Back home and new shows

Okay so my plane landed last night around 11:00pm ET. I had a chance to finally edit all the audio from last weekend's Bootcamp in Pittsburgh on the plane and finally post the shows. I also posted the live show from Ad-Tech in San Francisco.

Ad-Tech was a great conference - but I think I learned more talking with Kenji Kato and the guys over at the Pixel Corps on Thursday afternoon. I was walking down Market Street in San Francisco and decided to drop by and introduce myself. I am glad I did. They were very patient and answered all my new media and podcasting questions. They are on the cutting edge of new media and showed me around their studio.

the bootcamp interviews

FROM BOOTCAMP LAST WEEKEND:













Here is a photo of me interviewing Chris Brogan at Bootcamp Pittsburgh on April 21 for the FolkMedia Podcast. Check out the interview here along with several others.

Keynote Review (Thursday morning - Ad-Tech 2007)

David Clark from Joost talked about disruption and how Joost is approaching TV. He basically said that they want to emulate TV - not do away with it.

Joost will have a full screen TV like experience - but with full control in the hands of the user. They are signing deals with big media companies now and soon will open the platform to all content creators big and small.

Check out the raw live blog post below. I was typing fast so there are plenty of mistakes.

live from ad-tech day two (morning keynote 9:30am PT)

SAN FRANCISCO...

"Dreaming of Disruption"

Speaker: David Clark, Exec. VP Advertising, Joost


Owned by the founder of Kazaa - taking on the music industry
Owned by the founder of Skype - taking on the telephone industry
Now Joost is taking on television


Dick Fasbery - the inventor of the Fasbery flop. He tried to do the high jump backward and changed Olympics forever.

He says that TV should not change that much - it should remain the same. Joost says TV is good and that the internet shouldn't kill TV. The networks have responded to competition by crafting well told cinematic stories. TV is getting better he says.

He says it is because storytelling that these networks are surviving and thriving. Storytelling matters, brand matters, programing matters.

Joost is not betting against TV.

But the internet has what TV lacks - community, measurability, etc. He says we are seeing the merging of the two worlds - online and TV.

When David was at MTV he said that people wanted to watch and be involved in a community.

Video will always be the foundation of content. With Joost anyone can set up a channel to broadcast to the world.

JOEL'S QUESTION: this sounds like 1995 when anyone could make a website. What can we learn from the 90's that we can apply to this new opportunity?

Joost has many channels that is unique and separate from what you can find on TV. Joost has signed deals with big media companies. He says that talent and storytelling skills comes from the big companies. He says online video will help big media companies more than others.

He says we will see new types of entertainment centered around this new media. Audience interaction and choice will reign. Smaller and loyal audiences will spring up around certain type of shows and channels. Channels and play lists will be organized by me, my friends, or the wisdom of the crowd.

He says we should look through the consumer's eyes - not big media's eyes to see how things will take shape.

Joost will open the platform to all very soon. He says that Joost feels a lot like TV. It is an instant full on TV like experience - but with control and interaction. It is a lean back or a lean forward experience - your choice.

It took 50 years to create TV 1.0 - TV 2.0 won't happen overnight. The thing that is holding back TV 2.0 is an effective ad model. The biggest fact is that the consumer is totally in control.

David says that this is the biggest deal. It effects the ad industry the most. As advertisers we are not used to having the consumer in control. As advertisers we need to re-think about what this means. Advertising is not a product and it is not entertainment. He says that it is supposed to snatch you away and pitch you something.

As an advertiser where do we place our bets - he asks. In the 1970's Scope was able to have a single message on TV and America had to watch. But entertainment is fragmented. He likens this to all of us trying to stand up right now and pitch him on a 30 second business idea. David says that this is the marketing tactics of the day - but they were designed for the past. They are tired old models. We haven't developed new ad models fast enough and we are relying on the success of the past.

Three things that Joost uses

1. Interact
2. Measure
3. Target

He says that he doesn't think the 30 second spot is dead. He says that it will still work as long as there is only one spot that has prime space in the content. He thinks this will work.

David says that Joost takes an open source approach to Joost. He feels that Joost being built on the Firefox browser will open itself up to that community.

David says that Joost is open to any type of company that would like to help them figure out a new ad model. He wants start-ups, old companies, etc. He claims he wants to work with content creators and aggregators.

35-40% of ad dollars go into TV. But the internet video realm will grow fast and strong over the next few years.

David says that there will be some disruptive advertising. Mid-roll, pre-roll, post-roll.

