Tag Archives: week

Huffington Post Spotlights YouTube’s Best Videos

The Huffington Post shows off the best viral videos by weekly running a YouTube Trends report and turning it into journalism…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/23/watch-top-youtube-videos_n_852890.html

Now we just need a YouTube amateur vlogger channel that summarizes the week’s most popular Huffington Post articles. And *boom* the Aol Video strategy is born.

P.S. Post your worst videos below. It’s time for a blog post on the worst videos of 2011. Not memes- just clips that make you cringe.

P.P.S. You’re really not supposed to use postscripts when you don’t sign your name. €£¥^%#~>•

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Trivia: Time Watching Television Versus Online Video?

I’m fairly immersed in the online-video space, but would have had to “phone a friend” if you asked me some of these questions on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”

  • Are we consuming more or less television now that we have online video and the mobile players (3 screens)?
  • What percent of our live television viewing has given way to “time shifted” (via DVRs, TiVo, AppleTV and stuff)?
  • How much time do we Americans spend in front of the television versus watching online video?

The answers may surprise you. Try to guess before peeking.

  • As you might have gathered, we’re actually consuming more television according to Nielsen’s “Three Screen Report” (despite the other two screens: mobile and computer).
  • I must be in a small minority because I watch precious little live television. The rest of the nation consumes only about 2 hours of time-shifted television per week, compared to about 35 hours of live television. Obviously our attention differs dramatically. For instance, my kids are blaring Nickelodeon behind me as I type. But I just noticed an ad for Miranda Cosgrove’s new CD, so maybe that counts.
  • Now for the zinger. A single amateur can sometimes command a larger audience than well-known television shows. I just made the graphic below for my book, “Beyond Viral” (Wiley). Pretty wild that one dude can swing 50 million views in the past 30 days (according to TubeMogul). Dane Boedigheimer, who produces GagFilms and AnnoyingOrange, was late to the YouTube party because he was soaking in the now set Metacafe sun… but now he’s knocking out more than 1.6 million views per day.
One YouTube "webstar" commands 50 million views in the past 30 days. That has him rivaling audiences of many well-known television shows.
  • But before you think we’ve all migrated to online video, our average consumption pales when compared to television. We early adopters are still early. Yes the folks that gobble up 35 hours of television are only watching 22 minutes of online video according to Nielsen Wire’s recent chart below. I suppose those 22 minutes might be longer if the majority of us made it past that first 60 seconds (which we don’t according to this way outdated Tubemogul report).
Video consumption by medium by age... seems we're still only snacking online video while we're feasting television.
  • Before you make any major conclusions based on this data, it’s important to remember two things: First, if we looked at a bell curve, we’d observe that these numbers are highly skewed by those that won’t be bothered with online video. I know many people who have abandoned television entirely. Second, this behavior is changing rapidly. For instance, there’s been a 30% plus increase in our simultaneous use of television and web (now I’m hearing Flapjack in the background).
  • I wish it was TreeTrunks or the little hand alien from Bravest Warriors. She’s so soothing.

Farting Santa and eGuiders Gentleman’s Competition

Check out Edbassmaster’s Farting Santa below… we even get to watch Bob Saget’s reaction.

What’s your favorite video of the week?

I just started to volunteer identify videos for eGuiders (see my profile). My 3 picks:

  • I found Mediocrefilm’s Greg Benson‘s picks and I’ll watch anything he favorites EVER based on these. Cried laughing at one of my favorite videos ever (a French journalist who can’t hold back his laughter in a wonderfully awkward moment with some sex-change peeps).
  • Obama Girl’s Ben Relles picks? Not as good. Sorry Ben.
  • Rhett and Link found a nice duo.
  • Director John Landis had a Michael Jackson pick and a nice remix-movie-trailer site.
  • Shira Lazar chose a Twitter parody, but I didn’t click it. There’s nothing I haven’t heard.
  • Chris Pirillo picked his own video, which is TOTALY cheating.
  • I appear occasionally on “This Week in Media” with Tim Street, so I wasn’t surprised to see he had two good picks.
  • And where the heck is Daisy Whitney?

So I’m thinking eGuiders will work better if people update their picks, and if there’s an incentive to find really good stuff. So I’d like to publicly encourage eGuiders to determine a way for us to compete. Let the viewers decide if our picks suck or if we become a Ninja eGuider. Just figure out a way (beyond me) to not have it become a popularity contest, because then Relles will kick my ass no matter how dull his picks are.

P.S. How come a “Nalts” search on Google doesn’t produce real-time Twitter results like some other people?

Schweet & Sad: Advertising Week’s Battle of the Bands

YouTube AdvertisingWeek Battle of Bands

It’s schweet & sad… You’ve got a week to vote for the best band on Advertising Week’s “Battle of the Bands” (see AdvertisingWeek or visit YouTube “Battle of Ad Bands” channel). The assortment of videos, featuring modern Mad Men (and woman), in the past week have seen about 200-500 views per video. Perhaps mostly from fellow agency pals.

Maybe YouTube Business Blog’s pandering “We Salute You” blog post will fetch them another dozen views…

Just watch PHD’s “Say What,” and you get mixed feelings. On one hand, you’re thinking “how cool, this agency has such soul!” But you’re simultaneously transported back to that sad happy hour in 1992 when you were interning at Earl Palmer Brown, and the chief creative guy answered your question, “what’s the best advice you can give me to succeed in advertising.”

And he looks at you, pauses to sip his Jack Daniels, and you can see in his eyes as he instantly releases his dream of being a great painter… like a helium balloon.” Then he says with great conviction, “choose another career… I’m serious.”

Is this a celebration of the fact that we can have it all: lucrative advertising careers and the pursuit of our artistic passions? Or is this a tragic collection of would-be artists who sadly missed the fame bus for lack of talent or timing?