Decision 2008

A few short observations today. I want to start looking at what the different presidential campaigns are starting to do online. The early multi-platform results are not good. Fred Wilson reports his disappointment at what the candidates are offering. He says that it looks closer to 1995 than 2007. No real blogging or grassroots efforts. Screened questions answered by email.

I had lunch today with a friend who's become very involved with creating the King's Academy in Jordan. It's been termed by the New Yorker, CBS and the NYT as Deerfield in the Desert. King Abdallah has modeled it after his alma mater, the centuries old Massachusetts prep school. But it strikes me that he's really on to something. The idea is to deliver a secular education to kids in the Middle East. True, there will be a lot of rich kids, but 15% of the tuition is geared toward providing scholarships to kids from the region. There are also scholarships being put into place for kids from Israel. If there's anything that can be done to broaden the horizons of smart and ambitious kids from the Middle East that does not entail sending them to radical madrasses or religious schools, I'm all for it.

Popular Wisdom: Wrong Again

The commentators and critics were wrong about vcr's in late '70s. The popular wisdom then, at least in Hollywood, was that videotapes would put the studios out of business. Doom and gloom abounded. That proved wrong. Videos delivered a much needed boost in the arm to the "industry."

Until recently, the popular wisdom has been that the Internet would put the television nets out of business. OK, it's an exaggeration, but cut me some slack, I'm working on a larger point. That point is that Nielsen is now reporting that the number of people watching television shows is actually up.

The conclusion is rather dramatic according to the Nielsen press release...

Video on PCs and iPods actually is expanding the audience of traditional TV programs, supported by the fact that total TV usage was at a record high in U.S. households at 8 hours, 14 minutes a day during the 2005-2006 TV season according to Nielsen Media Research data.

The study also reports that television advertisers and programmers are finding new and lucrative markets in broadband television. Nielsen also reports on advertising models, saying that 15-30 second pre-rolls work best and should demand a higher CPM than traditional television advertising due to the level of interactivity. There is debate, however, regarding whether pre-rolls will emerge as the favored ad model in broadband tv. Some critics argue for the potential of post-rolls. Others say that subscription models will rule.

Newspapers Pull Back
The Boston Globe has announced that it will be closing its three remaining overseas bureaus, Jerusalem, Berlin and Bogota. The WSJ comments that this reflects a "painful" issue for major metropolitan dailies. In the face of mounting losses and budget cuts, do they concentrate heavily on local reporting?

Jill Carroll, the Christian Science Monitor stringer in Iraq and one-time kidnapping victim, who was a fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center notes that the number of U.S. newspaper correspondents stationed abroad had dropped 12% between 2000 and 2006, dropping to 249 from 282.

Last week, Jack Welch on CNBC said, "I'm not sure local papers need to cover Iraq, need to cover global events." I'm not going to get into whether Jack Welch is the commentator most qualified to talk about the state of journalism (although he is trying to buy the Globe), but what he said makes a lot of sense. There is so much timely coverage of major issues across the board 24/7 that local newspaper dollars are perhaps best spent on local coverage and enterprise or investigative reporting. Those are things that readers aren't going to get elsewhere.

Go ElfYourself.com
Advertising Age's Madison + Vine reports that OfficeMax totally rocked the house in its aggressive Holiday campaign. On one of the 20 websites they launched, ElfYourself.com, where people pasted their faces on a singing and dancing pixie, 11 million people turned themselves into elves. That's not me btw.

The site was splashed across "Good Morning America," CNN, ESPN and national print pubs, and more than 100 user-generated videos were posted on YouTube. Elf Yourself generated 79,000 MySpace hits and 2 million Google queries, all in about five weeks. Consumers spent 300 million minutes on all 20 sites, which pulled in $2.5 million in media exposure.

Multi-platform rules!

Mochila: Syndication for a New Generation

Welcome to today's column. I begin what will be a regular feature on Multi-Platform Media, company profiles of ventures in this multi-platform space, or just companies that I want to write about.

Today it's Mochila, a company that has come strong out of the gates and is creating a new paradigm for syndication in our fragmented media world. Mochila reaches syndication agreements with various media partners -- a slew of them so far -- and offers the material to other media sources for use other plans and on other platforms. Unlike other syndication companies, Mochila does not require that those use the material sign long term subscription deals or anything like that. You like it. You use it, for a fee, of course.

There's also a new offering that enables licensees to use material for free if you run it with ads embedded. So, I can run pages on this website with content provided by Mochila. You'll see the ads, and I'll get 30% of any revenues, Mochila will get 30% and the content owner will get 40%.

I had an opportunity to speak with CEO Keith McAllister yesterday -- he's a veteran of CNN -- and he was extremely encouraged by the media response since the company emerged from stealth mode last year. His strategy is to go after the biggest brands in the business, and their members include AP, , Hearst, Hachette, Washington Post/LA Times News Services. In all, 1542 media outlets and 139 organizations. They are planning to add still photos and video shortly.

Mochila has just received $8million in second round funding. The round was led by Charles River Ventures, and previous investors, Mission Ventures, The Greenspun Corporation and Jerry Colonna also participated.

