Camera & Video Phones Play Role as Communication Tool in the 2006 U.S. Election as Veeker and Youth Noise ?Veek The Vote? Nationwide
November 21, 2006
Over 750 Mobile Video Messages Show Americans Discussing Voting, Political Choices, Opinions and Analysis
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veeker (www.veeker.com), a leading mobile video message and photo website, believes that the mobile phone as a video capture and communication device had its coming out party during this year?s U.S. election. ?Veek the Vote 2006,? which received over 750 mobile video messages and photos from Americans using the video camera in a mobile phone to show the world where they stood on Election Day, represents a new milestone for citizen journalism in the United States. ?Veek the Vote 2006? was the result of a partnership between Veeker and YouthNoise (www.youthnoise.com), the Internet?s first social network for youth dedicated to social change.
On Election Day, mobile video messages and photos arrived every few minutes from various states across the nation, including Virginia, Missouri, California, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Florida and Ohio. In local races, one video message showed San Francisco School Board candidate Jane Kim (http://www.janekim.org/) making the rounds with her campaign posters. On a state and national level, there was a ?VEEK? (?video peek?) of a Claire McCaskill supporter participating in a ?Get out the Vote? initiative. McCaskill eventually won this particular race by a small margin and contributing to the Democratic parties? eventual control of Senate by majority. Other video messages were from YouthNoise?s CitiJo (i.e., Citizen Journalist) NOISEmakers who were reporting on the most important issues this election. News of ?Veek the Vote 2006? spread through the political blogosphere, further demonstrating the impact of the blogging community in this election.
?College kids and senior citizens alike joined together to use the cameras in their mobile phones to communicate their experiences and opinions on Election Day,? states Veeker Co-Founder Rodger Raderman. ?People felt empowered by the ability to express themselves in this way to other Americans. Taken together, all of these videos present a richly textured view of Election Day in America.?
The history of mobile video capture has evolved globally from a first look media capture of tragic events to an effective tool for citizen journalism.
December 26th, 2004 ? Southeast Asia/East Africa ? Real-time footage of the Asian tsunami was brought to global news outlets via the video images of mobile phones capturing waves as they hit beaches in various countries.
July 7th 2005 ? London, United Kingdom ? 20 pieces of mobile videos shot by onlookers are uploaded to BBC.co.uk website capturing footage minutes after the London terrorist bombings.
July 7th 2006 ? Mumbai, India ? Near-simultaneous blasts went off during the rush hour in the suburbs on the Western Railway. Hundreds of mobile videos capture the explosion and aftermath and are sent via MMS to the CNN-IBN news network.
July 24th 2006 ? Gurgaon, India ? Merinews.com India?s first all citizen-journalism website launches and invites Citizen Journalists to upload clips via MMS and other major broadcasters follow suit.
October 13th 2006 ? London, United Kingdom ? BBC UK Online does an open call for citizen journalism submissions via MMS.
November 7th 2007 ? Nationwide, United States ? Over 750 mobile videos are uploaded to Veekthevote.com and capture footage around polling locations in seven states and voters who voice their opinions and analysis of the 2006 U.S. Congressional Election.
"I appreciate the work that activists from across the country, like those on VeekTheVote.com, have done to identify existing problems, and to help protect the rights that we all enjoy," states recently re-elected U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) about Veek the Vote 2006.
How Veek the Vote Worked:
1) An individual shot a video (or photo) using the camera in their mobile phone
2) Individuals sent their video (or photo) from their phone (via MMS message) to vote@veeker.com
3) Less than a minute later, the video (or photo) along with all others could be viewed in a Veek the Vote video player at veekthevote.com youthnoise.com, and veeker.com
How to View Veek the Vote:
1) Joining Veeker.com, for free, enables anyone to view all 750+ videos and photos from the Veek The Vote effort.
2) Visiting YouthNoise.com enables anyone to view a selection of videos and photos from the Veek The Vote effort.
The Mobile Video Phone Market
According to a November 2007 Gartner Research Report, worldwide sales of camera phones will account for 48 percent of total worldwide mobile phone sales in 2006 and grow to 81 percent by 2010. Additionally worldwide sales of camera phones, which have almost tripled since 2004, will reach 460 million in 2006, an increase of 43 percent from 2005. This trend is set to continue, leading to sales of one billion camera phones by 2010. In an October 2007 study, the research firm Telephia reported over eight million U.S. handset owners have captured video on their mobile phones. This marks an upward trend for mobile video as a communication tool as a November 9th Wirefly survey found that 68% of cell phone users rate the camera as their favorite cell phone feature.
?Already, one quarter of the cell phones shipped in North America this year have camcorder capabilities and consumers are increasingly experimenting with this new form of self-expression. This is the perfect time for services like Veeker?s to hit the market with simple and free solutions for people to upload and share mobile content. Previous to these types of services, many Americans captured content and then didn?t know what to do with it,? states Jill Aldort, Senior Analyst, Consumer Mobility Applications, Yankee Group.
Mobile Video Blogging
Mobile video will also bring new advances to the burgeoning video blogger community (or vloggers). Traditionally, video blogs are shot with a digital cameras and footage is downloaded to a computer, edited, and then uploaded to the Web. With the ?Veek the Vote? initiative, mobile video was captured and appeared within minutes on VeektheVote.com (http://www.veekthevote.com), youthnoise.com, and veeker.com for anyone to see.
About Veeker:
Veeker was founded in September 2005 to lead the evolution of mobile communication from audio and text to video. According to IDC, during the period between 2005 and 2009, 2.4 billion mobile phones equipped with video cameras will enter the global marketplace. Veeker believes that mobile video communication will become pervasive, and intends to help the Veeker Generation discover and define this exciting new form of communication. Veeker is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, and operates a wholly owned subsidiary in Beijing, China. The company's team includes executives, technologists, and artists from the entertainment, internet, mobile, and advertising industries.
About YouthNoise:
YouthNoise is the first youth-based social network for social change. YouthNoise is a nonpartisan, nonsectarian, non-profit organization that brings young people ages 16-24 together to form a global network for sharing and converting their ideas into action to improve the world around them. Featuring 100% youth-generated content, www.YouthNoise.com has registered more than 115,000 youth from all fifty states and more than 170 countries, and welcomes approximately 200,000 unique visitors per month. Originally founded in 2001 by Save the Children, YouthNoise later spun off in 2004 and is now based in San Francisco, CA.