Nice preview on speaker Michael Jackson...

New job, new medium, same fundamentals

Michael Jackson says US TV giants have stifled creativity - but the internet will free it

Dan Milmo, media business editor
Thursday April 6, 2006

Guardian

Michael Jackson, the former head of Channel 4 turned US media executive, has predicted a leading role for the internet in plugging a "creative deficit" in American broadcasting.

In his new role role as president of programming at Barry Diller's $9bn (£5bn) web empire, InterActiveCorp, Jackson is charged with finding text and video content to sit alongside IAC websites, which include the Ask.com search service, dating portal match.com and Ticketmaster.

Jackson said the US TV industry had suffered from the dominance of media conglomerates such as Disney and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, but the sector was entering a new era as the web undermined the advertising-based business model.

A new generation of content makers is emerging, he said, able to screen shows on the web, bypassing Comcast's cable system or DirecTV's satellites. "Broadband will enable content to get around the old aggregators. That to me is the most exciting thing. In the US you cannot launch a TV show without Brian Roberts [chairman of Comcast] or Rupert Murdoch [owner of DirecTV] on your side."

In an interview with the Guardian at the MipTV programme market in Cannes this week, the former chief executive of Channel 4 said creativity had been stifled by media conglomerates that own broadcast networks as well as producing films and programmes, such as Disney, which owns ABC, or News Corp, owner of Fox. This was why independent production was not thriving. "In the US TV market there are no American independent producers, so we have ended up with a few vertically integrated players. That has been the single greatest reason behind the success of independent production from outside the US. Vertical integration has led to a creative deficit."

Jackson said growth in broadband, which is now in two-thirds of web-enabled American homes, had the potential to do for content makers what Channel 4 did for independent producers in Britain: create a new market and bypass monopolies. "If you create the conditions, people will invent new ways of working. This moment reminds me very much of the Channel 4 launch."

Although IAC's new programming venture has yet to make a statement of intent with a site launch or acquisition, its benchmarks are the Huffington blog - Huffingtonpost.com, which has become a lightning rod for liberal debate in the US within a year of its launch as a collection of contributions from people such as Warren Beatty and Tina Brown - and the blog empire Gawker Media, created by former journalist Nick Denton and described by Jackson as a "Web2.0 version" of the Condé Nast magazine group.

"There is going to be potential for new channels, new programming and new creative ideas," Jackson said.

Appointed to his new role in January having previously run Diller's USA Entertainment business, Jackson would not be drawn on IAC's programming plans. However, IAC is keen on comedy sites and has held talks with a number of companies about launching or acquiring ventures with comedy content. He added that it would not make a big acquisition along the lines of Viacom's recent $600m (£340m) takeover of iVillage, or News Corp's $580m deal for MySpace: "IAC has been very entrepreneurial but realistic. It has avoided the big mistake."

Having made his name as a TV executive, Jackson said IAC's programme content would not be radically different from what TV viewers were used to, and would concentrate on genres such as news, comedy and fashion. It would be content that "gets shared and talked about" but without the conventional network marketing budget.

"The fundamental needs of what people are looking for are the same. American Idol is a 1930s radio talent show with some new features, like the meanness of the judges and the audience voting," he said. "That's what I am doing now. It's about doing the things I already know about, such as narrative and storytelling, and adding to it those functionalities and tools that enable users to get to what they want with remarkable speed and precision."

Backstory

Michael Jackson began his career in independent production in the 1980s before the BBC poached him in 1988 to edit The Late Show. In the 1990s he became controller of BBC1 and BBC2, then director of television. In 1998 Channel 4 recruited him as chief executive before he joined Barry Diller's USA Entertainment, owner of the SciFi channel, as chief executive in 2001. A year later he became chairman of Universal Television after the merger of Mr Diller's TV interests with Vivendi Universal Entertainment. At Universal, Mr Jackson commissioned Monk and Dead Zone.

Cell phones the new cyber leash

The federal investigators have recently lost two cases regarding the use of cell-phones to track the where-abouts of two citizens without showing probable cause. It seems that inevitable move from physical harassment to cyber-harassment has been hindered by ‘we the people.’ Dare I say it! God Bless the US government for holding up our rights in court.

