Lately there has been a noticeable rise in the amount of attention and investment paid to online video sites that specialize in generating “how-to” videos. These include:

ExpertVillage (acquired by Demand Media last June)

VideoJug (received $30M last May)

HowCast (launched this month with $8M from Tudor Investment Corp.)

MonkeySee (launched last month)

5Min.com (received $5M from Spark Capital last month)

WonderHowTo.com (launched last month with undisclosed funding from General Catalyst Partners)

DIYNetwork (owned by Scripps)

Each is a variation on a model that involves providing thousands of how-to video — some amateur and some professional — in a number of categories. Most are ad supported, but many intend to have popular categories sponsored (JetBlue sponsors HowCast’s travel section). Additional distribution in some cases comes from YouTube and distribution deals with video networks such as Joost.

This format follows the growth in online video overall and is a natural offshoot that’s conducive to viral distribution. That is, it can be entertaining and informative. There is also a good opportunity, as pointed out in a past post, to utilize basic SEO tactics and make these videos surface in result pages for things people are searching for (i.e., “how do you fix a leaky faucet?”).

In fact, 2.6 percent of all searches are “how-to” in nature, according to Hitwise, and 5 percent of traffic from the top 10 how-to searches goes to video sites (mostly YouTube). Those top searches for the four weeks ended Jan. 26 are:

1. How to tie a tie
2. How to …
3. How to have sex
4. How to get pregnant
5. How to write a resume
6. How to win the lottery
7. How to kiss
8. How to lose weight fast
9. How to lose weight
10. How to solve a Rubik’s Cube

What About Local?

In addition to YouTube, how-to video distribution could also come from Internet Yellow Pages and local search sites, which have a clear interest in integrating video. This would involve local service providers that wish to advertise via instructional video — joining the formats they currently use (care of video producers such as TurnHere). For IYPs, the opportunity here would stem from using the aforementioned video SEO tactics to gain traffic from all these how-to searches.

It also seems this format could thrive in the IPTV environment and become almost a form of “advertorial” content that could replace traditional television advertising in some verticals, such as home and garden. Thirty-second spots will in fact be less relevant in the “on demand’ environment of IPTV, and there will be some creativity required to come up with alternatives, such as product placement or instructional video.

For instance, picture an instructional video on tiling your bathroom sponsored by Home Depot and followed by an interactive menu of supplies used. This could come with the ability to purchase or reserve items for in-store pickup. All this will be possible with the interactive capabilities of IPTV (defined here), while IP-based targeting can send or suggest behaviorally relevant content on an ongoing basis.

(A foundation for this scenario can already be seen in the local search “channel” AT&T provides with its U-verse IPTV package — see firsthand look from Peter Krasilovsky.)

IPTV is a long way from reaching mainstream penetration and more developed advertising models that leverage this IP-based delivery. But it’s not too early to begin pondering these possibilities and what they mean for local advertising as we know it. In the meantime, production of video ads — both how-to and more traditional formats — can get a head start as a growing form of online SMB advertising.

_______

Update: In response to this post, TurnHere’s blog demonstates a how-to video they shot.

I’m a happy subscriber to AT&T’s U-verse IPTV service, and I noticed in the monthly program guide that AT&T’s Yellowpages.com is now available on Channel 97. So I “rented” it … a process that required a one-time-only download of graphics, etc.

The Yellowpages.com screen appeared after about a minute. It has the logo on top, a list of nine core YP categories on the lefthand side, and a featured advertiser tile and a search box on the right. When I clicked on one of the nine categories — of which eight could be viewed at a time — I could see that each category has a dozen or so of its own listings, with “featured” listings at the top. Featured listings also utilize an additional column with “copy point” info (hours of opening, etc.). If you scroll down further, you can get MapQuest maps of the businesses.

So — how is the service? It is kind of interesting but not so great. The logos and fonts of the featured listings, for instance, don’t seem to have been adjusted for the TV and can be hard to read. Moreover, many of the maps for the featured listings don’t come up. This is probably because they are generally toll-free franchise businesses that don’t have local locations.

Non-featured listings, on the other hand, automatically display the map but have no additional information. Ultimately, however, I feel these listings provide a better experience. The map is big and easy to see. It was good to learn that “J&J Electricians” is just up the hill from me, for instance. (I wish I had known that last week, don’t ask!)

