Someone from old media once asked me, “Who do these guys think they are?” “Who gave them permission to do that?” I said, “It’s web video, you don’t have to ask permission, you just go do it.”

So it has been since Steve Garfield of SteveGarfield.com became the first video blogger and pioneering web video shows like Rocketboom, TikiBarTV and Ask A Ninja attracted millions of early viewers. None of us asked for permission we just had ideas and went and did them. Along the way we had fun making our shows, sharing knowledge and struggled together trying to figure out ways to monetize our web video series. There were little groups here and there, attempts to recognize great work and a few family arguments. Like when we watched the very public breakup of Andrew and Amanda of Rocketboom.

Watching the host and producer of Rocketboom argue online was like watching our parents battle it out in a no holds barred divorce. It did nothing to advance our content and it did nothing to help our web video community. In fact, I think it could be argued that the public display of un-affection between two very talented people set back our community and stalled the monetization of web video.

A few years after that setback a group of new guys came along to the web video scene and started throwing little events where they had web video producers who were gaining momentum talk in front of other web video producers. These little get-togethers spawned more discussion, sharing of ideas and really galvanized the web video community. These gatherings soon grew from tens of people to hundreds and real solid networking, where producers were finding money and actors were finding roles emerged. Something special was happening. Our web video community was growing. Thanks to some crazy guys who didn’t ask permission.

I have worked in television and in independent film and I never felt apart of those communities the way I feel apart of this web video community. I was so moved once by this special feeling that I told a television producer friend of mine that I had never felt like I was part of the TV business but that I really felt that I belonged to the web video community. It was like family and we shared and welcomed others. The hardened producer looked at me and said, “Just wait till there’s money there. It will ruin your community.” Well I’m starting to wonder if there’s money here now cause the past few weeks have not felt very welcoming.

Money is starting to enter our little community and a few people are getting paid but most are not. As Independent Web Video Producers we have yet to face our biggest battles against the forces that want and need us to ask for their permission and divided we will fail. We need leaders. We need leaders who have shown that they are willing to sacrifice their own time, money and effort. Leaders who will keep us together.

The old media guy that first said to me, “Who do these guys think they are? and Who gave them permission?” was talking about the Tubefilter guys, the guys who invested their own time, money and effort to bring together a community and recognize excellence in web video with The Streamy Awards. Unfortunately for them and for us they put on a bad awards show this year and haven’t don’t the best job rallying the troupes in the aftermath. But I don’t see the Streamy Awards as ruined and I don’t think we or anyone else should try and take the Streamy Awards away from the Tubefilter guys. It was their idea and they figured out how to fund it.

Sure it’s easy to point out mistakes. It’s easy to fuel the fail fires on the Internet. It’s easy to say these guys are trying to make money. It’s easy to say they are not transparent. So what? What’s wrong with trying to make money and protect your business secrets?

On the other hand it is NOT easy to reach out to someone who has made a mistake and say, “That’s OK. I see what you have done for us in the past. I forgive you. Let’s make it better next year.” And that’s what we need to do.

The Tubfilter guys are good people. They have worked long and hard to help our community. They have done great things for all of us. Yes, they have made mistakes but they are young guys and young people make mistakes. The Tubefilter guys have done more to help our community than they have to hurt us. In fact I think they have not only picked up the ball and ran with it, they built the ball and paid for it with their own money. They have done things for our community that none of us were willing to do. As for hurting our community? Most Americans have never heard of the Streamy Awards or any web video series. – We have a lot of work to do. We are not that hurt. Yet.

Taking the Streamys away from the Tubfilter guys or destroying it for them would be wrong.It will hurt them and our web video community. Sure you can say they destroyed it themselves but they didn’t. I still think it would be an honor to win a Streamy. I think the people like Mark Gantt & Jesse Warren should be proud of the Streamys they walked away with this year. In fact I think we should be celebrating them and the rest of the 2010 Streamy Award winners for the fantastic work they created instead of wasting our time arguing over a badly produced awards show.

