Morgan's Tumbleblog

New York shots 2

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:03:10 -0800

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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William Shatner Reads Levi Johnston's (Bristol Palin's Hubby) Tweets

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:45:44 -0800

Conan has found a viral gem with this one. Shatner, who was magnificent in reading Sarah Palin’s tweets keeps it in the family with this round and once again nails it. LM.AO.

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Two guys who travel the US making free and awesome commercials for small businesses

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:54:58 -0800

via boingboing.net

This is a great video. It’s more art than it is commercial. The concept behind the project is worth checking out as well: http://ilovelocalcommercials.com/

I believe that there is a brilliance in everyday things that we often miss simply because we’re not looking for it or because it’s not a part of our daily existence. This video captures part of that for me.

Whether this video sells more mobile homes is moot, really. It’s more of a look at a slice of America not too many people on the Web see. You could argue that there’s an element of exploitation here and stereotyping that isn’t fair to the people who are just trying to make a living; but I think that is an over-sensitive viewpoint.

This “commercial” is more like a brief look into another part of our world and is powerfully and well done. What do you think?

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ad:tech day 1

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:32:02 -0800

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New York Shots

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:52:21 -0800

See the full gallery on posterous

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weekend life - it'd be funny if it weren't so true

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:16:20 -0800

via thedw.us

That’s about right. Maybe a little less sleep and a little more food. Maybe.

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Now that’s LOVE. giannii: Rad...

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:42:38 -0700

Now that’s LOVE.

giannii:

Rad Parents.

ranajune:

pile:

caseydonahue:

Ran into these guys on the train. They win Halloween.

Wow

What If Microsoft Had Invented Twitter?

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:39:50 -0700

via geekandpoke.typepad.com

From Geek & Poke. Brilliant. As Ben Huh from ICanHasCheezeburger says “people admire complexity but reward simplicity.” Twitter figured it out. That’s why they’re winning right now.

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Infographic: Hierarchy of Digital Distractions

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:30:57 -0700

via feedproxy.google.com

I love this. Very funny. Although if MySpace is your distraction I suggest that you may have larger problems.

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YouTube Now Has Over 120 Million U.S. Viewers

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:14:40 -0700

According to some astounding numbers from comScore, online video is surging as 8.9 billion videos were viewed by 120.3 million U.S. citizens in July. That’s over 1/3 of the entire U.S. population. Just as astounding is that over 21 billion videos were viewed on the Internet according to the new numbers.

via mashable.com

These numbers are becoming more and more staggering by the passing month. When video views surpassed core search queries on the big three engines at 14 billion I viewed that as a watershed moment. Clearly, we were just getting started as now videos are climbing to heights that dwarf monthly search activity.

Video is booming - whether it’s viral hits, iphone 3Gs movies, or corporate brand pieces like the ones we make at TurnHere - companies that find a way to engage and connect with customers in this new video-centric Web will win. No doubt about it.

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What Marketers Can Learn from G.I. Joe

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:24:20 -0700

Just saw G.I. Joe. I knew it would be all spectacle and no substance, so I got what I wanted out of it. If you go in knowing what you want, what you get will live up to your expectations. But watching all those big explosions, ridiculous CGI graphics and mind blowing stunts it got me thinking about marketing and in particular, getting the word out about our company/product/service. Too often we start our sentences with “If only…” If only the budget was a few thousand dollars larger. If only we had a few more weeks to prepare. If only we could afford this. If only we could get this person to talk about us. The “if only’s” go on and on. There are endless “if only’s” that we use as excuses when we can’t get people talking about us in the way we want.

Yet for all the if only-ing, the best successes, most memorable companies/products/services are rarely those with the biggest budgets and endless supply of resources and money. G.I. Joe reminded me of that. A movie that costs $200 million to make (close enough to an unconstrained budget in the real world) is not the best movie ever made. It’s got a better shot at being considered for the worst movie ever than the best. And for all the money spent it can’t earn your attention. It can buy it for a minute, but it can’t automatically make G.I. Joe important and relevant to you. It can’t make itself an ongoing part of the conversation. And it can’t say “if only.”

