August 2006 Archives
The BBC are reporting on a recent British study that shows that people put more trust in traditional news that websites or blogs. While many may proclaim this to be a victory for traditional print news and the nightly television newscast, the really interesting thing to look at is probably not being reported yet.
As time progresses, are these numbers growing, shrinking or staying steady. As a snap shot of right now, it's fine but what the television News Director of today, or the Newspaper Publisher wants to know is, what direction are these figures moving? What about younger viewers? What would the same survey report in 6 months time, or 5 years time?
It is an extreme position to say that blogs or citizen journalism will replace traditional media, most of the content of blogs is comments and discussion on stories generated from traditional media. A few months ago many of us who write on this blog heard about how the BBC recived thousdands of images of the London Bombings from ordinary people's mobile phones before the first 'official' cameraman made it to the scene.
At the time we said the next stage of citizen journalism will be when a blog breaks a major story - and already this is starting to happen. The BBC story above mentions a recent story about British Deputy PM John Prescott broke on a blog. The questions about the legitamacy and ethics of '2:37' Director Muralli K Thaluri have been alive on Australian blogs for several months before being given a level of legitamacy by The Australian over the weekend. A real turning point will be when a 'Watergate' sized scandal is discovered by a citzen journalist.
To think that blogs will replace any existing form of media is a simplisitc view. The television did not kill the radio, radio did however change significantly, video didn't kill television and neither did it kill the radio star. The future in the relam is truly a cross platform scenario. The news will still be created in the same way, but it will be distributed through more channels and have more options for the audience to interact, question and challenge.
As time progresses, are these numbers growing, shrinking or staying steady. As a snap shot of right now, it's fine but what the television News Director of today, or the Newspaper Publisher wants to know is, what direction are these figures moving? What about younger viewers? What would the same survey report in 6 months time, or 5 years time?
It is an extreme position to say that blogs or citizen journalism will replace traditional media, most of the content of blogs is comments and discussion on stories generated from traditional media. A few months ago many of us who write on this blog heard about how the BBC recived thousdands of images of the London Bombings from ordinary people's mobile phones before the first 'official' cameraman made it to the scene.
At the time we said the next stage of citizen journalism will be when a blog breaks a major story - and already this is starting to happen. The BBC story above mentions a recent story about British Deputy PM John Prescott broke on a blog. The questions about the legitamacy and ethics of '2:37' Director Muralli K Thaluri have been alive on Australian blogs for several months before being given a level of legitamacy by The Australian over the weekend. A real turning point will be when a 'Watergate' sized scandal is discovered by a citzen journalist.
To think that blogs will replace any existing form of media is a simplisitc view. The television did not kill the radio, radio did however change significantly, video didn't kill television and neither did it kill the radio star. The future in the relam is truly a cross platform scenario. The news will still be created in the same way, but it will be distributed through more channels and have more options for the audience to interact, question and challenge.
In a way this is a cicular process, 50 years ago the number of people who read the paper daily was much higher, and I'm guessing the art of writing to the editor was more common place. In the traditional news to blog interface, the same social activity is returning. The mass letter to the editor is with us, except this time the editor doesn;t get to choose as much which letters get published.
I'm really looking forward to finding the time to read Chris Anderson's book 'The Long Tail'. His UK publisher has just put out a cool short video that explains the concept and introduces the book. You can also downlad the assets and make your ownc remix version of the advertisement.
Bet you were thinking, yeah yeah peddling the corporate line! So here's a personal reflection on the Triple J Vodcasts.
I'm sitting at home in front of our PC last week with my 15 yo son peering over my shoulder - it's as though I need to ask permission to turn the blasted thing on, and I'm trying to figure out what a vodcast is, how it's different to a podcast, is it a video blog? AND how do I download it and play it. So, I went to our very good intstructions (http://abc.net.au/jtv/vodcast/default.htm) and downloaded the required software and subscribed so I get automatic downloads. Still haven't figured out the next step though, yep - the important one where I get to actually watch the stuff.
Meanwhile back to the 15yo over my shoulder, he's saying, "No! don't subscribe you'll go over our download limit!" Greedy boy wants all the download share....
But still, I have to humour him because I think I'm going to need him to a) show me the next step and b) lend me his video ipod to really try it out.
