Showing posts with label tv. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tv. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 3
Twisted tales of Buffy meets Donnie
This is not a review, but some musings that I wrote down after watching Southland tales - definetly on my top ten mental movies list. But still a must see. In a way.
IMDB says people who liked it also liked Brazil and Bladerunner. Which makes a twisted kind of sense. My summary is simple;
Sunday, June 16
Think bad thoughts, it is worth it
Ending the weekend with a "live" post - more stream of consciousness than overly planned. The quotes were trimmed down a few days ago, so we'll see if it still makes sense now. More scheduled stuff coming in the next days, counting down towards zero in the backlog of drafts!
Started reading "Random Acts of Violence", about 1/3 of the way in, and it still is a bit unclear how to describe the book... it is sort of a typical "YA" diary, growing up story. But every few pages there are drops of something darker, more sinister in the background than just plain vanilla NYC.
But it none the less ties nicely into the post by C.S.Penn that initailly sparked the title;
Do we make the world we want? Or are we just flowing along in a comfort zone until it all breaks apart?
News and images coming in from Turkey over the last few weeks seem to enhance the "shit hits the fan" theory. Been there for vacation, and got more or less the same vibe as the majority of Mediterranean spots - secular, modern, a bit pushy and "fast and loose" with the stories.
Today the "official" protest is reported at a million in attendance... austerity in Greece, minor collaps in Cyprus and all out war in Syria. Now try sitting in the middle.
Typically US? Or spreading a little bit every day? We are heading into election season in Norway, a slow simmer during the summer then some crazy weeks in early autumn. So far it looks like a lot of "name calling" dressed up as "taking a stand". On both sides. Both the incumbent coalition, and the opposition trying to figure out what kind of constellation they might win with and live with.
How will the overall tone be?
Last election was local, and came not to long after 227. So it was strange and respectful at the same time. This time it is national, and the stakes are higher than in a long time.
8 years of rule that has in most ways kept us out of the Housing/Euro/austerity crisis rolling across Southern Europe and the US.
But how much would really change? In the largest city in southern Norway, the two main opposing parties ruled together last term - because they both had issues with their respective coalition partners. And the direct changes in the budget (ie above and beyond the running costs and long term agreements) is tiny.
So play nice, reward nice - and think about the choices you do make - be it of action or omission
The post How to starve trouble appeared first on Christopher S. Penn : Awaken Your Superhero - read it in full there!
Started reading "Random Acts of Violence", about 1/3 of the way in, and it still is a bit unclear how to describe the book... it is sort of a typical "YA" diary, growing up story. But every few pages there are drops of something darker, more sinister in the background than just plain vanilla NYC.
But it none the less ties nicely into the post by C.S.Penn that initailly sparked the title;
An odd metaphysical thought (re)occurred to me last night while reading some of the day’s news stories. Maybe a contributing reason to why it feels like we’re experiencing more trouble in the world is because we’re actively wishing for it. [src]
Do we make the world we want? Or are we just flowing along in a comfort zone until it all breaks apart?
News and images coming in from Turkey over the last few weeks seem to enhance the "shit hits the fan" theory. Been there for vacation, and got more or less the same vibe as the majority of Mediterranean spots - secular, modern, a bit pushy and "fast and loose" with the stories.
Today the "official" protest is reported at a million in attendance... austerity in Greece, minor collaps in Cyprus and all out war in Syria. Now try sitting in the middle.
Our politics are more about putting the other guy/gal/party/ideology down than they are promoting what we believe in, so much so that we define candidates by what they oppose instead of what they support. [ibid]
Typically US? Or spreading a little bit every day? We are heading into election season in Norway, a slow simmer during the summer then some crazy weeks in early autumn. So far it looks like a lot of "name calling" dressed up as "taking a stand". On both sides. Both the incumbent coalition, and the opposition trying to figure out what kind of constellation they might win with and live with.
How will the overall tone be?
Last election was local, and came not to long after 227. So it was strange and respectful at the same time. This time it is national, and the stakes are higher than in a long time.
8 years of rule that has in most ways kept us out of the Housing/Euro/austerity crisis rolling across Southern Europe and the US.
But how much would really change? In the largest city in southern Norway, the two main opposing parties ruled together last term - because they both had issues with their respective coalition partners. And the direct changes in the budget (ie above and beyond the running costs and long term agreements) is tiny.
