Paul Sherman of Potomac Tech Wire leads a conversation with Steve Case

Engaging, inspiring, and invigorating -  how I describe the Digital Media East  conference that I attended last week in the DC metro area.  Let’s face it, some of these confabs leave a little to be desired – shop worn topics, the usual suspects peddling the same presentations.

This was not one of those conferences. The Digital Media Conference is produced by Digital Media Wire, who run a number of smart events throughout the year, in addition to newsletters and media focused on the business of digital media.  If you’re interested in the future of media, I would urge you to attend one of their events.  My only complaint is that they packed so much valuable content into one day, that I was forced to choose between great sessions that took place at the same time.

Takeaways: Data Points to Strong Future for Digital Media

My personal takeaway from the Digital Media Conference is that the data, the investment, and the innovation in action-based advertising all point to opportunities for entrepreneurs to create new internet TV networks and for legacy media to engage new audiences in creative ways.  Here are the panels I was able to attend:

• Research Presentations: Top Digital Media Trends
• Keynote: Steve Case,  AOL, Revolution LLC, The Case Foundation, Startup America
• Investing in Digital Media: VCs Speak
• Cutting the Cord: Checking in on the Revolution
• Cross Platform Video Distribution
• Branded Entertainment

Notable Quotables from the Digital Media Conference

I managed to jot down some salient points from the various panels that resonated with me.  To find more conversation about the conference, you should check out the #DMCE hashtag on Twitter.

Steve Case Keynote

people will be watching more television through the internet

imbalance between where people spend their time and where advertisers spend their money

- Steve Case - Co-Founder, AOL Chairman, Revolution LLC Chairman, The Case Foundation Chairman, Startup America

Research/Data Panel

next iteration of TV advertising will be centered on reaching and engaging consumers via internet-enabled devices

Consumption trends among young consumers will drastically alter distribution and business models

- Heather Way, Research Analyst, Parks Associates

when we’re flooded with information, discovery becomes king

- Shawn DuBravac, Chief Economist & Director of Research, CEA

Venture Capital Panel

the environment has improved a lot so that means more money going into startups

– Thanasis Delistathis, New Atlantic Ventures

Subsctriptions are going to make a comeback as a business model

- Don Rainey – Grotech Ventures

Don’t try and be the ‘Facebook of X

- Tige Savage, Revolution, LLC

(Social Media) “one of the most overfunded areas of the internet

- Thanasis Delistathis, New Atlantic Ventures

Cross Platform Video Distribution

at the end of the day, you want to make it easy for the publishers to use the content

- Alvin Bowles CEO Grab Networks

everything about doing this for mobile has been very very hard

- Jon Brendsel VP Products, PBS on app development

(on ad revenue) it’s peanuts right now… the missing piece is just scale

Richard Bloom – SVP Biz Dev 5min Media/AOL video

Branded Entertainment

what we see coming… fully interactive experiences that do incorporate video… that actually allow for you to participate

- Jeff Gomez, CEO, Starlight Runner Entertainment

(on product placement) if the tone is correct an there is some smart thinking behind the brand then yes it is ok

- Jeff Gomez, CEO, Starlight Runner Entertainment

Paths to Success

Revision3 CEO Jim Louderback at the Digital Media Conference East

So what we see here are fragments of a robust, growing, and maturing ecosystem in the digital video space.  The actual conferences sessions filled in all of the blanks with quality panels guided by engaging moderators. While none of this is easy – this is a complex and evolving space – there are succes stories. I had the opportunity to meet Jim Louderback of Revision3 at the conference.  He is one of those success stories.

I caught up with him to ask him how his company has become successful in this emerging marketplace.

Q&A with Jim Louderback, CEO of Revision3
Q: One of the VC guys on an earlier panel said he’d never back an ad revenue based venture, yet at the same conference another Steve Case said there’s a disconnect between where ad $$ is being spent and where people are watching (digital). Are you optimistic about the future of ad supported internet TV? Why? Where do you see this stuff going?
A: Absolutely, ad support is a key component of media in general, and it is only going to increase. I’m optimistic about ad supported internet video because the viewing percentage compared to regular TV is so much higher than the revenue percentage – and it’s proven to be a better branding and action-based environment than both the internet and traditional TV
Q: Established, linear media are using social extensions of their brands to engage new audiences and create loyalty. Emerging, upstart internet TV plays have lived on the web and have built their brands there. How essential is social tv to both legacy and emerging media brands. How do you do it “right”? What is “social TV”?
A: All media is social, internet delivered media has the advantage of using the direct social tools already available to spur the kinds of social connections we already use to talk about traditional media. Doing it right means focusing on your audience, what they want, and listening to them, rather than shoving social down their throats.
Q: You travel about as much as I do, how important is it for you to attend conferences like Digital Media Conference in terms of building brand awareness about Revision3?
A: It’s very important to talk to people face to face and to listen to them talk about their ideas, visions and products. I get inspired by what others are doing, and it makes me envision things in ways that I couldn’t just sitting at home playing with Facebook and Twitter.
Q: What makes you guys so successful, what’s your secret sauce?
A: Lots of hard work, listening to the audience and not being afraid to make mistakes

So as I look back on the conference, the engaging panel discussions, and meeting great people like Jim Louderback, I’m energized about the future of digital media. What about you? Are you a digital media entrepreneur? Are you entrepre-curious? What is you’re path to becoming a micro media mogul?

