YouTube helped make the ukulele a star

Ethan Miller/ - Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro has become a YouTube sensastion.

When Eddie Vedder, the reclusive, notoriously angry lead singer of grunge-band Pearl Jam, announced his latest album in March, the headline read like something from The Onion: “Eddie Vedder to release solo album of ukulele songs.”

It wasn’t a joke. The singer, known better for his growling anthems about teenage suicide and the war dead, had turned to strumming tunes on a Hawaiian instrument that many on the mainland think of as a kitsch tourist gift.

He’s not the only one. Other big name musical acts have suddenly christened the ukulele the instrument of choice, from country darling Taylor Swift, who is taking it up at her sold-out stadium shows to art house act Amanda Palmer, who just released an album singing Radiohead songs accompanied by the ukulele. There have always been well-known fans, from George Harrison to Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, who used it in his chart-topping recording of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World” in 1993. But the ukulele’s popularity has exploded over the past two years, fueled in large part by the quirky musical community fostered on YouTube.

Peopled by thousands of teenagers in their bedrooms talking into webcams, the five-year-old video-sharing site is filmmaking at its most stripped down. Those with something to say, and with an amusing way of saying it, get noticed.

Enter the ukulele, which is about as bare-bones an instrument as you can get. It’s four chords. Two octaves. In the Hawaiian language, it means, “Jumping fleas.” The name fits the sounds: tiny, bouncy and jubilant. Perfect for YouTube, it even fits easily within a computer screen, shot close-up.

Julia Nunes learned to love the ukulele from her musician parents. She began posting her recordings of popular songs on YouTube long before the instrument caught on. She now has almost 200,000 subscribers to her channel, and her videos are viewed by millions. “YouTube was the perfect place to display that kind of content,” she said.

YouTube trends manager Kevin Alloca points to one of the most popular videos on the site, with more than 40 million views worldwide: a Japanese boy plays a Jason Mraz song on the ukulele. There’s something utterly endearing about the size of the stringed instrument fitting the small boy (it also helps that he can barely make out the English words, instead creating a hybrid-mumble language, as he otherwise nails the song perfectly).

It’s partly the joie de vivre the ukulele expresses that makes it instantly likeable. “If it’s an angry song, it’s a weird juxtaposition,” Nunes said. “If it’s a happy song, it amplifies the happiness.”

Elly Lonon, an amateur ukulele player who posts videos regularly on YouTube, picked up the ukulele after she underwent chemotherapy for lymphoma. “If I’m going to have fun, I want to actually have fun,” she said. “Just show me someone who is playing the ukulele who is not having fun.”

Jake Shimabukuro thinks the instrument sounds like children laughing.

“There aren’t a lot of things in this world right now that make you want to be silly or be a kid,” said Shimabukuro, a well-known professional ukulele player and native Hawaiian. He’s played the instrument since he was a child and tours solo as an adult, but he didn’t achieve much mainstream fame until a stranger posted a video of him on YouTube. He had performed the song on a New York television channel, and in it, he’s paying tribute to George Harrison, another famous ukulele singer, in Central Park.

He’s not sure how many people caught the TV show, but by the time he flew home to Hawaii, a million people had seen it.

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British royal wedding live streamed 72 million times: YouTube

SAN FRANCISCO, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was live streamed 72 million times around the world in 188 countries and regions on April 29, YouTube said in a statement on Friday.

The online video site said the total streams on April 29 reached 101 million as global users tuned in to watch the ceremony, procession and the final balcony kiss. During the 10-second royal kiss, the YouTube channel experienced an additional 100,000 requests on top of the high load, an additional 10,000 requests per second, the company said.

YouTube said live streams were highest in Britain and the United States, and rounding out the top five countries viewing the live event online were Italy, Germany and France.

On April 8, YouTube launched live streaming service YouTube Live, including a home page where users can view live events and a live streaming platform on which partners with accounts could stream live content. For the royal wedding channel, it also has live blog commentary of the event, and users can also upload video wishes for the couple on the site.

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Skype Rumored To Be In Talks With Facebook And Google

Skype sure has hit it big. While there are dozens and dozens of VoIP calling applications, for some reason Skype's is the one that people flock to. Possibly being the first major one was what did it, but either way, the company seems to be growing in leaps and bounds, and the attention that they are getting doesn't seem to be slowing down.

Now, a fresh Reuters report suggests that Google and Facebook are separately looking into a deal with Skype. In fact, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly "been involved in internal discussions about buying Skype." The one major feature that Facebook currently lacks is a real, trusted video chat app, and that's the kind of thing that Skype could deliver.

Why would Google want a joint venture with Skype? Lots of reasons. Mostly, Android. Android doesn't really have a killer app to rival FaceTime, and while Skype works within Android, it's still a third-party solution.

