History, politics, people of Oly WA

Category: tvw (Page 1 of 3)

Look at this cool thing, you can embed city of Olympia council meetings now

I’m mostly posting this because I think its exciting that the city of Olympia’s vendor finally caught up and now allows you to not only embed city council videos, but choose where you want the video to start. This is something little old TVW has been doing for a couple of years now, but I’m glad the vendor folks have caught up.

For some reason, this embedding thing seems to be working here and not over at Olyblog, which is a shame, because I think there will be more people interested in watching these clips over there.

And, if you’re really interested in this particular topic, read Janine Gate’s blog. She’s good.


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How TVW helps citizen media, civic dialogue

Last year when TVW launched its embeddable and time markable media tool, it was mostly because political bloggers griped for it. Its application by bloggers has been slow going (I hardly ever see anyone using it), but this week, something cool happened.

Both sides of the local isthmus debate went up to the Capitol to testify of house bills that would regulate development downslope of the capitol campus. Both groups used the TVW embed tool to highlight their testimony. Here is Friends of the Waterfront and a much more agressive use by Oly2012.

While the local legacy media was only able to give the hearing a short story in the paper, TVW gave local groups the tools they needed to give the issue a much more thorough airing. It took a commenter to even link to the actual TVW footage at all.

Local debates are ripe for this kind of use of media. It would be great to see if TVW would be able to export its custom flash player to local governments so they could offer the same kind of embedable and time customized media tools that the state legislature deliberations enjoy.

Actually, wouldn’t it be great if city’s like Olympia, instead of using an out of state company like Granicus, be able contract with a local non-profit whose sole purpose is to distribute public deliberations? I’m not saying that Granicus does a bad job, but they’re an out of state for profit company when we have an in-state not-for-profit that could, if they decided to, do the same thing only better.

TVW comments

TVW has a blog (hat tip their twitter), but not with comments:

On the point of accessibility, one thing you won’t find here is comments. Why? If we do our job right, you’ll be a more informed citizen after reading The Capitol Record. That might make you want to share your opinion with someone. But the office of your elected official is the more appropriate place to do that. We’ll help facilitate that direct communication by providing links to the Legislature’s web site, where you can find the contact information for your elected official.

I have a problem with this because it assumes that engagement is best between a citizen and an elected official. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I think the more valuable engagement is between citizens, and TVW is giving up on that.

Yes, its much much easier not have to moderate comments from readers, but they’re shutting off communication between their readers.

Another interesting thing about the TVW blog is it makes TVW a defacto media organization, more along the lines of what a real, post newspaper, media organization would look like. Original musings here.

TVW to hire a blogger

Well, a producer/host/blogger:

ORGANIZATION: TVW

POSITION: Executive Producer / News Editor / Host

CLOSING DATE: Oct. 3

DESCRIPTION
TVW – Washington Public Affairs Network – is offering a unique and challenging career opportunity for a professional communicator. TVW is looking for an Executive Producer to oversee the content and creative direction of the network’s produced programming.

Not only does TVW’s Executive Producer get the opportunity to consistently do in-depth reporting on substantive issues, but this position is also a civics educator responsible for maintaining TVW’s meticulous reputation for trusted, unbiased, politically balanced coverage.

Specific responsibilities include:
– Producing, writing and hosting a weekly public affairs news magazine program
– Writing, editing, managing and promoting the network’s news blog
– Creating, writing and coordinating production of on-air promotions
– Developing additional issue-oriented documentary programming

QUALIFICATIONS
The position requires energy, innovation and leadership; a strong working knowledge of television; the ability to write, edit, report and make news judgments – all under tight deadlines; and the temperament to work cooperatively and positively with others while under pressure.

A minimum of two years’ television experience and a degree in communications, broadcast journalism or a related field is required. Washington state public policy expertise or experience is preferred.

HOW TO APPLY
To apply, submit résumé, cover letter and demo DVD – by Oct. 3 – to Mike Bay, VP of Programming, TVW, P.O. Box 25, Olympia, WA 98507-0025 or email mikeb@tvw.org. EOE.

In my perfect world, they’d split up the job of host/producer and blogger into two jobs. It probably has to do with budget constraints, but the job of a blogger and broadcast person are two different jobs.

Well, maybe someday.

TVW and their video voter guide

The first big test for the embed tool over at TVW will hopefully be the video voters guide.

By the way, have you notice since right before the new tool went online, Mark has been really quiet?

Via email:

For immediate release – July 7, 2008

For more info: TVW President Greg Lane, 360-725-3999

Video Voters’ Guide begins today on TVW

Olympia – TVW and the Washington Secretary of State are offering the public a chance to watch direct, unedited statements from candidates for statewide office via the 2008 Video Voters’ Guide.

