 | Jaffer AliCEO, VidsenseJaffer Ali is CEO of Vidsense, The Video Snack Network. With more than 100,000 advertiser-friendly video clips licensed from major film and TV studios, the Vidsense Video Snack Network of more than 50,000 safe-for-work websites delivers millions of qualified visitors directly to advertiser websites on a pure Pay-Per-Visitor (PPV) basis. |
Why The Online Ad Community Needs To Redefine ReachWednesday, March 3, 2010Digital marketers need to ask an inconvenient question: Why haven’t online ad dollars kept pace with audience growth? We know that we can reach a lot of people online, and theoretically, ad dollars should accompany that reach. So maybe we need to revisit our definition of reach. Marketing, MetricsRead more | Comments (0) |
Woody Allen And The Dying Spirit Of InnovationTuesday, February 16, 2010Digital marketing was supposed to be a model of innovation. But our columnist is concerned that it is filled with too many companies content to pursue that “most sincere” form of flattery better known as imitation. MarketingRead more | Comments (0) |
An Ode To Corporate FrictionMonday, February 1, 2010As is my habit, I like to begin each of my articles with a quotation that goes to the heart of what comes afterwards. Today we borrow from the 18th Century poet, William Collins, who said: “That willingness to slow down and examine the mysterious bits of fluff in our lives, that is the poet's interest.” MediaRead more | Comments (1) |
In Search Of Digital SimplicityTuesday, January 19, 2010As Einstein once said, "I wouldn't give a nickel for simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for simplicity on the other side of complexity." It has taken me thirty years of my professional life to become a simple guy. Starting in the home video business in 1980 and progressing from analog to digital, in retrospect it seems that business was an ongoing exercise in complexification.
Nowhere is “complexification” more apparent than in online marketing circles. Here, jargon is supreme. [...] Marketing, MediaRead more | Comments (1) |
The Geeks Shall Inherit The EarthMonday, January 11, 2010I have spent my entire adult life in media. Buying and selling advertising is only one part of my resume. My real love is creating content. I have written four books, produced nine documentaries, been the CEO of an e-zine company that published 78 e-zines and recently created 21 micro-publications on Twitter. These micro-publications will soon make their appearance on Facebook.
This personal journey started thirty years ago in the home video business. And despite all the twists and turns, I believe there are still a few more miles to travel before I run out of road. [...] Marketing, Media, TechnologyRead more | Comments (0) |
Forever Jung: What Makes Social Media Social?Monday, January 4, 2010Let’s introduce a new unusual suspect into the social media discussion. His name, C.G. Jung, who said “…there exists a second psychic system of a collective, universal, and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals.”
Think about that. I’ll come back to our Swiss doctor friend, and I have to tell you that he was in my mind when one of the discussion lists I belong to had a recent and spirited exchange regarding an alternative name for “social media.” The dialogue was festooned with imaginative offerings, but there seemed to be a lot of confusion regarding exactly what social media is all about. [...] Marketing, SocialRead more | Comments (1) |
Why I No Longer Believe In AdvertisingThursday, December 17, 2009The end of the year is always a good time to reflect on the past. The older we get, the farther we travel. The road to our present business has been one of buying, owning and selling media of just about every type. Over the years we have bought and/or sold billboards, radio, newspapers, online e-zines, banners, online video, local cable, national cable, and even catalogs.
I'm sure the above list is not complete, but you get the point. When it comes to media buying and selling, we’ve pretty much tried them all, been there and done that. [...] Marketing, MediaRead more | Comments (1) |
Simple Path To Publishing ProfitWednesday, December 2, 2009“For rational beings will of course try simple things first and thereafter be driven step by step towards an ever enhanced complexification.”
-Nicholas Rescher, Complexity: A Philosophical Overview
I have been writing and commenting on Internet marketing, online publishing and e-commerce for over twelve years now. It doesn’t take much self reflection to see that the vast body of my work has been a critique of conventional wisdom.
Nowadays, however, faced with an industry panicked and bloated by its own excesses, there is precious little “wisdom” to critique. [...] Marketing, Media, Metrics, TechnologyRead more | Comments (0) |
Advocacy Journalism- Back To The FutureMonday, November 23, 2009The myth of objective journalism has been torn asunder by tens of thousands of citizen journalists who share more with W.E.B DuBois, I.F. Stone and Frederick Douglass than they do with mainstream reporters who feign objectivity.
The three passionate souls mentioned above championed causes. They made no attempt to be “even handed” with the injustices of their day. Bloggers likewise have shed the accouterments of mythical objectivity and assumed partisan positions from every point on the political spectrum. [...] Media, Social, TechnologyRead more | Comments (2) |
Will Pay-For-News Create A New Industry?Tuesday, November 17, 2009The notion that a significant portion of the population is willing to pay for news online is one born from intense, myopic self-interest. And as any Philosophy 101 student can tell you, that’s a long way away from enlightened self-interest.
Think of this. Rupert Murdoch recently said that the “fair use doctrine” should be challenged in court and be eliminated altogether. How idiotic is that statement for a news mogul to make when his very news organization utilizes countless hours of copyrighted materials for their broadcast without paying royalties?
Recognizing the contradiction, he did add (cautiously), “but we will take that slowly”. [...] Media, TechnologyRead more | Comments (0) |
Why Charging For Online News Content Won't WorkMonday, November 9, 2009It happens every time a new type of media emerges. For example, and this dates me a bit, when I entered the home video business, beta was king! Back then, music industry executives-turned video executives treated the video industry as if it were the record industry.
Book distributors also jumped in, and, guess what? Yep, they treated video like books.
Periodical distributors entered the fray and, well, you know what happened…
It is undoubtedly true that we view life through the lens of our own experiences. [...] Media, Social, TechnologyRead more | Comments (0) |
The Real Twitter RevolutionMonday, November 2, 2009It is fair to say few people were more critical of Twitter than I. With pithy tag lines like “Join the conversation,” and 140 characters to communicate, it seemed silly. Hell, it was silly.
Amassing large followers for any but a few high-profile celebrities remained a course in round-trip circle jerking. You follow me and I will follow you. This resulted in neither one following what the other had to say. A friend of mine followed over 4000 people and they dutifully returned the favor, creating so much noise that he had to create a new account for the “real” people he wanted to follow. [...] Media, Social, TechnologyRead more | Comments (3) |
Using Content Instead Of Advertising To Deliver AudiencesMonday, October 5, 2009“It used to be the Web's only real killer app was communications – email. But these days people use the Internet for content consumption more than anything else.”
-- Business Insider
Some people whisper under their breath. Others like Bob Garfield of Ad Age scream from the top of their lungs. But most choose to stick their heads in the sand when the topic arises. What is this subject that dare not speak its name?
The advertising model is broken across all media.
Is this really a controversial declaration? Not from where I sit it isn’t. [...] Media, Social, TechnologyRead more | Comments (1) |
The Way Out For Publishers, Part 1 of 2Monday, September 21, 2009The debate rages on between two content camps. In one corner is “free content”, the monetization of which requires the development of ever more invasive advertising methodologies. And when that fails? Why, simply add more of what doesn’t work, of course.
In the other corner is “paid content”, led notoriously by Steve Brill and Rupert Murdoch. This camp seeks to superimpose a cable television model onto the Internet.
Both camps are locked in a psychological version of Maslow’s oft repeated slogan, “To the carpenter, all problems can be solved with a hammer. [...] Marketing, Media, Social, TechnologyRead more | Comments (1) |