Robin Smyth, executive director of ROO (which has signed agreements with the Mirror Group and Times Online to provide video features on their websites) gives a few tips to implement video: add mini players, embed video in the website (instead of a pop-up player), focus on live content and have a simple content management system.

According to Smyth, user attention span for web video had increased from 4.5 minutes in December 2004 to 25 minutes now – as many as nine clips, and much more than average newspaper readers’ attention span.

There is little doubt for him that the Web will become the world’s largest broadcasting platform. Thus newspapers must attach importance to online video development – papers already are at an advantage over TV broadcasters for online video ad revenue in the US.

As for advertising, Smyth preached the end of TV-like 30-second online ads. A 10 to 15 second ad with side banners is more effective he said, and Roo uses both pre, mid and post-roll ads.

Simon Cam from Superglue proposed a few ways to make online video ads less rigid, such as by making them interactive.

"We're now at a tipping point in terms of what we can do with video advertising online," said Cam.

Representative of this turning point in online video ad revenue, VNU has launched into a significant video-oriented transformation. VNU has set up its own in-house sound and video studio and is retraining print journalists in multimedia functions.

Source: Guardian blog