If a company or organization does something good, does something constructive, then reward them with your business. Be especially vigilant about rewarding people of opposing viewpoints when they do something that’s good – recognize that even in your differences, we all share the same common hopes and dreams. [ibid]
So play nice, reward nice - and think about the choices you do make - be it of action or omission
The post How to starve trouble appeared first on Christopher S. Penn : Awaken Your Superhero - read it in full there!
Monday, May 13
Online, now, last month or next year
"Banksy - kongen av gatekunst" aka Exit Through the Giftshop was shown on Norwegian public broadcast last fall. And that also meant that their (excellent) NRK TV site had it - but it was only online until November 3rd 2012.
Sure, it might just be out there in some form or other - but for using the subtitles and doing it right, NRK had to take it back down, or pay a lot more (speculation / assumption - they licenced it for one or two runs at off peak times on a small niche channel, and got x days of online as well)
Does that mean it will sell a lot of dvd copies here now, since the streaming is gone? Or will it remain more or less ignored in favor of Idol and Eurovison?
Since NRK doesn't do commercials, it makes sense to have it limited - and then hopefully get some cents on the dollar from YouTube ads or Netflix streaming. (They even had an ad for free trial - adwords for the win?)
But this isn't about a docu/mocu-mentary like Banksy, but about the global vs local distribution and licensing issues. Because when Facebook launches or test a new feature it is instantly worldwide, same for (most) apps in the assorted Appstores. Youtube same thing, no waiting for a localized Gangam Style, watch it right now now now. And once more. House of Cards blasted onto the scene as a worldwide event, for the tribes it targeted at least.
But still movies and regular shows have a lead and lag type cycle, selling and repackaging based on the initial viewership (mainly US).
It is all about the licensing.
 |
| ...via image search - is a screenshot fair use when it is also art? |
Does that mean it will sell a lot of dvd copies here now, since the streaming is gone? Or will it remain more or less ignored in favor of Idol and Eurovison?
Since NRK doesn't do commercials, it makes sense to have it limited - and then hopefully get some cents on the dollar from YouTube ads or Netflix streaming. (They even had an ad for free trial - adwords for the win?)
But this isn't about a docu/mocu-mentary like Banksy, but about the global vs local distribution and licensing issues. Because when Facebook launches or test a new feature it is instantly worldwide, same for (most) apps in the assorted Appstores. Youtube same thing, no waiting for a localized Gangam Style, watch it right now now now. And once more. House of Cards blasted onto the scene as a worldwide event, for the tribes it targeted at least.
But still movies and regular shows have a lead and lag type cycle, selling and repackaging based on the initial viewership (mainly US).
Will this be what really kills TV?
A lack of flow or structures for moving the smaller things globally, in the same manner that the Olympics manage? Imagine having to wait a day or three to see the 100m sprint from London 2012 - and yes, I know that some US channels actually time-shifted a few events and tried to do spoiler free news...
Thursday, May 28
Immature subset
"In the last week I've gotten ads that range from 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 41 seconds and 60 seconds. What is going on?"
- Streaming Media post [track]
there seems to be little doubt that online video or web-tv as both a narrative medium and as a commercial vehicle is immature. Being on the 'forefront' of online, which is itself still a bit underdeveloped in terms of sustainable monetization.
But is the length of an ad really the main point going forward? On tv you can get 15 as well as the more standard 30 second spots, but you can buy longer blocks and keep the story rolling. Or you can get a burst-ad (several small spots of a few seconds each combine to tell a larger story).
Isn't the real challenge finding a better way to match ads, content and viewers? The holy grail of behavioral and predictive matching, how the web was/is (???) supposed to move beyond billboards (aka banner-ads on mainstream sites) and into the land of quality - thereby breaking the old adage about half of ads being wasted.
Search ads have been one step in the direction, with Ad words also potentially stepping forward. But with so many advertisers and so many "non essential" or "non engaging" products, how can you keep the dream alive?
Detergent ads after surfing for several hours straight? Or only if you don't visit online ordering for pizza delivery?
Some good thoughts and questions in Six Pixels - both a blog post (Display Advertising And Search Are Connected At The Hip ) and the 'breakfast talk' with mr analytics (SPOS #152 - Orgasmic Digital Marketing Avinash Kaushik )
Things will change. Radically. But it will take time.
