Ustream to Begin Testing Overlay Ads in Live Video Streams

June 20, 2008

Attention all lifecasters: Ustream is set to start displaying advertisements in the streams. The popular live video chat service has partnered up with YuMe and Yahoo to show advertising in the form of text overlays.

Here’s an example of what it will look like:

According to Patrick Ross of UstreamTV, the overlays will be able to be closed by viewers and they are semi-transparent. The goal, according to UStream ‘is to develop a system of advertising that works technically [and] is acceptable to our viewers and broadcasters while helping us build a sustainable community.’

Ustream will slowly implement this big change by choosing a dozen early testers. Ustream hopes to potentially expand the ads and try out several different formats including flash overlays and rolls.

This move is definitely going to help Ustream monetize its community, but could it potentially anger their users and audience? What do you think?

(Via Mashable!.)

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Skype 4.0 Beta

June 19, 2008

The acquisition of Skype has been something of an albatross around eBay’s neck — what, exactly, does an auction site need voice-over-IP and chat software for? With the new release, it’s starting to make a bit more sense. Not as a chat client for early-adopter technology fetishists, but as a telemarketing tool. Here’s how!

With video and text chat allowing managers to check in on employees and feed them scripts, as well as cheap international calling and archiving conversations, it can work as a cheap and easy tool for managing remote customer-service centers to close those deals made on eBay and keep the credit card charges flowing into PayPal. In other words, it’s about lubricating ‘transaction friction’ by increasing buyer confidence and decreasing credit card charge-backs and complaints. Now if only there was a country with lots of English speakers and really low wages.


(Via Valleywag.)

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Firefox 3 launch a success: 8 million downloads in 24 hours

June 19, 2008

Firefox 3 launch a success: 8 million downloads in 24 hours: “Mozilla’s Firefox 3 release event yesterday was an epic success. The servers logged over 8 million downloads during the 24-hour download day, and Mozilla has declared victory after exceeding its initial goal of 5 million downloads.”

(Via digg.)

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LinkedIn Connects To $1 Billion Valuation

June 18, 2008

Four VC firms are betting that LinkedIn, the social network for your business contacts, is worth a cool $1 billion. Bain Capital Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners announced today that they are taking a 5 percent stake in the company for $53 million.

(Via Wired News.)

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