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by John Federico, Chia-Lin Simmons, Ken Gellman, Steve Hatch_Shift Happens.
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On Digital Media, Episode #49: The New Venture Capital
21/09/2007
In this episode John Federico, Chia-Lin Simmons, Steve Hatch and Ken Gellman chat about: AOL moving their headquarters to NYC. You can now link directly to someone's FaceBook profile, providing they set up the appropriate FaceBook app. We got'em: Chia-Lin, Steve, John. John (and maybe Ken) will be at Podcamp Boston. John plans to geek out about podcast measurement. Come hang with us... Chia-Lin will be moderating a panel at Digital Hollywood in L.A. John will be at the Forrester Consumer Forum, October 11-12. The event is entitled, "Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies." Reach out to John if you'll be attending. John's been nominated to serve as the Chair of the Measurement Committee for The Association for Downloadable Media. Vote for him! Not a member yet? Join now. (Then vote for him.) Britney Spears Super Fan gets his own reality TV show. As of the recording of this episode, his video had been viewed 8 million times. NBC Universal plans to launch NBC Direct: free, as-supported downloads of NBC television programs that expire in seven days. Viewers cannot fast forward through the videos nor can they transfer them to portable devices or burn them to disc. Ken posits: do platforms matter? Steve wonders if the Hulu project is dead before it launched. John thinks that NBCU is just segmenting their audience based on consumption patterns. The New York Times makes TimesSelect free. Rupert Murdoch thinks The Wall Street Journal might be better off being free and open over time. (It's Deja Vu all over again... ;) ) Chia-Lin and Ken do some back-of-the-envelope-math to project how much more money the WSJ Online would make if it became free. John wants to know how many people make up "a jillion." Google is now offering a new ad unit for AdSense advertisers: The Google Gadget Ad Unit. Steve's unimpressed. For now. YouTube is now commanding 35% of Google's users and a full 28% of minutes spend on Google properties. Google hired Andy Berndt form Ogilvy + Mather to work with agencies and advertisers to help them use Google properties more creatively and effectively. GodTube is the fastest growing site in the United States. Launching on August 8th (we mistakenly said October 3rd on-mic) it had 1.7 unique visitors by the end of the month. The site has over 800,000 hours of video. Ken coins the phrase "Believer Generated Content." The fbFund has been created by the original FaceBook investors to fund the development of FaceBook Applications. The catch? There is no catch! They'll invest without an expectation of equity. Our wines this week were ...very good. Ken and Steve each brought something, but I forgot to write it down... Our music is Democracy from Alexander Blu. Send us email to comments AT odmcast DOT com or call our comment line and leave a message: 775-860-2263. You can also reach us via Gizmo Project by contacting username ondigitalmedia or by leaving a comment in our blog. Be sure to stop by http://www.odmcast.com to complete our listener survey - wersquo;d really appreciate it. For partner or sponsor information, contact jaf AT newrules DOT com. If you werenrsquo;t able to download the latest episode, you can always catch it by calling our Podlinez number (818) 688-2754 from any telephone. (Long distance charges or cellular minutes usage may apply. Blah, blah, blah.) [tags]Online Advertising, Advertising, John Federico, Ken Gellman, Chia-Lin Simmons, Steve Hatch, Google, Acquisitions, Wine, Streaming Media, Digital Media, On Digital Media, Association for Downloadable Media, Andy Berndt, Forrester, Britney Spears, TimesSelect, The New York Times, Google Gadgets, AdSense, GodTube, fbFund, Venture Capital, VC, NYT, NY Times, Digital Hollywood, Podcamp Boston, Podcamp, AOL, NBC Direct, NBC Universal, Amazon Unbox, Amazon.com, Amazon, Newspapers, Print, Podcast, Podcasting, Digital Audio, Downloads, Media, Traditional Media, Big Media, Alexander Blu, DRM, Jobs...
