EightBlack.

Interviewing Marc made me feel a lot better. For one, he’s about my age. And second, his background is not too different from mine in the sense that he started out his career working for a Madison Ave Ad Agency.

(Small trivia point - my very first job was with Ogilvy & Mather Advertising).

I met Marc via Alex Mandossian and we hung out in Sydney for a few days when Marc was on one of his juggernaut trips. Marc is considered by many to be the online PR guru, which he is. He’s also successfully made the transition from the offline world to the online world and works with some very large corporates in the PR space.

He’s a true content provider. And one very good operator. More about him here.

For a guy who’s just pulled together what is the largest gathering of “bloggers”, Dave is one cool cat.

I met Dave about 6 months ago in Chicago at an internet gig and was so impressed with his actual presentation and his approach to blogging, that I asked if he did any private consulting.

Thankfully for me, he did. And about a month later, I flew back to the US to his home town of Boulder, Colorado. Dave was an exceptional host and provided me with a lot of sound advice on how to optimise our own blog.

He sort of mentioned off the cuff back then that he was organising “Blogworld”. I thought cool. But then quickly dismissed it. Although something told me that I should attend.

When you actually see what is unfolding here in Vegas, you quickly realise that Dave has done an amazing job. He’s corralled together industry leading talent and content. People like Mark Cuban, Matt Mullenweg, Richard Jalichandra, Michael Arrington and more.

Not to mention being physically able to put more than 2,000 bums on seats. And in a city as distracting as Vegas. I know from personal experience just how tough that is.

In many respects, Dave is the father of blogging. He makes a very comfortable, very full time living from his own online efforts. And when you meet Dave in person, the annoying thing is that he makes it look easy.

Which it aint. But it is worth it.

This video is timely, given that tomorrow I’m about to jump on a plane and head to Las Vegas for the years largest gathering of bloggers. I’ll be posting from the event live and those of you who are Wordpress users, or are considering setting up a Wordpress blog should hopefully get something from this quick interview I recently did with James Farmer.

And don’t forget, those of you in Melbourne - Wordcamp is on November 17. All the details are here.

I met James last week at MODM.

He’s Australia’s leading authority on Wordpress, the blogging platform of choice for all serious bloggers (okay, that’s a shameless plug because we use Wordpress).

Anyway, James is very passionate about blogging and about Wordpress and is the founder of 2 very innovative businesses - one is Edublogs and the other is Incsub.

I managed to convince him to talk with me for a few minutes - I hope you enjoy the content. I’ll be bringing James back again to talk in depth about Wordpress, but this was a good place to start.

(And even if I can’t pronounce the word “phenomenon”, at least I can spell it )

I hope I can keep this up. I always thought it would be a good idea to post to the blog actual video interviews, rather than just the link to the phone interview and transcript.

So, after much debate amongst the geeks at the office about which type of camera to buy and how we should produce it, I made an executive decision and basically ignored everyone and went out and did my own thing. As I always do (apparently).

I rarely wheel out the super geeks I work with - because many of them are somewhat socially challenged and to be honest, there’s always a sort of gamble when they talk publicly - you never know what will end up coming out of their mouths.

Anyway, Ben is an exception. He’s one smart dude. And I’m lucky to have him on the team. Ben and one his colleagues have been buried on Taguchi Mail for the past 9 months now. It’s shaping up nicely.

Here’s the video interview. Tell me what you think. I’d appreciate the feedback. (More to come, including James Masini, Founder, Hippo Jobs, Richard Noon, CEO,Webjet, Cameron Riley, Founder, The Podcast Network, James Farmer, Founder of Edublogs and Incsub (James is Australia’s Wordpress Guru) and many more.

Hopefully, by the time I leave next week to go to Web 2.0 Summit, I’ll have figured out how this whole video upload and editing thing works out without having to yell across the office for a nerd to help me.

Man a lot happens when you go missing for a week. Or should I say, a week is a long time in the online space.
As I caught up on a weeks worth of news early this morning, a theme kept recurring. Video.

I reflected on last week’s ski holiday and I remember seeing, out in the middle of nowhere on a virtually empty ski-run, a lonely camerman and presenter. They were creating the daily video report for the ski resort. It streams directly from the mountain’s website. The video ski report didn’t exist 2 seasons ago.

And back in 2005, either did YouTube. Look at what’s happened now.

Here’s a brain dump on solid video content. No particular order. This first clip courtesy of Ken McCarthy in the US.

Closer to home here in Australia, you just hope like hell that the people in power are listening. Sort of puts a perspective on this article in The Age recently.