At this point, everything is still speculative, and it's all still very much up in the air. The truth is that Skype has a lot of options here, and teaming with Facebook or Google both sound like impressive opportunities. And based on the flack that the newest version of their desktop client has received, we'd say a little helping hand may not be too bad for 'em.

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Indians making buying decisions on Facebook reviews, social media open to marketers of all brands

MUMBAI: Till a few months ago Bhushan Kalap was happy to stroll into a neighbourhood mall to find out the best deals on consumer durables. These days the 30-year-old artist gets the same information at home - via online social networks like Facebook . 

"My buying decisions were totally dependent on either salespeople or friends who would give feedback based on their experience. But now I go by online reviews, as I assume that a majority of such consumers can't go wrong," says Kalap. 

Kalap is not just one of the estimated 30 million Indians hooked onto social media; he is also among those Indians who are spending more time on social media than on checking personal email, according to a study conducted by market research firm. 

The Nielsen Company in collaboration with research and analytics company AbsolutData . While just 8% spend between an hour and three hours on personal email, 20% spend the same time on social media sites, reveals the study. The online survey covered 2,000 people from all walks of life spread across top five metros and tier 1 cities in India. 

Interestingly, if more people are spending time on social networking websites than on email, it's because they are using social media itself to send messages rather than logging into their email inboxes. Some 82% of those surveyed use social media to send messages. For marketers, the behaviour of the likes of Kalap is noteworthy. For, he is not the only one relying on social networks for product information. Some 40 million, or 67% of Indians on the web, rely on online reviews to make purchases. 

The survey also points out that company and product information is what most consumers expect online. "This is a platform where people can decide against or for a particular brand. When we see consumers talking negatively about our brand, we make sure to nullify that by reaching out to them through a dedicated team," says LK Gupta, chief marketing officer, LG India. 

LG India has set up an 'Online Reputation Management' team to deal with such issues. This initiative was flagged off after the country's largest consumer durables firm noted that 40-50% of consumers use the internet first to search and learn about the product before actually going to stores or discussing with anyone. 

"This indicates that no single brand 'owns' the social media space and that the opportunity to become a 'social' brand is overwhelming," says Adrian Terron, vice-president, The Nielsen Company. "Having a social media presence connotes 'innovation', 'customer friendliness' and a sense of 'cool'. Brands should only ignore this aspect at their own peril." 

While social networks are a great source of information on brands, they also provide a great platform for consumers to tell marketers what exactly they feel about these brands. To that extent, social media's relevance extends beyond influencing buying decisions. Consider, for instance, Perfetti Van Mell , makers of Happydent, Chlormint and Alpenliebe. As Mohit Bhalla, media consultant for the company, explains, there's little social media can do to make consumers buy Perfetti's confectionery and gum as this is an impulse segment. 

Still, the social web has moved beyond supplementing communication. "Online Indians today are using social media to facilitate activities that range from leisure and entertainment to job searches and researching prospective partners," says Suhale Kapoor, executive vice-president, AbsolutData. 

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Why Facebook Skype Is Not a Bad Idea

As Facebook evolves into a communications business, combining with Skype makes great sense. But why would Skype sell out?

Did you hear that both Google and Facebook are looking either to partner with Skype or simply to buy it? Funny, because back in the days when Skype was in play (before it was acquired by EBay), Google had a chance to buy it, but Larry Page and Sergey Brin nixed the idea.

Today some are speculating that Facebook might be a better suitor than Google, though I bet none of the sources quoted in the Reuters story has any first-hand knowledge of any deal. Reuters pegs the price of Skype at $3 billion to $4 billion, roughly three to four times Skype's annual revenue, which is in the $1 billion range.

People laughed at me when I suggested back on Sept. 29, 2010, that Facebook should buy Skype. Here's what I wrote then, and I still think that is the real reason for a Skype-Facebook deal:

"Sure, this would be a big, hairy merger, but look at it this way: In one swoop, Facebook would dominate what I've maintained is both the new age and classic social networking. They have people's credit cards; they have their real-world phone information; and in the end, they have a better, more useful, social graph than Facebook itself.

The Skype-Facebook client on the desktop would mean both Facebook and Skype will be jointly in people's faces and take time away from other Web services, such as Google. A simple search box inside the Skype client, and the two companies are starting to take attention away from archnemesis Google."

FROM NETWORK TO COMMUNICATIONS

Since then, Skype is much bigger, has more revenue, and has a lousy new desktop client. Facebook has taken huge strides toward owning "communications" and online "interactions."

When Facebook launched its Social Inbox, I pointed out:

"For the first three years of its life, the company was merely a social network, but then it transformed itself in quick succession into a social Web platform and then a social aggregator of the Web. Today the company launched its 'social inbox,' a new kind of messaging system that is the first public manifestation of the new new Facebook. Facebook's newest core competency is communications—a way to become even more indispensable in our daily Web lives."

