Lisa Mitchell, Author at Oovvuu

Oovvuu is now WordPress VIP’s official video technology partner

Two years ago, Oovvuu co-founder Ricky Sutton was listening to a Recode Decode podcast with Matt Mullenweg, one of the founders of WordPress.

They talked about how they wanted to support publishing and Ricky realised the two companies’ missions had a lot in common.

So he tracked down a mobile number and just called them.

Like WordPress, we recognise publishers and broadcasters have public trust and a burning passion to report the news
Ricky Sutton, Oovvuu founder and CEO

They talked about working together and now we can share that those plans have finally come together.

Oovvuu has been selected as the global video technology partner of WordPress VIP, which means every publisher on WordPress will have access to our proprietary AI video matching technology.

Are you a WordPress publisher and want to try it out? Just drop us a line

start here

WordPress, under its parent Automattic, is an astonishing publishing success story. It is the fifth largest digital company in America by audience, and publishes 37% of the web’s content – great content that attracts 36 billion page views.

Major publishers on the platform include The New York Post and Wall Street Journal, Quartz, TechCrunch, USA Today Sports Media, Medias News Group, Penske (publisher of Rolling Stone, Variety and The Robb Report), TV network Nexstar.

With Oovvuu, they will now be able to match video to their articles and increase their revenue from online adverts by 13 times what they could do with article adverts alone.

Co-founders of Oovvuu Ricky Sutton (right), Ross McCreath, and Greg Moore (left) at their city office. Photo: James Alcock.

Getting billions of dollars of advertising spend back from the tech giants and into newsrooms is our priority.

Co-founders Ricky, Ross McCreath and Greg Moore developed the plug-in for WordPress to make finding and adding relevant video to articles seamless.

Ricky said: “We track news consumption habits daily and it shows us the future of news-telling will be video-led, but given recent scandals, it’s unlikely that will be built by Facebook or Google.

“Like WordPress, we recognise publishers and broadcasters have public trust and a burning passion to report the news. Now we are focused on building the tech to bind them together.”

We’re excited to partner with Oovvuu to bring powerful video syndication tools to our customers
Nick Gernert, WordPress VIP CEO

WordPress vets every partner to identify companies with a proven track record of successful and forward thinking implementations of WordPress integration at scale.

WordPress VIP CEO Nick Gernert said key criteria for technology partners included clear product expertise and innovative go-to-market strategies.

“WordPress VIP is experiencing significant growth and we’re poised to deliver transformational results for brands who require best-in-class digital experiences,” he said.

“We’re excited to partner with Oovvuu to bring powerful video syndication tools to our customers.”

It puts Oovvuu in some serious company.

This is an outstanding opportunity for growth for Oovvuu – and for news publishers.

Ricky said: “The future is bright for video and publishing. The video market is already $52 billion, but just seven per cent of articles feature video. We aim to get that to as close to 100 per cent as we can and flow the money back to trusted publishers and broadcasters.”

For more information about Oovvuu’s partnership with WordPress VIP visit https://wpvip.com/partner/oovvuu and https://oovvuu.com/news/

And enjoy the podcast that started it all…

How to add depth to Black Lives Matter movement coverage

Content, Insights, News

The Black Lives Matter movement and the reverberations of George Floyd’s killing continue to dominate the news agenda in many countries.

There’s a real wealth of video available which can enrich and help explain the story to readers.

Take this look at how one unique feature of the street protests were them taking place at the height of a pandemic.

Taking the knee, a protest better known to football benches, was adopted by protesters and supportive police officers in some countries. This explainer usefully reminds the reader of its origins.

The impact of the movement has been widespread, as this report from Reuters shows. It includes a personal explanation from the founder of Reddit Alexis Ohanian on giving up his seat to a black businessman to make the board more representative.

The movement has compelled states and institutions to confront their past. Lloyds of London, founded in 1686, issued an apology for its part in the slave trade.

Sometimes we can assume the reader has more knowledge than they actually have. This is exactly one of those useful explainers which can help them understand the background.

Or it can stop a reader in their tracks. That someone uses Siri in this way shows what an every day occurrence police harassment can be.

This lighter story also serves to illustrate what an impact the protests have had on our lives.

And finally, the reason George Floyd’s death wasn’t just another statistic was because his agonising death was captured on video, all 8 minutes 46 seconds of it. We have the video and while it’s disturbing to watch, it is a strong part of the narrative. The first one from the ABC comes with a warning, the second from the Associated Press doesn’t.

The race to a coronavirus vaccine – using video to tell the story

Content, Customers, News

When will we have a vaccine for Covid-19? Will it be available in all countries at once? Who is closest to a breakthrough? Just some of the questions readers are asking as the pandemic enters its eighth month.

