KUAM News Off-Camera

Hi everyone! This morning we debuted a new platform that's going to make your TV experience incredibly cool - KUAM Web Pay-Per-View. I mentioned it earlier in the week, and with the IIAAG football title game now in the history books, you can relive this instant classic, purchasing the game and watching it online for just $20.

Just check out our gallery of PPV exhibits, and use your PayPal account to get digital delivery straight to your desktop! Enjoy. :)

I had mentioned previously about our new suite of live streaming video products, and today we launched the first of a whole batch of live video broadcasts, making the live Sunday mass from Cathedral available, free for all to stream online.

There's already a good-sized group of people that flocked to our site to stream this morning's mass live from Hagatna, so check it out for the next hour! If you happen to read this after the fact, you can stream this morning's service on your DOCOMO Pacific mobile phone if you have 3G service...just go to the launcher page and choose "KUAM Broadband".

Enjoy...and happy Sunday!

It's times like this that I'm really proud to call myself a Guamanian. Last night during KUAM's ACT Now! telethon to raise money for cancer relief we did just that - pulling in well in excess of $20,000 to help local families battling cancer.

Plus, I'm extra-stoked because Guam's first-ever online TV fundraiser was a smashing success, as islanders were able to make $5 donations by text message. Our interactive component really came through, as we accepted over $1,800 in such donations from mobile devices from all 4 major carriers. You can see the inspirational messages users posted as they donated here.

If you missed it, I'll have the 2-hour video online soon enough (the source file's more than a gigabyte, so gimme a couple of hours).

Thanks again all for your help...we couldn't have done it without you!

Here at KUAM we're known for being a company that does a lot for the local community. We're also respected throughout the broadcast news industry and by Guam for our history of doing really cool things with technology. So I'm really pleased to announce a very clever promotion we'll be running Monday night that bridges good corporate citizenship with enabling technology.

During our ACT Now! telethon to raise money for the Edward M. Calvo Cancer Foundation, we're empowering the local community with the ability to make donations to help those battling this dreaded disease by using their cell phones. From 7pm through midnight, you can send a text message to '5826' from any local wireless carrier, which automatically makes a $5 donation in your name to the Foundation. Your donation will show up on your billing statement with your carrier.

It's really easy, really fast and goes towards a very worthwhile cause. Make sure to tune in to TV8 tomorrow night...and text away!

Thanks for your help!

On October 20th at 7pm on KUAM TV8, The KUAM Careforce will present the television special "ACT NOW", to raise awareness about cancer in our community and to raise funds for the Edward M. Calvo Cancer Foundation. This program will be special in the purest sense of the word as we aim to unite and motivate our community to take action and do what they can to prevent this disease and support those in need our help.

So many of us have personal experiences with cancer and sharing our stories helps us heal, provides hope and inspiration, and helps as grow as a community. This special will be uniquely interactive in that viewers are encouraged to send in their messages, stories, pictures and drawings memorializing loved ones lost, honoring those in treatment, and sharing their personal experiences by emailing them to actnow@kuam.com.

They will be featured during "ACT Now". Also, during the program, viewers will have the opportunity to send in SMS text messages of remembrance and hope via their cell phones. These messages will appear during the broadcast from 7pm to 9pm on KUAM TV8. A portion of the cost of each text message sent will go towards the Edward M. Calvo Cancer Foundation. As well, viewers can also call in pledges for the Foundation during the program.

The Foundation was founded in 2004, as a tribute to the life and legacy of my grandfather who passed away in September of that year from liver cancer. My family wanted to do something to carry on his generous spirit as well as reach out to other individuals and families who were experiencing the same sense of uncertainty that we had. The foundation provides monetary grants to those battling cancer in our community.

To date over $200,000 in grants have been given to local residents. The foundation is purely a labor of love for our family members and volunteers. 100% of the funds from our generous donors go to cancer patients as the foundation is strictly run by volunteers. Through ACT NOW, we not only hope raise funds but to make a difference in our community.

During this program, you'll hear from survivors and those who've lost loved ones. You'll also hear from medical professionals in our community about early detection and prevention and see firsthand how important it is to get your annual mammogram as well as other screening tests.

I hope you join the KUAM Care Force and make time for this very special night of television on October 20.

Marie Calvo-Monge is executive producer and assistant general manager for KUAM

I've been teasing the fact that we've been working on something BIG here at KUAM Labs recently. And finally, at long last, I'm able to formally announce it: KUAM video is now available on mobile phones!

Trust me when I tell you this will be one of the coolest things you'll ever use. I've been playing with DoCoMo's 3.5G network, and it's seriously quick. Mobile web browsing clocks in at about 2.1Mbps...on a phone. And with today's modern mobile browsers (iPhone, Blackberry, Opera, etc.), you won't have to deal with scaled-down WAP versions of pages...you get the Web in its natural, desktopy state.

For us as a TV station, it makes for incredible reach, invaluable exposure and unbeatable competitive advantage. For our users, it's the ultimate extension of our product.

So if you're not on 3G get with the program. It's totally worth it. Several of the handsets are already 3G-compliant, so check with DoCoMo and see if you can access highspeed data already.

Enjoy!

Jason Salas is web manager and a news anchor for KUAM

At KUAM Labs, we pride ourselves on being the #1 web shop in this part of the world. So a huge part of what we do is investing heavily into our online R&D effort. We just like coming up with wacky ideas and playing with neat toys that let us express our data in new and interesting ways.

About 3 out of every 10 of our projects makes it as a public product/service, and getting there's half the fun. I'm enlisting a few people with a couple minutes free, a keen eye and fast Internet access to mess with our stuff while it's still in beta - and give us your honest feedback and criticism. This is a one-of-a-kind chance to use platforms that we may not roll out for several months (or in some cases, years), and see what we're working on for the future.

So if you'd like a backstage pass to mess with some really innovative products built on some very revolutionary technologies, send me your e-mail address and I'll add your name to the list.

Thanks!

Jason Salas is web manager and a news anchor for KUAM