Do you want to make it change?
Or hope to get by until retirement or similar before it does?
- Streaming Media post [track]
there seems to be little doubt that online video or web-tv as both a narrative medium and as a commercial vehicle is immature. Being on the 'forefront' of online, which is itself still a bit underdeveloped in terms of sustainable monetization.
But is the length of an ad really the main point going forward? On tv you can get 15 as well as the more standard 30 second spots, but you can buy longer blocks and keep the story rolling. Or you can get a burst-ad (several small spots of a few seconds each combine to tell a larger story).
Isn't the real challenge finding a better way to match ads, content and viewers? The holy grail of behavioral and predictive matching, how the web was/is (???) supposed to move beyond billboards (aka banner-ads on mainstream sites) and into the land of quality - thereby breaking the old adage about half of ads being wasted.
Search ads have been one step in the direction, with Ad words also potentially stepping forward. But with so many advertisers and so many "non essential" or "non engaging" products, how can you keep the dream alive?
Detergent ads after surfing for several hours straight? Or only if you don't visit online ordering for pizza delivery?
Some good thoughts and questions in Six Pixels - both a blog post (Display Advertising And Search Are Connected At The Hip ) and the 'breakfast talk' with mr analytics (SPOS #152 - Orgasmic Digital Marketing Avinash Kaushik )
Things will change. Radically. But it will take time.
Do you want to make it change?
Or hope to get by until retirement or similar before it does?
Monday, January 12
Memix - remix
YouTube: "Memix" a fun remix/mashup of the interview between Colbert and Lessig, "set to a dance beat" [first vid via gisleh on twitter]
Love the focus and twist to "memix" - how I add value by doing something more. Really in character while at the same time making a great point. It's not about distribution, but about creativity and the chance to express something based on the things around you.
Strangely now meme or wikipedia article on the term yet.
...and the sun ran away from the rain of winter today ...
Love the focus and twist to "memix" - how I add value by doing something more. Really in character while at the same time making a great point. It's not about distribution, but about creativity and the chance to express something based on the things around you.
Strangely now meme or wikipedia article on the term yet.
...and the sun ran away from the rain of winter today ...
Monday, December 29
Try THIS One
If You Liked That Video, Try THIS One: "Amazon and Netflix work well because their sites attract large audiences" [AdAge]
No, not the sites as such - but the recommendation engines, the algorithms matching preferences, interest and behavior over time to increase the "findability" in huge libraries of offerings.
And that is the challenge for a lot of the numerous web tv players - not big enough scale to give meaningful recommendations. Even Amazon can tend to get stuck in a track, making it hard to change the direction of the offerings "mistream" with out either manually ignoring a large chunk or just using the "similar" reccomendations from one nugget.
Maybe you should have different profiles and tracking for differnet moods, or uses? One for light comedy relaxing after work, another for meaningful insights before bed - and a third for mutually acceptable weekend fare.
No, not the sites as such - but the recommendation engines, the algorithms matching preferences, interest and behavior over time to increase the "findability" in huge libraries of offerings.
And that is the challenge for a lot of the numerous web tv players - not big enough scale to give meaningful recommendations. Even Amazon can tend to get stuck in a track, making it hard to change the direction of the offerings "mistream" with out either manually ignoring a large chunk or just using the "similar" reccomendations from one nugget.
Maybe you should have different profiles and tracking for differnet moods, or uses? One for light comedy relaxing after work, another for meaningful insights before bed - and a third for mutually acceptable weekend fare.
Bandwidth meltdown?
BBC Ditches Kontiki P2P: "Because its P2P technology simply wasn’t needed anymore."“[O]ver the past year the cost of bandwidth has decreased by 90 percent, making direct HTTP downloads a viable alternative" [NewTeeVee]
- shame the same can't be said for end-user prices, despite financial markets taking a dive and gas prices jumping all over the map, the cost for home connections have stayed stable here at least.
- shame the same can't be said for end-user prices, despite financial markets taking a dive and gas prices jumping all over the map, the cost for home connections have stayed stable here at least.
Friday, December 19
News or media?
