Express Action Sports

Do you even know what M-Commerce is?

Well you better learn fast. Predictions in Europe for
M-Commerce, the second largest market behind Asia, are for a
spend of €7.4 Billion in 2006 that’s over $8 Billion. That’s
twice the predicted spend of traditional web services!

So what is M-Commerce? It’s very simple, mobile / cell phone
based sales. Usually relating to content such as games,
wallpaper, ringtones etc. But there’s much more to it than that.
Keep reading.

What’s the big deal? More people own a mobile phone than a PC,
they’re better integrated in to daily life. People are very
comfortable using them. They are now in fact heavily relied
upon, as the phone feature is only a small part of what can be
perceived as a miniature multi-purpose multi-capable portable
computer.

Mobile Growth Mobile growth already outstrips all other
communication channels. Half of all Americans are mobile phone
subscribers. In the UK the ownership of a mobile phone is
equivalent to 1.5 phones per head of population. According to
research, mobile content services will be worth $121 Billion
worldwide by 2008. White label distribution of ringtones,
images, games and other promotions will drive up to 1/5th of the
revenue generated. It’s estimated 1.5 Billion people worldwide
own a mobile phone.

With more and more technology add-ons to tempt the consumer
these devices are now Cameras, MP3 players, game consoles, voice
notepads, picture albums, diary organiser, PDF readers etc etc.

In fact I’m writing this article on my PDA / Phone whilst sat in
the sunshine in the garden. With two taps on the screen I can
hook up to my home wireless network and check my emails, browse
the net, update my Blog or edit and publish article submissions
on one of my sites all via broadband.

We are not that far away from always on Net connections. Once
this arrives it will allow anyone to do this almost wherever
they are. Certainly in the major cities around the world. When
this happens there will be a third Internet boom as Joe public
try’s out the Net connection again that was always too shoddy to
use in the past.

And what will they want? Content! ringtones, wallpaper, games,
MP3’s etc

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The real money isn’t even going
to be made via a Net sale. The real money will be made via
SMS(Short Message Service), MMS(Multimedia Messaging System) and
this ones a goldmine…Micro payments.

Recent research has shown a doubling of worldwide revenue from
streaming TV and sports bulletin subscriptions. 380 million
people worldwide are expected to subscribe to similar services
in 2005. Including TV show bulletins particularly from ‘reality
TV’ shows, News bulletins or Soap updates.

Big deal you’re not a TV network how can you make some money out
of this boom? I’ll go into that in a second but first I want to
go back to those Micro payments I mentioned earlier. The real
gold dust.

Micro Payment Profits Micro payments have been around for a
while here in the UK. A smaller land mass has allowed for a
quicker rollout of mobile technologies here. Nationwide Network
coverage is easier to achieve. I believe the first example in
the US to take it mainstream was by the ‘American Idol’ show.
Viewers voted for the acts on the show via their mobile phone.
They where then charged a small premium for their vote on top of
their networks regular SMS charge. Think of the millions of
votes that the show attracted and the revenue generated.

That’s micro payments in action.

The beauty of this is that people don’t feel like they’re
spending money because they don’t need to whip out their credit
card, it’s an easier payment method, usually involving a simple
text to a small number and the payment is small. They also trust
their mobile for making payments unlike an online transaction.

Any payments made will appear on their next phone bill. People
are already used to paying in this way, they’re comfortable with
it. Whether it’s to vote for an act on a TV show, for a game
download or to grab the latest ringtone.

What have you got that you could take micro payments for? You
should be considering how you can utilise your current website
network to tap into this market. Do you offer subscriptions? Is
there a service you offer that you could convert to
subscriptions.

How Can You Make Some Money? Here’s a quick example. Your
newsletter. Would your subscribers be willing to pay a small
premium to have your newsletter delivered directly to their
mobile? Wherever they are, without the need to be sat in front
of a PC. Thus bypassing the SPAM filter problem and guaranteeing
they receive your valuable content. You could sell it as
valuable service for your customers with added content not
available on your site or via your regular newsletter.

