CSI NY: Worlds Converge For The Masses

I was not going to write about this, as I figured everyone would be blogging about this today. Still, it is what is on the brain, and I cannot help it!


I am not sure that I would have been a big fan of episode sans the Second Life, but it was really funny hearing terms like Cosplay, Teleport and Avatar on mainstream broadcast television.


Did This Get A New Audience For Second Life? Does That Even Matter?


Obviously this was great press for Second Life, but I am sure that is not what CBS and The Electric Sheep Company had in mind when they produced this show.


CBS taught the advertising world a lesson in cross platform brand integration (CBS brand and Cisco Brands), while The Sheep took a page from Jenkin's Convergence Culture and put it on a pedestal and made it shine.


For those of you that have not been following the experience, have a look at the quote from an interview with one of The Sheep, Damon Taylor,


I think it's fair to say that the Second Life experience is feeding off the television show. It's unclear at this point whether or not what happens in the virtual world will feed back or influence what happens on the show in the February 2008 sequel, but that will be determined by the producers at CBS. We wanted to connect with a storyline from tonight's show for our Second Life experience, and we have three main game experiences for CSI:NY in Second Life. We have a mystery game, and we will release a new one about every three weeks, which involves a crime scene, a crime lab, and suspects. It will be a 20-30 minute experience, and users can go to the crime scene, pick up evidence, process it, follow leads, and then choose the suspect they they committed the murder.


Was This A Success?


YES!


I don't care what the numbers say, nor do I care whether or not CBS or any of the involved parties thought it was a success. I have said this before and I will say it again, Experimentation Is The Mother Of Innovation and it is this type of large scale experiment that pushed the whole industry forward.


My job as a marketing/media strategist has been enhanced due to this experiment, and for that I tip my hat to all involved parties.


My Favorite Message Board Comment


I recommend heading over to the CBS CSI NY message boards and have a look what the community is saying. One of my favorite comments is,


Hey-- I'm a baby boomer too, and I loved it!!! I'm going to try to figure out how to play it.


What a great small victory :)


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Nokia’s Beta Culture Breeds Mobile Virtual Worlds, Mobile Journalism and Much More

"The world of mobile communications is changing at an ever increasing pace,"


"To continue to stay ahead in this environment and to develop innovative new products and services that excite consumers, companies need to embrace openness on many levels. At Nokia, we work with experts in the academic, scientific and developer communities, and increasingly importantly, directly in interaction with our customers. Innovation can come from anywhere, and we need to have the tools and flexibility to respond to that challenge."


--Tero Ojanpera, Chief Technology Officer, Nokia


Whether or not Nokia will succeed in their overly ambitious goal to be everywhere, I am very impressed by the attitude and strategy that a company with such a long history has adopted (more on Nokia and their history).


I got to the office today extra early (6.15, yes I am a bit crazy) and sat down to three Nokia press releases (1, 2, 3). Rather than force you to weed through them, I am going to make it easy for you (we love you here at A MediaCirc.Us).


Innovations Galore




  • MOSH




o    a one-to-many distribution platform - a targeted channel for developers and technology leaders to publish applications and other content, for mobile devices, to a global audience.




  • Widsets




o    a mobile Internet service with more than 3 million registered users and over 2000 widgets, which allows people to enjoy and share their favorite Internet content and to create and publish their own widgets in the spirit of Web 2.0.




  • Point & Find




o    an exciting new way to discover more about your surroundings, using the camera on your mobile device. The mobile device then displays relevant information about what you are looking at, fetching real-time information from the Internet.




  • Shoot to Translate




o    a demonstration using software that translates written characters into another language; the original text is captured with the camera on the Nokia multimedia computer and translation happens in real time.




  • Virtual worlds




o    in addition to previewing the first ever photographic exhibition taking place simultaneously in Second Life and the real world, Nokia showed how 3D virtual environments could be implemented on mobile devices to create an immersive user experience.



o    A strong online community has developed around Beta Labs, attracting especially technology savvy, early adopter mobile enthusiasts.




  • Nokia Web Server




o    a beta lab application running on S60 smartphones. It allows the mobile device to function as an Internet server, making it possible for people to access content on their mobile remotely from a web browser on another device, or to allow other people to do so. Mobile Web Server takes the development of Web 2.0 communities to another level as, rather than centralizing content from many people on a single site, it emphasizes decentralization as a way of creating another kind of community.




  • SEEK




o     SEEK allows MOSH users to make requests for content they crave and the community can then respond with suggestions or custom created content answering the 'SEEK'. SEEK allows the rapidly growing, and global, MOSH community to connect with one another and to obtain content not yet available.




