Internet Superstar RIP, Microsoft goes CGA, Celebrities are DUM October 30, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 41commentsNews roundup. I just savd you visiting 10 websites.
- AdAge today reports that “Internet Superstar” (by Revision3) is R.I.P. A moment of silence please for Internet’s Martin Sargent and friends. The show’s recent McCain spoof has a slow build, but some comic moments as McCain discovers a phone without a cord..
- Microsoft is asking consumers to create ads because it realizes that its own marketing is so bad a freak with a webcam could top it.
- Celebrities are still using video to get us to vote. Sigh.
- Daisy Whitney reports that Strike.tv is live. Worth a visit, but I got so sleepy with the snail-paced Global Warming show I left.
- Whitney picks her favorite stand-up acts at RoofTopComedy.com.
- Hard-working Americans prefer Dunkin Donuts. So you Starbucks drinkers are a bunch of slackers.
Blogging is Cooler than Vlogging, Says One Expert October 28, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 32commentsYou know I’ve blogged got almost 3 years about online video. I used to check out the stats, and think about SEO. Now I just dig the informality and the little gang that’s formed around it. Since the typical ratio of views/comments is probably 95 and 5, I’m probably ignoring the needs of a few hundred avid readers.
But it’s much more fun to read clever quips and playful feuding among the fun commenters. It’s like I’m on a stage trying to convince marketers, agencies and sites to partner for a 3-way win. But in the back of the crowd (far behind the 4 ladies that are sound asleep) is the heckling YouTube crowd. While it should distract me, I realize that the attendees have all fallen asleep. So I just get a case of cheap beer and we do ponies backstage.
Oh- I started this post to compare blogging to vlogging. Well vlogging is boring. And not scanable. And it requires you to turn on the camera at a time when electricity probably cost too much.
Vote for Long-Time Nalts Viewer’s Ugly Couch October 28, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 41commentsDiane wants to win this contest because she believes her couch is not just ugly. It’s the ugliest.
I find it such an odd goal I almost respect it. Vote here.
WAZZUP Budweiser Ad: 2008 Version October 28, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 19commentsA must-see video (thanks Jan) because in 4 days this clip has been viewed 2.5 million times on YouTube alone. So it’s touching a nerve. It’s the Budweiser “wuzzup” advertisement in 2008. A depressed unemployed guy, a soldier, a dude needing healthcare and pain pills, and a screwed investor. Or something like that.
It appears that the distributor (channel owner) is 60Frames is not an indivual creator but a collection of them, and maybe this one is sponsored? Which maybe explains why it has very few subscribers and varying videos. But a cool logo, dangit.
You’re not even reading this. You’re watching the video. Well it has some long pauses so go answer the Monopoly question below.
Determine Your Psychological Profile Based on Monopoly October 28, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 43comments
I try to stick to video in this blog, but I’m allowed to wander because there’s no advertising and I’m only paid zero dollars per word. That’s why I write long posts. It’s more profitable.
So now I’m going to predict your personality based on one question. What happens in Monopoly when someone lands on “free parking”? Please type your answer in the comments field BEFORE clicking “more” or Googling the answer. I don’t need you rigging this. If I find out only 2% of readers participated, I’ll track down your IP address, come to your work or home, and throw sand in your face.
This psychoanalysis should not constitute as medical advice, and it’s based on no longitudinal clincal research that includes a test and control and a pre and post factorial quantifier of exponent data.
P.S. The bonus question is do you like raw or cooked carrots?
Obama Wins Video Election. Palin In Oval Office. October 28, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 11comments
Although Obama hasn’t been elected President, he’s already won the video election. There’s no disputing that his supporters have mobilized better via online video. Want proof?
- You Cost Obama the White House. As part of the “get your liberal ass out of bed and vote” campaign, this is an old personalized video trick but rather effectively executed. A news story that casts the recipient (if the link works, it will probably be Kevin N.) as the sole lacking vote that lost Obama the White House.
- Now You Have to Live With It. As the vote that cost Obama, you’ll also have to confront a virtual world where Sarah Palin squats the Oval Office. This interactive Sarah Palin page (video, flash, audio) reminds us that the “inside Palin” jokes are more abundant than we might realize. Before you visit the “Palin for President” website, pick 10 things you’d expect. Then click around to discover all you forgot. By the time I was done, the red phone rang, the world was destroyed, and dinosaurs roamed the White House lawn.
- Popular Videos Don’t Lie(Sometimes). Check out YouTube’s most popular videos of the day or the week(save this link, because it takes about 10 minutes to find these sections). Every night I surf the most highly rated 100 YouTube videos because AppleTV makes it easy, and it annoys my wife (who likes to read without Fred screaming and doesn’t mind interupting Buckley to tell me about her day). It’s almost impossible to have a proMcCain or Republican message highly rated, and almost any pro Obama liberal video has a chance. I cannot wait until mid November.