Or offer them up to the minute breaking news in their industry,
which they receive as it breaks and not when they check their
email five hours later when it’s to late to take action.

Digital artists sell your wallpaper designs direct to the
consumer via the mobile phone. New bands forget the record
company contract sell your music via MP3’s direct to the
consumer. Investment advisors get subscribers to your ‘Hot Tips’
bulletins. Store owners offer a sale bulletin service etc etc

The Future The omnipresent Google are moving forward with major
mobile initiatives. Spending vast amounts of money to stake a
claim in this fledgling market. There’s the mobile version of
Froogle for one and they’ve also developed mobile business
listings specifically for the potentially huge ‘local search’
market. They also offer a free SMS based information service
http://www.google.com/sms/ and http://www.google.co.uk/sms/

Another major company Real Networks, creators of Real media
Player, recently bought Finnish mobile phone game developers Mr
Goodliving for $15M. Essentially buying a back catalogue of high
profile mobile games.

NTL a cable TV company here in the UK recently streamed the
Grand National, the biggest race horse meet here in the UK, live
to Nokia owning subscribers.

This is early days and that’s a small glimpse of the future.

The M-Commerce Market is very different from the online market
in terms of what content consumers are currently paying for. The
biggest revenue generators online, 70%, are porn and dating
sites. A similar percentage via mobile is for games, music and
video. Films, that’s another one, Nokia are now distributing
Hollywood movies via memory card!

The technology specifically 3G, an always on network with
transfer rates of 384kbs a second, is here and trickling into
mainstream culture. These devices are in fact capable of
1920kbs. Compare that to GPRS at 56kbs. You don’t need these
speeds to take advantage of this market but you should keep them
in mind to realise the full potential of where mobile
communication is going.

Here’s a brief, eye opening, wish list from consumers for future
mobile phone payment abilities:-

10 Use your mobile as a key 9 Marketing communications 8 Retail
checkout payments 7 Vending machine payments 6 Flight check in 5
Credit / debit cards 4 Season tickets 3 Loyalty cards 2 Parking
Meter payments 1 Mobile Coupon redemption

Getting Started How do you Accept Payments? Reverse SMS is very
popular at the moment. It provides the ability for you to direct
consumers to secret download links on your site whilst taking
payment through a premium SMS message. Another method known as
‘WAP Push’ sends a link via SMS that automatically launches when
the message is opened. You will need to set up your own WAP /
SMS Gateway on your server which will require server
administrator access to use both these solutions.

But there are other easier solutions a number of websites are
springing up that allow you to upload your content available for
download, games, video, wallpaper, MP3’s etc . A small fee is
taken from each paid download by the SMS Gateway company.

I’ve compiled a list of useful links to a number of the above
solutions and I’ve also thrown in a couple of links to
‘mobaphile’ websites were you will find some interesting
predictions for the future development of mobile phones along
with some real off the wall ideas for making money with mobiles.
http://www.how-to-make-money-online.info/m-commerce-resources.php

To paraphrase a strap line ‘The future’s bright the future’s
mobile’

Darren Yates
http://www.articlesbase.com/ecommerce-articles/mcommerce-twice-the-cash-value-of-ecommerce-1093.html

Break out that video camera, there is a game this weekend!

1.You bought a video camera

two.You want to shoot sports of your kid

three.Here is how to do it perfect!

What a marvelous age of technologies we live in. You can invest in the greatest gadgets now days to record video and music and play them in all sorts of approaches on other really good technologies gadgets from computers, DVDs, MP3 players, VCRs, and most alot more. It is all really good stuff. But they all come with thick owners manuals that do not consistently get you going the perfect direction. You might possibly ultimately find out to use your really good new camera for instance, but that does not mean you will necessarily take photos that are worth seeking at down the road. Rolling tape in your camera is 1 factor and generating video that is high excellent and intriguing is a further factor. The aim of this item is to bring you up to speed with working with your video camera (whatever format, and whatever brand) to get the most desirable outcomes for recording those precious moments of your kids athletic achievements.