  • Mobile Journalism




o    Nokia (NYSE:NOK) Research Center (NRC) and Reuters are working together on a mobile journalism project that could transform     the way journalists file news reports when on the move. The new mobile application is the first project to be showcased from a long term research collaboration that has been established between NRC and Reuters. It centers around a lightweighttoolkit that provides everything journalists need to file and publish stories from even the most remote regions of the world.


I have been paying a lot of attention to Nokia and the convergence of the web and mobile industries lately and it is becoming clearer where this is all heading. Stay tuned to a AMediaCirc.Us for all of your convergence needs :)


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Facebook Gets Googley/Google Starts To Feed

Google and Facebook danced this weekend! Each making moves that in step with the other. The question is, should we be looking at this weekend as a monument in internet advertising, or are we facing an inevitable week of hype?



Facebook Targets But Is There Intent?


I just heard about the release of the first wave of Facebook’s highly rumored next generation ad systems over at Valleywag, but how “next gen” is it really?


The conversation seems to be focused on whether or not the similarities in the Facebook ad engine rival those of Google’s Adwords. Of course they do not yet rival Adwords, but this system was just launched and I for one am very bullish about the prospects of it.


So far a great deal of commentary has focused on the notion of intent. As we all know the premise on which Adwords was built on was if someone enters of query into Google search, we know that that something is of interest to them. But does that mean that they are ready to buy?


If someone Google’s Britney Spears, there is a wide variety of items that someone could be looking for in relation to Britney Spears, so if someone on Facebook claims that they are a fan of Britney Spears, are they any less intent on making a purchase?


The conversation should migrate towards the notion of active intent. The question is what is the difference in the mindset of someone searching for Britney Spears and one who has labeled themselves as a fan?


Another important element of the Facebook ad system is the ability to target demographic and geographic information (as well as a few other factors). While Google has been able to get to this point (to a certain degree) after many years, Facebook is starting out with all of this information. Sure, Facebook will need to refine their ability to target active intent, but I would say they have other abilities that Google still does not have.



I see the seed of something great here. I cannot predict how this will play out, as it is up to Facebook how they evolve this system, but they are certainly on the right track.



Google Starts To Feed Facebook


Google has finally launched a Facebook application. The official statement reads,



“Whether it is from our homepage, one of our RSS feeds, or on a mobile device, Google News seeks to connect people with the news that matters to them -- wherever they may be”


While this news was not as apocalyptic as the new Facebook Flyers, I find the fact that these two things happened on the same weekend interesting.  



My feeling is that we will begin to see a lot more rivalry between these two companies.



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I Will NOT Be Speaking At Podcamp Boston...

...but I sure as hell will be there!


For all of you who know and love the spirit of the unconference, you know that you get out of it what you put into it, and sharing ideas is as important as listening to them.


I am not saying that I will not share my ideas, but those of you that know me know that I talk a lot (my mother says I have not shut up since my first word). In the spirit of the unconference I am customizing my experience to ensure I get out of it what I want.


But don't be fooled...just because I will not be leading a session does not mean I will not be doing some stunts.


More To Come...


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Convergence Or Mass Confusion

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the state of the mobile, cable and telecom industries. It is really exciting to watch the major shifts that giant corporations or undergoing in order to remain competitive.


If these matters interest you as well, I recommend heading over to Adotas to check out my newest article entitled Convergence Or Mass Confusion


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Using Facebook To Promote Your Dot Com

Since the opening of the Facebook API, there has been a frenzy of new applications added to the Facebook platform, but how successful are these apps, and what is the future as bright as everyone thinks it will be?


From where I stand right now, I would say yes!


There have been several success stories about Facebook apps including one that was announced via PRWeb this morning.


eTwine has shown us that you can not only make your Facebook app a success within the ecosystem of Facebook, you can use this success to drive the success of your business.


The popularity of the Facebook application, I Am Free Tonight has garnered over 2 million users according to PR Web.  A great deal of this traffic is ultimately lead back to the site itself. This success not only proves that a Facebook app can help build your business, it further justifies the current trend in the interactive space of open platforms (in which Facebook has taken the lead).


If you love someone, let them free!


Perhaps more marketers should listen to the wise words of Sting. If you know you have a good product don't be afraid to share it. Walled Gardens have already been proven ineffective. If you love your work, give some of it away in the name of getting the word out. Modern marketing is about collaboration and co-creation, don't be afraid to explore these areas.



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Entrepreneur.com Does The Mahalo Thing...Sort Of.

Vertical Search, Local Search, Assisted Search, Personal Search. Finding the information you want, when you want it is at the core of the current online space, and it is not only start ups that understand this.


