What a year

2011 has been a very interesting year for us at Bambuser. We've seen an increased usage of the service and it's been taken up by all kind of people and groups of people. What we really have loved to see and to work with are protesters around the world. From Egypt through the Middle East to Russia, the Occupy Movement in the US and Europe, it's been phenomenal to see how people have utilized Bambuser to cover unrest and injustice.

We're equally happy for the feedback we've gotten from our users, from media and even from human rights organizations - it's been very emotional to the whole team and we'd like to say thank you to all our users and everyone we've worked with during the year. We can't complain about how the year has ended either, Bambuser was named the number one idea on Wired UK's list for 25 Big Ideas for 2012 and named number one media app in The Next Web.



It's not only protesters using Bambuser, we're seeing all kinds of things on the web site. Make sure to check out "crew picks" on Bambuser.com for some interesting, funny and educational videos. Now we're looking forward to 2012 and hoping for a more peaceful world but we'll always stand by protesters around the world fighting for democracy and free speech.

Thanks for this year and see you next and remember we're always listening to you, so if you have any great ideas, don't hesitate to contact us.

Mobile dashboard for iOS and Android

Your Bambuser Dashboard makes it easy to view, manage and share your broadcasts to various 3:rd party services that you can connect to. It also includes access to account settings, such as password and email management.



Now, we are introducing a brand new mobile-friendly dashboard integrated in our mobile applications, with a gorgeous look designed especially for small touch screens. This is yet another initiative in our efforts to make live video broadcasting as mobile and easy as possible.

To start with, this is available for iOS and Android. As always, you can get the updated applications from Apple's App Store and the Android Market.

Pay a blogger day

Some of the wittiest, most insightful content comes from bloggers broadcasting because they want to, not because of money or fame. For this reason, our friends at Flattr announces Pay a blogger day to inspire and encourage us all to donate something to our own favorite blogger.



And today is the day - remember to show some extra appreciation for your favorite broadcasters today.

Citizen journalism

At Bambuser we're honored to see how our service is used among people reporting from all over the world. Many are risking their lives to capture events live. Using Bambuser is recognized as an efficient way of distributing live video. We believe in a global voice and free speech and we try to help in the way we can to support reporting. Currently we've set up dedicated pages for Egypt at bambuser.com/egypt and for all #occupy videos at bambuser.com/occupy.



Also, Jonas Vig and Måns Adler, co-founders of Bambuser, are in Egypt for the elections - follow their journey and documentation on the blog Watching the watchers.

Recording offline is now available at Bambuser

You can now use Bambuser to capture video offline too. If you don't have a suitable Internet connection available or otherwise don't want to broadcast live, our apps for iOS and Android can now easily be set to record offline. The captured video can be uploaded and published on your account later when you have a suitable connection.

This often requested addition makes it possible to use Bambuser in many situations where broadcasting live is not an option. When the video is uploaded it will show up on your profile next to all other archived broadcasts, and can be shared to the social networks and sites of your choice. To read more, see our help page on how to record offline.

Bambuser challenge in New York City

In early September we sent executive chairman Hans Eriksson to cruise through London for 24 hours, while broadcasting live throughout the whole adventure. Hans had an excellent experience thanks to everyone who continuously chatted with him, supported him and gave him advice and directions through the Bambuser chat. It was so much fun that we have decided to send the old man out on another adventure. He can consider himself lucky, as this time we have decided to send him to the city that never sleeps, the Big Apple – New York City.

At 9am EDT (14:00 CET) on Tuesday the 1st of November, Hans will set off from Times Square to discover the hidden treasures of New York City. He will broadcast live for 24 hours and YOU who are watching will be the most important part of making this a great experience for other viewers as well as for Hans. Make sure to tune in to the Bambuser Challenge page on Tuesday to follow Hans as he goes live. You can also follow Hans on Bambuser to get email notifications about his broadcasts.

Bambuser + Flattr = True

With the quickly growing popularity of live video streaming, we at Bambuser are now giving all our users a chance to earn both recognition – and money – for their work.

From today, all Bambuser users will have the opportunity to earn money through the integration of the micropayment platform Flattr. Viewers can now flattr content creators by rewarding them with a micro-donation.

This is a real breakthrough for broadcasters as admirers of their work can now financially reward them for the content they create.

Working in a similar way to the Facebook Like button – but with a monetary value – registered Flattr users can support broadcasters simply by clicking on the Flattr button on the Bambuser site.