"Mark Glaser, of PBS's MediaShift... offering up alternative business models" [SFN blog]
"mixing business models for journalism with business models for newspapers" - from the comments on the 'guide'
It is a (by web standards) interesting and broad piece - but I agree with some of the commenters; Glaser is mixing it all up and could do with a bit more structure and defining some terms.
Most magazines offer some sort of "journalistic content" - but the form and process differ across titles and genres (compare a games magazine to a fashion title, and then with a journal like Nature)
Many (most?) television channels offer only a small share of news - and even for those that do it makes up a small percentage of total time spent viewing. And yet some of the core tenets of objectivity and presenting a story are well taken care of on channels like Discovery and National Geo. (Mythbusters rather than American Chopper - but even the latter serves as a human interest story and presents both details on the production as well as the cause of the bike in question)
Turning back to Glaser - blogs and video are tools for spreading online content, not a business model as such, but a vital part of any broader or more niche offering. Hyperlocal and niches are targets or user needs - but still need to be supported by revenues.
That narrows down the list to subscription (walled garden), classified (ie business and private ads), philantrophy (crowdfunding, nonprofit) - with the last one being the only "alternative" to the two most common for newspapers today, but still as well known media solution in terms of NPR, PBS etc.
Does that make the piece thin? No, because the main conclusion is delivered up front before the different models - and it is one with which I for one wholeheartedly agree with;
"a successful online newspaper will need a mix of many different revenue streams to survive in the digital age" - Glaser
...and the sun turned around today - heading towards summer as of a little past noon local time...
...and yes - I intentionnaly did not define the terms or link extensively to wikipedia and so on - as this is a short musing and not a "guide" :)
"mixing business models for journalism with business models for newspapers" - from the comments on the 'guide'
It is a (by web standards) interesting and broad piece - but I agree with some of the commenters; Glaser is mixing it all up and could do with a bit more structure and defining some terms.
Journalism, publishing and media - are they entwined, and do the need to be?
Looking across from newspapers into print in general, television and online services - the answer is a partial yes, and clearly no.Most magazines offer some sort of "journalistic content" - but the form and process differ across titles and genres (compare a games magazine to a fashion title, and then with a journal like Nature)
Many (most?) television channels offer only a small share of news - and even for those that do it makes up a small percentage of total time spent viewing. And yet some of the core tenets of objectivity and presenting a story are well taken care of on channels like Discovery and National Geo. (Mythbusters rather than American Chopper - but even the latter serves as a human interest story and presents both details on the production as well as the cause of the bike in question)
Turning back to Glaser - blogs and video are tools for spreading online content, not a business model as such, but a vital part of any broader or more niche offering. Hyperlocal and niches are targets or user needs - but still need to be supported by revenues.
That narrows down the list to subscription (walled garden), classified (ie business and private ads), philantrophy (crowdfunding, nonprofit) - with the last one being the only "alternative" to the two most common for newspapers today, but still as well known media solution in terms of NPR, PBS etc.
Does that make the piece thin? No, because the main conclusion is delivered up front before the different models - and it is one with which I for one wholeheartedly agree with;
"a successful online newspaper will need a mix of many different revenue streams to survive in the digital age" - Glaser
...and the sun turned around today - heading towards summer as of a little past noon local time...
...and yes - I intentionnaly did not define the terms or link extensively to wikipedia and so on - as this is a short musing and not a "guide" :)
Monday, December 15
Hey hoo hulu
Hulu came in sixth with 24.0 million unique viewers,... considering the duration of the average online video was three minutes, and its average was 11.6 minutes instead. [comScore stats]
Thursday, December 4
Ads work
And so does free stuff. Along with some other stuff for xmas I put in an order for season 1 of Dexter today- two things that helped push it into my basket were the ad in Wired (800px wallpaper), styled up just like a Wired cover and a co-worker using another image as a wallpaper at work. Combined with the weekly ads for the previous season running on local television it was just enough to consider it. With a full season on dvd at less than $30 it makes for a good supplemental 'gift' for the season ahead.
The other item from 16.10 worth a note was a quote by Zucker from Hulu; "the best way to combat piracy is to make your content available". Not too far off from the NRKbeta doctrine and good words to take to mind in turbulent times
The other item from 16.10 worth a note was a quote by Zucker from Hulu; "the best way to combat piracy is to make your content available". Not too far off from the NRKbeta doctrine and good words to take to mind in turbulent times
Wednesday, December 3
wORD - open
Via NRKBeta; a short post from Make - links on to the interesting thing - the base .fla file used for making the video. Have to download it again tomorrow and have a quick peak at work, see if we can't get something up and make a plug out of it. [like this...]
