I'm writing a brief diary entry as a blog because I feel compelled to get a little personal here...
Today, I had the unfortunate experience of receiving a call from my wife who told me that a friend of ours had passed away. Moreover, he took his own life which is tragic and hurtful, especially for his family and friends. This was someone who was both a friend and collaborator of ours, so I am feeling a bit numb at the moment. Needless to say, I have a lot of unanswered questions that are still rolling through my head and the world has lost a very nice person and talented film/television writer. This made me think that television as I know it is always in a state of change...
When I was growing up, I used words like: film, television and movies to describe my viewing experiences or content consumption. Now the very fact that we are lumping everything together as "content" is an indicator that the world of media consumption is ever evolving. A shift in this consumption has been happening for years, as more and more youth access content over the web and through other platforms or devices.
While I believe there will always be a place for talented writers and creators, such as our friend, younger audiences are shifting to the web and the way programming is created for television is changing to keep up. I've seen this firsthand from content creators as they mash-up consumer generated content in professionally produced series and bring in audience participation from all sorts of new angles.
Even today, I read an article on the Wall Street Journal's website where MTV announced its plans to make a series that is a mash-up of television and Web content. The article went on to say that "the show will draw some of its material from social-networking sites like Facebook and video-sharing sites like YouTube. The show’s executive producer Corin Nelson says “It’s On” will do things like have celebrities turn the text of some viewers’ Facebook profiles into songs and stream in questions from viewers via Twitter." From the series description, I'm sure there will be social media advertising within the show itself which will open the doors for brands to further engage audiences in new ways.
To this point, I got a call today from an agency inquiring about our social networking community software to power experiences on the web. Specifically, they have a brand that would be integrated into a television series for one of their clients. My point is that these changes in the marketplace certainly aren't a new occurrence, as we can trace back all sorts of changes over the years in media. So I guess the saying that nothing ever stays the same is especially true in the world of media and we seem to be inventing and re-inventing what's possible in digital media on a daily basis.
While I'm very sad to say goodbye to a friend, I feel blessed to have known him and empowered to be working in a dynamic company that is blazing trails in Social Media Development. Some how the world of digital media manages to be re-born or re-invented every day and today, it has helped me cope with my loss as I work on business media strategy to re-invent something new...
I received my last physical issue of Television Week today and after 27 years of publishing print editions, TVweek will only exist exclusively online.
I read Chuck's Ross front page editorial today and he says they have advertisers commitments for the next year, so at least for now, it seems like Television Week will continue on. I have personally always found it a valuable resource for the entertainment industry and emerging digital media for that matter.
For me, I'm glad it hasn't just been pulled entirely, as I keep up to date on what's happening in our industry through publications like TVWeekly. While they have a commitment from their advertisers, Chuck went on to say, "don't be surprised as we work with our advertisers to present their messages to you, that we may try some creative new approaches, including some new ideas..." So here comes the business branding online on their destination site: www.tvweek.com, which has been around for a few years but now it is exclusive.
I'm sure Social Media Advertising built around television community will come into play here as they further explore their business media strategy. Personally, I am perfectly fine to access TVweek.com for my fix, but sometimes it's nice to have both options, especially as computers don't travel well to the pool ;-)
The Internet as a whole has made accessing information and digital content a simple click away, but are you willing to pay to watch or access content online? Are you currently paying to access content? There are so many great places on the web to watch content through corporate video platform websites that are consumer facing such as Hulu, ABC, etc. Even YouTube offers a great place to catch both professional content or that new viral video a friend turned you on to but again, are you or I willing to pay?
In the case of YouTube, at this point I expect content to be free and to this point, I recently read a blog from Larry Dignan, Editor and Chief of ZDNet that was titled, The Cure for YouTube's Ills: Charge for Uploads, see: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=18919. If you haven't read it, it's worth the read, as it brings up many of the questions around free business models that are "never free since someone always has to foot the bill."