For me it proved that without an “if only’s” your job is infinitely more difficult. Because without any “if only’s” you become unfocused. You get in a “bigger is better” binge where the things that really matter get lost in favor of the flashy objects that don’t add value to what you’re really trying to accomplish. A constraint is not a negative. A constraint should be looked at as a positive and an opportunity to get creative. To do something remarkable that will get people to ask “how’d they do that?” No one asks that with a $200 million budget. Constraints need to be embraced. Marketers need to stop thinking in terms of what they don’t have and think in terms of what they can do to maximize the resources they have available to create something truly worth remarking on.

Yo Joe.

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Pew: Video Watching Now More Popular Than Social Networks

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:20:23 -0700

via newteevee.com

NewTeeVee reports that watching online video is more popular than using social networks. This has surged from 33% back in December of 2006 showing that as bandwidth improves and content improves and grows more people are moving toward video on the Web.

Of course the largest group of online video viewers is the 18-29 year olds, where nearly 9 in 10 have watched a video online with 36% doing so daily.

This is good news to advertisers who are looking for ways to create unique connections with a difficult audience segment to reach. By using a creative, content-driven approach to online marketing via video advertisers can connect with key buying demographics in a way that fits with their online activities and content consumption patterns.

Funny that you hear Facebook is growing fastest in the boomer segment, while teen growth has really leveled off (or dropped). It begs the question of whether video represents the next, great opportunity to reach these audiences online.

Obviously, I’m hoping the answer is yes.

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NPR Mistakenly Shuns Video in Site Relaunch

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:21:14 -0700

NPR CEO Vivian Schiller offered the NYT multiple reasons for holding back on video: it’s expensive and the value to NPR is uncertain. With that in mind, “We absolutely should not be heavily invested in video.”

via paidcontent.org

NPR relaunched their web site (see video below for a tour of the new site - looks nice) and made a conscious decision to avoid heavy use of video in the relaunch. As the quote above shows the perceived costs and questionable benefit of video were major factors in the decision to avoid video. There seems to be some other internal political issues as well (with an oblique reference to the same in the article); but lets focus on the decision to avoid video for cost and value to viewers.

Of course, in my biased opinion its a mistake. Why? NPR has rich personalities, interesting stories and unique perspectives on stories that aren’t typically covered by mainstream media in the same, in-depth way. These unique looks at life and people, often produced and sourced across a variety of people, places and time, are the perfect fodder for short, pithy, compelling video content that could really add to the experience on the Web site.

Forget the breaking news. There’s no need to produce video for that as that is done in so many other places. But NPR’s signature storytelling could really be emphasized and showcased with quality online video.

We all know that traditional production is expensive and we all know that it can be a tough translation to the Web audience. We also know (if you know anything about my company) that there are people out there creating affordable, engaging and unique content for the Web that resonates with audiences and works for the publisher.

Whether it’s unique stories from around the world, profiles of the stations’ talent, or stories of the value that the stations bring to the community - there are hundreds of opportunities for video to enhance the visitor experience and drive visitors to join as members instead of passive consumers of content.

It’s a shame that a forward-thinking organization like NPR takes an old-world look at video. The new site looks great and I hope that they’ll come around to add more video to a site whose job is to tell compelling stories. The value of video in that regard is anything but uncertain.

New site tour:

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Facebook Video: 1 billion reasons we're seeing the rise of social video

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:42:37 -0700

via techcrunch.com

Techcrunch reported today that Facebook’s video platform served over 1 billion videos last month alone. While that pales in comparison to YouTube it is a staggering amount of video for the world’s leading social network. Why is video growing so quickly on Facebook? I think it’s because the power video has to engage and connect people in an intimate and more emotional way that the status update or wall post ever could. Facebook is all about connecting people and video plays an important role in doing that in a way unlike any other.

Take for example a friend’s birthday. You see on Facebook that it’s your friend’s birthday, click over to their profile and see their Wall covered with birthday greetings. Dozens of them usually. You don’t (often) see a video birthday greeting. But try leaving one next time. A short, happy birthday Web cam video greeting will usually elicit a personal response back. While most people will update their status with “thanks for all the birthday wishes!” to thank everyone who wrote on their wall, they will typically (in my experience) reach out personally and thank you for the video message.

There is a connection and an emotional element to video that goes above and beyond anything text can do. And video plays a big role in fulfilling the mission of these social networks by building stronger connections between its members.

