I think DRM is going to be the big legal and philosophical issue of the next 10 years. It involves so much change that needs to be made to the way we understand everything that it is mindboggling.
LATER UPDATE: also relevant because in Ro some agency has decided bloggers linking or featuring youtube content should be charged money for that ...
and this is an interesting little preview movie about just that
thanks as always BB
Showing posts with label content. Show all posts
Showing posts with label content. Show all posts
10/19/2008
10/17/2008
Obama's speech writers
are probably SNL or Daily Show contributors too. I got this courtesy of a tweet from Contagious and it's just so hilarious ...
10/13/2008
New media, new world, new opera
The way I know I am an old person is by watching this video which features 4, supposedly, opera singers doing opera renditions of popular songs. But they are not fat, not sweating, not scary, not carrying scarves...they're actually pretty hot, and they are number 10 or close in the UK album chart.
somehow, however, this whole thing reeks of milli vanilli
somehow, however, this whole thing reeks of milli vanilli
10/10/2008
9/28/2008
The Onion TV
I have known the Onion for a long time, having discovered it, I admit, via their smart personals page (BTW, people looking to set up a dating site for people who are NOT brainless teenagers, you might want to check out the Onion Personals). Now, via Fallon, I see they are putting together this great Onion News Network with excellently produced TV shows
a taste :-)
Domino's Scientists Test Limits Of What Humans Will Eat
a taste :-)
Domino's Scientists Test Limits Of What Humans Will Eat
9/27/2008
Embarrassment trumps media efficiency
A while back I asked the readers of this blog if they would recommend placing ads on OTV to their customers. Not necessarily overwhelmingly, but with a clear majority, they said "no".
OTV, as a mentioned previously, is Romania's trashy crazy/alien TV station which broadcasts mainly from one studio and focuses on "uncovering" dramas, like murders and rapes. However uncanny for a mainstream mind, OTV attracts a huge following, ranking at number five, if a recall correctly, in the GENERAL RANKING of TV stations in Romania.
Now, this made me wonder why my readers, and brands alike, would choose to ignore a station with such obvious reach. The reasons, I believe, are several ranging from rational ones:
- practically, OTV appeals to an audicence believed to have very small incomes
- it is very hard to get ad space because they sell it themselves and nobody wants to bother with direct negotiations
- the ad breaks are random and unmarked
- the shows themselves are random and rating is unclearly and unevenly spread
to irrational ones like "those people are crazy".
Truth of the matter is, however, that there is one reason only that is correct: embarrassment. Marketers and ad people alike feel ashamed to be associated with something they believe deviant. This is very much like Romania (as a friend was remarking to me a while back) to become fixated on what's mainstream and ignore whatever subcultures may appear [everyone will have been appalled by now by the Cosmote commercial featuring a caricature of the EMO movement].
What we are missing is touching a lot of people because we are too priss to be smart enough. Smart enought to find a way to make OTV work for the brands [needless to remind everyone the positive buzz Cap got with these]
OTV, as a mentioned previously, is Romania's trashy crazy/alien TV station which broadcasts mainly from one studio and focuses on "uncovering" dramas, like murders and rapes. However uncanny for a mainstream mind, OTV attracts a huge following, ranking at number five, if a recall correctly, in the GENERAL RANKING of TV stations in Romania.
Now, this made me wonder why my readers, and brands alike, would choose to ignore a station with such obvious reach. The reasons, I believe, are several ranging from rational ones:
- practically, OTV appeals to an audicence believed to have very small incomes
- it is very hard to get ad space because they sell it themselves and nobody wants to bother with direct negotiations
- the ad breaks are random and unmarked
- the shows themselves are random and rating is unclearly and unevenly spread
to irrational ones like "those people are crazy".
Truth of the matter is, however, that there is one reason only that is correct: embarrassment. Marketers and ad people alike feel ashamed to be associated with something they believe deviant. This is very much like Romania (as a friend was remarking to me a while back) to become fixated on what's mainstream and ignore whatever subcultures may appear [everyone will have been appalled by now by the Cosmote commercial featuring a caricature of the EMO movement].
What we are missing is touching a lot of people because we are too priss to be smart enough. Smart enought to find a way to make OTV work for the brands [needless to remind everyone the positive buzz Cap got with these]
9/22/2008
Blogging in danger
Romania has lot of bloggers, a few good ones and a handful of bloggers who piss a lot of people off.