These are all questions that hit me personally, as I was discussing a solution today with a potential client who is looking at subscription models to offer their niche content online through a Business Social Platform. Overall, he is considering creating a customized social networking site with video content that is monetized through subscription. This same person sent me an article from Brand Republic around Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal's plans to charge micro payments, see the article here: http://www.brandrepublic.com/BrandRepublicNews/News/904742/Wall-Street-Journal-introduce-micropayment-scheme/?DCMP=EMC-DailyNewsBulletin.
In the ever moving target of digital media monetization, I don't feel that anyone has found the silver bullet solution that fits all and until that time comes, I guess we will all keep trying our best to find one ;-)
I always seem to have a great mini-vacation on Memorial Day weekend and am forever grateful to the men and women who have served our country and especially those who've made the ultimate sacrifice, so we can have a better life. It's incredible when you think that this holiday dates back to 1868 as a day to honor Union Soldiers in the Civil War who gave their lives.
Honestly, all I can think about is sitting by the pool and enjoying a good book by the refreshing water with my computer tucked far away in my hotel room. I keep asking myself, why did I schedule a meeting and a conference call on a short holiday weekend? Am I all too eager to talk about B2B Video Platforms, Social Media or business media strategy? Probably not, but it's my little, small, no tiny sacrifice in order to meet the needs of my clients and perspective clients because I care.
As hard as it will be this weekend to get away from my all consuming work life (though the pool and ocean might help speed that up ;-), I will try not to think about corporate branding online or maybe just a little bit today, as I have one last meeting on my way out of town with a clothing manufacturer. They are looking at ways to create effective social media advertising for their brand and they have just the right brand to make that happen.
If you haven't taken the time to reflect on this holiday because of your last minute pile of work, please take a moment to do so, as you too will be humbled by our great nation and those who have served and currently serve....
This years' Streaming Media East conference (see: http://www.streamingmedia.com/east/) seemed to have a nice turn out and most importantly, there was a lot of engaging discussions throughout the event. Additionally, I happened to be speaking on a panel about "Best Practices: Marketing Video for multi-platform Delivery." The general description was...
"With the amazing consumer adoption of the iPhone and advanced smartphones, marketers today aren't just creating video for one screen-they are creating for up to four! What are best practices in the marketing and PR video for multi-platform delivery, and how can marketers make the most of the rapidly expanding mobile market?"
To this point, a good example I spoke about is a recent Hyundai Genesis Coupe campaign that Goodby Silverstein and Partners created. The campaign took advantage of broadcast television by playing commercials during the Super Bowl and Academy Awards, etc. where traditional media drove viewers online with an interactive call to action - see: www.edityourown.com.
Once on the site, viewers are placed in the drivers seat with a very immersive experience and through our partnership with Adobe, we powered the "Edit Your Own" contest experience. Through this social platform, online users could edit their own commercials, share them with others, while the winners commercial was played on air. This truly is a User Generated Content experience that allows users the opportunity to make very creative online content utilizing professionally produced content. As budgets are continually shifting and even being sourced from television buys, it's exciting to see a campaign that works on so many different platforms.
Having started my career in entertainment by producing television commercials, for me, this is pretty exciting stuff. Especially since the Executive producer of the Hyundai commercials is Frank Sherma of Radical Media, whom I met almost 17 years ago at MOMA in New York when I was a recipient one of the first ever AICP Awards for a commercial campaign I produced as a student. Frank inspired me then as a creator and I guess you can say he is still inspiring me to this day.
In addition to Streaming Media East, I had the good fortune to attend a panel held by a fantastic organization, 212 New Yorker's Interactive Advertising Club - see: http://www.212nyc.org/.