Broadcasters can get a Flattr button next to their broadcasts by connecting to Flattr through the Bambuser Dashboard. Simply click on Connect and Flattr under Settings to the right to get started.

View the broadcast with Jonas Vig, CEO at Bambuser and Linus Olsson, Co-Founder at Flattr talking about the integration, below or on Bambuser.

We're honored and proud!

This weekend it was fascinating and touching to see all #occupy demonstrations from all over the world being captured with Bambuser. We're honored and proud to have been shown that confidence from protesters all over world.

Equipped with little more than smartphone and access to a 3G or WiFi service, increasing numbers of Bambuser users were broadcasting LIVE to give their cause a digital, global and interactive voice. Altogether, over two thousand live broadcasts from the protests around the globe were viewed by the public.

Hundreds of thousands people also clicked onto the site to watch live broadcasts from a range of locations, including all major European capitals as well as cities in the US and Canada.

For us, these numbers emphasize how Bambuser has become the digital tool of choice to capture and document important moments and situations instantly with a minimum of hardware and at a low or no cost. The uptake of live streaming is spreading incredibly quickly as the public take the opportunity to share developments in their cities in real time.

It's apparent that people across the globe are eager to share what's happening not only on Twitter and Facebook but also through live and interactive broadcasting. As the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words.

A sample of the weekend's broadcasts include:
- A person walking past a burnt car in Rome
- Julian Assange talking to the crowd in London (starts approx 30 minutes into the clip)
- Police surrounding London protestors
- Street protests in Toronto, Berlin and Portugal

Updates and public API

We want you to enjoy our product as much as possible. Recently, we have taken small but important steps to improve our service further - this time with focus on apps and integration.

Update for the iOS app

Our iOS app update is now available on the App Store and includes improvements for iOS5. This update also adds support for sharing broadcasts via e-mail.

Additionally, we have added a notification badge to remind you of any unsent data. Uploading unsent complement data will improve the quality of your stored broadcasts, especially if there were connection problems during a live broadcast.

App for Nokia N9

We are happy to announce that we, already at the launch of the Nokia N9, can offer a brand new Bambuser app for it. The app is available now on the Ovi store and produces great video quality and frame rate on the N9, even surpassing the quality of the predecessor N900.

Premium solutions

If you need a player free from advertisements, with the opportunity to include your own ads and messaging, or if you want to access extended statistics about your viewers and broadcasts or need to customize your player, check out our Premium solutions - starting at 99 € per month.

Public API for developers

We recently made our APIs more accessible. We can now offer public documentation and easy registration for all developers that want to include parts of the Bambuser experience. Do you have a great idea on how to integrate Bambuser in your service? You can find all you need at bambuser.com/api.

New features and some updates

We are very excited to share some projects we've been working on for quite a while. This includes a great map feature, new chat log, sharing to Yammer, mobile app updates and the Bambuser Challenge.

Bambuser Map

Here at Bambuser we encourage people to show the world. Our new Google Maps mash-up allows visitors to browse broadcasts based on where in the world they are positioned.

Chat log

The Bambuser chat has for a long time made it easy for viewers and broadcasters to interact live, but the log has not been available afterwards. From now on, also those watching a Bambuser broadcast on-demand can follow the chat history, played back in sync with the on-demand video.

Sharing to Yammer

All Bambuser users can now share their live broadcasts to Yammer, another great 3rd party service in our already long list of supported services. Just go to your Dashboard and scroll down to Connect and you'll find it among Facebook, Twitter and many more.

App updates

Make sure you download our recently updated mobile apps for Android and Symbian. The updates include performance and user interface improvements.

Bambuser Challenge

We'd like to thank all of you who followed Hans during the Bambuser Challenge in London on the 9th and 10th of September. It was a fantastic experience for Hans as well as the Bambuser Crew to see the extensive participation from all of you. We’d also like to thank Tep for the MiFi sponsorship. Stay tuned for further adventures!

Live broadcasting is all about sharing your story instantly

The way news is being reported has changed tremendously over the past few years! Today's news are immediate, digital and social.

As we noticed throughout the Arab up-rise and during last week's rioting and looting in London and Manchester, record numbers of people are instantly broadcasting events onto the web. Gone are the days when, in order to go live, you needed huge technical knowledge, specialized TV broadcast trucks, satellite dishes and high costs. A new generation of professional and citizen broadcasters are on the streets and getting their stories out live, equipped with little more than Bambuser, a smartphone and access to a 3G or WiFi network.



