Harmonic Aftershock

The Celebrity Tweet Factor

There’s a lot of talk about celebrities being on Twitter and what that means to the service and the social media thought leaders that once dominated the channel.  Jeremiah Owyang tweeted the question yesterday, “Do you think Twitter has hit a tipping point this last week?” 

I’m not sure about a tipping point yet, but one thing is certain is that Twitter has abruptly burst out of the “social media bubble” and after watching last Friday’s Larry King Live, I think it’s a great thing.

Yes there’s a celebrity ego play (as with most people on Twitter) but what Ashton and Pdiddy are doing is reaffirming the fundamentals of what social media is:

Ashton Kutcher - @aplusk:

• "It’s really a conversation – that’s the difference between it being regular media vs. social media."
• "We now live in an age where a single voice can have as much power and relevance as an entire media network."
• "Twitter is not a platform for Celebrities – it’s really about everyday people having a voice."
• "We’re in a middle of a recession yet social media companies are hiring. A tide is turning."

 Sean “PDiddy” Combs” – @iamdiddy:

• "It cuts out the middle man – the middle man has been the media. It’s given me a chance for people to get to know the real me."
• "You can have  1million followers or 10 followers – it’s the same amount of energy and power to build your own community"
• "It’s the truest definition of viral – everything happens in real time"

But as Jimmy Fallon mentioned (who uses twitter actively on his late night show):  “I still think the majority of people don’t really know what the hell Twitter is – they have no idea what it is and what to do with it.”

But I think we’re all feeling that that’s going to quickly change. Talk about media convergence!

IMDB, Video, and Happy Advertisers

Mashable’s Stan Schroeder isn’t too thrilled about IMDB now offering free full-length movies and TV shows. For me, it’s yet another rockin’ step towards web and TV convergence.  Although the videos have already been made available on sites like Hulu -- IMDB acts as a contextual aggregator. 

I’ve used IMDB for years as a research and reference resource. Not only can I read and view everything I’ve ever wanted to know about a show like Heroes, now I can watch episodes of it while I’m in the context of researching the show.

And this is a win-win for Hulu (in this case) since their branded content is further distributed along with their pre-roll advertisements. So IMDB is happy because they have more great content. Hulu is happy because they’re getting more exposure. Advertisers are happy since they’re achieving better reach – and in the end users of IMDB are psyched because it puts rich content in context at their fingertips.

While I still have issues with viewing full-length films/TV shows in front of my computer and the fact that the videos aren’t portable to my iPod or at least downloadble so I can watch when I’m offline (like on a plane), the tipping scale is imminent.

“Blatant” Instinct

In one day, the Samsung Instinct is primed to be everywhere, including in your face – at least that’s what Sprint hopes as they get ready to launch their YouTube “Sell Out” contest on June 30th. Sprint will give $20 bucks to the first one thousand people who upload home movies containing a blatant product placement of the Instinct mobile phone.

I’ve always been interested in the practice of branded entertainment and recall a presentation I did for a class in the early 90s on product placement in motion pictures.  There are elegant executions where brands can harmonize within the context of the programming. As a kid, I wanted a Pontiac Trans Am so badly because of the show Knight Rider – I grew a genuine affection towards the car in what felt like a natural and organic way…so much so that when I turned 16, I wanted to buy one.

Sprint is taking the opposite approach to product placement and has even called themselves out on it by naming their instinct YouTube campaign “Sell Out”. Their intent, obviously, is to generate buzz in a short amount of time – but does “in your face” promotion foster brand loyalty? How many of you feel good when a pop-up ad interrupts your web browsing experience? For me, product placement done badly is almost as disruptive.

The Apple iPone has become so popular because it's simply a damn good product -- Its success did not come from over-the-top fabricated blatant promotion but by a much more genuine connection with its, now, immense following and loyalists.

If short term buzz is what Sprint wants then they’re well on their way: As I was reading Kristen Nicole’s Mashable post about the Instinct contest, a Sprint ad about the same contest came up on my TV (and, truthfully, freaked me out for a second) – now when TV programming can start to read minds, that’s convergence at its best!

The Glue that Brings Media Together: Apple TV

Earlier this year, Apple released a second version of its Apple TV product – I recently picked one up, plugged it in and my jaw dropped.  What felt like an 8” square by 1” high paperweight (albeit a nice looking one), created a seamless bridge between the digital media on my computer (pictures, music, videos) to iTunes and then to my home theater – all wrapped by the kind of amazing user experience I’ve come to expect from Apple.

I can preview, rent, or buy movies (many of which are in HD). In one click, I can purchase and then watch TV shows that are on iTunes (individual episodes or full seasons). I can connect to my Flikr account or other photo library and share a slideshow to a crowd of people in my living room (and even sync it to music if I want to).

One of the best parts of the new AppleTV is its interface with YouTube. Sure I’ve watched YouTube videos before but truth be told, I’ve never been one to sit idle in front of my computer to consume content for more than quick bursts at a time. Yet, I’ve found myself for an hour at a time browsing content delivered via YouTube sitting on my couch and using the Apple TV remote while watching it through my big screen TV.

Apple TV and its elegance underscores, for me, that a much more onDemand media delivery model is THE future of content consumption. This will continue to erode the need for television and cable networks in their current form and all but squashes traditional advertising models. I’m already considering canceling my subscription to HBO and Starz as I’ve been renting all of my movies (in crystal clear HD) through my Apple TV.

Back in 1982, my computer had only two purposes: dabble in BASIC and play Frogger (on a cassette tape).  The TV was used to watch major network programs. We went to the movie theater to watch movies. We read the newspaper or watched network TV to hear about current events. We spoke on the phone to catch up with friends. Over 25 years later, these silos are all being mashed up into a singular and powerful user experience. Apple TV is the first out of many past attempts that has made me take a step back and say, “It’s really here. The world has changed.”