http://digbits.posterous.com Digital Bits by Christian Busch posterous.com Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:46:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/-g8xstE2evY/pinterest-is-growing-like-a-weed-and-people-a http://digbits.posterous.com/pinterest-is-growing-like-a-weed-and-people-a <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="" src="http://info.rjmetrics.com/Portals/17916/images/monthly_cohort.jpg" /> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://info.rjmetrics.com/blog/bid/52877/Pinterest-Data-Analysis-An-Inside-Look">info.rjmetrics.com</a></div> <p>Geek-alert: this article is pretty quant but heavenly for math/ marketing geeks. Pinterest is truly on fire and it's not losing steam/ attention. Very sticky, Twitter - watch out!</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/pinterest-is-growing-like-a-weed-and-people-a">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/pinterest-is-growing-like-a-weed-and-people-a#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/-g8xstE2evY" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/pinterest-is-growing-like-a-weed-and-people-a Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:56:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/hxs-lzo4X_U/content-commerce-conversion-fab-goes-from-zer http://digbits.posterous.com/content-commerce-conversion-fab-goes-from-zer <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote> <div> <p><a href="http://pandodaily.com/2012/02/08/fab-isnt-an-ecommerce-company-its-a-content-company-with-sales/384142_10151069360325298_709545297_22768637_1974841830_n/" rel="attachment wp-att-3296"><img title="384142_10151069360325298_709545297_22768637_1974841830_n" src="http://pandodaily.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/384142_10151069360325298_709545297_22768637_1974841830_n.jpg?w=300&amp;h=197" height="197" alt="" width="300" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.fab.com">Fab&rsquo;s</a> insanely rapid ascension to popularity is fast even for these heady days of social commerce. It took Gilt two years to get to one million users, ditto One King&rsquo;s Lane. Fab got to two million users in just seven months, adding 450,000 people in just the last thirty days. The site expects to do more than $100 million in revenues this year.</p> <p>The rise was so quick that I&rsquo;d barely heard of them when I went on maternity leave, and when I came back to work it was all anyone was talking about.</p> <p>How did it blow up so fast? One theory is that social commerce is such a known category that users are hungry for more and more verticals. Another is that the mix of products is simply better than what competitors offer.</p> <p>My take is that Fab didn&rsquo;t scale like an ecommerce company,&nbsp;<em>because it isn&rsquo;t one</em>. Sure, ecommerce is how they make money, but what drives the love for Fab is the content. Co-founders Jason Goldberg and Bradford Shellhammer are essentially magazine editors masquerading as etailers. Day-after-day, they are designing a gorgeous, aspirational life for you one item at a time. From the $5 wine cozy to the several thousand dollar Swarovski-crystal-encrusted animal head. And it&rsquo;s a fabulous life millions of consumers want.</p> <p>What&rsquo;s more: This is a company no one in the Valley would have built. I had lunch with the co-founders Monday, and as they described their business I was struck by just how un-Valley the approach was. There&rsquo;s no real brick-and-mortar analog for what they are building, and no quantifiable data set to determine the objects they pick. They simply look for beauty and color and style.</p> <p>They drive the selection based more on emotion than data. They refused to make any decisions around what sold well for the first three months of the business, trusting their guts that if they love what they&rsquo;re selecting, shoppers&ndash; or &ldquo;readers&rdquo;&ndash; will too. That isn&rsquo;t an etailer. That&rsquo;s Anna Wintour. &ldquo;We needed to just let it develop,&rdquo; says Goldberg. &ldquo;We wanted people to look forward to opening the email and reading the site, no matter what they bought.&rdquo;</p> <p>Added Shellhammer, &ldquo;We do what a good editor does. We take stuff and put it together in a way that creates something new.&rdquo; They&rsquo;re selling a lifestyle that cuts across categories.</p> <p>The difference was pronounced in a recent meeting Goldberg had with a Valley-based recruit for a technical position. Within in ten minutes of the interview the two were fighting. Goldberg asked what he&rsquo;d do with the Fab homepage, and the recruit gave the usual spiel about A/B testing the layout to see which products made people click more, and how the data said they should be laid out on the page. He called the product placements on the front page &ldquo;ads,&rdquo; and Goldberg balked. They aren&rsquo;t ads, he said, they&rsquo;re editorial. &ldquo;We aren&rsquo;t <em>trying</em> to make people buy certain things, we want to guide them through a story,&rdquo; he says.</p> <p>The approach is clearly resonating. One million of Fab&rsquo;s users came through social media referrals. That&rsquo;s a lot of people excited about throw-pillows. And customers are getting more rabid: Up until January the single biggest traffic driver was emails, but last month that switched to more people coming directly to the site. It was a sign to Goldberg that people couldn&rsquo;t wait for their emails to see what the daily finds were.</p> <p>As Shervin Pishevar of Menlo Ventures said when he first met with them about investing: &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve proven taste can be a differentiator.&rdquo; At the time they hadn&rsquo;t launched, but already had 170,000 sign ups, based mostly on photos of Shellhammer&rsquo;s apartment on the landing page.</p> <p>Of course there&rsquo;s a huge downside to this approach: Media companies are only as valuable as that core talent. Remember when Martha Stewart went to jail? Not a pretty time for her company or its investors. And even the massive star power of Oprah hasn&rsquo;t been enough to buoy up a whole network so far. I asked the two how they planned to mitigate the reliance on them, and Goldberg didn&rsquo;t try to sidestep the issue. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re unabashedly saying its reliant on us, the question is how does it scale?&rdquo; He&rsquo;s betting on a shared aesthetic among the staff and increasingly user-curated designs.</p> <p>And really, when he says &ldquo;their&rdquo; aesthetic, he means Shellhammer. Shellhammer still approves every single item sold on the site. I asked what his house looked like and he said, &ldquo;<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAocSBK3tF4">You can see it</a>. It&rsquo;s been <a href="http://juanitamore.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/bradford-shellhammer-eats-out/">photographed</a> quite a bit.&rdquo; Said Goldberg, &ldquo;My job is to run a business around Bradford&rsquo;s taste and sensibility.&rdquo; Shellhammer pretty much has the dream job&ndash; going to work at a company built around who he is.</p> <p>That&rsquo;s almost exactly the same as how Martha Stewart built her media empire with one major difference: Fab&rsquo;s business model is so much better, thanks to the Web.</p> <p>In the magazine days, we had to look at an index for stores and prices. Lucky changed that dramatically by accepting that people are reading fashion magazines to look at stuff they want to buy, and putting prices and store information right in the editorial. But the Web makes it instantaneous. And the tablet is even better. People purchase four times as often when they are looking at Fab on a tablet than the Web, Goldberg says.</p> <p>It&rsquo;s the same reasons I was <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/16/why-does-jetsetter-stands-apart-from-the-group-buying-croud-it-solves-a-big-problem/">bullish</a> on Jetsetter early on. It&rsquo;s somewhere between a highly curated travel site and a travel magazine. It was one of the first ecommece sites I ever encountered that was a joy to &ldquo;read&rdquo; everyday, and their iPad app <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/08/jetsetters-new-ipad-app-is-even-dreamier/">took that up a notch</a>. And interestingly through Jetsetter&rsquo;s reviews and <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/03/revenge-of-the-travel-agent-jetsetter-announces-travel-planning-service-and-discounts-for-techcrunch-readers/">premium travel service</a>, the site is increasingly employing out-of-work travel writers throughout the world. Where is the distinction between Jetsetter and Conde Nast Traveler? It&rsquo;s increasingly blurred, except, of course, Jetsetter has a far better business model. I can <em>pay them</em> when I decide to take a trip they suggest, and pay their journalists for personalized recommendations.</p> <p>At an emotional level, it&rsquo;s the next step after Zappos. &ldquo;Reading&rdquo; Zappos was nothing like reading a magazine. It wasn&rsquo;t beautifully designed, or even very easily searchable. But by investing so heavily in customer service, Zappos continually delighted customers. It may not have delighted them the second they came to the site, but it delighted them around the point of sale and in the case of problems or returns. And that turned customers into evangelists.</p> <p>Ten years ago, the fear of ecommerce was that there was no stickiness on the Web. That people would flit between sites, far easier than they could walk out of a store, without loyalty looking for simply the vendor with the cheapest price. Zappos and Amazon proved that wrong by offering better customer service and ease-of-checkout. And now companies like Jetsetter and Fab are offering something more than price or ease. They are offering the <a href="http://pandodaily.com/2012/01/25/larry-pages-beautiful-new-google/">business buzz word of the year</a>: &ldquo;beauty.&rdquo;</p> <p>This trend is bad news for glossy lifestyle magazines, and don&rsquo;t think they don&rsquo;t see what Fab has built in their own backyard. It was hard enough for newspapers to compete with the speed, immediacy, low-cost and interactivity of blogs. But competing with the ecommerce, instant-gratification of these sites will be all but impossible for the Conde Nasts of the world.</p> <p>This is an exciting story, because it isn&rsquo;t the Valley reinventing the business of New York. This is New York reinventing New York.</p> <p><em>(Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and Shervin Pishevar are both <a href="http://pandodaily.com/2012/01/16/why-i-started-pandodaily/">investors</a> in PandoDaily.)</em></p> <div> <div> <h3>Share this:</h3> <div> <ul> <li> <p>&nbsp;</p> </li> <li> <p>&nbsp;</p> </li> <li> <p>&nbsp;</p> </li> <li> <div><span style="line-height: 1; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block; text-align: center;"><span style="text-indent: 0px !important; display: inline-block !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; font-size: 1px !important; padding: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important;"><span><a href="http://pandodaily.com/2012/02/08/fab-isnt-an-ecommerce-company-its-a-content-company-with-sales#"><span>in</span><span><span>&nbsp;</span><span>Share</span></span></a></span></span><span style="text-indent: 0px !important; display: inline-block !important; vertical-align: baseline !important; font-size: 1px !important; padding: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important;"><span><span><span><span>62</span></span></span></span></span></span></div> </li> <li><a href="http://pandodaily.com/2012/02/08/fab-isnt-an-ecommerce-company-its-a-content-company-with-sales/#print" title="Click to print" rel="nofollow"><span>Print</span></a></li> <li><a href="http://pandodaily.com/2012/02/08/fab-isnt-an-ecommerce-company-its-a-content-company-with-sales/?share=email&amp;nb=1" title="Click to email this to a friend" rel="nofollow"><span>Email</span></a></li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> </div> </div> <span> </span> <div> <div><a href="http://pandodaily.com/category/culture/"><img title="culture" src="http://pandodaily.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/culture.png?w=26&amp;h=25&amp;crop=1" height="25" alt="culture" width="26" /></a> <p><a href="http://pandodaily.com/category/culture/"></a></p> </div> <div><a href="http://pandodaily.com/category/people/"><img title="people" src="http://pandodaily.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/people2.png?w=26&amp;h=25&amp;crop=1" height="25" alt="people" width="26" /></a> <p><a href="http://pandodaily.com/category/people/"></a></p> </div> <div><a href="http://pandodaily.com/category/products/"><img title="products" src="http://pandodaily.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/products1.png?w=26&amp;h=25&amp;crop=1" height="25" alt="products" width="26" /></a> <p><a href="http://pandodaily.com/category/products/"></a></p> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://pandodaily.com/2012/02/08/fab-isnt-an-ecommerce-company-its-a-content-company-with-sales/">pandodaily.com</a></div> <p>Very insightful article about the growing convergence of magazines and e-commerce players; Fab is essentially a home decoration/ furniture magazine with lots of sponsored listings that happens to sell the actual products. Congrats to the team and more power to curation!</p> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/content-commerce-conversion-fab-goes-from-zer">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/content-commerce-conversion-fab-goes-from-zer#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/hxs-lzo4X_U" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/content-commerce-conversion-fab-goes-from-zer Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:35:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/eiCJ8Uxt4d4/huffpo-launches-an-online-streaming-channel-w http://digbits.posterous.com/huffpo-launches-an-online-streaming-channel-w <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/digbits/uaCixlujioHIzihyhdCdcBeuufpxhzyktHeDDCxyCuxBAdBrfDmGefzirIqv/media_httpwwwadweekco_EkJxk.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Media_httpwwwadweekco_ekjxk" height="281" src="http://getfile0.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/digbits/uaCixlujioHIzihyhdCdcBeuufpxhzyktHeDDCxyCuxBAdBrfDmGefzirIqv/media_httpwwwadweekco_EkJxk.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/huffpo-slips-stream-138002">adweek.com</a></div> <p>This is a bold move by AOL/ Huffington Post: launching a daily livecast of content on the web is costly and definitely unproven. Let's imagine they get 5% (optimistic) of their existing HuffPo readers to start watching this channel, we're only at 1-2MM monthly viewers, but those might be watching for 30 seconds at a time. I applaud the effort, curious to see the viewership/ results and appetite by sponsors to endorse lean-back in a lean-forward environment.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/huffpo-launches-an-online-streaming-channel-w">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/huffpo-launches-an-online-streaming-channel-w#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/eiCJ8Uxt4d4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/huffpo-launches-an-online-streaming-channel-w Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:30:25 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/RhhphEtct0A/superbowl-party http://digbits.posterous.com/superbowl-party <p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/digbits/dAIwgfJcHnigwIvesFCqojfGiiceFmymwzChzAABeEpcCpIjrAfbhyxjybru/media_https1i1picplzt_jgczB.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Media_https1i1picplzt_jgczb" height="375" src="http://getfile1.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/digbits/dAIwgfJcHnigwIvesFCqojfGiiceFmymwzChzAABeEpcCpIjrAfbhyxjybru/media_https1i1picplzt_jgczB.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <p /> Taken with <a href="http://picplz.com">picplz</a>. </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/superbowl-party">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/superbowl-party#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/RhhphEtct0A" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/superbowl-party Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:04:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/Kf-mEyJafJM/google-as-an-elegant-mashup-of-maps-places-an http://digbits.posterous.com/google-as-an-elegant-mashup-of-maps-places-an <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <p></p> In the half year since its launch, <a href="http://adage.com/article/digital/search-drives-google-display-ads-a-5-billion-business/232242/" title="Search Still Drives Google, but Display Ads a $5 Billion Business">Google has acquired 90 million users</a>, the company says, opened brand pages and integrated with third-party social-media management systems like Hootsuite and my firm, Hearsay Social. <p></p><p> As an example of how rapidly its clout has grown, the new Android OS (nicknamed "Ice Cream Sandwich") prompts new users to sign up for Google with the personal info they've already entered on the phone. As for business, if you type something like " burberry" into Google search, you will be instantly redirected to the Burberry Google page. </p><p> But there's something even more massive that Google could be doing with business pages that would transform the online business space. Google, through its Maps and Places services, already has information on millions of businesses. If the information on each of those business's pages, complete with address, phone number, photos and customer reviews, were put into a Google page, Google could become a local-business powerhouse. </p><p> Consider that Google Maps is not just a popular option for directions and location search on the Web, but also the default maps app on iPhone and Android devices. And most local businesses, from a taqueria in the Mission district of San Francisco to a taqueria in Austin, already have business pages on Google Maps. What if Google converted every business page on Google Places into a Google page? Where both exist, what if the two were combined? Let's take Nordstrom as an example. It has both. </p><p> </p> <div style="clear: all; margin: 3px 0px 10px 0px; padding: 3px 0px 3px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid #666666;"> <div> <img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/0125-nordstrom-google-places.jpg" height="309" alt="Nordstrom San Francisco Google Places" width="500" /> </div> </div> <p> The Nordstrom San Francisco Google Places page, above, has business information, while the Nordstrom San Francisco Google Page, below, offers interesting social posts. </p> <div style="clear: all; margin: 3px 0px 10px 0px; padding: 3px 0px 3px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid #666666;"> <div> <img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/0125-nordstrom-google-plus.jpg" height="357" alt="Nordstrom San Francisco Google " width="500" /> </div> </div> <p> </p><p> The benefit of a fused Google Place page to the social-media manager is obvious: maintaining one page beats maintaining two. Continually updated, the page would benefit the local user as an authoritative source of information about the place, like its address and phone number. The fused page would be engaging, with photos uploaded by users and the manager alike, along with user reviews and comments. In addition, we would find conversations occurring between business owner and customers in a consolidated place. 