The conversation around the content

While traditional media fights to hang on to linear audiences, they are also tasked with cultivating new viewers in an increasingly fragmented media space. These audiences, empowered with multiple screens and recommendations from their social graphs, look to news feeds in social networks as their new electronic program guide.

Meanwhile, nimble, niche content internet TV networks like Revision3 are building these experiences from the ground up – further testing established media.  Marketing and promotion of television poses more challenge than ever before. Yet at the same time, there are unique opportunities to truly engage audiences as people, not just ratings. Bus backs and billboards don’t build trust or program loyalty,  real human conversation does.

Today, I have the privilege of sitting on a panel at the 140 conference in New York that will explore how news organizations are engaging in conversations on the web to drive viewership. Social TV is complicated and has a lot of moving parts. For many, it is the new “TV Guide”.

Simpler Times

When I was growing up, my family would gather around a 19 inch black and white TV – the only one in the house – that sat perched on a rickety aluminum framed patio table.  We didn’t have a remote, so we would actually have to get up from our seat to “surf” the five VHF and handful of UHF channels that our rabbit ears were capable of picking up.

TV was a planned event. In terms of news, we were a NBC family. The recommendation engine that informed our viewing came by way of the TV guide that arrived with each Sunday newspaper. (remember them?) Gosh, it was simple back then.  Everyone gathered around their boxes and all of the available viewing choices fit into a thin weekly circular.  Lack of options made program loyalty a pretty simple proposition.

Social TV and the Transmedia Experience

Today, viewers not only have boundless choices of what to watch, but they are also unlimited in terms of how, when, where and on what devices the enjoy content. So from a viewer standpoint, the challenge is search and discovery of meaningful content on a variety of platforms. From a content creator perspective, the challenge is much more complex.

Facebook Becoming Key to Audience Loyalty and Development
Some pretty compelling statistics come in report from Inside Facebook citing data from Facebook’s Media Partnerships Director Justin Osofsky.

• around 1.65 billion “likes” of TV shows
• 275 million Facebook users have liked a TV show
• 17 of the top 100 most like pages on Facebook are TV shows

No longer is it a matter of simply coming up with formulaic show concept and promoting it across traditional channels.  Audiences expect a level of what the hipsters now call a “transmedia” experience.  Whether that conversation comes in the form of a Facebook friend “like” -ing a show, a Twitter conversation with actors in a drama or reporters from a newscast , or an expanded experience on the web  - there are a dizzying array of touchpoints where audiences can encounter content on their social entertainment operating systems.

Further Reading

Comcast Taps Facebook for Enhanced TV Experience

Good Social TV Roundup Curated by Mo Kromchal

GigaOM web show "Cord Cutters"

Mark your calendars!  On Tuesday, April 26th, the world will celebrate Cord Cutters Day.  It is neither a national, nor Hallmark holiday, rather a manufactured “meetup” ginned up by the folks at GigaOM to raise awareness about  “cord cutting”.  It’s the gaining trend of folks giving up pay TV, for content they stream from the web, on broadband connected TV’s and set top boxes.

Now when I say the world will celebrate, I mean there are just over a dozen meetups scattered across the US, and one in South America.  At last check, the one in DC has three attendees.  Cord Cutters Day is likely in some part to promote their eponymous web-series.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti cord-cutting.  I have Boxee installed on a Mac Mini that was, until recently, connected to the big TV.  I’ve got a blu-ray with Pandora, Blockbuster and YouTube installed.  I’m excited by the promise of new networks and innovative content arising from the opportunity and potential of IPTV. But in addition to my blazing fast broadband, I also have an abundant digital TV package.  I enjoy that flexibility of what and how I able to watch.

And that, friends and readers, is the world we live in today.  People will seek out hacks to get the information and content they desire – when, and on what device they want it delivered.  What will be interesting to see is whether the cord cutting “movement” will prompt a shift in how services are bundled and where networks choose to distribute content.

What media moguls fear: 2011 could become the year when increasing numbers of people watch Web TV content from sources including Netflix, iTunes, YouTube, Amazon, Vudu, Hulu Plus and Crackle — and trim or even cancel their monthly subscriptions for cable, satellite or phone company TV service.

from: Web and other options are shaking up how we watch TV by David Lieberman, USA Today

Who They Are and What They Watch?

I set out to find out the answer to these questions – on Twitter and Facebook of course.  I asked:

so apparently, the 26th is #CordCuttersDay. show of hands – who out there has cut the cord from pay TV and now solely web TV?