During the last months, we've been busy developing enhanced apps that makes broadcasting even easier for Bambuser users. We won't bore you with the detailed description of what we've been up to - the important take is that Bambuser now allows you to broadcast higher quality video and audio on modern phones without needing more bandwidth. You'll find the improvements obvious when using the latest smartphones - iPhones as well as a growing list of Android models.

We've also been busy expanding the range of devices you can use. Bambuser can now be used on over 320 smartphone models as well as a wide range of web-cameras and DV-cameras.

But it's not just about getting bigger - live broadcasting is all about getting your stories out instantly. We're thrilled to see that everyone, from TV networks to the general public, are finding new ways of using our service.

It's apparent that the modern mobile phone is changing the nature of broadcasting and will continue to do so.

New integration brings our mobile live video broadcasting solutions to Screen9 clients

In our efforts to meet the ever increasing demand for publishing live and interactive video content online, we're now happy to announce that we've teamed up with online video platform provider Screen9 to offer Bambuser's leading mobile live video broadcasting services to Screen9 customers.





The integration will allow existing and new Screen9 customers to seamless publish Bambuser live videos via their Screen9 account (subsequently available for On Demand playback as well of course). Bambuser users can also register for a Screen9 account and enjoy the benefits of both services. This offers a unique opportunity for broadcasters to easily capture video anywhere, using a mobile phone or professional equipment, coupled with the rich functionality of a professional Online Video Platform (OVP). The integration will only be available for users with Bambuser Premium accounts.

We're looking forward to work with our friends at Screen9.

Jukka Mutanen's Kaivuriskaba

Do you remember Jukka Mutanen who drove a mini excavator through Finland? He became a Finnish hero doing so last summer and the event drove so much attention that he has now got a competition coming up called Kaivuriskaba starting on June 1st.



The competition has been arranged in 6 cities in Finland and invite participants to stay in Japanese Takeuchi mini-excavators as long as possible. The winner will get to drive it home (remember that the top speed is 4 km/h).

Now, the big question is how long the participants can stay on it. Is it a day, a week or a month? All participants are streamed with Bambuser and the audience can chat with the daredevils either live in the shopping malls or via web chat. Every competitor has an iPad, allowing them also to follow each other, making everything more exciting.

Don't waste more time, follow the hilarious Finns live at http://bit.ly/kaivuriskaba.

Phils united to rebuild tornado-stricken town Phil Campbell

You may have heard of one Phil Campbell in your life but have you heard of all the Phil Campbells of this world reunited in one place: the town of Phil Campbell, Alabama? Phils United have one critical mission: help the tornado-stricken town in its hour of need and rebuild it!



The tornado sadly devastated the 1,000-person town on the afternoon of April 27th, taking hundreds of homes, two churches, gas stations and retail stores on its way.

Our local Phil Campbell will be hitting the road in 2 weeks time (14th of June that is), live streaming from his car on his way from Tampa to Phil Campbell. We managed to catch him today to take us through his preparations and expectations. Watch the video at Bambuser.

Having Phil involved in the initiative is a great opportunity for us to share the support of United Phil Campbell and the testimonials of inhabitants on the ground in real-time. Phil will document what they have been through and take us through how the event has affected the lives of the inhabitants and, more importantly, how they are now experiencing the re-building of their own town.

You don't need to be a Phil Campbell to help. You can show your support by giving whatever you can. To donate go to: http://imwithphil.bbnow.org/donate.php

Remember to follow this story live on Phil Campbell's Live Channel from the 13th of June at http://bambuser.com/channel/philcampbell.

Bambuser Robot Competition

Calling all Bambuser users with a bit of imagination! We were inspired by our friends at Sortedam Ventures who built a "crowd-sourcing" Bambuser robot that can receive remote orders. It looks like they're not the only ones. Check also Give Away Candy that lets you participate from your twitter account.




Do you think you can even do better and want a challenge

Build a Bambuser robot and get the chance to WIN a professional media campaign, and be featured in some of the world's biggest newspapers and TV shows.

To launch the competition Michael from Sortedam Ventures gives us an interview explaining how they built their robot and what you would need. Watch it embedded below, or at Bambuser.

How to participate

Build a Bambuser robot based on Bambuser broadcasting technology (using a smartphone or webcam/DV cam) with crowd-sourced functionality built-in to enable interaction with the audience. To enter the competition a team or individual should:

1. Create a Bambuser account (if they haven't got one yet)


2. Broadcast the construction phase and finalized version of the robot using the hashtag #robot. (You can broadcast as many videos as you like)

Competition run time

The competition is running from the 24th of May until the 14th of June 2011.