ABC TV and New Media and Digital Services have launched a vodcasting trial of its new jtv programming, and ABC TV's hugely popular, The Chaser's War on Everything.A specially-made jtv vodcast will be available from 6pm each Friday and the entire show of The Chaser's War on Everything will be vodcast prior to the program's weekly television screening on Friday evening.The Director of ABC TV, Kim Dalton says, "ABC TV is thrilled to be making its content more accessible to a broader audience, who can access it at times convenient to them. These programs can be downloaded onto mobile viewing devices hours before the program is transmitted on television."Lynley Marshall, Director New Media and Digital Services says, "The ABC's video podcast services will build on our market leading position with audio podcasts in Australia. This initiative continues our commitment to providing audiences with ABC content anywhere and anytime and on every available platform."Vodcasting for jtv can be accessed through its website www.jtv.com.au and for The Chaser's War on Everything through abc.net.au/tv/chaser/war and the trial will continue for the run of both programs this year.
Its morning - you set off for the day from your house you dont need to lock the house because you are carryinging your 'wallet' and the house detects that you have left and deadbolts the doors and windows behind you.
You are also listening to some of your favourite music that was downloaded to the wallet earlier as you got ready in the morning, just telling your home media device which songs to transfer to the wallet and letting it go. It also downloads any feeds that you have flagged. While you are were getting breakfast the media system told you that new episodes of your flagged shows are available and asks if you want to download them to view, of course you have to head to work so you asked the system to download them and store for veiwing later. Additionally it told you since you aquired a level of acheivement in a game you were currently playing that new animations and game items were available to download. You did that too.
The trip to work is a lengthy train ride so you use the time to browse the headlines
of your flagged feeds on your 'wallet' (which also told the train to deduct the fare from your ticket account) and download any specific stories that you might wish to view. A text message pops up on the little screen - its your boss saying he is caught in trafic and is going to be a little late.
Seconds later a good friend rings you - your wallet can receive calls too and turns down the volume of your music when you answer the call. Its a good friend of yours who says he just found a fantastic album and sends you the sample tracks. You listen to the samples, like the band and the music so you mark the whole album for download and go back to your browsing.
The Wallet dings (yet again) because you have bought the new albumn and there are live video streams of the bandmembers being interveiwed as well - you ok the downloads and get back to your reading.
As you arrive at your workplace the wallet shares your information that you are in the building and the security doors slide open. when you reach your desk the wallet tells your computer to boot an access your settings from the wallet - you could conceivably sit at any of the workstations and it would automatically boot with your settings. including your instant voice messenger program and avatars.
the work system has lots of Freedom but still restricts some downloads and your wallet pauses any downloads not available through your work network.
You head out of the building into the nearby park for lunch. Several people might have vended their lunches from machines (paid for by the account link in your wallet) but you brought yours today.
Across from where you are sitting - again listening to music, you receive a text introduction 'Hi I think you are cute, would you be interested in going out some time' - you download the senders profile (including a video grab and photos) You like what you see and send a reply with 'Ok how about Tuesday at Mancinis Restraunt' the texts flip back once or twice until a time is confimed and you log it in to your calender - knowing that it will warn you as the time comes closer.
You see a strange bird and take a snap of it using the camera built into the wallet. wanting to know more you set the device to search for more information on the bird in the picture.
Seconds later the you get some feeds to documentaries from the discovery channel about the bird and watch them for the rest of your lunch break.
The rest of the workday is uneventful and as you head home from work you receive a call, your parents saying that they are visiting this evening - you log the message and send the information to your house to that you plan on cooking dinner for them. The House determines what ingredients are available and sends an automated message to the local grocer who calls you to confirm the order - you pick up the items as you walk home from the station. While you are there the system logs your likes and dislikes and sends you some advertisements tailored to your purchasing trends
One of them says a new movie is available to veiw and you tell the house to download the movie for veiwing tonight. Commerical movies have a view once per payment untill they go to public.
You Get home and the Home media system downloads the photos information contacts and messages you made today. It give you an option to review or store any of it. You store it and head to the kitchen - not before sending the Shows you flagged this morning to the kitchen monitor.
You are also listening to some of your favourite music that was downloaded to the wallet earlier as you got ready in the morning, just telling your home media device which songs to transfer to the wallet and letting it go. It also downloads any feeds that you have flagged. While you are were getting breakfast the media system told you that new episodes of your flagged shows are available and asks if you want to download them to view, of course you have to head to work so you asked the system to download them and store for veiwing later. Additionally it told you since you aquired a level of acheivement in a game you were currently playing that new animations and game items were available to download. You did that too.
The trip to work is a lengthy train ride so you use the time to browse the headlines
of your flagged feeds on your 'wallet' (which also told the train to deduct the fare from your ticket account) and download any specific stories that you might wish to view. A text message pops up on the little screen - its your boss saying he is caught in trafic and is going to be a little late.