Turns out, quite a few people I know.  Here’s some of the responses:

Cut the cord March 2009. Hulu and online sites with on-demand content is enough for the wife and I. Since we still have Verizon FiOS I can watch ESPN3 for free. Good enough, just miss cable news stations.

-Ching-Yao Yu via Facebook

Actually, I don’t miss much. I get a little envious when friends talk about a new show, but I know that if it’s really good, I’m going to see it online soon enough

-Melissa Pierce via Facebook

we’ve been talking about it for a while. i’m concerned about Internet providers instituting tiered access though. we’ll be paying out the nose to have enough bandwidth to watch Netflix, so not sure what the benefit will be in the future. i’m watching this one evolve.

- Jen Roy Goode via Facebook

There are quite a few more responses in my Twitter favorites, echoing similar sentiments.

Where Is The Market?

For any of this cord cutting to work on a viable scale, all parties in the marketplace must be able to derive value.  Connected TV and set-top-box manufuacturers will have to move enough units to make it worthwhile for them.  Premium content providers will need to ink favorable licensing deals to make an IPTV offering worth their while.  Advertisers will have to be able to reach enough viewers to support the kind of cost-intensive programming that tends to reach a lot of viewers.  In order for the big infrastructure players to begin to un-bundle their phone-tv-internet offerings and create a la carte TV selection,  they will likely meter their bandwidth.

Finally, viewers will have to easily be able to access quality programming. Right now, those criteria just aren’t there.  Most people wouldn’t be satisfied with a diet solely of the independent TV shows available on the web.  While there is a great deal of phenomenal, economically viable, and successful independent content on the web, the viewership isn’t there to support other pieces of the puzzle.

Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen – Editor of StreamingMedia.com and OnlineVideo.net – summed it up, responding to me on Twitter.

Take a look at their An Experiment In Cord Cutting video.  It does provide some interesting insights.

People have well-formed expectations about how a TV should work, and the devices didn’t seem to confirm well to these mental models. Surfing TV channels is seamless; “tasting” unfamiliar on-demand shows includes picking them from different menu categories and waiting for them to buffer first (and often paying for them up-front). This latency is tolerated in exchange for high-consideration longer-form content but it becomes too much of a friction when all one wants is the “in-n-out” material.

- results from Hill Holliday cable cutting experiment

So while I certainly understand why people are looking into cord cutting,  I think there some people on the cutting side of the debate would like to frame this as a false choice, raising their pitchforks and torches against the infrastructure that brings the internet to their homes. Lord knows, I look at my TV/phone/internet bill each month and wonder how much overtime it will take for me to pay it.

But I consider myself to be in the middle ground here.  I like the flexibility of apps, the promise of new, niche market video content but I also like crystal clear HD network television shows on my 42″ Samsung.  Perhaps these two driving forces will push us toward consumer centric offerings.  Until then, my cord remains uncut.

What about you?  Are you a cord-cutter?  What led you to that choice.  What type of programming are you watching on the web?  What do you miss that isn’t available over the web?  Please take time to leave your voice below.

The Remnants of South by Southwest 2011

Fresh off a trip with the Secretary of Defense, with stops in Afghanistan, Germany, Belgium and Bahrain,  I had just arrived home early on the morning of March 13th, in time to do some laundry, nap for about an hour, then make my flight to Austin.  While disappointed that I had not been able to attend the first half of SXSW, I had high hopes for the remaining days of the now hugely popular conference.

This was my second tour of South by Southwest Interactive and what I have come to see is a conference whose popularity -the official tally from conference organizers puts event attendance at nearly 20,000 – has engulfed some of its usefulness and value.  If you go as an individual, you really have to be strategic with your time there to make it worthwhile, by my estimation.

It’s important here to note here this is “by my estimation”.  Your results may have been vastly different than mine.  Perhaps if I hadn’t parachuted in mid-conference coming off a grueling overseas work trip, or if I had avoided the lure of the social gatherings and gone head down into some serious panel attendance, my takeaways would’ve been different.  Still, I think to derive value from panels and keynotes you really should fan out in teams and arrive very early.  Much of the panel content is duplicative and some panels simply aren’t that good.  But there were some quality panels and keynotes, and Patrick Ruffini of Engage communications has outlined four of his favorites here.

Face to Face – It’s the People That Make the Conference

power to the people

The real, measurable value of these conferences is spending time meeting people face to face.  Frankly, you could do that without buying a pass to the conference.

While some of the parties and lounges require a badge, you can meet people and do business simply by roaming the lobby of the Hilton or Driskill, or on the main floor of the convention hall.  You can always catch the keynotes later.

With all of this ambient intimacy allowing us to keep tabs one one another – defying time and space – it’s no substitute for a handshake or a hug.  I had the opportunity to reconnect with people I hadn’t seen in years.  These meetings produced measurable value professionally, in terms of projects/plans I have in the pipeline, and at a personal level it was lovely to spend time with the folks who mean a lot to me. This is what made the trip worth it for me.

