Ustream, the only video platform in IBM’s Bluemix Platform

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Renata Lerner

Great news! Ustream is currently the first and only video platform that is available within Bluemix, IBM’s cloud platform for developers. Developers leveraging the Bluemix platform can easily integrate video into their applications, or simply use it for communicating the benefits of their business. Thanks to the depth of Ustream’s APIs, the Ustream platform can be directly controlled from Bluemix with little hassle.

Bluemix is an implementation of IBM’s Open Cloud Architecture, leveraging Cloud Foundry to enable cloud application developers to rapidly build, deploy, and manage their applications. IBM has partnered with some of the leading SaaS applications to make this possible.

Cloud applications built on Bluemix will

Reduce time for application/infrastructure provisioning
Allow for flexible capacity
Help to address any lack of internal tech resources
Reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Accelerate exploration of new workloads – social, mobile, big data

To learn more about Ustream’s offering in Bluemix, check out our entry in IBM’s Bluemix blog.

Forging New Paths at the Pioneers Festival

Posted on October 28, 2014 by botterbein

On October 29–30, more than 2,000 individuals representing technology, science and entrepreneurship will gather in Vienna, Austria for the Fourth Annual Pioneers Festival.

Thanks to Ustream, thousands more around the world will be able to experience the event live as it happens through the Pioneers Festival channel.

Established in 2011, the Festival’s mission is to gather the smartest minds in technology and science entrepreneurship “to showcase, impact and shape our tomorrow.” The 2014 slate of speakers includes Fred Destin of Accel Partners, Nancy Duarte of Duarte Design, Neil Patel of Kissmetrics and Justin Kan of Twitch/Y Combinator.

And if that’s not enough, how about a flying car?

At Pioneers Festival 2014, Slovakian company AeroMobil will unveil the Flying Roadster, the prototype of “the world’s most advanced flying car.” The company has been working on developing a flying automobile for two decades, and on October 29, the world will get its first live look — in person in Vienna and around the globe via Ustream

Over the last four years, attendance at the Pioneers Festival has grown from just over 1,600 to 2,500 – and Pioneers Festival 2013 attracted more than 55,000 unique visitors worldwide.

It all kicks off Wednesday, October 29 at 10 am CET; to follow all the action, tune in to the Pioneers Festival channel on Ustream.

Case Study: TWiT.tv

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Lauren Stasko

From its humble beginnings with a single podcast, TWiT.tv is now poised to become “the CNBC of tech” — powered by its partnership with Ustream.

Since 2005, the shows of TWiT.tv have provided news, commentary, help, how-to and perspective on the latest trends in digital tech from seasoned experts and journalists. Beginning with a single podcast called This Week in Tech (the source of the acronym TWiT), the online broadcaster now offers more than 20 other top-ranked shows, including This Week In Google, Tech News Today, Green Tech Today, Macbreak Weekly, Windows Weekly, The Daily Giz Wiz and many more.

“Soon after we started the podcast, I could see that video was getting the lion’s share of attention,” recalls Leo Laporte, founder, owner and president of the Internet television channel. “We set up a webcam and started streaming video of me recording the podcast.” But even in 2005, Laporte foresaw a grander future for streaming video.

“I envisioned a time when IPTV [Internet Protocol television] would take off, when people wouldn’t care where they got their TV from traditional networks or Internet broadcasters,” he remarks.

Today, TWiT.tv produces 30 shows and owns a 3,000-square-foot studio in Petaluma, California. Viewers can enjoy the content live as it is broadcast or via download; however, Laporte notes that the live broadcasts are the secret behind TWiT’s special brand of success.

“I came from live TV and radio,” Laporte explains, “so I know firsthand that there’s an immediacy, an urgency, an energy around live broadcasts. Because we’re live, our shows are better — they feel live, even if you’re watching a download.”

Ustream has been a partner of TWiT.tv since its earliest broadcasts. “Ustream is our oldest partner, and it’s the default selection on our live stream home page,” says Laporte. “Our audience is very tech savvy, and they come with the expectation that our broadcast will be flawless. It’s so important that the distinction between Internet broadcasters and ‘real’ broadcasters disappears — we ARE real broadcasters — and Ustream enables us to deliver a real broadcast experience.”

