The iPad is coming and it's super easy to make sure your Brightcove account is ready. Here are the three easy steps:

(1) Confirm your account is set-up for Universal Delivery Service (UDS): this is the default setting for all Brightcove accounts. If you didn't ask us to change your settings, then you should be all set. You can also ask Support to confirm if you are unsure.

At Brightcove Account Management, we're always looking for better ways to keep our partners informed. As a team, we share these little tidbits internally and I thought it might be fun to broaden the distribution. If you have suggestions, please shoot me a note or add a comment.

Congrats to our friends at VEVO for launching this week. While it may be popular to bash the labels, it's been my experience that some of the biggest innovation around monetization, advanced features and business models have come from our partners in the music industry.

The holidays are here and that means shopping. Gone are the days when all your shopping could be done within the pages of a comic book. With online shopping thoroughly mainstream, you’ll note that some e-commerce sites have turned to Brightcove for their video needs. Video is the number one advanced site feature that online retailers are planning on adding to their ecommerce sites this season and we have some neat partner examples below:

As we get closer to the holiday season and close out 2009, I'd like to take a moment to wish everyone a very Merry Krampus day. What's Krampus Day?" you might ask. Well, it's a lot like Christmas. Just replace the guy in the red suit with a gruesome horned devil named Krampus and you've got the general idea. A lovely holiday video can be found here.

It's very exciting to hear that our own Nick Stahl will moderate a SXSW panel on that highlights the importance of music videos as a critical extension of a record label's brand online. Go Nick!

A ranting teen. A sleep walking dog. These are the top "long tail" videos of 2009 and YouTube has a great little countdown here

Short, funny videos have always ruled viral traffic but maybe we can pick up a few lessons for our own content creation?  Let's face it, what video initiative wouldn't benefit from a puppy or kitten.

Our reference application for the iPhone and iPod Touch is now available for download on the iTunes store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/one-planet/id338782569?mt=8

Reebok TV went live recently and is a great example of how you can “tweak” our standard templates with a little bit of BEML. The main goal of Reebok’s first phase was to get live on Brightcove with a player that has Facebook and Twitter integrated, and also e-commerce links that work on cuepoints.

You're going to start hearing a bunch of buzz around the "three screen" strategy. E.g. do you have a plan to get your content to the PC, mobile devices and the television?

From our friends at NewTeeVee...

As video advertising networks grow in reach and importance, and start to play a bigger role in distributing content online, we wanted to get a better sense of how they measure up. We checked with comScore, which coincidentally just prepared its first report on the subject... (here)

If you're in the Washington D.C. area, come join us June 4th at Marvin upstairs in the LOUNGE from 7-9 PM for drinks. We'll have representation from Account Management, Sales, and Engineering on hand to answer questions, update you on the latest, and mainly catch up in person. There will also be partners on hand to discuss their products and how they integrate into Brightcove 3.

Well, what do you know, Universal Music just launched their first audio player powered by Brightcove! You can check it out here. If you would like to join the Brightcove Audio beta program, contact your Account Manager or: accountmanagement <at> brightcove.com

I was chatting with a buddy at one of our smaller broadcast partners and he made an interesting comment to me. As with anything in business, Brightcove's success has brought on a handful of knock-off competitors that claim to do exactly what we do. My pal (VP at this broadcaster) said he recently got a sales call from one of these fledgling firms. After listening to the pitch on how they are just about as good as Brightcove for pennies on the dollar, my buddy politely passed and said he was sticking with Brightcove.

Do you have the traffic but not enough content? Do you want to increase your revenue outside of the traditional pre-roll ad?

Increasingly we're seeing a number of Brightcove partners test the paid placement model for their sites. Simply put, selling placement within their player playlists. Why?

Here at Brightcove HQ we gets lots of interesting data, and this little nugget recently caught my eye.

Average completion rates across all Brightcove partners - this is the amount of a single video that people consume - has risen dramatically between 2005 and 2009

If you're in the LA area and can make it, this Thursday (3/12) we're hosting a Meetup at Seven Grand in downtown LA. Tickets are going fast so if interested, RSVP here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/303833775

Whether you are an established brand looking to add some spice to your pre-roll advertising campaign or an upstart looking for an easy ad format, why not try sponsored skins?

What does it take to have a break out viral video? The Wall Street Journal offers some basic tips.

Our friends at Fox Beliefnet are hiring a Director of Video Operations. If you live in NYC, know Brightcove and like working with smart and nice people, this could be the job for you. 

While online video advertising CPMs are holding strong, it's rare that anyone has sold 100% of their inventory 100% of the time. With all the swirling economic news of late, now might be a good time to look at some ad networks to bolster your online advertising sales.

My buddy Bill Jemas made an interesting remark at the Licensing show a few years back. When asked what makes for successful media property?  Bill answered (and I'm paraphrasing here):

"Only three types of properties can succeed. The first is the 'evergreen' property, think Beatrix Potter or Winnie the Poo. The second is the large event movie, think Batman or Shrek. The third is something that looks good on a t-shirt. Everything else is just noise."

Welcome to "The Mulholland Method" a new blog covering notable releases, interesting trends and numerous tricks learned on the frontlines of Media 2.x.