Category Archives: internet

converging, internet, user-generating

broadcasting user-generated content

I’ve been pointed in the direction of two recent examples of the convergence of established and emergent media.  the first is UKTV G2’s Totally Viral; which each weeknight at 10.30pm showcases ‘the best of the internet’ as sourced by the editors as well as viewers.

G2_totally_viral_1

I commented in a recent post  that the BBC was making a news programme consisting entirely of articles suggested by the public, and suggested that what it was doing wasn’t as significant as the fact that it had taken a stand on how (as part of the established media) is was going to relate to the emerging user-generated world.  in creating Totally Viral, UKTV has made a similar statement.  is it TV or internet?  its both.  and better for it.

another example is from the states, where Channel 101 (based on Los Angeles) and Channel 102 (New York) play host to 5 min-long programme pilots.  each month the pilots are screened to audiences, who vote whether to renew (for another month) or cancel the shows.

Channel_102

the ones voted top form the ‘primetime’ of the schedule (which because it’s streamed online is a by-word for the best rather than a description of how it’s broadcast).

so users are generating content, which is showcased and voted on by offline audiences.  the best stand out and the rest vanish, the aim being to stay in syndication for as long as possible.  the established world connection?  Channel 101 has signed a deal with VH1 to broadcast 3 min-long clips in a broadcast show called The Department of Acceptable Media.

both great examples of how emerging media can and will complement the established broadcast worlds.  the rules of programme development and commissioning remain the same, it’s just a much more democratic way of doing it.  and given that anyone can have a go, and the fact that TV companies don’t have to invest in programme development, get ready for the dozens of examples that will no doubt make it into commercial production and onto broadcast TV.

as a final thought – it will be interesting to see if advertisers attempt to use these examples to cost-effectively develop their own content.  I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t.  although how non-commercial user-generators will take to competing against commercial producers remains to be seen…  advertisers will have to be transparent in their ownership of content, and that may compromise the point of them doing it in the first place.

that said, some of the best bits of content showcased on Totally Viral are commercially produced.  the only rule; good content is good content, and in the new world no ones even sees – let alone remembers – the bad stuff.

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internet

Google disappearing acts

Google_logomy colleague is in this band called gamages model train club, and despite the interesting name, he thought – when forming the band – it best to check if there wasn’t already a band with that name.  all well and good.

so where did he turn?  what database or listing did he use?  neither.  he used Google.  he Google’d the name and nothing came up.  so he proceeded confidently in the knowledge that it was very unlikely indeed that there would be two Gamages Model Train Clubs ever playing the same bill.

the fact is that there could be a band out there called the Gamages Model Train Club.  but they’re not on the internet and – more importantly – Google can’t find them.  so to all intents and purposes they don’t exist.  Google has disappeared them!

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internet, planning, social networking, user-generating

quantifying digital behaviours

Two recent studies
by media owners are attempting to quantify the extent to which we are adopting
digital behaviours; ie audio / audiovisual downloads, creating / reading blogs,
or creating websites. Both the Guardian
and Emap have a vested interest in understanding these behaviours… as audiences
evolve and migrate to different channels for consuming information; impacts and
subsequent advertising revenues will follow.

Digination_insider_logos
The Guardian’s digi:nation project, which aims to “get a clear
picture of how the online population are engaging and interacting with digital
media”, surveyed 1,016 Guardian Unlimited users and 2,912 nationally
representative online respondents.  Another
project from Emap – The Insider – aims
to “offer greater understanding of
consumer behaviour and tracks consumer trends as they emerge”. It consists of a panel of 10,000 members, all
of whom have been recruited from Emap’s media brands.


The surveys
indicate that:

  • 67% of the UK population have tried some form of digital activity1
  • 1/3 of the digi:nation1 and 54% of The Insider’s panel2 had read a blog – of whom half of the latter read a blog at least once a week2
  • The Insider’s blog-consumption figure of 54% rises to 69% of 15-24s
  • 10% of the digi:nation have created their own blog1
  • 17% of the digi:nation have created their own website1
  • 43% of The Insider panel have created their own spaces2
  • 55% of The Insider panel have accessed social networking sites2
  • Women are more likely to be heavy users (everyday) of SN sites than men – 24% to 20% 
  • Finally, whilst over half the digi:nation have downloaded music, only 8% have downloaded a podcast1

Sources:
1 from Guardian’s digi:nation
survey – for more click here
2 from Emap’s The Insider
survey – for more click here


So what does this
all mean? Primarily these surveys are
putting quantifiable flesh on the bones of a belief in the industry that
blogging and social networking aren’t restricted to niche groups but have
become mainstream in terms of participation.  In addition the numbers of people creating as
opposed to just consuming these media are higher then you’d perhaps expect.


But as a result of
this, the research reminds us of two key considerations for the planning and
buying of commercial impacts. One, the
challenge to mainstream media in terms of the sheer volume of content that is
being produced and consumed by citizens, (although that fact that much of this,
certainly in the case of social networking, is now under the ownership of
established media owners – specifically MySpace and Newscorp – means it can be
planned and reached conventionally).


But secondly, and
following on from point one; any advertiser wading into consumer generated
waters must tread carefully… because blogging and social networking sites present
content to consumers in a personalised context, and as a result there’s a
veritable minefield of pissed off content creators and irritated UG content
consumers. It’s their world. They are creating and consuming it. And they have a prescribed notion of who and
who isn’t welcome.


The upshot for
advertisers?; If you want to talk to internet users (and most of them do), you
won’t be able to achieve mass reach without using UGC sites. And if you’re going to go there – have
something to say and say it in a relevant way; you may not get an answer, but
you’ll stand a much better chance of being listened to.

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engaging, internet

dazeddigital does Project [RED] in style

Redalert_rankin_606x225_1
to mark world aids day on December 1st, dazeddigital is using its site to broadcast artwork by well known artists as well as web users.  the aim is to raise awareness of aids issues by coming together to exhange ideas and information, as well as draw attention to Project [RED].

as well as running on dazeddigital.com, the 24 hour long event will also run on the dazeddigital myspace site… creating an opportunity to grow awareness their own site by engaging with a significantly larger online aggregation of audience in a real and credible way.  a great example of a media property doing something that is genuinely in the spirit of its brand…

for more information click here.

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internet

the internet isn’t a media channel

I think we need to get something straight.  the internet isn’t a media channel.  it’s a technology.  a technology capable delivering content across of range of different media.  a technology that can be TV, or radio, or press (or probably as we should say; audiovisual, audio or visual).

it’s bugging me to hell that in the same breath people are talking about the demise of television and the rise of the internet.  the internet is television.  but it’s television on viewers’ rather than broadcaster’s terms.  the issue isn’t the demise of TV, but the decline of the broadcast model and of the broadcaster as commissioning editor and content aggregator.

the internet is TV, and radio, and print; and it’s no co-incidence that the commercial entities that were formerly the only conduits for these forms of content, are the same commercial entities that are feeling the most heat.  if you’re a media owner in this position the challenge is therefore twofold – one, how do you maintain value for consumers in the offline delivery of your content, and two, how do you deliver your content online whilst turning a profit.

but please, stop calling the technology that is the internet a medium. not only is it a misjudged and unfair comparison to offline media but it massively underestimates the capabilities of the web.

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