One of them recently pissed off a huge media conglomerate by making a silly - although distasteful - joke, which the media conglomerate itself aired thus creating a huge media scandal. The immediate result of this is that the media group is now on a focused rampage against blogging of all sorts, pushing almost all staff to speak out against blogging. I have seen this in several shows, read it in some editorials.
I am concerned for one reason: the power of mass media far outstrips that of the blogosphere and it is a losing battle. From this confrontation, the few will come out branded as criminals, losers and anti-social dangers. But the few include more than that handful of bloggers who piss everyone off. The few include people who may add substantially to knowledge and thought produced locally.
I think someone, maybe within the media conglomerate, should allow the blogosphere to redeem itself by giving it the chance to respond. Somehow, this strikes me as very similar to branding Romania: we have some good stuff but those who speak about us insist on pointing out the orphans and gypsies. So, how do we go about giving the rest a chance?
One of them recently pissed off a huge media conglomerate by making a silly - although distasteful - joke, which the media conglomerate itself aired thus creating a huge media scandal. The immediate result of this is that the media group is now on a focused rampage against blogging of all sorts, pushing almost all staff to speak out against blogging. I have seen this in several shows, read it in some editorials.
I am concerned for one reason: the power of mass media far outstrips that of the blogosphere and it is a losing battle. From this confrontation, the few will come out branded as criminals, losers and anti-social dangers. But the few include more than that handful of bloggers who piss everyone off. The few include people who may add substantially to knowledge and thought produced locally.
I think someone, maybe within the media conglomerate, should allow the blogosphere to redeem itself by giving it the chance to respond. Somehow, this strikes me as very similar to branding Romania: we have some good stuff but those who speak about us insist on pointing out the orphans and gypsies. So, how do we go about giving the rest a chance?
9/13/2008
When advertising turns into content
A while back, one famous CD in Romania starred in a commercial for ...umm, something, which became quite famous as it was mixing rather niftily some Star Wars references with good old Romanian knee-slapping humor. Now, someone in Romania's own 24/7 movie channel PROTV, who I bet has no clue of the important decision he / she has made, has decided to take the character of that commercial and make it into a regular appearance on TV.
Currently it is only as an intro to Seinfeld but if this keeps on going I see it turning into a full fledged series of its own.
Have only managed to see the one below, and apart from the blatant brand cameo by Ruby Tuesday - I wonder how much they paid - I have rather enjoyed it.
As I said, I look fwd to seeing it turned into a real series rather than this billboard-in type thingie, but until then, it counts as advertising's first foray into content :-)
Currently it is only as an intro to Seinfeld but if this keeps on going I see it turning into a full fledged series of its own.
Have only managed to see the one below, and apart from the blatant brand cameo by Ruby Tuesday - I wonder how much they paid - I have rather enjoyed it.
As I said, I look fwd to seeing it turned into a real series rather than this billboard-in type thingie, but until then, it counts as advertising's first foray into content :-)
6/15/2008
Ben Stiller's how to make a viral
I love this video of Stiller making a VIRAL. Watch and learn :-)
[as an aside, if ever made to choose between Bale and RDJ I think I would go for Bale. But it took a whole weekend of thinking to get to this conclusion...]
Also, this video was made for the 2008 MTV Movie Awards.
[as an aside, if ever made to choose between Bale and RDJ I think I would go for Bale. But it took a whole weekend of thinking to get to this conclusion...]
Also, this video was made for the 2008 MTV Movie Awards.
6/02/2008
Paper books will not die
A very interesting article about book publishing here discussing ways in which print can be kept alive. The suggestion is very much what might work also for movies: simply place cheap electronic versions on Kindle or such devices and print hardbacks for the real fans who MUST have the paper version. I think it's smart
6/01/2008
Movies I want to see 2
GONZO
[go on, research this yourselves :) and no it's not porn]
[this stuck with me: "I'm so tired of old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in"]
BURN AFTER READING
[the amount of top notch names in this one may suggest it's really bad ???]
[go on, research this yourselves :) and no it's not porn]
[this stuck with me: "I'm so tired of old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in"]
BURN AFTER READING
[the amount of top notch names in this one may suggest it's really bad ???]
