Socially Adept

FINALLY...A YouTube Star Worth Paying Attention To

The rise of YouTube has opened the eyes of many to the amount of talent that goes undiscovered.  Unfortunately, most of the people who have risen to fame really don't offer much talent.  People like Chris Crocker, iJustine, Magibon...they don't really do anything.  Sure, on occasion, some of this content is valuable or insightful, but for the most part, they have less to offer than the bottom two of American Idol.

Maybe I am just looking for more from the people on YouTube.  I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who love the random videos and disjointed content from some silly teenager, but I would hope for more.  Thankfully, I've finally found it!

Bo Burnham.

A gangly 6'5" 17 year old from Massachusetts who's "not gay."  He currently has 11 videos up on YouTube and everyone of them is lol funny.  His lyrical repertoire is limitless and it's hard to imagine this kid is still in High School.  If you understand satire and can laugh at yourself (as well as stereotypes) and ignore political correctness, then this kid is worth checking out.

Apparently, he just signed a deal with Comedy Central.  I've signed up for his email updates and will surely be watching when this kid makes it big.  Enjoy!

Chris Crocker Having the Best Week Ever

Unfortunately, Chris Crocker is having the "Best Week Ever" according to VH1.  His pathetic (aka Psycho) video demanding that people lay off Britney Spears for her poor performance at the MTV VMA's has transcended the online world and migrated to mainstream media.  Unfortunately, this is one of the negative side affects of anyone having the opportunity to grasp their 15 minutes.

My problem with Crocker's video has nothing to do with his sexuality, taste or delivery.  I don't like him or his videos because of the impact they have on the gay community.  Unfortunately, there are people out there who will utilize his videos to feed stereotypes.  This disturbs and angers me.

My best friend in the world is gay and if anyone responded to him as most commenter's have responded to Crocker, I would be beyond angry.  However, I can't support Crocker because I believe that he feeds the stereotype and uses it to his advantage.  He plays it up to increase his exposure.  His outrageous behavior is just feeding ignorance.

I consider myself privileged to have met unbelievable people, friends and colleagues who just happen to be gay.  The impact they have on my life is so profound that I can't help but be irritated by people who feed stereotypes.  I'm not saying that Crocker isn't being sincere in his video, but why the drama?  I would be surprised if anyone out there didn't think that Crocker hammed it up just to generate views.

Thoughts? 

ABC's i-Caught Doubles Traffic to Popular Video

A few weeks ago, I posted on the premier episode of ABC's new show i-Caught.  During the show, several videos were featured, including the incredible "Battle at Kruger" video in which a baby water buffalo escapes the jaws of several lions and crocodiles.  At the time of the premier episode, the video had 7,861,609 views.  Today, that number has doubled to 15,018,379 and CLIMBING! (Content can be viral more than once!)

Consider that the video was launched on YouTube 3 months ago and that ABC's i-Caught premiered the video 16 days ago, that's pretty impressive.  Clearly, there is a way to bridge traditional and social media together to extend the life of your campaign.  There is no question that as a result of i-Caught, the Battle of Kruger video was launched into another stratosphere in the world of online video.  My guess is the same success was had by the other featured videos as well (but I wasn't able to move fast enough to capture all of the stats.)

There is no question that launching your content on social media platforms should be the first step moving forward.  If you've done your job effectively, it won't be long before that content makes it's way into the traditional media (TV, Radio, Magazines, Newspapers).  If you've missed the mark, you're investment was probably minimal compared to traditional advertising, PR and marketing efforts so you can afford to take another chance.

And for those of you who think that corporate content won't transcend to the traditional level... keep watching i-Caught to see just how wrong you are.

Online Video Catagories - How Many Are There?

No online video is the same.  I'm not talking about clips from movies and TV - this is straight Consumer Video analysis.  As has been discussed many times before, there is no method or format for creating a viral video.  It's hit or miss.  With that said, here are some categories I have seen in the past and am interested in any thoughts on additional categories I may have missed.

1) Brand Obsession - Be it Apple, Coke, or Heinz there are consumers out there who express their love via video.  What's important to note here is that it is usually NOT the brand involved that causes the video to go viral.

2) "Check Me Out!" - The video talent show.  This one get's me every time!  If you can sing, I'll watch your video (like these guys).  No matter what your talent, there is always the possibility that your video can go viral.  And I use the term "talent" loosely - think Numa Numa... which leads me to....