I’ve been excited about the possibilities for Yellowpages.com on TV for a while: on-demand local business videos, testimonial pages, etc., etc. I still am.

But this early version of the service is minimalistic, slow, not always functional and often hard to read. The listings are far from comprehensive, and there is no audio (which would give it more of a TV-like experience). There are also no explanations anywhere on how to use the service.

But you’ve got to start somewhere, right? For me, this is a definite “Beta,” but it is kind of exciting to be in a test area. This could be important.

Longtimers might remember Bell Atlantic’s CD-I service from the mid-1990s. That Compact Disc driven service had mood music, menus, manager greetings and many other features. In retrospect, it seems very advanced.

In a significant development, AT&T’s Yellowpages.com is replacing Yahoo! Local Search for AT&T’s broadband and Internet customers. It is a move that will greatly enhance Yellowpages.com’s position in the space. The company recently told analysts it expects to attract 2 billion searches in 2008 and 3 billion by 2010.

The move is part of a broad multi-year reworking of AT&T’s existing deal with Yahoo! that gives Yahoo! $300 million to $400 million in upfront cash, according to analysts interviewed by paidContent.

It replaces a previous deal that was primarily based on providing Yahoo! with a share of every AT&T broadband user for a co-branded AT&T/Yahoo! portal and sell through of premium services – an arrangement that AT&T has publicly chafed at.

According to published reports, the previous deal brought Yahoo! roughly $300 million in high margin cash flow. A complete collapse of the deal was unlikely, but the renegotiated terms reflect AT&T’s strong position in the company’s many markets like wireless, directories, and increasingly, the Internet.

AT&T is clearly focused on building up its own portal efforts. The new deal will have a portal “powered by Yahoo!.” With the Yahoo! deal completed, it is adding access to its portal and e-mail for all AT&T customers, not just AT&T Internet customers.

The news comes at an interesting time. Last week, the wireless spectrum bids were due and AT&T will clearly be a contender. Further, Google is rumored to benefit substantially from increased mobile traffic from the iPhone available exclusive through AT&T Wireless.

It is unclear if the deal essentially cuts Yahoo! out of being a local search destination site for AT&T customers. In an environment where top portal and search brands are recipients of mobile usage, that seems unlikely. Regardless, it gives Yahoo! more opportunity to sell display and search advertising throughout the AT&T network. It is something that could have strong dividends as Yahoo! battles directly with Google and others. No doubt, retaining tight control of the carrier deck will allow AT&T to steer traffic accordingly.

It is of no small coincidence that last month, AT&T reworked corporate branding to reflect the company’s intended direction. What was once “AT&T Advertising & Publishing” is now being touted at “AT&T Advertising & Search.” The merger between Yellowpages.com and Ingenio, a $250 million transaction, confirms our belief that AT&T is moving the company toward a fully integrated cross-channel marketing company.

It also extends the reach of the Yahoo! portal to the old BellSouth territories recently integrated into AT&T, and extends Yahoo!’s content beyond the desktop to mobile as well – something that will be much more important over time.

According to paidContent, Yahoo! may see declines over $150 million to $200 million in revenue due to the deal’s restructuring. But there clearly is also plenty of upside if Yahoo!’s advertising is widely used, and mobile develops as strongly as anticipated.

We have speculated for some time that AT&T is a natural fit for Yahoo! in terms of an eventual merger or sale. While this news doesn’t sway us one way or another, we do believe these two companies are moving closer together and an eventual marriage of some type is more than a remote possibility.

(This post was co-written by Matthew Booth and Peter Krasilovsky.)

While the other telcos have divested their Yellow Pages units, AT&T maintains that there is real synergy in pursuing a three-screen strategy. Rather than selling the YP unit and using the proceeds to build out its network, a la Verizon, AT&T is betting that there is a home field advantage in keeping its landline, mobile and U-verse video customers intact, and selling advertising — especially local advertising — across the digital channels.

It is a big bet. U-verse apparently has had start-up pains in an intensely competitive video marketplace. And mobile advertising obviously needs to be very sensitively handled. AT&T could always change course and spin out the YP unit. But for now, I like the ambition of it all.