The leap to constant surveillance posed by futuristic movies of decades past has finally become a reality. This is a very crucial period in our countries history in regards to ‘privacy issues.’ Our lives have become a cache of streaming data that seems to defy even Hiesenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. Our exact position and velocity can be measured and documented with accuracy by triangulation and instant messenger.

At moment it seems that the government still believes that we own our lives. How long will this last? At what value will ‘Big Business’s of Web 2.0’ begin finding that our trust in their privacy clause is trumped by deep pockets of federal curiosity? The truth remains, in the long run, we are only as valuable as the highest bidder. The government may not be able to legally seek cyber warrants but they can outsource in the name of interest. Sprint doesn’t have to show the feds anything but will sell records to a private contractor.

The line is blurring, Cookies and accessibility will eventually have the same affair with the American Public that ‘greed’ had with Gordon Gecko. Hoo-Rah! Call to the Public we need to lobby for stronger privacy laws. We are upon an age where our privacy may be all that we have. What’s the next step, employers keeping tabs on all their prospective employees to ensure they are screening for the most efficient ‘bottom line.’

Well we tracked Martins day and found out that he first visited blockbuster where he played Doom for 8 consecutive hours. Then he went to the zoo where he got sidetracked by the gorilla exhibit. He just isn't Goldman material. Now let's got to happy hour and Scores!

I moved out of my parent’s house to get away from the constant ‘eye’ in the sky and I want to keep it that way.

Online casinos --fairgame or not?

In recent months as the U.S. attorneys office has began prosecuting online gamblers trafficking their bets through ‘offshore’ casinos they have also taken aim at ‘inhouse’ publishers who earn revenue from those illegal casinos. The online gambling world has become a $12 billion industry and can afford to pay handsome fees for loyal customers that know how to lose.

Many small publishing firms earn a substantial amount of their revenues from illegal casinos and cannot afford to lose the legal ability to advertise. The only casinos that are legal to advertise are those that do not take bets for real money and places within the U.S. where gambling is legal.

Why should U.S. companies be penalized for advertising illegal casinos? The Attorney’s office argues that by advertising illegal casinos it creates the illusion that placing offshore bets are acceptable when they are in fact ‘frowned upon.’ I am not sure what to think. Is the US government placing envy-laden restriction because they are upset they are not getting to stick their fingers into the cookie jar? What a bind, to tax or not to tax illegal revenue? Who knows! What I do favor is freedom of advertising. If HIGH TIMES can put out a legal monthly publication then online publishers should be able to advertise what ever they want. It is not fair that the New York Times is allowed to earn revenue from Ceaser’s and smaller publications can’t eat off others casinos that aren’t ‘ours.’

Let’s be realistic, larger companies will find ways to disburse a legion of servers within other countries where they will continue to earn that ‘paper.’ By allowing advertising for online casinos the U.S. could, at least, add transparency to the process and earn huge tax revenues. Perhaps 50% would be acceptable! I know I wouldn’t mind giving the government 75% of a $4 million annual advertising revenue earned from offshore casinos! The money could be used to create a fund for gambler’s support groups, better yet actual healthcare. I am thinking the US government could earn $50 million plus in revenue. But, then again I am not in the place to make that statement, I still get excited when I win my dollar playing Cee-lo with my friends. “Triple sixes, Daddy, needs food off the dollar menu!”

Article here

Blogs for corporations...

Well, that's what this article discusses, but it's the professor's quote at the very end that I really like:
Andrew McAfee:

"I'll end this post with an anecdote that showed me that these three trends are not yet well understood by many business leaders. Last week I was teaching in an executive education program for senior executives - owners and presidents of companies. I assigned a case I wrote about the internal use of blogs at a bank, and also gave one additional bit of homework: I pointed the participants to blogger and typepad, and told them to start their own blogs and report the blog's URL to me.
What they reported instead was that they had no intention of completing the assignment. They told me how busy they were, and how they had no time and no inclination to mess around with blogs (whatever they were). Out of two classes of 50-60 participants each, I got fewer than 15 total blog URLs.
Trying to turn lemons into lemonade in class, I asked some of the people who actually had sent a URL to describe the experience of starting a blog. They all shrugged and said it was no big deal, took about five minutes total, didn't require any skills, etc. I then asked why I would give busy executives such a silly, trivial assignment. In both classes one smart student piped up to say 'To show us exactly how trivial it was.' At that point, class discussion became interesting. "

Emphasis mine... get it?

