Become a Citizen Journalist with Bambuser and get a free Bambuser Premium account

The world has learned that more and more of newsworthy live video content is coming from individuals on the street being at the right place at the right time. We are convinced this will develop even more going forward. At Bambuser we believe that this kind of reporting is important both in terms of breaking news stories but also to complement existing stories.

We also believe that citizen journalist videos shouldn't be filled with commercial advertising. Therefore we support all citizen journalists with free Bambuser Premium accounts.

Bambuser provides mobile applications for devices running on Android, iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod), Symbian, Bada and more to enable anyone to share their point of view with an unlimited global audience for free. 




Below you will find basic information and tips how to get the most out of your videos. Please also take the opportunity to let the world's largest news agency, Associated Press distribute your content. A good example of what it can result in is Bambuser user Homslive whose videos have been rebroadcast by numerous global broadcasters and in total reached more than 100.000.000 people.

Getting Started

Download
Download the Bambuser application on your smartphone by searching for Bambuser in your device's App Store or Marketplace (Download Links: Android and iOS)

Setup your Channel

Simply create a Bambuser account through the application or use the Signup page. Your channel URL will be bambuser.com/channel/yourusername

Build an Audience
Provide a short description of what you are broadcasting and share that with Twitter and Facebook. This will send a link to people, who can watch your broadcast on their computers, mobile phones, tablets, or web connected TV's. Connecting to Facebook means your videos will be posted directly to your Facebook Wall or Facebook Page. You can connect your Bambuser account to services like Foursquare, Tumblr, Blogger and more – all are found on your Bambuser Dashboard

Ready to Broadcast
Press the red broadcast button :-) 















You're Live!! Now what to do?
Provided you are broadcasting something compelling and have connected Bambuser with your social networks, you should quickly get an audience. You can track your viewer count at the bottom of the application.

Get Viewers
Encourage your audience to invite their friends and re-tweet to their followers. Inform your viewers of when you will be live (start/end) in advance. Talk to friends and family, post to your Twitter and Facebook before, after and during your broadcast.

Engage with your audience
Always keep an eye on the chat in your mobile as that’s where your viewers can communicate with you. This is a great way of hearing their opinion, for your viewers to ask questions and for you to ask them about picture and sound quality. It’s always more fun to watch when the broadcaster interacts with the viewing audience.

How to shoot great video
Hold the camera steady and don't make fast moves. Talk loud and clear. To make good videos you need to be able to go where the action is. Always think about your own safety first but don't be afraid to move closer to the action when safe to do so. The closer you are the better overview your viewers will get.

TIP: Most modern smartphones come with a small LED light on the back of the device. In most Bambuser apps you can turn on and off the flash in the menu or under the settings. This works best when you are 3-5 feet from what you are trying to broadcast. If you are far away, keep the LED off.

Remember that you are the eyes, ears, and most times need to be the voice explaining what is happening to your viewers. Compelling video should be supplemented with your verbal explanation of what you are filming and why the viewer should care. Your comments will make it much more compelling, interesting and engaging.

Keep the dialog with your viewers going by providing commentary of what you are filming. Read what your viewers are saying in the Chat and ask them if you are doing a good job or what they would like to see or hear.

Stream Health
On most phones Bambuser supports, you can always check your Stream Health. If the Stream Health is below 60% you should probably switch to a lower video quality/resolution, and if it is mostly 100%, consider switching to higher settings.

Upload unsent data
On Android, iOS and Maemo/Meego devices you can upload data that hasn’t been sent during the broadcast. Very rarely all data will go through while live due to connectivity hiccups, but if you choose to upload the dropped data, Bambuser will patch your video, creating a smoother video to watch on-demand.

Above the basics, below the extras to consider

Mobile Phone and Data Packages
Broadcasting quality live video requires a decent amount of upload speed. Look for and purchase a smartphone device that uses 3G or 4G LTE or WiMax high speed wireless networks and make sure you are in a coverage area that supports the advanced data rates.

Best Picks are:
Apple iPhone 4S
Apple iPhone 4
Apple iPhone 3GS
Apple iPod Touch (4th gen)
Apple iPad 2
Nokia N9
Nokia N900
Samsung Galaxy S III
Samsung Galaxy S II LTE
Samsung Galaxy S II
Google Galaxy Nexus
Google Nexus S
HTC Sensation
HTC Desire HD
Sony-Ericsson Xperia Neo
Sony-Ericsson Xperia Ray
Sony-Ericsson Xperia Mini
Sony-Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro
(Many other Android devices also provide a good experience)

TIP: If you are going to be broadcasting a lot of video it is a good idea to invest in an unlimited data package.

Extra Battery Power
Devices are getting thinner, faster and have bigger screens. This all means battery life is going to be an issue. You can look at purchasing extended batteries for your particular phone model or if you want some real staying power look at an external battery pack that continuously recharges your device while you are broadcasting.

Get out there and show the world YOUR world!

Tag your broadcasts!

Today we’re launching a brand new feature on Bambuser – tagging! We know, we know, many of you requested it. In fact, it’s been one of the more requested features so far.

There are a couple of different ways to tag a broadcast;

1. On the web, you will find an Add tag button on the video page of any broadcast that can be tagged.
   
2. You can add multiple tags by separating the keywords with a comma. Via the web UI you may even add time tags. Clicking on a time tag will let viewers seek to a specified position in the video. To add a time tag, simply hit the Add tag button and check the box next to Tag specific time in broadcast and specify where you want to add a time tag. To edit any tag that you’ve submitted, click on the pen symbol next to the tag.
   
   
3. In the mobile apps you will find the tagging UI via the share menu. The share menu will only appear when a broadcast is live. If you want to add a tag in advance, you may add # to any word in the title. For example "My little #magic #pony" will add magic and pony as tags.

We've also created a new Tag page that lets you browse popular tags, find interesting videos based on categories and see what's hot right now.

If you don’t want to allow public tagging of your broadcasts, you simply log in to your account and uncheck the Tags box that you find on http://bambuser.com/dashboard under customize your player. When unchecked, only you may add new tags. As the owner of a video, you can always edit and remove tags.


We think this will help you organize your broadcasts better and also facilitate discovery of great content.

Bambuser+Wirecast=True

We’ve always liked and recommended the excellent video production software Wirecast from Telestream. Wirecast allows you to create professional multi-camera broadcasts using your computer and a camera setup. It’s an easy and intuitive tool for producing live shows. However, you’d need to connect Wirecast to a streaming service like Bambuser to get your live broadcast online - which wasn’t too easy and intuitive before.

That’s why we’re happy to announce that coming builds of Wirecast (starting from v4.1.4) will include Bambuser as a predefined destination! Wohoo! That means one click to chose Bambuser as your preferred service, then just enter your Bambuser credentials and you’re good to go live!

To celebrate this, we’re offering our users a 20% discount on any Wirecast product (valid until August 1st) . Just use the promo code “BAMBUSERROCKS” upon checkout from the Wirecast shop.


Cheers!

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.

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