(and the Guild s2e2 is out - 'buff me' :D)
(and the Guild s2e2 is out - 'buff me' :D)
Monday, December 1
Bit by little bit
What is next and now in terms of streaming video? The Adobe Media Player looked really neat when it arrived, playing up CSI episodes full screen even over here in Norway. But now it seems to be a bit quiet on that side of the aisle.
Several companies are working on changing the underlying logic, much like bittorrent did for distirbution of files. Here are some notes and thoughts on tow of them - BitGravity and Move Networks.
Bitgravity caught my notice due to a nifty "multiview" experiment one of their people put up, and I think it was CC who tweeted it.
They got a bit of funding back in august (2.5m)- and uses a flash interface making them at home on most computers;
"challenged conventional methods for delivering content" - "automatically detects end-user bandwidth quality ... adjusts the stream’s bitrate to optimize it for the user" - sure sounds nice and comfortable.
Move on the other hand got their hands on quite a bit of funding this spring (46m), they have a solid roster og clients ( ABC, FOX, ESPN, the CW, and Discovery.) - but have been based around a dedicated player.
However, there was talk of the solution becoming a part of Silverlight (v2 most likely?) - and MS also put up some cash. But little readily available info on what has happened since march. A good sign that they are doing a solid job, or another case of times moving on?
With MS partnering with Akamai; "Smooth Streaming (SmoothHD.com) from our partner Akamai. Smooth Streaming will be available in a public beta in Q1 2009. " - and that ties into the Open Player initiative.
...and the sun, oh the sun...
Several companies are working on changing the underlying logic, much like bittorrent did for distirbution of files. Here are some notes and thoughts on tow of them - BitGravity and Move Networks.
Bitgravity caught my notice due to a nifty "multiview" experiment one of their people put up, and I think it was CC who tweeted it.
They got a bit of funding back in august (2.5m)- and uses a flash interface making them at home on most computers;
"challenged conventional methods for delivering content" - "automatically detects end-user bandwidth quality ... adjusts the stream’s bitrate to optimize it for the user" - sure sounds nice and comfortable.
Move on the other hand got their hands on quite a bit of funding this spring (46m), they have a solid roster og clients ( ABC, FOX, ESPN, the CW, and Discovery.) - but have been based around a dedicated player.
However, there was talk of the solution becoming a part of Silverlight (v2 most likely?) - and MS also put up some cash. But little readily available info on what has happened since march. A good sign that they are doing a solid job, or another case of times moving on?
With MS partnering with Akamai; "Smooth Streaming (SmoothHD.com) from our partner Akamai. Smooth Streaming will be available in a public beta in Q1 2009. " - and that ties into the Open Player initiative.
...and the sun, oh the sun...
Tuesday, November 11
Engage me
Chevron had some interesting ads in Wired a while back, and after hunting around a bit on their site I found what I was looking for; Energyville. It is a game/simulation developed along with the Economist- where you set up the mix of power supplies for a major city, seeing how it affects economic, environmental and security levels. Then some random events occur to affect your current situation, and you get to refine your choices for the next time period.
Captivating and informative at the same time. Good fun and a great example of using the net to extend information (and in this case a wee bit marketing) by "simply" adding interactivity and a bit of randomness
And on the topic of engagement - apparently Two and a Half Men is "it" right now. NewTeeVee had a piece on comparing viewership with online engagement ( reading, rating, sharing, linking and inviting). The show stacked up an average score of 9.5 interactions per viewer - while House got some 3.3 interactions and the most viewed, Greys A., got a rather modest .74
So does it give any good indications of the loyalty of either group of viewers?
Perhaps not as a one of (single week comparison), but given some time and comparable data it could be a nice addition to the toolbox (and perhaps the option of adjusting the scores for various activities on the fly - reading might be a better goal for a news show, while sharing could be key for a new show getting started - could even predict future viewership potential and be correlated)
...and the sun is long gone - it is getting close to 11, on the 11th day of the 11th month...