Seconds later a good friend rings you - your wallet can receive calls too and turns down the volume of your music when you answer the call. Its a good friend of yours who says he just found a fantastic album and sends you the sample tracks. You listen to the samples, like the band and the music so you mark the whole album for download and go back to your browsing.
The Wallet dings (yet again) because you have bought the new albumn and there are live video streams of the bandmembers being interveiwed as well - you ok the downloads and get back to your reading.
As you arrive at your workplace the wallet shares your information that you are in the building and the security doors slide open. when you reach your desk the wallet tells your computer to boot an access your settings from the wallet - you could conceivably sit at any of the workstations and it would automatically boot with your settings. including your instant voice messenger program and avatars.
the work system has lots of Freedom but still restricts some downloads and your wallet pauses any downloads not available through your work network.
You head out of the building into the nearby park for lunch. Several people might have vended their lunches from machines (paid for by the account link in your wallet) but you brought yours today.
Across from where you are sitting - again listening to music, you receive a text introduction 'Hi I think you are cute, would you be interested in going out some time' - you download the senders profile (including a video grab and photos) You like what you see and send a reply with 'Ok how about Tuesday at Mancinis Restraunt' the texts flip back once or twice until a time is confimed and you log it in to your calender - knowing that it will warn you as the time comes closer.
You see a strange bird and take a snap of it using the camera built into the wallet. wanting to know more you set the device to search for more information on the bird in the picture.
Seconds later the you get some feeds to documentaries from the discovery channel about the bird and watch them for the rest of your lunch break.
The rest of the workday is uneventful and as you head home from work you receive a call, your parents saying that they are visiting this evening - you log the message and send the information to your house to that you plan on cooking dinner for them. The House determines what ingredients are available and sends an automated message to the local grocer who calls you to confirm the order - you pick up the items as you walk home from the station. While you are there the system logs your likes and dislikes and sends you some advertisements tailored to your purchasing trends
One of them says a new movie is available to veiw and you tell the house to download the movie for veiwing tonight. Commerical movies have a view once per payment untill they go to public.
You Get home and the Home media system downloads the photos information contacts and messages you made today. It give you an option to review or store any of it. You store it and head to the kitchen - not before sending the Shows you flagged this morning to the kitchen monitor.
The NEW YORK TIMES has a good story on the rise of consumer generated advertisements, although I'm trying hard to think of a brand that I am so much in love with I would go to the effort of making an advertisement for them just as a sign of my love.
The 'Long Tail' and Online Video is having another big effect in advertising and branding though. If you go on to You Tube you can search and find Madonna's Pepsi Video. Pepsi pulled this add after the release of Madonna's clip for the song 'Like a Prayer' that featured a controvertial Black Jesus and Burning Crosses, but now the video is available for all to see. It would be more difficult for a products advertisment to be pulled in this manner today because you could guarantee it would be zooming around the internet immediately. Even for for Pepsi they ultimately couldn't stop us from seeing the advertisement becasue there it is.
On the flip side, Madonna's association with Pepsi is now living on much longer than she probably anticipated or was renumerated for. So while Pepsi may be gaining a long tail benifit of their Madonna association, they have to balance it out with being the Spice Girls drink of choice.
For brands are built around tag lines and different marketing campaigns in different regions the rules are starting to go out the window. Check out these different versions of Coke, Polar Bears, Lime in the Coke You Nut, China, Taiwan,USA, Adrian Brody's Diet Coke Thing, Philippines, Max Headroom, Italy, same 70's add in English, More Max Headroom,Christina Aguilera, Batman, Jacob Dylan, Always, Parade, Make it Real, Coke is It, Happiness Factory, First Time, Courtney Cox, Drums, Coke Light, More Philippines, Paula Abdul, China, India, If you are tired of Coke Ads now you may wish to follow this kids lead.
The tag lines used include, 'The Coke Side of Life', 'Coke is It', 'Coke Adds Life', 'Make it Real', 'Real', 'Enjoy', 'Always', 'Can't beat the Real Thing', 'It's the Real Thing', 'Kasama Ka' (Friendly Deposition), 'Life Taste's Good'
For brands like Coke who have periodically renewed or maintained their appeal with new campaigns and phrases, the walls are now comming down, as all their previous campaigns may come back to haunt them, while some may still have cool appeal, others will make us grind our teeth.