Speaking at its 2007 analyst conference, Ray Wilkins, group president of diversified businesses, said his revenues are $600 million today, but that he hopes to see $1.5 billion in non-print advertising revenues by 2010. Yellowpages.com, especially, is the core of the opportunity, since it represents a giant umbrella for all the products. It is expected to get 30 percent revenue growth CAGR over the three-year period.

The basis for these projections is integrated sales from the YP sales force, a boost in searches from 2 billion to 3 billion, the integration of Ingenio’s Pay-Per-Call platform and the general growth from search revenues, especially on the mobile side. Wilkins noted that 18 million wireless handsets will be pre-installed for AT&T mobile search next year, and enabled in 20 million others. By the end of the year, he said, digital ad insertion will begin in U-verse homes.

Last week Bebo, the global social network, announced its new OpenMedia platform partnerships. The network has partnered with major media brands to deliver premium content to its 40 million users.

Partnerships include CBS, MTV Networks, ESPN, the BBC, Channel Four, ITN, Yahoo! and BSkyB, as well as emerging media companies like Music Nation, Next New Networks, Crackle, Ustream, Last.fm and JibJab.

The launch of OpenMedia allows users to create libraries of their favorite content. Users can then rate, post and forward it to friends.

As audiences have started to demand higher quality programming online, this move will satisfy the crowds while providing partners with an opportunity to reclaim their fragmented audiences.

With regard to advertising, many brands look to align themselves with premium content especially when trying to reach the elusive teen (Bebo attracts the 13- to 24-year-old target audience). This move will make it easier for major national brands to make the leap toward advertising on the social network.

Interestingly, the partners will not be charged for access to the platform and are able to distribute their content using their own video players, which can carry their own advertising and allow them to retain 100 percent of the related ad revenues.

Interactive Local Media: 07 is ready to roll Nov. 28-30 in L.A. That’s next Wednesday through Friday!

The show, which is being produced in partnership with SES Local, has attendees from all over the world. One exec told me he is coming on Wednesday, taking the red eye to New York that night due to a prior commitment, and flying back on Thursday night for the final day.

Attendance-wise, we have the biggest sign-up list for a Kelsey event since the mid-1990s. Almost everyone that we have slotted will actually be there. While the agenda has been tight for some time, with 70-plus speakers, here are some last minute adds:

• Christophe Maire, a cofounder of Nokia’s Location-Based Experience Development, is set for Day 3. HOT DISCUSSION TOPIC: Nokia’s $8.1 Billion purchase of NavTeq.

• Laurel Gilbert, from Microsoft’s Atlas division, is speaking on our localizing national advertising panel. HOT DISCUSSION TOPIC: How Microsoft will use Aquantative to transform itself into a true Web advertising giant.

• Doug Kilponen from MerchantCircle is speaking on the localized shopping panel. MerchantCircle just received a $10 million cash infusion from IAC and others. HOT DISCUSSION TOPIC: Best Practices for Signing up Small Businesses.

• Claudia Poepperl from mobilePeople is set to provide a demo of the London-based company’s cutting-edge social mobile technology.

We are also expecting a drop-in from a top executive of a company that’s been in the news, but we can’t say much more about it. And speaking of news, there are lots of interesting news announcements that will drop around the show as well. So, will we see you in L.A.? Here is the registration page.

Here at GigaOm’s NewTeeVee Live event, it’s a who’s who of players in the small but growing online video space.

AT&T’s $6 billion investment in its U-Verse IPTV rollout will get 8 million subscribers by the end of the year and 18 billion by the end of ‘08, hopes AT&T group president Ralph de la Vega. Citing numbers from Frost & Sullivan, he also claims there will be 38 billion total IPTV subscribers in the U.S. by 2013.

Driving this growth will be the technical advantages IPTV has over cable, which were explored in the TKG report From Reach to Targeting: Television in the Internet Age, as well as here on the blog.

“Switched video allows for a huge amount of content,” said de la Vega, taking a dig at cable’s video architecture. “Given fragmentation of video content, would you send 300 channels of predetermined content over one pipe for users to choose from? If you were building a new television business in today’s content environment, you wouldn’t do it that way.”

The point is that the underlying technology for IPTV (explained here) allows for a lot more content and interactivity than cable. But the current product isn’t there yet. There are other bottlenecks to actually aggregate and serve all this content, including licensing and copyright issues. This is particularly challenging when you talk about sharing content among “three screens,” which de la Vega spent a bunch of time discussing.

