SocialMediaRamble

Hollis Thomases has great perspective here, on the ‘All Posting, All the Time’ world that social media seems to have become. 

I have felt this same pressure, and this Micro-blog at ‘SocialMediaRamble’ itself has suffered at the hands of Twitter, and my long-form blog, MindOnMedia[Sales].

Ms Thomases is Pres. of WebAd.Vantage, and an Expert columnist for ClickZ. Her views here are dead-on accurate.

The usual brilliant insight we look for/expect from Razorfish, no doubt. In reality, these social media firms brought much of this onto themselves. Many created great User experiences, while giving little [if any] thought early on to the Ad experience…while ironically enough, having to answer to VCs [who might have an interest in that, one would think.]

From there, much of the revenue was literally left to be had by others, in what are now huge players, like Zynga. Some app developers, like Slide and/or RockYou! have also monetized, too. But both of them, like non-residing firms such as an AppsSavvy, have to essentially create new & better ‘ideations’ for every client/agency/campaign, in a never-ending ‘upping the ante’…which is nearly impossible to continue, and hugely expensive. Does Broadcast do that last part? Hardly. You want a 30-second Spot? You buy it. Sure, it’s more than that with Sponsorships, etc, and yes, it’s far more mature, but its also much more standardized & easy to access.

Merely slapping up banners is not a great solution, and is not yielding the social media firms a lot of revenue, as is pointed out. But until a considered, created Ad environment comes about, the social media firms will be where they are, with all the world as an audience, and clients/agencies wondering how to access it.

While it may seem folly for me to call out & question the statements of a Media titan here, the comments of Les Moonves on Hulu are…notable. Maybe a little “hopeful” on his part, or maybe just pure denial. Or maybe all of these together on some level.

It is true that ‘Digital Pennies’ is a big problem for the TradMedia firms [Magazine, Newspaper and Broadcast let’s not forget.] And yes, it’s also true that the best shows, such as CSI, do cost millions of dollars…not pennies…to make. 

But for him to say, “If too many people shift to online, I’m not going to be able to produce CSI…”, sounds archaic. It reminds me of my Newspaper days around 2002 or so, when the major newspaper firms were saying things like, “If too many people shift to Craigslist, I’m not going to be able to produce the Chronicle/Herald/Times…”

Gee…that sounds like an *echo* to me! Did you hear it, Mr Moonves? Didn’t think so.

Now to be fair, unlike those same newspapers, he is NOT turning around, and giving his inventory away, as they did just keep the big dollars from Print. But for him to then turn from there and say, “And until the model works, we won’t be…” for being on WebTV viewing sites like Hulu, doesn’t really work either. Does it?

No. His either/or stance needs to be…nuanced.

Not being on Hulu [because, let’s face it; ‘too many’ have already shifted there], is not smart. Period. The newspapers couldn’t stop Craigslist. You cannot [now] stop Hulu.

If you insist on this stance, Les, then your “nuanced” approach needs to be a ‘Both’ answer, a two-track one. It is one that  allows a revenue flow to support premium brand shows a la’ CSI, and one that allows content based on a different [read: lower-cost] economic model, that allows the CBS empire to be where the eyeballs have shifted, like it or not.

What do you think about what Les Moonves said here?

Far more than Facebook, the phenomenon that is called Twitter, has barely yet begun…let alone to be understood. The aspect discussed here is more or less just the “Viral” component.

But it is a fascinating article nonetheless. 

More, the fact that so few still use it, let alone really use it, implies a seismic ongoing set of discovery/innovation/ discovery with this non-intuitive, misunderstood and somewhat standoffish tool that is Twitter.

When I tell non-users that I would give Facebook up IN A SECOND, if I had to choose between it and Twitter, but then can’t totally explain why, it only adds to the mystique…and quandary. Good study of Twitter usage here, either way.