the conversation.

After reading about this new search site, zabasearch.com, on The Gate, I had to check it out. What I found gave me chills. I found old personal phone numbers going back years. Is someone going through my cyberdumpster?

Is the CEO of a major public company -- with one of the most envied stock prices in the world -- a public figure? (We'd say so.) Shouldn't a news organization tasked with covering said company use all legitimate and legal means to seek and report information about the CEO? (Depends on what information and its context, but generally, we'd say yes, they should.)

So why is Google's vaunted PR team so up in arms about the fact that a CNET (we'll always call them CNET) reporter went and used Google to find out information about it's CEO? In fact, they're so upset about such disclosures as the fact that the CEO is, gasp,a resident of Atherton, CA. And, gasp, hosted a $10,000-a-plate fund-raiser for Al Gore's failed presidential campaign.

Perhaps they're too thin-skinned? Hubris? Lame? Really, this is all information available in public records (especially the fund-raising). Does being CEO of Google, or any large public company, convey some special status in terms of disclosure of personal information? We don't think so. We think such disclosures come under the heading "comes with the territory -- and the millions of $$$." 

Honestly, banning Google employees from speaking with CNET reporters for a year seems, well, pointless.

I can see where Craigslist feels it has the base in place to take a run at Citizen Journalism. I cannot envision the company and its vast legions of loyal followers being a serious force…well..at least at this point.

In order for early Citizen Journalism project to become successful, they will need seasoned newspaper people involved. This is not to say newspapers will make a serious attempt to move into this space, but folks from the newspaper ranks will be key employees in the better (and eventually successful) Citizen Journalism projects. Only a true “newspaper person” can understand the zen of what it takes to put a product out every day or even every week. Without newspaper talent (editors, designers, etc...) in place, these early Citizen Journalism sites will be disorganized and a mishmash of clips with strange layouts.

It’s why I like what Backfence is doing. Mark Potts is a newspaper guy. He knows what it takes to do this.

Also from the Sun Festival, an organic co-op in Arizona called Boxed Greens. They specialize in the sort of exotic veggies that were important to us when we lived in Northern Calfornia.

I found this new radio site that (I think) is being launched by Infinity Broadcasting. It’s called KYOU radio and bills itself as “open source” radio. It gives you the ability to register and upload your Podcasts (one at a time, and not the XML feeds). Not clear as to what manner the “station” will use to air the Podcasts or how creators will be compensated, but it looks interesting.

The more of these kinds of operations that launch—like Open Media Network—that take your Podcasts and videoblogs and componentized them (that is, take them out of the context of the blog in which they appear), the more I will need to mention my blog or other relevant information in the blog-casts. I also wonder how these sorts of sites will be able to report traffic or other usage stats to those who submit content.