Beginning today and continuing through the Nov. 4 election – with separate primary and general election editions – TVW will televise the Video Voters’ Guide regularly on statewide cable television.

“The Video Voters’ Guide is a valuable public service and is one more way for the electorate to stay informed in this important election year,” said Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed. “We hope voters will follow their state and local races with the same interest and excitement they’re showing for this year’s presidential race.”

TVW and the Secretary of State have teamed up to offer the Video Voters’ Guide every two years since 1996. The guide features candidates for statewide offices: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Attorney General, Commissioner of Public Lands, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Insurance Commissioner, and Supreme Court Justice.

“Voters will hear many sound bites this election year, but it’s also important they get the whole picture,” said TVW President Greg Lane. “Beginning with the Video Voters’ Guide, our election coverage will give people the chance to watch the candidates talk to them directly, straight and unedited.”

The guide also will be available on the Web at tvw.org. Link to the Video Voters’ Guide Web page here: http://www.tvw.org/Elections/VideoVotersGuide.cfm?bhcp=1

– 30 –

Note to media: TV, print, radio and news blog Web sites are encouraged to embed the 2008 Video Voters’ Guide on their sites using TVW’s new embedding tool, detailed below.

TVW, often called the Washington state version of C-SPAN, provides unedited gavel-to-gavel television coverage of the State Legislature, Supreme Court, executive branch, state boards and commissions, elections, and public policy events of statewide significance. TVW’s 2008 election coverage includes party conventions, candidate debates and forums, newspaper editorial board interviews, and a LIVE election night program. For the first time this fall TVW’s “Election Tuesdays” will highlight the network’s top weekly election coverage starting at 7 p.m., along with civics education programs featuring high school students and teachers.

Cable TV carries TVW for free, reaching 99% of the cable households in Washington, representing about 55% of the state population. Viewers can watch TVW programs on demand at tvw.org, which includes the largest archive of legislative streaming media in the world.

We’re pleased to announce TVW has added a new embedding tool to all programming found on its Web site tvw.org.

This new tool allows any event from TVW’s archives to be embedded into Web sites and blogs, and includes the ability to highlight a portion of the footage, but in a way that honors the balanced, unedited, gavel-to-gavel nature of TVW programming.

The new embedding tool is readily accessible just below the player window of every TVW video and audio event available at tvw.org.

Our goal is to be the most effective resource as possible for citizens to view the Legislature, state government and state public policy debate. We look forward to your comments, questions and suggestions, as well as working with you to improve our services.

Sincerely, Greg Lane, President

What is “embedding”?
Embedding is the ability to place a video or other object in HTML code in order to display it on a Web page. TVW will now allow you to “embed” a TVW video or audio event on another Web site or blog while TVW’s servers securely stream that content to your Web visitors.

Embedding instructions
Embedding TVW video on your Web site is simple and very similar to YouTube’s embed function. With a little knowledge of HTML you can quickly get TVW’s video playing on your Web Site or blog.
To embed an event from tvw.org:

* Click in the text field under the video player area or click “Embed”. This will select all of the code needed to copy into your site or blog’s HTML editor.
* Use the “Right mouse click” and chose “Copy.” This will copy the text to your computer’s clipboard.
* “Paste” this code into your Web site’s HTML code or your blog’s HTML editor.

(For specific hosted blog spheres and how to embed video code, please consult the appropriate help section of your blog site or contact your Webmaster.)

Advanced embedding options

TVW’s advanced virtual-clip feature is unique to the Web. This feature allows you to choose a “Start” and “Stop” time, essentially creating a virtual clip of a TVW event. This, however, does not edit the actual event – it allows a user to continue playing from the point the clip ends and review the event in its entirety right from your Web page or blog.

To use the advanced features, click the “Use Advanced Embed” button and set the start and stop times. These times must be in a HH:MM:SS format. You can also set the width dimensions of the video. The dimensions feature can only be set in conjunction with using the virtual-clip feature. To simply embed the video without a virtual-clip, click the “reset” or “Use Standard Embed” buttons. This will clear any advanced embed features. For further questions about TVW’s embedding feature, contact support@tvw.org.

TVW embed tool is live

Its official, TVW has added customized embedding for all of their internet content. This includes (as I realized this morning how important this would be) the audio content. I would estimate 70 percent of the really good stuff (state legislative committee work) is audio only.

Via email from Greg Lane:

We’re pleased to announce TVW has added a new embedding tool to all programming found on our website tvw.org.

This new tool allows any event from TVW’s archives to be embedded into websites and blogs, and includes the ability to highlight a portion of the footage, but in a way that honors the balanced, unedited, gavel-to-gavel nature of TVW programming.

The new embedding tool is readily accessible just below the player window of every TVW video and audio event available at tvw.org.