His answer to some of these content challenges is to bring in new types of content that wants to get on television and is less encumbered by the legacy licensing structure that is limiting to the interactivity and syndication he is talking about.

“We want to tap into content providers from nontraditional sources,” he said. “This will be entrepreneurial content that falls somewhere between YouTube and prime time. In the chasm between the two, there is a huge opportunity for these content producers to work with us and with content networks.”

This is the long-tail promise of IPTV, but the success of this content aggregation will have to be proved over time and will ultimately determine IPTV’s value proposition over cable, and the realization of AT&T’s vision.

TV as the Web?

The other benefits of this architecture and its interactivity are things such as searching Yellowpages.com, as we’ve discussed in the past, as well as sending content to a mobile phone, programming a DVR from a mobile phone, watching tens of shows at once, buying products from online retailers (V-commerce, as de la Vega called it), checking flight status, viewing photos — the list goes on and on.

But how will hardware evolve to do justice to these scenarios? This point wasn’t addressed by de la Vega, but eventually we will hit a wall with what is possible with a traditional television remote. At the same time, the keyboards and mice people are used to aren’t likely to migrate to the living room. Perhaps some sort of tablet device is in store.

Lastly, this video architecture will have better targeted advertising implications (same as PC-based IP targeting) in the ability to target down to the set-top box level. This is compared with the neighborhood or ZIP code targeting of cable television.

“Ads will be relevant because we’ll know your fragment and target acutely to it,” says de la Vega. “It won’t be viewed as intrusive.”

Much of this will need to be seen in practice, but the possibilities are intriguing. And if de la Vega’s rollout projections are correct, we’ll be able to see it soon.

________

For a firsthand account of IPTV, read Peter Krasilovsky’s anecdotal post on his initial reactions as a U-Verse subscriber.

The numbers are looking very, very good for the Interactive Local Media:07 conference in L.A. Nov. 28-30. Internally, we think this one is a record breaker. Register and book the hotel while you can. The latter tends to sell out.

In recent weeks, we’ve been putting the final touches on the program. For instance, we’ve added Facebook’s Chamath Palihapitiya, who is VP of product marketing. Here’s a snippet about Chamath from Fast Company’s cover story this month:

“Palihapitiya, 31, is tall and whippet thin, with elegant manners and a ready smile. A former electrical engineer, born in Sri Lanka and raised in Canada, he ran AOL’s instant-message group, then jumped to the venture fund Mayfield. He is part Sand Hill Roadster and part freethinker.”

Other notable adds include ShopLocal CMO Bob Armour, Scott Ferris from Microsoft’s Atlas division, LA Times.com’s Robertson Barrett, and City Voter’s Josh Walker. There is also a brand-new Local Mobile panel, featuring Gary Roshak, who has migrated from Marchex to Yahoo!, Jeff Torgerson at InfoSpace, and Collin Holmes at V-Enable.

Also, take a look at the SES side of the show. Google Local head Eric Stein, Zorik Gordon from Reach Local, and Topix head Chris Tolles are just some of the great execs SES is bringing in. Kevin Heisler and Kevin Newcomb are moderating the SES panels.

The Kelsey Group also has its LinkedIn networking set up for the show. We’ve got dozens participating already. Once you register, you should sign in for that, too (even if you haven’t used LinkedIn for a while). See you in L.A.?

Big names, interesting people, compelling research. Forgive the commercial message here, but we’re set to deliver the goods at The Kelsey Group’s Interactive Local Media 2007 (ILM:07), Nov. 28-30 in L.A.

I think there’s something for everyone. And this year, as most of you know, we’ve partnered with Search Engine Strategies for a series of practical “build it” local search sessions. The SES portion of the event features great execs like Chris Tolles, who runs Topix; Zorik Gordon, who runs Reach Local; Brad Geddes from Local Launch; and Court Cunningham from Yodle … SES is a great partner.

If you haven’t checked the ILM:07 landing page for a couple of weeks, you are going to be bowled over by all the great additions. Just today, Google Maps visionary John Hanke confirmed as a keynote. It’s kind of fun when you can look up a keynoter on Wikipedia. We’re also adding Marchex CEO Russ Horowitz to a session that features Bill Day, the company’s chief media officer (and cofounder of About.com).