 </p><p> Google began integrating Google into Google Maps last September, to allow users to share information embedded with the maps. With the launch of brand pages, it only makes sense to similarly tie Google to the business listings on Google Places. And Google Places, though it may not be branded that way, is in the pipeline. In late November, the official Google Your Business page hosted a real-time Q&amp;A in which a user asked, "I'd like my Google business page to be linked seamlessly with my Places page, people who check in on my Place page should be able to find my Business page." Google's response? "I think you'll be thrilled with what we're planning for Google and Places." </p><p> One doesn't have to think very long to take this idea further. Google Offers, the company's Groupon knockoff, would integrate perfectly with Google Places. Imagine a user, planning to buy drinks for a party, searches for directions to the nearest BevMol. Along the route, Google Offers surfaces a $199 value deal on a crash course for making mix drinks, obviously something the user would find interest in. The possibilities are endless. </p><p> Google knows it has this ace up this sleeve, and the social-media savvy among us know that it will go live with it sooner rather than later. With Twitter flexing its influence over social businesses with new brand pages, Google could use something of this proportion to turn attention back to its site. Google Places could change everything. It could kickstart the social-local revolution. </p><p> <a></a> </p><div style="border: 1px solid #666666;"> <div style="font-size: 100%; line-height: 110%; color: #990000; padding: 4px; font-weight: bold;"> ABOUT THE AUTHOR </div> <div style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 130%; padding: 0px 4px 4px 4px;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"> Clara Shih </span> <span> is CEO of Hearsay Social. </span> </div> </div> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/google-prepares-revolutionize-local-landscape/232330/?utm_source=digital_email&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=adage">adage.com</a></div> <p>Some good thinking here by Clara Shih from Hearsay on how Google+ mashed up with maps and places could become a de-facto homepage for millions of small business (yellow pages, anyone?) - there's a clear path to that and I'd be surprised if google isn't already testing this.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/google-as-an-elegant-mashup-of-maps-places-an">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/google-as-an-elegant-mashup-of-maps-places-an#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/Kf-mEyJafJM" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/google-as-an-elegant-mashup-of-maps-places-an Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:33:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/CtvaWzWw9kc/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-3372 http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-3372 <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <p></p> <p> Is the future of the sitcom a syndicated viral webisode series broken into three seven-minute chunks weekly? Alloy and a handful of advertisers are giving it a try, anyway. </p> <p> "Dating Rules from My Future Self" makes its first appearance on the viral video chart (nearly a million views last week), and it differs from the usual entries in being more or less a webisode version of a romantic-comedy-style TV sitcom with multiple sponsors, albeit with plenty of product integration. </p> <p> From Alloy, producer of CW's "Gossip Girl," it features actress Shiri Appleby of "Roswell" and "Life Unexpected" fame, in three seven- or eight-minute webisodes a week -- pretty much like a sitcom sans commercial pods, or commercials. Each segment launches with a "presented by" sequence, with Revlon, <a href="http://adage.com/directory/ford-motor-co/235" title="Ad Age Directory">Ford</a>, KaoBrands' Biore and Energizer Holdings' Schick among the sponsors, who also have their products featured at various times throughout the series. </p> <p> The concept: Ms. Appleby plays a young woman who gets text messages from her future self warning her of relationship dangers, such as the fact that her fiance is actually a douche. Thanks to some well-timed advice during wedding planning, sponsored by Revlon, she discovers this before it's too late. </p> <p> This brings to mind another concept for a web series, "Marketing Advice from My Future Self," in which time-shifted brand managers text the sponsors to let them know if they're on the right track. But they may just have to wait for the marketing-mix models. </p> <div><div><table style=""><tr><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1"></th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Last Week</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Brand</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Campaign</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Agency</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Current Week Views*</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">% Change in Views</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Watch the Spot</th></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>NEW</td><td>Volkswagen</td><td>The Bark Side</td><td>Deutsch Los Angeles</td><td>7,139,665</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-the-bark-side.jpg" height="75" alt="Volkswagen: The Bark Side" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>NEW</td><td>Icon</td><td>Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2</td><td>NA</td><td>3,786,225</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-icon-motorcycle-vs-car.jpg" height="75" alt="Icon: Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td>Megaupload</td><td>Megaupload Song</td><td>NA</td><td>2,125,926</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1221-viral-mega-upload.jpg" height="43" alt="Megaupload: Megaupload Song" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>Old Spice</td><td>Smell is Power</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>999,431</td><td>-37%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0118-viral-old-spice-blown-mind.jpg" height="75" alt="Old Spice: Smell is Power" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>Google</td><td>Chromebook</td><td>BBH New York;Google Creative Lab</td><td>990,237</td><td>6%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1216-viral-google-chromebook.jpg" height="57" alt="Google: Chromebook" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>NEW</td><td>Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick</td><td>Dating Rules From My Future Self</td><td>Alloy Digital</td><td>963,369</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-dating-rules-from-self.jpg" height="75" alt="Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick: Dating Rules From My Future Self" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>NEW</td><td>Nike</td><td>Kobesystem</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>907,549</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-kobesystem.jpg" height="75" alt="Nike: Kobesystem" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>Evian</td><td>Live Young</td><td>BETC Euro RSCG</td><td>848,200</td><td>-15%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-evian-liveyoung-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Evian: Live Young" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>Apple</td><td>Introducing iPhone 4S</td><td>TBWA\Media Arts Lab</td><td>811,279</td><td>-12%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-apple-iphone4s-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Apple: Introducing iPhone 4S" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>4</td><td>YouTube,Lenovo</td><td>Spacelab: What Will You Do?</td><td>NA</td><td>802,715</td><td>-21%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-youtube-lenovo-spacelab-100.jpg" height="75" alt="YouTube,Lenovo: Spacelab: What Will You Do?" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr></table></div></div><div>Source: <a href="http://corp.visiblemeasures.com/adage-visitors/" target="_blank">Visible Measures</a> <p> The Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online-video-sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/true-reach/" target="_blank">True Reach</a> basis, which includes viewership of both brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements. The data are compiled using the Visible Measures Viral Reach Database, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on more than 100 million internet videos across more than 150 video-sharing destinations. </p><p> Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures paid-placement (i.e., overlays, pre-/mid-/post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video-game campaigns, TV show or media network promotions, or public service announcements. View-count results are incremental by week. </p><p> **Indicates percent change in views compared with the same period the week before. </p><p> To notify Visible Measures of an upcoming video ad campaign, or for an end-to-end assessment of your campaign's overall performance, please <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/contact-us/tell-us-about-your-online-video-campaign" target="_blank">contact Visible Measures</a> directly.</p></div> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://adage.com/article/the-viral-video-chart/branded-series-dating-rules-shiri-appleby-makes-viral-chart/232349/">adage.com</a></div> <p>Excited to make the top 10, although our show is tons more fun than megaupload or the chrome book - aiming for #1!</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-3372">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-3372#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/CtvaWzWw9kc" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-3372 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:33:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/2lcOHSwnybw/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-10255 http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-10255 <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <p></p> <p> Is the future of the sitcom a syndicated viral webisode series broken into three seven-minute chunks weekly? Alloy and a handful of advertisers are giving it a try, anyway. </p> <p> "Dating Rules from My Future Self" makes its first appearance on the viral video chart (nearly a million views last week), and it differs from the usual entries in being more or less a webisode version of a romantic-comedy-style TV sitcom with multiple sponsors, albeit with plenty of product integration. </p> <p> From Alloy, producer of CW's "Gossip Girl," it features actress Shiri Appleby of "Roswell" and "Life Unexpected" fame, in three seven- or eight-minute webisodes a week -- pretty much like a sitcom sans commercial pods, or commercials. Each segment launches with a "presented by" sequence, with Revlon, <a href="http://adage.com/directory/ford-motor-co/235" title="Ad Age Directory">Ford</a>, KaoBrands' Biore and Energizer Holdings' Schick among the sponsors, who also have their products featured at various times throughout the series. </p> <p> The concept: Ms. Appleby plays a young woman who gets text messages from her future self warning her of relationship dangers, such as the fact that her fiance is actually a douche. Thanks to some well-timed advice during wedding planning, sponsored by Revlon, she discovers this before it's too late. </p> <p> This brings to mind another concept for a web series, "Marketing Advice from My Future Self," in which time-shifted brand managers text the sponsors to let them know if they're on the right track. But they may just have to wait for the marketing-mix models. </p> <div><div><table style=""><tr><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1"></th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Last Week</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Brand</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Campaign</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Agency</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Current Week Views*</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">% Change in Views</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Watch the Spot</th></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>NEW</td><td>Volkswagen</td><td>The Bark Side</td><td>Deutsch Los Angeles</td><td>7,139,665</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-the-bark-side.jpg" height="75" alt="Volkswagen: The Bark Side" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>NEW</td><td>Icon</td><td>Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2</td><td>NA</td><td>3,786,225</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-icon-motorcycle-vs-car.jpg" height="75" alt="Icon: Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td>Megaupload</td><td>Megaupload Song</td><td>NA</td><td>2,125,926</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1221-viral-mega-upload.jpg" height="43" alt="Megaupload: Megaupload Song" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>Old Spice</td><td>Smell is Power</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>999,431</td><td>-37%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0118-viral-old-spice-blown-mind.jpg" height="75" alt="Old Spice: Smell is Power" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>Google</td><td>Chromebook</td><td>BBH New York;Google Creative Lab</td><td>990,237</td><td>6%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1216-viral-google-chromebook.jpg" height="57" alt="Google: Chromebook" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>NEW</td><td>Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick</td><td>Dating Rules From My Future Self</td><td>Alloy Digital</td><td>963,369</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-dating-rules-from-self.jpg" height="75" alt="Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick: Dating Rules From My Future Self" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>NEW</td><td>Nike</td><td>Kobesystem</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>907,549</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-kobesystem.jpg" height="75" alt="Nike: Kobesystem" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>Evian</td><td>Live Young</td><td>BETC Euro RSCG</td><td>848,200</td><td>-15%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-evian-liveyoung-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Evian: Live Young" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>Apple</td><td>Introducing iPhone 4S</td><td>TBWA\Media Arts Lab</td><td>811,279</td><td>-12%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-apple-iphone4s-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Apple: Introducing iPhone 4S" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>4</td><td>YouTube,Lenovo</td><td>Spacelab: What Will You Do?</td><td>NA</td><td>802,715</td><td>-21%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-youtube-lenovo-spacelab-100.jpg" height="75" alt="YouTube,Lenovo: Spacelab: What Will You Do?" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr></table></div></div><div>Source: <a href="http://corp.visiblemeasures.com/adage-visitors/" target="_blank">Visible Measures</a> <p> The Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online-video-sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/true-reach/" target="_blank">True Reach</a> basis, which includes viewership of both brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements. The data are compiled using the Visible Measures Viral Reach Database, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on more than 100 million internet videos across more than 150 video-sharing destinations. </p><p> Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures paid-placement (i.e., overlays, pre-/mid-/post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video-game campaigns, TV show or media network promotions, or public service announcements. View-count results are incremental by week. </p><p> **Indicates percent change in views compared with the same period the week before. </p><p> To notify Visible Measures of an upcoming video ad campaign, or for an end-to-end assessment of your campaign's overall performance, please <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/contact-us/tell-us-about-your-online-video-campaign" target="_blank">contact Visible Measures</a> directly.</p></div> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://adage.com/article/the-viral-video-chart/branded-series-dating-rules-shiri-appleby-makes-viral-chart/232349/">adage.com</a></div> <p>Excited to make the top 10, although our show is tons more fun than megaupload or the chrome book - aiming for #1!</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-10255">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-10255#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/2lcOHSwnybw" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-10255 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:33:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/a_RAwLbzmAY/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-52592 http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-52592 <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <p></p> <p> Is the future of the sitcom a syndicated viral webisode series broken into three seven-minute chunks weekly? Alloy and a handful of advertisers are giving it a try, anyway. </p> <p> "Dating Rules from My Future Self" makes its first appearance on the viral video chart (nearly a million views last week), and it differs from the usual entries in being more or less a webisode version of a romantic-comedy-style TV sitcom with multiple sponsors, albeit with plenty of product integration. </p> <p> From Alloy, producer of CW's "Gossip Girl," it features actress Shiri Appleby of "Roswell" and "Life Unexpected" fame, in three seven- or eight-minute webisodes a week -- pretty much like a sitcom sans commercial pods, or commercials. Each segment launches with a "presented by" sequence, with Revlon, <a href="http://adage.com/directory/ford-motor-co/235" title="Ad Age Directory">Ford</a>, KaoBrands' Biore and Energizer Holdings' Schick among the sponsors, who also have their products featured at various times throughout the series. </p> <p> The concept: Ms. Appleby plays a young woman who gets text messages from her future self warning her of relationship dangers, such as the fact that her fiance is actually a douche. Thanks to some well-timed advice during wedding planning, sponsored by Revlon, she discovers this before it's too late. </p> <p> This brings to mind another concept for a web series, "Marketing Advice from My Future Self," in which time-shifted brand managers text the sponsors to let them know if they're on the right track. But they may just have to wait for the marketing-mix models. </p> <div><div><table style=""><tr><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1"></th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Last Week</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Brand</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Campaign</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Agency</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Current Week Views*</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">% Change in Views</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Watch the Spot</th></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>NEW</td><td>Volkswagen</td><td>The Bark Side</td><td>Deutsch Los Angeles</td><td>7,139,665</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-the-bark-side.jpg" height="75" alt="Volkswagen: The Bark Side" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>NEW</td><td>Icon</td><td>Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2</td><td>NA</td><td>3,786,225</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-icon-motorcycle-vs-car.jpg" height="75" alt="Icon: Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td>Megaupload</td><td>Megaupload Song</td><td>NA</td><td>2,125,926</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1221-viral-mega-upload.jpg" height="43" alt="Megaupload: Megaupload Song" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>Old Spice</td><td>Smell is Power</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>999,431</td><td>-37%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0118-viral-old-spice-blown-mind.jpg" height="75" alt="Old Spice: Smell is Power" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>Google</td><td>Chromebook</td><td>BBH New York;Google Creative Lab</td><td>990,237</td><td>6%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1216-viral-google-chromebook.jpg" height="57" alt="Google: Chromebook" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>NEW</td><td>Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick</td><td>Dating Rules From My Future Self</td><td>Alloy Digital</td><td>963,369</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-dating-rules-from-self.jpg" height="75" alt="Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick: Dating Rules From My Future Self" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>NEW</td><td>Nike</td><td>Kobesystem</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>907,549</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-kobesystem.jpg" height="75" alt="Nike: Kobesystem" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>Evian</td><td>Live Young</td><td>BETC Euro RSCG</td><td>848,200</td><td>-15%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-evian-liveyoung-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Evian: Live Young" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>Apple</td><td>Introducing iPhone 4S</td><td>TBWA\Media Arts Lab</td><td>811,279</td><td>-12%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-apple-iphone4s-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Apple: Introducing iPhone 4S" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>4</td><td>YouTube,Lenovo</td><td>Spacelab: What Will You Do?</td><td>NA</td><td>802,715</td><td>-21%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-youtube-lenovo-spacelab-100.jpg" height="75" alt="YouTube,Lenovo: Spacelab: What Will You Do?" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr></table></div></div><div>Source: <a href="http://corp.visiblemeasures.com/adage-visitors/" target="_blank">Visible Measures</a> <p> The Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online-video-sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/true-reach/" target="_blank">True Reach</a> basis, which includes viewership of both brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements. The data are compiled using the Visible Measures Viral Reach Database, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on more than 100 million internet videos across more than 150 video-sharing destinations. </p><p> Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures paid-placement (i.e., overlays, pre-/mid-/post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video-game campaigns, TV show or media network promotions, or public service announcements. View-count results are incremental by week. </p><p> **Indicates percent change in views compared with the same period the week before. </p><p> To notify Visible Measures of an upcoming video ad campaign, or for an end-to-end assessment of your campaign's overall performance, please <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/contact-us/tell-us-about-your-online-video-campaign" target="_blank">contact Visible Measures</a> directly.</p></div> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://adage.com/article/the-viral-video-chart/branded-series-dating-rules-shiri-appleby-makes-viral-chart/232349/">adage.com</a></div> <p>Excited to make the top 10, although our show is tons more fun than megaupload or the chrome book - aiming for #1!