Technology PR:
Vancouver, BC April 30, 2008 -- VancouverIAM.com, the flagship site of the newly-created IAM Network of city-driven websites, is set to change the way internet TV and video journalism is created and the way Vancouverites interact with and view their city.
VancouverIAM.com is a unique online platform and new destination for people who want to know what's going on in Vancouver. It provides Vancouverites with the tools and support to become video journalists, Internet TV and film producers, and active commentators on local politics and everyday issues about life in Vancouver. VancouverIAM.com is also providing specialized Internet TV channels to a range of local organizations that already include Vancouver Film School, Greenpeace Canada, Women in Film & Television Vancouver and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
"VancouverIAM.com is changing the media landscape by promoting locally created and locally focused Internet TV and video journalism," said VancouerIAM.com creator George Fleming. "With the IAM websites, user-generated content is taking a major step towards challenging mainstream media. With low-cost HD video cameras and easy-to-use editing software now widely available, mainstream media production values are now accessible to anyone with a few hundred dollars and a computer."
Two of VancouverIAM.com's most unique components are its educational and mentoring programs designed to support both amateur and professional video producers, while also bringing Vancouver's growing local Internet TV and indie film production community together, and providing them with a place to showcase and promote their content.
"The educational aspects of VancouverIAM.com, as well as the ability to apply for funding, provides support that is unmatched by any other online user-generated website," said prominent Vancouver film producer, Paul Armstrong.
VancouverIAM.com's Video Journalism Program supports the development and production of cutting-edge, local video journalism by local citizen reporters and film, new media and journalism students. The IAM Network Fund assists media producers and students in the creation of original Internet TV series.
"Citizen Journalists are the new recorders of history and their message matters," said Fleming. "VancouverIAM.com presents local stories and stories from locals in a way that mainstream media and other online sites can not support. We want Vancouverites to use VancouverIAM.com to discuss, debate and rant about local issues and explore what their city has to offer in a whole new way."
Over the next year, the IAM Network is planning to launch websites in cities across North America, followed by key international locations. TorontoIAM.com and SeattleIAM.com are both set to go live before the end of the June.
About the IAM Network
Vancouver IAM.com is the flagship site of the newly created IAM Network of city driven social media websites rolling out this year across North America, and then around the globe. The IAM Network sites promote and fund the development of local Internet TV and Video Citizen Journalism. The IAM Network is a division of SoMedia Networks Inc., an investor backed Web 2.0 Internet pioneer focused on the creation, aggregation and organization of user generated media (blogs, Internet TV, citizen journalism, podcasts, articles, ratings, reviews etc) also known as CGM or Social Media.