As we move into a world of downlaodable video, will the power of celebrity endorsement weaken? Will the way advertising campaigns are constructed change just not into a cross platform ellement, but will the designers be required to consider how their add may play 20 years later?
The 'Long Tail' and Online Video is having another big effect in advertising and branding though. If you go on to You Tube you can search and find Madonna's Pepsi Video. Pepsi pulled this add after the release of Madonna's clip for the song 'Like a Prayer' that featured a controvertial Black Jesus and Burning Crosses, but now the video is available for all to see. It would be more difficult for a products advertisment to be pulled in this manner today because you could guarantee it would be zooming around the internet immediately. Even for for Pepsi they ultimately couldn't stop us from seeing the advertisement becasue there it is.
On the flip side, Madonna's association with Pepsi is now living on much longer than she probably anticipated or was renumerated for. So while Pepsi may be gaining a long tail benifit of their Madonna association, they have to balance it out with being the Spice Girls drink of choice.
For brands are built around tag lines and different marketing campaigns in different regions the rules are starting to go out the window. Check out these different versions of Coke, Polar Bears, Lime in the Coke You Nut, China, Taiwan,USA, Adrian Brody's Diet Coke Thing, Philippines, Max Headroom, Italy, same 70's add in English, More Max Headroom,Christina Aguilera, Batman, Jacob Dylan, Always, Parade, Make it Real, Coke is It, Happiness Factory, First Time, Courtney Cox, Drums, Coke Light, More Philippines, Paula Abdul, China, India, If you are tired of Coke Ads now you may wish to follow this kids lead.
The tag lines used include, 'The Coke Side of Life', 'Coke is It', 'Coke Adds Life', 'Make it Real', 'Real', 'Enjoy', 'Always', 'Can't beat the Real Thing', 'It's the Real Thing', 'Kasama Ka' (Friendly Deposition), 'Life Taste's Good'
For brands like Coke who have periodically renewed or maintained their appeal with new campaigns and phrases, the walls are now comming down, as all their previous campaigns may come back to haunt them, while some may still have cool appeal, others will make us grind our teeth.
As we move into a world of downlaodable video, will the power of celebrity endorsement weaken? Will the way advertising campaigns are constructed change just not into a cross platform ellement, but will the designers be required to consider how their add may play 20 years later?
The US based Sci-Fi channel have a new cartoon of 'The Amazing Screw-On Head' based on the comic of Mike Mignola, they are asking online viewers to watch the pilot and give feedback prior to the comissioning of a full series.
Sadly you can't watch the pilot episode from Australia, you can however participate in the feedback quiz!
Technorati Tags: animation, pilot, cartoon, screw-on head, mignola,
There has been a growing number of failed TV pilots finding a second life through viral campaigns on the interent. The most recent is 'Big Handsome Guy and his Little Friend', originally turned down by Fox the series has now been grabbed by rival NBC after it gained web popularity.
This is quite a big thing because there are literally thousands of failed pilots for Tv shows sitting on production company shelves. The level of indicision for comissioning Editors is going to rise a lot, not only do you have to worry about picking the right shows, you have to worry about the ones you turn down making it to rival broadcasters in record time. There is nothing new in shows being picked up by other networks, even here in Australia Gold Loggie winning 'ROVE' began on Channel 9 and 'Neighbours' was orginally on Channel 7.
Maybe the REALLY important change we will begin to see is television networks testing their shows on the internet through viral marketing and video on demand and through video download sites before they commission the full series.
A big factor that needs to be asked though is an internet audience the same as a television audience? Certainly their are figures to show that online audiences are growing while television audiences are dropping but is there a direct corrolation between the two?
ABC in America are claiming that their pilot program in streaming television shows sucj as 'Lost', 'Alias' and 'Desperate Housewives' over the internet for free, with advertisements, has been a great success.
Just launched is PerthNorg a new citizen journalism site. The idea is simple, anyone can write a story, a users vote on stories (like the well known Digg site) to move them up or down on the site. There's not much happening yet, as the site is bramnd spanking new but this is going to be interesting to watch!
This weeks Springwise newsletter has two interesting business stories involving the use of podcasts and MP3 players.
The first one is about a supermarket that now has terminals you can plug your MP3 player or IPOD into and download free recipes. The items required to make the meal are easily found in a specially colour coded section of the store.
Similarily an airport has now introduced stations to dock and download digital content such as music, audio books, travel guides and video content. The material is paid for via credit card.
While the radio and television world consider how digital distribution will effect their business models examples can already been found where the pattern is effecting more widespread businesses such as newsagents and supermarkets.
