YouTube rules the, um, air? waves ...

YouTube visits larger than rivals combined: survey | Technology | Internet | Reuters

YouTube, which has had to pull copyrighted videos off its site after legal attacks by some big media franchises, has enjoyed a surge in U.S. audience share that leaves it far larger than the next 64 video-sharing sites combined, a survey found.

The U.S. market share of visits to YouTube, which Google Inc. bought for $1.65 billion last November, rose 70 percent from January through May, online audience measurement firm Hitwise Inc. said in the survey published on Wednesday.

By contrast, visits to the next 64 largest sites tracked by Hitwise rose only 8 percent during 2007's first five months.

Mobile video surging; viewers open to ads, Telephi...

Mobile video surging; viewers open to ads, Telephia says :: RCR Wireless News

Mobile television and video subscription revenues grew 198% year-over-year to $146 million in the first quarter of 2007, according to the latest data from Telephia Inc. Approximately 8.4 million wireless customers now subscribe to some form of mobile video, representing nearly 4% of all U.S. mobile subscribers.

Additionally, nearly half of the mobile video subscribers polled said they were willing to view ads on their cellphones in exchange for something of value, according to Telephia. At least 55% said they recalled viewing a mobile add in the last 30 days, which is nearly three times the recall rate for mobile data consumers in general.

Nielsen is Closing the Loop with Wireless Measurement ...

Nielsen Agrees to Acquire Wireless Measurement Firm Telephia

Measurement giant The Nielsen Company has signed an agreement to acquire Telephia, Inc., a provider of syndicated consumer research to the telecom and mobile media markets, to bolster its wireless measurement technology and expertise.

As the use of mobile devices for communication and content purposes continues to grow, Nielsen agreed to acquire Telephia in order to more accurately track mobile and wireless trends, according to Jesse Goranson, senior vice president of account management for Telephia.

Nielsen earlier this month announced the launch of a wireless measurement service, Nielsen Wireless. The service will use data from the firm's existing National People Meter TV panel to help mobile media firms position their offerings and identify how customers of different mobile operators consume media in the home.

The NEW Plaxo (or How LinkedIn won the corporate social media skirmish and we had to reposition or die) ...

Plaxo turns address books into Web social networks | Technology | Internet | Reuters

Plaxo, which makes software for PC users to keep address books up-to-date, said on Sunday it is helping millions of members open up their online datebooks to build social networks like MySpace or Facebook.

In a major comeback push by the 6-year-old company, which Silicon Valley insiders see as a forerunner of the social-network craze, Plaxo has created the first Web service to share data between major address and calendar programs.

With Plaxo 3.0, as the new service is known, consumers can synchronize address books and calendar data locked up inside Microsoft Outlook, Googleand Yahoo services, Apple Macintosh computers, Mozilla Thunderbird e-mail and many mobile phones.

Social television network ?!?!

Operator11 — Your Social Television Network

It's only a matter of time and evolution that social media and TV will converge. If you and I and all of them are watching the same show (at the same time or not) then we must be compatible in at least that way. Plus we may be compatible in many other ways - favorite brands, music, sports, family lives, etc. Here's an early stab at it.

Great listing of Web 2.0 apps that let you spy on yourself ...

Stalking 2.0: The Websites that Track Your Every Move (Voluntarily!)

So, you don’t mind being followed and tracked? You don’t care if your friends can see what websites you’ve been to lately, what software you’ve been running, or even what music you’ve been listening to? Then you’ll love the web’s trend towards extreme openness: sharing everything you do on your computer. Sometimes referred to as sharing your ‘attention’ data, this is a growing market. Below, we round up 12 services that want to track your every move - voluntarily.

This is not good ...

Advertising Age - MediaWorks - Most Newspaper Readers Look at Both Web and Print

"The vast majority of people who regularly visit newspaper websites also still read the print edition of the paper, according to new research funded by the Newspaper National Network and conducted by Scarborough."



Here's why this is bad: Newspaper readership is tanking. And if only two out of ten online readers are NEW consumers, then there's no growth.

Don't shoot the messenger ...

Video Insider » Blog Archive » Wait Joost A Minute Now, TV Is Not Moving To The Internet

The rumors of the demise of television advertising and the 30-second spot have been greatly exaggerated. The prevailing fear of the complete transition of television content to the Internet — and the horrible impact this will have on television advertising — is just plain wrong. On the contrary, new technological solutions and the digital deadline are going to double television advertising dollars.