I want to especially thank ardent globetrotters Melissa and A.J. Leon along with Justin Levy, Lisa Horner and the rest of the Citrix Online folks for making me feel welcome in Austin.  I also want to send a HUGE shout out to NBC News Director of Social Media, Ryan Osborn.  Ryan and I attended social events and sessions together and it was great to mindshare with a very smart member of team NBC.

There were alot of wonderful, memorable moments for me this year.  I’ve collected some of them on my Flickr page.

No Breakout Platforms This Year

This was no coming out party for any shiny new technology like there has been for services like Twitter and Foursquare in years past.  Venerable Silicon Valley blogger Louis Gray proclaimed Hashable and Foursquare “winners” of this years confab, but other than that, there weren’t any real standouts. Like the title of this post implies, all of these platforms are evolving, and more emphasis is being placed on how people are using these tools – sometimes with wrenching geopolitical implications.  If nothing else, this demonstrates the maturity of mobile, social and location based technologies.  These thoughts are echoed in a post by IBM’s Todd Watson, also a SXSW attendee this year.

For so much of the past 10-15 years, we’ve been so enamored with the technology itself. But more recently, we’ve begun to take much more notice of what the technology can do to empower humanity and human relationships, in often profound and game-changing ways: the Green revolution in Iran, the Haiti earthquake, the Chilean mine, the recent quake/tsunami in Japan… – Todd Watson, IBM

Watson adds that all of this technology is forcing organizational change upon institutions.  Unable to keep up with the “speed of the network” governments, businesses and other command and control institutions are increasingly being outpaced by networked individuals.  This is an compelling trend that bears watching.  I’m interested in reading As One by Mehrdad Baghai and James Quigley.  In it, the authors outline many different types of organizational structures that work toward successful, unified goals.  Not the stuff of SXSW party buses, but it looks like a worthwhile read.

The Promise of Web Video at SXSW

I live, eat and breathe video.  I’m invigorated by the fact that production, distribution and monetization of video is now within the reach of anyone.  A scant few years ago this was the sole realm of broadcast and cable giants. But as with many institutions, the internet has leveled the playing field.  I see great opportunity here and am fascinated by the idea of launching a internet TV network.  In one of the more energizing conversations I attended at SXSW, IAC chairman Barry Diller described how this internet “miracle” is disrupting broadcast and cable TV dominance.

“Here you have this classic thing… You have a group of people, they’re on the train tracks. The train is five miles away. It used to be 10 miles away. In a year or two it’s going to be a mile away, and they’ll still have their hands out.” – Barry Diller, SXSW 2011

He appeared to be quite bullish on the future of internet television and believes it will be ubiquitous within three years.  More on his talk here.

Quietly, web video companies are doing something very de classe in the tech world.  Many of them are making money instead of just taking money.  Call me old fashioned, but I like that. In back-to-back “lightning round” sessions, companies like Howcast and Revision3 touted video ad CPM’s of $9, $15 and even $35.  More impressive is the potential for growth in online video.  Revision3 Chief Revenue Officer Brad Murphy shared these encouraging projections: (source: eMarketer)

• 2011 – 68% of US internet users will be watching online video at least once a month
• 2015 – 76% will be watching online video regularly
• 2010 – Marketers spent $1.5 billion in online video (up 48% from 2009)
• 2014 – Expected to grow to $5.7 billion

I sense great opportunity here and was inspired by these sessions.  One big disappointment for me this year was that I didn’t get a chance to meet Revision3 CEO Jim Louderback.  It’s impossible at something this big to see everyone you would like to, so hopefully our paths will cross soon.

Will You Go Next Year?

It’s funny, looking back on my “speed of the network” post from 2008, I have to laugh.  Once again, here I was heading to Austin on the heels of an overseas trip that required the use of body armor.  My day job puts a lot of demands on my personal life, and this makes getting to SXSW challenging.  That holds true for many of us, so we hope for a return on our investment of time, energy and money.  There have been grumblings about the quality of the event itself lately.  In a piece for the Statesman.com, technology writer Omar L. Gallaga proposes Five ways to fix SXSW Interactive. (strange title because he has enumerated ten suggestions)

I would’ve posted this recap sooner, but as soon as I got back from Austin, it was off to South America covering the President’s visit. So in the leadup to the upcoming SXSW, I want to spend more time planning on how best to spend my time there.  I think I’ll go back next year.  I’ve got a line on a condo just two blocks away, so at least that part is taken care of.  I’d say this SXSW was worth the trip, but as I noted to someone, I didn’t “love” it, I “liked it a lot”.  So what are your thoughts?  Did you go this year?  How was your experience? Would you go again?  Did you find it worthwhile? Leave comments below!