Some other recent “adds” include:

• Jay Herratti, who runs Citysearch, and is being interviewed back-to-back with Jennifer Dulski, who runs Yahoo! Marketplace;

• Jorrit Van der Meulen from Zillow, who is partnered on a cutting-edge real estate session with NCI head Dan McCarthy and Homethinking’s Niki Scevak;

• Jeff Hughes, head of online advertising for General Motors, who is speaking about localizing national advertising with Centro’s Shawn Riegsecker and Consorte Media’s Alicia Morga;

• Mark Gorenberg at Hummer Winblad, who is partnered on the Local Investment panel with Kara Nortman from IAC/InterActiveCorp and Nick Veronis from Veronis Suhler Stevenson … (hey, this is a pretty smart panel);

• Robyn Rose, who’s building the LocalSearch.com platform for Idearc. She is on an all-star “convergence” panel with Candice Faktor from Toronto.com; Elaine Kunda from ZipLocal; and Malcolm “Premier Guide” Lewis at Local.com;

• Mike Orren from Pegasus News, who will talk about building TV station community sites, as will CityVoter’s Josh Walker;

• Chris Wagner from NeuLion, who will show us the company’s IPTV system for local sports teams;

• Jonathan Weber, of Industry Standard fame, whose NewWest is leveraging the Web to promote and cover the regional development of the Rockies.

All these speakers are being added to the great execs who we announced a couple of weeks ago. Top execs like RHDi’s Jake Winebaum; Autobytel’s Jim Riesenbach; Mahalo’s Jason Calacanis; TMP Directional Marketing’s Stuart McKelvey; Yahoo! Search Marketing’s Dave Schwartz; comScore’s Brian Jurutka; Judy’s Book’s Chris DeVore; Krillion’s Joel Toledano; Retrevo’s David Galvan; and Shopping.com’s Josh Wetzel.

In the next week or so, we’ll be adding a couple of real surprises as speakers (we hope); as well as a great Local Mobile panel, which takes its lead from Matt Booth’s Mobile Forecast.

(Tip: If you plan to come, sign up now for a cheaper rate, and book your flights and hotel ASAP. It takes place one week after Thanksgiving, which is a busy time. It is a NICE time to be in L.A. But get situated, OK?)

While I am in Reston, VA, attending Kelsey’s Directory Driven Commerce conference, I thought it would be a good time to start talking about our next show, which I am co-producing: Interactive Local Media 2007. The show is being done in tandem with SES Local, takes place Nov. 28-30, and is at the Los Angeles Hyatt Regency Century Plaza — a nice location with a very good pool and a lot of local history (movie stars, Reagan, Nixon, all that).

Kelsey started doing this show in 1997; I started co-producing it in 1998, and we are proud of the legacy. It is typically the biggest local show in the industry, with the best networking, the best speakers and the best demos. My goal is for every participant to get an inspiring, 360-degree perspective on local online, mobile and video issues.

We’re just getting started confirming our guest list of 50+ speakers. Watch this space for updates. But here’s who we have to date (in alpha):

• Jason Calacanis, CEO, Mahalo

• Bill Day, Chief Media Officer, Marchex

• Chris DeVore, Cofounder and COO, Judy’s Book

• Jennifer Dulski , GM, Yahoo! Local

• David Galvan, VP, Retrevo

• Elaine Kunda, President and CEO, ZipLocal

• Malcolm Lewis, VP, Local.com

• Stuart McKelvey, CEO, TMP Directional Media

• Alicia Morga, Chairman and CEO, Consorte Media

• Daniel McCarthy, Chairman and CEO, NCI

• Mike Orren, President, Pegasus News

• Shawn Riegsecker, Chairman and CEO, Centro

• Jim Riesenbach, President and CEO, Autobytel

• Niki Scevak, President, Homethinking

• Joel Toledano, Cofounder and CEO, Krillion

• Nick Veronis, Managing Director, Veronis Suhler Stevenson

• Jake Winebaum, President, RHDi; CEO, Business.com

We’re putting the Kelsey analysts up front with the new mobile forecasts and other research. There’s a lot of mobile at this thing.