</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-52592">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-52592#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/a_RAwLbzmAY" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-52592 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:33:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/W2VFkrcvrlY/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-40002 http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-40002 <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <p></p> <p> Is the future of the sitcom a syndicated viral webisode series broken into three seven-minute chunks weekly? Alloy and a handful of advertisers are giving it a try, anyway. </p> <p> "Dating Rules from My Future Self" makes its first appearance on the viral video chart (nearly a million views last week), and it differs from the usual entries in being more or less a webisode version of a romantic-comedy-style TV sitcom with multiple sponsors, albeit with plenty of product integration. </p> <p> From Alloy, producer of CW's "Gossip Girl," it features actress Shiri Appleby of "Roswell" and "Life Unexpected" fame, in three seven- or eight-minute webisodes a week -- pretty much like a sitcom sans commercial pods, or commercials. Each segment launches with a "presented by" sequence, with Revlon, <a href="http://adage.com/directory/ford-motor-co/235" title="Ad Age Directory">Ford</a>, KaoBrands' Biore and Energizer Holdings' Schick among the sponsors, who also have their products featured at various times throughout the series. </p> <p> The concept: Ms. Appleby plays a young woman who gets text messages from her future self warning her of relationship dangers, such as the fact that her fiance is actually a douche. Thanks to some well-timed advice during wedding planning, sponsored by Revlon, she discovers this before it's too late. </p> <p> This brings to mind another concept for a web series, "Marketing Advice from My Future Self," in which time-shifted brand managers text the sponsors to let them know if they're on the right track. But they may just have to wait for the marketing-mix models. </p> <div><div><table style=""><tr><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1"></th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Last Week</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Brand</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Campaign</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Agency</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Current Week Views*</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">% Change in Views</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Watch the Spot</th></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>NEW</td><td>Volkswagen</td><td>The Bark Side</td><td>Deutsch Los Angeles</td><td>7,139,665</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-the-bark-side.jpg" height="75" alt="Volkswagen: The Bark Side" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>NEW</td><td>Icon</td><td>Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2</td><td>NA</td><td>3,786,225</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-icon-motorcycle-vs-car.jpg" height="75" alt="Icon: Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td>Megaupload</td><td>Megaupload Song</td><td>NA</td><td>2,125,926</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1221-viral-mega-upload.jpg" height="43" alt="Megaupload: Megaupload Song" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>Old Spice</td><td>Smell is Power</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>999,431</td><td>-37%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0118-viral-old-spice-blown-mind.jpg" height="75" alt="Old Spice: Smell is Power" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>Google</td><td>Chromebook</td><td>BBH New York;Google Creative Lab</td><td>990,237</td><td>6%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1216-viral-google-chromebook.jpg" height="57" alt="Google: Chromebook" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>NEW</td><td>Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick</td><td>Dating Rules From My Future Self</td><td>Alloy Digital</td><td>963,369</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-dating-rules-from-self.jpg" height="75" alt="Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick: Dating Rules From My Future Self" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>NEW</td><td>Nike</td><td>Kobesystem</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>907,549</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-kobesystem.jpg" height="75" alt="Nike: Kobesystem" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>Evian</td><td>Live Young</td><td>BETC Euro RSCG</td><td>848,200</td><td>-15%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-evian-liveyoung-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Evian: Live Young" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>Apple</td><td>Introducing iPhone 4S</td><td>TBWA\Media Arts Lab</td><td>811,279</td><td>-12%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-apple-iphone4s-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Apple: Introducing iPhone 4S" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>4</td><td>YouTube,Lenovo</td><td>Spacelab: What Will You Do?</td><td>NA</td><td>802,715</td><td>-21%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-youtube-lenovo-spacelab-100.jpg" height="75" alt="YouTube,Lenovo: Spacelab: What Will You Do?" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr></table></div></div><div>Source: <a href="http://corp.visiblemeasures.com/adage-visitors/" target="_blank">Visible Measures</a> <p> The Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online-video-sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/true-reach/" target="_blank">True Reach</a> basis, which includes viewership of both brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements. The data are compiled using the Visible Measures Viral Reach Database, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on more than 100 million internet videos across more than 150 video-sharing destinations. </p><p> Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures paid-placement (i.e., overlays, pre-/mid-/post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video-game campaigns, TV show or media network promotions, or public service announcements. View-count results are incremental by week. </p><p> **Indicates percent change in views compared with the same period the week before. </p><p> To notify Visible Measures of an upcoming video ad campaign, or for an end-to-end assessment of your campaign's overall performance, please <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/contact-us/tell-us-about-your-online-video-campaign" target="_blank">contact Visible Measures</a> directly.</p></div> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://adage.com/article/the-viral-video-chart/branded-series-dating-rules-shiri-appleby-makes-viral-chart/232349/">adage.com</a></div> <p>Excited to make the top 10, although our show is tons more fun than megaupload or the chrome book - aiming for #1!</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-40002">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-40002#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/W2VFkrcvrlY" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-40002 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:33:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/tgAbL3ahmOQ/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-13462 http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-13462 <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <p></p> <p> Is the future of the sitcom a syndicated viral webisode series broken into three seven-minute chunks weekly? Alloy and a handful of advertisers are giving it a try, anyway. </p> <p> "Dating Rules from My Future Self" makes its first appearance on the viral video chart (nearly a million views last week), and it differs from the usual entries in being more or less a webisode version of a romantic-comedy-style TV sitcom with multiple sponsors, albeit with plenty of product integration. </p> <p> From Alloy, producer of CW's "Gossip Girl," it features actress Shiri Appleby of "Roswell" and "Life Unexpected" fame, in three seven- or eight-minute webisodes a week -- pretty much like a sitcom sans commercial pods, or commercials. Each segment launches with a "presented by" sequence, with Revlon, <a href="http://adage.com/directory/ford-motor-co/235" title="Ad Age Directory">Ford</a>, KaoBrands' Biore and Energizer Holdings' Schick among the sponsors, who also have their products featured at various times throughout the series. </p> <p> The concept: Ms. Appleby plays a young woman who gets text messages from her future self warning her of relationship dangers, such as the fact that her fiance is actually a douche. Thanks to some well-timed advice during wedding planning, sponsored by Revlon, she discovers this before it's too late. </p> <p> This brings to mind another concept for a web series, "Marketing Advice from My Future Self," in which time-shifted brand managers text the sponsors to let them know if they're on the right track. But they may just have to wait for the marketing-mix models. </p> <div><div><table style=""><tr><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1"></th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Last Week</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Brand</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Campaign</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Agency</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Current Week Views*</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">% Change in Views</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Watch the Spot</th></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>NEW</td><td>Volkswagen</td><td>The Bark Side</td><td>Deutsch Los Angeles</td><td>7,139,665</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-the-bark-side.jpg" height="75" alt="Volkswagen: The Bark Side" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>NEW</td><td>Icon</td><td>Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2</td><td>NA</td><td>3,786,225</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-icon-motorcycle-vs-car.jpg" height="75" alt="Icon: Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td>Megaupload</td><td>Megaupload Song</td><td>NA</td><td>2,125,926</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1221-viral-mega-upload.jpg" height="43" alt="Megaupload: Megaupload Song" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>Old Spice</td><td>Smell is Power</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>999,431</td><td>-37%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0118-viral-old-spice-blown-mind.jpg" height="75" alt="Old Spice: Smell is Power" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>Google</td><td>Chromebook</td><td>BBH New York;Google Creative Lab</td><td>990,237</td><td>6%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1216-viral-google-chromebook.jpg" height="57" alt="Google: Chromebook" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>NEW</td><td>Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick</td><td>Dating Rules From My Future Self</td><td>Alloy Digital</td><td>963,369</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-dating-rules-from-self.jpg" height="75" alt="Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick: Dating Rules From My Future Self" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>NEW</td><td>Nike</td><td>Kobesystem</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>907,549</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-kobesystem.jpg" height="75" alt="Nike: Kobesystem" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>Evian</td><td>Live Young</td><td>BETC Euro RSCG</td><td>848,200</td><td>-15%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-evian-liveyoung-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Evian: Live Young" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>Apple</td><td>Introducing iPhone 4S</td><td>TBWA\Media Arts Lab</td><td>811,279</td><td>-12%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-apple-iphone4s-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Apple: Introducing iPhone 4S" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>4</td><td>YouTube,Lenovo</td><td>Spacelab: What Will You Do?</td><td>NA</td><td>802,715</td><td>-21%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-youtube-lenovo-spacelab-100.jpg" height="75" alt="YouTube,Lenovo: Spacelab: What Will You Do?" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr></table></div></div><div>Source: <a href="http://corp.visiblemeasures.com/adage-visitors/" target="_blank">Visible Measures</a> <p> The Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online-video-sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/true-reach/" target="_blank">True Reach</a> basis, which includes viewership of both brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements. The data are compiled using the Visible Measures Viral Reach Database, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on more than 100 million internet videos across more than 150 video-sharing destinations. </p><p> Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures paid-placement (i.e., overlays, pre-/mid-/post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video-game campaigns, TV show or media network promotions, or public service announcements. View-count results are incremental by week. </p><p> **Indicates percent change in views compared with the same period the week before. </p><p> To notify Visible Measures of an upcoming video ad campaign, or for an end-to-end assessment of your campaign's overall performance, please <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/contact-us/tell-us-about-your-online-video-campaign" target="_blank">contact Visible Measures</a> directly.</p></div> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://adage.com/article/the-viral-video-chart/branded-series-dating-rules-shiri-appleby-makes-viral-chart/232349/">adage.com</a></div> <p>Excited to make the top 10, although our show is tons more fun than megaupload or the chrome book - aiming for #1!</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-13462">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-13462#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/tgAbL3ahmOQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v-13462 Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:33:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/p2aANivW21U/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <p></p> <p> Is the future of the sitcom a syndicated viral webisode series broken into three seven-minute chunks weekly? Alloy and a handful of advertisers are giving it a try, anyway. </p> <p> "Dating Rules from My Future Self" makes its first appearance on the viral video chart (nearly a million views last week), and it differs from the usual entries in being more or less a webisode version of a romantic-comedy-style TV sitcom with multiple sponsors, albeit with plenty of product integration. </p> <p> From Alloy, producer of CW's "Gossip Girl," it features actress Shiri Appleby of "Roswell" and "Life Unexpected" fame, in three seven- or eight-minute webisodes a week -- pretty much like a sitcom sans commercial pods, or commercials. Each segment launches with a "presented by" sequence, with Revlon, <a href="http://adage.com/directory/ford-motor-co/235" title="Ad Age Directory">Ford</a>, KaoBrands' Biore and Energizer Holdings' Schick among the sponsors, who also have their products featured at various times throughout the series. </p> <p> The concept: Ms. Appleby plays a young woman who gets text messages from her future self warning her of relationship dangers, such as the fact that her fiance is actually a douche. Thanks to some well-timed advice during wedding planning, sponsored by Revlon, she discovers this before it's too late. </p> <p> This brings to mind another concept for a web series, "Marketing Advice from My Future Self," in which time-shifted brand managers text the sponsors to let them know if they're on the right track. But they may just have to wait for the marketing-mix models. </p> <div><div><table style=""><tr><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1"></th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Last Week</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Brand</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Campaign</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Agency</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Current Week Views*</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">% Change in Views</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Watch the Spot</th></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>NEW</td><td>Volkswagen</td><td>The Bark Side</td><td>Deutsch Los Angeles</td><td>7,139,665</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-the-bark-side.jpg" height="75" alt="Volkswagen: The Bark Side" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>NEW</td><td>Icon</td><td>Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2</td><td>NA</td><td>3,786,225</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-icon-motorcycle-vs-car.jpg" height="75" alt="Icon: Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td>Megaupload</td><td>Megaupload Song</td><td>NA</td><td>2,125,926</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1221-viral-mega-upload.jpg" height="43" alt="Megaupload: Megaupload Song" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>Old Spice</td><td>Smell is Power</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>999,431</td><td>-37%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0118-viral-old-spice-blown-mind.jpg" height="75" alt="Old Spice: Smell is Power" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>Google</td><td>Chromebook</td><td>BBH New York;Google Creative Lab</td><td>990,237</td><td>6%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1216-viral-google-chromebook.jpg" height="57" alt="Google: Chromebook" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>NEW</td><td>Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick</td><td>Dating Rules From My Future Self</td><td>Alloy Digital</td><td>963,369</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-dating-rules-from-self.jpg" height="75" alt="Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick: Dating Rules From My Future Self" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>NEW</td><td>Nike</td><td>Kobesystem</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>907,549</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-kobesystem.jpg" height="75" alt="Nike: Kobesystem" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>Evian</td><td>Live Young</td><td>BETC Euro RSCG</td><td>848,200</td><td>-15%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-evian-liveyoung-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Evian: Live Young" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>Apple</td><td>Introducing iPhone 4S</td><td>TBWA\Media Arts Lab</td><td>811,279</td><td>-12%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-apple-iphone4s-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Apple: Introducing iPhone 4S" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>4</td><td>YouTube,Lenovo</td><td>Spacelab: What Will You Do?</td><td>NA</td><td>802,715</td><td>-21%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-youtube-lenovo-spacelab-100.jpg" height="75" alt="YouTube,Lenovo: Spacelab: What Will You Do?" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr></table></div></div><div>Source: <a href="http://corp.visiblemeasures.com/adage-visitors/" target="_blank">Visible Measures</a> <p> The Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online-video-sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/true-reach/" target="_blank">True Reach</a> basis, which includes viewership of both brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements. The data are compiled using the Visible Measures Viral Reach Database, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on more than 100 million internet videos across more than 150 video-sharing destinations. </p><p> Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures paid-placement (i.e., overlays, pre-/mid-/post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video-game campaigns, TV show or media network promotions, or public service announcements. View-count results are incremental by week. </p><p> **Indicates percent change in views compared with the same period the week before. </p><p> To notify Visible Measures of an upcoming video ad campaign, or for an end-to-end assessment of your campaign's overall performance, please <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/contact-us/tell-us-about-your-online-video-campaign" target="_blank">contact Visible Measures</a> directly.</p></div> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://adage.com/article/the-viral-video-chart/branded-series-dating-rules-shiri-appleby-makes-viral-chart/232349/">adage.com</a></div> <p>Excited to make the top 10, although our show is tons more fun than megaupload or the chrome book - aiming for #1!