West Midlands Police made Press Conference history in the United Kingdom today LIVE at YouTube. For the UK, it’s the first time a police force has streamed a live press conference seeking a suspect or witness in an ongoing investigation.
In a Google world where fast is better than slow (on the web or in catching a murder), anyone can become their own media company.
According to YouTube and Magid and Associates, 25-45% of all videos viewed at YouTube are on mobile. So, creating a press conference that streams straight to someone’s pocket is sensible.
However, 67% of those mobiles views are at home (in the lounge or the bedroom) as a second screen. That means, a person is sitting in the same room as a switched on TV, but uses the mobile too.
What is happening at YouTube on their lap will not reach TV until a few hours or even half a day later.
This screen capture shows how Google favours a LIVE Video and rewards that in Search. We also have a few new features with Google+ Hangouts like a LIVE Rewind button that gives the audience complete control.
So, if you arrive at the LIVE feeds a few minutes late, one click restarts the broadcast (similar to sky or cable TV). Another click and you are LIVE again. As you drag the slider, mini thumbnails appear giving you a visual clue on what you have missed (TV does not do this).
We can also see YouTube generates a snapshot of the broadcast and places that at the YouTube LIVE page giving you an instant glimpse in the program.
Finally, this is free. Anyone can do this. Feel free to ask me how to get started.
In Canada, Constable Scott Mills of the Toronto Police Service uses backpack journalism to stream similar press conferences and reports from the street. We also have Kerry Blakeman from +West Midlands Police already using LIVE at YouTube with more planned broadcasts this month.
Constable Mills has lead the effort at Toronto Police to broadcast live from the scene of a homicide, and when Dean Wichar was arrested for the John Raposa murder, he broadcast from the lobby of Toronto’s 51 Division in the evening with an Internet signal tethered from a print media reporter’s iPhone.
Let me leave you with the Press Conference as it happened and the accompanying CCTV video of a man and a vehicle.
Editor’s Note: The officer in the following videos is Superintendent Mark Payne of the West Midlands Police. He has keynoted at The SMILE Conference and has written several articles on this blog.
Mike Downes – Teacher, Broadcaster, Google+ Hangout Specialist
After spending fifteen years as a school teacher, Mike moved to local media by starting whatsinKenilworth.com in April 2010. After getting noticed by mainstream media (by blogging about Library closures and local Policing), Google+ opened in June 2011 allowing a whole new experience. Mike quickly saw Hangouts as a realtime video tool that connected people. Anoek Eckhardt, Communications and Public Affairs Manager at Google said: “Mike is a great ambassador for Google+. His interaction with thousands of people from across the world to share knowledge, advice and learn together highlights the collaborative power of Google+.