David says that he loves YouTube. Joost is much more controlled and is more for content creators - not user gen content. He says there is a great opportunity for content that isn't short clips of user gen content.

Question from audience: What about big screens? Are people going to want to watch TV on their computer?

David says that TVs will be able to play content on big screens eventually. He says that laptops are already media devices and devices are converging. Joost says that everything is available on the network. The user can create their own playlists and content line up.

Question about content owners and revenue sharing...

David answers that the content owners can sell their own ads or use the Joost ad sales team. If they sell their own ads they will make more money.

Question - do you see advertisers being content producers and owning their own channel.

David says that advertisers are great storytellers and he sees them having the possibility to create their own content.

Great talk.

dreaming of disruption intro video

ad-tech day one (more stuff 5:00pm PT)

SAN FRANCISCO...

Still coming live from California at the Ad-Tech conference. The exhibit hall was filled with about 80% search marketing companies and 20% of content aggregators. The most interesting companies are the ones that create social media outlets for individual organizations.

I am sitting right now in the afternoon keynote session. Bob Davis of Highland Capital Partners says that the real money is to be made through advertising - not through big payouts like YouTube and MySpace.

So I guess he is saying that we have passed the wild west stage of hype and big money flying around. We are entering the 2.0 world of real profitability and sustainable business models.

Bob also says that if you can build an audience - you can sell it. He says that relative to audience - online advertising is relatively small. He says that the web as a medium has spread wider, deeper, and farther than any other media ever in the history of the world.

Tony Perkins, CEO of AlwaysOn Network says that we should look at Web 3.0. He says it is the instant messaging generation (26 and younger) do more texting than emailing. The value propositions of the internet have been shown by the young people.

Web 1.0 was using web one-way as a broadcast
Web 2.0 is an experiment in two-way communications and connectivity

Bob Davis says the internet has changed the way we do everything. He says that the internet is not revolutionary - it is evolutionary. He says that web 3.0 will learn how to reduce the clutter and make the online experience better.

Tony challenges the panelists to give him something new and cool about the internet.

Bob Davis says that there is no big leap.

Tony says 62% of content that the average 21 year old accesses online is produced by someone they know. He says that is a huge shift.

Gene DeRose says that that stuff is not really content - it is more about communication.

It was mentioned that companies will actually make their own media for distribution.

Tony asks how many on the panel are on social media networks - only Bob Davis raised his hand.

The panelists said that stuff that failed 10 years ago online is ripe for success now.

In Japan has 20 megabits per second - some people have 40 megabits per second. What happens when that is streamed to a hand-held device? Our media will be so integrated into our lives - we won't be able to tell.

The next big thing will be built for the new generation (26 and younger) - just like MySpace and YouTube.

Tony Perkins says that the next been players will be the ones who let go of their content and not try to control all this stuff.

Bob Davis says the power of the internet is the voice it has given to people all over the world as never before.

China is skipping the PC and is going straight to cell phones for internet connections.

The session just ended. Good panel discussion.

I am heading to the Ad-Tech award party tonight. Free food, Circe De Sole performance, and the award show. should be fun.

Ad-Tech - is anyone creating media here?

Live from San Francisco:
April 25, 2007

I am at Ad-Tech. The whole conference is centered around new media and making money from it - but no one seems to be creating new media. This is drastically different from Bootcamp PGH last week. Everyone seemed to be blogging, streaming, and recording the event.

If content is king - then those who make it will live the lives of kings! Long live the content creator kings.

ad tech day one (four)

keynote cont...

I tried to stream the event live using UStream.tv - but couldn't get my video to work with it. So - I recorded a quick sample and posted it to Google Video.

Jason says that anywhere content goes our branding has to go with it. He says that we really need to work on branding content.

Question for the audience: $60 Billion goes to TV - $2-3 billion through internet. What will the ratio be 5 years from now?

Suzie says that it will be huge on the internet!!

Jon says - $575 Million will be spent on web video in 2007

Suzie says that no one working in new media and online video wants to re-create television. She says that she is looking for knockout creative and better metrics. Entertainment and information will feel better to us as consumers than TV. The web shouldn't be like Tivo type tv watching.

Jason from Sling Media says that CPM's will go through the roof due to laser targeted advertising.

Question from audience: Asks Jason from Sling Media the process of protecting stolen content posted on aggregators.

