Darren Herman

Every time we say that a piece of video content will become viral, I believe it de-values the video.  The creator of the content cannot decide what will become viral, only consumers can.  Typically what becomes viral are stunts and humorous 2 minute clips and this hurts the adoption rate of longer serious form video into the minds of marketers.

I was scheduled to attend the JackMeyers Future of Media breakfast yesterday but could not attend due to a few work conflicts.  My friend Dina Kaplan (and one of the most front facing COO’s I know) was part of a power-panel that spoke about the Realities of Dealing with a Changing Marketplace.  She mentioned a few things that were written up that I’m going to reblog here:

Kaplan, sees a significant change in the business as “the lines are blurring between professional and independent content producers. Networks used to control what would get on the air; now you might find a Revision 3, Next New Networks or Worldwide Biggies show you like as much as a network show.” She also points to series launched at blip.tv such as zefrank and Amanda Congdon.

The challenge, Kaplan admits, is monetizing this content and “convincing people at the brands and agencies there is more to viral videos than cats flushing toilets. They can reach people in ways not possible before. Consumers are engaged with other consumers in online conversations and web video is an important new trend.” Kaplan believes it will take at least until 2010 before video content developers will have a clear picture of the economic potential, but several of blip.tv’s content producers, she says, are generating revenues and are profitable.

Kaplan believes consumers will increasingly be viewing content across TV, the computer, mobile devices and personal video displays and that content will be available across an array of platforms. “The era of destination sites is over,” she says. “The belief you need to build a site that is all things to all people is over and it will sound silly in a few years.” Even Hulu, the joint venture of News Corp and NBC, she points out, is doing extensive distribution deals to make their content available wherever consumers want it.

Dina and I share the notion of her last paragraph especially:  Kaplan believes consumers will increasingly be viewing content across TV, the computer, mobile devices and personal video displays and that content will be available across an array of platforms.

I’ve been harping this for a long time – content is portable.  Our world is on demand and soon, it’s going to be pretty much custom (more on that in subsequent postings).  If I want to watch Fast Lane Daily on my computer, my television, or my iPhone, let me do so.  Oh wait, Next New Networks is already making that happen.

Going back to a changing marketplace thought, one of the ways to innovate AND survive is to not be too far a head of the curve, but far enough to be a thought leader.  The reason why you don’t want to be too far ahead is because you need to generate revenue to sustain yourself (after all, you’re probably not a charity) and folks who are too far ahead have a hard time generating repeat and sustaining revenue.

If interested in this topic, re-read my hyperdistribution post here.