3) The Kick in the Crotch - Embarrassing videos are bound to get some attention, but it can't be your traditional America's Funniest Home Videos kick in the crotch shot.  Shoot yourself in the foot while teaching gun safety and reap the benefits of instant notoriety.

4) "Did You See That?" - Capturing a once in a lifetime experience on video like the Battle of Kruger or a natural disaster is definitely worthy of a view.  (Be advised - creating a scenario similar to this for marketing purposes will backfire)

5) Cheap Thrills - Let's face it, sex still sells even in social media.  Take a peak at the top videos of the week on YouTube and 60% of them will feature a woman in a bikini. 

6) This is My Life - Personalities are still a big part of YouTube.  Personal Vlogs (whether real personalities or manufactured personalities) are still compelling. 

There are so many more (spoofs, weird, disturbing, etc.) that I can't capture them all here, but the big question is:

Is a viral video with 3 Million views more valuable to a brand or is a dedicated following of a vlog with consistent views of 100,000 return the better ROI?

ABC's i-Caught A Must See

As I type this, I am watching ABC's premier episode of i-Caught, a television show dedicated to telling the back story of some of our favorite viral videos.  So far, they have featured this incredible video called Battle at Kruger, the famous Thriller wedding dance and the other side of the viral phenomenon - the embarrassing disaster videos that have drastically ruined the lives of everyday people like this.

I love this show.  Instead of just trying to hijack the content currently viewed as popular online, they are taking the time to look into the back story of each video.  I enjoyed listening the the couple who danced to Thriller talk about how the video has affected their lives.  On the flip side, seeing the pain the wrong video can cause is essential and compelling.

This shows recognizes the power of Social Media and Consumer Generated Content (or whatever we are calling it this week) and effectively expands on the stories that people clearly care about based on the YouTube views.  They specifically detail how these videos came to live online and what caused the overwhelming success (metacafe, etc.).  Essentially, this show has the ability to introduce social media to an entirely new audience.  If it takes off, we may see the number of blogs and vlogs climb from what ABC stated during the show is currently 93 million.

The big question is, will ABC take the extra footage and make it available online for those who may have missed tonight's episode?  If I visit YouTube tomorrow and visit the "Battle of Kruger" video, will I see a branded clip from tonight's episode?  I hope so!  What better way to promote the show then post a response video to each of the existing videos they just exposed to a whole new audience?  I am sure each person featured would approve a response video from ABC.

At the time of this post (10:42PM ET) there are currently 7,861,609 views for the Battle of Kruger.  Let's see what that number is tomorrow and the next day.

On a side note, ABC is also using i-Caught to discuss how Myspace and social media are helping people solve crime.  People are actually putting photos of suspects online in an effort to catch murderers and thief's.  They asked the question, "Is this helping or hurting the case?"  Good question... thoughts?

Is YouTube Dying?

Probably not, but someone asked me recently what will come of YouTube with the increased competition in online video.  It seems that more and more frequently, my favorite channels on YouTube are driving me off the video behemoth to a smaller niche video site, so when this question came about, I actually paused and thought about it for awhile.

Video has been, and will continue to be, the "IT" conversation for marketers.  However, loading up mass amounts of content to the video giant seems a bit contradictory to what many people are saying.  "Reach Your Customers"...."Deliver content to those who care about your content"...."Speak to your customers."

Is YouTube just becoming an online CBS, NBC and FOX?  Or is it more of a DirectTV.... too many channels with nothing good on?  Will sites like Funny Or Die start a trend in aggregating similar content into multiple sites?  Maybe one day there will be FunnyTube and LoveTube (I think we need another name for that)...or DramaTube, SoapTube and BETube. 

I'm just rambling now...but then again, isn't that what blogs are for?  Keep shining, Keep smiling...knowing you can always count on me (10 points to the first person who comments on the reference)

MTV Relying on CGM to Save Network

Last night's MTV Movie Awards was just another glimpse of how MTV has completely turned to Consumer Generated Media to help boost ratings.  After last years Music Awards where one "lucky" winner got to sing with Justin Timberlake, last nights Movie Awards showcased User Submitted Movie Spoofs, Vote on Lauren's outfit (from Laguna Beach Fame), and a few other features that received prominent exposure during the show.

