Youtube Content Providers Speak Out on Draconian Youtube, COPPA and FTC mandated measures!

Youtube Content Providers Speak Out on Draconian Youtube and FTC mandated measures

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2019/09/google-youtube-will-pay-record-170-million-alleged-violations

 

Many Youtube channels, From Comic books related ones to Toy ones to Statue themed channels to Video Game channels to even Movie channels, are poised to get shutdown at the end of the year, due to Draconian Youtube and FTC mandates.

The channels below, briefly go into it a lot more succinctly than I can.

Check the links below (while you can):

 

 

 

Looking at the issue it appears to actually have very little to do with protecting kids from unsolicited advertising, (like the FTC has done anything about kids being exposed to unsolicited ads on regular television. 🙂 )

No this has nothing to do with ‘protecting kids’, and has everything to do with closing the wild west freedoms of the internet, and reinstating gate keeping. They want an end to the little guy having an unregulated voice, plain and simple.

They (big business, and their appointed political yes men) want an end to a level playing field, an end to individuals having a voice potentially just as potent and as far reaching… as businesses and advertisers.

So they pull out the tired refrain of ‘protecting our children’, that every tyrant has used to mask their true agenda… of power and subjugation.

 

So what is the answer?

If I’m one of these channels, I am exploring the following:

one/ a lot of your audience, that reached you thru streaming platforms like Roku, is not going to reach out to you via comments, or Instagram. If you want to get feedback from this population before your channel goes dark, provide your email address so they can reach you.

Two/check with other channels you are friendly with and discuss moving your videos to Vimeo or Archive.org till you can determine a valid new home for your content. Should moving be necessary. Reach out to alternative sites, avoiding the racist ones.

Three/consider an old fashion BBS model, round robin model, till an alternative can be put in place. Worse comes to worse, many of you guys have loyal viewers, who will pay to get your content. Whether that is going back to an old fashioned bbs model,  every week 5 or 7 channels submit their content to a central hub that than edits together the various segments/channels into that week’s show, and that gets offered as a downloadable or burnable iso, or sent as a DVD. Members signup to get the content every week.  Whether that is a download or a disk in the mail. Revenue generated by this is split between the 5 or 7 or 10 channels on a weekly basis. No advertisers. No gatekeepers. No masters, and no slaves. From content provider to subscriber. And no bs overlord threatening to demonetize you, or fine you into the poorhouse, for the sin of making them rich.

Now that is just one crazy idea, it may be feasible, or it may not. But it is thinking out of the box, rather than running.

Chaos is also an opportunity for profit. You just have to be the one not knee-jerk reacting, and being herded like sheep (“oh let me delete all my videos!!”) and instead be a builder or instigator of a workaround for the issue.

I have never liked Youtube, the content creators on Youtube is what makes an otherwise despicably run organization, profitable.

It is you the little guy, that Youtube and the FTC now seek to give the shaft to (FOR ADVERTISING MISTAKES MADE BY YOUTUBE CORPORATE), that make Youtube a money making company. If you guys could take that valuable content to another platform, less insidiously run than Youtube, Youtube will be the poorer.

Four/ So going along with number three, Network, support each other. And be innovators in this time of change and challenge, rather than stampeded sheep. You have over a month to work this out, and find alternatives.

Let us not panic, and get to the solving.

Anyone who is affected by this, leave me a comment with your email address (it will not be posted) and I’ll reach out to you and be happy to work with you to assist in finding alternatives.

And let me say something, if you are not a paying member of the EFF, issues like this is exactly why you need to be.They are here to defend your digital rights in an increasingly politically and corporately venal environment.

Use the link below to subscribe to them (and no I’m not getting paid to say that), I’ve been a member for years and just think they do FANTASTIC and desperately NEEDED work. But that work like everything, needs funds to keep going.

 

EFF – Give to them and Give to yourself

 

If this post has been useful, this blog likewise needs support. Please use the link below, purchases through the Bonanza store generates needed pennies for this Blog:

 

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Till next time, give a like and be well! 🙂

Three must watch Short Werewolf Horror Films! On VOD Now!

 

Delightful. Suitable for all ages.

Definitely not suitable for all ages, Pretty disturbing actually. But incredibly well done.

All three of these movies are great for different reasons. END OF THE ROAD skews closest to the traditional WEREWOLF film,and it pays off in a GREAT creature design, and just a pretty memorable and fantastic sequence. A must watch.

 

Check Vimeo, or Amazon Prime, or Youtube to view the above titles. Would love to hear your comments once you do.

The masterful short films of Neill Blomkamp and Oats Studios!