;-)

Wanna keep on top of all the latest gadgets?

This is a good site to keep tabs on all the latest hi tech gadgets that come out or are in development. They have reviews, previews and all sorts of goodies.

I 4 U News

Bridge really is cool. Really.

On-line gaming typically evokes thoughts of high stakes poker but there are other forms of on-line gaming out there.

One that I am most interested in is bridge. Bridge has some well-known players and is trying to attract a younger audience. The ACBL (American Contract Bridge League) has recently started a site called bridgeiscool.com to try and attract younger talent to the game.

Try comparing the success in your own life with college drop-out Fred Gitelman and you might decide that the bridge lifestyle is for you!

Podcasting as a business?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast

The Wikipedia post on Podcasting is a good summary of the technology, including Apple's entry into the space (see "History" section - "Coping w/ Growth"), and interesting uses (see "Other Uses").

Some examples of the uses (there are many more):

• Sports. In 2005, unofficial podcasts for major sports teams launched, providing fans both in and outside of the teams' direct broadcast areas with on-demand commentary. Pioneers include Cubscast. The Cubscast founders also formed the first city-specific sports podcast network, hosting one podcast for each major Chicago team at Chicagosportscasts.com.
• Conference and meeting alerts. Podcasts can be packaged to alert attendees to agendas, hosted roundtables and daily feedback.
• Advocacy. The 5,500 locked out staff (editors, journalists, technicians, hosts, etc.) of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation were podcasting news and other programming during August and September of 2005.
• Youth media. Podcasting has become a way for youth media organizations, such as Youth Radio (Youth Radio site), to bring youth perspectives to a wider audience.
• Newspapers. Newspapers use podcasts to broadcast audio content from print interviews and drive traffic to their websites. The San Francisco Chronicle is believed to be the first major daily newspaper to start podcasting using an external website^[48], in Feb 2005. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post was the first to use its own website and the first in Asia, having launched on April 19, 2005^[49]

Is You vote worth more than $150,000

Could the web do the same for politics as it has for human interactions, minimized them to make room for more?

People have elected 'Craigslist' as our tell-all add source. It has quickly become the seventh largest website in the world and threatened the decades old 'newspaper model' into near exctinction. The premise surrounding this phenomenon is power lies within the hands of people. Our maybe it should become our fingertips! We have, collectively, as a society become reliant on the web becuase it gives up instant gratification. I can book trips to Thailand, communicate with a college friend in Borneo, and buy a must-have pair of Airmaxes from Nordstrom all at the same time. Why can't we start polling and maybe more importantly begin voting on the web? Instant gratification of the masses at its finest!

I think we should serisouly begin thinking about bringing votes to the web. Think about how easy it would be if you were checking scores for last nights Knicks game (to know how badly they lost) and a reminder on the page with a link directly to the offical voting page popped up on every page. It would be so easy to vote. 5 minutes and we are out. Why couldnt we do it? Should we really concern hacking, look at Florida, our opinion really does not count in the end?

I think it would make it so much easier to 'harness collective intelligence' of the people with a web-based or web-complement. Why can't we make it to the voting booth once every years? We dont want to wait in line. We dont know where to leave our families. We dont want to make our day more stressfull than it already is. End of Story. We can e-sign loans for $150,000 in education loans on the web why shouldnt we be able to vote. More people would make it to a computer on voting day than to a booth to vote. I am thinking by more than 100%. Could we at least begin taking steps in the right direction?

The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Web 2.0's Startup Fever - Technology Review

Insight onto the 'business model' of contextual advertising...

The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Web 2.0's Startup Fever - Technology Review: "These new companies have a few ways to subsist, typically advertising, charging extra for 'premium' services, and collecting affiliate fees for driving shoppers to sites like Amazon. But ask a Web 2.0 CEO about his company's business model, and he's as likely as not to say 'contextual advertising.' The advertising model, usually through Google's AdWords program, seems to be the most common gambit. It's the planned or existing main revenue source for dozens of Web 2.0 startups, such as new photo-sharing site Riya, which plans to display ads related to the subjects in its users' photographs. "

The new internet independents

This is just another example of what we talked about the open web source and collaborative efforts from blogs help to lower the start up cost of internet company. Flickr is the example cited in the article. It also listed five major forces behind the rise of a new kind of internet entrepreneur.