Prize

The video generating the most views and the most appreciation from the Bambuser Crew (based on creativity, engagement and fun) all together, will win a professional media campaign and will be featured in some of the world's biggest newspapers and TV shows.

Competition Terms and Conditions

The competition is running from the 24th of May to the 14th of June 2011 (12:00am GMT). The winners must be aged 18 years or over. This promotion may be conducted over several different websites simultaneously. The broadcast of the robot needs to be publicly available on bambuser.com until at least the 30th of June 2011. Participants can broadcast as many videos as they like to participate, using the hashtag #robot in the broadcast title.

An email will be sent to the winner informing them of their win. Only persons registered with Bambuser are eligible. Prizes must be claimed within 14 days. Unclaimed prizes will be void. Bambuser reserves the right to withdraw this competition at any time. Winner must have a smartphone or web/DV-cam that is capable of live broadcasting.

Bambuser unveiling new Premium packages

Bambuser is launching a brand new suite of Premium packages to meet the needs of our premium users. We have listened to what people want and shaped our service offering accordingly.



Along with the new packages comes features highly requested from our Premium Community:

1. Ad-free player - The opportunity to broadcast without any ads in the player.


2. Monetization of your videos - we now offer opportunities to display a wide range of ads in the player. Pre- post-, mid-rolls and overlays. Simply plug in to our ad serving system and start monetizing you videos from day one.


3. Extensive statistics - Bambuser offers easy access to more detailed statistics that will help you to understand your viewers' behavior. You can see how many viewers are watching live and on-demand, for how long, from what country and more.

As part of our Premium range, we're offering three package levels in order to accommodate a wide range of use cases. You could be an event organiser, a blogger, a media production company or simply a commercial brand looking for a new way to engage with your audience. We'll be happy to advise you on the package that best suits your needs.

The Premium packages also include all the basic functions that Bambuser already offers today, such as the ability to broadcast from web/DV cams and from over 260 smart phone models, making the videos fully accessible on the viewers' mobiles and computers, both live and on-demand. On top of this comes the ability to easily share videos to a wide range of social media platforms, stream live video directly to your Facebook page and interact with your audience in real-time.

Visit http://bambuser.com/premium and pick the package that best suits you. If you're looking for a customized solution, we'll be more than happy to help out and make sure you get what you want.

Eurovision Song Contest behind the scenes live!

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf is coming up and the final takes place on the 14th of May.

Put this date in your calendar and in the meantime, enjoy some exciting Bambuser live footage, including exclusives behind the scenes thanks to two partners on site:

The British online magazine Popbitch, whose reporter on site will follow the rehearsals, press conferences and behind the scenes activities closely. Popbitch will put extra focus on coverage of UK's participant Blue. Make sure you keep an extra eye on the Popbitch site on Monday as there might be an exclusive interview with Blue.



Swedish celebrity TV profile, singer and international voice coach Kishti Tomita who works with Russian star Alex Sparrow and his team. There will be videos from rehearsals and behind the scenes. Check it out at http://www.kishti.se/video/livetv.html.



Why not regularly check both channels to ensure you don't miss anything important, fun or crazy.

If you are around Düsseldorf and want to do some cool Bambuser coverage, please let us know and we'll tell the world about you.

Silicon Roundabout Techmeetups

May 5th at 6PM GMT,

We will be presenting Bambuser to the great crowd over at Silicon Roundabout Techmeetups in London, UK.

It's always fun and interesting to get to meet fellow entrepreneurs, VC's and potential partners from the UK. There's a really nice vibe over here in London and it seems like the start-up scene is really booming.

Lots of cool companies will be attending, as well as great VC's with extensive experience and knowledge and willingness to invest in the next European online Blockbuster. Among the companies presenting are cool ones like Moshi Monsters and Pora Ora.

NACUE conference contest

The Bambuser crew is in London at the 3rd Annual NACUE Leaders Training Conference.

The event aims to help student societies develop leadership skills and shape strategies for the academic year ahead. Enterprise society presidents from 70 universities across the UK, in addition to international member countries, are attending, and the Bambuser crew is there to show how Bambuser can provide them with a powerful tool to easily get their message out to a broad audience in real-time, across popular social media channels.

