Tag Archives: jason

Online Video

Hulu Fail? Networks Biting Friends

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Imagine trying to run Hulu…

  • On one hand, you’re dragging some media companies to the web. On the other, they’re out ahead of you on competitive platforms (Disney/App).
  • You threaten to quit because your pricing is wrong (FastCompany).
  • You’re charging for content that has ads, but at least the user interface is clunky… because some of your “partners” want to stream it on their archaic technology. Journalists and pundits accuse you of too many ads, even if it’s allegedly only one per 5 minutes.
  • You’re thinking about going all pay… effectively competing with your primary distributor (cable).
  • Your primary backer (NBC) is losing its strategic influence. You are blocking some new delivery devices and platforms like GoogleTV.

WackArnold’s post, “Hulu, Destined for Fail?” raises an interesting question.

I’d like to formally propose that Hulu is “lost in the middle,” with decreasing relevance as IPTV emerges and web video moves to television screens via a number of new platforms and hundreds of devices. It’s not showing the ability to coral networks, or to enable distribution via emerging platforms.

Hey networks… don’t bite your friends.

Online Video, Video Advertising

Online Video Media Buying Best Practices

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Looking for best-practices and tips for buying online-video advertising?

ScanScout’s Jason Krebs provides tips and tricks for verifying your online-video advertising spend in Daisy Whitney’s New Media Minute.

He tells us how to buy by “cost per engagement” and to ensuring that we receive accurate reporting on our spend.

Online Video

iPad Parodies (MadTV & Hitler)

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It was absolute torture to be spending 3 hours on my 1-hour commute (snow) and not having the time to parody the iPad. So many thoughts, and no time to make a video.

But I took solace in finding that MidnightBlade created this brilliant parody of Hitler’s response. The Hitler parodies are not new, and have not “jumped the shark” for me yet. If they’re well written, the joke gets funnier like wine ages.

After you watch that, check out the Feb 2007 MadTV skit below that predicted the name about 5 years ago…

Of course any tampon/pad gags should note that MadTV hit this in September 2007 (source Washington Post Comic Riffs). Even CNN found the MadTV gag newsworthy. See the video (after enduring a 30-second preroll). “I can hook my iPad to my peach.” So glad CNN alerted me to the fact that #iTampon was hot on Twitter, and that MadTV is making a come-back five years later. The writers and actors of the MadTV skit ask, “are there now women at Apple, or are they so nerdy they don’t menstruate?”

Doesn’t it feel like all these parodies are just helping Apple market? Indeed we’ll soon grow decensitized to the connotation, but we’ll remain dissappointed that the iPad didn’t give us all the things Web entrepreneur Jason Calacanis‘ prank claimed (see Gawker/Valleywag to learn about how his absurdly unbelievable prank claims drifted into real news reports).