We as parents devote a lot of hours out on the field, court, pool, or track watching our youngsters take portion in and compete in youth sports. If you have a video camera you are going to want to record some of these events for posterity and possibly education. Following the straight forward actions in this guide will support you to capture them in the most desirable doable fashion so that it is watch able but also usable down the road.

My video expertise stems from two decades as a network tv cameraman and as a parent with a lot of youngsters actively involved in youth sports. In my years of shooting video professionally I have been about the globe and observed just about just about every sort of news event. I also spent 15 years covering pro sports events for my employer. These had been the most desirable sort of assignments as far as I was concerned. In my whole career the factors I have enjoyed most is getting able to go to locations exactly where the typical individual can not. In sports that frequently indicates getting on the field, next to the court, in the press box, or in the pit. I have shot football games of all levels up to and which includes NFC and AFC championship games. Living in the Bay Location has allowed me to cover most baseball pennant races and a lot of Globe Series. I was perfect behind dwelling plate the night the earth shook in the 1989 Globe Series. Talk about a shock. I had to give up covering a Globe Series among the two Bay Location teams to go and cover a tremendous news event. Baseball seemed smaller for a when immediately after the magnitude of the earthquake. The point in this is that I enjoy sports, have been about sports my complete life and I know how to shoot video of sports. With that in mind I will do my most desirable to give you assistance on how to do the similar.

Gear

Now no matter if you have the most recent DV camera in your hands or an old VHS format camera there are standard factors you will will need to preserve in mind if you are going to shoot sports. As we say in the video home business your camera is only as high quality as the glass that you hang in front of it. The improved the lens the improved the outcomes will be no matter what type of recording format you use. Now you already have a camera in hand and might possibly never ever have heard this certain bit of assistance so it is too late to factor it into the equation. In spite of this if you have camera in hand and it has any limitations on what it can do due to the lens getting much less than marvelous there are factors you can do to mitigate the scenario. We will talk about those factors in alot more detail later on.

The important variables ahead of setting out on your game day video assignment are to make confident you know the operating functions of the gear, have a tape supply in hand (soon to be DVDs with the revolution in gear style that is taking spot perfect now), and batteries completely charged. I know these might possibly appear like the basically obvious factors but even the pros have to consistently remind themselves to check and double check these items.

A small aside here about preparation. More than the most years of covering news I learned lots of small techniques from other photographers in the field and applied them to my function regimen. In the early days of video we consistently had to carry about a portable hair dryer considering that the record decks would seize up if the moisture levels got to high. So in the winter time if you came in from the cold outside into a nice warm constructing the air would condense inside the machine and trigger moisture create up. The warning light would come on and bang we had been dead in the water. 1 of us would have to run to the auto and get the hair dryer, fire it up and chase the water away from the record heads of the deck. It triggered some highly funny moments in public locations I can assure you. (This by the way can nonetheless be a trouble even at present with electronics/VCRs/lenses. Too considerably moisture can trigger havoc. So just dont forget a portable hair dryer can save your day)

A further factor I learned from other people is the value of backup. A couple of years ago I was out on assignment and we had a young eager college intern along with us in the field. This young man wanted to find out all about what we did in our job. He was highly interested in how to take photos, as opposed to most of our interns who only wanted to turn into reporters or anchors. He asked most questions and immediately after seeing that he was honestly paying attention I decided to take him under my wing and honestly fill him up with specifics. 1 tidbit that I shared with him was to consistently have an emergency stash of tape in his auto when out on assignment. He didnt rather know the significance of this at initially due to the fact I had already drilled him about consistently bringing tape stock with him when going out on assignment. I filled him with stories of times when some thing or other happened and Ill be darned if you didnt will need a further tape and there under the seat of the auto was that emergency spare. So anyway he went off to graduate from college and get a job in a smaller marketplace Television station. He would send us progress reports from time to time, which I honestly enjoyed. Then lo and behold 1 day he sends me a letter telling me how he got into a jam 1 day on a story and necessary that emergency tape. He had dutifully tucked 1 under the back seat and it was there to save the day. I hope that what you find out in this book will in some way preserve you from getting a video failure down the road. What I learned in my career is that video production is 80% of it is dealing with the curves and challenges that are thrown at you and 20% talent. If you can find out to trouble shoot then you will consistently be prosperous.