Okay so it is Sunday 30 July 2017, and it has been a minute since I posted.

One of the things that has been occupying me (besides today’s POWER and ELEMENTARY marathons):

OATS STUDIOS

I do not like You Tube if I have to go to its web page, for the simple fact I hate its un-moderated comments and ignored idiocy and stupidity. But the YouTube channel on Amazon Fire or Roku is something else. I find it actually useful, and nice to view on my big screen TV. And no un-moderated comments to deal with.

The main thing I go to YouTube for is short films, followed closely by movie trailers.

But for short films YouTube’s Roku or Fire Channel, is a great boon. Giving a stage and platform for filmmakers who would otherwise go undiscovered to develop an audience and a name, through short films that wow you and stay with you far more viscerally than most feature length films can.

That brings us to OATS STUDIOS, a production company created by Neill Blomkamp of DISTRICT 9 and ELYSIUM fame.

I am not a fan of the feature films of Neill Blomkamp, they have wonderful core ideas, but tend to get lost under poor Hollywood casting or unnecessary backstory. However in the short film is where Blomkamp’s OATS STUDIOS shine.

Sporting cutting edge world class visual effects, great actors and performances, and big screen direction the films of OATS STUDIOS are, 30 minute or less, masterpieces of creativity and speculative fiction, of science fiction mixed with war, mixed with horror, mixed with a cautionary mirror tainted with pressing concerns, both moral and material.

 

FIREBASE

RAKKA

ZYGOTE

Those Oat Studio short films form a loose trilogy, united by a common theme of mankind pushed to the brink by powers unearthly. And the films are also united by being superlative and imaginative, and gems of 21st century short films.

FIREBASE (which I have also titled DREAMS OF THE RIVER GOD), the 2nd film released, is a little over 26 minutes, and set in Vietnam War era Vietnam… combines so many mind-blowing concepts, and creates one of the screens memorable creations, in the character of… The River God. I can see this spawning a lot of spin-off short films, set in this universe.

RAKKA, the first film released, moves several decades ahead to a world on the brink of extermination by a threat otherworldly.

and ZYGOTE, the last film released as of this writing, further still in the future, sports one of the most imaginative and horrific monsters since Carpenter’s THING. I like RAKKA but I love FIREBASE and ZYGOTE.

All this to say if you are looking for something to watch, then make it to the Oats Studios site and find the aforementioned films by Neill Blomkamp.

As of this writing they do not yet have a BLURAY up for these films, but I urge them to release one. Quality productions such as this deserve a quality Blu-Ray production with special features and director’s commentary, and not simply the ephemeral availability of websites and streaming.

Today’s Recommended short films!

 

Music Video of the Day??? Yep. Roku Vimeo Streaming VOD Style!

While the heyday of the music video was arguably 30 years ago, people are still cranking them out.  And without further ado here is one that I stumbled across today that is awesomely fun.

You can use the link below. Or, the better way to watch… If you have a streaming system such as Roku or Amazon Fire TV and the free Vimeo channel you can watch this on your big screen right now.

Strongly Recommended!

 

SHY LUV – SHOCK HORROR feat Jones on Vimeo

 

Black Butter Records

Directed by bif
Produced by Riff Raff and Mill+

 

6 Best and 3 Worst Free Channels/Apps on Amazon Fire!

I’ve been trying out the Amazon Fire lately.  It’s interface takes a bit of getting used to if you are used to the Roku, but for the most part is very navigation friendly.

It allows the easy install of the three must have paid channels, NETFLIX, AMAZON PRIME, and HULU; however it also offers a selection of excellent free channels. Not as extensive as Roku, but it has a solid selection.

 

So without further preamble, The best free apps/channels for Amazon Fire are:

 

• CRACKLE – It’s selection can use updating, but offers a nice feature of being able to watch a show while searching their list of titles
• TUBITV- arguably the best selection of content on any free channel, including notables not available on the paid channels
• SNAGFILMS – It’s selection needs updating, but highligts  a few movies that may fall through the cracks of the other channels
• For the most part the above channels are easy to load  and navigate, offer good content, and keep the ads to a minimum. Three things that the below apps/channels fail to do, and hence end up in our hall of shame.
• YOUTUBE and VIMEO – convenient for staying abreast of movie trailers and finding short films and other hard to find content
• PLUTO TV- The cable experience, without the cable price

 

The worst Amazon Fire Channels/Apps are:

• KINO LORBER – Horrible navigation issues, mediocre content
• GO INDIE TV – Navigation issues, and more mediocre content
• SCREAMBOX – You’ll be screaming at what a waste of time this channel is. Lackluster content, poor navigation menu
• COMICBOOKCAST2 – is basically a podcast with static pics, Not worth the time to download.