On Digital Media, Episode #48: The Drama that is iPhone
07/09/2007
In this episode John Federico, Chia-Lin Simmons, Steve Hatch and Ken Gellman discuss: Chia-Lin reveals her new gig: Director of Business Development for AOL focused on Social Media and AIM in the Bay Area. She won't be joining us in Studio 1A on a regular basis, but thank goodness for Skype! ...and so does Ken! Ken has started as the Director of U.S. Business Development for LavaLife. John (and maybe Ken) will be at Podcamp Boston. Come hang with us... Chia-Lin will be moderating a panel at Digital Hollywood in L.A. Apple unveils major updates to the iPod product line including the new iPod nano, the iPod classic and the new iPod Touch, with wi-fi...and the iTunes WiFi Music Store...and free access to the store at any Starbucks. Apple also dropped the price of the iPhone $200. Previous buyers were pissed, but Apple made good by giving them a $100 credit at the Apple Store. Even though he didn't even buy an iPhone, Steve is pissed. He and Ken engage in a Battle Royale on this one. (Fortunately, no wine was spilled.) Sony will no longer be selling music from their Sony Connect digital download storefront, but will continue to sell eBooks for the Sony Reader. John covets a Sony Reader...and get's ridiculed for it. ;) Instead, Sony will try to make the PS3 and the Playstation Portable and make them the digital hub for movies and television. Huh!? John wants to know why they didn't select the PS2 instead. Amazon will soon launch their own eBook reader: The Kindle. Of course, it pales in comparison to their Unbox service which is launching in September...with TV content from NBC Universal. We debate the value of iTunes vs. Amazon Unbox and Volume vs. Margin. Me Too! Yahoo bought the Blue Lithium behavioral targeting ad network... Business 2.0 will not be sold...but shuttered. It will be missed. Ken wants to know why they couldn't make a go of it as an online-only venture. Henry Blodget wrote an interesting blog post which outlined a scenario where The New York Times went all-digital. Our wines this week were a 2004 Jumilla from Altos De Luzon and a 2004 Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir. Our closing music is Democracy from Alexander Blu. Send us email to comments AT odmcast DOT com or call our comment line and leave a message: 775-860-2263. You can also reach us via Gizmo Project by contacting username ondigitalmedia or by leaving a comment in our blog. Be sure to stop by http://www.odmcast.com to complete our listener survey - wersquo;d really appreciate it. For partner or sponsor information, contact jaf AT newrules DOT com. If you werenrsquo;t able to download the latest episode, you can always catch it by calling our Podlinez number (818) 688-2754 from any telephone. (Long distance charges or cellular minutes usage may apply. Blah, blah, blah.) [tags]Online Advertising, Advertising, John Federico, Ken Gellman, Chia-Lin Simmons, Steve Hatch, Google, Acquisitions, Wine, Streaming Media, Verizon Wireless, VCAST, Online Dating, MTV Urge, Rhapsody, aQuantive, Microsoft, Digital Media, On Digital Media, iPod Touch, iPod Classic, iPod nano, iPhone, Henry Blodget, Internet Outsider, The New York Times, NYT, NY Times, Digital Hollywood, Podcamp Boston, Podcamp, Sony, Sony Connect, Sony Reader, eBooks, Amazon Kindle, Yahoo, Blue Lithium, AOL, NBC Universal, Amazon Unbox, Amazon.com, Amazon, Business 2.0, Magazines, Newspapers, Print, Podcast, Podcasting, Digital Audio, Downloads, Media, Traditional Media, Big Media, Alexander Blu, DRM, Jobs, Careers, Career Development[/tags]
On Digital Media, Episode #47: The $10 Billion Buyout
24/08/2007
In this episode John Federico, Steve Hatch and Ken Gellman discuss: Eric Rochow's flattering account of his participation in ODM Episode #46. Traditional banner ads failing on social networks. Collectively, we think LinkedIn probably has the best contextual presentation. MySpace, the worst. (Of course, Martha Stewart is now adding some class to the place with some new wallpaper and drapes...) If FaceBook can execute on their ambitious plan to use profile and lifestream data to target advertising, they may indeed improve advertising on social networks by several orders of magnitude. But can it compete with Google AdSense/AdWords? Steve tells us about how Lending Club used FaceBook as a test market for its loan application, then used that data as proof points to secure VC funding from Canaan Partners and Norwest Venture Partners. FaceBook will achieve $30MM in profit this year on $150MM in revenue. (Respectable...) Peter Thiel thinks it would be worth a $10B buyout for Google. John is incredulous. Even Ken thinks that's