YouTube To Become Traditional Media Business

Scott Karp looks at YouTube’s effort to monetize their service, and concludes that they are becoming a traditional media business: “Google needs to monetize YouTube on a massive scale, and nobody’s figured out yet how to do that with other people’s copyrighted material or with low quality content that only amuses small numbers of the… Continue reading YouTube To Become Traditional Media Business

Your Customers aren’t “Users,” they are “Participants”

Robert Scoble makes an interesting point about how many businesses view their customers online: “I’m tired of getting used by companies who just use and use and use without giving me anything in return. I remember three years ago when I first heard the words “user generated media.” That term still pisses me off. I’m… Continue reading Your Customers aren’t “Users,” they are “Participants”

Online Reviews Impact Offline Purchasing Behavior

A new study shows the impact of consumer-generated reviews on offline purchasing behavior: “The study examined the offline sales impact of online reviews for restaurants, hotels, travel, legal, medical, automotive and home services. Nearly one out of every four Internet users (24 percent) reported using online reviews prior to paying for a service delivered offline.”… Continue reading Online Reviews Impact Offline Purchasing Behavior

The Death and Rebirth of the Entertainment Industry

Marc Andreessen takes a closer look at what the writers strike may mean for the future of the entertainment industry: “The writers’ strike, and the studios’ response to the strike, may radically accelerate a structural shift in the media industry — a shift of power from studios and conglomerates towards creators and talent… Scripted television… Continue reading The Death and Rebirth of the Entertainment Industry

The Walls Come Tumbling Down

Michael Krigsman wasn’t distracted by the big news this week, of Google unveiling OpenSocial. “Hidden from view during the press conference, an improvised parallel event arose spontaneously, raising deeper implications than the Google announcement itself. This parallel event offers a provocative glimpse into the future of collective intelligence, information sharing, and group-oriented analysis.” Michael goes… Continue reading The Walls Come Tumbling Down

Creating a User-Generated Magazine

MarketingSherpa shares a case study of JPG magazine, which leveraged a community of user-generated content to create digital and print editions. Here are the six strategies they used: Select topics with a passionate audience who can contribute lots of material. Grow the community with viral tools. Provide incentives and recognition to encourage activity. Retain editorial… Continue reading Creating a User-Generated Magazine

MySpace Looks for More Original Content

As competition for the hearts of web users heats up, MySpace is looking to become something more than an aggregator and social network, but a content producer, and conduit for others to do so: “MySpace had a great deal of success with their short form webisode, “Prom Queen”. The heavily hyped ode to teenage drama… Continue reading MySpace Looks for More Original Content

Pro-Am Journalism Experiment Learns Hard Lessons

Wired’s experiment with pro-am journalism, Assignment Zero, has come to an end. They share some lessons. “Although Assignment Zero produced a strong body of work, consisting of seven original essays and some 80 Q&As, the real value of the exercise was discovery. We learned a lot about how crowds come together, and what’s required to… Continue reading Pro-Am Journalism Experiment Learns Hard Lessons

How to Create a User-Generated, Hyperlocal News Site

Mark Potts looks back at why the hyperlocal news site Backfence closed its doors, and shares tips on the best way to create a user-generated hyperlocal news site: Engage the community. It’s not journalism—it’s a conversation. Hyperlocal content is really mundane Trust the audience. Focus on strong, well-defined communities. Leverage social networking. There is most… Continue reading How to Create a User-Generated, Hyperlocal News Site