Newsrooms around the world are attempting to answer them and new videos on this topic drop into Oovvuu feeds every day.

This hard-hitting long form programme from ABC charts the unprecedented global collaboration to find a vaccine – and the obstacles in the way. From the missed chances during Sars and Mers research to funding blows, it highlights scientists working tirelessly for answers.

The Guardian lifts the lid on the conspiracy theories surrounding vaccines in this compelling look at the anti-vaxxer movement in America. Sceptics are interviewed and it looks at how leading activists spread their ideas on the internet.

A bit of light relief here from Reuters in the furry shape of an alpaca but it’s actually a serious story. Scientists are test anti-bodies on infected animals.

Oxford University is one of the institutions leading the effort to find a vaccine that’s safe. This animated explainer shows how the first human trials work.

Who are those human guinea pigs? Meet the Viney family who are taking the first version of the Oxford University vaccine to “do their bit” to end the pandemic. Euronews went to meet them.

People’s trust in the news they get from the social media giants is sinking

Content, Customers, Insights, News

Publishers and broadcasters across the world are recording huge increases in traffic and viewers during the coronavirus pandemic. The BBC News website alone went from 15 million unique users to 30 million.

And the reason for this flight to news brands, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism? Trust.

The institute, which is based at Oxford University, surveyed 80,000 regular people in 40 countries about their attitudes and habits around news. They spoke to them before and during the Covid outbreak.

They found that in addition to trust in news organisations’ coverage being high – as high as any government’s – it was twice as high as their trust in information on social media platforms and YouTube.

Half of people trust the news they chose and from brands they know. But only 32% trusted it from search, like Google, and 22% from social media, like Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook is seen as the main channel for spreading false information almost everywhere
Nic Newman, report author

It was even lower in the US: 31% trusted news from search and only 14% from social media.

The full report can be read here but I hope they won’t mind me pulling out some of their graphics which neatly illustrate the gulf between named news brands people seek out, and links on tech platforms.

In fact, concern about MISinformation is growing.

“Facebook is seen as the main channel for spreading false information almost everywhere,” the report concluded.

In the US, Europe, UK and Australia particularly, readers are most concerned about the safety of the news they read on Facebook.

The report found a growth in the paywall/subscription model at specialist and national end of the market.

But it appears the advertising-funded model is here to stay for the majority of publishers.

Researchers asked people if they did not pay for news, what would it take to persuade them to do so.

A high percentage – 50% in UK, 40% in US – said nothing could persuade them: they expected to get it free.

Garden centres to cat cafes: What lockdown easing says about us

Content, Customers, Insights, News

There is rarely a fast-moving news event that is truly global and you’d think getting out of lockdown would look fairly similar across the world.

Think again.

I was pulling together videos showing “first steps out of lockdown” and it revealed nations are doing it in ways which, well, are so them.

The first thing sun-kissed Californians did when their “stay in place” order was lifted was to grab their surf boards and head to the re-opened beaches. Of course they did.

In sensible Finland, they got their kids back to school.

In Spain, the ramblas were again filled with busy tables as cafes reopened, while in neighbouring Italy, queues were round the block for beauty salons.

Parisiens, who during one of the strictest lockdowns had to explain themselves to gendarmes every time they left home, took to their bikes and running paths with gay abandon.

In football-mad Germany, the Budesliga restarted in empty stadiums to the delight of fans, not just in Germany.

In the UK, we opened garden centres.

In trendy Seoul, there were huge queues outside Chanel ahead of expected price rises as the economic impact of the virus bites.

In India, where a tough lockdown persists, the only easing has been the opening of liquor shops to non-socially-distanced near riots.

Haircuts have been a major preoccupation in many countries, and in New Zealand restrictions on barbers were among the first to be eased. Australia re-opened its coffee shops first. After their surfing beaches, naturally.

International news organisations shared reports from Bangkok showing cat cafes and dog pampering salons opening. They’re very cute, but I’m willing to bet Thais also wanted restaurants and hairdressers to open too.

Really, everyone affected by coronavirus is waiting for the big one, the true return to normal.

And that video will look exactly the same everywhere – when grandparents get to hug their grandchildren again.

Can I make a face mask? Oovvuu explainers answer the important questions

Content, Customers, Insights, News

The top question when you start to type in “What is…” in the UK, where I live is: What is coronavirus? Never underestimate how simple the information readers are seeking.

Here’s my cut-out-and-keep list of explainers on Covid-19 from Oovvuu partners. They are updated as the virus story progresses and there will be new questions to be answered, but the key to all of them is simplicity. They’re clear, informative and shareable.