The Changing Face of Media Distribution

I've been writing (and ranting) - for over a year now - about my general dissatisfaction with the way media companies are handling their content. It's a big problem for marketers and advertisers who want to tap audiences but can't seem to strike a chord due to poor implementation of technology and experience.

We are finally starting to see tangible examples of doing things the right way. I'll highlight two outstanding cases and let you decide if it's all as great as I make it out to be...

Everybody loves Mad Men - it has great writers, a stellar cast and some of the best set design work on television. Too bad it's only on television. But wait! AMC is now delivering Mad Men in streaming HD for free on the web.

What's that video to the right you ask? It's the full show - endorsed by AMC and embeddable on any website or social network. Well done AMC. You aren't afraid to craft outstanding content and let it loose on the web for all to enjoy.

Head over to the official AMC Mad Men page to see additional content and video from new episodes. That actually makes it a worthwhile use of your time - and advertisers get a unique opportunity to connect with an audience that is actually appreciative. The power of embedding allows those same advertisers to leverage a show's popularity to spread throughout the web.

The Yes Men Fix The World has seen it's share of controversy. Thanks to a pending lawsuit over some government impersonation shenanigans, the film has yet to be distributed through traditional channels. That's not a new story - and neither is distribution of questionable content over peer-to-peer networks.

What The Yes Men have done to change the game is reward Pirate Bay (a popular Torrent search engine despised by big media companies) users with bonus content available only on select downloads.

At the same time The Yes Men support their future endeavors with requests for financing in the peer-to-peer edition and on their website. So far so good as they have raised well over $10,000 - and all without traditional distribution channels.

These examples may not impress you, and you may wonder if advertisers will really move to take advantage of innovative content producers. You may even wonder if there's a sustainable market for these types of tactics. I'm telling you it's real and it's ready to be tapped today. What do you think about trends in media distribution and advertising? What does the future of media buying look like?

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 9 years, and helps the Fortune 100 identify unmet consumer needs, create ideas to fill those needs, and bring them into market. He currently works at Maddock Douglas.

Top Executives Share Views on Social Media and Interactive Advertising

Here's a nice little CNN Money bit from executives at Twitter, LinkedIn and Zynga on the future of interactive advertising technologies. It's interesting to hear top people at three of the sexiest digital companies dance around the idea of ROI from new forms of advertising.



Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 9 years, and helps the Fortune 100 identify unmet consumer needs, create ideas to fill those needs, and bring them into market. He currently works at Maddock Douglas.

What Does Your Free iPhone 4 Case Say About You?

I'm feeling a little saucy today - so here's the official (and very scientific) iPhone 4 Free Case Personality Analysis!

You probably know that Apple has offered to provide a free case to anyone who ordered an iPhone 4 before September 30th, 2010. In addition, Apple will be refunding Bumper purchases. To show what a nice guy he is, Steve Jobs is allowing customers to choose from not one, but six different cases from various vendors. I don't even want to know what these vendors had to agree to to get on Apple's list, but suffice it to say margins are probably slim to nil.

To get your free case, you must download the iPhone 4 Case Program from the App Store and sign in with your iTunes account information.

Here's what your selection tells the rest of the world about you:

Apple iPhone 4 Bumper - Black
Choosing this case tells the world you like to play it safe and go with what you know. Sure - Apple may have dropped the ball on the whole antenna thing - but you bought the iPhone 4 for a reason right? Stand by your man (or woman) and keep your shiny new toy brand-pure. Other ways to describe your personality might be boring, bland or dull.

Incase Snap Case for iPhone 4 - Smoke
Is the black iPhone 4 too shiny for you or do you have something to hide? Is that Apple logo too reflective in the sun or are you trying to avert prying eyes? Choosing this case means a life on the run, veiling your true intentions with falsehoods, misinformation and misdirection. If you haven't considered a career in the CIA now is the time.

Incase Snap Case for iPhone 4 - Clear
You wear your heard on your sleeve and aren't afraid to show it. Delving into deep personal topics and that precarious "TMI" zone comes naturally to you. Of course you also want to protect your heart from breaking - you just aren't very good at it. You may also be referred to as a "Stage 5 Clinger".

Belkin Shield Micra for iPhone 4 - Clear
Choosing this case displays a deep inner desire to have your cake and eat it too. Often accused of being emotionally distant, self-centered, selfish or sociopathic you want to get all the benefits of iPhone 4 protection without the commitment to sacrifice style and add bulk. Selecting this case increases the odds you will become a serial killer by 23%. It's science.

Griffin Motif iPhone 4 Diamonds/Smoke
Kim Kardashian would be proud of you for selecting this iPhone 4 case. Now you can display your Louis Vuitton knockoff style even when you aren't setting your obnoxious purse in the middle of the sushi bar for all to see. How is the chef supposed to serve you with that thing sitting there?

Griffin Reveal Etch iPhone 4 - Black/Black Graphite
Is your glass half full or half empty? If you choose this case you probably vacillate between the two while pondering the modern wing of your local museum. You also enjoy spending inordinate sums of money on things most people think came from a dumpster.

