YouTube Channel launched for SES London 2008

Andrew Lipsman, an analyst at ComScore Media Metrix, recently told the Los Angeles Times that the writers strike drove a record number of restive viewers to the Internet in December. It was the single heaviest month for online video viewing since ComScore started tracking such results back in January 2007. People watched more than 10 billion video streams on their computers, including CrunchGear.com’s hands-on with TI’s prototype Android phone, which had drawn 30,911 views on YouTube as of this morning.

In fact, YouTube has been the biggest beneficiary of this trend, as the number of videos streamed on the site surged 12% from November to December. That’s well above the steady growth rate in online video consumption, Lipsman told the LA Times. The average time visitors spent watching videos online increased seven minutes from 104 to 111 minutes a month.

So, it seems like the perfect time for Search Engine Strategies to launch its own YouTube Channel – the SESConferenceExpo’s Channel – just before SES London gets underway next week.

The Search Engine Strategies (SES) Conference & Expo Channel currently has three video clips – but more will be added during next week’s event, which is being held at the Business Design Centre in London, UK, from February 19-22, 2008. That’s in Islington, mate!

The top video clip, which was added yesterday, features and interview with Rebecca Lieb, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of the ClickZ Network, about AOL’s prospects in light of Microsoft’s unsolicited bid for Yahoo. The interview originally appeared on CNBC’s Media Money program on February 4, 2008. The video clip was provided by Ann Shannon and the team at PAN Communications.

In fact, the recent possibilities presented with a Microsoft/Yahoo combination will be discussed at Search Engine Strategies London during The Keynote Roundtable: The Changing Search World. Attendees will have front row seats to these industry-shaping events as they unfold.

Following an introduction from Nick Carr, author of The Big Switch, Rewiring the World, From Edison to Google, a group of search experts and analysts will discuss the impact of these changes in an interactive format. Kevin Ryan, Vice President, Global Content Director, Search Engine Strategies and Search Engine Watch, will be the moderator. The speakers include: Mike Grehan, SES London Co-Chair and Founder and CEO, Searchvisible Ltd.; Steven Kaufman, SVP Media Director, Digitas; Bryan Eisenberg, Co-Founder, Future Now Inc.; and Erica Schmidt, Global Director of Search, Isobar.

Also on the SES YouTube Channel is a video clip with Market Motive’s CEO Michael Stebbins and CTO John Marshall, which was added a week ago. They discuss the company’s on-demand video training, Q&A and direct conference calls with six of the top online marketing consultants – several of whom are speaking at SES London. John and Michael also explain their partnership with SES London and the special offer that they’re making to conference attendees: a free month’s subscription to MarketMotive.com.

For those of you who admire the quality of the videography, it was shot and edited by John Zukowski of Azimuth Productions / Video San Francisco.

Finally, the third YouTube video for SES London is my interview with Nick Carr, who will also be a keynote Speaker at SES New York. I chat with Nick about his new book, The Big Switch, which examines the future of computing and its implications for business and society, and about his introduction to The Keynote Roundtable at Search Engine Strategies London.

The video production company that created and produced this video clip is Diginovations, winners of the Platinum VISTA Award for Best Corporate Video from the National Professional Videographers Association for three of the last four years.

Added a week ago, this video clip of my interview with Nick already had more than 780 views as of this morning. Okay, so that not even close to comedian Judson Laipply’s “Evolution of Dance,” which has drawn 74 million views on YouTube. But, while I should disclose that SES London is a client, I have to confess that I only got around to promoting this video clip today.

How did it rack up so many views, then? Well, Jasdev Dhaliwal’s The Web Pitch gave it a plug even before I could get around to publicizing the video clip myself. That’s what I love about social media.