Captivating and informative at the same time. Good fun and a great example of using the net to extend information (and in this case a wee bit marketing) by "simply" adding interactivity and a bit of randomness
And on the topic of engagement - apparently Two and a Half Men is "it" right now. NewTeeVee had a piece on comparing viewership with online engagement ( reading, rating, sharing, linking and inviting). The show stacked up an average score of 9.5 interactions per viewer - while House got some 3.3 interactions and the most viewed, Greys A., got a rather modest .74
So does it give any good indications of the loyalty of either group of viewers?
Perhaps not as a one of (single week comparison), but given some time and comparable data it could be a nice addition to the toolbox (and perhaps the option of adjusting the scores for various activities on the fly - reading might be a better goal for a news show, while sharing could be key for a new show getting started - could even predict future viewership potential and be correlated)
...and the sun is long gone - it is getting close to 11, on the 11th day of the 11th month...
Tuesday, October 21
Want to watch with me?
So, what does YouTube lack? How can online video take it to the next level?
According to some - it is all about UsTube, connecting viewers they way the family and neighbours used to gather around the tv set.
"Laughter is social, and that’s important to consider as watching online video ... can be a pretty isolating experience" - from a story on CBS and their new social solution
"pre-populated and active fan communities ... each have nearly a million members spread over five different social network platforms: Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Friendster, and hi5" - ABC branching onwards
So - both building new solutions and hooking up across existing avenues seem like valid paths. And that is probably one of the key messages going forward - with Hulu driving the point home every day - it is not about locking up the farm, but about making it easy to spend more time and get even more engaded. In a world of too much to count, abundant choices and offerings across channels, plattforms and media - it makes a lot more sense to take a handfull viewers here and a score minutes there...
(always assuming it makes economic sense to play on the field at all)
...and the sun hides a bit too well behind the rainy clouds...
According to some - it is all about UsTube, connecting viewers they way the family and neighbours used to gather around the tv set.
"Laughter is social, and that’s important to consider as watching online video ... can be a pretty isolating experience" - from a story on CBS and their new social solution
"pre-populated and active fan communities ... each have nearly a million members spread over five different social network platforms: Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Friendster, and hi5" - ABC branching onwards
So - both building new solutions and hooking up across existing avenues seem like valid paths. And that is probably one of the key messages going forward - with Hulu driving the point home every day - it is not about locking up the farm, but about making it easy to spend more time and get even more engaded. In a world of too much to count, abundant choices and offerings across channels, plattforms and media - it makes a lot more sense to take a handfull viewers here and a score minutes there...
(always assuming it makes economic sense to play on the field at all)
...and the sun hides a bit too well behind the rainy clouds...
Monday, September 22
What me video?
Market Overview For Video Transcoding Services; "content owners continue to need more services than just pushing bits across a network" - not a full overview, but some directions and a good slide by RipCode (linked image) - and as on most post by Dan R. some good comments
Tuesday, July 8
So - now what?
Three small clippings to start off the summer season - and then some reflections on short term and long term implications of online transaprency, business models and actual insights
"it’s important to recognize that a lot of advertising numbers have historically been crap, with pricing based on promises of “reach” and other fuzzy math extrapolated from circulation numbers and Nielsen ratings.
Advertising will find its place in new media, but it may be a necessarily smaller chunk of its former self because accountability will only continue to improve online." (NewTeeVee)
"Marketers need to start thinking about how we do business and how, in a world where reproduction, distribution and categorization is becoming ubiquitous, where we're going to add value and differentiate" (Twist Image)
"long-term thinking entails the confluence of the linear and the exponential. ... Balancing that point where the linear crosses the exponential is what long-term thinking should be about"(Kevin Kelly)
So - media as we know it (newspapers and television, radio and online) mainly relies on ads to support the business. And as it has been stated and quoted a lot over the years, a lot of it is hit and miss (or miss, miss, miss and maybe hit). You have no good way of actually knowing if someone sees your ad, if the react to it or if it is something else that makes them pick up your cereal in the grocery store the next week.
Which is why a lot of ads are more focused on "branding" than actual purchasing. But with online ads the metrics are (almost) all there. Do the click through, sign up, engage or even buy? You can measure it, compare and contrast on the spot. Run six different ads on the same site - and then scrap the bottom four performers the same night.
