Cool Video Websites that Aren't YouTube or Hulu

When you think of online video, you think of YouTube and Hulu. But those aren't the only two choices when it comes to online video. There are a bunch of niche video websites that showcase professional and home made videos by genre. You may find that many of these videos are also on YouTube, but the difference is that some of these websites have their own communities and how-to guides for creating just the type of video you want.

First up, for some of the most viral comedy videos, check out Funny or Die. There you'll find stars like Will Ferrell, Heidi Montag and Jewel in a variety of spoofs and yarns. For example, Forehead Tittaes is a video that stars Oscar winner Marion Cotillard demonstrating an unusual new product designed to get women more respect in the office.

Forehead Tittaes w/ Marion Cotillard from Marion Cotillard

Ever heard of Brick Films? That's a site that's dedicated to "brickfilming -- making stop motion animation with LEGO or other brick like elements."  Here's Road Rescue.

Then there's WebCam Stop Motion, where you turn on your computer's webcam and make your own personal stop motion animation videos, starring you.

Hulu Introduces Their New Pay Service: Hulu Plus

The money people have finally had their way with Hulu.com. Hulu Plus, a pay version of the free TV, video and movie website, has officially been launched, and it is available in beta version by invitation only.

Here's how Hulu Plus works: for $9.99/month, subscribers will have access to current episodes of popular TV shows, but they will also have access to complete seasons of shows such as Desperate Housewives, Glee, 30 Rock, and Grey's Anatomy, and older shows like Law and Order: SVU, Ugly Betty, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and X-Files.

On the up side, you'll be able to take your Hulu Plus HDTV shows everywhere. It will eventually be compatible with the iPhone, iPad, Sony PS3, Xbox 360 and some Internet-connected Samsung televisions and Blu-Ray players. There are a couple of sticky catches though. If you're a fan of hits like CSI, The Good Wife, Survivor or NCIS, you'll be out of luck because CBS hasn't jumped onto the Hulu bandwagon.

Conversations With Teri Hatcher and Lisa Kudrow: Why They're on the Web

Every year, the television networks hold "upfronts" where they trot out a lot of stars, showcase their upcoming new shows, and attempt to sell advertising for those shows. Since web TV shows have increasingly become the talk of the internet, it was only a matter of time before they had their own upfront. Or as Digitas, the digital marketing company calls it, a Digital Content NewFront.

Teri Hatcher, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Pollak, Seth Green, Martha Stewart, Arianna Huffington, Jason Bateman, Rick Fox and a host of internet gurus were at Digitas' third annual Digital Content NewFront in New York this week, talking about internet content and new media, promoting their web content, and connecting with advertisers.

Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher was there to talk about her newly launched website targeted to women, Get Hatched, A Chick's Guide to Life.

I had a chance to talk with Teri and asked her if she had any trepidation about breaking into the web:

When you believe in something and it comes from a place of passion and joy, that overrides fear. I think I probably felt scarier about joining the Desperate Housewives cast at the beginning, because you feel so many things are beyond your control and it isn't just about quality at the end of the day.

I feel like I've gotten to a place where if I'm giving my best to something that's all I can do. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.  And that's not the reflection of who I am so there's less fear based thinking.

When I asked if she had any tidbits about what will be happening on Wisteria Lane this fall she said, "I got nothin' for ya! Other than that, we're looking forward to welcoming Vanessa Williams. I have no idea what she'll be doing other than being glamorous and probably causing mischief."

Fun with Lady Gaga "Telephone" Video Spoofs

You've heard the song, you've sung the song, you've marvelled at the weirdness of the video. Now it's time to watch the spoofs. Lady Gaga is now so popular, spoofs of her songs are all over the internet. That includes her latest viral video, "Telephone" -- and it's only appropriate that it features the previous queen of the viral video, Beyonce, whose "Single Ladies" video last year had everyone, young and old, large and small, black and white, hairy and bald, taking a turn on the "Single Ladies" dance floor.  And spawned a slew of "Single Ladies" spoofs.

Now it's Gaga's turn. First, the original.

But have you seen the Afghanistan troop version?It stars some troops in Afghanistan who evidently have secret desires of being back up dancers for Gaga when they come home. It's had more than 3 1/2 million hits.

Tina Fey on SNL Introduces The Sarah Palin Network (Video)

If you missed the return of Tina Fey to "Saturday Night Live" last night, you can't miss her as Sarah Palin introducing the new Sarah Palin TV network.

Enjoy!

One Last Look At 2009 Courtesy of JibJab (Video)

This was too funny to pass by.  Enjoy.

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TV 2009: Major Moments, Major Madness

It's that time of year again.  Time to reflect on favorite TV moments and madness of 2009.  I personally had a lot of favorite shows this year: "Lost," "24," "House," "Dexter," "True Blood," "Battlestar Galactica," "Mad Men" to name just a few.