The theme of this year's conference is "Building your Legacy" which fits nicely with Bambuser as the service lets student societies broadcast their events in real-time, or for on-demand usage, create live interviews, engage with their audience through Bambuser's live chat and share videos instantly on their blog, Twitter and Facebook feeds.

We will be giving away two free Bambuser business accounts at today's NACUE conference. With the business account, you get all the benefits of a standard Bambuser account plus an ad-free and customisable player, twenty-four seven access to extensive analytics where you can see who your message is getting out to, and the ability to monetise your video content.

We have set up a dedicated NACUE channel so you can see the students pitch live to win and chat to the Bambuser crew and society representatives:

Watch it at NACUE on Bambuser (pitches start at 1PM UK time).

Unveiling a brand new Bambuser

We thought it was time for a little make-over.

As you know, at Bambuser, we're all about change for the better, so we've decided to practice what we preach and refresh our identity and site.

As of today, we'll be rolling out a gradual refresh of the Bambuser experience, starting off with a grown-up identity, new logo, homepage and sign-up process. This should make it easy for anyone who discover Bambuser for the first time to get started easily – so feel free to spread the news and get your friends to sign-up and follow your broadcasts.



To see our new start page, simply visit bambuser.com and log out of your Bambuser account. We hope you like it! As always, any comments and feedback you'd like to share with us are truly appreciated.

Our new look and feel might be colourful, young and fresh, but don’t be fooled, just because our tone is casual, we still mean business. We will be upgrading your experience gradually, so stay tuned for more exciting changes to the site over the coming weeks. This should give you a nicer, easier and more social experience over time when broadcasting live videos.

Bambuser now supports the iPad 2!

As most of you know, Bambuser is always doing its best to support as many platforms as possible and, true to our word, we've been busy optimizing our app to run smooth on the Ipad 2.

We made sure to take advantage of the impressive features the iPad 2 has to offer, including support for use of the high quality front and back cameras as well as hardware encoded video at 25 frames per second.

The iPad 2 announcement came just over a month ago and was live-streamed on Bambuser by TechCrunch's Mike Butcher. As was to be expected, when the hotly anticipated device was released to buy, the queues outside Apple stores snaked around street corners as shoppers camped outside to be one of the first to own it.

Some of the Bambuser team were savvy enough to pick up their iPad 2s whilst at SXSW (and our very own Hans Eriksson may have been one of the first people in the world to break his!) and this latest app continues our dedication to bring users the best and most extensive service we can possible offer.

Our live-streaming and interaction tool is an important way for anyone to share what is happening around them. The latest iPad2 app means we are continuing in our aim to make sure Bambuser is available to as many people as possible to let their voice be heard.

To ensure Bambuser fans are getting the best interactive broadcasting experience, we've even created a quick video to show you how Bambuser works on iPad:

Live from SXSW

Catch it live from #sxsw to @TechHub office in London.

SXSW attendees:
Feel free to pop by at 2pm opposite the Chevy & Aol stands and share with us your SXSW highlights.

Non SXSW viewers:
Watch it live from 7pm UK time.

Life when you’re not at SXSW…..

As many of you know, a number of the Bambuser team is at SXSW. You can follow their journey, and see all the fun they’re having here and here. I, however, am not, and I’m a little more than jealous! The mecca of all things cool – music, film and interactive, SXSW attracts everyone, from the cool to the plain odd. Everyone hits Austin, Texas, for a week of launches, parties, panels and debates.

A fantastic show, everyone who is anyone is there, the influencers are out in force and this is your chance to meet them, and bond over a beer… or three. It’s also the coolest place in the world to launch. Nothing says ‘we rock ’ quite like it, and chances are that your target market of early adopters are right there. Look at Foursquare, it launched at SXSW two years ago and thanks to the key influencers who started using it at the show, growth has sky-rocketed and continues to do so with this year’s tie-up with Amex among a slew of SXSW specific badges.

But, what if you’re not there? Well, thanks to the internet and social media, you’re never too far away from the action. You can follow, as it happens, on Twitter with the #sxsw, and do the same on Bambuser and you’ll find all the videos from the event. You can live chat to streamers, or follow them for updates and videos what they’re doing. Even better, help is at hand in the form of a number of ‘we’re not at SXSW’ parties, which are taking place this week, including a live streaming of the show by Bambuser, tomorrow evening at TechHub, for members only register here if you haven’t already. If you’re not a member though, don’t worry, you’ll be able to watch the stream live on Bambuser too!

On the road to SXSW, LIVE!