There’s been a lot of movement in the web video world of late, and as a micro media mogul at my very core, I’ve been paying keen attention to it.  Broadband proliferation, the rise of smart, connected TV’s, set-top boxes from Google, and PC to TV app-based systems like Boxee, are all driving forces behind these shifts. Now, with web entrepreneurs like Jason Calacanis jumping into the fray on the content side, there are some indicators that a new, vital marketplace is emerging for web TV content.

The long term vision is to have 30 shows that each have a natural audience of between 10,000 and a million people, Maybe they have on average 100,000 views each which means we could have 3 or 4 million people a week watching these shows pretty easily I think.

- Jason Calacanis, from LA Weekly post

For some time, I’ve had this idea to create a stable of niche market shows that appeal to passionate, targeted audiences – and build on a social web component to help viewers be more engaged with the content.  Now I’m certainly not the only person who’s had this idea -Revision3, Next New Networks, and TWiT, among others – have been enjoying successes as trailblazers of this medium.   At the same time, the field of battle is littered with good web shows that failed to get the traction needed to become self-sustaining.  Here’s a couple “good” failures I created myself.

Crafty Nation Episode

Pregnantly Plump Promo

The reasons these failed are instructive and manifold, but thankfully we failed fast.

New Marketplace – New Risks and Complexities

Never in the history of television has it been easier to bring a show to market.  Gone are barriers to entry of FCC licenses, prohibitive transmission facility costs, large staffs, and high priced talent.  Just about anyone – this very minute – can launch their own web TV show.  As with the blogging market, the cream rises to the top. Those with more resources, higher volume, and better content get more traffic and are as a result, more successful.

I’m operating under the assumption that any content play like this will have advertising as the primary revenue model.  Premium content models would depend on the niche and the quality and utility of the content in question.  I believe that there is a delicate balance between niche and scale here.  Beyond that, you have to take into account whether the segments that you target are broadband connected and inclined to watch web video.

New web TV delivery platforms are opening up new distribution pipes for content producers, and as more people watch web TV on their “smart” connected TV’s, the more indistinguishable the experience will be from watching regular TV.  Having said that, I believe the more viewers blend the PC to TV experience – pushing web video to their 42″ flatscreen HDTV’s – the more they will gravitate toward higher production value content – separating the wheat from the chaff.

Is This Really What The People Want?

Consumer demand for this type of content also appears to be mercurial.  While by some accounts, web video – and not just the short form kind – is seeing increased consumption rates during traditional prime time hours, much of it via some PC-to-TV connection.  At the same time though, Nielsen research says overall online video consumption is down for the first quarter of 2010.  I wonder if the reason for the decline might be that people are becoming more selective about the online video choices they make, especially for those watching on their big screens.

The success of video content networks like these hinges largely on the availability of broadband.  The expectation is a seamless viewing experience between regular TV and web delivered video on your TV.  As Verizon is ending their FiOS deployment and AT&T threatening to slow their broadband rollout, that leaves cable companies wiring houses with fast pipes.  Unless they can find a way to make money off of “over the top” video, they have a vested interest in seeing it as a threat.

So this is a very complex marketplace with a lot of moving parts.  My hat is off to those who have had success thus far.  As demand for this content rises, it will be instructive to watch the market levers that drive successes and setbacks for web video ventures.

What’s Next

As I said in this interview with Don Martelli of Shamable, “Good ideas and good products aren’t enough”.  As the web video ecosystem matures, new players taking the field will have to balance startup cost containment with immutable, inevitable burn associated with creating high production value TV.

Me? I’m sitting on the sidelines for now waiting to see who enters the fray next.  So readers, are any of you closet micro-media-moguls?  Are you watching video “over the top”?  What kind of shows would you watch?

We just got FIOS at my house this past week.  It’s BLAZING fast, the HD looks nice, and so far we’re well pleased with our decision to get it.  We opted for the 25 mbps up/down package.   That’s INSANELY fast.  What will I do with that upload speed?  Funny you should ask.  Watch this for clues to my plans for WORLD MEDIA DOMINATION.  It’s two minutes of your life you’ll never get back.

Verge New Media – Video Blog 5/15/10 from Verge New Media, LLC on Vimeo.

Awakening

While I’m an early adopter of technology in many respects,  when it comes to  technology with a price tag,  I often let others blaze the trail for me.  By the time I crack open my wallet, the trend has gained enough momentum that it will soon percolate up to the mainstream.   Based on that unscientific hunch, my awakening to IPTV, cord cutting, and over the top video should be an indicator that this thing has legs.  What I’m seeing now is broadband proliferation pushing a move by consumers to cut the cord with their TV providers, a rise in web only TV channels, and indicators that this will create challenges and opportunities for those of us in the TV business.

Cord Cutters and PC to TV

A Yankee Group study released in April predicts that 1 in 8 consumers will eliminate or reduce their pay TV service in favor of  “over the top” content delivery over the next 12 months.  While a recent Parks Associates study makes a more modest assessment of the threat posed by online video,  I think we are in the early stages of this disruption.  In fact Revision 3 CEO  Jim Louderback penned a challenge to the study over on GigaOm.  Regardless of whose prognostications you believe, something is afoot here and it’s only going to get bigger.