"Flash Forward" had a cool concept and a few good episodes, but it needs to retool itself before coming back in March.  The same thing goes for "V," though at least "V" is a pretty basic good guy/bad alien show that's hard to mess up.  

We were up to our scrubs in TV nurses which caused me to ask the question, "What if Nurse "Hawthorne" Were White and "Nurse Jackie" Were Black?"

Here are some more of my 2009 boob tube thoughts:

Biggest Surprises:  Glee, The Good Wife and Drop Dead Diva.  All quality shows with charismatic stars--Matthew Morrison, Julianna Margulies, Brooke Elliott--and in the case of "Glee" some kick ass musical numbers.

Biggest Disappointment:  Dollhouse.  Joss, I love ya' but here's hoping your next one's more well thought out.

Sweetest New Character:  Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) on "Grey's Anatomy."  She's the freshest thing about "Grey's" since McSteamy showed up and I love her to death.  The episode "Invest in Love" when she loses her young patient and does the sweet dreams speech with his mother at the end had me sobbing like a baby.

Google Got You Down? Here's A Humorous Solution

Pay close attention because there's lots to laugh about in this one.  Enjoy.

Blogging While Brown: An Interview with Cheryl Contee of Jack & Jill Politics (Video)

As part of my BlogHer coverage of the 2009 Blogging While Brown conference in Chicago last weekend, I did several video interviews with attendees.  Up first is an interview with Cheryl Contee of the blog Jack and Jill Politics.

I'll have more video interviews, photos and posts on the conference up and running as soon as my little fingers can type them. Stay tuned.

Stop Verbal Violence Against Women (Video)

Last month a young woman named Aisa McGowan was murdered by a stalker who used Facebook and YouTube to harrass her.

A few weeks later, Gena of the blog Out On The Stoop wrote about her frustrations with the story and how she wanted to do something. What she came up with is an idea for video PSAs alerting folks to the prevalence of violence against women.

As she creates them, I will post them.

Media 101: Who Owns What In The TV World

If you wanted to boycott a particular TV network because they canceled your favorite show, odds are it might be harder than you think.  Take Fox's show "Dollhouse."  It's one of those "on the bubble" shows and last week my fellow BlogHer CE Sweetney posted a plea to Fox not to cancel it.  In the comment thread, one angry viewer, Bambi, threatened to boycott Fox and watch Hulu instead if "Dollhouse" gets cut.  I had to give her the bad news that watching Hulu wouldn't hurt Fox in the least, because Hulu is partially owned by News Corp, which also owns Fox. 

When another BlogHer CE, Nordette wrote in the thread that she was surprised Fox and Hulu were kissing cousins, I decided it was time for a post about who owns what in the modern TV/media family. 

Incestuous relationships are everywhere.   At a glance some of them only make sense on paper, but to media moguls like Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone, those relationships are all part of their plans for world media domination.

What's New At Hulu and How YouTube Is Fighting Back

Last week was the first anniversary of a milestone in online video: it was Hulu's birthday and across the internet, tech and video gurus alike are taking stock of the popular video site. Just as I predicted in my post about the site last year, Hulu has become a huge hit.

It's the go to site for to catch up on primetime TV shows you might have missed, check out the latest episodes of "The Daily Show," celebrity gossip with Access Hollywood, or classic episodes of "Friends."

Want to catch up with this season's "ER" episodes before the series finale? Hulu is where you'll find them and a preview of the finale:

At 24 million users a month, Hulu is now the "No. 2 video site on the web after YouTube" and to celebrate its birthday, Hulu unveiled a social networking feature called Hulu Friends.

More Fun with Beyonce "Single Ladies" Video Parodies

Okay so this Beyonce "Single Ladies" video parody thing just won't let up.  People are going hog wild!  You'll remember I wrote my original post about some of the very creative "Single Ladies" parodies last week.

Well now even President Obama is getting involved, bragging about how he can do the "Single Ladies" moves as well.

And it seems the married ladies want their due. "Put your mops up!"

Online Video Shows: From Showbizzle To Raunchy Comic Books

Sometimes blog posts come from the strangest of circumstances.  Like pissing off a big time TV producer.

Last fall I did a post here at Megan's Minute called "The New Beverly Hills 90210, A Lot Like the Old "Beverly Hills 90210," and I gave the show an okay review.  I also referred to the excutive producer of the show as Rob Thomas of "Veronica Mars and Dawson's Creek" fame and mentioned that the old "90210" was produced by "Sex and the City's" Darren Star."

Well turns out I was wrong on both counts.