</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/p2aANivW21U" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:33:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/p2aANivW21U/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <p></p> <p> Is the future of the sitcom a syndicated viral webisode series broken into three seven-minute chunks weekly? Alloy and a handful of advertisers are giving it a try, anyway. </p> <p> "Dating Rules from My Future Self" makes its first appearance on the viral video chart (nearly a million views last week), and it differs from the usual entries in being more or less a webisode version of a romantic-comedy-style TV sitcom with multiple sponsors, albeit with plenty of product integration. </p> <p> From Alloy, producer of CW's "Gossip Girl," it features actress Shiri Appleby of "Roswell" and "Life Unexpected" fame, in three seven- or eight-minute webisodes a week -- pretty much like a sitcom sans commercial pods, or commercials. Each segment launches with a "presented by" sequence, with Revlon, <a href="http://adage.com/directory/ford-motor-co/235" title="Ad Age Directory">Ford</a>, KaoBrands' Biore and Energizer Holdings' Schick among the sponsors, who also have their products featured at various times throughout the series. </p> <p> The concept: Ms. Appleby plays a young woman who gets text messages from her future self warning her of relationship dangers, such as the fact that her fiance is actually a douche. Thanks to some well-timed advice during wedding planning, sponsored by Revlon, she discovers this before it's too late. </p> <p> This brings to mind another concept for a web series, "Marketing Advice from My Future Self," in which time-shifted brand managers text the sponsors to let them know if they're on the right track. But they may just have to wait for the marketing-mix models. </p> <div><div><table style=""><tr><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1"></th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Last Week</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Brand</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Campaign</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Agency</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Current Week Views*</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">% Change in Views</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Watch the Spot</th></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>NEW</td><td>Volkswagen</td><td>The Bark Side</td><td>Deutsch Los Angeles</td><td>7,139,665</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-the-bark-side.jpg" height="75" alt="Volkswagen: The Bark Side" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>NEW</td><td>Icon</td><td>Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2</td><td>NA</td><td>3,786,225</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-icon-motorcycle-vs-car.jpg" height="75" alt="Icon: Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td>Megaupload</td><td>Megaupload Song</td><td>NA</td><td>2,125,926</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1221-viral-mega-upload.jpg" height="43" alt="Megaupload: Megaupload Song" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>Old Spice</td><td>Smell is Power</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>999,431</td><td>-37%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0118-viral-old-spice-blown-mind.jpg" height="75" alt="Old Spice: Smell is Power" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>Google</td><td>Chromebook</td><td>BBH New York;Google Creative Lab</td><td>990,237</td><td>6%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1216-viral-google-chromebook.jpg" height="57" alt="Google: Chromebook" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>NEW</td><td>Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick</td><td>Dating Rules From My Future Self</td><td>Alloy Digital</td><td>963,369</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-dating-rules-from-self.jpg" height="75" alt="Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick: Dating Rules From My Future Self" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>NEW</td><td>Nike</td><td>Kobesystem</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>907,549</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-kobesystem.jpg" height="75" alt="Nike: Kobesystem" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>Evian</td><td>Live Young</td><td>BETC Euro RSCG</td><td>848,200</td><td>-15%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-evian-liveyoung-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Evian: Live Young" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>Apple</td><td>Introducing iPhone 4S</td><td>TBWA\Media Arts Lab</td><td>811,279</td><td>-12%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-apple-iphone4s-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Apple: Introducing iPhone 4S" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>4</td><td>YouTube,Lenovo</td><td>Spacelab: What Will You Do?</td><td>NA</td><td>802,715</td><td>-21%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-youtube-lenovo-spacelab-100.jpg" height="75" alt="YouTube,Lenovo: Spacelab: What Will You Do?" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr></table></div></div><div>Source: <a href="http://corp.visiblemeasures.com/adage-visitors/" target="_blank">Visible Measures</a> <p> The Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online-video-sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/true-reach/" target="_blank">True Reach</a> basis, which includes viewership of both brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements. The data are compiled using the Visible Measures Viral Reach Database, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on more than 100 million internet videos across more than 150 video-sharing destinations. </p><p> Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures paid-placement (i.e., overlays, pre-/mid-/post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video-game campaigns, TV show or media network promotions, or public service announcements. View-count results are incremental by week. </p><p> **Indicates percent change in views compared with the same period the week before. </p><p> To notify Visible Measures of an upcoming video ad campaign, or for an end-to-end assessment of your campaign's overall performance, please <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/contact-us/tell-us-about-your-online-video-campaign" target="_blank">contact Visible Measures</a> directly.</p></div> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://adage.com/article/the-viral-video-chart/branded-series-dating-rules-shiri-appleby-makes-viral-chart/232349/">adage.com</a></div> <p>Excited to make the top 10, although our show is tons more fun than megaupload or the chrome book - aiming for #1</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/p2aANivW21U" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:33:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/p2aANivW21U/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <p></p> <p> Is the future of the sitcom a syndicated viral webisode series broken into three seven-minute chunks weekly? Alloy and a handful of advertisers are giving it a try, anyway. </p> <p> "Dating Rules from My Future Self" makes its first appearance on the viral video chart (nearly a million views last week), and it differs from the usual entries in being more or less a webisode version of a romantic-comedy-style TV sitcom with multiple sponsors, albeit with plenty of product integration. </p> <p> From Alloy, producer of CW's "Gossip Girl," it features actress Shiri Appleby of "Roswell" and "Life Unexpected" fame, in three seven- or eight-minute webisodes a week -- pretty much like a sitcom sans commercial pods, or commercials. Each segment launches with a "presented by" sequence, with Revlon, <a href="http://adage.com/directory/ford-motor-co/235" title="Ad Age Directory">Ford</a>, KaoBrands' Biore and Energizer Holdings' Schick among the sponsors, who also have their products featured at various times throughout the series. </p> <p> The concept: Ms. Appleby plays a young woman who gets text messages from her future self warning her of relationship dangers, such as the fact that her fiance is actually a douche. Thanks to some well-timed advice during wedding planning, sponsored by Revlon, she discovers this before it's too late. </p> <p> This brings to mind another concept for a web series, "Marketing Advice from My Future Self," in which time-shifted brand managers text the sponsors to let them know if they're on the right track. But they may just have to wait for the marketing-mix models. </p> <div><div><table style=""><tr><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1"></th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Last Week</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Brand</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Campaign</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Agency</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Current Week Views*</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">% Change in Views</th><th rowspan="1" style="" colspan="1">Watch the Spot</th></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>NEW</td><td>Volkswagen</td><td>The Bark Side</td><td>Deutsch Los Angeles</td><td>7,139,665</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-the-bark-side.jpg" height="75" alt="Volkswagen: The Bark Side" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>NEW</td><td>Icon</td><td>Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2</td><td>NA</td><td>3,786,225</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-icon-motorcycle-vs-car.jpg" height="75" alt="Icon: Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 2" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td>Megaupload</td><td>Megaupload Song</td><td>NA</td><td>2,125,926</td><td>Back on Chart</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1221-viral-mega-upload.jpg" height="43" alt="Megaupload: Megaupload Song" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>Old Spice</td><td>Smell is Power</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>999,431</td><td>-37%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0118-viral-old-spice-blown-mind.jpg" height="75" alt="Old Spice: Smell is Power" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>7</td><td>Google</td><td>Chromebook</td><td>BBH New York;Google Creative Lab</td><td>990,237</td><td>6%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/1216-viral-google-chromebook.jpg" height="57" alt="Google: Chromebook" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>NEW</td><td>Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick</td><td>Dating Rules From My Future Self</td><td>Alloy Digital</td><td>963,369</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-dating-rules-from-self.jpg" height="75" alt="Biore,Ford,Revlon,Schick: Dating Rules From My Future Self" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>NEW</td><td>Nike</td><td>Kobesystem</td><td>Wieden Kennedy Portland</td><td>907,549</td><td>NEW</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/0125-viral-kobesystem.jpg" height="75" alt="Nike: Kobesystem" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>5</td><td>Evian</td><td>Live Young</td><td>BETC Euro RSCG</td><td>848,200</td><td>-15%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-evian-liveyoung-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Evian: Live Young" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>8</td><td>Apple</td><td>Introducing iPhone 4S</td><td>TBWA\Media Arts Lab</td><td>811,279</td><td>-12%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-apple-iphone4s-100.jpg" height="75" alt="Apple: Introducing iPhone 4S" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>4</td><td>YouTube,Lenovo</td><td>Spacelab: What Will You Do?</td><td>NA</td><td>802,715</td><td>-21%</td><td><a><img src="http://adage.com/images/bin/image/x-small/viral-youtube-lenovo-spacelab-100.jpg" height="75" alt="YouTube,Lenovo: Spacelab: What Will You Do?" width="100" /></a><p><a></a></p></td></tr></table></div></div><div>Source: <a href="http://corp.visiblemeasures.com/adage-visitors/" target="_blank">Visible Measures</a> <p> The Visible Measures Top 10 Viral Video Ad Campaigns Chart focuses on brand-driven viral video ads that appear on online-video-sharing destinations. Each campaign is measured on a <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/true-reach/" target="_blank">True Reach</a> basis, which includes viewership of both brand-syndicated video clips and viewer-driven social video placements. The data are compiled using the Visible Measures Viral Reach Database, a constantly growing repository of analytic data on more than 100 million internet videos across more than 150 video-sharing destinations. </p><p> Note: This analysis does not include Visible Measures paid-placement (i.e., overlays, pre-/mid-/post-roll) performance data or video views on private sites. This chart does not include movie trailers, video-game campaigns, TV show or media network promotions, or public service announcements. View-count results are incremental by week. </p><p> **Indicates percent change in views compared with the same period the week before. </p><p> To notify Visible Measures of an upcoming video ad campaign, or for an end-to-end assessment of your campaign's overall performance, please <a href="http://www.visiblemeasures.com/contact-us/tell-us-about-your-online-video-campaign" target="_blank">contact Visible Measures</a> directly.</p></div> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://adage.com/article/the-viral-video-chart/branded-series-dating-rules-shiri-appleby-makes-viral-chart/232349/">adage.com</a></div> <p>Excited to make the top 10, although our show is tons more fun than megaupload or the chrome book - aiming for #1</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/p2aANivW21U" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/dating-rules-our-new-show-is-a-top-10-viral-v Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:23:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/nRUsCpPhE_s/target-sends-letter-vendors-asking-for-help-t http://digbits.posterous.com/target-sends-letter-vendors-asking-for-help-t <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div><h3>By <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204624204577177242516227440.html?mod=dist_smartbrief#">ANN ZIMMERMAN</a> </h3><p> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204624204577177242516227440.html?mod=dist_smartbrief#">Target</a> Corp. is tired of being used.</p> <p>In one of the starkest signs yet that chain stores fear a new twist in shopping, Target is asking suppliers for help in thwarting "showrooming"—that is, when shoppers come into a store to see a product in person, only to buy it from a rival online, frequently at a lower price.</p> <p>Last week, in an urgent letter to vendors, the Minneapolis-based chain suggested that suppliers create special products that would set it apart from competitors and shield it from the price comparisons that have become so easy for shoppers to perform on their computers and smartphones. Where special products aren't possible, Target asked the suppliers to help it match rivals' prices. It also said it might create a subscription service that would give shoppers a discount on regularly purchased merchandise.</p> <div><div> <div><div><div><div><p><a>Enlarge Image</a></p></div></div><a><img src="http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/MK-BR807_TARGET_D_20120122182532.jpg" border="0" height="174" alt="TARGET" width="262" /></a><p><a></a></p><div style=""><div><div><a>Close</a></div><img src="http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/MK-BR807_TARGET_G_20120122182532.jpg" border="0" height="333" alt="TARGET" width="500" /></div></div></div> <cite>Reuters</cite> <p>Vendors are likely to have little choice but to play ball with Target because of its clout as the second-largest discount chain. </p> </div></div></div><p>"What we aren't willing to do is let online-only retailers use our brick-and-mortar stores as a showroom for their products and undercut our prices without making investments, as we do, to proudly display your brands," according to the letter, which was signed by Target Chief Executive <a href="http://topics.wsj.com/person/s/gregg-steinhafel/793">Gregg Steinhafel</a> and Kathee Tesija, Target's executive vice president of merchandising.</p> <p>Showrooming is an increasing problem for chains ranging from <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204624204577177242516227440.html?mod=dist_smartbrief#">Best Buy</a> Co. to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204624204577177242516227440.html?mod=dist_smartbrief#">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> Inc., at the same time that it's a boon for <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204624204577177242516227440.html?mod=dist_smartbrief#">Amazon.com</a> Inc. and other online retailers. This year store sales overall edged up 4.1% during the holiday shopping season, while online sales jumped 15%. And while online sales represent only 8% of total sales, that is up from just 2% in 2000.</p> <p>Other retailers also are likely to take steps similar to Target's plan, according to Deborah Weinswig, Citigroup retail analyst, who mentioned the letter in a research note Friday and said it was likely to have gone to suppliers of consumer electronics, health and beauty products and food.</p> <p>Vendors are likely to have little choice but to play ball with Target because of its clout as the second-largest discount chain. Major suppliers, including Kraft Inc., TV maker Vizio and <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204624204577177242516227440.html?mod=dist_smartbrief#">Procter &amp; Gamble</a> Inc., either wouldn't confirm they received the letter or didn't return calls seeking comment.</p> <p>Target declined to comment other than to issue a statement saying that it "has long prided itself on having truly collaborative vendor partnerships and we continually work with our vendors to remain competitive in the ever-evolving retail environment."</p> <p>Some analysts said Target's new tactics are unlikely to reverse the showrooming trend, because they fail to address the root problems traditional retailers face. Online-only retailers have significantly lower labor costs and, at least, for the time being don't collect sales tax in most states.</p> <p>More important, the growing competition from Amazon is based on a different business model entirely: Amazon can sell products so cheaply because it uses its other profitable units—such as cloud data storage and fees it charges others to sell on its website — to subsidize the rest of its business.</p> <p>"The traditional retailers are still doing business the old way while Amazon has reinvented the model," says Sucharita Mulpuru, retail analyst at Forrester Research. "Wal-Mart and Target are willing to sell a few things at a loss. Amazon's whole business is a loss leader."</p> <p>Consumer preferences are also moving to online. "That is where we're heading," said Adrianne Shapira, retail analyst at Goldman Sachs. "You can try and dance around it, but it's a fact."</p> <p>Retailers like Target and industry giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have a lot of catching up to do, as analysts estimate their websites account for only 1% to 2% of their annual sales.</p> <p>Target had a tough Christmas season, with sales at stores open at least a year rising just 1.7%, about half of what the company expected. As a result, Target recently lowered its fourth-quarter earnings per share range to between $1.35 and $1.43 from $1.43 to $1.53.</p> <p>The company said sales were particularly disappointing in electronics, movies, books and music—products whose sales have migrated most significantly to the Internet. Those products accounted for 20% of Target's annual sales of $65 billion in 2010, down from 22% in the prior year.</p> <p>This fall Target relaunched and upgraded its website, which had been operated by Amazon for the last decade. But the site crashed several times, most notably when shoppers rushed to buy a special line of items made by Italian fashion house Missoni.</p> <p>Target has a long tradition of getting suppliers to provide exclusive products. It has teamed up for years with fashion designers to offer time-limited discount clothing collections, and it recently announced it will open a series of temporary boutiques featuring clothes, food and home furnishings from popular regional stores.</p> <p>These programs set Target apart from less fashionable rivals such as Wal-Mart, but "they are completely immaterial" to the company's bottom line, said Colin McGranahan, retail analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein.</p> <cite>—Hannah Karp contributed to this article.</cite><p> <strong>Write to </strong> Ann Zimmerman at <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&amp;fs=1&amp;tf=1&amp;to=ann.zimmerman@wsj.com" target="_blank">ann.zimmerman@wsj.com</a> </p> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204624204577177242516227440.html?mod=dist_smartbrief">online.wsj.com</a></div> <p>I hardly believe that Target et al can stop consumers from comparing prices on their phone by using one of the many apps to do so. The idea of giving discounts to "members" (aka Sam's club, costco) is definitely a better one as it adds a real differentiation - people will always take the lowest price online, esp. with free shipping/ Amazon prime.