5/11/2008
Shorts for the week
I'm sure you know visual complexity but actually I have been having some fun with their books page here. Some of the books are also available for a quick - albeit fragmented - read on amazon with the search inside feature like so
The flip - or Flip video - is the smallest cheapest video camera available. Or so they say. It looks pretty neat and has a retractable plug which makes it linkable to your laptop immediately without any installation or CDs or such.
Iron Man - thank God for RobertD Jr. who turned what might have been a silly action hero movie into a gem. Loved it :-)
Looking back on cloud computing - explained here and also one of Amazon. com's controversial lines of profit as explains Mr. Bezos in Wired
Also interesting to read about WiiWare and the opening of the console to independent game producers.
5/03/2008
2007 in quotes
Ed Cotton, who will be speaking at Idea Forum this year, has made an interesting presentation trying to summarize the most interesting developments in 2007 as depicted in quotes. I particularly like Iain's "It's mostly not about things being viral at all, it's just about dark media buying" :-)
have a look at the full presentation
have a look at the full presentation
4/06/2008
2/17/2008
The new/old breed of communicators
For a while now I have been toying with a concept which was suggested to me by my clients and a presentation Serban of Headz did at Idea Forum. I try to hint to it in everything I write but I find it hard to put my finger on it especially because it relies mostly on something very close to the web - where everything is in beta and a blur - and very remote to the classical approach to everything - where all is about specific and specialization and positioning.
Today I found that KesselsKramer - an agency I admire since forever - has opened an office in London. This is how CR Blog describes it:
"KK Outlet, based at 42 Hoxton Square is essentially a new “multifunctional” office for the agency that will also act as a shop and gallery"
and these are some pics also courtesy of the boys at CR Blog.
Somehow this is what I meant: this is an agency which is not a typical advertising or branding or packaging or anything agency. It does what needs to be done to solve problems for its customers and also to create valuable content. It's more of a consultancy and it relies on the belief that common sense and talent can solve anything (and obviously a lot of experience in marketing as they have been doing this for a while now)
Read the whole article here
Today I found that KesselsKramer - an agency I admire since forever - has opened an office in London. This is how CR Blog describes it:
"KK Outlet, based at 42 Hoxton Square is essentially a new “multifunctional” office for the agency that will also act as a shop and gallery"
and these are some pics also courtesy of the boys at CR Blog.
Somehow this is what I meant: this is an agency which is not a typical advertising or branding or packaging or anything agency. It does what needs to be done to solve problems for its customers and also to create valuable content. It's more of a consultancy and it relies on the belief that common sense and talent can solve anything (and obviously a lot of experience in marketing as they have been doing this for a while now)
Read the whole article here
1/28/2008
Rules of engagement online
Tonight I was talking to a friend who manages a number of websites with original content. He recently switched from being a mere aggregator to producing his own content and since then he is faced with some rather interesting issues.
It seems that while the well known ethics of journalism and public relations may work offline, this is not always the case online. Content he produces based on publicly available information is often the target of complaint by the companies mentioned who seem to believe that you can bully a website into changing info.
I think this would never happen to a newspaper, for one because once it's printed it's sort of final and you can't really do much [unless you're a psycho and you go out and buy the full print]. Also because, in the eye of the 'Internet illiterates', websites or blogs are not "serious" forms of content production UNLESS (and this is where it gets interesting) they carry content that was produced for offline and then republished online (like a newspaper's website for instance).
So basically original content online stands lower in the scale of trustworthiness or importance, or so it seems from what my friend tells me. This may explain why serious PR targeted online is lacking in Romania and also why we cannot seem to get some decent online projects off the ground in advertising.
It seems that while the well known ethics of journalism and public relations may work offline, this is not always the case online. Content he produces based on publicly available information is often the target of complaint by the companies mentioned who seem to believe that you can bully a website into changing info.
I think this would never happen to a newspaper, for one because once it's printed it's sort of final and you can't really do much [unless you're a psycho and you go out and buy the full print]. Also because, in the eye of the 'Internet illiterates', websites or blogs are not "serious" forms of content production UNLESS (and this is where it gets interesting) they carry content that was produced for offline and then republished online (like a newspaper's website for instance).
So basically original content online stands lower in the scale of trustworthiness or importance, or so it seems from what my friend tells me. This may explain why serious PR targeted online is lacking in Romania and also why we cannot seem to get some decent online projects off the ground in advertising.