ICE Innovative Technologies - Home - ICE Makes iTV Commerce a Reality

ICE Innovative Technologies is a new revolutionary interactive television (iTV) technology accessible with a standard TV or cable remote control. With just a touch of a button, viewers can access lists of products showcased in any TV entertainment and purchase them in seconds; a literal one stop shopping experience through ICE. (see it in action at www.ICEit.tv). With ICE, marketers can use entertainment (product placement) as a superior alternative to traditional TV advertising (being eroded by DVR technology), and connect directly to their consumer to immediately satisfy the buyer's desire and impulse to purchase.

Web 3.0 (the medium formerly known as television) ...

Microsoft TV: Home

Microsoft TV announces Microsoft® Mediaroom™ at NXTcomm, the latest update to the award-winning IPTV platform including exciting connected entertainment features and a new ingredient brand to support service provider marketing activities.

The "third screen" remains controversial ...

Yes, the Screen Is Tiny, but the Plans Are Big - New York Times

Only 44 percent of cellphone owners use data services like video or the Internet on their phones, according to Forrester Research. Among those who use phones for more than calling, 88 percent of them use messaging, mostly text messaging, and about a quarter surf the Web, but only 7 percent watch videos. Screen size and low resolution are problems, analysts say, and many consumers seem uninterested in content on their phones.

“A lot of what is being said is being driven by what is technically possible as opposed to any real understanding of just what people are doing,” says Mike Bloxham, research director at the Center for Media Design at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. “Yes, it is possible to watch video on many of the cellphones people are buying,” he added, “but you have to look at how many people are doing that.”

No explanation needed ...

Gen Y continues to defy Boomer logic ...

Teens have a love-hate relationship with brands.
While they tend to be brand loyal, most say they are savvy enough to
know that they are being marketed to, according to a new Teen + Brands
study by Viacom's The N channel.




Nearly half (46%) of teens surveyed said they tend to
stick with a few of the brands they really like. But, 52% felt, "Brands
are created by marketers just to get more money."




The report, created in conjunction with Open Mind
Research, New York, and OTX Research, Los Angeles—and based on
interviews with 1,000-plus kids 13-19 online, via cell phones and in
focus groups in March—revealed Generation Y to be a somewhat
schizophrenic generation.



Complete article in Brandweek here.

It's time to believe the hype ...

Online Publishers Association: Press Releases

Of consumers who made a purchase in the last month, 48% said the Internet drove initial awareness, 57% said they learned more using the Internet, 55% used the Internet to decide where to buy, and 56% made the final purchase decision using the Internet. Word of Mouth, which also has strong Web components, was second in importance -- however the Internet outpaced all others by at least 50%.

Add another Web 2.0 site to the barbie ...

Revver Founder Launches Thoof: Personalized News Service

The web is littered with failed or stagnant personalized news startups. New startup Thoof is going to give it a whirl and see if they can do better than the ones that have tried it before. The idea around personalized news: instead of showing stuff based on what an editor chooses (like this blog, or the Washington Post) or via some sort of community action (Digg, reddit), a user will see news items that the service thinks you will like, based on your past behavior compared to the community at large.

Might be a crock of dung, but then again ...

Goodby Gets It

Two years ago, in common with most of its peers, 80% of Goodby Silverstein & Partners' work was in traditional advertising media—commercials, press ads and posters. Now, following an impressively rapid re-invention, the San Francisco-based agency believes that half of its output is in websites, virals, point-of-sale and other, so-called "non-traditional" areas, much of it as part of complex, integrated campaigns that work across all kinds of outlets.

Second Life is not first in its field after all ...

Virtual worlds, real bubble? - Jun. 14, 2007

In fact, sites such as Club Penguin, a popular virtual community for young kids, Gaia Online, Habbo Hotel and relative newcomers Zwinky and Kaneva all had more unique visitors than Second Life's stand-alone application did in May, according to figures from comScore Research. And another site, There.com, had about the same number of visitors as Second Life in May.

Either it's great news or just ... um ... creepy!

MediaPost Publications - DVR Viewers Are Engaged, Recall Ads, Study Says - 06/15/2007

DVR VIEWERS FAST-FORWARDING THROUGH COMMERCIALS in "Heroes" not only watched what was going on, but increased their engagement and focus as the spots progressed, according to results of Eye-Gaze and Bio-Metrics research revealed yesterday by Alan Wurtzel, president, research & media development, NBC Universal (pictured above).