Entrepreneur (the word I hate spelling more than any other in the English language) has launched a service not wholly unlike Calacanis's Mahalo.


Ask Entrepreneur is, in essence a business search engine, however it is not an algorithmic search. It is an expert assisted search where people can ask questions such as, "Should we invest in a company right before retirement?"



As you can see, the way that this product is positioned is not to seek hard facts, rather it is positioned to get insight. Still, I consider this produc in the category, search. The ad model that can be applied to this can be just as targeted as Google Adwords (potentially even more so, as some queries will signify very definite intent).



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Mobile Statistics At A Glance

It is all about mobile these days (well...the buzz is all about mobile anyhow, and I certainly am very interested in mobile).


Admob has been nice enough to produce some metrics and share them with us free of charge (thanks guys). Although you must refer to the limitations* of these stats on the first slide, they seem to be directionally useful. Here are some highlights that felt stood out:




  • Worldwide Handset Mobile Ad Impressions Served- Nokia was number one with 30.4%

    •  Within the 30.4% there are 3 Nokia models, while the Motorola Razr V3 holds the greatest share of impressions at 4%



  • 35.6% of handsets support streaming video (worldwide) while only 15.8% of handsets support streaming video in the US

  • 81% support WAP Push (worldwide)

  • 18.7% of impressions served within the US were on Motorola phones



*Representativeness - AdMob does not claim that this traffic information will be necessarily representative of the mobile internet as a whole or of any particular country-market. AdMob’s traffic is driven by publisher relationships and may skew accordingly. Because the data is pulled across ads served on more than 2000 sites, we feel the data will be useful and may help inform your business decision making.


Make sure to go take a look at the rest of the stats!


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Google: Everywhere you want to be!

Google forges forward with their goal of ubiquity. While some look at Google's advances as threatening, they do such a good job of it and their products are so useful, I say thanks Google!



According to Google Blogoscoped, this has been around for a month, but this is the first I am seeing of it, so I imagine many of you have not seen it either.


Anyhow, it appears to be a very clean usable interface, that no doubt I will get mileage out of in the near future.


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SearchMarketingExpo-- Social Media Marketing Essentials (raw notes)

Customers interacting with brands -- that’s marketing in the 21st century. And SMM is key to fostering brand/customer conversations. This session will orient you to the world of social media. You'll learn the leading sites, the functionality they provide, and best practices for interacting in these virtual places.


Moderator:
Danny Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief, Search Engine Land

Speakers:


Rand Fishkin, CEO & Co-founder, SEOmoz


Neil Patel, CTO, Advantage Consulting Services



  • Rand Fishkin



    • Social Media Marketing Essentials



      • Interacting with Participatory communities on the web

      • Viral

      • Leveraging UGC Sites For Technical Goals

      • Reaching Key Influencers via Blogs and Social news portals



    • Why is Social Media Important



      • Branding and Mindshare

      • Helps Search Engine Marketing Goals



        • The rising tide of links raises all ships (domain)



      • Helps with traffic and conversion goals



        • Branding






    • Why now?

      • 668% growth in social media YoY


      • Comscore

        • Brand advocates have emerged online as primary influencers

        • Social media is the key to reaching these advocates



      • Yahoo



        • Passionistas



          • More likely to create and share content

          • Brands that stimulate conversation will be rewarded credibility






      • Blog readership is significantly higher in asian markets

        • 75% versus 25%






    • How do people find blogs?

      • Links on other blogs, 67%




    • How do people choose the blogs that they read

      • Quality of writing is the most important




    • Online Video Consumption

      • By 2011 85% viewership (emarketer)




    • How are users engaging with online video?

      • links with friends

      • 27% of web users are influencers (emarketer)




    • A brief history of search engines

      • The value of trusted sites go up in light of all the spamming that has occurred




    • Who creates links on the web-- "The Linkerati"

      • how can marketers reach the linkerati




    • What types of content are likely to become viral

      • Stunning design

      • Ad free content

      • non commercial content

      • Clever graphics

      • Clear, concise writing

      • Authoritative source

      • clear navigation




    • Site Types

      • news aggregators

      • social networking communities

      • UGC Sites

      • Popular blogs

      • Social Bookmarking Sites







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The Microsoft Metaverse?

I Always Must Start With Google


There has been a lot of speculation about the creation of a Google Virtual World. I am sorry that I have not been on top of this, but my feeling was that, while the rumors were very interesting, it does not appear that Google is creating a Virtual World at all. It does however appear that they are very focused on created mirror worlds, which enhance their Google Earth product (the outcome remains to be seen). I certainly don’t mean to diminish the importance of this. As a concept this is groundbreaking. Perhaps I have just been very busy lately and am making excused for my lack of coverage :)


Despite what Google is doing, I recommend all of you take a look at how Multiverse is leveraging Google Sketch Up to broaden the building capabilities and interoperability of their metaverse.