One of the biggest tech conferences of the year, South by South-West, gives the tech scene the opportunity (or excuse) to head to Austin, Texas to meet, learn, share and party with their peers.



While we may have taken the idea of "heading there" too literally, Phil Campbell, a Bambuser fan and blogger, is road-tripping from Florida to Austin, Texas, in time to catch the action of SXSW starting on Friday. Phil is documenting his adventures on his Bambuser channel.

You can also follow @philcampbell and his fellow driver/passenger Krissi, in their crossroad adventure, watching them live, and chatting with them about the next app or what to expect at SXSW. Why not share useful recommendations on stops, music tracks and anything else you might find relevant. Phil will be live streaming all the hottest events at SXSW. From parties to speakers to interviews, catch it all live!



SXSW is starting this Friday. Until then, broadcast and share with us your pre-adventure or expectations, using the hashtag #SXSW in your video title. These will appear on our SXSW page. If you're not going but have friends who do, feel free to tell them about Bambuser and encourage them to share their live broadcasts to the page using the #SXSW hashtag.

However, it doesn't stop there. The Bambuser Crew will be joining Phil on the ground, capturing the good, the bad and all the fun that SXSW and the tech scene have to offer – LIVE! Follow Hans (@hanseriksson) and Jonas (@jonasvig) on their SXSW adventure for interviews, updates and coverage. Feel free to interact with them through the chat, asking them tricky questions or maybe getting them to do crazy and fun stunts.

Bambuser Updates Android App

Here at Bambuser we're excited to announce our latest Android app update, taking the quality of our video streaming service to an other level.

As part of our on-going bid to become the streaming platform of choice, we now offer more efficient video compression on many powerful Android devices, providing a smoother and more crisp experience on both live and on-demand video. The difference is particularly notable on Google's Nexus S.

We've also added support for the front facing camera on devices running Android 2.3, providing our users and their viewers with an even more personal video experience.

Over the last month, Bambuser has been used by many individuals, ranging from London Fashionistas to political protesters to share what is important to them with the world. As mobiles devices increasingly become part of our daily lives, Bambuser strives to enable everyone to share their experiences in real-time. This latest Android app update illustrates our dedication to bring our users the best.

You can find the latest version of the Bambuser application for your device on the Android Market, iTunes or through our list of supported phones. Happy streaming!

International Women's Day: Celebrating inspirational women all over the globe

Starting in 1911, during a time of cultural and industrial change where equality was significantly different from today, International Women’s Day has become an important day for women all over the world who want to get their voices heard. Starting with a march in New York City for greater women’s rights, these have become tradition, and many are taking place today, with tens of thousands of people coming together on bridges all over the world, from London to Rwanda, thanks to the organisation Join Women on the Bridge.

An incredible one hundred years on, International Women’s Day has become a day of celebration for many, with activities aimed at connecting women occurring throughout the day, ranging from business conferences to art workshops; in some countries, it is even considered an official holiday.

We’re proud to see so many users already posting their videos in recognition of what is inspiring about IWD. We found this broadcast: http://bambuser.com/channel/waelabbas/broadcast/1480358 during the #Egypt Demonstrations to be particularly awe inspiring. 

Let us know about your event, or the women who have influenced you by getting in touch with us on twitter: @Bambuser, or by hash tagging your live streams #IWD.

Bambuser Competition: #LFW11 Winner

Thanks for your participation in the Bambuser Fashion Competition! We had a great turnout, enjoying some really inspiring broadcasts. We also learned some nice stylish tips & we will all be a little more fashionable because of it.

Some of the highlights were learning about why 50's fashion inspires LauraLou! We witnessed everything from cutting edge trends at London Fashion Week catwalk shows and were introduced to a few upcoming designers, such as Natti working with some stunning pieces on her mannequin.

The choice was hard but the two most compelling broadcasts that also generated the most enthusiasm from the Bambuser Crew came from If You Please and FarhanaB.

We loved watching the FarhanaB broadcast as her and her friend rummaged through their clothes and took us on a trendy journey of her fashionable flat. We got to see her rack of edgy finds and learn about both her and her friends glamorous outfits! For this reason, we are proud to announce FarhanaB as our second place winner.

Which means, If You Please is our lucky winner!! We were truly inspired by the broadcast documenting the up and coming London designer in her studio as she gave us a run through of her latest line. Spicy to say the least! Check out their work at: http://ifyouplease.co.uk/.