And as that kind of information, insight and understanding spreads - how much mass advertising is really needed to help support the sales of product X? Only the 50% that isn't wasted right now? Or perhaps only 20% because the message is even better suited to the audience.
Then the big question and the long term view becomes; will it be sustainable - and for whom?
YouTube is filled with "professional" content - but also with a huge amount of user generated "free content". Made by the users for the users. Ditto for most of the newsgroups and forums out there. With 24hr news channels and talk radio producing more content in a day than you can consume in a month or year - is the glut of content needed? Will we be able to achieve a balance, with some professional content (or sorting, or prioritizing) being valueable enough to attract ads?
Or is it the HBO and NPR models that will win out? Subscriptions and donations - since the time to sift is more valuable than the cost of getting the content? Convenience or lazyness. How often do you go around actively looking for new blogs, podcasts or websites? Or do you wait until someone somehow reccomends them? When you hear a promo or see a link in a post?
Consumption often trumps discovery in terms of time - but there is also hoarding or gathering, chances are that quite a bit of p2p content is never consumed. Becuase it is easier to pull it down and think that someday I'll want to watch four seasons of it. When in fact it is all to easy to just turn on the tv and surf the channels for 20 minutes rather than starting that first season.
Yes, no, both, neither? One thing is for sure. Media consumption is changing rapidly, while advertising is (still) changing relatively slowly. So - when do we reach the intersection?
"it’s important to recognize that a lot of advertising numbers have historically been crap, with pricing based on promises of “reach” and other fuzzy math extrapolated from circulation numbers and Nielsen ratings.
Advertising will find its place in new media, but it may be a necessarily smaller chunk of its former self because accountability will only continue to improve online." (NewTeeVee)
"Marketers need to start thinking about how we do business and how, in a world where reproduction, distribution and categorization is becoming ubiquitous, where we're going to add value and differentiate" (Twist Image)
"long-term thinking entails the confluence of the linear and the exponential. ... Balancing that point where the linear crosses the exponential is what long-term thinking should be about"(Kevin Kelly)
So - media as we know it (newspapers and television, radio and online) mainly relies on ads to support the business. And as it has been stated and quoted a lot over the years, a lot of it is hit and miss (or miss, miss, miss and maybe hit). You have no good way of actually knowing if someone sees your ad, if the react to it or if it is something else that makes them pick up your cereal in the grocery store the next week.
Which is why a lot of ads are more focused on "branding" than actual purchasing. But with online ads the metrics are (almost) all there. Do the click through, sign up, engage or even buy? You can measure it, compare and contrast on the spot. Run six different ads on the same site - and then scrap the bottom four performers the same night.
And as that kind of information, insight and understanding spreads - how much mass advertising is really needed to help support the sales of product X? Only the 50% that isn't wasted right now? Or perhaps only 20% because the message is even better suited to the audience.
Then the big question and the long term view becomes; will it be sustainable - and for whom?
YouTube is filled with "professional" content - but also with a huge amount of user generated "free content". Made by the users for the users. Ditto for most of the newsgroups and forums out there. With 24hr news channels and talk radio producing more content in a day than you can consume in a month or year - is the glut of content needed? Will we be able to achieve a balance, with some professional content (or sorting, or prioritizing) being valueable enough to attract ads?
Or is it the HBO and NPR models that will win out? Subscriptions and donations - since the time to sift is more valuable than the cost of getting the content? Convenience or lazyness. How often do you go around actively looking for new blogs, podcasts or websites? Or do you wait until someone somehow reccomends them? When you hear a promo or see a link in a post?
Consumption often trumps discovery in terms of time - but there is also hoarding or gathering, chances are that quite a bit of p2p content is never consumed. Becuase it is easier to pull it down and think that someday I'll want to watch four seasons of it. When in fact it is all to easy to just turn on the tv and surf the channels for 20 minutes rather than starting that first season.
Yes, no, both, neither? One thing is for sure. Media consumption is changing rapidly, while advertising is (still) changing relatively slowly. So - when do we reach the intersection?
Wednesday, March 26
Be all you can
so true, and so simple - don't work against your audience, work for it and with it!
"The NRKbeta doctrine":
"The NRKbeta doctrine":
[NRK beta is the play/think site for the national broadcaster here in Norway]The only way to control your content is to be the best provider of it.