a lot of money. Steve thinks a FaceBook acquisition is "bigger than the YouTube deal, but not as big as the aQuantive deal." John wants to see the financial model. We analyze this scenario in suitable detail (in case you couldn't tell...). One guy. One dating site. Millions in revenue. PlentyOfFish.com. YouTube users are in revolt over the new overlay ads. Film at 11. (We digress into silly food metaphors.) Playboy (yes, that Playboy) is going to start a social network for...College Students. It'll be called Playboy U, of course. They're building it on the ning platform. Kewl. Games (all types of games, combined) are beating online video and social networks in terms of engagement growing by 79% according to a report by Parks Associates. Growth in gaming is so good that MTV Networks is shifting its business model to online gaming investing $500MM over the next few years. Out of one business, into another: MTV's Urge online music store is joining forces with Real Networks' Rhapsody service to sell music downloads. Verizon Wireless' VCAST will be the wireless distribution partner to complete the triumverate. Microsoft still comes out winning as the provider of the DRM technology. (ValleyWag has a timeline of all of MTV's activities in digital media.) Wal-Mart is starting to sell DRM-Free mp3 music tracks from their online store. But you still need Windoze. And IE 7. No thanks... Hearst now has a total of nine mobile web sites up with the addition of mobile versions of Harper's Bazaar and Marie Claire. Zagat Survey now has a mobile site (Zagat.mobi) that is free and supported by advertising - a shift from their traditional premium model. Our wine this week is a Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Green Label Syrah-Shiraz, 2004. Our closing music is Democracy from Alexander Blu. Send us email to comments AT odmcast DOT com or call our comment line and leave a message: 775-860-2263. You can also reach us via Gizmo Project by contacting username ondigitalmedia or by leaving a comment in our blog. Be sure to stop by http://www.odmcast.com to complete our listener survey - wersquo;d really appreciate it. For partner or sponsor information, contact jaf AT newrules DOT com. If you werenrsquo;t able to download the latest episode, you can always catch it by calling our Podlinez number (818) 688-2754 from any telephone. (Long distance charges or cellular minutes usage may apply. Blah, blah, blah.) [tags]Online Advertising, Advertising, John Federico, Ken Gellman, Chia-Lin Simmons, Steve Hatch, Eric Rochow, Google, Acquisitions, YouTube, FaceBook, Wine, Playboy, Playboy U, ning, Social Networks, Social Networking, College Students, AdSense, Adwords, Google AdSense, Google AdWords, Lending Club, Venture Capital, VC, Parks Associates, Research, Online Gaming, Online Video, Streaming Media, Verizon Wireless, VCAST, PlentyOfFish.com, Online Dating, Martha Stewart, MTV Urge, R...
On Digital Media, Episode #46: Easy Being Green
16/08/2007
In this episode John Federico, Chia-Lin Simmons and Steve Hatch (and Oliver, John's Cocker Spaniel...) are joined by special guest Eric Rochow from GardenFork.TV and RealWorldGreen. In addition to discovering that Eric has dog treats in his pockets, we discuss: Blackle: does using it really make a difference? NBCU is going to work with Hiro Media to distribute their video content as digital downloads through the various peer-to-peer networks, monetized with advertising. But what about the NBCU/Newscorp YouTube-like service? Eric's shows are distributed both as downloads and as flash web videos. Which format of his shows gets more viewership? John saw someone watching Real World Green on their video iPod on a New Jersey Transit train... HBO Labs is producing video just for distribution on the Internets. Whowouldathunkit? The content will be distributed through similar channels as UGC, but will be professionally produced by HBO. Will it be purely promotional or will HBO get into the business of ad-supported media? Eric thinks it's just a big sandbox for them to test new concepts. Niche cable goes Internet! The Black Family Channel has abandoned cable distribution for IPTV. Who's next? Time Warner Cable is planning to launch LookBack for those of us who missed a good show on cable in the last 24 hours and appear to be succeeding where Cablevision failed. Perhaps a savvier approach? If you get a chance to use it, send us an email or voicemail and tell us how you like it. Listener email: They love us in Stockholm! ;) Steve thinks that Google should buy Adobe for their A.I.R. platform and Adobe for Video...and now, so does GigaOm. Harper Collins is producing content exclusively for the iPhone. No iPhone? No