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/target-sends-letter-vendors-asking-for-help-t">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/target-sends-letter-vendors-asking-for-help-t#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/nRUsCpPhE_s" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/target-sends-letter-vendors-asking-for-help-t Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:15:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/IUMw51WRw6E/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger-says-m http://digbits.posterous.com/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger-says-m <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <div> <h3><a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/" rel="bookmark">The TV Business Keeps Getting Stronger&nbsp;!</a></h3> <p>Jan 14th 2012 7:53PM</p> <div> <p>Back in my broadcast.com days we had a saying that “bits are bits”. &nbsp;That once content becomes digital, it is naturally going to become available on any and all digital devices. Based on this, we always made the point to be platform and device agnostic. We didn’t care where or how people saw our content, as long as they saw it and we had the chance to monetize it.</p> <p>We also knew that our core value proposition to consumers was that on broadcast.com they were able to get content that they couldn’t get on TV. We had Yoga channels, we had cricket live and on demand, we had sports , music, movies, tv, comedy and anything else you could think of available. We had a policy that we never tried to create hits. That we were always going to go wide and create a reason for people to start watching video online. &nbsp;17 years later. Yep, its been 17 years since we started Broadcast.com (as audionet.com first), Youtube and others are still doing the exact same thing.</p> <p>Good for them ! Except they are making one huge fundamental mistake, they are trying to create hits. They don’t like the idea that beyond a steady stream of 1 hit wonders they haven’t been able to create a sustainable roadmap to content success. In other words, they have no idea how to drive an audience to specific content. Their hits come out of nowhere. (Im excluding music since that has become the domain of VEVO).</p> <p>TV doesn’t have that problem. TV has a fundamentally different problem. But before we go there, lets talk about the big lie that the internet video folks like to tell in order to pump their products.</p> <p><em><strong>The Big Lie = Online video views is the same as number of TV viewers.</strong></em></p> <p><strong>1mm views of an online video is not &nbsp;the same as 1mm viewers of a tv show</strong>. Nope. Not true. First, we all know that an online view is not a unique viewer. But lets get beyond that. When you look at USA Today and see number of viewers of a tv show, that is the AVERAGE NUMBER OF VIEWERS that watch the show. So when it says that SharkTank on ABC had 4mm viewers for a showing on Friday night (btw, SharkTank returns Jan 20th at 8pm EST !). That means on average 4mm people were watching. If you were to look at the total number of households for that showing, it would probably be 8mm or more. In addition, we all know that by definition a household has a minimum of 1 viewer, but it can be higher, so if you want to compare apples to apples with an online video , the starting point has to be Households that watched multiplied by the average number of viewers per household .</p> <p><strong>But wait , there is more ! The views of a video on Youtube includes all the showings over an extended period of time. The ratings for SharkTank or any tv show all happened during the 1 hour the show was on the air. Which is exactly why TV is still a much more valuable advertising medium. Would you rather have your ad seen by the audience all within one hour, or over some unknown extended period ? Who knows how long it will take for your online video to reach 8mm unique viewers ? It will certainly be more than 1 hour. That is an advantage that TV has and will not lose for the forseeable future. No matter what happens with wired TVs or mobile devices TV gives you an audience right now. (And yes we could take this further by including DVR usage as well)</strong></p> <p>So lets get back to traditional &nbsp;TV<strong>. Big media is not as stupid as they used to be. Nor are they as stupid as the internet video proponents want them to be.</strong> At CES this past week it was popular to hear about the explosion of online content and how people were going to be watching it on TV now that the new TVs have internet connectivity to all the great providers from Boxee, Netflix, Amazon , etc. <strong>&nbsp;These &nbsp;content distribution companies are not competitors to TV as a lot of folks would like you to believe, they are CUSTOMERS of TV show producers.</strong> &nbsp;They don’t hurt the TV business,<strong> they have made the TV business far, far more profitabl</strong>e. &nbsp;<strong>In fact, the competition between all the companies that want to provide content over the internet to your wired tv is driving up the price for content produced for TV</strong>.</p> <p>The Challenge that TV has is not in driving an audience that is bigger than an internet source. That is easy. The challenge is in creating hits that are big enough to maximize revenue and return for that show and to create a promotional platform for other shows.</p> <p>Now some internet video proponents like to tell you that the audience for broadcast tv is declining significantly with the exception of sports and special live programming, in particular the NFL. They are right. Numbers are down. But what they don’t also tell you is that the financial model has changed. All broadcast networks are owned by &nbsp;big conglomerates, or have same ownership as a big conglomerate. Because of this, single shows are no longer make or break. Shows are geared towards specific outlets. So you will see shows on USA Network that in the past might have been on NBC. The result is that viewing for cable networks has skyrocketed and the amount of traditional tv watched has continued to increase.</p> <p>In addition those over the air broadcast networks are now also getting retransmission fees. That second source of revenue will change how they make programming decisions.</p> <p>But wait there is more ! It used to be that only movie companies got output deals. An output deal is when a TV network pays a percentage of theatrical revenue for the license to show a movie. Today, TV shows are getting output deals and generating lots of revenue across all the different platforms that show TV shows. Its not just syndication,but those online distributors want to make sure they get the best shows and they are committing up front to buy those shows. An output deal. Found money.</p> <p>The TV business isn’t dead. It really isn’t even morphing. Sure people will watch video online. They will watch it on phones. They will download it. But the videos that online distributors pay the most for will be those that have done the best on traditional TV. Which in turn means more money for the production of shows.</p> <p>Think of it like an SAT question. Online video is to TV today like DVDs were to Movies in the past. A great revenue source that correlated to the movie’s boxoffice.</p> <p><strong>Bottom line is that the better the TV business does, the better Hulu and Netflix will do because their primary content will be in greater demand</strong></p> <p>That’s not to say the TV business is not going to have challenges. It will. It will become addicted to the money it gets from online sources and when some of these sources and the competition between them dry up, they will be caught not being able to reduce their costs. Expect it.</p> <p>But the online TV content providers have it worse. Yes, there is a business in delivering content via TVs. It will seem very cool that when you hit a button on your remote a list of distributors like Amazon, Hulu , Netflix and others will pop up for you to watch. Some folks will make good money with it. But it still won’t be the competitor to TV that everyone predicts. Why ? Because just like no one took the time to change the blinking 12:00 on their VCRs back in the day, having to hit the internet button on the remote, or even worse, the input &nbsp;button on the remote will not be the path of least resistance for watching tv. Believe it or not, it will be far too much hassle for most people when compared to just turning on and watching &nbsp;TV the old fashioned way. And on top of that, distributors like Dish, Directv, Charter, Comcast, etc are working hard to improve their guide experiences which will be faster and easier than their online counterparts.</p> <p>And last but not least, MOCA, DLNA and good old fashioned wi fi is always going to be a hassle. No one has perfect wi fi at their apartment or house. It always screws up. That may be acceptable to a price sensitive market. But when people want to see Tebow Tebow, buffering just wont cut it.</p> <p>And let me be the first to describe how Twitter will negatively impact online delivered live TV . Compare the latency of twitter to your phone or Ipad or even TV to the latency of online video over the net to your house, through your house and to your TV. The latency of the video because of all the buffering that is done to reduce interruption of the video will mean that your video feed is behind what you are getting on twitter. Not a problem for ondemand,but not good for communal experiences. So if you all want to watch SharkTank and tweet and FB about it with your friends, its only going to work when you watch on a regular tv feed.</p> <p>Thats the way I see. Let me know what you think</p> <p></p><div><div><h3>Share this:</h3><div><ul><li><a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/?share=twitter&amp;nb=1" title="Click to share on Twitter" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>Twitter<span>351</span></span></a></li><li><a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/?share=facebook&amp;nb=1" title="Share on Facebook" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>Facebook<span>36</span></span></a></li><li><a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/?share=press-this&amp;nb=1" title="Click to Press This!" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>Press This</span></a></li><li><a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/?share=email&amp;nb=1" title="Click to email this to a friend" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>Email</span></a></li><li><a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/?share=stumbleupon&amp;nb=1" title="Click to share on StumbleUpon" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>StumbleUpon</span></a></li><li><a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#print" title="Click to print" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>Print</span></a></li><li><a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/?share=digg&amp;nb=1" title="Click to Digg this post" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>Digg</span></a></li><li></li></ul><p></p></div></div></div> </div> <div> <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/" rel="bookmark">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comments" title="Comment on The TV Business Keeps Getting Stronger&nbsp;!">Comments [36]</a> </div> </div> <h3>36 Comments <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#postcomment" title="Leave a comment">»</a> </h3> <ol> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/df5fef3f3755743784b9bac953a1b3ae?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>I think the CEO of Blockbuster wrote a similar letter about Netflix….</p> <p><cite>Comment by eastsidescott — January 14, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75428">9:41 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/92ccfdda8c3ae847a6c9b745b78e8129?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>Sounds like the wishful thinking of someone who has a lot to lose and not much to gain by the inevitable transition… couldn’t find your blog post on CD’s and the music business</p> <p><strong>From MC&gt; if you even think they are comparable you have zero clue<br /> </strong></p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://happytvguy.wordpress.com" rel="external nofollow">happytvguy</a> — January 14, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75429">10:10 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/35fe492dab71ee15e6be698796d29fdc?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>So, in other words, by sites like Hulu, Netflix etc payin top dollar for content they are putting themselves out of business? If they pay a premium for premium content then won’t they out punt thei coverage?<br /> <strong><br /> From MC&gt; Not putting themselves out business. THey have a good business, but its complementary to traditional TV and they will be the first to tell you. Actually, the better TV does, the better Netflix and Hulu do</strong></p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://jzaba23.wordpress.com" rel="external nofollow">jzaba23</a> — January 14, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75430">10:13 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/3c1d88d8eb52cdc55e6f50fabcfb37f3?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>One fairly large difference in what we do as opposed to TV, is that we are only talking about the ads and their views. We are not talking about content having a rating and then parsing out your ad amongst the 4 commercial pod, as in TV.</p> <p>It’s a big difference; especially when an advertiser can just pay when a consumer physically engages with your ad.<br /> ~J. Krebs, CMO, Tremor </p> <p><strong>From MC&gt; thats a fair point, but it also means that you have to serve the video in far more content in order to fulfill. Hence the networks. And because the video ad is typically served in a tabbed browser, its far from unusual to jump to another tab while the ad, which the advertiser pays for runs but is not seen. Or the ad is an autoload and runs but the consumer has no interest. Its just as annoying as a horrible tv ad. And of course TV ad buyers are pushing for more discrete data and slowly but surely they are getting it. Particularly with sec by sec data from set top boxes. Still the same issue if you walk away from the TV, but its comparable data.<br /> Fortunately for online video, not all buyers have figured it out, but its getting there. But that doesnt defeat the premise that the TV Business is only getting stronger and if online video ads sell more, there is a very, very good chance that those ads are being sold in a traditional TV show or movie</strong></p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://jasonkrebs.wordpress.com" rel="external nofollow">jasonkrebs</a> — January 14, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75431">10:18 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/682c923cd7dcde693d2e14ae5abf1261?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>Interesting analogy, eastsidescott. I suppose the difference is each view on netflix is basically a rental, so the income stream for netflix is fine since netflix can keep adding content even as older content keeps getting re-rented.</p> <p>One area where I think Network and first run TV is getting a big fail is the relentless pressure for ratings without forecasting how well a show might do in syndication reruns. Shows like Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond were almost cancelled after their first season, yet both are still big hits in syndication reruns and have probably generated over a billion dollars in ad revenue.</p> <p>Why did the actors from Everybody Love Raymond have their new shows after ELR get prematurely axed? Till Death Do Us Part (starring Brad Garret) lasted four seasons, and then was axed? Really? How insane is that. Syndication deals can hit it big once a show lasts 5 or 6 seasons, or even longer. So to kill a show after four seasons seems ludicrous to me when main cast member (Brad Garret) is seen everyday by millions of americans on Everbody Loves Raymond syndication reruns.</p> <p>I believe Men of a Certain Age (starring Ray Romano, Emmy winning Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula) also has huge syndication viewing potential, but it was canceled after its second season. Once again, a huge syndication mistake. Five or Six seasons of MOACA would have made a perpetual mint in syndication, but because the show had no gunplay or overly dramatic trailers, TNT dropped the show simply because for first run television on their own channel it could not bring high enough ratings.</p> <p>You’d think TNT would have aligned with another channel like TVLAND and let the first two seasons of MOACA generate significant enough revenue to help pay for the next season of MOACA. TVLAND has no problem repeating a show over and over, and a show like MOACA plays well even with repeated viewings.</p> <p>So the pressure to deliver an immediate hit is hurting the potential of some shows that would do better in syndication. For an industry that is used to measuring everything, it sure seems like first run television places much more value on a shows ratings the first time out of the gate rather than how a show may do in syndication, where the real money is made.</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://www.alexlogic.com" rel="external nofollow">alexlogic</a> — January 14, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75432">10:21 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/5e8e29ba504d4d36b092357f13e2245f?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>Yeah… great blog but this one is missing the point. Nielson rating’s glorified guess vs Google Analytics? Really man? And noting about the Net’s ability to provide an infinite long tail?</p> <p>I have no idea what you mean by unique views…. all stats define new vs. returning. You have GA….</p> <p>Winds are changing…..accept it or don’t.<br /> <strong><br /> From MC&gt; You should at least keep up with the technology. Rentrak, Kantar and others use digital set top box data. So you know the sec by sec numbers for each set top box. You can run analytics on it anytime, any way.<br /> But you would only know that if you paid attention</strong></p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://lkjasdflkj.wordpress.com" rel="external nofollow">skookie000</a> — January 14, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75436">10:48 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/682c923cd7dcde693d2e14ae5abf1261?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>skookie, M.C. did mention the net’s ability to provide an infinite long tail, but that that doesn’t necessarily help with upfront production costs.</p> <p>There are a lot of shenanigans that go on with internet viewing stats. I’m not convinced that returning visitors vs new are clearly defined, especially when users get bumped off and are forced to re-sign in every few hours, plus obnoxious internet ads that lie. Most internet ads lie, and people hate that.</p> <p>I have yet to click on an ad that promised something for free, that then did not demand I do something interactive before I got the free thing. Ef you, you lying internet advertisers.</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://www.alexlogic.com" rel="external nofollow">alexlogic</a> — January 14, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75438">11:37 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/7abf06ba6c9f9e1a97b1eadbf58d28d6?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>“working hard to improve their guide experiences which will be faster and easier than their online counterparts”</p> <p>I have never seen a guide that was faster, easier or nicer to look at than Hulu or Netflix interfaces in a set top box. I have little faith in this statement.</p> <p><cite>Comment by chasefarmer — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75439">12:12 am</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ec08afad1d37f0ac29fb103bc9c49512?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>What’s your take on Netflix getting into the business of delivering original content, i.e. House of Cards and the revival of Arrested Development? From what I understand, they won’t be paying for the production, only licensing it, nor will they be spending anything to market it. How much of a game changer do you think this might be?</p> <p><cite>Comment by anigodda — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75441">12:36 am</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <p>[...] Mark Cuban explains to all the kids on the internet why the TV business isn’t in as much trouble as we think: These &nbsp;content distribution companies are not competitors to TV as a lot of folks would like you to believe, they are CUSTOMERS of TV show producers.&nbsp;&nbsp;They don’t hurt the TV business,&nbsp;they have made the TV business far, far more profitable. &nbsp;In fact, the competition between all the companies that want to provide content over the internet to your wired tv is driving up the price for content produced for TV. [...]</p> <p><cite>Pingback by <a href="http://www.openamazing.com/2012/tv-isnt-in-trouble/" rel="external nofollow">TV Isn’t In Trouble</a> — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75444">12:45 am</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1ecea85c95d04c655b35aec2702d90b7?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>I don’t really want to, but I do agree with this article/blog. A lot of people I know that own a lot of new smart phones can’t bet bothered even finding out a tenth of what they can do. They really just want to press one button and be entertained. Until an EASIER form of tv entertainment comes along, traditional broadcasting will carry on business as usual.</p> <p><cite>Comment by jasontoheal — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75445">12:45 am</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1e8420c62a80e83c494b2897f793d974?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>This business about the value of the “infinite long tail” as it relates to TV is somewhat optimistic, IMO.