Random Culture

Quick Links: Jun. 26, 2007

Social Networking Near 100% Penetration for Teens
According to an Alloy Media study written about in Advertising Age, it looks like 96% of teens connect to a social network at least once a week.

The Sony "Minisode" Network on MySpace
Your favorite older TV shows... only REALLY short. Silver Spoons, anyone? [via Fimoculous]

The Social Network Class Divide?
Danah Boyd, the Jane Goodall of teenagers, says that Facebook users are more likely to be educated white kids, and MySpace users are more likely to be blue collar.

Friday Fun: Prairie Dog Drama

See, not everything on the Internet is pointless...

Cannes Videos From Arnold

Some folks from Arnold Worldwide are publishing daily videos from the festival in Cannes. You can check out all the videos at the Arnold website here. In addition, you can subscribe to them on YouTube here.

I've posted the first two days of video below. Check them out!

Link via Adrants.

33 Ways to Watch Free TV Online

The folks at Mashable have posted a great list of 33 online video sites. They run the gamut from the ones you know, such as YouTube and Joost, to ones you might not know of. Here's a short list of a few you might not know of, that you should definitely check out:

• Blip.tv
• Babelgum
• Blinkx
• WWITV

You're sure to find hours of time to waste at these sites. Some of them clearly are violating copyrights, so be careful about downloading any content. View the complete list here.

Quick Links: Jun. 15, 2007

CNN and YouTube Presidential Debates
Forget questions from moderators, I want to know what Hillary Clinton thinks of the Mentos and Coke video! More details at NewTeeVee. [via Fimoculous]

England's National Gallery Puts Art in Unlikely Places
To promote the National Gallery, they hung reproductions of famous paintings in unlikely places. Check out a gallery of the photos at The Guardian. [via Influx Insights]

Pithy eBay/Google Infighting
Google tries to steal eBay's thunder by scheduling a party on the same day as eBay. In reaction, eBay, the largest Google AdWords advertiser, pulls all their ads from Google. Sounds like a lose-lose situation to me.

FOOA: The Future of Online Advertising Is...

I'm back in Dallas from New York, with a full report on the Future of Online Advertising conference in New York. Overall, the event was great, with some good speakers, and great folks attending. Rather than giving a play-by-play of the conference, I thought that I would provide some of the overall themes and challenges facing the future of online advertising that were brought up at the conference:

1.) The Future is Direct
Online advertising already has the reputation of being a "direct marketing" medium. Unlike offline ads, they can be held accountable for performance due to tracking. This perception isn't softening. Rather, advances in technology are forcing online ads to be even more accountable as advertisers look to use this trackability to personalize the online ad experience and reduce wasted spending. Sure, this is also having an impact on offline advertising, with advertisers demanding more accountability in offline media, but advertisers are still devoting far more dollars to offline. This perception of online advertising as a "direct" medium has always left a bad taste in my mouth. Simply put, ROI isn't the only measurement we should be looking at. Online can be a powerful media for awareness and branding as well.

2.) Media Planners... Get Ready
Simply put, the online advertising marketplace isn't just becoming more accountable, it's becoming fractured. Online media planners now have to deal with an almost unfathomable number of online outlets for advertisers, with new online channels being added every minute of every day. While this is certainly a challenge, it's also an opportunity. Media planners that can stay on top of these emerging channels, and create truly versatile campaigns will become invaluable resources.

3.) Online Video's Infancy
Wow... where to even begin. Online video has exploded over the last year, and presents its own unique set of challenges. One of the major topics of conversation at the conference was what type of ad formats fit this new medium the best. Many people talked about the ineffectiveness of pre-roll and re-purposing 30-second spots, but what's the right way? Simply put... no one knows. There were calls for standardization, but how can standards be established when what's effective is still being determined. What's clear is that experimentation is happening, and happening quickly. Lightning fast, in fact, and picking up speed.

4.) The Future of Measurement
"Effectiveness" is becoming a cryptic phrase in online advertising, and many speakers addressed the need for new ways of measuring campaign performance. Measurements such as click-through rates and standard branding metrics are no longer sufficient. As websites become more about "experiences" and media becomes more viral, how are we to measure things like "engagement" or "influence?"

5.) A Little Guts Go a Long Way
Finally, I think one of the biggest lessons from the conference is that advertisers need to have more guts. Wired magazine VP Drew Schutte talked about this very topic. Why is it important for advertisers to have guts? Because consumers do. Without guts, agencies and advertisers will always be months, maybe even years behind consumers.

You can find more information in the live coverage section of the Future of Online Advertising conference website. In addition, it appears that they were shooting videos, which I assume will be made available, and we got word that presentations will be made available in the near future.

I wanted to say thanks to Ryan Carson from Carson Systems, who put on the conference. They provided myself and several of you free passes to the event.

FOOA: Update

I've had an eventful morning at the Future of Online Advertising, and definitely have some great stuff to blog about following the event. Some of the highlights for me have been the first presentation, by former IAB president and author of "What Sticks", Greg Stuart. In addition, there was an interesting talk by Bill Wise about a future that includes "auction" markets for selling display advertising.

The ad agencies don't have that great of a representation here, which surprises me. I've found a few of them, though, including some folks from Ogilvy. There certainly should be more here.

More on all this later, including photos and commentary.

Future of Online Advertising

I'm headed out today for the Future of Online Advertising conference in New York. If any of you are attending, drop by and say hi! I'll be blogging a bit throughout the event, so check back once and a while for updates.

Quick Links: June 4, 2007

NYT on Google Natural Search
Good insights on how Google is always "tweaking" its search index.

Finally, TED Talks
TED is a great conference about ideas, with some amazing speakers, including folks like Jane Goodall, Malcom Gladwell and more. Now you can see video of their presentations online.

Microsoft Still Playing Catch-Up With Search
Sure, they're touting this search engine on the heels of Google's Universal search... At least we can all see the future of search ahead.

Boost Loopt: Social App for Mobile

Boost Mobile has launched an interesting mobile application called Boost Loopt. It's essentially a mobile social networking app that brings location into the mix. You can share your location, see the locations of your friends, and even be notified via text message when one of your friends is nearby. Good to see this type of innovation happening from one of the little guys.