The research, which measured viewers' eyes, skin response and respiration rate, also showed that viewers paid particular attention to logos at the end of the commercials, Wurtzel said. "Viewers do not turn their emotions off while fast-forwarding commercials," and DVR viewers are "as emotionally engaged as those who watch TV in real time," Wurtzel told a Promax/BDA audience.



In addition, Wurtzel reported, the research found that DVR viewers retained their commercial recall and brand recognition the following day.

Umm. This is getting scary ...

What in heck else can we measure? I suppose it will all converge into one massive measurement of pan-media usage based on "You." Until then ... we've got this:



ComScore to measure embedded multimedia - Yahoo! News

Photos, video clips and other content embedded into personal MySpace and Facebook pages will now be tracked separately by the online measurement company comScore Inc.


The introduction of the comScore Widget Metrix represents the company's latest evolution as new technologies make the standard yardstick of page views less and less meaningful.

The new measurement means that Photobucket, for example, would get full credit for items that are accessed as part of a Facebook profile.

TV still top of heap (and will remain so!)

MediaPost Publications - Jupiter: TV Still Rakes It In - 06/13/2007

RECENT ADVANCES IN ONLINE ADVERTISING have yet to take advertisers' focus off TV, according to a new report from JupiterResearch. "Neither relatively better targeting nor the increasing availability of branding-friendly rich media and video inventory have led to any demonstrable online cannibalization of TV spending," said David Card, vice president and senior analyst at JupiterResearch.

One reason for TV's continued ad dominance, according to Card, is the fact that so many consumers use the Web for communicating rather than consuming content from either media companies or brand marketers.

"Over half of users' time online is spent in communications, like email and instant messaging," he said.

In the realm of social networks, where people mix connecting with friends and content consumption, brand advertisers should rely on sponsorships, widgets or branded microsites to make an impression.

The truth about viral videos ...

Q&A: Feed's Warner

Q: What's the biggest myth about viral video?
A: That it will market itself. Good viral takes a lot of work. Eepybird, started by two guys from Maine, spent six months getting two minutes of footage of Mentos being dropped in Diet Coke bottles and causing an explosion.

Holding companies beware ...

ImageSpan Partners With Visible World For On-Demand Ad Customization Platform - 06/11/2007

    VISIBLE WORLD AND IMAGESPAN TODAY are announcing a new online dashboard that allows advertisers to tap into thousands of videographers and photographers to create rights-cleared creative. Iain Scholnick, chairman and CEO of Sausalito, Calif.-based ImageSpan, says the new platform promises nothing short of a revolution for the $8 billion rights management clearance process.



    "Advertisers are on the front lines of a complex new world of mashups and multi-copyright-holder content projects due to increased demands to scale campaigns and tailor them to local markets in real time," Schnolnick said.

    The new platform "provides a marketplace where advertisers can electronically secure rights-cleared images and video to create, customize, target, tailor, monitor and actively change ads on-the-fly to reflect changing market conditions."



    For example, Schnolnick said, an automaker could order local footage be shot by the more than 7,000 videographers and independent photographers available to shoot and upload raw content on demand through its new dashboard. This can then be woven into a national ad campaign making for a seamless and more consistent brand experience rather than the "cut to local" appearance most such ads get now.

Need to read this more than once ...

Respondent tagging: a much better way to segment and qualify

We've been advocating respondent segmentation in post-click marketing for a while now, in particular early segmentation, before a respondent converts. The motivation is to fill the gap in the funnel: somewhere between winning that first click from 100% of your respondents and actually converting a tiny fraction of them (~3% industry average), there's a mysterious pre-conversion void, where the far majority of respondents simply vanish without a word. The question is always: why?

HDTV on your PC w/o the Net

Plextor > Products > PX-HDTV500U Mini Digital HDTV Receiver

No matter where you go, you can watch crystal clear High Definition TV on your laptop with Plextor’s Mini Digital HDTV Receiver. Enjoy unlimited hours of entertainment without recurring charges and expensive subscription fees. Turning your PC into a portable media center has never been easier.

