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Tyee Mobile and Video: Crazy Risks Pay off

Decision to join the 21st century seems to be working out.

David Beers 9 Jan 2012TheTyee.ca

David Beers is editor of The Tyee.
Tyee labs
Rare glimpse inside the Tyee laboratory.

After prudently biding our time, The Tyee late last year opted to dip its fin into the new century. This bold decision we signaled with two recent initiatives. One, video content daily. Two, a mobile version to work on any smart phone.

I'm happy to report good results on both fronts. If you feel brave enough to join us way out here on the cutting edge, please read on.

Tyee Videos quickly become a favourite. In December we launched Tyee Video Picks, a new section on the site you can find (and might want to bookmark) here. Every day or two we post a zippy new video (which is also showcased on our home page). As I write this two recently posted videos are among the three currently most viewed or read pieces on The Tyee. Those videos are Eggs Explained at Rabbit Run Farm and The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. As we post new videos they accumulate, and are easily navigated, in this index.

Where do these videos come from? You. As our explainer says below the Tyee Video Picks window on our home page: "You suggest 'em. We select 'em. We choose the ones that best adhere to our tagline: BC news, views, and solutions." Which means the quality of this feature will only be as good as your suggestions.

So please send us links to great videos by going right here. It's easy!

Tyee mobile traffic steeply climbing. Last summer we launched a new, free app-like version of The Tyee for iPhones. Downloading it takes just a minute or two and people tell us it's pretty slick. And it works on most Android phones, too. Find out about the Tyee's mobile app here.

Then, in November, we launched our mobile version of The Tyee that works on, well, just about any phone -- Blackberries, Androids, iPhones, even Nokias, Motorolas, the gamut. You don't have to download anything. Our site senses you are using a phone and automatically provides the small-screen friendly format (unless you prefer the old one, which you can revert to manually). You can read more about this here.

The mobile-ization of the Tyee also means you can get daily or weekly Tyee headlines emailed for free straight to your smart phone in mobile format by going to this page. Your privacy is guaranteed. We don't share your email address with anyone.

Last Monday a quarter of our traffic came from mobile devices. I believe this clears up any doubt still lingering after our planning session a year ago, during which the Tyee team bitterly divided between those (most) who advised it was way past time to invest in mobile platforms and those (a testy minority) who suggested we should hire a team of street urchins in short pants and with outrageous cowlicks to roam the cities shouting "Extree, extree, read all about it on The Tyee." I am not shy about admitting my mistakes, and now accede that we were wise to follow the general trend and go with the mobile approach.

In short, there is now a consensus at The Tyee that this video thing and this mobile wireless thing both seem going trends and here to stay. It's lonely out here on the wild frontier of technology, but someone has to take the crazy risks.

Happy 2012. [Tyee]

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