content for you! How to get men to opt-in to marketing messages: SMS and concert tickets. Oh - and beer. Did we mention the beer? AdMob is serving a Billion mobile ads per month. (Yes, that's a capital B.) Chia-Lin waxes affectionately. LimeWire will launch a DRM-free music store based on their peer-to-peer distribution software. Universal Music Group is going to be selling DRM-free music directly from artist's web sites, but only for a limited time...and without ANY iTunes distribution. Chia-Lin thinks it's an A-B test. John thinks the test is flawed. (Geek fight!) Check out Eric's company at ChopLogic.net Our wine this week is our old standby, the 2004 Coppola Rosso. Our closing music is Democracy from Alexander Blu. Send us email to comments AT odmcast DOT com or call our comment line and leave a message: 775-860-2263. You can also reach us via Gizmo Project by contacting username ondigitalmedia or by leaving a comment in our blog. Be sure to stop by http://www.odmcast.com to complete our listener survey - wersquo;d really appreciate it. For partner or sponsor information, contact jaf AT newrules DOT com. If you werenrsquo;t able to download the latest episode, you can always catch it by calling our Podlinez number (818) 688-2754 from any telephone. (Long distance charges or cellular minutes usage may apply. Blah, blah, blah.) [tags]Online Advertising, Advertising, John Federico, Ken Gellman, Chia-Lin Simmons, Steve Hatch, Eric Rochow, GardenFork.TV, Real World Green, HBOLabs, Time Warner Cable, LookBack, DVR, TiVo, IPTV, Cablevision, Adobe, Google, Acquisitions, Flash, Harper Collins, iPhone, AdMob, LimeWire, Choplogic, Video Podcast, Vlogging, Vlog, YouTube, Wine, Digital Media, On Digital Media, Podcast, Podcasting, Digital Audio, Downloads, Acquisitions, Media, Traditional Media, Big Media, Alexander Blu, Apple TV, iTunes Plus, DRM, EMI, UMG, Universal Music Group, Jobs, Careers, Career Development[/tags]
On Digital Media, Episode #45: Hey, Rupert! Free the WSJ!
09/08/2007
In this episode John Federico, Chia-Lin Simmons, Ken Gellman and Steve Hatch discuss: We received an oh-so-vague tip that "something would be happening between Hearst and an unnamed web site". (We learned the next day that it was Hearst's acquisition of Kaboodle.com.) We think it's a great fit for many of their magazine titles and companion web sites. The question becomes: will they integrate it well, or will it flounder? EMI saw a 13.2% growth in their digital division. (From what baseline, we have no idea.) They're seeing "encouraging signs of growth through the iTunes Store" (referring to their DRM-free experiment). Microsoft is licensing their PlayReady DRM to Nokia for use on their Series 60 and Series 40 phones. We want to know: what the heck is PlayReady!?!?!? AmieStreet delivers demand-based pricing for indie music. The company received an investment from Amazon.com. Yahoo is preparing to take on YouTube by revamping Yahoo Video. flickr is rumored to be the interface for uploading UGC video. (And Eric Schmidt is George Steinbrenner thanks to Ken's sports analogy.) What if the WSJ.com went free? What if the NYTimes.com went paid? (What if every time one of us says the words 'Wall Street Journal' we have to sip our wine? The ODM drinking game! ;) ) We delve deeply into the possibilities. Our wine this week is our old standby, the 2004 Coppola Rosso and a 2004 Jumilla from Altos De Luzon. Our closing music is Democracy from Alexander Blu. Send us email to comments AT odmcast DOT com or call our comment line and leave a message: 775-860-2263. You can also reach us via Gizmo Project by contacting username ondigitalmedia or by leaving a comment in our blog. Be sure to stop by http://www.odmcast.com to complete our listener survey - wersquo;d really appreciate it. For partner or sponsor information, contact jaf AT newrules DOT com. If you werenrsquo;t able to download the latest episode, you can always catch it by calling our Podlinez number (818) 688-2754 from any telephone. (Long distance charges or cellular minutes usage may apply. Blah, blah, blah.) [tags]Online Advertising, Advertising, John Federico, Ken Gellman, Chia-Lin Simmons, Steve Hatch, Wine, Digital Media, On Digital Media, Podcast, Podcasting, Digital Audio, Downloads, Acquisitions, Media, Traditional Media, Big Media, Alexander Blu, MySpace, iTunes Plus, DRM, EMI, Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com, New York Times. NYTimes.com, Rupert Murdoch, PaidContent.org, Merrill Lynch, Hearst Interactive Media, Kaboodle.com, AmieStreet. Amazon.com, Amazon, Investments, VC, Venture Capital, ecommerce, Microsoft, PlayReady, Nokia, Symbian, Google, Yahoo, Yahoo Video[/tags]