</p> <p>The fact is that to produce the kinds of television shows that most people watch, you have to have network kind of money. YouTube sensations will always be just that. But Soldja Boy isn’t going to be competing with Axe Men anytime soon.</p> <p>That said, I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive, or really the same form of entertainment for that matter. No more than home videos are comparable to blockbuster movies.</p> <p>People will always pay a premium for premium tv and movie content. Not so with music or writing, where artists can pretty easily self-produce and distribute. Of course people want stuff for free, but just because a television show can be viewed digitally does not mean the markets will allow them to be given away.</p> <p><cite>Comment by dkrich — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75450">1:54 am</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/aebac25bed510f96aa25e4590c43f8b1?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>sounds like a legitimate analysis. time will tell. But why are also intrigued by a startup like makerstudios? it seems like you would be more bearish on a firm like theirs considering what you’ve written here.</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://newmediarules.wordpress.com" rel="external nofollow">newmediarules</a> — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75454">7:59 am</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/5dc70555640588712f57048fd076d282?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>The “Live Stream” of TV Channels has always been an interesting piece of comparing Cable with Cloud Libraries and I certainly can respect Mark’s view on this. But to say that the button on the remote will not be used just like the time on a VCR I hope is dead wrong, but he may be right in some aspects in between the lines of his point.</p> <p>Many people don’t wait until exactly 7PM to watch their show, they DVR it and ironically “buffer it” so they can go to the bathroom, answer the phone AND skip commercials. The captive uninterrupted live stream audience is a myth outside of maybe a sport or big news events. In most other cases, the live stream channel flipper is just flipping for entertainment mostly without a destination goal. That said, most will watch content they really like on Cable within a 48 hour window of when it was broadcasted. Price and generational culture shifts are creating a tipping point, the user experience is evolving. Maybe one day in the near future I can “flip channels” like live.twit.tv, Revision3, YouTube Leanback and Hulu right next to CBS and NBS; merging and blurring the experience into truly one natural channel lineup set so we don’t need to change our brainwashed behavior.</p> <p><cite>Comment by manielse — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75456">10:54 am</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/5a6655fbd3514a65a27f0c73f0043f32?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>I don’t understand all of this rating stuff and most Americans don’t and most of the people that read your blog don’t need to understand it ether you might. Ratings are all about wealthy people trying to figure out how to get their hands on more of your money. </p> <p>But your right about most Americans, I can only turn my television on and change the channel if anything else is required I get my son. I have never even seen hulu nor do I know how or even care to know how to watch it. When Netfix was mechanical meaning you would received a disc in the mail I subscribed for a while but we got tired of watching moves. Even if I bought a television that could hook up to the Wi Fi I probably wouldn’t or couldn’t hook it up. The other night I went to bed before my wife and when she came to bed the TV was still on. I ask her why she left the TV on and her reply was I don’t know how to turn it off. </p> <p>We pay way too much for entertainment when Comcast can buy control of GE and pay cash Americans need to wake up duh! that was our money they used and then they change their name to Xfinity why so we forget that Comcast spent our money to buy GE and now what do they control and how much is it going to cost us. Money for nothing! No one wants to earn it anymore they just want to take it out of your wallet. </p> <p>As much as I pay of television you think I could have watched the Jazz game last night I probably could have watch a Mav’s game but oh right I live in Utah. Lol</p> <p>Well I guess this isn’t what your post was about Mark so I will get out of here. I started reading your blog a while back and have enjoyed it very much it is one of the only two I read. I have a different opinion of you now then the one I had when you first bought the Mav’s I now think you are a good person. I wasn’t referring to you when I was speaking of the wealthy above that was some other people.</p> <p><cite>Comment by Rocky — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75457">11:33 am</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/5e8e29ba504d4d36b092357f13e2245f?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>(Followup). Anything reporting to the Net will be able to stalker-track, sure. Though it wasn’t clear enough in the “1mm” paragraph if you were including those systems or referring just to broadcast/cable. Maybe explain what you mean by “TV”? Hulu can better track my viewing than Nielson can at my DTV viewing. Shouldn’t be a problem of keeping up with technology, I develop for it.</p> <p>A few more thoughts since I’m close to this topic (if you don’t mind), enough that after the 2 or so years I’ve been following, this one finally force the WordPress signup process.</p> <p>The NEA posted a study a year or so ago about the effect of online media vs concert attendance, and found web content (youtube…etc) helps fuel interest and people go to more concerts. If I miss an episode of my favorite show, I can watch online and keep up. Likewise if I’m on out edge of DFW and barely get DTV I can watch all of it online. I think you’re dead-on there. However the problem is cord-cutters; doing DTV internet and no cable/sat/paid TV. Is the cost in online ads and premium services [hulu , Netflix] making up for loss from cord cutters?</p> <p>Here’s 4 just off of Broadcastengineering.com<br /> <a href="http://broadcastengineering.com/news/nielsen_tv_ownership_declines_12082011/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://broadcastengineering.com/news/nielsen_tv_ownership_declines_12082011/index.html</a><br /> <a href="http://broadcastengineering.com/news/cord_cutting_accelerates_10202011/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://broadcastengineering.com/news/cord_cutting_accelerates_10202011/index.html</a><br /> <a href="http://broadcastengineering.com/news/comcast_channel_bundling_drop_cable_10132011/index.htmlhttp://broadcastengineering.com/ott/cord-cutting-centris-pay-tv-08242011/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://broadcastengineering.com/news/comcast_channel_bundling_drop_cable_10132011/index.htmlhttp://broadcastengineering.com/ott/cord-cutting-centris-pay-tv-08242011/index.html</a> </p> <p>Regarding TV’s live advantage: ustream, live stream, justin.tv, google live… As was said in the comments, this is really for the younger generation. Something to watch for though.</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://lkjasdflkj.wordpress.com" rel="external nofollow">skookie000</a> — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75460">1:08 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c41262958b7e9e0ad2d9890f4175cda0?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>I agree with a lot of things here including online content distribution companies not being a competitor to TV networks. But what I want to say is TV viewers have more options today than before, in how they want to view live and on-demand content, including what device to use to watch the content. </p> <p>As the war lingers on in TV and Video land, traditional vs. online, or whatever, TV viewers have their own war and shortcomings with all of them. Many viewers may want to push a button to watch TV while others prefer to watch online when away from home. Still, whatever new thing comes along in video or digital device, broadcast TV will always be here.</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://pcsatellitetv-reviews.blogspot.com/" rel="external nofollow">PBSumpter</a> — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75461">1:34 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <p>[...] The TV Business Keeps Getting Stronger (Mark Cuban, Blog Maverick) [...]</p> <p><cite>Pingback by <a href="http://transmythology.com/2012/01/15/recommended-reading-1152012/" rel="external nofollow">Recommended Reading 1/15/2012 | Transmythology.com</a> — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75463">2:29 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/1c52cf0293092b2a15d8663db6185120?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>The easy way to make the guide better for cable/dish/… is to eliminate the channels I don’t get. Why should I have to scan through channels I haven’t paid for and can’t watch? </p> <p>I know the answer – supposedly I’ll see what I’m missing and order those extra channels. Maybe that works for some, but not me.</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://www.y42k.com" rel="external nofollow">Ray Charbonneau</a> — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75465">2:51 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/11bfe1389c9c5ddaa783dfe0e2aef48c?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>As Mark Cuban suggested the views are there and the need is to monetize it via targeted ads<br /> Behavioral Based Social Media System for the Cable TV Market</p> <p>Cable has long history of failing to develop 1-1 target marketing. Canoe Ventures (latest MSO venture) was touted as the Holy Grail of targeted advertising and is reportedly less than a success at this stage.</p> <p><a href="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/03/the-56-billion-ad-question/" rel="nofollow">http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/03/the-56-billion-ad-question/</a></p> <p>Excerpt from above link on January, 2011 Fortune.com –<br /> “Advertisers will spend $56 billion putting ads on TV this year,…The cable industry thought it would be a big opportunity too, but its efforts have fallen short. Canoe Ventures, a two-year-old project of the six biggest operators, has launched just one notable product…”</p> <p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jason-kilar-here-are-my-thoughts-on-hulu-and-the-future-of-tv-2011-2" rel="nofollow">http://www.businessinsider.com/jason-kilar-here-are-my-thoughts-on-hulu-and-the-future-of-tv-2011-2</a></p> <p>Excerpt from above link on February, 2011 Business Insider<br /> Identifies advertising market being missed by Cable TV operators<br /> “Advertisers have weighed in heavily on the future of TV, with both their thoughts and their considerable wallets. Advertisers are increasingly expecting to present their advertising messages to just their desired audience…and not to anyone else. For over 60 years, video advertising could only be bought via a TV show’s projected audience, which served as a blunt proxy for a certain target audience. The result has been many wasted impressions and an often irrelevant experience for consumers. In the near future, advertisers will demand the ability to target their messages to people rather than targeting their messages to TV shows as proxies for people.”</p> <p>The obvious alternative, with the least cost to implement is an independent Cloud CRM solution designed to cross index cable subscriber households with their corresponding social network interests. The current regulatory and privacy issues experienced by cable TV operators gathering unauthorized data from set-top boxes could be minimized, by validating subscriber and even eliminated by essentially having an opt-in plan (provided conveniently by the social media). Access along with profile and interests of households would be controlled by the subscriber’s social media platform of choice. Facebook has high consumer acceptance and could be used for household profiles, product interests, social interests, and viewing entertainment interests. There would be incentives to the subscribers to opt-in including notification and reminder of viewing favorites, Groupon type ads, and specific ads matching interests with infomercial type group discounts and urgency to buy.</p> <p>The current design of target marketing advertising ventures is fundamentally flawed. They focus on demographics, and fail to identify the individual behavioral current and future household interests. </p> <p>I would propose using a data cross indexing similar to a data warehouse project I was involved with at iN Demand. <a href="http://www.indemand.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.indemand.com/</a> . </p> <p>Project would involve developing a bidirectional Cloud interface program using a CRM application between the social media and MSO subscriber records and communicating behavioral marketing – business advertising, discounts, specific videos/groups, family albums – providing subscriber awareness of TV programming — movies, products, etc. similar to Amazon and Groupon. This would make subscriber stickier and substantially reduce turnover. </p> <p>To paraphrase a comment I made in the CED 1999 publication about the Internet, cable TV operators need to become the new best friends with the 600 million members of social media. </p> <p>Read more: <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#ixzz1jYmM79Jk" rel="nofollow">http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#ixzz1jYmM79Jk</a></p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://herblair.wordpress.com" rel="external nofollow">herblair</a> — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75466">3:15 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/11bfe1389c9c5ddaa783dfe0e2aef48c?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>Time shifted programming will allow targeted ads – reason for facebook having IPO value of $100 billion or $100 per friend and Google 100% ad supported – search analytics and connecting houshold behavioal data is being done – TV is late to party – other thoughts<br /> Cable TV has a flawed “Field of Dreams” business model built on arrogance. Cable MSOs have had no incentive to control content costs, since many receive dual direct revenue benefits from selling and collecting content costs. De facto ala carte will happen due to the subscribers’ extreme dislike of cable. Apple advocates understand the strategy of paying more for their devices and getting specific aps (e.g. music). Google advocates understand the benefits of targeted ads covering the cost of content. Amazon advocates understand the value of tracking interests and economically facilitating products of interest. Siri-powered voice activation via the Cloud will circumvent the obsolete cable set top box. The use of behavioral marketing and targeted ads will help offset the content costs which will no longer be passed on with impunity. The alternatives have a great chance of succeeding; since they are supported by extremely well financed,creative zealots. </p> <p>Cable MSOs have had no incentive to control content costs, since many receive dual direct revenue benefits from selling and collecting content costs. De facto ala carte will happen due to the subscribers’ extreme dislike of cable. Apple advocates understand the strategy of paying more for their devices and getting specific aps (e.g. music). Google advocates understand the benefits of targeted ads covering the cost of content. Amazon advocates understand the value of tracking interests and economically facilitating products of interest. Siri-powered voice activation via the Cloud will circumvent the obsolete cable set top box. The use of behavioral marketing and targeted ads will help offset the content costs which will no longer be passed on with impunity. The alternatives have a great chance of succeeding; since they are supported by extremely well financed,creative zealots. </p> <p>Cable TV has always been able to raise subscriber rates with impunity (Craig Moffett term). For that reason they have adopted a flawed revenue model that has reached the tipping point. Not only is the poverty level a problem, there are over 60% of the Gen Y’s at risk.To quote Pogo, we have met the enemy and he is us. Netflix has more subscribers than Comcast; and satellite has 30% of the market, for a reason. Subscribers are creating a de facto ala carte. Unfortunately as long as cable owns the content and sells it, as well, there appears no way to circumvent the continued rate increases to their suicidal final demise. But there are some ways for cable to survive .Cable has to eliminate its “Field of Dreams” mentality. Cable can become a positive influencer by changing their revenue model. Internet has proven there are targeted ad models that work. Cable must incorporate a targeted ad strategy along with reducing subscription rates to absorb future content increases. The hybrid model would be based on social media interests and preferences, starting with direct ads on all time shifted programming. Groupon like infomercials, with word of mouth on steroids, group buying, and urgency to buy. Amazon like preferences and alerts. Cable is currently using data from demographics and set-top boxes, a flawed strategy, with privacy issues. They could be using analytics from behavioral marketing data.<br /> Not sure they are interested in constructive suggestions? </p> <p>Read more: <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#ixzz1jYn02Rb7" rel="nofollow">http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#ixzz1jYn02Rb7</a></p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://herblair.wordpress.com" rel="external nofollow">herblair</a> — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75468">3:16 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/11c753623ad39987af09f8c31768b1f9?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>Interesting insights about the fundamental differences in how we interpret viewership metrics: the average vs total uniques, the # of people per household, and the number of viewers in the next hour, vs spread out over forever.</p> <p>Personally, I have shifted all of my TV consumption to (a) league pass for the Mavs &amp; Rangers, and (b) watching full TV series through Netflix, either streaming or DVD.</p> <p>TV Shows – I’m curious, if I watch 4 seasons of MadMen on Netflix streaming, how does the revenue to AMC &amp; LionsGate compare with their revenue were I to have watched it live over those 4 years? </p> <p>League Pass – I’m also curious, if I subscribe to NBA league pass to watch the Mavs, how much do the sports teams receive, compared with what you’d have gotten if I got cable TV and watched the commercials?</p> <p><cite>Comment by mikedorsey — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75474">8:47 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <p>[...] Source: <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/" rel="nofollow">http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/</a> [...]</p> <p><cite>Pingback by <a href="http://ochotel.kristenmariejensen.com/13/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger-blog-maverick/" rel="external nofollow">The TV Business Keeps Getting Stronger ! ? blog maverick | Oc Hotel</a> — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75475">9:04 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/c0a44d59eb95c485d2f1d823a29814d6?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>Great points! Had to laugh here when you mentioned buffering which rarely happens here on my dsl wifi/Roku/netflix/super basic cable tv combo. Guess tired of paying for commercials and trying to budget more towards mobile needs and live entertainment. Using Samsung S2 and Sam Galaxy TAB 10.0. We recently started watching Sons of Anarchy on Netflix commercial free and moved through episodes with a quickness. To be quite frank rather spend money at the Rave imax theatre as recently did watching Mission Impossible where there was a whole lot of product placement and few adverts. It is no longer the look but the feel that is important too. IE. 15,000 watts of power going through the imax dolby surround system.</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://saltnsand.wordpress.com" rel="external nofollow">saltnsand</a> — January 15, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75477">10:16 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/b0f22bcbf63dfd43cb761fc432f79338?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>I like this post. One point however that is not exactly accurate is one you have in bold, re: the amount of time an advertiser must wait to get reach. If a big advertiser like Coke wants to purchase 10million impressions, they can reach 10million in less than a few minutes on YouTube because YT will spread the ad out to multiple channels and distribute it in whatever breakdown you want. </p> <p>Also, the reason why it’s prolly a better deal for the onlive advertiser (ie more valuable) has to do with: 1. Targeting which channels they want to reach (age group, subject, locale, niche topic, etc) which they can do much better 2. A much lower CPM on YT (maybe $1 or $2 dollars per 1000 sometimes compared to $25 per 1000 on TV, 3. the ability for the audience to click and go deeper into advertisers message.</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://www.dembot.com" rel="external nofollow">andrewbaron</a> — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75481">8:55 am</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/6fd8648ad29276faad402ca8d9bfef04?