YouTube ads for viral videos: 'buzz targeting'

I found this interesting article written by Stephen Shankland on you tube it's pretty neat.Google is starting to share more details about its high priority of making more money off YouTube's popularity, introducing an advertising product on Tuesday called buzz targeting.
The ad product uses an algorithm to find videos that are about to "go viral," when word of mouth (or IM, or blog, or e-mail) promotes a Web site to a phase in which it spreads like wildfire. In this case, ads are overlaid on the bottom fifth of viral videos supplied by YouTube partners who share ad revenue with the search giant.
Making more money off YouTube is Google's "highest priority," Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in April. The company is working on new YouTube ad possibilities, he said last week.
Until now, YouTube ad campaigns have been more targeted to specific demographics. Buzz targeting adds a broader option, though the ads still are sold as categories such as entertainment or how-to, a YouTube representative said.
Lions Gate was the first advertiser to sign up, using buzz targeting to promote a film, The Forbidden Kingdom, on 500 different videos. "Buzz targeting allowed us to reach a very large, diverse audience," Danielle DePalma, Lions Gate's director of digital media, said in a statement.

Facebook makes you think about the future of social networking

This is a very nice article I found,on social networks author unknown.The original idea of Facebook was good because it served a real purpose in a normal environment for a niche group of people. But it wasn’t long before the company got lost in the network effect and everything turned into a storm of virtual critters inviting me to bite my friends. Now that’s a good time, especially when the critters can get to me before my email messages. Wrong order of operations for the “social utility that connects you with the people around you.”
More astounding is the fact that fun dominates the Facebook playhouse and is making it incredibly difficult to stay around and wait for the real value of the service to emerge (for the user, not the business). MySpace pioneered social networking mayhem. With all the crazy profile features and advertising I’ve never been able to feel at home. LinkedIn on the other hand targets an audience through a niche service and feels more welcoming than both MySpace and Facebook, leading me to believe they will walk away victorious.
The sad truth is we’ve all been pointing at Facebook, but the numbers are an indication of the world we live in and the ways people utilize their time, which has nothing to do with Facebook other than they offer users a place to do it. Fun is not a bad thing at all and of course fun is part of any business that becomes successful, but I’d like to think that for the sake of society, fun means something different. Go outside, run around. Don’t bite people.
The first time anyone signed up to join a social network it was fun because it was new and made it easier to connect with lots of people from all over the world. Consider that at some point the developed world will be full of people who were born into social networks. The dynamics of the game will have evolved and at that point, Facebook and MySpace will hold less purpose because they fail to pinpoint a niche audience and it will have become distasteful to see so much at once.The social networks that survive the changing times will be niche sites like LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter and FriendFeed. Think of niche social networks as TV channels. What are the characteristics of TV channels? You watch one channel at a time (LinkedIn business contacts channel, YouTube video channel, Flick photo channel, Twitter messaging channel) and one special channel serves as a guide to all the other channels (FriendFeed channel guide). I want my Internet like my TV - a proven and logical format.
Data portability is the key to unlocking this freedom. The way Facebook and MySpace try to bring so many features onto one screen is overwhelming and there’s been a lot of problems because of it. I’m voting for channels and decentralized authority. Facebook will never be the mecca of my digital life and I think other people feel this way too. What do we really need it for? To bite people..
LinkedIn + YouTube + Flickr + Twitter + FriendFeed - MySpace - Facebook = my recommendation for an improved social networking experience.

