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As the online video space has grown and evolved, creators have increasingly gained control over their work. Free hosting and the ability to embed video on one’s own site, being able to customize and white-label solutions, the flexibility of retaining ownership while licensing content for use under a variety of Creative Commons licenses — these are all things that have empowered independent creators and given them the opportunity to take the business of online video seriously.

This control, along with monetization — an element in which Revver has been a clear leader — has made it clear that creators can find success on their own, and part of the process has been that creators are no longer positioning big video distribution sites as the epicenters of their content. Rather, they’re distributing their videos and interacting with their audiences right from their own branded sites.

With this shift in mind, we’ve been hard at work on a video sharing solution that gives you all the best of Revver in your own environment, where you have full control over the presentation of your content and the community of people that rally around it. The result is the Revver WordPress Video Plugin, an easy-to-install tool that brings all the functionality of Revver (and then some) right to your WordPress blog. Whether you already use a WordPress blog to distribute your content, or you’re looking to get started with your own site, the Revver WordPress Video Plugin makes it easier than ever, and does a whole bunch of cool stuff:

• upload videos directly through your blog (+ auto-publish upon video approval!)
• manage your Revver account, videos, and subscribers — all from your blog
• enable video responses to your posts
• your subscribers are automatically given a Revver account when they sign up and post video responses — so they earn too!

In essence, the plugin brings an unprecedented level of convenience to your blog, allowing you to publish and track your content without ever requiring you to leave your site. On top of that, it’s a WordPress blog that you own - design it and trick it out to your heart’s content! And then of course there are perks for your subscribers — they can leave video responses and earn as Revver members just by subscribing to your blog. It’s your content, it’s your brand, and they’re your fans — why should anyone else own that but you?

Everything you need to know about downloading, installing, and using the plugin can be found here. Have fun!

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Things are heating up on Dirty Bomb Diaries — 15 days have passed since a dirty bomb exploded, wreaking havoc on the city, and the situation is such that Unnamed Girl buys a gun for protection. Will she have to use it?

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Peter Coffin has been with Revver since the days of 5 digit media IDs, which in online video time is a while. He makes videos about celebrities and media events and garage doors and cats and flavored cement and…well, anything. He’s 23 and he lives in Michigan. We love Peter.

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The guys from StopMeIfYouHeardThis are hosting the world’s first karaJOKE party (think karaoke with jokes) this coming Thursday, at The Underground Lounge. Part karaoke, part stand-up, the event invites anyone and everyone to step up to the mic and tell a joke. If you’ve seen their videos on Revver, you know that sometimes the funniest and most compelling part of a joke is in the telling of it, not just the punchline (see above video). The party starts at 8pm for all you New Yorkers itchin’ to tell a joke.

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iChannel is a a web series about “I” and friends that works somewhat backwards — rather than being the subjects of a show due to something innately interesting about their existence, I and friends actually spend their brainstorming hours thinking up ways to make their lives worth watching so they can make a show about it. In this episode they meet with a life coach who is apparently going to help them be “more worth watching.” You can help too - leave a comment, a character suggestion, a plot line etc. on their site and it just might find it’s way back to your computer screen in the form of a new episode.

That kind of interactivity puts iChannel in similar territory with the It’s All In Your Hands productions, but here it’s less about a choice between A and B and more about the infinite possibilities your creative minds hold for the series. The characters are great, the production is slick, and they’re open to your suggestions — good deal.

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I must admit that I’ve only played Halo once. I pressed some button and my head got stuck looking up at the sky so I couldn’t see what I was shooting at or what was shooting at me. I was quickly killed. I regained consciousness with my head pointing forward, but I had had enough. I hit my limit of buttons that I could keep track of with 1997’s Goldeneye, and since then I’ve basically given up on playing video games. Halo 3 looks gorgeous, complex, cinematic, and hard. I will never play it, but I could easily watch someone else playing it for hours. According to this video, I should get used to it.

Check out more of GamersDaily’s video game reviews here.

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The Podcast and New Media Expo is next weekend and you don’t wanna miss it! The expo is an essential trip to make for new media proponents of all shapes and sizes, from independent vloggers and podcasters to corporate new media professionals. Keynotes and exhibitions are free, and Ontario is easily accessible from the entire LA area, so register now.

While you’re in the neighborhood, stop on by the Culture Catch Salon that the Von Iva girls so cordially invite you to in the video above. It’s gonna be a “celebration for all podcasters” — all you gotta do is RSVP.

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Rhett & Link are having a party to celebrate their upcoming role as hosts of Online Nation, premiering this Sunday night on the CW. The show aims to bring the best in online video to the TV screen, and it should be a hoot to see which classic videos and which cewebrities get picked. If you happen to live in or near Garner, North Carolina, stop on by Rhett & Link’s TV Premiere Party — there will be pig, TV watching, and a live musical performance by these multi-talented fellows. You can RSVP through facebook or their contact form.

We will be performing a routine system maintenance tonight, Thursday, September 20, from 11:00pm-11:30pm PST. Everything (media serving, revver.com, API, etc) will be unreachable for a period of about 10 minutes during this window as we perform this upgrade. Sorry about that, but we’ll be better faster harder stronger tomorrow.

The 12th annual Webby Awards call for entries opened yesterday. The Online Film and Video awards honor the best in online video with no less than 25(!) categories, including Animation, Comedy (long & short form), Drama (series and one-off) Technology, Viral, and a host of others — enter your work! Last year’s winners included several Revver community members, and we’re sure this year will be no different. Go get yours.