Fun with Beyonce "Single Ladies" Video Parodies

She hangs with the Obamas. She hangs with Justin Timberlake on "Saturday Night Live." She sang at the big inauguration concert last Sunday. And last night she sang "At Last" for the Obama's first presidential dance.   Afterward, she was so emotional talking about being a part of the inaugural celebrations, she could barely speak.

She's Beyonce and just so you can continue to get your fill, I've put together this little post. 

If you haven't heard, she's got a little single out called, "Single Ladies." The video of that catchy dance tune with Beyonce shaking her thang has for some reason sparked one of the biggest online parody frenzies, evah!

Not only that, it's whipped up a bit of controversy about where that distinctive choreography came from. More on that in a minute but I bet there are several of you reading this post right now who have your own "Single Ladies" videos up on YouTube, or Vimeo, or BlipTV, or Meefedia. Don't lie. I know you're out there. And if you don't already have a video up, I know you want to.

Well before you whip out the black leotard and the five inch heels you just might want to check out the collection of the videos I've assembled.

The Hugh Laurie, "House" Giveaway: We Have A Winner! (Video)

Some of you may have been following my Hugh Laurie, "House" giveaway challenge that I made the other day.

Well I'm pleased to announce, we have a winner!

Quin gave me the correct answer. The quote in the "House" episode, "Let Them Eat Cake" was "It was a cunning plan." House said it during his battle with Cuddy over his office.

Hugh Laurie used to co-star in the very funny BBC series, "Blackadder," starring Rowan Atkinson.

As Quin correctly said, the quote came from the character Baldrick, played by Tony Robinson.  Baldrick was a dim witted servant and whenever he wanted to suggest a new caper to Blackadder he'd say, "I have a cunning plan."  Quin's prize is a copy of Hugh Laurie's novel, "The Gun Seller" which I'll be sending out this very afternoon.

Here's a little clip from "Blackadder" with Tony Robinson and Rowan Atkinson who plays Blackadder.  There's also a scene with Hugh Laurie as the bumbling King George.

So thanks to everyone who played, and a big congratulations to Quin! I had such fun with this, I'm sure I'll be doing something like it again very soon.

SNL's Amy Poehler Is One Of The "Smart Girls at the Party" (Video)

Comedian Amy Poehler is one busy lady these days.  She just gave birth to a baby boy, is developing a sitcom for NBC to debut this spring, is still raking in kudos for her impressions of Hillary Clinton on her former show, "Saturday Night Live," and now she's working on becoming an internet star.  Amy and two of her friends, Meredith Walker and Amy Miles, have teamed up to produce eight webisodes called "Smart Girls at the Party."

"Smart Girls" consists of seven minute interviews with girls who are according to Poehler, "changing the world, by being themselves."  The video clips are part of the ON Networks' stable of shows and focuses on girls with a variety of interests like writing, gardening, yoga and music.

There's Cameron, the 10 year old writer who pens mysteries and paranormal stories.   Among other things she talks about what she does to manage writer's block.  Sisters Lea and Sarafina like to talk at the same time and both like the color purple. 

My personal favorite of the three posted so far is Ruby, the skateboarding feminist.  She's already written a book and has very definite ideas about boys and girls.  Here's her video:

President-Elect Barack Obama: From "60 Minutes" to YouTube

Hang on folks 'cause we're about to have a "YouTube President" in the White House.  Yes, it's true he may now have to give up his BlackBerry, but that doesn't mean his administration won't use the media and the internet in ways that have only been imagined in politics before.

Last night President-elect Barack Obama did his first televised interview since the election with Steve Kroft of "60 Minutes." And though interviews by new presidents on "60 Minutes" are not new, the way Mr. Obama has used the media to his advantage rivals that of The Great Communicator himself, the late President Ronald Reagan.

Laura Ingalls Wilder From The Prairie To TV To...Twitter?

What do you think of when I say "Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder?"  Do you think of summer afternoons reading about little Laura, her family and their adventures on the prairie?  Do you think of the TV show starring Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson?  Do you think Twitter? 

Yeah, you heard me, Twitter.  Hold onto your bonnets, people 'cause you remember sweet little Laura?  Well she's a 21st century lady now and that means she's on Twitter.

HalfPintIngalls is her name and tweeting is her game.  Half Pint, which was Pa's nickname for Laura, writes about life on the prairie, Ma, Pa, and sister Mary, but she also gives us a subtle take on modern issues as well.

Obama vs. McCain: The Video Dance Off***Updated

Props to my friend Lucy for sending me this very funny video.  It's a dance off between Barack Obama and John McCain, with a surprise challenge by Sarah Palin.  Enjoy.

***Sorry guys, but this video has been removed by it's host.  Go read some of my other posts or check out some of my other political video picks***