Drivers here are the  proliferation of broadband and devices that act as TV tuners.  Blue Ray players that stream You Tube, Pandora and Netflix – game consoles that run media center software – media center software platforms that offer that “lean back” couch potato experience making you forget your watching web video … all of these are moving the goal posts.  Yesterday I bought a Mac Mini – it’s sole mission: to deliver a elegant viewing experience that suspends my disbelief that I’m watching shows originating from the web.  I like it.  I’ve got it running Boxee and plan on loading Plex and XBMC.  My TV, my way.  Here’s Boxee’s intro video:

Boxee Alpha Web Intro from boxee on Vimeo.

I’m not alone here.  While still on the horizon are new set top boxes from Boxee and Google, many, like me are dipping their toes into this new way of watching. I informally polled my Twitter and Facebook friends for some vox populi and came up with, as always, insightful views.  While it’s easy to get giddy about the potential of this viewing experience,  Twitter friend Christian Burns points out, only people with access to broadband can enjoy this experience.

The future is here now, but it’s just not evenly distributed. I chose to go ahead and live like it’s 2014 instead of 1997.

- Christian Burns, via Facebook

Still, from those with broadband, I was amazed at the numbers of people who have cut the cord.

Have cable, it came free with the Internet fo a few months. Since it was installed I have not watched a single minute. I only watch some stuff on the Internet. Why? Less commercials, or no commercials and i can watch whenever I want and…it’s free!

- Cima Mondanlou, via Facebook

I have cable, but every month when I see my big ugly bill, I think about cutting it. I can stream Netflix on my TV and Hulu via HDMI cable from my laptop. After Fringe and Lost seasons are done I’ll have even less incentive to keep the cable. Looking forward to reading your post, Jim.

- Sukhjit Ghag, via Facebook

When CNN first arrived on the scene, some of my broadcast colleagues looked down their noses at the upstart news network – calling them “Chicken Noodle News”.  Mark Cuban has flat out stated that the future of TV is TV and not over the top.   And who can for get anchorman Ron Burgundy’s dim view on the future of an all sports network.

So what do you think?  Are you a cable cutter?  Do you use Plex, Boxee or Apple TV?  Are you planning on being the next Rupert Murdoch?

Let my start by saying that my career in media has been paying the bills since 1988.  So I firmly embrace corporate media, advertising revenue and all media endeavors that enjoy commercial success. The lure of a life in TV (i’m a news cameraman by trade) was its combined appeal of an adventurous lifestyle and comfortable livelihood.  This is what prodded me to take my plunge into TV news.  But as with many things in life, my timing was off.  I came up in the ranks of cameramen well into cable’s affront on broadcast dominance,  admiring the legendary lenslingers before me, or more precisely their glorious tales of lavish travel and limitless budgets. Those were the glory days of TV news, and I got to see the vanishing apparitions – the vestigial remnants of those times.

Disruption Past

As a child of cable’s disruptive power,  I understood that challenge, that shift, that imperative for change.  So when blogging, podcasting and social networking emerged on the radar screen of my consciousness,  I wasn’t prepared to grasp their nascent and then unrealized impact on mainstream media.  Not until an unlikely series of events prompted the purchase of an iPod, did I come to realize that great numbers of people out there were dissatisfied with passively consuming mainstream content and advertising.  They were out there creating their own content and speaking to each other and were quickly becoming disintermediated.  With revolutionary zeal, web-preneurs sprang up like weeds creating platforms empowering people to share content and ideas.  Brands, of course, took note and migrated their messaging and their spending from TV, print, radio to the then “new” media.

Join the Conver$ation

This media revolution made YOU Time magazine’s Person of the Year back in 2006 – and was at once an empowering energizing force, but at the same time, made me fear for the future of my career.  Back then, it was all about the “conversation”.  As a brand, one couldn’t just stumble in and “sell”, one had to honest, transparent, conversational.  As social media has matured,  I get the sense that we have moved beyond that – and now we’re back to where we once were.  Brands just want access to us and the transaction remains the same.  Look, I understand that companies need to make money and that investors need to get returns on hopes of 10x exits.  But i’m struck by the rapacious speed with which social media, its adherents, and platforms are pursuing the buck.  Ironic to me, considering that it was dissatisfaction with traditional media and “push” advertising that in many respects gave rise to social media.

It’s strange, but I still haven’t completely shaken my nostalgia for the salad days of old media as I begin to feel twinges of longing for new media’s simpler times.  When old media was king it was advertisers buying access to passive audiences.  Now, marketers are paying to become part of this:

Power Shift

The mantra of the Social Media Club, “If you get it, share it” has been modified by “ninjas”, “gurus”, and “experts” in the field with the following addendum: “for a fee”. Meanwhile, tech/Web 2.0 headlines point to leaner, meaner more competitive times. Here are some trends pointing to a shift in social media from being people-powered media to corporate driven:

In a move akin to ABC News recent staff slashing, popular, free social network platform Ning is free no more and has cut its staff by 40%.
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How Facebook shares private information with third party companies is being scrutinized by Washington now, prompting one Senator to urge the FTC to get involved.
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Twitter has announced “sponsored tweets” prompting some to point out – if companies were using Twitter right, they wouldn’t need sponsored tweets.
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Pepsi passed on Super Bowl ads this year in favor of a $20 million social media campaign, and it’s probably not just about meeting new Twitter and Facebook friends.