It looks like a great service. The only variable I see are the scads of websites out there who are inclined just to lift stuff for free. Of course, it's not the right thing to do, but that hasn't stopped many people in the past. I think the most likely clients are corporations and "official" media companies who won't just lift stuff for free. McAllister offers that the opportunity to make money off the content will keep the small guys in line.

Keep an eye on these guys. If they can continue to line up name media brands as partners, they'll have a considerable advantage over others that follow.

Adult Entertainment Edition

A wise man once said, "As pornography goes, so goes the world." Well, maybe it wasn't a wise man. Maybe it was me about ten minutes ago. But, in any event, I think it's pretty well known that gambling and porn are early adapters in the world of tech and media. Everyone else follows the money.

The biggest news I heard over the weekend was that adult entertainment powerhouse, Vivid, would be beginning production on Blu Ray technology first, and possibly later on competing format HD-DVD. This is big news as the slug fest continues between the rival technologies.
Vivid CEO Steve Hirsch said to TVPredictions.com

"As of now, it (the first release) will just be Blu-ray. But that's not to say we won't release it in HD-DVD later. Blu-ray seems to have the momentum. But we're not in the business of picking winners. We will produce content for all formats."

However, as On the Media pointed out this weekend, the final adoption of one technology or the other as the successor to the standard DVD format is likely to have fewer ramifications than the Betamax/VHS war of the 1980's. There are now too many ways of delivering content for any one to be pervasive. BTW, Vivid's first Blu-Ray release will be Debbie Does Dallas... Again. It's a remake.

The Times wades into the subject today with the take that introducing HD into the world of porn could be asking for too much information.... "The biggest problem is razor burn," said Stormy Daniels, an actress, writer and director. She goes on to say that she's not too sure why anyone needs their porn in HD. The answer is provider by the director known as Robby D., "It puts you in the room." OK. Asked and answered.

The format status, according to the Times, seems uncertain. It reports that Sony, one of the major players behind Blu-Ray has been reluctant to give it's blessing to mass production of tapes for the adult industry. Digital Playground, a Vivid competitor, will begin releasing HD-DVD titles this month. Beginning now, there will be four new releases a month.

Let's put this in context. 7,000 new adult titles were distributed on DVD last year in the U.S. That's $3.6 billion.

Quote of the day, from actress Jesse Jane, "I'm having my breasts redone because of HD." In my house the adoption of HD has necessitated fewer changes. We're buying a new tv.

Last week Behr Entertainment was at NATPE trying to sell a video version of Naked News, the site on which women delivery the day's headlines while -- getting undressed. The program, dubbed, "All the news with nothing to hide," is available daily, weekly, with either men or women. There's even a non-nude version. I think that one's already pretty much around. I haven't been able to track any news on a sale.

Digital Breakfast NYC 2007

I am planning to launch a breakfast series this year called, for now, Digital Breakfast. The idea is to pull together people from the worlds of media, advertising, technology and finance who have a personal and professional interest in the future of media.

I am putting this together under the auspices of my new media marketing/pr firm, Gotham Media Ventures, and each month we plan to host an invite with a keynote or panel. The event is modeled after the First Amendment Breakfasts that I produced for many years for the Columbia School of Journalism.

There will be no charge for the events, but they will be by invitation. We plan to pull together a diverse group and generate some great conversation and presentations. I am in the process of pulling together a group of advisors and sponsors, and am soliciting the participation of anyone who wants in. I'm looking forward to this!

Fox Business
It looks like the Fox News business channel may finally become a reality. The holdup since the idea was first floated in 2004 was acquiring adequate distribution. That has now happened in the critical NYC market and Time Warner will be carrying the channel on its system, beginning probably beginning mid-year.

Crain's NY reports that it's part of a four point deal. Included are re-transmission of Fox owned and operated stations, carriage of the new business channel, carriage of Fox Reality Channel, and an extension of the Fox News contract. It's a great deal for Fox, apprently. They will receive 75 cents per subscriber, up from a current 25 cent per subscriber level. The new business channel will be priced at 15 cents.

The online finance space is getting extremely hot. News literally just came to me that Yahoo! will be offering a personal finance vertical on its site. That from Media Post. This seems like a vertical with lots of room for expansion.

Social Media News Releases
There's a lot of controversy in PR about what are being termed social media news releases. These seem essentially to be electronic press releases with lots of links, graphics, widgets, etc. I may be missing something, but I don't see what the big deal is. It seems like a useful tool, but hardly revolutionary.

In a related developed PRNewswire and Technorati announced an alliance of sorts this week. They have entered into an agreement whereby you will be able to connect directly from an electronic press release to the blogosphere to see what people are saying about the press release. It is a marriage of sorts between traditional pr and new media. Will it be a happy marriage? I guess it depends on what people are saying about you press release in blogland.

It seems a bit dangerous to me in that the company or firm issuing the release essentially loses control over the message. Granted, people can always look it up for themselves, but it's an extra step or two that you have to be willing (and know how) to take.