I believe this is evidence of America voting with their views and video stars, and although it’s not as scientific it’s intuitively more trustworthy than polls. You can bullshit a poll, but a rating is visceral.
Do you have any more theories? Wait- let me guess…
- Obama makes for good video (even if you’re Rush Limbaugh you have to admit he does good video)
- The digital audience skews liberal (save JibJab, which tends to balance its humor)
- Obama Girl is responsible for it all
- Old people and ditsy hotties make good parody victims (me in drag)
- The Obama campaign has coordinated to leverage new media, and urges people to vote videos up and down
- There’s a left wing nut job at YouTube that’s manipulating the numbers (I tossed that one in to save my family from having to comment)
Non US Viewers Aren’t as Valuable: Metacafe Won’t Pay for exUS Views October 28, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 15commentsMany big online-video deals are US focused, and want to exclude paying for exUS markets. I understand this, as my marketing job is US only. I represent the US on a “global marketing team” but I don’t have control on exUS spend, nor does it impact my bonus significantly.
Metacafe, a site born is Israel with extensive exUS views, has long realized they could more easily attract US advertisers. But the creators (who participate in Metacafe Rewards) were paid about $5 for 1,000 views). Yesterday Metacafe announced a New Deal for its creators — some of whom were monetizing their videos soley on Metacafe and were making as much as $100K a year.
According to a forum post, Metacafe will pay $2 for every 1,000 views a video accepted into the program receives in the United States – via its web site or embedded player. For videos already accepted into the program, views that occur outside the United States will no longer count toward payment. As usual, the video must be viewed 20,000 times to be in the Producer Rewards program, and payments aren’t made until the video earns $100.
Here’s the interesting part of the story. I expected to see a creator revolution on Metacafe’s forum, but there was surpising empathy. Perhaps the disgruntled creators have already abandoned the site, and maybe creators are being gentle in hopes they will receive favorable treatment. But the feedback was largely supportive: see for yourself.
I am even more impressed that the forum manager “Asaf” appears to have freedom to address concerns — even about the financial state of the company: “Metacafe is not going out of business. As a private company we don’t disclose financial details, but I can tell you that we are growing our revenues each quarter and have plenty of cash in the bank. These changes to the Producer Rewards program will help better align the program costs with our revenues, and, as I said earlier, will keep us in the game for a while longer.” If this was a public company we’d never see a statement like that, of course. But it’s a refreshing part about a smaller company… direct communication between creators and someone who makes policy decisions.
We’re seeing the ecomony impact the online-video space, but some of this shouldn’t be surprising. Revver and Metacafe made financial commitments to creators that required them paying even if ad dollars weren’t flowing. It was a risk they took to attract creators, and it made them defacto amateur charity foundations. YouTube, by contrast, has a low-risk deal. If they sell ads, creators get a percentage. No ads, no revenue. My recommendation is that Metacafe do the same thing. Good creators will have inventory, and videos that can’t fetch ads won’t cost the company. It’s a tough transition but it’s fair.
Fortunately YouTube’s payment to Nalts was solid for October, but still not enough to rescue mounting debt. In a wonderful moment of irony, I’ve been interupted from writing this post 18 times because my wife is looking at our bank accounts and managing cash flow. Ahhh… the sweet smell of a recession. As Kit Kitridge said in “American Girl Doll” movie, “the depression was hard but it taught us a lot.”
Yahoo Video Confusing I’m Volunteering $2500 of Free Consulting To Help October 27, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 12commentsThe last time I checked, it was easier to find Yahoo Video by searching for it, rather than trusting the user-experience folks at Yahoo.com. But let’s give it a shot anyway. You start your Rubiks cube and we’ll see who gets there first.
- I’m at the Yahoo! Homepage. I see Movies/TV in the primary navigation. I’m running low on water.
- There’s another “video” above the search bar, which probably just refines search results to be video only. My bag of rice is beginning to deplete.
- Wait- just noticed tabs above the lead news story and one says video. Wonder what that might be. Oh that was a mistake. It’s all news, and pre-rolls before I see a clip ripped from ABC’s programming. They don’t dare confess the time, but I’m guessing 6 minutes. I’m surviving on red berries and roots.
- Confused, I try “My Yahoo.” Sadly, it has my movie theaters but most everything else is the same. Except for the Movies/TV is now just TV. That makes sense. I haven’t shaved and I’m beginning to get weak and delirious.
