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 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.

Most good blog posts, or at least the ones that attract the most traffic, draw a line in the sand – taking an unequivocal position. So just on the heels of the iPad launch, scores of tech bloggers are taking that stand against the onerous, closed nature of Apple’s latest offering. And the Church of Open Media has issued it’s doctrine against the iPad decreeing it a heretical, “retrograde” device.

The iPad is retrograde. It tries to turn us back into an audience again. That is why media companies and advertisers are embracing it so fervently, because they think it returns us all to their good old days when we just consumed, we didn’t create, when they controlled our media experience and business models and we came to them.

iPad danger: app v. web, consumer v. creator -Jeff Jarvis, Buzzmachine

Update – The Chorus of Returns Begins

Your humble blogger here, updating as I sit in an airport terminal waiting for a flight to Mexico City to cover the First Lady’s visit. I felt I had to update what I published yesterday as we’re now seeing the chorus of “I’m Returning my iPod” posts.  Jeff Jarvis even made a video outlining his reasons.  Maybe this is a shift that will ultimately prod Apple to re-think pricing and exclusivity agreements with publishers.  Maybe it’s a few high profile bloggers using their influence and reach to voice concerns that are valid and point to salient shortcomings in Apple’s offering.  Maybe folks should’ve read the label before they bought it?

Why I’m Returning My Apple iPad ($AAPL)

Why I’m Returning The iPad

Look, I’m no iPad fanboy. I may eventually buy one, but I’m not suffering from the technolust that swooned those first in line to get theirs. I’m more interested in how the device will change the worlds of publishing and advertising. And now, the conversation is being framed as either/or in terms of participatory vs. walled content. I think that’s a false choice, and that there always will be choices in how we consume, create, share and interact with content. It’s perfectly fine to simply, passively consume media and that is precisely what the device is designed to do.

Lean Forward – Lean Back

I’m not sure who originally coined the terms “lean forward” and “lean back” media, but the premise is simple. If you’re not familiar with the terms, lean forward media is the kind we create, engage with, mashup, share, link to, comment on, embed in our blogs etc. Lean back is the kind we passively consume.

Examples of “lean forward” media

• blogs and the comments on them
• embeddable video
• links to content within a blog
• Twitter

Examples of “lean back” media

• books
• movies
• certain TV shows
• certain iPad content

Both of these types of media have intrinsic value and I don’t think we need to frame this as one replacing the other.  This blog falls into the category of lean-forward and I hope all of you enlightened readers here engage me and each other in a robust dialogue in the comments.  But what is it that makes people think that ALL media has to be like this blog?

What is wrong with people wanting to just be part of the audience?  I don’t buy this notion that every bit of content needs to be open to some online peer review,  or worse – the ill tempered trolls of the interwebs.  I further don’t buy the notion that all content – from blog comment, to link,  to twitter mention – is sacrosanct. Most critics of the iPad seem to hold this belief. To them I say: if you’re REALLY worried about the iPad hobbling your generativity… DON’T BUY ONE.

Walls, Windows, and Doors

Apple is building walls around it’s media empire. It want’s to set the price for apps and subscriptions and much of the content thus far doesn’t allow for much by way of sharing or commenting.  So what?  Apple is a company that’s in the business of delivering value to their shareholders.  How they get there – whether by open source or DRM ensconced walls -is up to them, not us.  The iPad is not a tool of individual media empowerment and as such, I’d equate it to a really great piece of stereo equipment.  It’s an entertainment appliance.

That’s just fine for most people.  If you’re reading this blog, you’re exceptional (on many levels).  Not just because you’re reading my blog, but that’s certainly a plus. You are part of my social graph, and I have to get your attention on Twitter or Facebook first to get you over here.   But most people aren’t this connected on the web.  In that respect, we are exceptional. We are the digerati.  But the self-ordained high priests of the Church of Open Media would have us believe that everyone is out there contributing content. That’s where I and others are given pause.

This is the place where this brand of critics fall most deeply into the same kind of echo-chambered trap as the news industry — by thinking that most people should think and behave like themselves. But most people are not and will not ever become creators of sophisticated media. Instead they’re working in bakeries and insurance offices and having babies and teaching people to play the fiddle.

