Monday 18 June 2012

Hundreds of millions eyeballs, courtesy of our AP partnership




Through our partnership with world leading media agency the Associated Press (AP), we can offer Bambuser users an unprecedented distribution platform of their newsworthy content. This is an opt-in that is designed to give the Bambuser broadcaster full credit for the content whenever it's re-broadcasted by any of AP's clients.

This week, one of our broadcasters "Homslive" located in Homs, Syria aired a redoubtable broadcast of the intense shelling of the city. The user had opted in to allow AP to distribute the content and the broadcast ended up on air over 600 times across 80+ networks in five continents. The live video, captured by one man with a camera and an Internet connection, reached hundreds of millions of people across the globe – in real time, with no edits or cuts.

While tragic and and heartbreaking, the video is important for a number of reasons. It shows a raw, unedited and different side of the story. The story of how ordinary people live through a war. It also provides access to areas where no other news organizations are able to go.


As the media landscape transforms, we think there is a lot of room for innovation and change within this space. We believe that this is the time for the world to become more open, more transparent. We also believe that this is the time for You to grab the opportunity and be a part of the news. If you want access to global distribution of any newsworthy content you may capture, review our blog post about how to allow AP to redistribute your videos and to get in touch with you.

For full transparency; Bambuser is not getting paid by AP for any specific videos or per video. However we do have a commercial agreement that allow AP's request for usage to be exposed to our users. We also work closely to evaluate and develop new ways for "the people on the street" to share the news to a global audience.

Monday 11 June 2012

Bambuser user "Homslive" broadcast live on BBC, CNN, Sky News and AlJazeera


Today we saw heavy shelling of Homs, Syria. It's heartbreaking to witness events like this unveiling before our eyes. At Bambuser we've always done our best to help people in areas of unrest getting their message out, especially when external forces are trying to censor or prevent footage from coming out.

One Bambuser user named Abo Mohamad Ibraahim aka "Homslive", today broadcasted live for almost 3 hours from a rooftop somewhere in Homs. It's a terrifying but very important piece of video. It's raw and unedited, showing the brutality of a ruthless war on civilians. Though repeatedly asked by people in the chatroom to seek cover at a safer place, Abo Mohamad Ibraahim told the viewers that he was determined to stay at his position and keep the live broadcast going, allowing the world to witness the desperate fight of the Syrian people.

His live feed was viewed by tens of thousands of people on bambuser.com as well as re-distributed to a global multi million audience through  major broadcasters such as BBC, CNN, Sky News and AlJazeera



Abo Mohamed Ibraahahim is part of the Sham News Network (S.N.N.) and is S.N.N.'s manger in Homs. S.N.N. is an important part of the Syrian opposition, ensuring that information about what's happening in Syria is communicated to the world. To follow and learn more about S.N.N. you can read more on their English Facebook page or their Arabic Facebook page.

Bambuser was founded with a fundamental mission: To democratize the power of live video broadcasting. We're dedicated to stay true to our mission