So while this post may seem wistful, and perhaps critical of the direction that “people-powered” media has taken – none of this should be terribly surprising and it is perhaps inevitable. I still believe that successful, profit-motivated media can coexist with the community/individual driven kind. For my part, I’m just trying to stay ahead of it all and finding my place in this ever evolving landscape.

On the Road Again

In a few hours I’ll be wheels up from Joint Base Andrews on a chartered 747 bound for Asia.  I’ll be accompanied by my colleagues and contemporaries from the worlds of broadcast, print, and online journalism.  We’ll be keeping tabs on President Obama has he participates in the APEC summit in Singapore, and visits regional powers China, Korea, and Japan.  And as the Fifth Estate – you guys, readers of this blog, Twitter friends -  I’m hoping you keep tabs on US.  When I get to Andrews I’m going to put together a Twitter list of journos going on the trip and I hope to share that here before we take off.  If I’m unable to turn it around that fast I’ll get it to you when we land.

AS PROMISED, HERE IS THE LIST

Work Shifters

David Baeza of Citrix Online considers the White House traveling press to be the “ultimate workshifters”.  Workshifting – the notion of working from hotels, coffee shops, or anywhere that isn’t a cubicle in an office building.  I met David and his colleague Lisa Horner when I spoke at the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston.  After hearing my story, they knew they’d found a real workshifter.

Our office is wherever we set up our workspace and transmission facility.  The logistics involved in covering the President on a global trip are dizzying , especially for television.  We will parachute into each stop on this trip and work out of a pool transmission facility/workspace that has been set up in advance.  Each stop will be abuzz with activity as crews and reporters are transported to and from various events.  No one will be getting much sleep on this trip.  I think my last best chance of that will be on the plane.

Adventures in Sleep Deprivation

While covering the Clinton White House,  The Discovery Channel followed the White House press corps as they traveled with the President on a trip that included stops in Turkey, Greece and other countries hidden in the cobwebs of my memory.  They were shooting a documentary about sleep deprivation and we proved to be the perfect subjects.  Here is  a preview video of the documentary, and if you don’t blink, you’ll catch a glimpse of me two pairs of glasses ago.

These trips are grueling, and this one will prove to be no different.  If you want to see what it’s really to cover VIP trips, take a look at these videos.  I produced a two part web series on an around-the-world trip we did with Defense Secretary Gates back in 2007.  This will give you an idea of the schedules and workloads we endure.

Round-the-world with the SecDef

Inside the Pentagon travel pool

The Fifth Estate

So I hope you’re able to keep track of us as we travel with the President throughout Asia.  Before we head out is there anything you’d like to ask me or some of my colleagues?  Please do so in the comments below! You always know where to find me and I’m grateful that you all keep me company when I’m on the road. Look forward to hearing from you guys.

Politico, Newschannel 8, and WJLA TV Parent company, Allbritton Communications, has announced that it is jumping into local media here in the Washington DC metro area. Planned for launch next spring, the yet unnamed site hopes to leverage social web technology to lure audiences who have become disenchanted with traditional media. They also hope replicate the success of the reportedly profitable Politico.

GAME CHANGER

So is this a game changer for local media in the Washington area? The New Republic’s website, TNR.com, who originally broke the story, framed this as a direct challenge to the Washington Post. But as more local TV stations place greater emphasis on their web presence, this “local Politico” will pose a challenge to TV stations as well. So I asked Twitter the following:

HEY DC PEEPS!! what are your thoughts on Politico’s foray into the online local news space??

Predictably,  there was no shortage of opinion.  Here are just a few.

Faryna

@newmediajim Considering WP’s gestapo tact on the opinion of their own journalists, is Jim Brady prepared to get out of the box? We’ll see.

anamariecox

RT @newmediajim: HEY DC PEEPS!! what are your thoughts on Politico’s foray into the local news space? http://is.gd/4H4We // SUPER PSYCHED!