Have iPad critics fallen into an echo-chambered trap like the news industry? -Howard Weaver

The social web allows us to create, collaborate and connect in ways constantly being innovated.  Social media, citizen media – whatever you want to call it – at the minimum, gives us a window into power structures like media, press and government – transparencey.  At it’s most open, we’re allowed through the doors and given an opportunity to help shape and create content.  Increasingly traditional media are opening windows and doors and extending their brands to online audiences. By and large these are good things.

But I think there will continue to be a strong desire for people like you and me to lean forward, engage, share, embed, post, comment and shout out to the world.  I also think there are more people in this world, who are just as happy to read, watch, absorb and ponder while leaning back.  Both of these approaches are just fine and I simply don’t understand all of the histrionics of this non debate – debate.  Am I missing something here?  Please lean forward in the comments below.

Related Reading

Consumers vs. Creators (or Will the iPad Destroy the World?)

Here Is Why The iPad Won’t Save The Magazine Industry

The iPad Luddites

The pace of change in media is happening so fast, most of us have barely wrapped our minds around current accepted notions, just as they are swept aside by technology driven evolution.  All of this overwhelms me, and I grasp that it is well out of our control.  But observing these patterns emerge is instructive and that’s why I think these four media trends are worth watching.

The iPad Changes How We Consume and Publish Media

I was at the local coffee shop the other day and a woman looking at the newspaper stand caught my eye.  As I stirred my coffee, I watched as she stood hunched over reading as much as she could above the fold.  I wondered if she’d be moved to buy the paper, but when here latte was ready on the bar, she grabbed it and left.  It occurred to me that there are folks who simply don’t want to have to deal with stacks of paper anymore.

The iPad is a further step, started by readers like the Kindle, towards an infinite world of  rich personal media consumption that lives in the palm of your hand.  The iPad is also forcing publishers to adopt HTML5 standards and has drawn a line in the sand on Adobe Flash.  From the White House to legacy media, web publishers are scrambling to re-tool their sites to be “iPad compliant” – and develop content apps for the device.

Thanks to HTML5 the iPad loves WhiteHouse.gov http://bit.ly/bSk1zX PLUS new mobile site looks nicer on phones – @Macon44

So this simple device has created a huge shift in how we create and consume content.  That’s power.

If the tablet device and Apple’s associated online shops become popular enough, the company could have a chokehold over publishing technology and content itself. It could become as central to the future of print media as it has become to the future of music..

How Apple Is Dogfighting To Control Your News – Ryan Tate, Gawker

Apple’s disdain for Adobe Flash also means that publishers who monetize with flash based banner ads are going to face considerable challenges. But Steve Jobs has a plan for that as well it seems.  A report in Ars Technica reveals that Apple is planning to launch a mobile ad network.  Now I won’t be one of those people standing in line when the iPad is released for sale in stores, but I will be paying attention to it’s impact on the publishing industry.  Here’s a look at the elegant iPad version of Popular Science. (HT Jason Kotttke)

Mag+ live with Popular Science+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

Web TV Set Top Boxes Liberate the Living Room From Cable Box Tyranny

In 2006, friend and web entrepreneur Jeff Pulver launched Network2, a web video network that he hoped would  come to rival traditional TV networks.  Network2 never developed as hoped, and TV networks, while facing challenges, are still standing.  I think he and others in that space were just a tiny bit ahead of their time.

We recently bought a 42 inch LCD TV and a BlueRay DVD player.  Both of these devices have network connectivity.  The DVD player has Blockbuster, Netflix, YouTube and Pandora built in.  Now that Google and a host of others have introduced set top IPTV boxes,  I think there are new opportunities to build new Network2′s.  Like Apple, Google has the strength of a well established ad network behind it.  People are hungry for web content on the big screen.  “Digital living technologies” research firm Parks Associates just released their Digital Lifestyles: 2010 Outlook report.  In it they find that consumers are hobbling together game consoles and PC’s to deliver web content to their TVs.

consumer interest in Web-on-TV applications is so strong that households are making their own connections via PCs and game consoles. From 2008 to 2009, the number of U.S. households using Web-connected game consoles increased by 64%, and the number connecting a PC to a TV increased by 36%, according to the firm’s latest report Digital Lifestyles: 2010 Outlook.

Whoever delivers an easy to use system of delivering web content to the big screen will create new opportunities for content creators and audiences alike.  “Flipping channels” on the internet seems to be in our not too distant future.