Speck Fitted Case iPhone 4 - Black Tartan
If you aren't British you wish you were. This patterned case oozes sophistication and nose-in-the-air superiority. In fact - it's the most stylish of all the free iPhone 4 cases. You might do well to remember what they say about the loudest person in the room...

Speck PixelSkin HD iPhone 4 - Black
As if having Pixel in the name of this case wasn't enough to sell you - they threw in "HD" just to make sure the inner (and probably outer) geek in you couldn't resist. Just like those weird people who wave when they see someone in the same model of car you'll know your nerd-kindred when you see someone whip this baby out from across the room. Since your severely introverted personality won't let you wave I hope they make an mIRC App soon.

What's your favorite free Apple iPhone 4 case? Which did you order?

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 9 years, and helps the Fortune 100 identify unmet consumer needs, create ideas to fill those needs, and bring them into market. He currently works at Maddock Douglas.

Flipboard Capitalizes on the Semantic Web

Flipboard is the new social network darling, creating a tablet friendly "magazine" by aggregating and organizing media from users' social networks. The newest semantic thingamajig became so popular after launch that server load was noticeable and resulted in limited connection to the news aggregator app.

We also know that major media outlets like the New York Times have taken a position against these types of apps claiming copyright infringement.

Legal matters aside, with US$10.5 Million in startup funding Flipboard has a lot of ground to make up to get in the black. With increasing questions about business model viability for bandwidth intensive apps that don't serve ads and don't cost anything to use (let's be honest, Millennials and other power users wouldn't pay to download Flipboard in it's current state) I can't help but wonder if the sole purpose of Flipboard is to be bought out by a larger company.

The obvious play until then is advertising revenue, and it would appear that the best way to do that would be use of all the wonderful social data passed through Flipboard to serve meaningful adverts to a relevant target audience, but that's just asking too much, right?

Regardless of how revenue plays out (or doesn't) Flipboard seems to have connected with a significant unmet need in the marketplace for personally relevant content vetted by peers.

Here's the Flipboard feature video in case you missed it:



Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 9 years, and helps the Fortune 100 identify unmet consumer needs, create ideas to fill those needs, and bring them into market. He currently works at Maddock Douglas.

Verizon Rules The Air in Latest Campaign

Verizon is making a big play for customers with it's integrated "Rule The Air" campaign. I have to say - I'm a fan of going for the throat on this one. You may remember that I'm of the mindset that (iPhone 4 antenna design flaw aside) AT&T has been making some business decisions that aren't necessarily aligned with Apple's core customer base. Verizon may be courting Steve Jobs as much as the larger consumer audience.

Here's the television commercial for those of you that haven't seen it:

And here's the online component to Verizon's Rule the Air campaign.

What does it all mean? Not much in my opinion. Apple has been getting more press over signal issues - be they design flaws or network coverage - in the last three months than any other competitors. With the pending press conference about potential fixes and a new version of OS 4 in market it looks like Apple is making an effort.

Time, and signal, will tell...

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 9 years, and helps the Fortune 100 identify unmet consumer needs, create ideas to fill those needs, and bring them into market. He currently works at Maddock Douglas.

Is Google Me the Social Media Measurement End Game?

Speculation on a competitor for Facebook is everywhere. If the purported 'Google Me' is real (and it sounds like it is) it means a big shift in the way advertisers think about social networks. Gone will be the proprietary and often misleading methodologies behind calculating social media ROI and true value. I have no doubt Google's plan includes deep integration with it's proprietary Google Analytics and Insights platforms - tracking clicks from entry to conversion.

If Google finally hits the social technology mark (a goal that has, thus far, eluded the largest search engine in the world) it will mean a golden era in social measurement and reporting.

Do you think Google Me will present real competition for Facebook?

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 9 years, and helps the Fortune 100 identify unmet consumer needs, create ideas to fill those needs, and bring them into market. He currently works at Maddock Douglas.

Killer Social Apps: 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Brand Engagement

I'll be speaking this year at SocialDevCamp Chicago on Killer Social Apps: 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Brand Engagement. Be sure to catch the panel - other notable presenters include Andrew Mason, CEO and Founder of Groupon and Ben Hugh, CEO of The Cheezburger Network.

I'm looking forward to seeing you there! If you have any specific questions or topics you would like me to address, just drop a comment below.

You can also review some of my recent content on trends in interactive advertising.

About SocialDevCamp Chicago

SocialDevCamp Chicago is the unconference of social application and platform developers, evangelists, and enthusiasts. The event explores emerging trends surrounding the development, business, and culture fueling the social web. Join us at the Illinois Institute Technology on August 14-15 in the architecturally awesome McCormick Tribune Campus Center. Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions or suggestions at info socialdevcampchicago.com or on Twitter @SDCChi.

Nick Kinports (follow him on Twitter @ADMAVEN) has worked in the interactive technology world for over 9 years, and helps the Fortune 100 identify unmet consumer needs, create ideas to fill those needs, and bring them into market. He currently works at Maddock Douglas.