LB's Rambles

More Positive Reinforcement

Three more good comments at the Podcasting & New Media Expo. (A "good comment" is defined as one that reinforces my prejudices, of course... ;-)

From John C. Havens of BlogTalkRadio, talking about corporate use of blogs and podcasts as a significant part of their communications strategy: The days of Corporate-Speak and monologues are dying if not dead. Learn how genuinely to speak to your audience - or they'll find someone who will.

From Jason Van Orden, podcast guru, author and consultant, on the need to build trust, community and relationships with your audience: Give them what they want - or they will go elsewhere to get it, probably to your competitor.

From Kent Nichols, creator of "Ask a Ninja," when asked about criticism from the many people who become critical and start accusing them of selling out when they begin to make money through their work on the Web: They can pay my rent!

Do Prerolls Work?

Another interesting thought today from Jim Louderback (see the next entry): he doesn't like the idea of sticking preroll adds at the beginning of audio or video casts.  He thinks it's a turnoff. After all, as he says, you've worked very hard to find an audience and attract it, and you've finally gotten the person to click the button to download or view or hear your program. And what do you do? Hit them straight off - with something they don't want.

It's an interesting challenge. Readers of this blog know that I believe advertising is the necessary financial support for all the expensive programming we know and love. So the challenge is going to be to find ways to get that advertising message out to our audiences - in ways they don't find objectionable or, better yet, welcome.

To Podcast – or Broadcast?

A good thought this morning from Jim Louderback, the CEO of Internet television network Revision3. Keynoting at the New Media Expo, Louderback questioned whether the name “podcast” may have outlived its usefulness. “They’re shows,” he says. They’re TV shows, radio shows, video or audio programs, shows, broadcasts. They’re MEDIA.

The implication is clear. Calling them “podcasts,” as we all do, implies something smaller, something intended for a niche audience (as many podcasts, including my own “Classic Mysteries,” clearly are). As they become accepted by a wider audience, and target more and more people, we shouldn’t limit ourselves. They’re programs. They’re shows. They’re media. They aim to educate, or to entertain. We need a better term – or maybe, in such generic names as “shows” and “media,” we already have what we need. Feel free to comment…

Podcasting as a Communications Tool

In an earlier entry today, I mentioned a session at the New Media Expo hosted by Eric Schwartzman. The topic was "Integrating Podcasts in to Marketing, PR and Corporate Communications Campaigns." I found it reinforced a lot of my own beliefs about the importance of new media in such campaigns - beliefs I have made pretty clear in this blog.

Schwartzman argues - and I agree - that communication today is no longer about what you say, it's about what you do. There's nowhere to hide in a digital universe, and "spin doctors" have an increasingly difficult time spinning a story. There are just too many sources of news and opinion out there. And communications is no longer top-down - it's more like a wheel, in which a story or message may originate anywhere and run along the rim of the wheel to different technical formats.

What happens, asks Schwartzman, when TV shows, for example, no longer have that built-in "exclusivity" where they appear only on one station in a market. What happens to that model when the material may be available online hours before it shows up on TV? That's just an example of the nature of the change.

Schwartzman outlined a five point program that he says should be followed to develop effective messaging programs using podcasts.

1. Define objectives. Know what message you're trying to deliver. Don't worry about the technology - that's a tool. It's the content that counts. (Sound familiar? You've probably been reading this blog for a while...  ;-)

2. Define your expertise - what unique knowledge and insight do you or your organization have that is not getting out through some other channels? Can a podcast be used to say something that cannoth otherwise be said?

3. Look for ways to integrate all your opportunities to communicate - is there a print ad campaign, for example, that might be used to cross-promote your podcast?

4. Benchmark before you start - what meaningful statistics will you be looking for? How will you know if you are being successful?

5. Measurement - how will you measure success and reach? Just downloads and visitors are no longer sufficient - you need to be able to talk about the depth of engagement? Are podcast listeners more engaged than somebody who sees a TV ad or a print ad?

This conversation, Schwartzman says, is now taking place in board rooms at corporations around the nation and around the world. We need to be a part of that conversation if we are trying to help others use these new tools efficiently and effectively.

ADM Membership Drive

The Association for Downloadable Media is looking for new members. A couple of months ago, I noted the formation of the group, which hopes to define measurement standards for podcasts, videocasts and the like - meaningful measurement standards for advertisers. The group can't do this without more people willing to get involved.

The group held an open meeting this morning at the New Media Expo, and it was very well attended - there were a lot more people in the room than there are current members in the ADM. They'd like to change that. There are some large companies involved, such as Apple, Nielsen/NetRatings and Porter Novelli, but the real drive now is for individuals, podcasters and podcast users, to join and bring their insights to the group. Check out the details at the Downloadable Media website.

Blogging the Expo

Hundreds of podcasters, bloggers and new media enthusiasts are gathered in Ontario, CA, for the Podcasting & New Media Expo. There's a huge exhibition hall, full of people with goods and services that are relevant to the things many of us do. And theore are sessions tying these technologies into the corporate world - I'm about to attend one on attractring and growing an audience, with iPressman's founder and CEO Eric Schwartzman.

I'll try to do some posts later out of some of the sessions. It's encouraging to see this number of people who seem to believe, as I do, that this represents the future of communications.

California Here I Come

On my way to Ontario, California, for the Podcast & New Media conference this weekend. I'll try to do some blogging from the event (don't know yet how much WiFi is available)...otherwise I'll resume on my return next week.

Full Disclosure Necessary

Further on the item below on the importance of transparency, Bulldog Reporter has the story today on a Federal Communications Commission proposal to fine Comcast $4,000 for airing a video news release promoting a sleep aid product without disclosing the name of the sponsor. Comcast was NOT paid to carry the video - but the FCC says it should have disclosed the video's sponsorship anyway.

Without getting into the legal tangle - for this is sure to be appealed - I think it does underscore the need for transparency, particularly when it comes to VNRs. I see absolutely nothing wrong with VNRs - as long as you tell me who paid for it. If I see a video about a new GM car, and I know that the video came from GM, I have a pretty good idea that I'm going to be seeing GM's side of the story. By the same token, if I see a critical video about a new GM car, and you tell me it came from an advocacy group, I know that I'm seeing a different - most likely equally one-sided - version of the story.

You tell me the story - and tell me where it came from - and let me decide. I really do think I'm smart enough to make that decision. Thanks.

Coming to Grips with the Social Web

A report from MediaPost today says speakers at the National Advertising Council's NAD Annual Conference agree that marketers are going to have to confront the dangers of the social web head-on and learn to navigate their way through the shoals.

The bottom line: companies that play it straight - that deal honestly with consumers and blog readers alike - are more likely to make it through safely, with reputations and brand names intact.

This shouldn't really be news to most marketers, but it's always good to see major-league advertisers, brand marketers, lawyers, etc., agreeing with what many of us have been saying for a while now. If you aren't fully honest - if, for example, you pretend to be a disinterested blogger when you're actually on the company payroll - it is absolutely certain that you will be found out. And bloggers and their audiences tend to blow such dishonesty out of the water.

Be transparent. Keep it honest. Put down the bullhorn and engage in real conversations. That's the only sure way to success in a Web 2.0 world.

MS Facebook?

The Wall Street Journal says Microsoft is looking to acquire a stake in Facebook.

Which prompted this observation in The Register (UK):

"Like watching your dad dance at the prom."

Ouch.

(Hat tip: Instapundit)