More to come.

And finally, from a personal perspective, I think video is going to obliterate the podcast scene. But thats just me.

Since this post, an amazing story unfolded.

And again, the almost instant gratification that the web provides (especially streaming web videos) made it a lot easier for the following to occur.

Okay, Paul Potts, the singing mobile phone salesman ended up winning the national competition, Britains’ Got Talent. No surprise there. Although this video, and this one - deserve special mention as they are just crackers and the show and experience proves to me that although they both didn’t win, the 15 minutes of fame would have been good for their soul.

So, back to Paul Potts.

He wins the final, wins the 100 grand (pounds, so its real money) and surprise, surprise, the effable Simon Cowell ends up signing Paul the Monday morning after the show finishes on Sunday night for a reported $1 million pound recording contract via Sony BMG and via grumpy-bums own recording label - Syco.

I’m not doubting that the format of the show and the sheer “human-ness” of the whole thing contributed mostly to its success. But the producers undeniably know the influence and power of the web and platforms such as YouTube in helping them get massive traction globally.

I’m also a believer in the fact that as a result of YouTube, a little American broadcaster called NBC were immediately able to see Paul in action and then arranged for him to be in New York that same week for a special appearance on the prime time morning show - Good Morning America. He flew there and back inside of 24 hours and life, as he knows it, will never be the same for him or his good lady wife ever again. Good.

And I dont believe for one second all that nonsense that he’ll remain unchanged as a result of his new found fame or fortune. It changes everyone. And besides, having an intimate relationship with one Simon Cowell has to change you. I will admit to this though - the UK version of the show (of course the Yanks have a version) almost portrays Cowell as human. I said “almost”.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand.

From an audience of say 12 million viewers (the shows final episode ratings in the UK), to a viral phenomenon courtesy YouTube (say conservatively 30 million views of the top contestants) and then a 5 minute stint on one of the highest rating shows in the USA.

Now that sort of exposure is guaranteed to sell albums, downloads, or both. Add Simon Cowell to the mix and the end result is as good as gold bullion. By the truckload.

And by the way, here’s a great site for converting YouTube clips to a format for your PC, Mac or iPod. Its free, simple to operate and completely bullet proof. Even people like me can figure it out!

(Image courtesy ITV)

I’ve been thinking a lot about YouTube recently. Actually, ever since Seth Godin posted this clip here.

Look at it from a case study perspective.

But, first let me indulge in a few sweeping generalisations. I don’t think there’s any of us who wouldn’t admit (reluctantly or not) that the internet hasn’t fundamentally altered the society in which we live.

It has. Just accept it.

And YouTube is one of the those “one percenters”. One of the killer applications. The $1.6 billion that Google paid for it is chicken shit. It really is.

Here’s why.

Google have been very, very busy since they made the 2 boys from GooTube very wealthy. First off, the usability of the application has gotten a lot easier. Very “Mac” like, especially if you are watching a particular clip and it ends, all relevant clips (or what Google deems relevant) to the clip just viewed will appear as little thumbnails.

It’s very cool.

And they also offer the embed code (the ability to cut and paste the code for the clip straight into this blog post for example) and the URL (if I want to forward this to someone).

Again, all much, much easier and all designed to encourage viral replication and consumption. You don’t even need to click thru to the YouTube site - you just pick up the embed code or URL straight from the clip you are watching.

But usability is not what has got Ken McCarthy all wound up.

Ken is one of the pioneers when it comes to internet marketing and teaching people about the internet. He reckons that Google could potentially hijack users on your site and turn your valuable online real estate into a Google/YouTube platform.

I for one am ok with this because as talented as I think I might be at this blogging stuff (joking ok), I categorically know that the average time spent on this site is about the same time as the average set of traffic lights takes to turn from red to green.

Video improves consumption and duration. And yes, I am running Google Analytics on the site so I have the traffic statistics and evidence to prove my statement.

I want Google to work out how to monetise the application. I really do. I’m pragmatic when it comes to acknowledging that visitors to our site(s) are fickle. They’ll come for the content they want and stay if they like it and leave if they don’t.

It’s simple internet physics.

But back to why I think video is the future. Indulge me for a moment and read the rest of the post and take another quick look at the original video that Seth posted courtesy Marketing Hipster.

Here it is here. Actually, it’s the winning clip (you’ll understand in a minute).

Forget how good the concept of the show might be for a second and lets assume that we are marketing folks (or more importantly, advertisers).