The panel was Moderated by Fran Hauser, President, Time Inc. Style and Entertainment Group and was about Consumer Packaged Goods Category Insight. The panelists included: a great group of executives:
- Gian Fulgoni, Chairman and Co-founder of comScore, Inc. - Brian Leder, VP Digital Director at MediaVest on the Procter & Gamble business - Andrew Markowitz, Director-Digital Marketing & Media at Kraft - Chris Meringolo, Director-Global Media & PR at Schering Plough Consumer Health Care - Carole Walker, Vice President-Integrated Marketing Communications at Mars
The discussion centered around "US Internet population is shifting...The signs: More women than men are online and the majority of Internet users are age 35 or older.* As more and more women go online, Consumer Packaged Goods advertisers will have a unique opportunity to grow their businesses by speaking directly to this demographic."
One of the things I heard over and over again from brand executives was taking a "video Neutral approach." Basically, it doesn't matter if it's a :10, :15 :30 second video or even Consumer Generated Content, it's all about creating engaging video experiences across multiple platforms and devices for multiple purposes. To me this speaks volumes to where media and consumer engagement has gone because as we all know, it is no longer about passive traditional media.
It is no surprise that user generated content, as well as professionally produced content in Social Media was a big point of discussion. It was very clear that brands and advertisers are partnered with Strong Business Video platform companies and constantly creating customized social media solutions to help power Social Media Advertising and customer engagement in brand safe environments.
The good news for all of us is that now more than ever, it is all about the consumer or audience. This means that if brands and advertisers want to have a meaningful dialog and engagement they will need to reach us where we spend our time and that is through social networking and all the electronic devices we love so much...
This past Thursday I spoke on a panel moderated by Joyce Schwarz, which included Deborah Perry Piscione of Bettyconfidential.com, William Alena of myyearbook.com, Aki Hashmi of Allvoices.com, Rebecca Weeks of Realgirlsmedia.com, Maura Welch of Weeworld.com, and Mimi Jakobovits of Musicane.com. The title of the session was "The Web, Social Media and Advertising" but I think we covered everything from: Social Media Advertising to Social Media Communities and finding ways of monetizing content.
One of the things I took away from the panel is that now more than ever, there are opportunities to monetize content in interesting ways. Knowing your businesses unique position or offering in the marketplace is a critical first step. In addition, a well thought out business media strategy utilizing corporate branding online will surely make for a good start. From a strategy perspective, you should consider syndication, as well as bringing sponsorship into a niche community that serves the brand well. Weeworld is a good example of a company that has a very unique way of offering brands a fun/virtual environment to engage audience online. Further, it not only has a unique destination site but it also has a great strategy for reaching audiences on other sites.
As we are all aware, there are no silver bullets when it comes to Social Media Advertising or monetization, so a great place to start is:
1. Knowing what your audience and your value proposition 2. Create valuable partnerships because you can't possibly do it alone 3. Create a plan that Brands can clearly understand that takes advantage of syndication and existing social networks
Starting with a good Social Media Platform can certainly help speed your efforts to market but that is only a beginning. Look at what other successful companies are doing can help add tremendous value in knowing your market and its leaders. The good news according to a recent Forrester Marketing Forum is that "Marketing budgets are following the innovation trail — social media spending in the US will grow from $716 million this year to more than $3.1 billion in 2014, a 34 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) - see the entire article at: http://au.sys-con.com/node/934450.
Hope to be reading about your success story in the very near future...
I will be speaking on a panel today at Digital Hollywood at the Lowes's Hotel in Santa Monica from 12:50 PM - 2:00 PM, so I am heading out the door now. It should be an engaging session and I am sitting in for my colleague, Mitchell Linden. Here are the details and I will also follow up with some thoughts on my next blog...
Track III: The Broadband Platform - PC, Mobile, TV and Advertising The Web, Social Media and Advertising: Transforming and Disassembling the World of Traditional Media and Communications Change and innovation is at the core of our industry. There is no turning back the clock. Traditional media now works with and embraces that change. There is a continual, if uneasy partnership between traditional media and the new technologies, but it continues as a powerful force forward nonetheless. Between the power of the web, social media and new forms of commerce, the entire daily life of the consumer, vis a vis the entertainment, communications and commerce experience is forever altered. The partnership between the traditional media and new media has created a new and interesting era in the relationship between the innovator and the established system – one that is open and generally encourages and rewards change.