The Microsoft Metaverse?


A few weeks ago I wrote about the latest enhancements to Microsoft Live and was quite bullish on the product (with a side order of bear). I finally got around to yesterday’s press release by the software giant which offered up a glimpse of the rest of the new features in the Live 2.0 platform, and they were quite compelling.


For those of you that have been reading AMediaCirc.us regularly, you know that I am very much an advocate of the platform model as the next wave in the interactive space and it is apparent that Microsoft feels the same way.


Similar to Nokia (and of course Google), Microsoft is making a significant effort to improve upon their mapping capabilities.


Some of the attribute I found most compelling were:



  • Dynamic rerouting of directions based on real time traffic reports


  • Innovative visualization and 3-D.


    • 3-D coverage of over 80% of the US




    • 200 complete cities in 3D




    • Customers can now combine 3-D imagery with Live Search’s unique 45 degree birds eye images





  • Ability to access 3-D user generated content via KML


  • Updates to Virtual Earth

    • Multipoint trip routing

    • Enhanced Geocoding

    • Rooftop Geocoding




In additional to enhancements to mapping, directions and Virtual Earth, Microsoft has also announced new advances in mobile, signifying that they are not only focused on mirror worlds but are also investing in augmented reality technologies and ubiquitous computing.


Here are some notes on their mobile push:




  • Voice activated search

    • This will include things like gas prices, hours of business operations etc.




  • Live Search 411

    • Free voice activated search



  • Blackberry integration


Okay, so maybe Microsoft is not creating a metaverse in the Neal Stephenson sense, but they are certainly aiming to help change the way we view and search the world.


In additional to enhancements to mapping, directions and Virtual Earth, Microsoft has also announced new advances in mobile, signifying that they are not only focused on mirror worlds but are also investing in augmented reality technologies and ubiquitous computing.


Here are some notes on their mobile push:



  • Voice activated search



    • This will include things like gas prices, hours of business operations etc.



  • Live Search 411



    • Free voice activated search



  • Blackberry integration


Okay, so maybe Microsoft is not creating a metaverse in the Neal Stephenson sense, but they are certainly aiming to help change the way we view and search the world.


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Can 1200 Marketers Be Wrong?

The title of this post is a spin on a recent article in the New York Times about the recent ANA conference entitled, 1200 Marketers Can't be Wrong, The Future Is In Consumer Behavior.


First things first, 1200 marketers can certainly get things wrong. Especially if they ever thought (at least in the 21st century) that the future of marketing was not heavily rooted in Consumer Behavior. Furthermore, they will be wrong if they leverage behavioral targeting as indiscriminately as other trends in marketing in media have so thoughtlessly been exploited.


Steve Ballmer Lays It All On The Line For "Well Targeted Advertising"


The article talks about Steve Ballmer's initiative to invest in "well targeted advertising", "as aggressively as we've ever invested in anything". I get worried when I hear statement such as this as, it wreaks of tonnage at the expense of strategy. Microsoft's acquisition of aQuantive certainly showed us that money is not an object when it comes to investing in digital advertising, I just hope (for MSN's sake) that capital is not the only thing being invested. I have yet to see digital marketing strategy come out of MSN that rivals the like of Google, despite their large investments.


Thinking Outside The Ad Server


While their are a great many new digital tools that can aid in garnering information about consumer behavior, the more people look to automated solutions with no human touch, the less effective these tools will become. Don't believe me? Just look at the types of "targeted" ads that eBay runs on Google Adwords (and other paid search platforms).


Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of digital marketing tactics, and it is my belief that if enough marketers begin to let machines handle the bulk of their strategies, consumers will become just as desensitized to relevant ads as they are to irrelevant ones, and we will be back where we started at the beginning of the 21st century.


I Am Not Really That Cynical, Really!


My aim in this post was not to be a cynic, rather it was to remind marketers that digital marketing will not cure all. The key is knowing how best to leverage new tools in an intelligent, strategic manner, period!