Location Based Apps Unlock Highly Targeted Ad Opportunities

Earlier this year the technology world was abuzz with the revelation that Facebook had won a patent on its news feed. While somewhat overlooked and of equal significance, Google was awarded a patent for Determening and/or using location information in an ad system.  As location based apps continue to rise in popularity,  brands, consumers and media are discovering new and useful ways of interacting with one another.  Marketing strategists have long been predicting the death of display advertising on the web.  From clutter, to intrusiveness, to infinite inventory – those banner ads are pretty useless and easily blocked.

We’re moving away from interruption marketing and enter a world where advertising blends harmoniously with consumers in their everyday life. - Samir Balwani, Morpheus Media

Local, relevant, targeted, location based mobile ads do exactly that – usually when the consumer is near the point of purchase.  Or as Ryan Sholin puts it, it’s advertising “Street by Street, Block by Block“  Still,  Google and ComScore have given publisher reason to believe there’s room for improvement – and perhaps hope for unlimited creative potential in display advertising’s future.

3DTV is a Visual Game Changer

photo credit: Tom Murphy

While 3DTV made quite a splash at CES this year,  the technology sounded a bit faddish to me.  But the more I hear about it, the more I’m coming to beileve it’s the real deal.  My friend and fellow news cameraman cum new media trailblazer, Tom Murphy, recently had the chance to see the technology firsthand out in Burbank.  Tom, also a skeptic initially, has been made a convert.

The difference here is that this is more than just incremental change.

I am writing this as a convert. Just a few days ago if anyone has asked me what I thought of 3DTV I would have grimaced a little, murmured a few niceties and ended my answer with a sentence containing the words “marketing gimmick”… TV in action I can honestly say that this is not some incremental change in technology, but has all the signs of being a complete game changer. – Tom Murphy from “3DTV: Not a Marketing Gimmick, Rather an Awesome Viewing Experience”

And because Tom is someone I trust, I’m in 3DTV’s corner now as well.

This last example of transformative technology will require creation of new libraries of 3D content.  Panasonic has developed a prosumer HD 3D camera for those early adopters who want to get ahead of the curve.

So these are four technology trends I see shaping how we create and consume media in our daily lives.  How do you see these new trends shaping your media habits?  Or if you are a content creator, how will these change your approach to content creation?  Are there media trends that I’ve overlooked?  As always, I look forward to your input.

Race to the Finish

Everyone loves a horse race. Whether ponies, politics, or tech startups – when the best and brightest pit their talent, passion, and strategy against one another in a high stakes challenge – it makes for high drama. As Foursquare and Gowalla appear to be emerging as leaders in the location wars, things are starting to get interesting. And in this humble blogger’s opinion, one of them is bound for the winners circle.

As location based apps enjoy a post web-technology-Woodstock bump – having had their requisite coming out at SXSWi -the discussion now is simply being framed in terms of Foursquare vs. Gowalla. I’m reminded of Twitter’s ascendancy to it’s place in popular culture, when competitors were nipping at their heels. Then it was a horse race between Twitter and Pownce. Pownce was more feature rich and more stable, yet the simpler and then technically flawed Twitter ultimately dominated.

To Scale, Make Converts Out of the Dubious

Right now, the cool kids are the lab rats for location based services. I’m one of those lab rats. Yet, most of my friends and colleagues have no idea why I or  anyone else would engage in this type of online activity. They doubt the utility of these apps and harbor serious concerns about privacy. The real winner in the location wars will be the one first able to make converts of doubters. How?

Let’s go back to Twitter’s early days, when most folks I encountered would say of the service: “that sounds dumb!” It wasn’t until Twitter reached celebrities and mainstream media that “twitter” and “tweet” became part of the public lexicon. Twitter’s dominance was sealed when broadcast industry trade press touted partnerships with network news organizations – and was further propagated and amplified when local news anchors started encouraging viewer conversations around their newscasts.  Now, we’re beginning to see Foursqaure making a splash in the mainstream media trade press.

I predict we’ll be seeing local TV news stories about location based apps within the next six months.  The platform that gets their name there will be the dominant player.