MobileTV: Darling or Deadbeat?

The media (me included) can't seem to figure out whether mobile tv is the next best thing since sliced bread or a disaster (betamax, anyone?) in the making. My opinion (not that you asked, but it's my pulpit) is that it will gain widespread acceptance once everyone figures out how and when to use it.

Here's where the chips fall today. The WSJ runs an extended take under the header "Banner Year: Companies Vie for Ad Dollars on Mobile Web." The article profiles the tremendous, initial success of AdMob. Third Screen also grabs its share of print.

Pamela Anderson : Virgin mobile commercial - kewego
What does Pamela Anderson always have by her side? Her new Lobster 700TV ! Discover the phone now...

Keywords: commercial mobile ad phone sexy catch pamela anderson virgin mobile virgin lobster 700 tv pammy

Video from hazuki10

The numbers are interesting, though I'm not sure what they mean at this point. In 2006, mobile ad spending reached an estimated $871 worldwide, most of it on text messages, according to the research firm (quoted by WSJ) Informa Telecoms and Media. Meanwhile Internet spending was around $24 billion, according to ZenithOptimedia.

Meanwhile, paidContent.org reports (quoting The Guardian) that Virgin Mobile TV has failed to gain traction in the UK, despite the considerable charms (?) of Pamela Anderson in its $4.9 million ad campaign. The paper reports that considerably fewer than 10,000 subscribers have tuned in thus far. The culprits? Delivery mechanisms, price points, limited service... take your pick. But stay tuned.

Fiction on Demand
The Washington Post reports that it will be publishing fiction for the first time on its website. The paper is serializing a novel written by biz section reporter David Hilzenrath. New serials will be available every Monday and Thursday. In a deal with Lulu, Inc. the book can also be printed on demand. The $18.95 revenue will be split among Lulu, Hilzenrath and the Post. The article comments that providing these ancillary services is another way for newspapers to lure readers in through non-traditional paths.

In related news Mediapost reports that newspaper blogs are catching on....

Now, however, there's some objective support showing that online newspaper readers have taken to the publications' blogs. Data released this morning by media measurement company Nielsen//NetRatings shows that blog pages within the top 10 online newspapers drew around 3.8 million unique visitors last month--more than triple December 2005's 1.2 million.

By contrast, total online readership at the top 10 newspapers during that time has only grown by 9%, from 27.3 million in December 2005 to 29.9 million last month.

These numbers also mean that the proportion of online newspaper readers that also visit the paper's blog has grown from around 4% at the end of 2005 to around 12% last month.

Nielsen//NetRatings also reported that newspapers' blog readers tend to skew male--even more so than online newspapers in general. Men accounted for 66% of visitors to blogs, and 60% of visitors to online newspapers last month.

Mobile: Where are We Now?

Today's WSJ reports on social networking by cellphone. It reports on more companies rolling out GPS services that can locate anyone with the service. It profiles Loopt, a service available by wireless operator Boost Mobile which is owned by Sprint Nextel. I could see where it makes some sense, but, uh, can't you just call your friends and ask them where they are?

I wonder if the privacy concerns outweigh the utility. Sure you can make all the promises you want that the info is not retained. I would also be concerned about stalkers using the service. Also, to be somewhat serviceable a greater number of online providers are going to have to offer the service.

In any event, the numbers are interesting. According to Gartner, 63% of mobiles sold in North America in 2007 will have some GPS utility. That's up from 55% last year.

Speaking of mobile, Steve Smith has an interesting column today in Media Post's Mobile Insider, entitled "User Generated Crap." That should give you a pretty good idea of what it's about. His main point is that the tech now far ahead of the content available. The long and short of it is that content that looks OK or at least passable on the the web is often totally unviewable on the really small screen. Also, where you may tolerate a lot of crap on the web where you have a fast connection and pretty good visibility, we're a lot less forgiving on our mobile devices. He draws an analogy to what content providers went through when they started may making material available on the web.

Newsweeklies Cheat Death
At least they're trying, according to this week's Crain's New York Business. The article discusses how Time has been shifting gears with more commentary and features to become less dependent on breaking news. This in an effort to shake up a stagnant (at best) ad market. Newsweek is, however, staying the course and sees an opportunity to break out of Time's shadow. Crain's points out that Newsweek got a much earlier start on the web and that its owner Washington Post Co. is largely controlled by the Graham family, thus easing the pressures exerted on Time by Wall Street.

Non-Traditional Advertising
Yesterday's Times lamented the loss of ad free space. I'm not sure what the big deal is. Granted, I don't need to see Al Roker in the back seat of a cab, but 1) I don't have to look; 2) I can turn down the volume; 3) It's better than looking at whatever is usually on a seatback in a cab. I am not talking about plastering scenic vistas with billboards, but about the creative employment of advertising. It's sometimes a better use of time and space than what's typically sold as entertainment.

Ad Pages
An interesting development . The New York Times Sunday Magazine has for the first time ever beat out all other pubs in ad pages. In 2006, it boasted 3,965 ad pages, a 5% increase over the previous year.