Rejoice, Music Video Lovers

Once upon a time, MTV was a place where at almost anytime of the day, you could be entertained by music videos. Sadly, with the rise of cheap reality programming, those days are gone.

However, with MTV launching www.mtvmusic.com this week, the station is investing in music videos again, only this time on the Internet. This site features not only music videos, but also MTV concert footage, performances from MTV Unplugged, and clips from various MTV and VH1 music shows.

To take a look, go here to see the first video broadcast on MTV on August 1, 1981.

Beyond Television?

Further evidence that the Internet has reached into every area of our lives:

More people have now watched Tina Fey’s impersonation of Republican Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin on the Internet, or to a lesser extent on digital recordings or through on-demand stations, than on the original Saturday Night Live (SNL) broadcasts themselves.

According to Integrated Media Measurement Inc. (IMMI), a research firm that measures media exposure, only one-third of the people who have seen at least one of the skits watched it first live on Saturday night. The vast majority have seen it on nbc.com, youtube.com, or other political or comedy web sites.

Writes AP reporter David Bauder, in Turning beyond TV for Tina Fey:

“[IMMI] has never seen anything expand its reach beyond the first-run broadcast quite to this extent.

"I don't know if we would have seen this sort of viral activity a year ago, if people didn't think of their computer as a place to turn to for video entertainment," said Amanda Welsh, IMMI's head of research. "I really believe that we are seeing a change in consumer behavior on a very profound level."

Rather than jealously guard Fey’s skits for live TV, NBC has actively encouraged the activity…

NBC perfected "widget" technology only a few months ago, allowing video of its material to be captured across the Internet while retaining a tie to the network's Web site. It has aggressively marketed the Fey skits to political and comedy blogs. Her skits are posted on NBC's Web site almost immediately after they air on the East Coast — a fan in California can see them online before it's on TV.

The idea is to create buzz; if people see the clips online they might find them funny and tune in to SNL regularly, said Vivi Zigler, president of NBC Universal digital entertainment, owned by the General Electric Co. Lapsed viewers might return, or even people who have never seen the show might watch, she said.

The danger to this approach is that more viewers might decide not to watch SNL on Saturday night, and advertising revenue could suffer. So far the opposite is true: The show's audience for its first three episodes is 49 percent higher than last year's.

The experts expect that pattern to continue.

"The more platforms you make available to consumers, the more consumers you capture," Welsh said…

It's not the only sign this fall of how the typical habits of watching TV — making an appointment with your easy chair at a given time each night — are rapidly becoming obsolete…

[According to Welsh], consumers are in the midst of a behavioral change where they are increasingly looking to the computer for video.... The computer is shaping up as a more popular choice than DVRs, she said.

"It is a tipping point for entertainment companies," Zigler said. "It is exactly what we expected would happen."

It's nice to be able to watch what we want, when we want it, but SNL's opening line just won’t pack the same punch if it is changed to “From New York it's …the show?”

Millions of Titles from U-M Library Now Available On Demand

Here’s a way cool example of how libraries have used technology to bring information to readers where and when they need it.

The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (my alma mater) has become the first university in the country to install The Espresso Book Machine. The machine – located in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library – allows a user to print one of the University’s over 2 million digitized books, as well as thousands of books from the Open Content Alliance, on demand. Many of these titles are rare or out-of-print.

Since 1996, the University has been digitizing books printed prior to the early 1920s, most recently as part of the Google Book Search program. Most books printed before 1923 are in the public domain. That is, they can be reprinted without seeking permission from the copyright holder.

Here’s how it works. The user selects a digitized book from U-M's collection or from another online source. The file is then downloaded to the machine, where it is formatted, printed and perfect bound with a four-color cover.

A finished printed book takes 5-7 minutes, depending on the number of pages, and costs about $10. The service is available to researchers, students, and the public.

In the next several years, On Demand Books – the maker of the Espresso Book Machine – plans to install machines in libraries and bookshops around the world. All the machines will be connected by a network, allowing users fast, cheap access to tens of millions of titles on demand.

For more information, and to see a video on the project, click here.

Go Blue!