Audreyforshey

@newmediajim I would subscribe, listen to POLITICO interviews on WTOP and they appeal to me. Like my news on the go.

loudoun

@newmediajim Politico local news…they should read this…http://bit.ly/3kjwhf – and then curate/cultivate relationships with the locals

ScottEblin

@newmediajim Means that the future is here. If they do as good a job as they did with Politico, the WaPo should be worried.

chrisobrooks

Just got this WAPO email re: redesign of their local news site. 1 day aftr Politico scare, coincidence? http://twurl.nl/k80fr7

Jim Brady At The Helm

Courtesey Michael Schwarz - Politico

Jim Brady, former WashingtonPost.com editor, will oversee a staff of 50 at the operation. In his presentation this past week at an Online News Association confab, entitled – Mobile: The Future is Now – Brady may have betrayed the strategy of the new site. I suspect there will be a very strong emphasis on mobile apps and geolocation, which makes sense. Mobile strategy is timely.  ComScore data indicates daily mobile news consumption has more than doubled in the past year. And if he believes what he preaches, not only will he staff the newsroom well, but he’ll bring on a strong mobile app development team. I also suspect that these mobile apps will be bi-directional, meaning users will be able to consume stories and upload their own content to the site. Another interesting data point from a Universal McCann study shows that 53% of smartphone users are clicking on mobile ads.

Catalyst For Change

So now that the story is out, it will be interesting to see how other local media respond. Competition is good, and hopefully better multimedia/online journalism should result from this. This could be a catalyst for great change for local media in the DC metro area. Will this new site embrace social tools and encourage networked journalism, crowdsourcing, hyperlocal news? While all of that “webby goodness” appeals to the web 2.0 evangelists, it’s noteworthy and encouraging to this media worker that, according to this NY Times piece, Allbritton plans on paying competitive, large market newspaper salaries for seasoned pros.

Ultimately, a site like this will live or die on how it serves the needs of the local community. So assembled readers, what is it that will make a site like this work, for the publisher and the community. Why have so many other hyperlocal, local web plays failed? What would you like to see from a local web news provider? Please discuss in the comments below!

NBC’s Local Media Initiative

In a move that acknowledges the diminishing influence of one-way communication channels, NBC has renamed the Television Stations Division “Local Media Division”. There was a great deal of coverage in industry blogs. Media Week and Lost Remote have both framed the change as a fundamental shift in business.

NBC Local Media better reflects the full scope of our capabilities, as well as our ability to offer clients a fully-integrated, local media solution across the full portfolio of our assets.-John Wallace – President, NBC Local Media Division, from press release

As marketers continue to shift ad dollars from traditional media to online, it’s vital for companies like NBC to take the brand where the people are. Increasingly, that means web and mobile. As newspapers and TV move to build online, the distinction between the two becomes meaningless. Right now local “newspapers” appear to be winning online.

Creating an Engaging Experience While Building a Business

The static web sites of most TV and Radio stations have been eclipsed by the more interactive offerings of newspapers. Perhaps the economic imperative of the dying newspaper industry has forced print publishers bring online innovations to market faster. So the challenge for local media is to build an engaging, imersive, media platform that actually becomes something the community can’t live without – at the same time scaling the user base to a point where the enterprise is economically worthwhile.

What would that platform look like? What key elements would satisfy both the community and the media company? I took that question to my very smart Twitter posse and they came up with some great ideas. Here’s a small sampling:

All very smart ideas from early adopters of social web technology. Smart ideas about the evolution of local media can be found in practice and in theory, but ultimately big media companies are looking for the ones that will generate increased traffic and ad revenue. I do think it is vital for those in charge of any local media initiative to get input from outside the corporate meeting rooms. They should be talking to the local blogging, tech, and social media communities. They should be sponsoring conferences, discussions and meetups with the pioneers of the social web in their local communities.

I strongly feel that media companies need to discover and encourage the brand champions within their own organizations to use social media. While there may be some who grumble about already burdensome workloads – and believe me, TV news is a pretty thankless sausage factory – standing by and hoping that the sales and promotions departments will save careers is not a good career strategy. I’ve discovered that meeting and listening to people on the social web, through platforms like Twitter, blogging, Facebook, and meetups, has enriched my life both personally and professionally. It’s also allowed me to bring the NBC News brand into this space.

Envisioning Local Media

Mel Taylor outlines the key points of a recent speech by former CBS News chief Andrew Heyward. In it, Heyward outlines the current problems with the state of TV news, and discusses some forward-thinking approaches to building succssesful online platforms. Don Dodge, while blogging about newspaper strategy, puts forth ideas that are equally resonant in television’s web efforts. Essentially he says be local, be a marketplace, and be the best local search engine out there. A good example of very useful local search platform is the Boston local search platform Citysqaures.

I think the key to success in transforming local media is to build a platform that people can’t live without. It should be a place where people can connect around ideas and affinities, build their own social netowrk profile, network and create events, have a robust mobile component, and should recommend content and events based on the users profile. People want to share and create content and links. Making that easy and customizable, in a locally relevant way, is key to getting the Facebook generation passionate about local media.The bottom line is, of course, the bottom line. But while media companies have to focus on profits, they should not look at their web presence as a secondary effort, or simply repository for recycled newscast content.

For local media platforms to be successful, they will have to implement imersive, relevant, engaging, and useful experiences for the community. So my assembled readers, how would you build a successful local media platform? What are some good examples of ones you’ve come across?