Veeker Intros Mobilecasting Service
Oct 26th, 2006 | By James Lewin | Category: Citizen Media, Digital Video Downloads, Mobile Podcasting, Video Podcasts, Vlogs 
Veeker announced today the Beta launch of a mobile-to-Internet service that lets U.S. consumers publish video content from their mobile phones. According to the company, it is “positioning itself to help these and other consumers evolve their mobile communication habits from audio and text to video.”
Mobile videos sent to Veeker are viewable within seconds at Veeker.com, and can be distributed on any website that accepts embed codes, such as MySpace, Xanga, and Blogger.
Videos are sent from mobile phones as MMS messages, using the MMS message composer resident on every mobile phone equipped with a video camera. Consumers do not need to install special software, and they do not need a data plan from their cellular provider.
“Mobile phones have evolved from communication devices that transmit audio only, to audio and text and photos, and now the most effective communication medium, video,” stated Alex Kelly, Veeker CEO. “Communicating with mobile video is extraordinarily powerful—a 30 second video message conveys a lot of information.”
The company reports that early test users have been using the service in multiple ways, including: showing and inviting friends to a party in progress, sharing a wedding with family members who can not be there, leaving others video messages instead of voicemails, asking for advice from friends while shopping alone, creating a real-time video travelogue, archiving one’s life as a video diary, leaving video notes-to-self, capturing and sharing interesting sights with video or photos—Veeker accepts mobile photos as well.
other apps might include solving problems “in the field” such as
first aid/medical emergency
traffic/accidents/reports
extreme weather/tornadoes/flooding,etc
crime scene
landscaping
construction
lost pets
lost children
etc
I am posting to enlist your help in spreading the word about Veek the Vote 2006 (www.veekthevote.com), a project that enables people to use the cameras in their mobile phones to express themselves and document Election Day in near real-time.
Veek The Vote represents something wholly new in the history of election coverage. Anyone with a mobile phone equipped with a camera-‚Äîthere are over 70 million of them in the U.S.–can send a photo or video to vote@veeker.com. No registration is requried. No special software is needed.
Fifteen to sixty seconds after a photo or video is sent, it will appear in a embedded player at veekthevote.com. This player, in turn, can be taken by anyone and embedded anywhere on the web: on blogs, MySpace pages, etc. Veek the Vote generates a completely open mobile video communication network, enabling complete democratization of election coverage. We take in video from anyone, and allow anyone to display it on their website.
We’re very excited about the prospects for Veek the Vote. It empowers Americans to be more than a statistic captured by exit polls on Election Day. Whether they’re taking to the streets in protest, waiting patiently (or impatiently) in line at the polls, or stuck behind a desk, Veek the Vote 2006 lets America show and see Election Day in a way never before possible.
Any help that you all might be able to give in helping us get this story out would be very much appreciated. The more people that know about Veek the Vote, the more powerful it will be.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. I can be reached at: rraderman@veeker-corp.com
Kindest regards,
Rodger Raderman
Erik B. – you’re def right about all of the possible applications of Veeker, they seem limitless to me.
Just in the past few days, video enabled mobile phones have caught the tasering incident at UCLA and the Kramer racist comments.
Although it is important to shed light on these abuses, I believe that there are many more positive uses of Veeker – as you point out.
As I mentioned in a previous post, Veeker sponsored VeekTheVote 2006, which turned out to be a huge success for civic engagement, citizen journalism and election protection. In just a few short days, over 750 veeks were submitted that gave America some rich context within which to view the 2006 Election.
Check out the success story on the Nov 21 posting at http://www.mobilecrunch.com
-K. Pope
Veeker PR