Unfortunately, we regret to announce that If You Please is unable to make it to London Fashion Weekend so we are sending one lucky third place winner, LauraLou to document the events!

Congratulations again to If You Please and FarhanaB for winning the Platinum and Gold tickets to London Fashion Weekend! Thanks again to all the participants. 

Bambuser Blocked in Bahrain

We can confirm that the Bambuser service is currently being blocked in Bahrain, as the local government seeks to crack down on political protests throughout the country. We are monitoring the situation closely, and have received several reports from users on twitter indicating widespread 3G slowdown throughout Bahrain.

One Bambuser user that has come to our attention is Nabeel Rajab, the head of the Bahrain Human Rights Society. Nabeel has been utilizing Bambuser and his website www.bahrainrights.org to draw attention to human rights abuses in Bahrain. Today, we learned on twitter that, like many of our users throughout Bahrain, he is no longer able to access or remotely upload footage from the country to his Bambuser.com account. You can view Nabeel’s previously captured video footage on Bambuser at: http://bambuser.com/channel/nabeel-rajab and follow his twitter @Nabeelrajab.

To follow the latest commentary and news from Bahrain, visit our friends at Global Voices Online http://globalvoicesonline.org/-/world/middle-east-north-africa/bahrain/

Also for people within Bahrain, we recommend you utilize the Tor Project which protects your privacy and which we hope will give you full access to all of the available content on Bambuser.

Information on blocked users in Bahrain

We have been informed that some Bambuser accounts are being censored within Bahrain, as the local government seeks to control the news in the face of demonstrations by protestors in the country. This attempt to disrupt internet communications seems to mirror what we witnessed in Egypt a few weeks back.

One particular user that has been censored is Alaali. You can watch Alaali's Bambuser channel and follow Alaali's latest twitter updates. Here's what's meeting him when trying to view the channel in Bahrain: http://twitpic.com/405osn.

People are still able to broadcast to Bambuser.

We are following the situation in Bahrain closely, and will update this blog post as soon as we see any changes in the blocking of Bambuser in Bahrain. We strongly condemn any government attempts to silence democratic movements.

To follow the latest commentary on breaking middle east news, visit our friends at http://www.mideastyouth.org.

Also for people within Bahrain we recommend you trying out the Tor Project which protects your privacy and which we hope give you full access to all content on Bambuser. Please let us know if it works.

Here is a broadcast on the situation just a while ago

London Fashion Competition

Celebrate the Fashion Season and win!

The Fashion season has kicked-off and we invite you to reveal the latest highlights of the season and win some amazing prizes. We have teamed up with This Little Lady Went to London to run this competition as they are always on the cusp of the hottest events in London.

How to enter?

Simply use your phone or webcam and showcase the world of fashion on Bambuser. Make broadcasts about this season’s fashion trends, your top fashion tips, your favorite outfit, backstage of a catwalk, your favorite fashion shop, spot a fashionista on the street and more.

Don't forget to add: #LFW11 to your video title

The video generating the most views and the most appreciation from the Bambuser Crew will win!

Grand Prize:

London Fashion Weekend Tickets!
- Front row catwalk seats
- Chambord Royale cocktail on arrival, canapé reception and complimentary drinks
- Stylist sessions
- VIP Edition of the Show Bag

Follow us on Twitter/Facebook for updates, tips and tricks to increase your chance to win, and don't forget to check out our webpage: http://bambuser.com/london-fashion-competition for competition details.

New Egypt page: Taking citizen journalism one step further

As Egypt comes alive online, we are pleased to introduce of a new page on the site. Dedicated solely to protests across the globe, it will give the voice back to the people, allowing them to share their stories with the rest of the world, without prejudice or agenda, part of the beauty of live streaming. Importantly, it also supplies a social platform that grants the rest of the world the opportunity to exhibit their support. By simply using the hashtag #egypt, supporting videos will appear on the protest landing page, and ensure the voice of the Egyptian protesters and their supporters isn't lost despite internet crackdowns.



We decided to create the page following the banning of our service in Egypt last week. We saw a number of videos appear on Bambuser of people demonstrating in their honour from a number of places outside the country, and we wanted to showcase our support for freedom of speech and peaceful protest, even with the service blocked.

The new page is the latest step in our continued mission to allow users to share what is important to them, as it happens, with followers around the globe. We will not waver in our mission to allow people to share what matters most to them, and to broadcast momentous events as they happen.

You can access the page at http://bambuser.com/egypt.

