Last month we launched GateWorld Play, a new daily video channel -- and, I'm reasonably certain, the only Stargate video channel on the Web. This was a little brainchild of mine from last fall, which was conceived of as I thought about pushing GateWorld into the future with new Internet technologies.

Thanks to Flash video, more and more Web sites are publishing video features, and doing it on a regular basis. I love the video game site GameSpot, and they have been publishing video reviews of games, plus game trailers and other things provided by game publishers, for quite a while now. Over at TV Squad they have a regular video blog, talking about the week's developments in the entertainment world.

I would love to do stuff like that, and more. I would love to air official episode preview videos from SCI FI (which we are doing now) and DVD preview vids from MGM and FOX (which we are doing now), plus game trailers from Stargate Worlds (got it) and more. I would love to find a lovely and talented on-camera personality who will do a short, 3- to 5-minute video blog each week based on the latest Stargate news and special features at GateWorld. (If that is you, e-mail me!)

So I approached David Read, our genius of all things multimedia, and stuck a bug in his ear. I knew it wouldn't take much talking it up to get David excited about the idea, and he has really taken the ball and run with it. Through the fall and the Christmas season David created a plan for all the different sections -- The Phenomenon, Classic Stargate, Fan Videos, Stargate VFX, Fun & Games, etc. -- each of which usually see a new update every week.

The new video channel has its own section, but also lives right on the home page. So when we have a big new video like a DVD preview (passed along by our friends at MGM and FOX Home Entertainment), you'll see it right there when the home page loads. And when we do video interviews, you'll be able to watch the entire interview in its entirety right on the home page.

A big part of what the video channel is all about is you. For years talented fans all over the world have been creating Stargate music videos and other creative works, and we want to give them a place to showcase their work. If you are one of those talented creatives, please contribute your work! Just visit www.gateworld.net/play to find out how.

Our plan right now is to run GateWorld Play as a daily-updated feature for its first three months. It is a lot of work for David to maintain, and of course he has other responsibilities on the site -- so after three months we are going to evaluate where the video channel is at, if we're meeting our goals, and how many hours per week it is taking from him. We might continue on daily, or we might scale back a bit -- but still have several new videos every week.

Your feedback on the video channel is therefore extremely valuable to us in this early stage! Let us know if you specifically come to the site looking for the new video; or if you only watch them when you are on the site and happen to notice something; and if having daily updates has caused you to visit the site more frequently.

2 Comments:

 paulm84 wrote:

2:30 PM     LINK

I love the media player especially the triva and the trailer section. i don't think i would like the idea of having someone sit in front of a webcam and re-read everything i already have readon the main site but it could be worth a try

 Jedi Master Bra'tac wrote:

4:01 PM     LINK

I have been coming on here a lot more. I came on here alot anyway, but now I think "lets see if GateWorld's added a new video yet", and if you haven't I usually come on later in the day. Whereas before I just came to check the latest news/needed to look something up in episode guides/omnipedia

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