There are many other reasons why this deal makes sense, the biggest being Marc Andreessen, the Web wunderkind turned über-VC who sits on the board of Facebook and has investments in both companies. It would be Christmas in summer for his fund if this deal goes through.

IS SKYPE CRAZY TO SELL OUT?

What isn't clear to me is why Skype wants to sell. Sure, everything has a price, but boy, if there's one company that can go public, it's Skype. Frankly I am surprised that Skype would settle for such a low number. Why sell for four times its revenue? Is there something that doesn't meet the eye? Has the juggernaut slowed? Six months ago, I suggested that Facebook should pay $7 billion to $7.5 billion.

I'm even more surprised that Skype wouldn't shoot for a public offering—which is crazy, because it is precisely the kind of company that can go public.

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Facebook CEO buys a $7 million house

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has purchased a new 5,617 square foot house in Palo Alto. Public records show the property in question sold in mid-March for $7,000,000. Here’s a description of the place, courtesy ofReal Estalker:

The turn-of-the-century residence, set well back from the street behind walls and privacy hedges, was originally built in 1903 and remodeled and expanded over the years. The previous owners–who reportedly still occupy the home as of yesterday–gave the property a complete and expensive overhaul a few years ago that included the addition of an entertainment pavilion with outdoor fireplace and built-in barbecue and a lap-lane salt water swimming pool and spa.

A wide rocking chair porch leads to and impress-the-guests entrance hall and reception area, a formal living with fireplace, banquet hall sized dining room, wood-paneled family room with built-in cabinetry and a large center-island kitchen that opens into a glassed-in sun porch. The master bedroom includes a bathroom with twin Carrera marble topped vanities, separate soaking tub and shower and heated floors for tootsie warming on those chilly and damp NorCal mornings.

The house features a saltwater pool, a music alcove, five bedrooms, five full and two half bathrooms, a glassed-in sunroom, and a spacious porch. It is also a convenient 10-minute drive away from the company’s soon-to-be headquarters, according to Mercury News. As a reminder, Facebook’s headquarters are currently in Palo Alto, California, but will be moved to Menlo Park, California, in June 2011.

Although he isn’t expected to move in for several months, it’s almost fitting that Zuckerberg is also settling down. Long after becoming a billionaire, Zuckerberg still rented modest places to live (and claimed to have found all of them on Craigslist), but now the young man finally become a first-time homeowner. The company’s CEO has lived in Palo Alto almost the whole time since he moved Facebook from his Harvard dorm room to Silicon Valley back in 2004.

I normally couldn’t care less about what celebrities are doing, but Zuckerberg happens to be mildly relevant to to the future of Facebook. I’m just wondering: did the 26-year-old pay in cash?

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

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Facebook of China' walks a fine line

Imagine buying shares in a company that could be closed down overnight. That is in some ways what Renren, dubbed the Facebook of China, asked investors to do.

This week, investors complied: Renren raised $US743.4 million ($696 million) in an initial public offering and its shares jumped 29 per cent on their first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

But Renren's operations, which include social networking, gaming and online commerce, walk a thin line of compliance with strict Chinese regulations around freedom of information - and if they cross the line, the consequences could be very severe.

"People at any social network in China that is going to be successful are going to be very sensitive to playing the game by the rules." said Dixon Doll, co-founder and general partner of venture capital firm DCM, which is an investor in Renren.

"You're going to have to pay attention to the will of the Chinese government because they are going to... keep a very close look on the kinds of activities that go on."

China's rules for sharing information online have become stricter since authoritarian regimes across North Africa and the Middle East have been toppled or challenged by protesters.

The Communist Party leadership is determined to stamp out even the hint of such protests immediately. It learned a harsh lesson in 1989 when mass demonstrations threatened its control and triggered a bloody military crackdown in Tiananmen Square.

"They may regard (Renren) as a friendly enterprise, but if an enterprise turns unfriendly, I think they would cut the cord," said Donald Straszheim, senior managing director of China Research at International Strategy & Investment Group.

China has already blocked social networking sites Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and YouTube, while Google Inc essentially pulled out of China in 2010 after run-ins with the government over censorship and hacking.

The government routinely shuts sites down or more commonly blocks content it sees as a security risk - and recently, Chinese President Hu Jintao called for yet more oversight and "mechanisms to guide online public opinion."

But Beijing is also seeing social media as a valuable gauge of public sentiment and a way to show the Chinese it is sensitive to what they want, said Michal Meidan, a China analyst at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.

In this peculiar environment, China-bred Internet ventures have adapted, learning to skillfully navigate the system.