Jason from Sling Media says that this content should be called "stolen." He says to use this "stolen" content to your companies advantage. Don't consider it stolen consider it free promotion. He says that creators should get rid of widows and platforms and dstribute free content as wide as possible.

Suzie from YouTube says that they do want their partners to enjoy money from their content.

Question: Are there any properties that use consumer created content effectively?

Suzie answers - Yelp.com.


NOTE: after hearing the questions and answers from all these so called experts in th industry I am much less intimidated to jump into this industry full force. It sounds like NO ONE knows where all this stuff is going. The field is wide open!

Session is over.

ad-tech day one (three)

keynote cont...

(sorry for the fragment style of writing -blogging live through this session so trying to type fast and post as I go.)

Wired mentions Creative Commons liscensing and publishing through a wiki online. A Wired writer began an article and threw it up on the internet and allowed the community to ad to it.

Caroline from Washington Post made the point that it still takes reporters to create content and interpret what is going on. She gets some back-lash from the other panelists.

She says that if you are a political reporter you will interpret what is going on better.

Jason from Sling Media says people are going to create content on their own - he encourages main stream big media to open up themsleves to community involvement.

Moderator - Jon asks how do you make money off a conversation. Caroline from Wash Post says that it is very difficult.

Kourosh from Wired says that the conversation is much more entertaining than a static piece of content by a journalist.

ad-tech day one (two)

Keynote cont...

Talking about content being king. The panelist agree that while aggregation is important and needed – the content holders have the power.

There is the idea of not having to be a huge content creator to be successful. Anyone can be a content publisher. People don’t think of non-professional content as viable – they say.

The moderator asks youTube exec about them testing ad models. She says that they are moving forward and are focused on making it a revenue model that will work for the individual publisher.

One thing about these panelists is the fact that they don’t seem to know a whole bunch of what they are talking about. None of them are under 30 – in fact it looks like they all may be over 40.

Suzie says that this summer we may see YouTube.com expand to include advertising. She made a disclaimer that they don’t want to screw up the user experience.

She said that a bumper or pre-roll may disrupt the user experience. Transitions is key. The transition from a commercial experience to a content experience is key.

JOEL NOTE: I don’t think there should be a difference. I think that content should be content. Advertising should be made compelling enough to actually be content. Think Bud.tv

Jason says that no one has the right ad model yet.

Kourosh from Wired says that he uses YouTube every day to distribute their content.

Suzie from YouTube makes the point of commercials being content in and of themselves - (Joel - right on Suzie). Jason mentions X Box 360 ads...

Jason makes the point that the economics of advertising in the past create a barrier to making advertising the actual content. He says that most people are accepting of any kind of content. SNL clips are on the same level as Coke and Mentos commercials.

ad tech day one (part one)

San Francisco:

Okay so I am sitting at the first keynote panel on Wednesday of Ad-Tech. Everyone's got their laptops open and we are ready to roll.

In a minute we are going to hear from several industry people. Topic: Content Is King (Again?)"

The chairman of Ad-Tech is going over the buzz of the conference.

Short form content: The idea of short form video and video snacking and what kind of advertising supports it.


I don't see any content being made anywhere. Maybe others are live blogging but no one is video recording except for the hired hands that have been called into video tape.

Keynote next is:

John Fine - Media Columnist, Business Week - moderator

panelists:
Jason Hirshhorn - pres. sling media
Kourosh Karimkhany, gen. mangr. Wired Digital
Suzie Reider, head of Advetsg. YouTube
Caroline H. Little, CEO & Pub. - Washington Post and Newsweek Interactive

bootcamp pittsburgh

I had the opportunity to attend and present at Bootcamp Pittsburgh over the weekend. It was a conference about new media, blogging, video on the net, and podcasting.

I had an awesome time and was able to meet a bunch of passionate and interesting people.

Check out a review of the weekend here.

So - picture me going around with an old cassette tape deck recording interviews for FolkMedia.org. I got several really great interviews that I will post there over the next several days.

I'm off to San Fransisco tomorrow for the Ad-Tech conference. It is focused on the advertising and business end of web content.

new podcast

I've helped to launch a new podcast. Check out FolkMedia podcast when you get a chance at FolkMedia.org.

The first episode is also available on iTunes. Make sure you subscribe.

i'm no fool

Okay - so I hate this stupid holiday. April 1 is just plain stupid. Most people have dumb tricks they play on people. But I was fooled nice and good this year thanks to our friends at Google. If the site is still up check out: http://www.google.com/tisp/

It brought a very big smile to my face today.