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>Why are we focusing on relative shares of a shrinking market? The market is shrinking! Does anyone think it was wise for the music industry to fight so hard to maintain CD sales over the last ten years?</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://homepageforbigs.wordpress.com" rel="external nofollow">jayhollenkamp</a> — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75484">10:32 am</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/55a003f108cb46855a69dbd931aa583a?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>From HappyTVGuy&gt; Sounds like the wishful thinking of someone who has a lot to lose and not much to gain by the inevitable transition… couldn’t find your blog post on CD’s and the music business</p> <p>From MC&gt; if you even think they are comparable you have zero clue</p> <p>It’s a business that forces you to buy more than you want to get the one thing you actually want. Somebody found a way to offer it a la carte after the pirates forced their hand and the industry caved. How is that different?</p> <p>If you haven’t tried the pirated HD versions of shows that are available from myriad sources (not just torrents) you haven’t lived. There is plenty of software that will work as a personal DVR picking up all of the shows you can get from your cable company (and many you can’t) within an hour of the show’s airing. Sure it’s illegal, but the demand is there for a service like this and many people would be willing to pay a fair price for it. The problem is that the cable company is convinced that the price is in the neighborhood of $80/household/month which is insane if you’re not watching 40 hours/week.</p> <p>I stopped watching live TV other than sports when I got my first Tivo in 1999 which is pretty much when I stopped watching commercials. I cut the cable in 2010 and put up an antenna for sports. Occasionally I am forced to watch a TV show because my son wants to watch the Simpsons right away. We did this last night and I was blown away by how many commercials there were and how many we saw three times in that 30 minutes and how few were not on during the football game that preceded it.</p> <p>If $25-40/month is not enough for households to pay for unlimited video content which can then be distributed to content providers (TV shows, movies in the post-theater distro, and sports) based purely on ratings then there is something wrong with the system. Sports can still be subsidized by advertising in which case they want to be available to everybody to boost ratings. When I say content providers I am not talking about cable networks or traditional TV networks. I am talking about production companies. There are way too many middle men that provide next to no value as they did in the music industry.</p> <p><cite>Comment by joeplace — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75485">11:58 am</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/55a003f108cb46855a69dbd931aa583a?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>newmediarules&gt; But why are also intrigued by a startup like makerstudios? it seems like you would be more bearish on a firm like theirs considering what you’ve written here.</p> <p>Are they still alive? The last news post on their site is from August, 2011</p> <p><cite>Comment by joeplace — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75486">12:13 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/682c923cd7dcde693d2e14ae5abf1261?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>joeplace, one aspect you left out of your 25 to 40 dollar equation is that unlike satellite tv, cable tv actually has brick and mortar locations, and I find that very refreshing when I have to deal with an issue.</p> <p>I believe Time Warner has a pathological liar / supervisor in their colorado phone center (last time I spoke to the liar was late September of 2011). Fortunately for me, my local cable company is less than 10 minutes away.</p> <p>I go directly to the cable company now if I have a problem, it’s actually faster and much more efficient for when an infrequent problem does occur.</p> <p>I wonder if cable tv will will ever be able to provide a customizable channel. They seem to be getting closer with their pretty decent entertainment on demand services.</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://www.alexlogic.com" rel="external nofollow">alexlogic</a> — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75489">12:58 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/cb2b050f22477d1c82a204b5704de5b6?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>One thing TV “services” are wont to forget (for folks like us) is that TV isn’t all about movies and drama and long-running sports events (all of which may be recorded for replay later). We spend a good deal of time at the TV for *current events*—local and national news. Cable and satellite services do no better than antenna, and beyond what’s available via antenna, cable and satellite and internet services offer precious little that is not burdened by innordinate commercial baggage.</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://pithagora.com" rel="external nofollow">fjpoblam</a> — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75490">1:01 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/55a003f108cb46855a69dbd931aa583a?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>alexlogic – What do you need a local office for? There should not be any special hardware other than a TV and possibly some kind of generic network box (basically a simple computer). We don’t have local offices for music so why should we have one for television content? Manage the network that brings content into our house like a phone/utility company and that is all we need.</p> <p><cite>Comment by joeplace — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75491">1:53 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/682c923cd7dcde693d2e14ae5abf1261?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>joeplace, phone/utility companies that are located nearby and have a shingle one can visit tend to be more customer service oriented than companies that are just online only or located far away. (the exception being banks???)</p> <p>I just saw an E-surance commercial on television, it’s really well done. But can they stay in business with no local presence anywhere? Seems to me like they are headed for severe cases of insurance fraud at some point.</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://www.alexlogic.com" rel="external nofollow">alexlogic</a> — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75492">2:03 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/682c923cd7dcde693d2e14ae5abf1261?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>Joeplace, alternative answer for you. First the U.S. was manufacturing based, then that was phased out to some degree and replaced with service oriented jobs. Now the younger crowd wants service oriented jobs phased out.</p> <p>What’s left?</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://www.alexlogic.com" rel="external nofollow">alexlogic</a> — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75493">2:05 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/55a003f108cb46855a69dbd931aa583a?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>I had cable TV in some form for 25 years. I have visited a cable office twice. Once was to swap a bad box and the other was to return their box when I cut the cable two years ago. Neither visit would have been required if I had to have their horrible hardware on my end which adds no value as a customer. I would prefer to just deal with their service via the mail. Offices like that are empty or are just a place for people without checking accounts to pay their bills with cash – entirely unnecessary and overly expensive in this day and age as there are other business that can perform and charge for this service on an ad hoc basis.</p> <p><cite>Comment by joeplace — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75495">2:24 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/682c923cd7dcde693d2e14ae5abf1261?s=32&amp;d=http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>And you think that if there was no local office that your service would have been just as spectacular as it must have been since you had no reason to visit?</p> <p><cite>Comment by <a href="http://www.alexlogic.com" rel="external nofollow">alexlogic</a> — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75498">3:28 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> <li> <img src="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/bf273f64334de6cc435ed01ed3c6e5c0?s=32&amp;d=http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=32" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <p>TV is a great reach medium and will always remain that as long as Americans spend 4-6 hours a day actively/passively watching TV. Due to the fragmented nature of the web, there will never be another way to reach 10MM people watching American Idol at the same time online – people simply have too much choice.</p> <p>However, the argument that TV is thriving because they’re making additional money from online now is flawed: the studio part of the TV businesses is certainly generating more revenue and is thus able to replace some of the syndication $ that are no more. The network businesses are starting to suffer because there are more choices for buyers (e.g. online, mobile, connected TV et al.) that offer better tracking, lower rates and more credible data (digital set top boxes aren’t everywhere). Ultimately mass marketers will use network, cable and digital to reach their audiences but the fragmentation will lead to most non-mass-market advertisers to buy more online; that’s not necessarily Mcdonalds or P&amp;G but thousands of other advertisers – plus the people who cannot afford TV of course.</p> <p><cite>Comment by christianbusch — January 16, 2012 @ <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75501">4:10 pm</a></cite> </p> </li> </ol> <p><a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/feed/"><abbr title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</abbr> feed for comments on this post.</a> <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/trackback/" rel="trackback">TrackBack <abbr title="Universal Resource Locator">URL</abbr></a> </p> <h3>Leave a comment</h3> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/2012/01/14/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger/#comment-75501">blogmaverick.com</a></div> <p>TV is a great reach medium and will always remain so as long as Americans spend 4-6 hours a day actively/passively watching TV. Due to the fragmented nature of the web, there will never be another way to reach 10MM people watching American Idol at the same time online – people simply have too much choice. </p><p>However, the argument that TV is thriving because they’re making additional money from online now is flawed: the studio part of the TV businesses is certainly generating more revenue and is thus able to replace some of the syndication $ that are no more. The network businesses are starting to suffer because there are more choices for buyers (e.g. online, mobile, connected TV et al.) that offer better tracking, lower rates and more credible data (digital set top boxes aren’t everywhere). Ultimately mass marketers will use network, cable and digital to reach their audiences but the fragmentation will lead to most non-mass-market advertisers to buy more online; that’s not necessarily Mcdonalds or P&G but thousands of other advertisers – plus the people who cannot afford TV of course.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger-says-m">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger-says-m#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/IUMw51WRw6E" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/the-tv-business-keeps-getting-stronger-says-m Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:05:56 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/gtZ4UH6XyC4/bonobos-adds-a-clever-twist-to-viral-contest http://digbits.posterous.com/bonobos-adds-a-clever-twist-to-viral-contest <p> <div style="font-family: sans-serif; overflow: auto; margin: 0px 10px;"><h2 style="margin: 0.25em 0 0 0;" /><div class=""><a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ryanspooncom/~3/YymCApjDeCQ/">Bonobos Adds a Clever Twist to Viral Contest, Sharing.</a></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 0.5em;">via <a href="http://ryanspoon.com/blog" class="f">RyanSpoon.com</a> by Ryan Spoon on 12/20/11</div><br style="display: none;" /> <div style="float: left; margin-right: 10px;"><a href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fryanspoon.com%2Fblog%2F2011%2F12%2F20%2Fbonobos-viral-facebook-contest%2F"><img src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fryanspoon.com%2Fblog%2F2011%2F12%2F20%2Fbonobos-viral-facebook-contest%2F" height="61" width="51" /></a></div><p>Bonobos is currently running a viral giveaway on Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/bonobos?sk=app_206129382796033">Win a Wardrobe</a>. Giveaways on Facebook aren’t unique – they are great ways to drive Facebook fans, sharing and awareness. <span></span></p> <p>But what is unique is the viral hook that Bonobos is using: </p> <p>“The more you share, the more chances you have to win.”</p> <p>That too isn’t unique – usually contests give extra weight for the number of shares, referrals, etc. Bonobos is doing it differently though – and its very clever: </p> <p>If one of your friends wins, you win the same prize. That’s different and very cool. If the prize is enticing enough, its a more interesting way to incent referrals and sharing. </p> <p><img src="http://ryanspoon.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/bonobos-viral.png" width="570" /></p> <img src="http://ryanspoon.com/blog/?ak_action=api_record_view&amp;id=5642&amp;type=feed" alt="" /></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/bonobos-adds-a-clever-twist-to-viral-contest">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/bonobos-adds-a-clever-twist-to-viral-contest#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/gtZ4UH6XyC4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/bonobos-adds-a-clever-twist-to-viral-contest Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:06:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/8xiQ_ZpHEN4/more-digital-predictions-for-2012 http://digbits.posterous.com/more-digital-predictions-for-2012 <p> <div>Here are Say Media's predictions for 2012 - alongside my comments</div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="gmail_quote"> <div style="color: #000000; font-size: 14px; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> <div> <table border="0" width="600"> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top" style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 140%;"> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;"><strong>1. Access Trumps Ownership</strong>&nbsp;In the wake of&nbsp;<a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/f913ce04fe" target="_blank">Steve Jobs' passing</a>&nbsp;and our subsequent obsession with quantifying his impact on society, one thing became clear: a new generation has emerged that is wholly influenced by the device-driven access Apple products provide. They're called the&nbsp;<a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/d10e18b38b" target="_blank">iGeneration</a>&nbsp;and they are redefining the reigns of ownership in startling new ways. This newest generation is detaching itself from the identity-defining sense of ownership their forebears embraced and converting to an almost pure consumption model. What they're teaching us is that it's all about the experience and the interface: the ability to access, share, discuss and move on.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">My thoughts: Fully agree. </span></strong>Digital media lends itself to borrowing (no pun intended). The concept of ownership is a thing of the past for digital goods, unless scarcity can be created in the form of watermarked, special digital editions (imagine virtually signed, limited albums), similar to the way photography is managed offline.</p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;"><strong>2. Death of the Daily Deal</strong>&nbsp;We loved that daily deals like&nbsp;<a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/a8f738ebaf" target="_blank">Gilt</a>&nbsp;made online shopping sporting &hellip; for a while. Then lots of people did it. And we realized that we weren't always getting that great of a deal and that being a slave to the deal was more a hassle than anything else. Turns out, what we really value in modern retail - taste and curation - is not the stuff that fills our mailboxes with reminders of an empty addiction to stuff.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">My thoughts: partially agree; these models will evolve and i'm bullish on models like Gilt that are well-segmented (especially the ones w/o inventory such as Jetsetter and Gilt City).</p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;"><strong>3. It's All About the Device</strong>&nbsp;This year everyone is joining Apple in the hardware business - Amazon, Google, B&amp;N, and soon <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/d4b16171e2" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. When the world goes mobile, just having a site or app is not enough. The only reliable way to guarantee access to the consumer now is to control the whole stack. See the battle take shape when <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/5c6dd73852" target="_blank">Siri moves in front of search on all Apple products</a>, or the new <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/fc8eb89671" target="_blank">Bing lead navigation experiences on the xBox</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="line-height: 140%;">It's about the device and the software together, a dumb device remains dumb.</span></p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;"><strong>4. Social Networks Can Thrive Outside of Facebook</strong>&nbsp;While the Like button is ubiquitous and Facebook dominates world-wide time on site metrics, 2011 demonstrated that social applications can survive - and even thrive - outside of Facebook.&nbsp;<a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/090514337b" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, the iPhone-only photo sharing application, went from zero to 10 million users in under a year.&nbsp;<a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/166c2be7f8" target="_blank">Path</a>&nbsp;pivoted with version 2.0 of their service, and ignited user growth even while ostensibly competing with Facebook on the core "use cases" of status updates, photo sharing and location check-ins. The key to success for these apps? First, focus on the user experience. And then don't fight Facebook directly, but leverage it: connect to help users find their friends, and then post from the app back to Facebook to help drive awareness with the later adopters.&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">I wouldn't call those "social networks" but as Facebook morphs more and more into a gigantic email-esque communication platform, there will be room for others. Next myspace anyone? Self-expression anyone?&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;"><strong>5. The Return of Editorial Design</strong> HTML was the worst thing to happen to the art of editorial design. And it's taken 15 years to turn the ship around. Thanks to HTML 5, the iPad and the Apple SDK, 2011 was a year of real progress. Just check out <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/3d85383c2d" target="_blank">The Verge</a>. Or Fast Company's <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/f8b47106db" target="_blank">Co Design</a>. We love the craft in the <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/68c0eb577c" target="_blank">Path</a> iPhone app. And BusinessWeek makes the magazine tablet experience a joy. We can't wait to show you our latest when the new <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/a7dc5f16a1" target="_blank">Remodelista</a> debuts in January.</p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">I agree, great design is coming to the forefront, which is a good thing!</p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;"><em>What did you learn in 2011? Tell us in the comments on our <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/631bf4fb87" target="_blank">blog</a>.</em></p> <p style="padding: 10px; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; background-color: #efefef; border: 1px solid silver; font-size: 13px;">This is the <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/e54593b939" target="_blank"> SAY newsletter</a>, delivered weekly, featuring our take on media, culture, venn diagrams and the occasional look back. Forward it to your friends, because sharing is caring.