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Hello everyone,
Here is some news from SiteProNews that is confirming all that I have been teaching my students and setting up my business for.
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Article printed from SiteProNews: http://www.sitepronews.com
HTML version available at: http://www.sitepronews.com/archives.html
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New World Wide Web Emerging – Meet the New Network
By Jim Hedger (c) 2005, StepForth News Editor,
StepForth Placement Inc.
An interesting phenomenon is coming to a monitor near you,
perhaps the one you are looking at right now. The days of
convergence are upon us. The trend towards the merging of media
via the Internet is already causing significant cultural shifts
as witnessed by the power bloggers have exercised in relation to
TV and print journalism. What a difference an era makes. A
decade ago, the traditional media set the pace by telling our
stories and provided practical means of mass-communications.
Today, the Internet provides a globally stable transmission line
and the Web serves as both production studio and broadcast
medium. The Internet's growth and more importantly, the ease of
access for anyone with a computer, a connection and a bit of
talent, has pushed the majority of traditional media outlets
into a period of survival strategy and planning.
The Internet, as a means of content-distribution has been
recognized as the emerging standard as opposed to the add-on it
had previously been. Just as cable killed broadcast, IPTV and
HDTV will replace the current cable TV distribution model.
(Imagine the threat to satellite TV providers.) That doesn't
mean the demise of your local cable company but it does mark a
change in the way they will be doing business in the future. For
most sectors of the entertainment, marketing, distribution and
search industries, the only thing left to do is to actually
figure out how to do it and how it will work.
The recent discussions between Google, Yahoo and CBS,
(http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?
duid=mtfh30409_2005-11-22_19-32-06_n22384295_newsml) along with
the combined support of AOL and ASK
(http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?
duid=mtfh30409_2005-11-22_19-32-06_n22384295_newsml) for Internet
TV start-up Brightcove (http://www.brightcove.com/) show a
definite shift in thinking among the US TV networks. Along with
that shift, two unique experiments in business model development
appear to be underway.
In an interview with Reuters, Les Moonves, CBS chairman said,
"We're talking to them [Google] about a whole slew of things
including video-on-demand, including video search."
The distribution power of four of the five largest search
engines and the business model proposed by Brightcove can be
seen as an experiment in marketing and content-distribution. The
TV networks have recognized they need to work with the Internet
and to do so they need to work with the Web's core information
providers, the major search engines.
"They need our content, we need their technology," he said in
the Reuters interview, referring to broader discussions with
Internet companies. "We argue about which is more important. I
think ultimately my content, no matter how you get it, content
is still the most important thing."
Google, Yahoo, ASK, AOL, et al, view virtually all "open"
information on the web as freely spiderable. They make lists
that everyone else can check twice. Even without formal
agreements signed, Google and Yahoo have both made video search
of TV show snippets uploaded by fans available on demand. Quotes
from the shows can be found based on the transcripts of closed
captioning broadcasts.
For producers of Web-ready television content, it's no use
producing content for mass-distribution over the Internet if you
aren't in the new-media version of the TV guide. The problem for
both the search-information providers and the content creators
is making a profit providing the service. While Google, Yahoo
and the major TV networks will, for the most part, be able to
rely on current advertisers for revenues, three important
factors threaten to challenge the stability of that traditional
marketing environment.
The first is the dramatic increase in ease of access to the
industry. Making video has never been cheaper or easier and with
the proliferation of broadband access (often via the traditional
cable TV companies); delivery of product is virtually instant
and universal. In other words, consumers no longer have to go to
an expensive movie theatre to watch a production that cost a
fortune to produce. Access to the market and means of production
is literally open to anyone. In the near future, there could
even be competition for click-through revenues between
traditional commercial driven television production and the
increasingly professional but independent amateur productions.
The second factor stems from the proliferation of video
entertainment production. If there is a sudden increase in
quality and availability of independent productions and those
independent producers show credible commercial competition, what
is to become of the massive media machines behind the scenes of
most network shows? Someone has to pay the bills and the
predominantly successful model, (pay-per-click or in this case,
pay per view), might not provide sufficient revenues for the
highly expensive network shows against popular independent
productions.
The third is the portability of information. Handheld,
pocket-sized devices such as Blackberrys and cellphones are
increasingly web-capable and can handle video. Content produced
for the web must also be available where portable media users
are looking for it.
Brightcove thinks it has the answers to these issues. Founded in
Cambridge Ma, in 2004 by Jeremy Allaire, Brightcove is "an open
Internet TV service that empowers video producers and
programmers to build broadband businesses while giving viewers
more choices and control over their use of video and
television." (source: brightcove.com)
Its preview page shows that Brightcove is working to tie
advertisers to video produced by individual users and mainstream
networks. It also looks to AOL, ASK and other search related
businesses to send traffic in the form of branded user features
and video-on-demand services. Distribution is the major factor
that places the Web far above other forms of media. Taking a
page from Google's early playbook, Brightcove is also working to
harness the massive distributive power of the Internet by
inviting website owners to inquire about syndicating video
content.
The opportunities for small business advertisers and website
marketers are enormous. The emergence of the Web as the primary
means of delivering video information offers website marketers a
new area to present client products and services.
The Internet and the Web, while already remarkably versatile,
has become a vital link in distribution for the largest
traditional media companies, including the major TV networks.
The Web is also absorbing a great deal of the advertising money
that was previously spent on print. It even threatens the
mainstay revenue generator for most urban newspapers, the
classified ads section.
Over the past few weeks, stories about Google Automat, a service
procedure Google wrote a patent application
(http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=
HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=
50&s1=%2220050216335%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20050216335&RS=DN/20050216335)
for nearly two years ago have emerged. The patent application,
which was published in early September of this year, is for "a
system and method for providing online user-assisted Web-based
advertising." The patent application goes on to describe a
service that appears remarkably similar to Google Base.
"Preferably, such an approach would guide a user in the creation
of advertisements describing offerings of goods or services,
creatives associated with the advertisements, and advertising
budgets. Such an approach would also help create and host a Web
presence for individual and other advertisers. Such an approach
would also facilitate driving Web traffic to hyperlinked
advertisements through targeting." (source: Patent Abstract)
The patent shows Google is preparing to enter the collection and
distribution of small, personal sized classified ads, like the
ones printed in the back of your local newspaper. As Google
collects them, many industry analysts expect them to begin
distributing them through the online classified sections of
those same major newspapers.
This presents another wide-open opportunity for search and
website marketers to promote client messages and services. In
order to take advantage of the new landscape, search and website
marketers should take time to learn as much as they can about a
number of technologies, techniques and complimentary services.
For instance, a good To Do list would include,
- Lean about FLASH and other video-editing software. Check out
pre-established businesses such as SiSTeR.TV
(http://sister.tv/flashsite/index.php) to see if their products
or services can help.
- Learn about the creation and optimization of files for
podcasting. These files can be video based or simple audio
streams but the trick is learning how to help search engines
find them.
- Learn as much about the amorphous catch-phrase Web2.0. Social
networking and information recommendation have become important
facets in website marketing campaigns.
- Find a way to gently break the news to long-term clients. We
all have a lot of work ahead of us.
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Jim Hedger is a writer, speaker and search engine marketing
expert based in Victoria BC. Jim writes and edits full-time for
StepForth and is also an editor for the Internet Search Engine
Database. He has worked as an SEO for over 5 years and welcomes
the opportunity to share his experience through interviews,
articles and speaking engagements. He can be reached at
"jimhedger@stepforth.com"
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Copyright © 2005 Jayde Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SiteProNews is a registered service mark of Jayde Online, Inc.
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