In addition to uncompromising quality, Ustream has also delivered on customer service. “We were very specific about what we wanted,” Laporte notes, “and Ustream has been great about helping us do livestreaming our way. For example, we didn’t want preroll ads — our advertising is a part of the show — and they’ve worked with us every step of the way.”

As livestreaming becomes more popular and accessible to more content creators, Laporte sees his vision for IPTV closer than ever to becoming reality. “Newer televisions are capable of showing IPTV,” he explains. “One day soon, picking up the remote will be the same process for watching network TV as for accessing an Internet show. Then IPTV will be a reality … and TWiT.tv will be right there.”

To learn more, check out the TWiT.tv case study video or download our white paper to learn how you can integrate video into your communication strategy.

Live Video Bigger and Hotter Than Ever, Ustream CEO Tells International Business Times

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Lauren Stasko

Following Amazon’s acquisition of video platform Twitch for $970 million, many in the business media are taking a rejuvenated interest in streaming video and the companies driving its popularity.

One of those journalists is Jeff Stone of the International Business Times, who recently spoke with Ustream CEO Brad Hunstable. (Read the full article here)

Hunstable emphasized that the success of Ustream is no mystery, that it can be attributed to smart business maneuvering and a commitment to openness, both online and in the real world.

He also asserted that “live streaming is bigger and hotter than ever,” citing as evidence Sony’s recent live-video launch of the Playstation 4, which attracted 4.8 million viewers with an average viewing time of 45 minutes. “That starts to look like a primetime TV audience,” Hunstable noted.

On the issue of copyrights and illegal streaming, Hunstable affirmed that Ustream is committed to protecting the assets of its customers with “actual human monitoring, real-time fingerprinting and also with systems and algorithms,” an effort that began with our Viacom and UFC partnerships.

With all its success over the last seven years, Ustream is remaining true to its roots. Hunstable founded the company in 2007 with the goal of helping troops overseas connect with their families, a cause that is still close to his heart. The company is one of the main champions behind the Oscar Mike Foundation, which assists veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and is exploring further opportunities for acting as “a force for good.”

Hunstable notes that he has become inspired “to get involved and have a role socially. We donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to citizen journalists on the ground in Ukraine. […] The Internet is a tool for new emerging democracies and societies, [and] it’s important to leverage our technology as a force for good.”

Read the full article here or download our Wainhouse Research white paper to learn how enterprises leverage live video for business communications.

Streaming Media Hearts Ustream!

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Lauren Stasko

Wow, color us overwhelmed — not one, but two recognitions for Ustream in the last couple of weeks from Streaming Media.

Every year since 2011, the editors of Streaming Media have assigned themselves an unenviable task: Review more than 250 companies to create their list of The One Hundred Companies that Matter Most in Online Video.

This year, that list includes Ustream.

Over the years, the growing popularity of online video has forced the editors to narrow their scope, deciding in 2013 to “focus exclusively on the technology companies that enable content creators and publishers to innovate and build their audiences.”

With the field of candidates decided upon, Streaming Media asks its editorial and publishing staff to rank each one on a scale of 1 (doesn’t belong on the list at all) to 5 (absolutely must be on the list if the list is to have any credibility). After the votes are counted and averaged to yield a score for each candidate, those with the 100 highest scores make the list. This year, that includes us!

And it’s not just the Streaming Media staff that sings the praises of Ustream. The magazine’s readers like us plenty, too, nominating Ustream in five categories for the 2014 Streaming Media Readers Choice Awards. This is the highest honor in online video technology and products, as it’s the only awards program in which winners are decided by end users — that’s you!

To cast your vote, visit the 2014 Streaming Media Readers Choice Awards page between now and October 24. Ustream is up for awards in the categories of:

Education Video Platform
Enterprise Video Platform
Live Video Platform
Cloud Encoding/Transcoding
Video Advertising Solution

Streaming Media will announce the finalists — the top three vote-getters in each category — on October 31 and present the awards at Streaming Media West on November 19.

Tour de Force: Ustream Brings Dreamforce 2014 to 10M Worldwide

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Lauren Stasko

This week, up to 130,000 people will gather in downtown San Francisco for the world’s largest software conference, salesforce.com’s Dreamforce 2014.