Friday, February 15
Video for niches
"the heaviest viewers (top 20 percent of viewers) averaged 841 minutes of online viewing per month, while moderate viewers (next 30 percent) averaged 77 minutes" - according to ComScore, as covered by NewTeeVee.
That is quite a dramatic difference, and does but a lot of other metrics in a new light - be it total number of streams or share of users playing video. It will be interesting to see if they keep publishing this kind of detailed breakdown or simply revert to the average and total numbers again.
Also, the pressrelase list some (for me at least) new sites that are apparently a big draw in the 'heavy' crowd - might be worth a look (not linking since I haven't seen the sites or their brand of content/ads yet):
That is quite a dramatic difference, and does but a lot of other metrics in a new light - be it total number of streams or share of users playing video. It will be interesting to see if they keep publishing this kind of detailed breakdown or simply revert to the average and total numbers again.
Also, the pressrelase list some (for me at least) new sites that are apparently a big draw in the 'heavy' crowd - might be worth a look (not linking since I haven't seen the sites or their brand of content/ads yet):
- Ouou.com
- MegaVideo.com
- Youku.com
- zSHARE
- Tudou.com
Friday, February 8
Did YOU watch it?
Delving into the numbers today, first off a piece on NewTeeVee on the "season" concept applied to web based series.
Regarding Quarterlife: "it seems to consistently pull in around 100,000 viewers per episode on MySpace"
The once so dominant LonelyGirl is also living up to the name, with viewership for the second season (on Youtube) of around 100k - sans one episode of 4 million plays, called "girl tied up"
Compare that to the new Yahoo Live with ~2600 concurrent users. Or perhaps to the Superbowl - with over 90 million viewers (link via C3 post)
Web-tv and video online? Great idea, superb for niche content and quick supplements to news stories. But still a ways to go before becoming a consistent distribution channel for new'ish content and ideas
...and the sun is shaded by the fog...
Monday, December 31
Holiday stories - assorted notes
First off it was really interesting to have a look at the total Scandinavian sales for the X360, PS3 and Wii from Video Game Chartz - very similar starting curves, up to around 10k, despite vastly different settings and price points. Then for the last few weeks it is easy to see the combined effects of pre-xmas sales push, new versions and increased availability. With 350k units the X360 has a good lead, but the Wii has passed 300k and the PS3 is actually up to 200k (due in large part to the new cheaper version sans PS2 compatibility - not that big an issue since a lot of homes have one already, estimated total sales of 3m units, compared to some 600k for the original XBox)
The site was part of an article on the Wii and StumbleUpon for viewing videos easily - which could be another roadblock for paid IP services, be it TV or VOD. Which might help explain part of the reasoning behind MS latest re-org on their assorted TV/media/video services, which has apparently been an unknown fact for close to two months. Almost an feat in and of itself in this digital age. Or perhaps mostly an indication of the role of Microsoft in the TV related world?
And then, speaking of knowledge of the World - and all the strange things in it, a Pew report on knowledge of current affairs got some coverage over at RI; " Building the News Habit in the Digital Age" - with Daily Show and Colbert Report out-pacing the national average by 20%-points in getting a "high" level (15 or more of 23 correct). So, either they are up to speed before they watch, or laughter helps with fixing facts. You figure it out!
On that note (most likely); here's to a bright new 2008 and another set of irregular posts!
...and the sun is nice today, time to get out and enjoy it right now...
The site was part of an article on the Wii and StumbleUpon for viewing videos easily - which could be another roadblock for paid IP services, be it TV or VOD. Which might help explain part of the reasoning behind MS latest re-org on their assorted TV/media/video services, which has apparently been an unknown fact for close to two months. Almost an feat in and of itself in this digital age. Or perhaps mostly an indication of the role of Microsoft in the TV related world?
And then, speaking of knowledge of the World - and all the strange things in it, a Pew report on knowledge of current affairs got some coverage over at RI; " Building the News Habit in the Digital Age" - with Daily Show and Colbert Report out-pacing the national average by 20%-points in getting a "high" level (15 or more of 23 correct). So, either they are up to speed before they watch, or laughter helps with fixing facts. You figure it out!
On that note (most likely); here's to a bright new 2008 and another set of irregular posts!
...and the sun is nice today, time to get out and enjoy it right now...
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