Our goal is to be the most effective resource as possible for citizens to view the Legislature, state government and state public policy debate. We look forward to your comments, questions and suggestions, as well as working with you to improve our services.

Sincerely,

Greg Lane, President
360-725-3999
greg@tvw.org

What is “embedding”?

Embedding is the ability to place a video or other object in html code in order to display it on a webpage. TVW will now allow you to “embed” a TVW video or audio event on another website or blog while TVW’s servers securely stream that content to your web visitors.

Embedding instructions

Embedding TVW video on your website is simple and very similar to YouTube’s embed function. With a little knowledge of html you can quickly get TVW’s video playing on your website or blog.
To embed an event from tvw.org:

* Click in the text field under the video player area or click “Embed”. This will select all of the code needed to copy into your site or blogs html editor.
* Use the “Right mouse click” and chose “Copy.” This will copy the text to your computers clipboard.
* “Paste” this code into your websites html code or your bog’s html editor.

(For specific hosted blog spheres and how to embed video code, please consult the appropriate help section of your blog site or contact your webmaster.)

Advanced embedding options

TVW’s advanced virtual-clip feature is unique to the web. This feature allows you to choose a “Start” and “Stop” time, essentially creating a virtual clip of a TVW event. This, however, does not edit the actual event – it allows a user to continue playing from the point the clip ends and review the event in its entirety right from your webpage or blog.

To use the advanced features, click the “Use Advanced Embed” button and set the start and stop times. These times must be in a HH:MM:SS format. You can also set the width dimensions of the video. The dimensions feature can only be set in conjunction with using the virtual-clip feature. To simply embed the video without a virtual-clip, click the “reset” or “Use Standard Embed” buttons. This will clear any advanced embed features.

For further questions about TVW’s embedding feature, contact support@tvw.org.

Here are a few lessons learned from this little adventure:

1. Even though I care about something and have cared for a bit, just me caring about something doesn’t mean something will actually get done. I started thinking and blogging about TVW and social media over a year ago, but it wasn’t until a more prominent blogger crossed swords with them did this ball get moving.

2. Small organizations with good people can do great work.

3. Mark Gardener, who jumped on this issue early (here and here), apparently trying to pick Goldy on the issue, looks like a total ass. Still. What really bothers me about his writing on this was that he was so quick to make it into a “oh wow, this is really going to hurt those Dems” thing when there were so many issues here to mull over about how this could be bad for blogger, citizens and democracy in general.

Oh well, don’t want to look too far outside the blinder, eh Mark?

TVW does the right thing and Mark Gardner is wrong

Mark Gardner is wrong, TVW is not fighting a battle with bloggers, Democratic, amen, or otherwise.

Mark Gardner is so freaking wrong
because no campaign will suffer, because TVW is doing the right thing and developing a tool that will help citizens and bloggers get easy access to the great stuff TVW produces.

There won’t be political pressure coming from the TVW board, to the Burner campaign and onto David Goldstein because TVW is smart and they would rather help people use their content than fight a battle with them.

Here’s Jason Osgood, SOS candidate, speaking in Spokane (TVW embed tool test)

To tell you the truth, I’m not all that excited about his candidacy, but this is a way to test out TVW’s new video embed tool. So, watch the clip and let me know what you think, not of Jason Osgood, but of the video itself and how easily you can view it.

UPDATE:
embed code updated June 19, 12:55 p.m.

From embedding it just now, there seems to be a little bit of a bump between the video and audio starting. The audio went, but the video was frozen. Then both the audio and video began in sync twice before it started for good.

The only major problem was that the video did not end at the point I had wanted it to, it kept on going.

Most of my problems so far have to do with trying to find exactly where in the more than one hour long video file I wanted to start, so its just a problem with the large file size.

Getting the embed code went quickly, as soon as I narrowed down what part of the movie I wanted to show. Generally, good job Scott at TVW.

TVW to launch new video embed tool for bloggers in two weeks

Or so says Scott “the Man” Freeman in comments:

So I have a green light on the time code feature and I am sending an email to goldy to ask for feature suggestions before I get this up on our website. So rally the bloggers brains and let’s make this a cool functional and open feature of tvw.org! I will be working from a beta this coming week and I will get you a link so some folks can test it. I am hoping for 2 weeks from Monday for a launch.

He also says that the original way you could embed videos from TVW wasn’t pulled down because of security or copyright issues, but because it wasn’t efficient enough:

The embed code was not pulled consciously; it was a mere effect of an upgrade that benefits everyone since it allowed us to increase the capacity for streams. We fully intended to get you all back to it. As a matter of fact we have been working hard at getting this ready.

I trust Scott enough to know that’s what actually happened, but when his executive director starts sending out emails for folks to take down videos, sure I was a bit paranoid that they’d taken down the secret squirrel way to post videos.

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