Tag Archives: reality

Online Video

Online Video is Irrelevant

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The headline is a quote by Mark Cuban, who is very rich. The full quote, as captured by Adam Kleinberg in last week’s Videonomics event in Dallas Cowboys stadium, is: “Online video is irrelevant. The top videos most days on YouTube get 250-750k views. If you got that kind of traffic on TV, you’d be a huge failure.” 

Before I comment on Mark’s thoughts, I gotta say… I love Adam’s post for three reasons:

  1. He references me before Mark Cuban.
  2. He captured the quote I was too lazy to write down.
  3. Adam let me kiss him on the head, and he’s like a human teddy bear. I told him I almost want to go back to a big company just to hire his agency, Tractionco.com. If you know anyone from Studio Lambert, tell them to get Traction Co on The Pitch (AMC) NOW.

I did get a photo of Mark Cuban and me, but nobody seems to care as much as I might have thought. Only 5% of the people I know seem to recognize him, and only 14% of that segment seem mildly impressed that I arm wrestled him. Some were more impressed that he’s on Shark Tank than the fact that he sold Broadcast.com for 55 billion.

Mark Cuban arm wrestling me

And now to the point (you buried your lead again, Nalts): Mark Cuban’s point was that the view count of “YouTube’s most viewed videos of the day” pales against television-show viewership. He’s got two reasons, the first is that YouTube most-viewed daily videos sometimes don’t often more than a few hundred thousand views. Second, the views are brief relative to viewing durations of Shark Tank, which Mark says is the show most watched by entire families. Mark appears on that show.

What Mark didn’t point out is that the most-viewed YouTubers (top 50-100) typically have daily views that exceed top television shows. Annoying Orange or Ray William Johnson get 10x the daily views of many network shows. They are, in effect, small networks. Sure the views are minutes not 30 or 60 minutes. And they’re less monatized. Furthermore, here’s another little secret for Mark. Sometimes a creator’s “daily views” are not, in fact, driven by their most recent video — a creator’s daily views are often driven by the cumulative views of the creator’s collection. (For instance, my recent videos tend to be viewed a mere fraction of the total daily views I have; the latter number is driven by a few older videos, like “Scary Maze” or “I Are Cute Kitten,” that continue to accumulate views).

During last week’s Videonomics event, Mark invited people to challenge him, but I declined because… this is all a moot point. Why? For starters, advertisers want eyeballs, and they don’t generally care if they bought 100 ads on 100 YouTube videos or 5 ads on 5 television shows.

They want targeted reach with spending efficiency.

Period. Advertisers also need scale, and if media fragments so too will their media spend. Most studies show that online-video advertising growth will come at the expense of television advertising in years ahead… but eventually these budgets won’t be separate. That brings me to my second point… in the next 4-8 years we won’t really discern between online video, cable TV, mobile and television. It’ll all be video, and the long and short tail will both matter to advertisers.

(Whether Mark Cuban says so or not).

P.S. I let him win in arm wrestling.

Online Video

Where Did Kate Gosselin Buy Her Chicken Coop? (Video)

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Kate Gosselin got a chicken coop from Horizon Structures on a recent “Kate & 8.” Kate Gosselin (Kate & Eight, Dancing With Stars) lives fairly close by — she in Berks County, PA. and us in Bucks County, PA. While we have little in common beyond kids, we’re now bound by our shed provider. Horizon Structures delivered her chicken coop on this episode (see hysterical interaction between kids, Owner Dave and other Horizon Structures employees.

We’re sad the TLC producers blurred poor Horizon Structures logo from Dave’s truck, but glad they recognized that this stuff makes good TV and video. Mind you, you don’t buy a pool house or chicken coop from Horizon Structures, you join its family (see our video below). I’m quite convinced the company could make a side income of $1000 for simply delivering the structures, and then picking them up the next day. It’s an event.

As it turns out, WifeofNalts hijacked what was supposed to me the Nalts Consulting corporate office… but that’s because I’m doing most of my consulting on site. Still- we bought two. One for bikes and the other for office and pool stuff, and it’s one of those purchases you’re glad you made — even if they spontaniously combusted a few weeks later. It’s not the shed ownership, you see, it’s the experience of receiving one. Like Fruit Cake. Only Fruit Cake is never eaten… just passed along each other, and I think there are only about 50 in circulation.

Hey, Horizon… if you’re ever in the neighborhood dropping off a chicken coop, gazebo or shed, drop us a line. With your permission and the recipient’s, we reckin’ we’ll bring some lawn chairs and lemonade and do some gandering.

First Shed Delivered:

Old Pool House Getting Destroyed

And Kate/TLC- how about you bring those little fellers to meet the Nalts kids? I’m a little afraid of you, but my big sister Jennifer used to punch me on the arm a lot… so I’ve lost feeling in that arm.

Wow- what a spectacle: traditional media family meets new media family– now that’s entertainment. We behaved during TLC’s shooting of Buddy’s Cake Boss, and even sat on the footage of his wife’s cake until it aired. So we can hang.

Yeah now there’s some fun video. My 6 year old Charlie goes from the Cake Boss to the Kate Boss.

Online Video

Reality TV Isn’t Reality. THIS is Reality. A Drunk Naked Narcissist.

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This is perhaps one of the most memorable moments of online video I’ve seen, and it’s from regular WillVideoForFood reader/commenter James Jarvis (Marquisdejolie). The former homeless man lives in Marshall, Texas and has posted 852 videos to date (and for reasons I can’t understand, has fewer subscribers than videos).

Before you comment on “Drunk Naked Narcissist,” please recognize that he may well read your observations. And this is tragedy not comedy (of course comedy is tragedy plus time). Marquis was the first person with whom I interacted in online video (via Revver), and the first person that appeared in a dream. He was disk jockeying a party not chasing me with a pitch fork.

I find it remarkable that James permits us into to observe a fight between he and his alcoholic mother — who appears tortured by her past and resentful of her son for not providing more support. We join him from a safe perch behind the camera. But he occasionally leaves us alone as he defends his behavior and challenges his mother’s views of him and his siblings.

It’s more shocking than anything I’ve seen on Jerry Springfield, but curiously artistic. Marquis explains in his video description, “Mom and I performing a scene from my play entitled “A Simple Life.” While it’s clear that his mother isn’t acting (unless she’s Julliard trained), it’s unclear how many of Marquis’ “lines” are provocations of his subject… or a visceral response by a son being blamed for his mother’s sad state.

One thing’s for sure. This is reality. Unscripted, unedited and raw. Marquis sometimes goes live on Stickam and the arguments continue. I submit that if he and mom did regular live Blogtv shows he’d make enough money cover’s mom’s missing bonds. If nothing else, they’d remind us that no matter how strange our lives get we’re not alone.