So there you go,  the best and worst channels on Amazon Fire. Feel free to comment with your picks for best and worst!

Short Film of the Day : Jason Eisener’s TREEVENGE

 

 

TREEVENGE– In a word… brilliant. You’ll never look at Christmas Trees the same way.

As someone who has always felt cutting down trees to celebrate life is something of an oxymoron and idiocy (and indeed looked on holidays in general and Christmas in particular with a dubious eye, creationS more of greed than gospel), this film is Horror Satire at its best. Co-creators Rob Cotterill and Jason Eisener are filmmakers to watch. Highly Recommended Film.

 

View it for yourself here!

 

 

Short Film of the Day : THE SHARPEST FINGERS IN CLAYBURN COUNTY!

THE SHARPEST FINGERS IN CLAYBURN COUNTY – An intriguing poster, and a beguiling, inventive, witty, and fun short film by Zodiak Films, written and directed by Glen Schroeder, and starring in wordless but captivating performances Mike Dopud, Aaron Pearl and Danielle Stott-Roy, and showcasing the talents and creations of origami master Joseph Wu.

A must watch short film! Catch it on Vimeo, via Roku, or online here.

Streaming TV Show of the DAY : Star Trek CONTINUES

I’ve covered quite a few fan projects on this blog, some really exceptional ones. Among the best are those related to the Star Trek universe. STAR TREK CONTINUES is a web series that the term fan project does a bit of a disservice to.

This is a full fledged production as smooth and polished as the Original Star Trek series that it revives. Not simply a homage this web series continues the unfinished five year mission of the original series (which was cancelled after three seasons). STAR TREK CONTINUES conceit is that it starts off in the 4th (never seen) season of The original Star Trek.

And going along with this conceit, STAR TREK CONTINUES first episode PILGRIM OF ETERNITY, before watching you really should watch the season two episode of the original series, titled WHO MOURNS FOR ADONAIS. STAR TREK CONTINUES premiere episode is a direct follow-up to that 1967 episode, complete with the actor who played in that episode, reprising his role here.

You’ll have so much more appreciation for exactly how wondrous STAR TREK CONTINUES is, if you precede it by watching that 1967 episode. You’ll also have a far better understanding just how excellent Vic Mignogna is, largely the driving force behind this labor of love, in his role as the iconic James T. Kirk. Vic Mignogna has Shatner’s Kirk down to an alchemy, it’s not science, it’s magic.  From the walk, to the pauses, to the lift of the chin, to the way he sits, this isn’t mimicry, or mockery, it is acting of a very high and compelling level.

Vic Mignogna understands and loves the role, and that comes across, as does his passion and expertise for the original series. Wearing an insanely impressive number of hats from director, to editor, to writer, to producer, to star, Vic Mignogna has put together an impressive production and a large and varied cast.

From Christopher Doohan reprising, excellently I might add, his father’s role of Mr. Scott, to Kim Stinger doing a lovely Uhuru, to Michele Specht ravishing in her role as new character Dr. Elise McKennah, to the towering 84 year old Michael Forest (with many movie and tv credits to his name) reprising and bettering his 1967 performance of Apollo, it is a series that would have made Gene Roddenberry proud, and makes this fan of Roddenberry’s endearing dream…  incredibly impressed and happy.

Now not everything works of course. Not all the actors do as well a job of bringing to life their characters as the above actors do. But considering everyone is largely doing this for the love, the general level of performances is fantastic, and the costumes, and makeup, and sets and special effects and writing is jaw droppingly good quality! Every bit professional level. Hell, this show is easily better than most of the post-DS9 Star Trek television shows that Paramount paid small fortunes to produce.

Now I like the JJ Abrams STAR TREK movies, I think they both were fantastic. That said, I think there is a place in this digital world, for Chris Pine on the big screen, and Paramount backing the STAR TREK CONTINUES series and having Vic Mignogna on the small screen.

Okay enough praising this series. Go watch the 1967 episode WHO MOURNS FOR ADONAIS courtesy of Amazon Prime for free, then go to the STAR TREK CONTINUES website to view the existing three episodes. If you have Roku, you can go to the Vimeo Channel here for an easy way to view it on your tv.

And once you are as impressed with the series as I am, help them keep it up by swinging by their web page and sharing the love and donating; so that you can help keep this great project coming! And tell em HT sent ya! 🙂

Enjoy!