And thanks to Dreamforce’s partnership with Ustream LiveAd, up to 10 million more around the globe will be able to experience the event as it happens.

Dreamforce will broadcast the four-day event over its three Ustream channels, bringing live presentations from speakers such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Al Gore and Arianna Huffington to a worldwide audience. The 2013 broadcast drew between 5 and 7 million viewers, and the 2014 numbers are projected to be even larger.

Since July 2014, Dreamforce has used live streaming video to generate buzz for the event via its weekly “Road to Dreamforce” broadcast, featuring conversations with salesforce.com executives, partners and MVPs. Viewers had exclusive access to breaking news on this year’s event, plus the chance to ask questions and get answers in real time using the hashtag #RoadToDF14.

Dreamforce 2014 continues through Thursday, October 16; to view the live broadcasts, check out Dreamforce Channel 1, Channel 2 and Channel 3.

To learn more about Ustream, watch this overview video or download our Wainhouse Research white paper that shows how video is becoming the main way enterprise’s communicate.

Forbes Recognizes Ustream for “Most Engaging” Annual Report of 2013

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Lauren Stasko

Let’s face it: when you think of annual reports, the word “engaging” is probably not one that immediately springs to mind.

Unless, of course, you’re thinking of the Ustream 2013 Annual Report. Go ahead, check it out. We’ll wait.

Pretty cool, huh? We think so … and so does Forbes. That’s why Ustream made their list of “5 Brands That Nailed Their Annual Reports” and was singled out as most engaging of the bunch.

Forbes contributor Ross Crooks set out to prove that it is possible for annual reports to “do the seemingly impossible: engage stakeholders and win loyal fans.” And while he singles out four other worthy examples, he declares that “the award for Most Engaging Report goes to Ustream.”

A few more of his comments:

“an engaging motion-filled masterpiece”
“a clever piece of work that communicates a willingness to do the unconventional”
“Takeaway: Beauty and reporting can go hand in hand.”

Download our white paper and learn more about how Ustream helps marketers leverage live video.

Key Features Of The New Ustream iOS App

Posted on October 2, 2014 by botterbein

Ustream released the new iOS app on August 27th with plenty of new updates and features. Let’s see what’s really under the hood.

The new iOS app has a modern design with reinterpreted surfaces and features, making content discovery seamless and engaging more viewers on both the larger format iPad screen and on iPhone.

The app also allows users to upload videos they have recorded on the built-in iPhone camera app and easily create, edit and delete videos, channels and events inside the application. Live streaming capability has also been enhanced, allowing high-quality 16:9 format broadcasting directly from the phone. Users now have the freedom to upload their own pictures and connect their Facebook and Twitter accounts with the application. By expanding the use-cases to encompass capturing short clips intended for on-demand consumption, the Ustream platform is now even more suitable for applications like knowledge sharing and informal training.

Net Neutrality: What’s Next?

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Lauren Stasko

For most people, September 15th was a day much like any other. But for Internet-based content providers — including Ustream — it was an important milestone in a story that will shape the future of the Internet.

On September 15, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officially closed the public comment period on its latest proposal concerning net neutrality: the principle that all data must be treated equally by Internet service providers (ISPs). If the proposal passes, it will alter the definition of net neutrality by allowing ISPs to charge extra for broadband “fast lanes” between select content providers and users.

With the public comment period now closed, the FCC is set to issue a decision.

Public response to the proposal has been unprecedented: 1.7 million comments from the public, most of them strongly against the proposal. In addition to the grassroots reaction, an open letter cosigned by some of the biggest companies on the Internet has petitioned the FCC to ban fast lanes.

One of the signatories to the open letter was Ustream CEO Brad Hunstable. Hunstable recently told the Daily Dot that the FCC proposal will “force Internet-based businesses to choose applications and ISPs based on their priority lanes systems.” He added that it would be “like having to choose between power companies that provided different voltages according to the electrical devices you planned to run.”

For a detailed analysis of the net neutrality proposal, read the full article on the Daily Dot.

For more information on the video market, download this whitepaper by Wainhouse Research.