Online Video
Novelty to Mainstream in less than a decade
In a little over a decade, the way we access the internet and information has changed tremendously.
In 1999, controlling page-load times by allowing text to upload without the images was crucial as internet users were often paying per minute to their phone service provider, in addition to whatever they were paying their internet service provider.
By 2004, even though broadband became the new transmission pipeline, no one was watching video online, it was still too hefty. Short video clips could be distributed via email, inevitably choking your inbox.
Things started changing in early 2006 when people began sharing links to a curious new site called YouTube. More exciting still, people started sharing links from sites, other than YouTube, that had embedded videos hosted by YouTube. By the time Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in September 2006, nearly everyone who used the Internet regularly had viewed at least one of their videos. From there, it was only a short time before watching online video became a fundamental part of the online adventure.
As the commercial world started to harness the power of the Internet for business, it became clear that online video could be adopted by almost every business with an online presence, which, by 2009, meant every business.
Online video viewership by consumers continues to grow at an astonishing pace.
2011 was a breakout year for online video and according to comScore Video Metrix, Canadians lead the world in the number of online videos watched per viewer, with an average of 303 videos watched per viewer in October 2011, ahead of the US at 286.
In 2012, the online video experience is only going to get better for users. Consumers’ desire to access web content through a broad variety of devices such as iPhones, iPads and Smart Phones, will continue to have an impact on content publishing and distribution.
According to streamingmedia.com, the big trend to watch in 2012 will be online viewing moving from daytime (at work) to prime time (at home) - audiences are adding original web series to their viewing habits, which has the potential of “doing to traditional TV what TV did to radio in the 50s”.
One thing seems certain: online video seems guaranteed to grow in 2012.
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