Over the last few weeks (sorry for not posting during that time) we have been working diligently on producing some forthcoming videos for a new social media product (stay tuned) and also created one of the aforementioned video spoofs for the MTV Contest.  Unfortunately, we did not win a finalist spot and didn't attend the show.

The interesting thing about this contest was that some of these films looked like they spent a pretty penny on execution, and I am not the only one who thought so.  People were buzzing about how professional these spoofs looked and that they didn't really encapsulate Consumer Generated Media.  Sure, we are a Social Media Marketing and Advertising agency and we submitted our own spoof, but we shot ours for less than $200 in an effort to not discourage actual consumers from participating.  Who wants to go up against a Juggernaut that spent $20k on a movie spoof?

Anyway, MTV made it a point during the show last night to mention how much was spent on each spoof.  One of the finalists, a spoof on 300, featured a cast of 30-50 and was shot inside an airplane.  According to MTV, the person who submitted the film spent $600.  Is it possible?  absolutely.  Probable?  Not likely.  However, if you are passionate and know the right people, anything can be done for $600.

The question is, does the involvement of professionals in CGM contests defeat the purpose?  I don't necessarily think it does, but should advertisers and marketers tone down their talent to blend in, or use the full scale of their arsenal to attract eyeballs? 

To date, there has been some terrific viral videos for Sneaux Shoes and Ray Ban that have shown extreme talent, but not appeared over produced.  Maybe the appropriate question is, should professionals looking to submit video focus more on execution and script then visual effects?  Based on the success of YouTube, it would be hard to say otherwise.  After all, if a 16 year old girl talking to a camera can attract 10 million viewers, maybe content is King again...or there are more dirty old men out there than anyone ever imagined.

Wanna Chat? “I’m here For Everyone” on YouTube

Gone are the days when people used to fear posting their photos online or chatting with strangers in chat rooms. The rise of YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter (to name a few) has broken the barriers to sharing personal information online. Now, some people are even encouraging connections offline…on their cell phone. Ryan Fitzgerald, a 20 year old unemployed Massachusetts native, recently posted his cell phone number via a :49 second YouTube video on April 20. Three days later, the video has spawned 110,000 views, 361 comments and 5,000 phone calls and text messages.

This isn’t the first time that someone has shared their cell phone number via YouTube, but Ryan is the first to commit to receiving 100,000 calls. He genuinely wants to speak with anyone, anywhere. His video has even prompted some to step up and defend his actions.

As usual, traditional media has picked up on the buzz around this video. The Boston Globe even spoke with a Criminologist at Northeastern University to discuss just how dangerous this experiment can be. “But the question is, why take a risk like that when there are so many other ways that are far less dangerous to be altruistic, to be generous, to be helpful to other people." So, feel free to check out Ryan on YouTube and view his response video where he addresses his naysayer’s directly.

Cross posted at Digital Influence Group's Blog.

I am a YouTube Subscriber

Over the past several months, I've become increasingly fascinated with online video.  Of course, I predict that we are only in the infancy of what is to come in the world of On Demand video, and the pending cross integration with traditional broadcasting methods and mobile will truly be the defining moment.  I am looking forward to the days of having a central command unit of sorts, in my home that controls all of my gadgets and syncs everything together.

With each passing day, I become more entrenched in YouTube and Revver (and I am looking forward to Veoh) but I often find myself thinking about where the industry will turn.  Right now, I am a big fan of abbegirl and joeyanddavid.  They put together some great stuff and really encapsulate what the space is capable of now.  But what happens to these folks 3 years from now?

Some questions to consider:

1) As regular people lead regular lives, creating new videos on a weekly basis is a challenge and results in infrequent content.  Considering this, how much audience does a personality lose when they take to long to create?

2) Without a consistent compensation or revenue system, how will these YouTubers continue to invest in their craft and keep viewers entertained?

3) With big brands becomeing more and more involved in the space, are we just setting up an additional venue for media giants?

4) Will the existing community embrace big brands based on their content and stop focusing on trying to prove that the content is not legit because it wasn't created by an attractive teenager in their parents living room?

5) Could the methods of advertising agencies change to focus beyond the thirty second spot and start producing shorts to replace the way commercials are delivered today?

These are just 5 of the laundry list of questions I am currently thinking about.  I'd be interested in hearing anyone's thoughts on these and plan to provide my own answers in the days to come.  What's next is a big question, but one we should all be thinking about.