BBQ Drummer

"Drummer rocks the kettles with his brushsticks and barbeque sauce. Featuring David Suycott, the drummer from the indie rock band Stabbing Westward. Brought to you by DraftFCB." So says the latest viral video from a big ad agency. They keep trying. And we keep buying.



read more | digg story

Advertising Age - CMO Strategy - Today's Niche Marketing Is All About Narrow, Not Small

The evolution of our mature marketplace, along with the technology that allows consumers to be in control, has created a seismic shift from one-size-fits-all mass markets to millions of markets of self interest. All mature markets inevitably evolve into this kind of economy, driven by ever-narrower markets of desire and ever-narrower facets of individual self-identities.

In case you're keeping score ...

Web's Q1 Ad Rev Hits Record $4.9 Bil.

During the first quarter of 2007, Internet advertising revenues hit $4.9 billion, up slightly from the previous record set just in the fourth quarter of last year ($4.8 billion) while representing a healthy 26 percent increase versus the same quarter last year, according to the latest figures released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCooper. Just a few weeks ago, the two partner organizations announced final revenue figures for 2006 that highlighted the growing strength of the online ad market, as revenues surged 35 percent for the year, totaling at $16.9 billion.



Here is the IAB's press release with their side of the numbers.



Meanwhile, "traditional" advertising media is stalled.

Bull's Eye "viral" video ...

More evidence of the TV-Net convergence ...

DIRECTV - Game Lounge

Game Lounge is your one-stop game shop with everything from casual puzzle and word games to challenging, skill-based games, using one-day and unlimited monthly Game Passes.

I've actually played casual games at home on my 37" TV through Dish Network using just my remote. It may not look earth-shattering, but considering the popularity of casual games among women age 35+, this is important. We're in the stage of this convergence thing now at which we must constantly question our assumptions about which device belongs to what kind(s) of "content."

On a purely practical scale, I'd rather try to run some video advertising for, let's say, a packaged food brand via DirecTV's casual gaming "interface" than the eensy-weensy screens on Yahoo! Games. Wouldn't you?

Powered by ScribeFire.

Joost is incredibly important, people ...

Ex-Cisco Executive to Lead Joost, Internet TV Provider - New York Times

The high-profile Internet start-up Joost plans to announce today that it has hired Mr. Volpi, 40, as its new chief executive. Joost, which is based in London, is building a global television network of full-length TV shows and movies and sending it to viewers over the Internet.

Joost is important ... VERY important!

GigaOM 5 Questions for Joost CEO Mike Volpi «

Mike Volpi was rumored to be the new CEO of Joost for quite a while, and the company confirmed the news today. We had a chance to catch up with Volpi, one of the rising stars at Cisco Systems, and talked to him about his decision, and his plans for Joost, a P2P video company started by Skype co-founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström that recently raised $45 million in funding from investors such as Sequoia Capital.

Kids love their avatars, really "love" is accurate

Kids socialize in a virtual world as avatars | Technology | Internet | Reuters

Unlike the often-violent world of videogames, virtual sites such as Stardoll, Doppelganger, Club Penguin and Gaia Online hark back to a more innocent time of tea parties and playing outdoors -- and they are winning young users in droves.





The success of Second Life, one of the most popular virtual lifestyle sites for adults, with even its own banks and real estate agents, has helped to raise interest in the genre.




At Stardoll, young girls can create their own online 'MeDoll' identities from a template that allows the user to choose everything from skin tone to eyebrow shapes.

Most important, it allows the user to dress-up their avatar in the latest teen fashion.

Pure Techno Lust ...

The World's Thinnest Notebook

The computer comes with a diary-like folder that attaches to the laptop via magnets. The folder, available in different colors, also functions as a wireless charger for the device. One side features a screen made of material devised by E Ink, one of the recipients of investment by Intel Capital. It can display a picture, the calendar, or your schedule for the day.

Anybody home ... ?

The Twitterization of Blogs

On average, there are only seven readers for each of the 12.5 million blogs on LiveJournal, one of the most popular services for hosting these online journals.

Another video microsite

Here's a Microsoft microsite for it Forefront™ product rollout, probably produced by MRM Partners but maybe not, that continues to build on the "shave everywhere" phenomenon. It's a seamless, full-stage (the viewable "stage" area is in 16:9 format and trumps navigation and other typical "interface" elements as the focal point of the "user experience").



First, I saw a video banner that actually let me play with the video vignettes without requiring a click. Nicely done. The creative idea is super, super simple: fighting office ninjas, zombies, space aliens and other baddies is not as easy than fighting hackers with MS's new solution.



Is this a Cannes winner? Maybe not so much. But I wouldn't kick it out of my book.