</p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;"><strong>This week's SAY: Faves</strong></p> <p style="line-height: 160%;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;"><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/d96a944123" target="_blank">Marc Andreesen: Predictions for 2012 (and beyond)</a> (cnet)<br /><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/ed7b9e8a22" target="_blank">YouTube in 2011: The Top 10 Videos</a> (Silicon Angle)<br /> <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/ebad6b898f" target="_blank">Remodelista Gift Guides: Last-Minute Gifts for Everyone </a> (Remodelista)<br /><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/3cb8a8e7fe" target="_blank">Mediashift on the ReadWriteWeb Acquisition</a> (SAYDaily)<br /> <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/dfbc15666e" target="_blank">xoJane Exclusive: Pics of Courtney Love's Amazing Townhouse </a> (xoJane)<br /><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/29722c7449" target="_blank">Honestly...WTF: All Kinds of Awesome</a> (<a href="http://blog.saymedia.com" target="_blank">blog.saymedia.com</a>)</p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?SAYMedia/fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/adde392e73" target="_blank"><img src="http://saymedia.typepad.com/_img/CES-Promo-600x130-FINAL3.png" border="0" height="130" alt="" width="600" /></a></p> <p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;">&nbsp;</p> <hr style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial;" /> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="580"> <tr> <td style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial; font-size: 12px; color: #666; padding-top: 20px;"> <p style="text-align: center;">If you do not wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe"<br /> in the subject line or simply click on the following link: <a href="#1346b9c459b95a9e_" style="font-weight: normal; color: #666; text-decoration: underline;">Unsubscribe</a>.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">SAY Media, 180 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA 94107</p> </td> </tr> </table> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p /> <hr /> <table border="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td><span style="font-family: arial, verdana; font-size: xx-small;"> <a href="http://hosted.vresp.com/211427/fb4155f7d8/235005783/b42b5a22d1/" target="_blank">Click to view this email in a browser</a> <p /> If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/u?fb4155f7d8/b42b5a22d1/mlpftw" target="_blank">Unsubscribe</a></span></td> </tr> </table> <hr /> <table border="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td><span style="font-family: arial, verdana; font-size: xx-small;"> SAY Media<br /> 180 Townsend St.<br /> 3rd Floor<br /> San Francisco, California 94107<br /> US<br /> </span><p>&nbsp;</p> </td> <td align="right"></td> </tr> </table> <img src="http://portal.mxlogic.com/images/transparent.gif" alt="" /></div> </div> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/more-digital-predictions-for-2012">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/more-digital-predictions-for-2012#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/8xiQ_ZpHEN4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/more-digital-predictions-for-2012 Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:49:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/dviGjKvIBIU/andreessens-predictions-for-2012-and-a-few-fr http://digbits.posterous.com/andreessens-predictions-for-2012-and-a-few-fr <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote><div> <div style=""> <img src="http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/12/19/Marc_Andreessen_270x405.jpg" height="405" alt="" width="270" /> <p>Marc Andreessen</p> <span>(Credit: Andreessen-Horowitz)</span> </div> <p>Marc Andreessen's view of the world boils down to software. </p><p> From where he stands, as the guy who co-founded Netscape Communications and now co-runs the powerful Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, no industry is safe from software. Or, as Andreessen put it in a much-discussed <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903480904576512250915629460.html">piece he wrote</a> for The Wall Street Journal, "Software is eating the world." </p><p> Software has chewed up music and publishing. It's eaten away at Madison Avenue. It's swallowed up retail outlets like Tower Records. The list goes on. </p><p> No area is safe--and that's why Andreessen sees so much opportunity. </p><p> Fueling his optimism: ubiquitous broadband, cloud computing, and, above all, the smartphone revolution. In the 1990s, the Internet led to crazy predictions that simply weren't yet possible. Now they are. </p><p> I caught up with Andreessen to talk about 2012 and software's onward march. </p> <p> <b>Q: Let's start with smartphones.</b><br /> Andreessen: I think 2012 is the year when consumers all around the world start saying no to feature phones and start saying yes to smartphones. Feature phones are going to vanish out of the developed world and over the course of five years they'll vanish out of the developing world. </p><p> <b>That's a big deal because?</b><br /> That's a big deal because that's the key enabling technology for software eats the world broadly. Because that's what puts the computer--literally puts a computer in everybody's hand. </p><p> <b>In a way that the PC industry couldn't?</b><br /> Most of the people in the world still don't have a personal computer, whereas in three to five years, most people in the world will have a smartphone.... If you've got a smartphone, then I can build a business in any domain or category and serve you as a customer no matter where you are in the world in just gigantic numbers--in terms of billions of people. </p><p> <b>Does that mainly help existing players, or also open opportunities for new businesses?</b><br /> Both. If you're an Amazon or a Facebook or a Google or even a startup, the fact that you can potentially address 2 billion smartphones in the developed world or 6 billion in three or five years, in the entire world, it's just a huge expansive market. </p><p> But it also opens up new kinds of businesses. The big thing that happened in 2011 was sort of the rise of the verticals, and e-commerce was the hotbed of that. We saw the rise of a whole category of e-commerce category killers in verticals that 5 or 10 years ago couldn't support high growth companies because the markets weren't big enough. </p><p> <b>What e-commerce players are you thinking of?</b><br /> We just did an investment in <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57345138-93/marc-andreessen-predictions-for-2012-and-beyond#">Fab</a>, which is just growing by leaps and bounds, and there's Airbnb [Andreessen-Horowitz is an investor]. That company is growing vertically. It's software eats real estate, software eats home furnishings. Another very exciting company, which we're not invested in, is called <a href="http://www.warbyparker.com/">Warby Parker</a>, an e-tailer for eyeglasses. So it's software eats Lens Crafters. </p><p>It's just on and on and on across different verticals because of the number of consumers who a) have PCs, b) are on the Internet, and now c) have smartphones. I expect vertical specialization to continue and there to be killer Silicon Valley style software companies in all kinds of verticals and categories in 2012 and 2013 that weren't viable three or five years ago. </p><p> <b>Just e-commerce?</b><br /> E-commerce was the hotbed of vertical personalization of 2011, and big fat vertical expansion goes into other categories other than e-commerce in 2012. It could be content. It could be new kinds of service providers. </p><p> <b>We've seen some already.</b><br /> One I really like that we're not involved in is <a href="https://www.uber.com/">Uber</a>. Uber is software eats taxis. It's almost entirely a smartphone-based application bringing town <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/car-tech/">cars</a> to you.... It's a killer experience. You watch the car on the map on your phone as it makes its way to you. </p><p> That's smartphone specific, and there's going to be all kind of things like that. Task services like <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57345138-93/marc-andreessen-predictions-for-2012-and-beyond#">Zaarly</a> and <a href="http://www.taskrabbit.com/">Taskrabbit</a> are delivering a sort of distributed mobile workforce available on demand through your smartphone. </p><p> These are slicing and dicing different aspects of the economy into vertical slices or category slices and making them available via smartphones hooked to these really powerful networks with cloud computing on the back-end. We're just seeing a pattern of companies doing this over and over. </p><p> <b>So who should be scared in 2012?</b><br /> I think 2012 is the year that retail--retail stores--really starts to feel the pressure. And I don't say that because I don't like retail stores. I loved going to Borders. I thought it was a great consumer experience. And I was a huge fan of Tower Records. </p><p> But the economic pressure is huge as e-commerce gets more and more viable and as these category killers emerge in the superverticals. If I own mall real estate or retail stores in cities, or if I own chains like electronics chains, I'd be concerned.... I think electronics and clothes are going to be a real pressure point. Home furnishing is going to come under pressure. It's going to get harder and harder to justify the retail store model. </p><p> The model has this fundamental problem where every store has to have its own inventory and every store is also a warehouse. The economic deadweight of that entire inventory in each store--that's what took down Borders. </p><p> Retail runs at very thin margins. So if e-commerce takes a 5 percent or 10 percent or 15 percent bite out of your category, then it becomes harder to stay in business as a retailer. So I think 2012 is the year that that really kicks in. </p><p> <b>Doesn't this bode well for the e-commerce incumbents?</b><br /> For sure, Amazon is going to do really well and anybody with major e-commerce is going to do real well. But the new companies in e-commerce verticals are providing a very differentiating customer experience that is much more like shopping as entertainment. </p><p> Fab has more interesting products and merchandising and presents them in a more interesting way with much deeper social interaction. At Fab, something like 25 percent of the purchases over Black Friday weekend were a result of Facebook referrals. There's a whole fun element to shopping and whole entertainment element and whole excitement element that the first generation of e-tailers were not very good at. </p><p> <b>Like Amazon?</b><br /> I like to say that the first generation of e-tailers was really good for nerds. Amazon for me is--I love it--it's like the biggest warehouse superstore of all time. It's just awesome, and I love wandering up and down the aisles and it's like, 'wow, look at that.' If I do enough searches I can discover anything. </p><p> The new generation of e-tailers are much more appealing to normal people--people who like to go the mall, have fun with their friends and try on clothes and compare clothes, and go home and brag to their roommate what they got on sale, and all the rest of it. A lot of new startups are not only very viable but also growing very fast because they provide a very different experience. </p><p> <b>Aren't there opportunities for startups to help?</b><br /> Yeah, there's going to be a big opportunity for software assistance for the incumbents at getting better in the new world. </p><p> As an example, at eBay [where Andreessen is on the board], we bought a company called <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57345138-93/marc-andreessen-predictions-for-2012-and-beyond#">Milo</a>, and there' a competitor called <a href="http://www.shopkick.com/">Shopkick</a>. These guys expose local inventory on retail store shelves and make it available as part of the e-commerce experience. That's the kind of software that's going to be incredibly useful to retail chains as they seek to compete online because it unlocks the local inventory. </p><p> The other category is represented by Groupon and Foursquare [both also Andreessen-Horowitz investments] and a whole new generation of these local e-commerce platforms, which is bringing online the gigantic number of businesses in the world that aren't on the Internet today at all. Whether it's a restaurant or hairdresser or day care center or yoga center or lawn care firms and on and on, there are so many that just aren't online in any meaningful way today, even 15 years into the Web. </p><p> Advertising on Google doesn't do them any good because it doesn't matter if people come to their Web site, it's not how they get business. So there's going to be a whole set of new companies, like Groupon and Foursquare, that are going to unlock these local businesses that aren't even online today. </p><p> <b>If nothing else, Groupon has done a great job of getting local businesses online.</b><br /> I've always felt that the criticism of Groupon has been unwarranted. People have really underappreciated what Groupon has done, which is they've created a way for small businesses that aren't online to spend money online and be able to dial up customers on demand. That's a really big deal. </p><p> I think Foursquare is a revolution in the local experience of cities and connecting to small businesses around you, through information and, increasingly, coupons and offers. Again, it's customer acquisitions. There are going to be more of these kinds of things--and a whole bunch of new ideas in 2012. </p><p> <b>And this all circles back to smartphones.</b><br /> Foursquare was impossible before smartphones. There was no way to implement it. Then, there's the other side of this. There's the user app for Foursquare, but there's also going to be the merchant app for all these things. </p><p> Local merchants, like local restaurant owners, are going to have a smartphone app they can use to dial up customers on demand. Whether that's from Groupon or Foursquare--any of these companies can do that. A lot of small business owners are going to start running their businesses from their smartphones. </p><p> </p></div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57345138-93/marc-andreessen-predictions-for-2012-and-beyond">news.cnet.com</a></div> <p>Andreessen is extremely bullish on mobile, vertical e-commerce and disruptive apps (uber). <br />I've heard that next year is the big year in mobile since about 1998 and so far it's been 13 wrong predictions. However, owning an amazing Android phone (Samsung Galaxy SII), an Ipad and seeing that up to 40% of traffic on our websites (youth-focused, so trend-setting) now come from mobile devices (Ipod touch is the most popular right now), i'm going to go long on mobile for 2012. </p><p>Prediction #1: Mobile is going to grow and especially the following: <br />m-commerce (that sounds so 1999) <br />mobile-local integration (think price comparison apps, instant coupons, map-mashups) and <br />mobile video advertising (scalable, measurable, good CTRs) <br />purpose-built apps (ie not-newspaper apps which will move to DHTML5) such as uber, tripadvisor's travel guide apps) </p><p>Predicition #2: Online (and mobile) video is going to be big: TV $ are moving, Youtube is becoming the biggest cable network in history and there's lots and lots of demand for pre-roll inventory online. </p><p>Prediction #3: E-commerce is going to grow and consolidate: too many small e-commerce plays are out there right now; they need to join forces to reap economies of scale </p><p>Prediction #4: Daily deals continue to fizzle and become more segmented: I like Gilt City and Bloomspot, not a fan of the spray-and-pray chiropractor deals on GRPN etc. The merchants participating in those deals need to offer aggressive deals for a reason... They're not best in class. I've yet to see a "deal" from Paul Smith or Gramercy Tavern. </p><p>Prediction #5: The social craze is going to splinter: Facebook, Twitter will continue to attract huge audiences, lots of smaller players will fall by the wayside. And no one has yet created a great, local play on social: Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook, Socialight etc. have all failed to connect real people in real places so far. </p><p>It'll be another great year to ride the digital wave, happy 2012 everyone!</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/andreessens-predictions-for-2012-and-a-few-fr">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/andreessens-predictions-for-2012-and-a-few-fr#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/dviGjKvIBIU" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/andreessens-predictions-for-2012-and-a-few-fr Sun, 18 Dec 2011 07:56:37 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/XF10N4KNVU4/87254366 http://digbits.posterous.com/87254366 <p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/digbits/uwDnIhwkvbqlyqkJwrHdibyzIrICAnfaixjJjIBnxmxjzDkbmxpfoBIoIeyE/media_https1i1picplzt_sqFnv.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Media_https1i1picplzt_sqfnv" height="667" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/digbits/uwDnIhwkvbqlyqkJwrHdibyzIrICAnfaixjJjIBnxmxjzDkbmxpfoBIoIeyE/media_https1i1picplzt_sqFnv.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <p /> Taken with <a href="http://picplz.com">picplz</a>. </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/87254366">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/87254366#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/XF10N4KNVU4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/87254366 Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:08:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Digbits/~3/Ih9XXunSSKw/the-next-gen-cable-network-new-youtube-funded http://digbits.posterous.com/the-next-gen-cable-network-new-youtube-funded <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> Glad to see our partner, ClevverTV get a nice mention in this WSJ story today. The Youtube channel strategy with a rumored $100MM dedicated to producing new, high-quality content on Youtube is starting to roll out - excited to see how the audience will react to these channels over the next few months and whether they will actually reduce TV consumption in favor of youtube. <blockquote><div> <h3>By Amir Efrati</h3><p>With <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/12/01/youtube-redesigns-around-channels-strategy/?mod=google_news_blog">YouTube’s redesign last week</a>, the stage was set for the Google site’s big bet on <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203687504577004170200345732.html">professionally-produced video “channels.”</a> Now here come the channels.</p> <p>On Tuesday, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/kincommunity">KinCommunity</a>, a women’s-oriented lifestyle channel run by a company called Deca, went live with videos on food, fashion, parenting and personal stories. With its mission to celebrate the “simple artistry of everyday life,” KinCommunity features short clips including advice for moms on how to dress after having kids, a mini-documentary about a mother who uproots her American family and moves to Tuscany, and a video that shows people how to make coconut chocolate macaroons.</p> <p>“We want to be the big online brand for women over 25,” says Deca CEO Michael Wayne, who started the company in 2007 and previously launched sites including Momversation.com, HerSay.com, and ParentsAsk.com.</p> <p>By the middle next year, more than 100 channels featuring everything from sports to drama to<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/11/23/google-adds-disney-films-to-youtube/"> new Disney programming</a> will appear on YouTube, the world’s most popular video site, which hopes to become a premium video network that also graces the world’s living-room screens.</p> <p>Last month we introduced you to <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/10/31/meet-the-creators-of-youtubes-channels-videos/">some of the channel creators</a>. Since then two other channels have launched, both with Spanish-language videos: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/tutele">Maker Studios’ Tutele</a>, which includes a telenovela called “Melodia de Amor,” or “Melody of Love,” and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/clevverteve">ClevverTeVe</a> by Clevver Media, which features a round-up of entertainment news. Another channel for women and moms will debut on Wednesday, a YouTube spokeswoman said.</p> <p>KinCommunity will produce three new videos a day. “We want to give women a moment where they can get away and experience something beautiful and take two minutes to themselves,” Deca’s Wayne said. Unlike other new YouTube channels that will feature or be tied to well-known personalities such as Brooke Burke, Madonna and Jay-Z, KinCommunity won’t have any brand name celebrities so that it can focus on “being authentic, real and accessible,” Wayne said. On-camera talent will include women who write popular blogs or Deca’s own vice president of programming, Beth Le Manach, and its creative director, Eileen Levinson.</p> <p>He added that Deca, which is “spending more on creating this content” than prior online videos, has hired a social media manager to help promote its KinCommunity content on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere on the Web.</p> <p>YouTube paid out large cash advances to the creators of the new channels. The creators will split advertising revenue with YouTube after the company recoups its advances.</p> <p> Above, a video from KinCommunity, a new women’s-oriented lifestyle channel on YouTube.</p> </div></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/12/06/after-makeover-youtube-channels-begin-to-roll-out/?mod=dist_smartbrief">blogs.wsj.com</a></div> <p></p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/the-next-gen-cable-network-new-youtube-funded">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://digbits.posterous.com/the-next-gen-cable-network-new-youtube-funded#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Digbits/~4/Ih9XXunSSKw" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/493978/Christian_Busch_whatteenswant.png http://posterous.com/users/5emf049iwE6d Christian Busch digbits Christian Busch http://digbits.posterous.com/the-next-gen-cable-network-new-youtube-funded