So, will be that the strategy that propels services like Foursquare and Gowalla into the mainstream? Partly, but I think it will take more than that. Much of the data being shared on these platforms is information about where we shop and eat. We’re opting in to mobile market research, while sharing our brand loyalty with our respective social networks. So, there has to be a something in it for us.

This, I think will be the sweet spot where local media, local business, and consumer/users will all benefit.

Why I Think Foursquare Will Come Out On Top

Gowalla and Foursquare are both making brand and media partnerships. Gowalla currently has a better looking interface, is more feature rich, and has more of a social gaming approach. Some folks prefer the depth of the feature set. But personlly, I’m not a a big gamer and I much prefer simple. Foursquare delivers on simple.  And as with Twitter, Foursquare’s successes with adherents may be pegged to the that simplicity.

And this is where I think Foursquare has shown indicators that they’re poised to win this.  They’ve focused on strong media partnerships, and with their data analytics panel, they’ve demonstrated that to users, media, business and investors that they’re in it to create value for all.  And for their part, investors have responded to Foursquare’s positioning with agreeable valuations.

The Field Narrows

Still, my observation based hunches aside, both of these platforms are in very early stages and haven’t really scaled to a point where a definitive winner can be picked.  Foursquare and Gowalla are run by capable teams, and at the end of the day, it’s about providing the most meaningful, enjoyable experience to the greatest amount of users.  Many of my Twitter friends use one or both of these services.  As always, their (your) insights on the location wars likely inform outcomes.  Here’s a sampling.

shanebarnhill

@newmediajim I think 4S is building its user base so fast that it’ll attract the mainstream & separate from Gowalla. Best doesn’t always win

iconjohn

@newmediajim My vote goes to @gowalla. Look at all the junk FourSquare loactions, and no pics or comments.

rjamestaylor

@newmediajim – wider adoption, “noise” limited to ppl in same city, Gowalla alerts on all friend activity with no discernable way to squelch

smcgrat

@newmediajim foursquare will land into the mainstream first, which should help it secure a win. I personally prefer gowalla.

alexdc

Foursquare b/c Dennis has more experience RT @newmediajim: who do u think will win “location wars” and why? PS RT & reply @newmediajim

alexdc

@newmediajim More experience with location-based apps, after creating and selling Dodgeball to Google. Also great partnerships w Warner, etc

Foursquare b/c Dennis has more experience RT @newmediajim: who do u think will win “location wars” and why? PS RT & reply @newmediajim

Brad_King

@newmediajim to assume a “winner-loser” scenario is to mis-understand the importance of the each company, IMHO

lenire

@newmediajim what is more important then loc. Wars, is when will google pick up on this. WP added geotagging to the app, when will it be SEO

DaveTitle

@newmediajim amen. as to why, b/c 4sq taps into childhood/playground/nostalgia for key demo, also the idea of “play” in general. Gowalla? No

anniemal

@newmediajim I think there’s room 4 both. @gowalla looks cool 4 planning travel and @foursquare is my everyday check-in & connect spot.

It’s still early in the life cycles of these startups and a lot can happen to shift advantage to one or the other of these smart, scrappy companies.  And my opinion, while informed to a degree, is just my observation based opinion.  Plus there’s probably key data, ideas and alternative viewpoints that I’m missing here.  Help me fill in the blanks in the comments below!  Thanks for stopping by

Further Reading and Alternative Viewpoints

Foursquare vs Gowalla. Too early to pick a winner, or have you decided?

Checking-In: Foursquare At SXSW Music

Why Gowalla Will Beat Four Square In The Location Sharing War

foursquare VS GoWalla Checkin Social Media map

Some Crazy Postbellum Data From Foursquare And Gowalla

I am the mayor of NBC News Washington on Foursquare

Late Development

Foursquare testing analytics dashboard for restaurants.  Details appeared in The Next Web after surfacing in  restaurant trade publication  Nation’s Restaurant News.  Next Web US editor Alex Wilhelm posted the news on Twitter.

