Viddler

I recently stumbled upon the informatively quirky and eco-friendly Liza de Guia, host of Media Mulch (friend: TitanGreens), in the latest episode of the show. Media Mulch is a quick look at environmentally friendly friendly and fun content on the web, and Liza is an impressively high energy host.

For more “green” videos that are anything but dull, check out the entire TitanGreens series. Lots of green content to go around!

If you would like to suggest a video to be featured on our blog, feel free to send me a message, use our forums, or just comment on this post.

What has Lisa Bettany of MostlyLisa.com (friend: MostlyLisa) been up to since joining Viddler recently? A lot of relaxing in Mexico, from the looks of her quick clips, and she also seems to have mastered Mexican internet in her latest video clip.

I really wish there had been footage of the staff and other guests in the area as Lisa quickly created an internet/gadget mega-station for herself. I can definitely relate to needing regular connection to the internet world, scenery and ocean or not. A gal’s gotta have her internet!

If you would like to suggest a video to be featured on our blog, feel free to send me a message, use our forums, or just comment on this post.

Shel Israel of 1938 Media (friend: 1938media) recently interviewed Alex Albrecht of Diggnation while Alex was over at Mahalo helping to pick the new host of Mahalo Daily.

Who do you think will be the next host of Mahalo Daily? I’ve been watching the teasers and can’t wait to see who they end up picking. Whoever it is will have some Veronica Belmont-size shoes to fill.

If you would like to suggest a video to be featured on our blog, feel free to send me a message, use our forums, or just comment on this post.

Vanessa Valera of WatchMojo.com (friend: watchmojo) recently did some really interesting interviews with chocolatiers that revealed some cool info on how chocolate is made and how it is used artistically and in beauty products, not just as tasty snack.

This video is the first of a two-parter, featuring an interview with a long established chocolatier and then the tasting of some delcious-looking truffles. You can click here for the second video, which features chocolate sculptures and an interview with a woman who creates beauty products from chocolate.

If you would like to suggest a video to be featured on our blog, feel free to send me a message, use our forums, or just comment on this post.

Golf Tips Magazine (friend: GolfTipsVideo) recent began adding their golf tip videos to Viddler, and I’ve been browsing through them in preparation for heading to the driving range and the golf course this summer.

This particular tip is from long drive competitor, John Noble, who suggests a really interesting tip for mastering the tempo of your swing: using a metronome. Can a tool for keeping time in music make you a better golfer? John seems to think so, and after watching the video, will any of you try it?

If you would like to suggest a video to be featured on our blog, feel free to send me a message, use our forums, or just comment on this post.

Three words: I. WANT. ONE.

Justine Ezarik (friend: iJustine) discovered something very cool at Web 2.0 Expo, and it made me want an N95 even more than I already do. It seems that the phones at the S60 booth were sporting a new application called Shaker Racer, which uses the accelerometer sensor of the N95 to operate remote control cars. While I adore my iPhone, I am increasingly jealous of those lucky people who are livestreaming (and now wreaking havoc with remote control cars) from their Nokia phones.

If you would like to suggest a video to be featured on our blog, feel free to send me a message, use our forums, or just comment on this post.

For my first group feature, I’d like to introduce you all to a group that I think is based on an amazing idea: weight loss support.

crashingtothese is the head honcho of this very cool Viddler community effort, and has a great video explaining all the rules, what the group is about, and how you can jump in with your own WeightTodays.

In honor of this feature and my upcoming wedding, I have joined the group and (for the first time on the interwebz) revealed my weight, which absolutely horrified me after discovering what I’ve gained while celebrating my birthday. I am very much on board with WeightToday, and if you need some peer support and accountability through weigh-ins, this is a really great idea.

I can’t wait to see how well I do with all of YOUR support. Let’s work on it together!

Do you have a MeToday full of exciting news? Are you a member of a group that deserves a shout out on the site? Have you noticed a new member who could really use a warm Viddler welcome from our community? Community Spotlight is for these types of community features, and we welcome constant input from YOU, the community!

If you would like to suggest a video to be featured in our Community Spotlight, feel free to send me a message or just comment on this post.

Have you checked out Stefan G. Bucher’s Daily Monster (friend: dailymonster)? What an amazing project, where Stefan provides a daily time-lapse video of a newly created monster, and then asks you (the viewer) to create that monster’s story in the comments.

What this cool video of his 192nd monstrous creation and tell us what you think this monster’s story is in the comments, or in a video!

If you would like to suggest a video to be featured on our blog, feel free to send me a message, use our forums, or just comment on this post.

If you could see my face right now, you’d see the corners of my smile stretch from one ear to the other. Why? Because I’m really happy to be announcing the changes we’ve made with today’s latest version of Viddler.com.

The list of changes we’ve made in this release, which is version 2.4.06 for anyone keeping track of such things, are too numerous to list here. This release closed well over 50 tickets in our bug and feature tracking system - so that should give you a good scope of how big this release is.

New embed options panel.

The most visible change you’ll see is on our video viewing pages. So lets focus on the changes we’ve made there. Click on any video to view it, and you’ll see the page I’m talking about.

• Viewing “widescreen” video has improved greatly with this release. Our player is now embedding, keeping the aspect ratio of your videos, so that they now look so much better. Here are a few examples.
• Improvements to embedding video also reflect this attention to aspect ratio. Clicking the “Embed this” button now provides you with a whole new list of options.
• Other enhancements to this page include a list of options when hovering a user’s avatar, some new video and group video lists, comment rating filters, massively updated share this video options, and much more.

With this new release also comes an updated version of our video player. This new player is much more light weight when compared to our old one. The load time for the video player has been reduced by nearly half, while we’ve retained every feature in the player. This should significantly improve page loads times here on Viddler.com, as well as on any site that you’ve embedded the player on.

Several bug fixes to features like search, URL redirects, our advertisements and sponsorship features, and more - also made it into this release.

We’re really happy with this release and we’re already working on our next one. If you’d like to give us some feedback on this version, please do so in the comments.

Are you a parent? Have you checked out our Red Carpet show, DadLabs (friend: DadLabs)? This recent episode forces the panel to admit where they’ve been a bit less than thorough in babyproofing their houses, and DadLabs wants to hear YOUR un-babyproofing stories as well.

I like the idea of having the panel talk about what they could do to improve their home’s babyproofing and as a soon-to-be newlywed who hopes to maybe have kids someday, it’s always refreshing to see and hear non-scary, fun advice on parenting that doesn’t leave me feeling like I will instantly break a baby upon bringing it into my home.

If you would like to suggest a video to be featured on our blog, feel free to send me a message, use our forums, or just comment on this post.