It also helps the internet start-ups to stay independent and grow at their own pace without being pressured to be acquired by larger company due to lack of funding.

The new internet independents

"FlickrÂ’s story reflects a growing preference among young internet companies for going it alone. A few years ago, the independent route would have been all but impossible. In the late 1990s, high fixed costs for servers, storage and software meant that most start-ups had no choice but to turn to VCs to get their operations off the ground.
But while some parts of the tech sector, such as semiconductors and mobile technologies, will always rely on outside investment, self-funded start-ups are exploiting broader changes in technology and business that lower the barriers to entry for aspiring entrepreneurs."

In-Game Ads Could Reach $2 Bil.

During the keynote address at the second annual Advertising in Games conference in New York, Massive Inc. CEO Mitch Davis predicted that in-game ad spending would land somewhere between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion in the U.S. by 2010, accounting for roughly 3 percent of total media spending.

In-Game Ads Could Reach $2 Bil.

"can't stop the [2.0] signal"

seems like now that i'm "aware" of the 2.0 phenomenon, i just keep seeing it everywhere i go. i sit at home to enjoy my tivo, and i see this new feature called Ambassadors... they're trying to spread the TiVo love through viral marketing - let's network with each other and tell each other what we love about Tivo!! of course, i'm skeptical... until i log onto my Yahoo! 360 network page and see that a friend of mine actually KNOWS someone who "won" the Ambassador contest and now drives around this lovely branded TiVo Mini-Cooper - pictures included for the endlessly skeptical like me. then i head over to my favorite news sites and find out that this round of next generation videogame consoles are making a HUGE push on the networking features, and i'm thinking, wait a minute - weren't all these "features" available in the last generation? what's the big hype now? then i realize - today's market is MUCH more ready for this kind of marketing - 4 years ago, we didn't really care all that much about it.

this is just some random rambling about how perhaps ignorance is bliss? because now you just can't stop the signal, the 2.0-ness of it all.

A new map mashup

Want to share your favorite places or at least remember them? Check out Platial - a new map mashup (a more advanced version of Google maps).

From Trendcentral Newsletter:

A few weeks ago, we talked about the Google Maps phenomenon an explosion of sites utilizing the Google Map API to integrate geographical location with online content. Mix MySpace, Yellow Arrow, LiveJournal, and Google Earth and you get Platial, a new map mashup with an extra customized twist.

Users of Platial create maps to mark locations with significant meaning to them. Created for themselves, or shared with others, users map objects, events, and even feelings: not-to-miss bakeries, the location of a first kiss, an awful breakup, an unusual city view, a group of favorite yarn shops. . Using tags, commentary, and place markers, map makers can organize and share their personal stories with others. So, the next time you find a great unmarked bar at 3 a.m., make sure you mark it on your map before you forget.

http://platial.com/splash

Connecting internet, bricks & mortar, and catalogs

There are some great websites that are very interactive and manage to connect the internet with bricks and mortar and catalogs. One example is Ikea. On the Ikea website, you can flip through their virtual catalog and can click on a page to view a product. This leads you to the product on their website, where you can either purchase it or go to the store and purchase. I think they do a great job of trying to connect all three.

http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/virtual_catalogue/catalog_splash2.html

Sherwin-Williams also has a very interactive website. They have a Color Visualizer that allows you to search through their colors, take a color and virtually paint a sample room with that color. There are also several different rooms to choose from to better mirror your room.

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_it_yourself/sherwin_williams_products/

These interactive features are really the next wave of internet marketing for retailers.

Of Hammers, Wrenches and Screwdrivers

This article has an interesting table comparing blogging, online communities, and LinkedIn from a professional's perspective. The thesis is that each is a tool for a different task, hence the title...

Of Hammers, Wrenches and Screwdrivers

Asking which of these is "better" is like asking which is better: a hammer, a wrench, or a screwdriver?