1/20/2008
Whoa, talk about UGC
This little movie has 31 MILLION views on youtube. More than any commercial we've probably ever made in Romania. And it looks like it cost, hmmm, maybe 10 dollars...
whoa ...
whoa ...
1/13/2008
Popular availability for content
I had a pedestrian weekend with loads of family engagements and some fun on the side and two things stuck out.
One, I was speaking to a friend about interesting things we might be wanting to explore and I brought up gaming and game creators. I find games the coolest form of popular content, while not the easiest to make. I think that maybe game creators are the Balzacs of this generation and I was wondering if anyone in Romania would be interested in hearing about this. My friend told me no, it was too early. And yet, we have half the entire urban young population having at least had a brush with World of Warcraft, the Sims or other such games. Why not go to the next level and start interesting them with similar stuff which is done locally?
Two, I might have given myself the answer to the above while attending a local stand-up comedy show. I have never been to stand-up abroad and I may be mistaken in assuming this never happens there, but there were a bit too many people in that room unwilling to "play the game". This is what I mean: when you read literature or watch a movie or a theater play, something called suspension of disbelief should kick in. Fiction or entertainment for that matter is not fun if you question its actuality. You HAVE, for the sake of your own fun, to effectively pause and believe whatever they tell you - suspend your disbelief for the duration of the game.
In the stand-up I saw last night people chose to not do that: they chose to react to what the speakers were saying and insult them. Instead of running with the imagination and having a bit of fun they preferred to question and spoil it for everyone.
So, maybe our inability to perform a suspension of disbelief is what prevents us from enjoying stand-up, writing local games and for that matter making ads that go beyond mom telling daughter that she uses this or that detergent.
One, I was speaking to a friend about interesting things we might be wanting to explore and I brought up gaming and game creators. I find games the coolest form of popular content, while not the easiest to make. I think that maybe game creators are the Balzacs of this generation and I was wondering if anyone in Romania would be interested in hearing about this. My friend told me no, it was too early. And yet, we have half the entire urban young population having at least had a brush with World of Warcraft, the Sims or other such games. Why not go to the next level and start interesting them with similar stuff which is done locally?
Two, I might have given myself the answer to the above while attending a local stand-up comedy show. I have never been to stand-up abroad and I may be mistaken in assuming this never happens there, but there were a bit too many people in that room unwilling to "play the game". This is what I mean: when you read literature or watch a movie or a theater play, something called suspension of disbelief should kick in. Fiction or entertainment for that matter is not fun if you question its actuality. You HAVE, for the sake of your own fun, to effectively pause and believe whatever they tell you - suspend your disbelief for the duration of the game.
In the stand-up I saw last night people chose to not do that: they chose to react to what the speakers were saying and insult them. Instead of running with the imagination and having a bit of fun they preferred to question and spoil it for everyone.
So, maybe our inability to perform a suspension of disbelief is what prevents us from enjoying stand-up, writing local games and for that matter making ads that go beyond mom telling daughter that she uses this or that detergent.
1/08/2008
Convergence of content
The idea of content converging from off to online is not as remote as you might think to our fair land of Romania. The taking of offline content and reshaping it for online happens quite often with TV stations (protv, tvr1) who have had the luck to have onboard some decent online people.
It happens also with newspapers, with more success for Gazeta Sporturilor, a sports newspaper which has learned that it is not enough to place your offline articles online but treats its www version as a separate product.
What I have found interesting recently, especially while browsing Republik, a youth magazine, is the complementariness of offline and online in some cases. I found myself unable to read the magazine without having to log on every two or three pages to look for stuff online. There were literally tens of instances where the story in the magazine was incomplete without an online reference or where they simply told you, find this out by logging on to ...
I think that it is an interesting play upon the divide offline/online where offline content is trying to act like digital text by "linking" to online content. And by doing that it is also, slowly, adopting some of the other characteristics of hypertext meaning that it does not link only to itself (or its correspondent mother URL) but to other sources, virtually creating a universe of connected sources which provide a complete picture.
What you might be lacking is the speed of links but ultimately the result is the same. You merge your online and offline experiences to get the full story. And what is more exciting about this is that we are growing a generation which does not mind doing it because they have learned to piece things together. So, pretty much transmedia rulz :-)
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