More evidence that the old media is going to be suffering from a brain drain over time, as the smart, motivated journalists and writers realize they can thrive online. It's got to be liberating for at least a good third of the folks in traditional media, terrifying for the other 2/3rd.
Pretend for a minute you work at one of the biggest TV advertisers in the US as an interactive marketer. You see the media landscape shifting dramatically right in front of your eyes, with advertisers, ad firms, and media guys running a hundred different directions trying to make a good guess at what's coming next. One guy knows.
You have 30 minutes with Eric Schmidt, of Google.
Please dear reader, (and i've got very smart readers), what do you ask him?
(This is an "inside" link, for a couple people who asked about it). Link: Kids and teens have pushed at least 6 immersive online worlds to over 2m UU/mth in the US « Lightspeed Venture Partners Blog.
For the interactive marketing agencies out there, now what?: Yahoo to Buy Ad Company in Bid to Compete With Google - New York Times.
This Ars Technica article - Be funny or die: Will Ferrell enters the world of user-submitted video provides a nice overview of the new comedy site by the Bob Goulet doppelganger. The Ferrell juggernaut rolls on. Naked and screaming, probably, just like Frank the Tank.
Scott Karp is a pretty smart dude. I've been consistently satisfied with his analysis of the changes that are happening all over the world of media. His post, The Fuzzy Middle Between Branding and Direct Response hits home. I've been "that guy" at the client, pissing and moaning about the agency who thinks in binary terms, between DR and branding. I'm that jackass that says, "why can't it be both and then some?" So, i'm stuck in his "fuzzy middle".
There's no easy way to a) define it and b) buy it. I for one, am glad that Google bought DoubleClick. Let's bring the relative transparency and trackability of search to the "old school" world of banner advertising. Let's get going on that marketplace for banners, like we have for search.
Another good analysis from ZDNet, which brings up the vision of a true advertising Dashboard, finally brought to you by Google.
Great list of Design Patterns from Chris Messina. Smart guy.
From Readwriteweb:
Another list of sites that pay producers is here, thanks to Scott Kirschner.