Bambuser blocked in Egypt as Government seeks to control news agenda

We can confirm that Bambuser was blocked in Egypt at 1 PM CET January 25th, as the local government seeks to control the news in the face of mass demonstrations by protestors frustrated by the poverty and oppression they face in the country.

Organised by internet savvy, young Egyptians using Twitter and Facebook to communicate and organise, Bambuser has proved to be the perfect tool for protestors to quickly and easily share content – live – to a watching world, on social media sites. Prior to services like Bambuser entering the field, protestors would record videos and upload them to YouTube when they got home; however, many never made it, as police confiscated phones. Now they can't operate like that, and instead have chosen to close the whole service in order to stay in control.

Here at Bambuser, we are proud to be a democratic tool for freedom of speech, and condemn the abuse of power that we are seeing today. We are working hard to ensure access resumes for the Egyptian community and stand by them in their quest for the right to protest.

UPDATE: These are some of the last broadcasts coming out of Egypt today, before we got blocked

New iPhone App Release

The new iPhone app update provides a combination of Bambuser's low latency and high quality live broadcasting. It supports hardware accelerated video streaming alongside on-demand frame rate enhancements; dramatically improving user experience when watching Bambuser videos live and on demand. The Bambuser iPhone app is compatible with the iPhone and the 4th generation of the iPod touch, and requires iOS 3.1 or later. To download the application, visit the app store.

As the smartphone market continues to grow, applications are becoming increasingly popular as consumers seek to ensure they have a truly mobile experience. Live streaming video is set to grow immensely over the next few years, with research suggesting 70% of data traffic will be video by 2014 as consumers and businesses alike seek to stand out online and share media in real time with friends, family and customers.

To support this, Bambuser, an interactive video streaming platform for consumers, media companies and brands, has updated its free iPhone app, adding optimised video and audio quality. With the Bambuser app, users can stream live content from their iPhones, over 3G or Wi-Fi, sharing experiences instantly with followers all over the globe.

"At Bambuser we have strived to make mobile video simple and fun, enabling anyone with a mobile device to share their experiences in real-time" said Jonas Vig, CEO, Bambuser. "By upgrading our application for the iOS platform we have continued our commitment to provide video solutions to consumers worldwide, and, importantly, have presented it in a combination that no one else has yet achieved."

With the Bambuser iPhone app, users can choose to broadcast in public or in private, receive live chat messages and geo-tag transmissions using GPS. The live video streams can also be shared seamlessly on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, and can be embedded onto blogs and websites, enabling users to share their experiences as and when they happen.

Bambuser is for anyone and everyone to broadcast what is important to them, as it happens, no matter how big or small it is. As such, Bambuser currently offers several different solutions, starting with free accounts for consumers, which includes unlimited ad-supported streaming. In addition, small businesses, media and larger organisations can opt for a premium or media account, which both offer controlled distribution, ad-free streaming and opportunities to monetise the content. More information on the different accounts is found at http://bambuser.com/business.

Holiday Competition: iPhone4 Winner

Thanks for your participation in our Holiday Competition! We had a great international turnout, enjoying broadcasts from all over the world. We also learned a lot about how different cultures celebrate the winter holiday season.

Some of the highlights were being taken on a beautiful scenic & snowy car adventure in Norway, to hearing live piano music in Brazil, to watching New Years Eve fireworks in Sweden …
It was tough to make the final call.

While considering the number of views, the video that received the most appreciation from the Bambuser Crew and was one of the holiday favourites was....

BLOGATU

We loved watching the holiday unfold in Romania & getting a glimpse into the festive spirit of the local culture there!

Congratulations again to Blogatu for winning the iPhone 4 – we hope you’ll make the most of it.

Thanks again to all the participants – we’ll roll out a new set of exciting competitions for you to engage with, in 2011 – stay tuned!

Top 10 Bambuser Broadcasts of 2010:

As 2010 draws to a close, we dug deep into our collection and hand picked the top ten broadcasts of 2010, produced by the Bambuser community.

Feel free to share your thoughts on them and pick your favourite.

#1 Justin Sullivan & Dean White (New Model Army)

#2 Reporting Live: Aftermath from Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans

# 3 Big Brass Band!

#4 Live song - Great live recording!

#5 Sharons Haircut for charity

#6 Valser plays Choplin

#7 Beautiful Sweden! Fire Dancer on the water

#8 Party (DJing) – Great live footage

#9 How to DJ – in Swedish!

#10 How to make beats: DJ BabyJ