Remember, the first Streamy Awards Show was a great first show and everything else the Tubefilter guys have done to help the web video community has been awesome. These are good guys who made a bad show and then made some mistakes handling the aftermath. I know people are upset because the Tubefilter guys are trying to make money off the Streamy Awards but it was their idea and they built it. We live in America, why shouldn’t they be able to make money off their ideas? Why do they need permission?

Imagine if you had a hit web series and then made one bad show and the people that you had brought in to help you tried to take your show away. It’s crazy.

We don’t need to start over, we don’t need to waste our time beating these guys up. We need to call upon the leaders of our web video community to patch things up, give these guys a pat on the back, tell them it’s OK and thank them for all the other great things that they have done for us.

We have some big fights ahead of us, keeping the Internet open, free and neutral is not going to be easy. The Tubfilter guys have laid a lot of the ground work that we need as Independent producers and I think we should figure out a way to be nice to these guys and stop fighting amongst ourselves.

We share a common purpose. It’s time to forgive, move forward and grow our little community of web video while we still have it.

If you are willing to forgive, move forward and grow our community I’d love to hear from you. If you have nasty comments that are hurtful and are only going to flame the fires already burning you are welcome to do so but before you do please think about your motives and share those motives with us.

I was recently contacted by Jennifer Thym the Director of the new Web Series LUMINA by RockGinger Limited. She came across my blog while she was researching other web series, and found it after reading about the Bannen Way trailer. She told me she was “flummoxed” by why The Bannen Way only has 600+ views on YouTube since it’s a great trailer -” but maybe they mostly utilise other sites (like blip.tv) to show it.” I’m not sure about that but she went on to tell me that she coincidentally, “shot a web series on RED (which encodes great to YouTube HD)! We filmed the whole series at the end of last year (indie production and no product placement, maybe I should have looked into that sooner) and we just posted our trailer a little less than two weeks ago.”

LUMINA is a new indie thriller web series directed by Jennifer Thym and shot on location in Hong Kong. The ten part series features an international cast, including JuJu Chan (TVB People’s Choice Award for Miss Chinatown USA 2009), Michael Chan (star of the YouTube viral hit, Wall Street Fighter IV) and Vince Matthew Chung (winner of the Amazing Race Asia 3.) LUMINA is the story of a beautiful young Hong Kong girl who falls in love with a mysterious man she can only see in mirrors, only to be caught up in a whirlwind of lies and treachery.

Shot on the RED One, LUMINA features an intricately layered story, exciting cinematography, and spectacular Hong Kong backdrops, and shows again that indie productions can still be a serious contender in the web series field. Original music for the series is courtesy of Singapore indie music collective, the Enigmatic Army. LUMINA the Web Series premieres summer 2009.

I asked Jen what her business model was and she said, “As for the business model, it’s what’s currently being called “freemium.” Viewing it online is free (it’s mostly to get us publicity at the moment, so that we can get other work or a second season/feature on the back of it) and if we have enough happy fans, we’ll do merchandising (DVD with extras, soundtrack CD, T-shirts). ”

What are your thoughts on “Freemiums?”

Have they worked for Ask A Ninja? For The Guild? For you?

I have no knowledge of how this video was produced I only thought it was an incredible concept (A History of the Net) that in my guestimation was watered down to what it is. I can only imagine what they paid to produce it.

I ran into Jessica lonelygirl15 Rose herself at a party the other night and and I almost got her to slip and tell me what her next project is.

Jessica Rose has appeared in LG15, Ask A Ninja, Sorority Forever, Hooking Up, Casanovas, Elevators and Blood Cell.

So what is Jessica Rose’s Next Internet Video Series?

I caught up with one of Ask A Ninja’s co-creators Kent Nichols outside The Frolic Room in Hollywood and asked him his predictions for online video in 2009.