If Twitter’s raison d’etre is  “what are you doing?”, then location based social network apps like Gowalla and Foursquare refine that to “where are you doing it?”  And as SXSWi fast approaches, people like Robert Scoble are dubbing this years’ web-geek spring break “the location based SXSW” Until recently, I’ve been reluctant to jump into these networks, letting others find utility before I take the plunge.  When Twitter first began to percolate up in the public lexicon, many thought it was dumb, and back in 2006, I was a skeptic as well.   I’m operating under the premise that if you’re reading this, you don’t doubt Twitter’s importance.  But now, why check in throughout the day and share the geographic details of your travels with your various social networks?  What precisely is the point? Still somewhat dubious myself, I polled my Twitter network.  How important are place based networks like foursquare and gowalla to businesses and users? What are their impact on  the social web? Are they moving the dial?  My always savvy and diverse Twitter friends came up with some very interesting answers.  What unfolds is a tale of risk, reward, and redemption.

Redemption – Opportunites for Consumers and Business with Brand Loyalty Programs.

The social storefront.

As Gowalla investor Chris Sacca pointed out to me, these apps are a big deal to brands.

sacca @newmediajim With @gowalla we’ve seen that brands are thrilled an app can finally show them if consumers show up somewhere. That’s huge.

Brand loyalty programs are a no-brainer for these mobile social network apps.  Remember those cards you’d get from your favorite coffee shop?  They’d punch or stamp the back, and after a certain number of visits you’d get a free coffee.  Now with these apps, the business gets your repeat traffic, plus the added benefit of their brand being promoted and amplified to your networks.  Win Win.

Web strategist Nate Riggs calls this a “low hanging fruit” strategy, emphasizing how this one just stares you in the face.

Serious potential falls into the lap of small businesses who are motivated (and brave enough) to begin experimenting with how they can utilize the application to tap into their mavens – the loyal customers who visit often and tell their real friends about the experience.

He outlines a strategy to drive customer retention, foot traffic, and return customers here – simple and useful.

Caitlin Thayer of the Mark Twain House and Museum plans on starting a Foursquare effort for the historic landmark.

CTinCT @newmediajim I’m just starting to promote/push @foursquare usage with @TwainHouse visitors. Excited about the possibilties!

CTinCT @newmediajim encouraging visitors to check in, I have a sign at the front desk with that, Twitter name and FB link. Thinking now about..

CTinCT @newmediajim ..giving free admission to whoever is the Mayor, or something similar. Haven’t advertised that yet. Great opp for brand recog.

Reward – You Have to Play to Win

The social gaming aspect of apps like foursquare,  silly to me at first, is a narcotic to me now.  I’m currently the mayor of nine venues on Foursquare – my jewel in the crown – my “mayor of the White House” crown.  Now, while no executive powers confer with this mayorship, it sure is a nice little feather in the cap.  Of course, now that it’s public that I’m the mayor, I’m sure to be ousted.  Incidentally, I ousted @Daroff from the White House.  He and I are now locked in mortal combat to be mayor of our local Starbucks.  Game on!

But frankly, people lose interest in games.  These platforms will only retain users if brands implement reward redemption programs for their mobile, networked consumers.

Risk – Are We Opting Out of Privacy and Safety?

In an interview with Gigaom’s Liz Gannes, Google’s engineering director David Glazer posits “Everything is better when it knows who I am,” – which immediately brings to mind this scene from Minority Report.

A potential, and even more nefarious risk of oversharing and geotagging is tech savvy, networked crooks.  By now, most of us who use Foursquare and Gowalla have been hipped to the Rob Me Now web site.

Moving Forward

Still, all of this is just an indicator of the explosive growth of the mobile web and apps that support it.  While everybody was crowing about Facebook’s patent of their news feed, there was not nearly as much fanfare for Google’s patent on location based advertising.  Gowalla and Foursquare are the two new shiny players in this space.  Brightkite has been around for a while and is currently developing a universal, location based checkin app that will allow you to update all three platforms.  Here’s how they shape up traffic-wise.

Ultimately, as with Twitter, success will be directly linked to mainstream adoption, which as in Twitter’s case required mainstream press, celebrity adoption and the like.  We’ll see if this years SXSWi conference will give these apps a bump.

So is this the time for these location based social networks to take off?  What do you think?

Further Reading

How Local Businesses Can Benefit From Mobile Social Networks

The Socialization of Small Business

You Are Now the Mayor of Starbucks!

A Few Ways Journalists Can Use Foursquare

Restaurant Owner Increases Sales by 110% with Foursquare Swarm Badge Party

Foursquare Introduces Minority Report-Like Analytics

Foursquare Introduces New Tools For Business

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!