It has tremendous implications as well for companies that are interacting with people on the Facebook platform. Companies that truly want to engage with people on these platforms need to get beyond the written word and the “statusphere” to build lasting connections. Video is the perfect opportunity for them to do so.

In order for video to work as a connector though it has to be authentic, engaging and real. It can’t be repurposed TV ads (unless those ads are really, really, good). It has to be something that elicits an emotional response if it is going to make an impact on people. That can be humor, trust, compassion, empathy, anger, etc. but it needs to fit the environment that it’s in and in Facebook that is about connecting with real people.

What do you think - where does video go in social networks next?

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Seth Godin on Blogging

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:35:37 -0700

One reason I encourage people to blog is that the act of doing it stretches your available vocabulary and hones a new voice. You won’t get it for a while, but you’ll get it. To one person who wrote in and said he didn’t think he had anything interesting to say, I asked him whether he was boring in person too? Boring at breakfast? Boring on a date? That boring?! Probably not.

A great interview with Seth Godin who is arguably one of the best bloggers out there, and is certainly the #1 marketing voice on the Web. Godin follows his own path when it comes to blogging. He doesn’t accept comments, he doesn’t tweet and he doesn’t advertise or try to drive revenue directly from the blog itself. He also cranks out amazing content and posts each and every day, ranging from marketing parables and insights to riffs on current affairs.

The best part about Godin and his blog is that he knows who he is online. He has developed his unique voice. It’s unquestionably Godin when you read anything of his. It’s something that I personally aspire to - trying to find a voice in my blogging. I believe I found it with blownmortgage.com and I hope to find it again soon with my new blog, pmorganbrown.com.

I think my Posterous posts are the exercise of trying to find that voice in small bites at a time - like riding a bike with training wheels - while trying to hone it on my longer pieces for pmorganbrown.com.

I hope you enjoy the article. Everyone that has an online presence has a lot to learn from Mr. Godin.

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FedEx skips Super Bowl, Does Web Video Instead

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:37:31 -0700

Steve Pacheco, director of advertising at FedEx, said the new infomercial campaign reflected FedEx’s acknowledgment of the growing sentiment that “lunchtime is the new prime time,” meaning that the multitudes who watch videos online while chomping sandwiches in cubicles rival those wielding remote controls at night.

via nytimes.com

After 18 years FedEx passed on advertising in last year’s Super Bowl. The move stunned advertising execs and the networks as a market-leading company decided the move wasn’t financially sound in a recession.

Now the company is launching a series of spoof infomercials featuring the actor Fred Willard. They’re centered around the FedEx product and service offering; but are done is a way that is both entertaining and informative. In a long-form, 3-minute piece you get every important FedEx shipping message delivered to you while laughing. I really enjoyed the one below. Unexpected lines such as “You’re a witch!” and Fred’s delivery make them worth watching and worth talking about.

My favorite quote from the NY Times article is above. “Lunchtime is the new prime time.” So true, as millions of videos are viewed everyday from office computers by people looking to make decisions and learn while being informed and entertained.

One of the videos from the campaign:

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Transparency is the new objectivity

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:16:31 -0700

At the edges of knowledge — in the analysis and contextualization that journalists nowadays tell us is their real value — we want, need, can have, and expect transparency. Transparency puts within the report itself a way for us to see what assumptions and values may have shaped it, and lets us see the arguments that the report resolved one way and not another. Transparency — the embedded ability to see through the published draft — often gives us more reason to believe a report than the claim of objectivity did.

via hyperorg.com

A great post here (h/t @arrington) about how the claim of objectivity is subsumed by transparency in a linked world. The disruption of the Web is pushing “experts” from claiming objectivity in a vacuum to demanding transparency to allow the individual to determine how objective this expert truly is.

Because true objectivity is impossible it no longer serves as a value-add to our quest for information. Transparency is the new objectivity. By being transparent you let you biases through and let the audience or researcher or individual determine how you are influenced in your position. Transparency trumps objectivity because transparency allows a review of one’s biases and opinions that provide context for an argument.

There’s lots more to say on this; but suffice to say that being transparent rather than claiming objectivity is an important change to how press, marketers, sales people, pundits, analysts, etc. talk about themselves and the world around us.