Some of Kent’s predictions 2009 are:

Affiliate marketing and call to action will see more experimentation

Video entrepreneurs will build new brands that will get them noticed and help them launch TV shows and films.

When I asked Kent who he thought out of the existing online video creators would have a new break out hit he didn’t really have an answer instead he predicts that we are going to continue to see people that we have never even heard of before break through. He feels that there still is an open playing field for people who want to get into online video and make a name for themselves.

Although Kent is a fan of the team over at Blip.TV he has no predictions on video platforms and who might emerge as a new leader in 2009.

Pop17’s Sarah Austin was at a Rev3 party at NME in Vegas got a great interview with Kent Nichols about Ask A Ninja.

When Rocketboom’s Andrew Baron and Amanda Congdon went their separate ways in a very public way, Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine of Ask A Ninja asked themselves, “If Rocketboom doesn’t know how to make this work then who does?” Kent and Douglas decided that no one knew how to make money in web video at that time and they realized that if they wanted to keep making their intelligently funny video series of questions answered by a Ninja they better figure it out fast.

I first met Kent Nichols at in 06 at Vloggercon. We were on a panel together about creating characters that should have been a dunk tank. The crowd was very angry that there were people on the panel focused on making money and they were ready to kill us. Kent handled himself very well in contrast to the linch mob that was ready to nail us to the wall. It was surreal. I later met Douglas Sarine at Comic-Con and I run into both Kent and Douglas now fairly often at events and meet-ups in LA. We all even went to see a movie together this last year. I think movies are where Kent and Douglas are most focused now.

After the public divorce of Rocketboom creators Kent and Douglas got serious about online video. Following in the footsteps of many independent filmmakers they created a LLC and with investments from friends and family they had enough money to live off of and continue making low cost episodes of Ask A Ninja. While the rest of us early web video creators were focused on Apple’s iTunes Kent and Douglas reached out beyond the iTunes store and embraced Revver and YouTube earning both awards and money but the big money deal came when their agents at UTA negotiated a deal with John Batelle’s Federated Media. This was truly a groundbreaking deal. Kent and Douglas retained ownership of Ask A Ninja and Federated Media handled all of their advertising allowing Kent and Douglas to pay back their investors and start making a profit. (Last I heard the Ask a Ninja enterprise was grossing $100,000 per month.)

Next Kent and Douglas created and continue to sell a DVD of Ask A Ninja. In addition to that they have experimented with live shows where the Ninja answers questions from a live theater audience and recently they penned a best selling book The Ninja Handbook.

Beyond all the success Kent and Douglas have had with Ask A Ninja they have now signed a deal to write a remake of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and Kent will direct.

Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine have explored many options in web video and have been on the cutting edge both in creativity and business making them true leaders in online video.

Kent also introduced me to UTA who is now my agent. Thanks Kent.

My Birthday is this week and friends and family have been asking what I would like. There aren’t too many things I really need so I’ve had to think long and hard about what I want and I’ve come up with a list.

I don’t think I’ll get all of these things by my birthday but I do hope that by next year this time all of my birthday wishes have come true.

My Birthday Wish List (in no particular order)

1. Beers on the Diggnation Couch with Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht.

2. A comedy writing lesson from Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine of Ask A Ninja.

3. Cocktails on the set of Tikibar TV with Dr. Tiki, Lala and Johnny Johnny.

4. Discover some new music and a cool new websites with Steve Woolf and Zadi Diaz of Epic FU.

5. A “How To Snowboard Episode” of French Maid TV.

6. A massage after playing paintball with The guys from Big Fantastic.

7. Getting a cool new video gadget the same time as Steve Garfield and having Steve set it up for me and explain to me how to use it.

8. Share a bottle of wine with Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV

9. Being able to watch all of my friends shows on my TV as easily as I can watch Heroes or any other Network or Cable TV Show.

10. Some hugs from my online video friends because we are all making more than a living from online video.