In the case of a company like Renren that means blocking whatever you are told to block by the authorities and also by self censoring, which means reading the political winds so that you block other material you fear could be controversial.

"It's a constant game of cat and mouse," Meidan said.
Renren itself acknowledges the tenuousness of its position in the risk factors section of its IPO prospectus. While these disclosures are notorious for listing the most extreme risks, in this case they may well be worth a closer reading.

The company says it is prohibited from allowing content that, among other things, "impairs the national dignity of China," is "superstitious" or "socially destabilising."

If Renren fails to comply, which would be determined by the authorities, the company says its business could be shut down.

In the cases of more serious, or "material" violations, the penalties could include "a revocation of our operating licenses or a suspension or shutdown of our online operations, which would materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation," Renren said.

The social networking company said it is liable for all material posted on its websites, from advertisements - some of which must be vetted by government officials before being posted - to individual communications between users.

With that much responsibility, Renren said it may not always know what content could cause problems and may only find out about the violation after it has already happened.
Renren's structure also presents problems.

For example, the fact that Renren is incorporated in the Cayman Islands puts it in danger of being subject to new limitations if foreign investment rules or their interpretation change. Renren's online gaming operations, which provided 45 per cent of the company's 2010 revenue, also could be affected by Beijing's efforts to curb gaming addiction in minors.

All told, Renren used variations of the word "uncertain" nearly 70 times in its prospectus, and the word, "regulation", nearly 300 times. By way of comparison, US Internet phone services provider, Skype, used "uncertain" about 60 times in its prospectus, but only used "regulation" about 170 times.

Reading tea leaves

Many risks lie in the uncertain and changing nature of China's Internet laws, which Renren said are enforced and interpreted in an "evolving" way, often are not published on a timely basis - or at all - and may be applied retroactively.

The Chinese government has been wary of online content that stirs up the population for some time.

In 2007, Chinese government officials struggled with what to do with China Central Television anchor Rui Chenggang's blog call for the Forbidden City Palace Museum to evict Starbucks. It drew half a million signatures to an online petition and dozens of domestic newspaper articles, according to a February 2007 diplomatic cable sent from the U.S. embassy in Beijing.

The post was patriotic, but also showed just how a massive protest movement might emerge in the world's biggest Internet market, according to the cable, which was obtained by Wikileaks and provided to Reuters by a third party.

"Blog content that spurs extremist passions is precisely the kind of material the Government would like to control," according to an executive at a Chinese Internet company, cited in the cable.

"The paramount concern (is) that a mass movement might emerge, born on blogs or through another electronic medium, to reduce the Government's maneuvering room on a sensitive issue, or challenge Party authority," according to that person.

Since that time, though, Beijing has radically stepped up its online information control.
It put a ban on postings containing the word "Egypt" as protesters in Egypt demanded and finally succeeded in bringing down the Mubarak government.

The level of paranoia increased even more when an overseas Chinese-language website, Boxun, made an online call for gatherings at various places around the country. Police were sent out and detained and beat foreign journalists who went to see if there were protests in downtown Beijing and Shanghai.

After then US ambassador Jon Huntsman was seen in a crowd at one of the pro-democracy gatherings in Beijing, censors also cracked down on microblog searches for his Chinese name. They have also blocked searches for "jasmine," "jasmine revolution" and "Hillary Clinton" on popular websites.

Fear of losing control

So far, China's rapid economic growth has outpaced its political problems, bringing many people from poverty into the middle classes. It has also ironically allowed China's security apparatus to get all the funds it needs for surveillance.

Despite concerns about inflation and corruption - which both helped to trigger the Tiananmen protests - few think China's rulers are in any danger of being threatened like the leaders in North Africa and the Middle East.

But there have been protests and strikes, and the authorities fear that if the nation's economic growth were to slow significantly, unrest could bubble up. As social media-powered protests elsewhere have proven, websites like Renren could find themselves in the middle of a perfect storm.

"I don't think there's a threat in China of anything comparable to the Middle East," but the fear of mass-mobilisation is enough to create a sense of urgency around social media, said China political risk analyst Meidan.

"Ahead of the political leadership transition in 2012, it's going to remain very, very volatile," she said, referring to the expected power handover from President Hu.

Renren's self censorship should be enough to protect it under normal circumstances but if the Chinese leadership felt really threatened the story might be very different.

One of Renren's biggest appeals for US investors is its access to the biggest Internet user base in the world in a country that has put up walls to major global competitors.

But, that's exactly what might be Renren's Achilles' heel. If a government can't accommodate the Googles of this world then what will happen to the local equivalent if it is implicated, even if unwittingly, in a major political eruption?


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/facebook-of-china-walks-a-fine-line-20110507-1ecvh.html#ixzz1LewoFpuU

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