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I agree w/ @robhahn: Posterous simplifies social media

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:02:42 -0700

Using a social-sharing technology like Posterous immediately pays dividends if you have an active social media presence. Posterous can update multiple blogs and social media sites at once, reducing the amount of time you have to go back and forth.

via inman.com

Rob does a great job of outlining the benefits of Posterous and articulates many of the reasons that I have turned to it as a key part of my online presence. I love my Posterous blog. The combination of the autopost, the simplicity of creating content, and the integration to Twitter and Facebook make sharing what I find and create a breeze.

What I love most about Posterous is the ability to find something interesting online and share it quickly. All while being able to add a paragraph or two of commentary and my thinking on the subject. This lets me do what I love, find a share interesting information online, add a soundbite or two of thinking to it, and get it out quickly and seamlessly to my micro-distribution hubs.

I still use my blog www.pmorganbrown.com for long-form content; but for quick and easy sharing and thinking Posterous has become my new favorite publishing tool on the Web.

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Online video grows up with YouTube push to profitability

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:25:17 -0700

But even better news: CEO Eric Schmidt says that not only are things turning around (or at least “largely stabilized”), but YouTube will soon enter the realm of profitability. (Or, as one company I worked for optimistically called this, “making the push to cash positive.”)

Senior vice president Jonathan Rosenberg said monetized views on YouTube have more than tripled in the last year. The most popular video website on the Internet will be “a very profitable business for us” in the “not too distant future.”

via marketingpilgrim.com

One of the biggest knocks against online video has been that you can’t make money off of it. Well Hulu has shown that you can, in fact, make money off the medium and that advertisers are willing to pay to associate with high-quality video content. YouTube has started finding ways to monetize content as well by focusing on high-quality, professional content.

Still, online video has a long way to go. Advertisers still haven’t found an elegant way to reach customers in a manner that is more in line with the permission-based ethos of the Web. I believe that video will really take-off when we find a way to create compelling content that is sponsored by brands in a way that works for both brands and the audience watching. Then we’ll be able to rid ourselves of annoying ad overlays, pre-rolls, interstitials, and other types of interruption advertising.

Think about product placement as a crude form of the initial foray into this realm. While often inelegant and not integrated in a way that online allows, these product placements represent the first in sponsored content in video. Other media has found a way to incorporate sponsored content as well, the advertorial content advertising seen in magazines is another example. Lately brands like Carl’s Jr. has been using YouTube stars to create video content that is centered around the brand but is a unique creation by the star.

We’ll see this idea of sponsored video content continue to evolve as online video matures as a medium. Where do you think it goes from here?

Note: I work for TurnHere, an online video production and advertising company that creates sponsored content for brands. The opinions in this post are my own and not necessarily those of my employer.

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Why small businesses are moving to social media advertising

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:57:46 -0700

We just did an assessment of advertising placed on social networking sites and were surprised to find that nearly 20% of all ad spending is by local businesses. Our assumption going into this research was that commercials on social networks were almost purely national. We’re estimating that local advertisers will account for about $641 million of nearly $3.3 billion this year trying to reach consumers via these sites.

via borrellassociates.com

It’s interesting to see that small businesses already account for 20% of all social networking advertising. For a group that is continually identified as technological laggards it’s a pretty eye-opening statistic. And this is ad spend, not use.

So why would technological laggards be turning to social media? I can think of a few reasons and would love your thoughts too.

1. Ease of use. Buying and placing ads is very easy on Facebook (I haven’t tried it on MySpace). You can have your own ad campaign up and running in about 10 minutes from start to finish.

2. Low cost of entry. There’s little at risk launching a campaign. Start with $10 or $100, you’re not making a bet-the-house investment that needs to pay off. Small business wallets are typically referred to as “shallow” meaning that there isn’t a lot of room for big, one-time charges, and there is greater opportunity for charging less per month over a long-term relationship. The ad platforms on soc nets fits ideally with this model.

3. Vanity/Buzz. Because the ads run where friends and family are online it can increase the cachet of the ad buy and make the SMB more “forward thinking” and progressive. The company “gets it” when running social media ads.

4. Results. Of course results are an important factor, and with 20% of social media spending coming from SMBs there must be a measurable return that keeps them spending. While I haven’t seen any numbers on this it will be interesting to see how data from these investments pans out.

What else? What am I missing?

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