The popular talent show “Britains Got Talent” obviously aired in the UK market. Don’t quote me on this, but I think the show at its peak was pulling audiences anywhere from 6-8 million viewers. It was yet another feather in the cap of that pain in the arse, Simon Cowell. I thought my old man could be a rude old prick. He’s The Dalai Lama compared to Cowell.

Anyway, the clip of Paul Potts, the singing mobile phone salesman, spread like the ebola virus courtesy the internet, and more importantly, courtesy YouTube.

If you spend 5 minutes on YouTube, the number of times some of the BGT (Britain’s Got Talent) video clips have been viewed is nothing short of staggering. Clips like this have pulled in numbers in excess of 3.5 million. Thats just ONE clip.

Now, count all the finalists. From cute 6 year olds - to guys with a performing monkey. I don’t care how tough you are, how much of an act you put on, this clip will make you cry (or should). If it doesn’t, you’ve got unresolved issues with your parents.

Do this for me. Please.

Type into YouTube “Britains Got Talent”. On the first page alone, you’ll be presented with 20 thumbnails of video clips. I did a rough back of the envelope tally of how many times these 20 clips have been viewed.

20 million.

It’s not a typo. It’s 20 million.

Thats triple the audience on the final episode of the show. And you can bet, most of that audience was outside the UK.

Here’s what I just don’t get though.

ITV is the production company behind BGT. If you go to their site, you can learn all about the show. But can you watch any of the content if you happen not to be one of the 60 million Britains? Nope. Nada. No Way.

We tried. I had one of our developers try and bounce off a UK based proxy server. Still couldn’t get in. And I rate this developer as one smart bastard and was surprised that he was stumped by the geo-limiting feature on the ITV site.

I simply don’t get the logic of ITV’s management. Do they not think their show will be posted all over YouTube? Surely they’re not that naive? But maybe they are.

Why wouldn’t you syndicate the content and put show reels together after each episode? Embed ad clips if you must, but make it easy for the content to spread and be shared. The show after all, has a limited shelf life, like all reality TV.

Because of YouTube, Britains Got Talent has a global audience in multiple languages. I know people were waiting this Monday in parts of the world for the final to air on Sunday night UK time. Within minutes of the show ending, content started to populate the web and sure enough, much to the horror (or pleasure) of ITV’s lawyers, their content was being watched all over the world - and not a cent of ad revenue was to be seen.

ITV (nor any other broadcaster) is powerless to stop this happening. I don’t care what controls or measures you put in place. The power to consume video content is now squarely in OUR hands. Not the broadcasters.

The only way to prevent this from happening is to embrace it. Work with Google on developing faster ways to aggregate the content and help them distribute it to ensure its viral success.

My advice is simple. If you’re in business and you can explain the service or products you offer better with video, then you should be swamping your YouTube account. Your website and blog should be full of video content.

I know it seems a lot of effort. Trust me - its worth it. And it’s not going to go away anytime soon.

What do you think?

How do you possibly explain this without YouTube?

Video courtesy Marketing Hipster and via Seth Godin’s The Dip

With all the media surrounding YouTube, Google video et al I thought it would be good to write about the actual value that marketers can gain from creating viral videos. The guys at Marketing Experiments have put together a detailed report about the activity generated from 20 odd viral videos they created and posted to the above sites.

You can read the viral video results here in their detailed report. They take into account the cost and time taken in production and also the varying results generated from clicks throughs to subscribers added. Also, there is some great information about how best to maximise your viral video efforts. Make sure you read the “6 Essential Tips to maximize the Viral Potential of Your Videos”.

1. Keep your video clips short, preferable under 5 minutes. Most people browse through a number of videos when visiting sites like YouTube and Google Video, and may be unwilling to give any one video too much of their time.
2. Ensure that your video has interesting, entertaining or provocative content. If it doesn’t “wow” people, they will have little incentive to share it with other people they know, or across their social networks.
3. Be cautious about including commercial or promotional content. The most powerful short videos are those which are purely entertaining. It’s when people click through to your site that the time is right to add your sales message.
4. Don’t plan on creating just one video. It is hard, if not impossible, to accurately predict which videos will enjoy wide, viral distribution. Our own testing demonstrated that some videos were shared more than ten times as much as others. So plan on creating a series of clips, and learn from the one which performs the best.
5. Optimize your video clips to maximize distribution across social network sites, use tags and bookmarking links to help people find, save and share your videos.
6. Create videos that multiple people (possibly some of your customers) appear in. The best team of viral marketers you can hire are people who appear in your video and pass the video to their friends and family. (Source: http://www.marketingexperiments.com)