Now anyone can turn their blog into an video blog, thanks to the release today of Kaltura's Interactive Video Plugin 1.0. Kaltura's video commenting and collaborative editing features, which will be coming to Wikipedia later this year, now can be easily integrated into WordPress.
When asked if the availability of this feature could lead to a rise in video blogging, CEO Ron Yekutiel responded via phone interview: "Absolutely." A rise in video blogging will also mean a rise in the legal availability of usable and re-mixable video content, since any video uploaded using Kaltura's platform is fair game for Kaltura members. "We're in the process of amassing the largest network or repository of shareable content," Yekutiel says.
There are some limits, of course. Although Kaltura videos may be used creatively by anyone, video bloggers do not have to give audiences the power to freely edit the videos that appear on their actual sites. Bloggers will have full control over who is allowed to add and edit videos on their site and who isn't.
Yekutiel says that online video started out as a monologue, but that with the help of Kaltura's features it is moving toward "a swarm of participation, a trialogue."
The open-source plugin, which lets users stream three gigabytes of video each month for free, can be downloaded here. I've re-posted our interview with Yekutiel from the AlwaysOn conference.
Here's the press release about today's news.
--Kelsey Blodget, Associate Producer