My initially suggestion for shooting your youngsters sports activities is to go watch Television. Yes sit down put your feet up and watch some sports on Television. Honestly watch how they make it intriguing at the best level. Then watch the news and see how they cover the games from a news perspective. Do not pay attention to the content just watch how it develops visually. Now of course you can never ever duplicate what the networks are performing with just your 1 camera. In spite of this if you can glean anything from watching it should certainly be how they attempt to bring intimacy with the athletes out in the broadcast. All the new improvements in covering sports have to do with receiving you the viewer as close to the athlete as they can. Bring you into their globe. From cameras on wires overhead that swoop along the field to cameras in the net of a hockey game to cameras inside the vehicles at Daytona, it brings you into the game. Now you can not stand on the pitchers mound at your kids baseball game but you can find out some approaches that can make your baseball video alot more intimate and for this reason alot more compelling to watch.

A side note here, if your job is to capture the complete game or sporting activity for assessment as a coaching tool you should certainly concentrate primarily on receiving a high quality high view and putting the camera on a tripod. Pan slowly to follow action and do not zoom in and out. My key aim here is not to teach you this skill due to the fact it is fairly darn standard. In spite of this if this is what you are performing you should certainly do it perfect. Acquire the perfect framing to preserve as considerably of the activity in the frame and follow it cautiously. Some sports move immediately from 1 end to the other and you will have to be smooth. Resist the temptation to follow the ball on full zoom. You will shed. Those guys that shoot sports on Television are full on pros working with considerably improved gear than you will ever have at your disposal.

Now in order to get a high quality video of your childs game you will need to acquire that emotion and excitement that exists in any game. Feel of it as capturing a couple of of the factors that happen and producing those golden. Does the team do a pre game cheer Get up close, stick your camera wither way up high more than their heads seeking down or get underneath seeking up and shoot it in a way that takes the viewer exactly where they cannot go. Capture an at bat in baseball by taking a full pitch cycle in close-up of the pitcher, and then 1 of the catcher and then as close as you can of the hitter. Show their face if you can. If they get the significant hit do not go crazy rushing to zoom out. Follow the runner down the line. It will be just about impossible to follow the ball so remain with the runner. Appear for the angles that will give you these emotional shots.

Some sports are alot more of a challenge due to the size of the field and the quantity of movement up and down the field. Take soccer of instance, if you follow the ball the camera is moving all more than the spot and the viewer gets queasy. To capture some high quality video of your kid playing you will need to concentrate on precise shots and not attempt to follow the play. Appear for moments such as throw ins, zero cost kicks, kick offs when factors are predictable and you can get closer to the action. Walk down the sideline and wait for the action to come to you. If you child is playing perfect forward then get ahead of the play and when you see the ball moving towards you then you can acquire you child and roll tape in anticipation of them playing the ball. Be confident to get some shots of the crowd cheering, the coach watching (not yelling I hope) the goalie waiting in anticipation.

Hold your shots steady for 6-10 seconds at a time. If you are taking a shot of an individual watching the game essentially count it out in your head (thousand 1 thousand two…) This will guarantee that you get high quality solid shots and that you do not run on and on with the shot. Brace your arm against your chest for stability and use your other arm across your belly underneath to make a stabilizing platform. This is in lieu of a tripod of course. If you have a tripod it can consistently be a high quality factor to use if it does not get in the way.

Use creative angles as considerably as doable. Get down low and wait for the action to run by you. Do not pan with it but rather let the action race by way of the frame. At a swim meet get the camera down on the deck for alot more of a swimmers perspective of the action. Of course you might possibly not want to remain there when the swimmers approach for a turn. Digital electronics do not like water inside them. I was receiving the most amazing low angle shots of some open water ocean swimmers 1 time and the boat lurched on me and salt water sprayed more than the camera. I had a cover on the camera but salt water seeped into the crannies and it triggered us considerably grief receiving it cleaned out so as to stay clear of damaging the electronics of the camera.