Internet and the real estate

Nobody in the class chose a topic related to Real Estate for the paper study although, as professor Kagan remarked, there are also some things going-on. Here is an interesting article about the partnership between Prudential Real Estate and Yahoo to connect Prudential offerings right to Yahoo Real Estate pages. This way, potential home buyers can go to a certain area they are interested in and see the current offerings on a map, plus access Yahoo's usual SmartView tools.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2004_June_17/ai_n6083735

Adds are currently being aired on TV about this new partnership.

10th Annual Webby Awards Nominees Anounced

I know all of you have been anxiously waiting for this but the nominees for the 10th Annual Webby Awards have been named...



Click here for the nominees

Slivercasting - niche programming on internet television

Here's some serious long-tail digital media.

"Thousands of producers whose programming would never make it into prime time but who have very dedicated small audiences are moving online. It's a phenomenon that could be called slivercasting."

Examples include sail.tv, vegtv.com, and programming on "poker, bicycling, lacrosse, photography, fine wine, horror films, obscure sitcoms and Japanese anime. There is also a growing market for Webcasts of local news and entertainment from every country and in every language, aimed at expatriates" Most are early stage, and working on a subscription model.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/business/yourmoney/12sliver.html?th&emc=th. The article was on March 12 - it's gone to Times Select (I still have a copy).

"Pluck: A Bloggy Boost for Old Media"

Though old media has traditionally been deeply skeptical of blogs - a new service called "Pluck" has announced its intention to aggregate posts from the 700 "best" blogs for syndicated distribution to "partners" in traditional media.

This is an interesting development. Not only does it speak volumes about the degree to which old media is scrambling to leverage the expansion of the blogosphere to its advantage, but further to the degree to which the blogosphere itself may be going more mainstream (gasp!).
As the author writes: "As recently as a year ago, it was inconceivable that much of Old Media would embrace blogs. It was probably even harder to imagine that most bloggers, known as much for independence as outspokenness, would willingly succumb to a Big Media bearhug."

The full text of the article is available at:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2006/tc20060411_493400.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily

Advertising grows faster than world GDP

Global: Advertisers/Brands; Agencies; The Media
World Adspend Growth to Hit 6% in 2006 Thanks to Soccer

The 2006 soccer World Cup will not only bring national glory to the winning team, it is also predicted to boost global adspend from last year's 4.9% growth (the average across the past decade) to 6% in the current year, according to Monday's forecast from ZenithOptimedia. After which the crystal ball clouds slightly, pointing to above-trend but marginally slower growth, increasing by 5.6% in 2007 and 5.3% in 2008. The survey also reveals
Advertising is now growing faster than world GDPGross domestic product will be outpaced by ad growth between now and 2008. Advertising accounted for 0.96% of world GDP in 2005. ZO expects this to rise to 0.99% by 2008 - the first period of consistent out-performance since the late 1990s, suggesting that the advertising cycle has at last emerged from the trough it entered in 2001.
Emerging markets lead global ad growthIn the period 2005-2008, six of the ten largest contributors to advertising growth (and eleven of the twenty largest) will be emerging markets, notably Brazil, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland and Russia. All are all top-ten contributors of new ad dollars. ZO expects their collective ad markets to grow by US$19.2 billion between 2005 and 2008 - providing 27% of total world growth - while their share of world expenditure will rise from 7.9% to 10.8%.
China continues to power up the ad league tableChina was the seventh-largest ad market in 2005 and is set to become the fifth-largest in 2008. ZO expects it to grow by 66% over the three-year forecast period, overtaking Italy in 2006 and France in 2008. It is also likely that Russia will also be a top-ten market by the end of Zenith's forecast period, more than doubling in size as it leaps from 14th place in 2005 to 8th in 2008.
Internet advertising will overtake outdoor in 2007Few in the ad industry can keep pace with the exponential growth of the internet - and Zenith is no exception, revising its internet adspend forecasts upward once again. Its latest expectation is that online media will attract 6.5% of all advertising in 2008, up from 4.5% in 2005 (and up from the 6.0% ZO predicted for 2008 as recently as December). The internet is now firmly established as a mainstream advertising medium in developed markets - and in many developing markets too. It is set to overtake outdoor in volume in 2007, even though outdoor too is gaining share. By 2008 the web could be ready to overtake radio's 7.9% share, down from 8.5% in 2005).