So if you work with brands or are looking for Hosted Social Networking Solutions, Business Community Social Network tools, plesae come down to sunny Santa Monica.
You can find more information at: http://digitalhollywood.com/09DHSpring/DH09Sp-Thurs11.html or you can always visit us at: www.realitydigital.com
Is picking up the phone and speaking with a friend, social media or do you have to be on a three-way call in order for it to count? Or do you have to record a call and upload it to the web for a further shared experience or is a phone call not social media at all?
Actually, there was a television series called, CRANK YANKERS that was phoned entertainment around Crank Calls but is it social....
In order for it to be considered Social Media, the series would probably need to be put online and have users upload their own media or crank calls to share with others for it to be counted as Consumer Generated Content or Social Media. I am not advocating that anyone go out and do this in the least ;-) and please do not crank call my phone as I'm sure there are several business video or audio platforms waiting to sign up potential users for this experience right now.
As I began to think more about the definition of Social Media, I decide like most to Google it and here's what I got...
Definitions of Social media on the Web:
Social media are primarily Internet-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media
A category of sites that is based on user participation and user-generated content. They include social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, or My Space, social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, social news sites like Digg or Simpy, and other sites that are centered on user interaction. www.lazworld.com/glossary.html
Social media are works of user-created video, audio, text or multimedia that are published and shared in a social environment, such as a blog, wiki or video hosting site. www.capilanou.ca/help/active-cms/glossary.html
Software tools that allow groups to generate content and engage in peer-to-peer conversations and exchange of content (examples are YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, MySpace etc) www.bottlepr.co.uk/glossary.html
Social Media is the collection of tools and online spaces available to help individuals and businesses to accelerate their information and communication needs. [Axel Schultze] communitymanagers.pbwiki.com/Glossary-and-Reference
I didn't see any Websters definitions but these were the first that came up, so I thought I'd list them as examples. I seem to agree more with the umbrella definition but they all have a common thread of technology, sharing, social interaction, conversation and User Generated Content. However, this can mean many things to different people or organizations.
Recently, I've been engaged in discussions with a lot of publishers and/or traditional bricks and mortar businesses who are interested in B2B community social networks and/or business social platforms to engage customers.
These companies all realize the value of a direct relationship and social engagment with their customers and I help navigate their efforts to find a solution that works for them. As no one definition defines Social Media, no one solution defines Social Media results, as it is a constant journey of discovering how to engage a social experience without being a Crank Yanker...
I attended this years’ NAB or National Association of Broadcasters this week, which I have been doing for many years. From what I’m told, there were approximately 86,000 people in attendance this year, which is certainly a drop off from previous years but none the less, quite a big crowd given the state of the economy. More importantly, there were a lot of compelling products and thought leadership coming out of this important event and way too much information to share here, so I would encourage you to visit: www.nab.org.
I believe it’s very clear to everyone that there is a proliferation of devices and kids today are carrying multiple devices to capture and send content, while always connected to their friends. This is true community and social media at work, but how do you create business media strategy and social media branding for these ever changing new media landscapes. For traditional broadcasters they often say they are changing dollars in the living room for pennies online. Not only has it been hard to sometimes monetize online offerings but it has been a moving target that needs very specific and targeted approach that is much different from traditional advertising. Furthermore, User Generated Content is now sometimes blurring the lines of what we consider professionally produced content.