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A Mediacirc.us Roadshow/Come Hang Out

I have a few speaking engagements coming up, so if you are going to be in the area, come on out and have a drink with me. Here is the lineup:



212 interactive advertising club-- October 25@ 6PM


Moderator: Masha Geller
Panel Participants:
Adam Broitman, Director Emerging and Creative Strategy, Morpheus Media
Sean Cummings, Director of Marketing, Ask.com
Nick Denton, Publisher, Gawker Media
Greg Mand, Senior Director, Business Development, PodShow



Digital Hollywood- Wednesday October 31st @3:50


Broadband Advertising: The Power Surge –


Video, PODs, Social Networks, Links & Banners - Entertainment, Digital Publishing, Communities and Search Engines Emergence


Jason Klein, President and co-founder, Special Ops Media
Aaron Broder, co-founder & CEO, Gorilla Nation
Michael Lundgren, Applied Technology Group, Creative Technology Director, VML
Eric Druckenmiller, Media Director, Deep-Focus
Adam Broitman, Director of Emerging and Creative Strategy, Morpheus Media
Josh Crandall, Managing Director, Media-Screen LLC
David Berkowitz, Director, Emerging Media, 360i, Moderator
For Session Description & Speaker Bios Click Here



iMedia Agency Summit December 2-5


TBD




Content (Delivery) Is King!

The saying, “content is king” has echoed in the halls of media agencies for as long as I can remember (which is not that long, but I imagine the saying has been a popular media war chant for a very long time).


Well, as we say at Morpheus Media, if content is king, than syndication is its kingdom. This is dramatically exemplified in the current 700MHz spectrum land grab. Whoever controls this so called, beachfront property, will have a significant leg up in the war for consumer attention due to added ability to control how content reaches consumers.


The most interesting part of the 700Mhz spectrum is it’s cross industry appeal. Cable companies, telco’s and internet companies alike are all fawning after this highly coveted band.  ATT&T recently purchased a portion of this spectrum not being auctioned off from Aloha Parnters for 2.5billion dollars, and while it is not shocking that a telco purchased this block, the way in which this spectrum is used will be interesting. AT&T, long known simply as a phone company, will most likely use this spectrum to expand their television service, Uverse and other new initiatives.  


Watch this space, it is about to get really interesting!



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Across The Sound Month Of Experimentation Player/The Experiment Continues

SHUT UP AND EXPERIMENT!


This is the playlist that was made for the Joseph Jaffe's Month Of Experimentation. The third clip was a special cut to be used for the submission (I apologize for the lo res)


Thanks to Kirk Skodis and Real Pie Media





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Convergence--The Sheep Show Us What It Means

Everyone is talking about media convergence but few actually know what it means. An even fewer number of people know know how to leverage the concept of convergence in modern entertainment and entertainment marketing.


Well folks, if you want to learn how the concepts of convergence and transmedia storytelling can be leverage in the modern entertainment space, you need look no further than the trailblazing work done by the Electric Sheep Company.


For all you Second Life naysayers, open your minds and look beyond what is right in front of you. This is not about Second Life. This is about non-linear, cross platform, participatory storytelling.


A new age of media has dawned and at the heart of it is NOT consumer generated media. Consumer generated media is only a part of this new age of media. One of the most important tenets of this new era is the ability to tell stories that incorporate all of us. After all, the best stories are a reflection of the human condition, so why not involve these same humans to help sculpt the stories that entertain us.







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6 Things That Second Life and Facebook Have in Common

As you may (or may not) know, I am in the heart of the valley all week attending two conferences. The first one was Graphing Social Patterns, and I am currently at Virtual Worlds 2007.


As you also may (or may not) know is that I tend to take copious notes at these conferences, alas, my Dell battery is crapping out on me (after only a year) and I was not able to live blog today.


After taking a whole day of hand written notes, I am exhausted, and am not in the mood to write it all up. So instead, I am making a list for you :)


6 Things That Second Life and Facebook Have in Common



  1. Second Life And Facebook are both virtual worlds



  1. Second Life and Facebook are both persistent environments



  1. Within Facebook and Second Life, content is social currency



  1. Second Life and Facebook are both storytelling vehicles, however most of the time, the content is the community



  1. In both Second Life and Facebook, brands need to adapt to the existing environment and not vice versus or they will certainly fail



  1. For marketers, Second Life and Facebook must be used as a strategic lever, not a strategy unto itself. If these platforms are not part of some larger push you will most definitely fail.


I have been thinking about social networks and virtual worlds a lot this week (obviously) and have many more things to add to this list, but I added all the items, YOU would not be able to contribute.



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I WANT TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK!



A Media Circ.us Gets Into VW

Virtual Worlds Conference 2007 that is!


I will do my best to cover the event despite the fact that my Dell is crapping out and the battery is only lasting 30 minutes. Great timing for this to happen, thanks Dell :)


Anyhow, there were some great announcement today that coincided with the event and I recommend you take a look.


One Avatar To Rule Them All


A "Sheepish" Way To Browse Second Life



Stay tuned for all the goods from the show!



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