Filed under: Copyright Issue, Copywriting, Google, Integrity, Intellectual Property, Legal Issues, Viral Videos, YouTube

YouTube has to fork over viewer records to plaintiff Viacom as a result of the recent law suit regarding copyright issues.  I understand Viacom’s desire for that, but I disagree with the ruling.

The cool thing is that Google - YouTube’s parent company - has successfully negotiated with Viacom to scrub and data that can be used to identify users.  Names and IP addresses are gone.

So, it’s likely, regarding privacy, the problem’s over in this particular case.

But there are two buts. Read more…

No Comments » Posted on July 16th, 2008 by Jonathan Trenn

Filed under: Abraham Harrison LLC, Authenticity, Brand, Brand Advocacy, Brand Promotion, Branded Entertainment, Branding, Branding Online, Conversation Marketing, Internet Strategy, New Media Marketing, Online Brand Promotion, Online Branding, Social Meda, Social Media Marketing, Social Media PR, Viral Advertising, Viral Marketing, YouTube, YouTube Marketing

I’m going to go against the orthodoxy of my fellow social media practitioners. I’m going to commit heresy. I’m going upset the apple cart of the proverbial echo chamber.

The new 2008 version of Where the Hell is Matt YouTube video isn’t going to live up to it’s intended purpose. It will be something that many of us will talk about, blog about, pontificate about. Then it will go away.

Here’s the video if you haven’t watched it:

The reason this campaign will not live up to hype is because it is a direct example as to how social media fails to act as a promotional vehicle. Viral, yes. Promotional, not so much. Sure, some aspects of it may make us feel good…but so what? The object of marketing is to enhance a brand, sustain longterm sales growth, and create profit. I doubt this will really do a great deal for much of the above.Sure, it may result in sales increases for the sponsoring company, Stride Gum. But that’s only if sales right now are very low. They’ll get some good press. But unless they piggyback on it in a couple of months, it will be a social media version of a one hint wonder.We’ll all love the concept. We’ll be inspired by it. The sense of this one guy dancing away throughout the world with citizens of all these countries. We’ll be amazed.

But that’s it.

Read more…

9 Comments » Posted on July 14th, 2008 by Jonathan Trenn

Filed under: Aggregation, Blowback, Brand Promotion, Brand Protection, Case Studies, Citizen Generated Media, Content Filtering, Content Management Solution, Content Management System, Controversial Marketing, Copyright Issue, Copywriting, Corporate Responsibility, Crisis Management, Google, Google YouTube, Honesty, Information Technology, Integrity, Intellectual Property, Internet Culture, Internet Strategy, Legal Issues, New Media Strategy, New Technology, Online Brand Protection, Peer-to-Peer, Technology, Television, Video Over IP, Viral Advertising, Viral Marketing, Viral Media, Viral Propagation, Viral Videos, Web Strategy, YouTube, YouTube Marketing

The current legal battle between Viacom and Google/YouTube is going to have significant ramifications beyond today’s headlines.  It’s getting surprisingly little play amongst much of the social media digerati, but it’s something we all need to be aware of.

The lawsuit and the proceedings around it are truly a sign of the times.  It’s a direct outgrowth of what we’ve been emerging via the internet over the past several years.  Sites such as YouTube have essentially become free communicative vehicles to not only view, but  share and alter video productions of all types.  The concept of “share” is important because most of us use it.  But in reality, it is a nice way of saying “distribute”.  And from distribute comes distribution - a fundamental with tremendous legal ramifications.

Alter is a tough one too.  The “mash-ups” that many in social media and digital marketing talk of enthusiastically can be as problematic.  As, I guess, it should be.  At least in some cases.  An artist creates an original piece of work.  Then distributes it, usually netting some sort of financial gain.  Others take it, and now because of new tools can alter it and redistribute it.  Many times this new process leads to lost potential revenue for the original artist. Read more…

2 Comments » Posted on July 11th, 2008 by Jonathan Trenn

Filed under: Environmentalism, Facebook, Hearts and Minds, Industry Reputation, Influence, Microblogging, MySpace, National Security, New Media Strategy, New PR, Online Communities, Online Community Outreach, Online Evangelism, Online Outreach, Online Participation, PR Tactics, Popular Culture, Propaganda, Propaganda Warfare, Public Affairs, Public Affairs Blogging, Public Relations, Public Space, Social Meda, Social Media Marketing, Social Media News Release, Stealth Marketing, Twitter, Viral Marketing, Viral PR, YouTube, YouTube Marketing, presidential election

T. Boone Picken’s, Texas oil man, 1980’s corporate raider and current manager of BP Capital Management has something new up his sleave. And it features an internet strategy.

In 1997, he shifted his focus to natural gas. and 10 years later, in 2007, on wind energy. He formed Mesa Power LP in west central Texas and is constructing what will likely be the world’s largest wind farm. The project will feature thousands of wind turbines and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. This follows his belief that natural gas remains the best alternative to oil for motor vehicle fuel. That’s why he formed Pickens Fuel Corp eleven years ago.

Now, with $4 a gallon gas prices, he’s funding a public affairs effort to help us cut out oil as a our primary fuel for transportation, substitute it with natural gas, and then substitute the use of gas for other types of energy needs with, you guessed it, wind energy.

Today, he’s launched an online public affairs effort to convince Americans to look to natural gas and wind as proper alternatives. He points out that we currently import 70% of our oil - up from 24% in 1970. What’s new about his effort, is that much of it is bein launched online.

He’s got a YouTube channel.
They’ve got a page on Twitter.
A fan page on Facebook.
And a page on Mypace.

They even have an online community that they’re building.

Pretty neat concept. I’ll be following this campaign to see how effectively they use social media.

No Comments » Posted on July 8th, 2008 by Jonathan Trenn

Filed under: Abraham Harrison LLC, MySpace, New Media, Online Video, YouTube, YouTube Marketing

Wow. ComScore is reporting that, in December, more than ten billion online videos were viewed by US users. And they’re saying that around 140 million Americans made these views. That’s about 28% of the population.

Google properties - essentially meaning YouTube - accounted for 32.7% of that figure, followed by a flurry of news oriented sites. Second was Fox Interactive Media which both covers news and host MySpace videos.

Here’s a cut and past from ComScore’s press release:

  • 77.6 million viewers watched 3.2 billion videos on YouTube.com (41.6 videos per viewer).
  • 40.5 million viewers watched 334 million videos on MySpace.com (8.2 videos per viewer).
  • Online viewers watched an average of 3.4 hours (203 minutes) of online video during the month, representing a 34-percent gain since the beginning of 2007.
  • The average online video duration was 2.8 minutes.
  • The average online video viewer consumed 72 videos.

Some of this can be blamed on the writers’ strike that was occurring, but I’m betting that this is showing a continued behavioral shift that’s more geared toward online video watching and less about the demise of television. To be sure, TV doesn’t command the attention it once did, but the greater point here is that online has now become a full force in its own right.

The questions abound for those of us in marketing. What is the best way to use promotional video? What is the best way to integrate advertising? How do media properties monetize this - the viewing habits of 140,000,000+ people?

No Comments » Posted on February 26th, 2008 by Jonathan Trenn

Next Page »

  • blog advertising is good for you