CONTENT IS (NO LONGER) KING?

In his post on The Warshaw Curve, my friend Douglas writes

What percentage of the time do you think people are spending on Facebook and MySpace ingesting "content"? That's not what's driving them there, or driving them around and around the sites once they get there. They're showing up and sticking around for activities (i.e. utilities).

On the money comment. Douglas continues....

Instead of worshiping their own content they (ie traditional media properties-newspapers and the major magazines) need to be relentlessly figuring out how they can integrate it with compelling utilities and service offerings, both on their own sites and by syndicating their content in a branded manner through widgets, gadgets, trinkets and toys that can be shared.

True today but not necessarily true when looking at tomorrow. Parsing content for a specific audience has become the most valuable content at the moment (the top 4 sites in the 18-34m demo google, yahoo, microsoft and msn)...But those guides have to push people to actual content somewhere. When people find content they like the best way by far to ingest content is to use an RSS reader and subscribe to what you want. At that point... there is then little reason to start the quest for content with a search.

The question is when will people adopt RSS and the standard when to ingest infotainment. When the tipping point comes content will once again take center stage.

Digesting Media post AOL, Yahoo, Google and You Tube

Why the hype about Digital Media? If you are still bookmarking your favorite web sites please read on.

The way media is being created, digested and monetized is undergoing dramatic change and is why venture firms are investing in media start-ups. Also developing rapidly are specialty services firms to support the industry.

For the past few years the digital media buzz has been driven by User Generated Content. The most notable places to find popular content today: You Tube, Facebook, MySpace and the blogs. Anything that was called Social Networking yesterday is now called Social Media and will soon just be called Media again.

To understand the hype you have to use an RSS Reader (a user controlled media guide: "tv guide" for the digital age ) the most commercial are Google Reader and My Yahoo but the competitive field is growing and the stakes are high.

Once you have set up your feeds you receive new content from your favorite sources as they are published to the web (and they are then pushed to your reader).

Today, your feed will likely consist of some newspaper topics and blogs you discover. Tomorrow they will be episodes of your favorite tv show, evening news clips and entirely new set of micro-publishers (bloggers) who are creating content (video, audio and written word) on subjects of interest to you. Finding and subscribing a feed is made easier by the RSS Reader. The opportunity for publishers for content is large - as feeds increase the number of "subscribers" (viewers, visitors etc...) they monetize the content by selling ads on the page and in the streams.

When the tipping point is realized the ubiquity of the Internet and the power of digital media will be fully realized.

The B to B service providers like Feedroom, and Kickapp's will see their business grow at an rapidly expanding rate and more importantly the B to C providers like Motionbox, Oddcast's Voki and their competitors who are struggling to monetize the services in the face of free offerings from... You Tube, Google etc... will realize their full potential through their ability to share in the advertising revenue stream.

solve my problem and land the job

Ovation Travel CEO Paul Metselaar says:

"You can't believe how many resumes are sent to me by people who want to meet with me but who don't make any effort to understand our business. About three years ago a woman looking for a marketing position spoke to some of our executives and then came to me unsolicited with a proposal to lead an effort at our company to market travel services to hedge funds, she has been with us ever since."

Hiring managers are used to reviewing a resume and maybe a cover letter. 99% of candidates play along, hope for the best and then often complain about the poor response they get to submissions. Smart questions and good ideas impress people. If you have the experience and come to a hiring manager with good ideas about how you can improve their business you will certainly stand out and are likely to get the job. We recently started requesting this info from candidates for some jobs prior to submitting them to our clients. I have been impressed with the response. The process gets the candidate and the recruiter thinking about our clients business, improving efficiency all around and adding value to the process.

Bond Recruiter to lead Panel at Streaming Conference

On Wednesday, May 21 at 1:45 PM. Janet Hagan from Bond's Digital Media team is hosting a program panel on Independent Content called: "Creating New Revenue Streams" at Streaming Media East in NYC.

The preamble to the discussion reads as follows:
What does the landscape look like for writers, content producers, and video creators who want to use the internet as the next broadcast medium? What are the non-studio/traditional revenue streams on the internet, and who’s in the best position to profit from them? Hear from traditional broadcast producers creating companies focusing on unique web-based video and hear what types, genres, and lengths of videos are getting the most traction. Attendees will also learn what kinds of content are going to generate the most dollars online and hear where those dollars are expected to come from.


click here to go to the web site for this year's event