- Success! A Yahoo! search for “Yahoo Video” resulted in the top-secret video site as the first search listing. I’ll bet the video folks are high-fiving each other for that primo organic placement. Maybe they could talk Yahoo into, I dunno, a hyperlink? Maybe some contextual links to the dessert island site called Yahoo Video. Bookmark this folks in case Google Video overtakes it in the Yahoo keyword rankings. http://video.yahoo.com/
Now here’s the thing… the site is so simplified as to be confusing. I can’t quite “dig in” by niche categories or list top creators. I can’t see ratings because Yahoo people don’t rate or interact. Yahoo Video is far from the community and organic form of the industry’s leader. People don’t subscribe, or even visit related videos from a creator they like. So it’s nearly impossible to get views on Yahoo Video unless an editor likes you enough to sort through your recent clips and give it a decent placement.
I’ll give Yahoo credit, and assume they want to be very selective about the videos appear (good for viewers and for advertisers). The result is quality control and ad-friendly videos (none of that rogue CGA stuff). But the site just doesn’t make me want to stick around like YouTube. In fact it’s pushing me off the Internet. I’m going to see if my DVR recorded The Office last week, and whether I’ve missed it.
Anyone else want me jumping on their video site and chronicalling my confusion as if I’m the User Experience Genius? It’s worth noting that the kind editors featured my pets in Halloween video giving it more than 600,000 views (very exciting). I love you editors. Just not your employers commitment to online video. And sadly those views don’t provide income or bring an audience closer to me: the adjacent videos had 36 and 69 views. And I’ve got just 31 fans (compare that to 63,000 on YouTube).
The market needs a better competitor to YouTube… it will spawn innovation, drag advertisers into the space, and benefit creators. And I’ve always thought Yahoo, as a media company more than a search player, would emerge with a better video play than Google.
Let’s step up the game, Yahoo Video! I volunteer one day of my consultative skills (normally $2500 in fees) if you let me brainstorm improvements with your talented user-experience folks, and some assurance that if we pitch something better you’ll seriously consider rolling it out. Of course free consulting is worth what you pay. Tee hee.
-Kevin
10 Decent Reasons Online Video Ads ‘r Recession Resistant October 27, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 20comments
Oh shut up about the stupid recession, you big whiner. I’m sick of hearing about it — and just because it’s an economic depression doesn’t mean we all have to get clinically depressed.
Seriously. You’re beginning to sound like that annoying friend who’s always complaining about health problems… The co-worker or neighbor who doesn’t know that the only right answer to “how are you?” is “fine.”
Yes, online advertising is soft. But here are 10 plus reasons online-video will survive and thrive. Read these because I had to think so hard for some of them that I popped one of my 87 remaining brain cells. The statistics, of course, are 97% made up.
Send these to your boss, customers, clients and peers. Or print them and shove ‘em up someone’s profusely pessimistic discard hole. Yeah you heard me.
- The audience is rapidly growing and ads work 41% better better if they reach people.
- The niche content provides better targeting (than 84% of non targeted spending).
- The cost of entry is cheap (unless you piss away $250K on a bunch of “viral video Hail Mary’s” that you post on that micro site… equivalent to a billboard in your basement).
- Amateur creators have huge audiences, and are hungry. They’re also really connected with audiences and influential. Your banner ad isn’t as lucky.
- I like to eat stamp collections but not collectors.
- Video is 93% more visceral and memorable than even rich-media. If I remember your product I’m 29% less likely to forget about it and not buy it.
- I was fooling around with features on my YouTube channel, and decided to make my account invisible because I feel like it. That’s a sidebar.
- Brands will need recession-proof innovation… instead of interruption ads, they’ll partner with creators who already have huge audiences, and get great deals. Add up the top few dozen YouTube stars and you’ll find they get more daily views than many of the media sites combined. Shoot I get around 100,000 viewers a day and I suck the funny right out of the web.
- There is no reason 9 or 13. There’s a 33% chance you won’t notice that because you’re scanning.
- Brand leaders will still want to innovate (73% more than the control, which included that fat guy you work with that twitches out about “process” whenever he hears about change). Grant, they will be 41% more selective than this year and 88% than during The Bubble. So dump the stupid unscalable crap (like another useless Facebook widgets and those pitiful Second Life pilots). They’re like the PR people during layoffs. They’ll be first to go.
- People still need customers or sales tend to go down by 29% or more.
- Because I said so, and I’m a viral video genius. Check Wikipedia if you don’t believe me. There’s a 51% chance you’ve never heard of Wikipedia.
How to Link Directly to A Specific Point of Time in YouTube Video October 25, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Making Videos, Online Video , 27commentsThanks YouTube for giving us the ability to link directly to a portion of a video. TechCrunch reports that it’s this easy:
Just add the following after the video’s URL: #t=1m45s (where the number prior to m is minute, and before s is seconds).
So let’s take my most popular video, which has a long setup. Now I can link you directly to where the plot picks up and Spencer enters the library with his fart machine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3ejlkzDCuc#t=1m29s
