Darren Herman

A lot has happened in the past few days and I’ve been wanting to write about it but haven’t had the time. I’ll cover a few news items here and hopefully offer up some interesting insight.

• Morgan Stanley released its Technology/Internet Trends document a few weeks ago and it was finally picked up by bloggers. I pointed a few things out internally to my agency but the most important trend here is that this report doesn’t really talk about portals/aggregators/technology players, but rather, communication in a social context which happens to be online. The highlights of the report are all about the “social media” landscape and what people are doing within the ecosystem. I think too many people view the Internet as a technology; but as an entrepreneur and someone who has innovated within the space, technology is an enabler to ignite something else… in this context, communication. Think about how much communication happens on a daily basis online…

• Media6Degrees, announced about $2MM in funding. I have a friend who has been telling me about this company for a few months now and finally, they emerge. I believe he has also joined the team and if he’s there, then they are onto something really interesting. What interests me about them is the quote from the VentureBeat writeup: “With Media6, marketers don’t buy space - they reach interested people regardless of where they are. This not only means that publishers and advertisers get higher returns on their investments, but it also translates into a better online experience for consumers.”

• BrandWeek is telling us why marketers like small social networks. In this article, BrandWeek’s Cumming’s talks about why niche social networks may get the lionshare of advertising dollars. The main reason why they think this is because that these smaller networks are focused on particular niches. Yes, this is true, but can’t Facebook, for example, appeal to everyone and have groups for particular niches as it currently does? The issue I have here is that as a consumer, I don’t want to join 5-10 different networks as I have a hard time dealing with just one… What I like about the article is something I’ve been saying for a long time: Subtle branding messages are key and a big part of what emerging sites are offering to brands, said Kelly Twohig, senior vice president and digital activation director at StarCom USA.

• My friends over at StyleObserver sat down with Sex and the City designer Gilles Montezin at his 7 story luxury brownstone. If you’re a fan of SiTC (I openly admit I am) or like fashion, this is certainly a video you would like to watch. Gentlemen, if you want to score points with your wife/girlfriend/friends, send this link around… For those who want to keep up with StyleObserver often, you can Twitter them.

• I think prediction markets are interesting and I’d like to learn more about them. I don’t know where to start. Anyone know?