Bambuser and AP cement citizen content collaboration

We’re really proud to announce that we’ve cemented an agreement with the Associated Press to continue our joint efforts to bring instant video footage from citizen journalists around the globe to mainstream media.

After a successful joint development of the “share the news” opt-in function on the Bambuser platform, we’ve given eyewitnesses and AP’s own journalists an unparalleled opportunity to share newsworthy content in real time from their mobile phones.

All newsworthy video shared with AP is verified by AP’s social media specialists before being shared with a global audience via AP’s worldwide network of more than 700 broadcasters. The agreement also puts Bambuser’s live streaming ability in the hands of more AP journalists, increasing the agency’s commitment to Bambuser and the amount of live content AP can exclusively offer customers.

The deal follows five months of successful collaboration between AP and Bambuser, which has already given AP subscribers access to Bambuser ‘s growing number of content creators.  In the last four months Bambuser content has been used by AP customers more than 4,000 times – much of it from the front lines in the Syrian conflict, but increasingly from other parts of the world as well.

 “User-generated content is integral to covering breaking news events," said Mark Davies, AP deputy director of international video. "Through the Bambuser deal and use of the ‘Share The News’ function, AP has pre-approval to use the Bambuser content, allowing us to check and verify content we deem newsworthy and put it live to air incredibly fast."

Around the world unprecedented numbers of people are broadcasting live video to the Web. The probability of someone being at the scene with a smartphone when news breaks is increasing by the day. More and more Bambuser users are utilising their handheld devices to capture news stories to share on their blogs, on Twitter and Facebook, and on other social media.

“Through the co-operation with AP, Bambuser has further strengthened its position as a tool to capture live and newsworthy video content," said Hans Eriksson, executive chair, Bambuser. “We have already had enormous success working with AP in getting live news video distributed globally and this is because users can rely on AP’s expertise as a very credible and professional news organisation that matches many of Bambuser’s own values.”

Egypt non-profit media collective Mosireen launch crowd funding campaign to fuel citizen media initiatives

About a year ago, Jonas and Måns from the Bambuser team visited Cairo, Egypt to meet with Bambuser users and human rights activists and learn more about their every-day challenges and how they are using Bambuser to share live video from the unrest in the region.

It was a trip that provided a lot of insight and inspiration. Some of the insights even resulted in new features that eventually made it to our mobile broadcasting apps. It also brought a deeper understanding of how some of the networks on the ground are mobilizing their crowds and creating, gathering and publishing content online to provide the world with a richer understanding of the situation in Egypt.

One of these organizations is the non-profit media collective Mosireen. During the visit, the volunteers at Moisereen impressed with their skills, energy and creativity. By engaging "the people on the street" as well as making huge efforts to aggregate and publish their content online, we believe Mosireen make an important addition to traditional news and media reporting. The Mosireen workspace in Cairo is open to virtually everyone and the organization is relying on private donations to fuel their operations.

To continue their operations, they've now launched a fund raising campaign through an initiative at Indiegogo. The funds will mainly be used to support further operations and purchase of equipment.

Feel free to check it out!

Cheers!

Introducing our beautiful new app for iOS devices

Just in time for the Apple event September 12, we thought we should treat all iOS users with a little surprise!

Since this morning you will find a revamped version of our broadcasting app for iOS in the Appstore. After listening to a lot of your feedback, we adjusted the navigation, icons and graphics to make it even easier to understand and use the app. We think it’s a great improvement and we really hope you like it!

We will of course keep iterating and the next generation is actually already in the works. We would be happy and honored to get your feedback. Just send an email to support@bambuser.com with your thoughts and input.

Cheers!

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.