Unlimited choice seems to be the defacto "nirvana" when it comes to any and all things video. We all want what we want, when we want it, how we want it, for free if at all possible.
The reality is that even though we may index everything and anything digital and use search engines thinking we truly have access to everything, that is far from the truth. Google users "choice" goes as far as their search algorithms take the first results page. Rare is the search that goes beyond the 1st page. Which is exactly why SEO is so important to so many
We don't hunt through pages and pages of Digg or any other "wisdom of the crowds" engine. in fact, I've begun to use Mahalo (disclosure, Im an investor) more and more simply because it has a real person extend options beyond the basic algorithm.
Advances in storage technology have taken us to the point where we can and do put everything and anything on a hard drive and then make it available online. The choices far exceed our capacity to consume.
So how will we find new stuff ? New entertainment choices ?
Will it be purely from friends on social networks ? Will we verticalize and go to movie and music sites (or any other interest we may have) and join their social networks ? Will we just continue to trust Google and search engine algorithms to get us "the most relevant:" options with a suggestion here or there? Will it be a combination of the two ala Mahalo ? Or will we find "trusted brands" to guide us.
I know that TV networks want to be brands that we look to for specific types of entertainment. Spike wants to be for boys, USA Networks is all about crime, etc, etc.
At HDNet we focus our content on Men, 25 plus. Those who have graduated for the most part from Spike and want a mix of smarter programming and presentation. From Dan Rather to Torchwood to our brand of MMA, HDNet FIghts. We try to go older and smarter than other networks. But how do we get more people to connect. How do movies get people out of the homes to connect ? How does any tv show, let alone a tv network. What about a book ?
Is Oprah the best model ? Is she really a social recommendation engine with an outreach network of millions ? She obviously is a brand trusted by millions, are there others that could be as powerful ? Do they require a hit TV show ? A website , a blog, a Youtube channel ? What is the inflection point of impact in terms of numbers ? Or could Facebook or Myspace pages truly turn into trusted recommendation points that actually lead to purchases on a repetitive basis ?
If Mark Cuban on Facebook lists my favorite magazines, books, movies, what have you, will anyone care ?
I just don't think that people searching and results based on algorithms or context is the future of advertising and marketing.. There is another answer out there, the question is "what is it "?
I wanted to interrupt my Dancing with the Stars posts (but not the shameless plugs, call 1 800 VOTE 411 on Monday between 7pm and 830pm ) to discuss what I think has become the hallmark of media coverage.
Vulnerability.
Read any newspaper. Any Magazine. Watch any news program. Any gossip or entertainment program. There is one single them that runs continuously: The Search for Vulnerability.
It doesn't matter what walk of life you are in. It doesn't matter what profession or year in school. Whatever group you participate in or hover around. There is now a blog, website, social network, column, reporter, video, segment and ??? to cover it. The audience size can be 1 or 100 million. It doesn't matter. Someone is out there searching for your vulnerabilities to report or for the vulnerabilities they think you will be interested in knowing about.
There is someone hoping they can snap a picture or video of you at a vulnerable moment that can be leveraged into a payday, career or opportunity. There is someone who wants as many people as possible to think you aren't a good.... you fill in the blank, and then call your boss, senator, customers, friends and tell them why they don't like you and why they shouldn't either.
Why ?
It just seems like there are an ever growing number of people, particularly those in the media, who want to encourage people to find what they think is the worst of people. Their most vulnerable side.
Hopefully at some point this will change. That vulnerability will stop being currency and be a private matter that we all respect as a universal trait.
- prev
- 1
- next
