Go Pro as a Media Company

If it isn't clear from all my videos, I'm a fan of GoPro.  The camera, the company, the content, all of it.
HD HERO 2 Highlight Reel

A couple weeks ago, the New York Times wrote this article about the company's next steps, which include an IPO later this year. 
In the article, Nicholas Woodman, the chief executive and founder, notes that because of all of the high quality content created professionally and by users "there’s a phenomenal opportunity for us to leverage GoPro as a media brand."
When people use their GoPro cameras, then upload and share the footage, it generates free advertising in the form of earned media for GoPro.  This advertising is unique in that it is on-demand and personal, unlike paid and owned media, which can be interruptive and generic.
This type of promotional content is priceless, and the reason it exists is because of the bond that GoPro has with it's customers.  The product is simple and empowering.
"What their product produces is so compelling, it doesn’t feel like advertising,” said Michael Mott, general manager of Xbox apps and developer ecosystem at Microsoft (also from the NY Times article).

In an older blog post from August 2012 called For Netflix, Original Content is King, I predicted that "we'll see more tech companies transforming into media companies as content creators realize that direct distribution is easily accessible."
Like Netflix, GoPro is a great example of the democratization of media as content becomes easier to produce and distribution becomes more accessible.  This levels the playing field between media companies and content producers and results in the best content getting seen - even if it's free advertising.

Killington Ski Trip - GoPro Studio

I took my GoPro camera skiing this past weekend in Killington, Vermont, and assembled the above video with the GoPro Studio.

 GoPro Studio Pros 
-Easy to use, intuitive
-Fast processing, transcoding, exporting -variety of filters and templates that make adding an effect as easy as Instagram

 GoPro Studio Cons 
-Timeline functionality is lacking - tough to trim and move around clips
-Not much ability to edit and mix audio
-Can't add in media from a source other than GoPro