= Internet Video Distribution Meeting =

On May 7, 2009, MFPL members had a meeting hosted by the Funding Exchange to explore our options for Video Distribution on the Internet. The discussion was initiated with a [wiki:internet-video-distribution-paper paper outlining the issues]. Members represented included the Funding Exchange, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, Paper Tiger TV, Global Action Project, NY Media Alliance/Sanctuary for Independent Media, Indypendent, and Independent Media Center. 

Below are the notes from the meeting.

== Venting ==

''Problems with current video distribution''

 * Branded with corporate logos
 * Associated with other videos that we don't want to be associated with
 * Instructions hard to follow, uploaded video looks crappy
 * Missing important features or features hard to find and use (like hit counters)
 * Live streaming is hard
 * Infrastructure unreliable - threat of content disappearing/censorship - fair use
 * Faceless corporate providers
 * Difficult to collaborate with others - hard to engage people
 * Alternate providers even harder to use than corporate providers
 * No universal file format
 * Hard to convey to our allies political critiques of corporate tools
 * No universal play back software that is free
 * Punished for being popular (getting lots of hits)
 * Difficult to attract an audience
 * Hard to have one system that both streams live and archives
 * Difficult to navigate giving videos for free when selling videos is an important source of independent revenue
 * Corporate tools are more ubiquitous than free tools
 * Unsure what kind of video to make - documentary? feature? short?
 * Navigation/searching is bad - hard to find videos
 * We're reducing our thoughts to blips
 * Thinking in terms of distribution is limiting - YouTube is not a distribution platform, it's part of our culture
 * Don't know who is watching our videos
 * Still reliant on video experts

== What we want ==

 * Alternative ways of production (e.g. cell phones)
 * Easy to search
 * Access at all speeds - not just people with high bandwidth
 * Mass audience
 * Good tools for organizing clips
 * Methods that support community dialogue 
 * Non-commercial, unbranded
 * Ability to remix clips
 * Stream live and archive
 * Combine video with other media (photos, audio, etc.) or survey tools, etc.
 * Ability to showcase local content
 * Simple tools - 1-2-3 production
 * Distributed - not centralized
 * Open source/free
 * Ability to customize tools
 * Video conferencing - interactivity
 * Aesthetically pleasing
 * Promoting a culture of collaboration, not just a tool, but building patterns of collaboration
 * Ability to curate
 * Easily embeddable 
 * One package that anyone can install any where (or incorporate in an existing web site like one built on Drupal)
 * Training and training centers

== What exists now ==

 * http://www.archive.org/. The Internet archive is a nonprofit building a library of online artifacts (including video).
 * http://www.getmiro.com/. Miro TV is an effort to combine a free media player with free software that aggregates existing video on the Internet, providing a "TV Guide" for leftist video on the Internet.
 * http://www.engagemedia.org/. Engage Media is an activist video sharing site focused on Asia Pacific (based on Australia). They are an example of a YouTube alternative for activists.
 * http://transmission.cc/. The Transmission Network is an international coalition of groups working on online video distribution tools for social justice and media democracy.
 * http://openvideoalliance.org/. The Open Video Alliance seems similar in scope to the Transmission Network. They are having a conference in July in NYC.

 * [http://blip.tv]
 * [http://sesamevault.com/]
 * Democracy Now and Grit TV - building national audiences
 * [http://wsftv.net]
 * [http://groups.drupal.org/open-media-project]

== Where to go from here ==

 * Educating arts funders and community organizers
 * Ability to send announcements to wide audiences
 * Create tutorials on how to do this stuff
 * Educate our allies about what we're giving up with corporate/proprietary tools
 * Classes on how to do video on the Internet
 * Not just educate people, but organize them around free/open source
 * Tip sheets on the politics of media
 * Better ways to connect with other organizers
 * Ways of jointly promoting and organizing screenings