Jim Guerard of Adobe was speaking about a conversation he had with Bud Alberts, CTO of Disney and he was saying how more people access ESPN online Sunday afternoon over mobile than they do online. This is a clear example of how viewer patterns are not only changing and are a moving target but they demand access when, where and how they want it. This requires, technology companies, brands, advertisers and digital content strategies to be researched thoroughly in order to find monetization models for businesses that work. Companies like Adobe and many others across the online and mobile technology landscape are putting serious resources behind how they can better enable business models and monetization across these devices.
In addition to finding monetization models for professional content, the barrier of entry into producing content has changed and now niche user generated content, semi-pro and amateur content finds audiences as well. Online Social Networks certainly help expose some of these content creators and there are more professional devices available at the consumer level for any person with business sense and motivation to monetize and reach consumers. This has opened the doors for all sorts of content that previously wouldn't be made available through traditional channels.
Here's a good example of a consumer tools that are providing powerful user-friendly tools for would be journalists. The product is called Poddio and was demonstrated at the show, where anyone can record and edit audio right from their iPhone by simply plugging in a microphone which allows for better recording. The interface is drag and drop editing that makes for a pro-consumer experience with iphone friendly tools.
We are seeing many more devices such as these roll out all the time, so does this put the power to create monetizable content in consumers hands or is content creation and monetization better left to the pros? We might have to wait and see but it sure makes for an interesting media landscape...
I'm just about to hop on a plane to Las Vegas for a fun night at the Academy of Country Music Awards...
Tonight, we are guests of the Award Show Producers, Dick Clark Productions (http://www.dickclarkproductions.com/) but as I Google ACMAs, as many call it, I am reminded of how overcrowded the online world has become. Especially if you are searching using acronyms...
So even if you have a big show airing on CBS, an event hosted at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and lots of online social media centered around the event, a search by acronym will still get you: American Composite Manufactures Association, American Case Management Association, etc. As fun as those sound, I think I'll pass. However, I am impressed with these organziations SEO strategy.
So after refining my search by specific words, I come across all sorts of media, blogs and social Media describing what to expect, what what to wear. where I'm going, who will be there, etc. So here's the power of social community and networking at play. Before I even head out the door and board a plane, I contact a few friends in my own Social Networks who might be there tonight and I'm finally ready to leave all the Tweeting and online platforms behind for others to enjoy throughout the day.
ACMAs as covered by the LA Times and CBS:
LA Times Blog and some media, so : http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/04/acm-awards-what-to-watch-for.html
Recently, I was asked or pushed and prodded ;-) to start a blog, so I decided to take a break from writing a Social Media business proposal that is due tomorrow and write my first blog. It's been a long day, so bare with me - now how's that for engaging the reader with compelling prose.
In case you couldn't tell, this is probably the last thing I want to do right now. The funniest part is I was a paid screenwriter in the past and somehow looking at a blank page then was less daunting then writing a small blog. I'm beginning to think I should make a video blog that automatically converts to text - now that would be a nice social media tool I would use.
The good part about this assignment is that it helps take me away from writing business proposals that include all the virtues and strengths of Social Networking, Social media, Video, Video Uploads, Sharing, and a host of other functions that our company delivers so well day in and day out. Actually, that's probably what I'm suppose to be Blogging about.
So enough complaining - I think we all need to be reminded that great things can happen out of activities that we least want to do...
You can get healthy by going to the gym.
You can create a video, put it on a Social Media site and get immediate feedback or perhaps be an overnight success.
One story about doing something you don't want to do and finding success is when the musician, Sara Barielles thought her record label wanted her to write a love song and she reluctantly wrote and recorded one. The lyrics went something like this, I'm not going to write you a love song 'cause you asked for it, 'cause you need one, you see... Well, it turns out that reluctant song she created was her biggest hit called "Love Song" that went on to be 2x Platinum.
So I'm happy to finish doing something I didn't want to do and finally compleing my first Blog at midnight, as it just feels right. Here's a final thought from a man in the 1800's, "A man would do nothing, if he waited until he could do it so well that no one at all would find fault with what he has done." Cardinal Newman 1801-1890.
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