Claim Your Brand Name on Social Networks or Suffer

I found this article written by Dan Schawbel,I thought it was very interesting of what could happen to anyone.
There has been much debate in the blogosphere about Seth Godin’s Twitter account. He never registered his name on Twitter and someone took it. This individual used his avatar, information and actually tweeted using this account. Fake Seth now has 4,375 followers and has sent 476 updates. Luckily for Seth, he blogged about this and the person who owns the Twitter account has only syndicated his blog, rather than torture his brand by misrepresentation. I’ve also seen fake Chris Brogan accounts and a few other “internet celebrities” being taken on Facebook. Truth be told, many of these individuals don’t seem to care because they are so high above the status quo that they feel their reputation can’t be burst into oblivion. Some may register their domain names, while others may forget to sign-up for the top social networks. Today’s post will tell you how to protect and secure your name, so you don’t suffer later.
“I have no idea how to kick someone off my name. What if they have the same name? Is this a productive use of my time if all this person is doing is reposting my blog? That’s not dishonest or wrong, it’s sort of a nice service.” - Seth Godin, Best Selling Author and BloggerHere is what you need to know
#1 - Purchase yourname.com and if you haven’t yet, I posted the procedure.
#2 - Review the social networking checklist to identify which social networks to join and which to stay away from.
#3 - Register your full name on each social network. I recommend Twitter, Facebook, Wordpress.com, LinkedIn.com, Technorati, MyBlogLog, and YouTube for starters.
#4 - Start an excel spreadsheet or the Apple equivalent and list the social networks you’re apart of, as well as the login information and time they were last updated. The purpose here is to let each profile grow as you develop, so you aren’t misrepresented and don’t lose opportunities.
#5 - Pay attention to what social networks are gaining traction by subscribing to blogs that showcase new social networks and that keep a tally on what’s hot.

Another interesting article on Google me the movie

I found an interesting article written by Janet Meiners on the marketing pilgrim.Jims movie is really getting known fast!!An Google vanity search launched a movie idea for a filmmaker named Jim Killeen. He searched Google on his name to see what came up. This was two years ago and Killeen’s life was feeling empty. He was 38 and single. So after taking interest in the other Jim Killeen’s of the world, he decided to contact them and make a movie about what he learned.
He put everything on the line to make documentary about his journey which is now showing on YouTube and called, “Google Me The Movie.” Killeen doesn’t say how much he spent traveling and filming the documentary, only that he almost went bankrupt doing it. Making money doesn’t seem to be the point anyway.
Google is part of the movie - it uses Google Earth and he got permission to use Google’s name. He even has footage of Google employees response to his movie in the film. But what he was really after is a connection with others. Google might give information but it’s actual human interaction that makes that information meaningful.
We may tell all on our personal blogs but in real life be lonely and that is news in our society. This story about revealing your personal life online, made the front page of The New York Times. Google Me’s story made the Washington Post.
Killeen’s journey was sort of like live blogging. He convinces seven other Jim Killeen’s to share personal details of their lives on camera. Then he flies them all to Texas for some male bonding.Killeen has the perfect name for his idea - not too common or too obscure. It’s surprising the variety of people Killeen meets - from a priest (who has enough decorum to avoid questions about the type of underwear he wears) to a swinger (who is quite open about his lifestyle).
What have you found when you Google your name and what was your response. I’ve used it to remember my accomplishments and as a pick me up. There aren’t any other “Janet Meiners” that I know of. So I’m going to have to seek connections another way - like blogger lunches. Like Killeen I meet a lot of my new friends first online - then in real life.

Google Me The movie

What a great movie.Jim Killeen did a brilliant job with making this film,if you missed it you can watch it on youtube you will be amaized about how powerful this tool really is in todays world.You can also listen to his interview with Jim Cobb on blog talk radio just click on the blog talk radio button on my blog.

Google Me Talk Radio Jim Killeen

Jim Killeens adventure through the search engines of GOOGLE to the far corners of the Earth have given him a knowledge one can only obtain throughout the journey.
Computers are now a focus of our daily lives not just an addition to the tasks we perform each morning or evening while at home. Not just for checking our occasional emails has become a thing of the past. Bringing the computers out of the den and into the main living area of the home for researching information, watching videos and sometimes gathering advice on the many websites available through the world-wide web. GOOGLE has produced the greatest impression and has enabled web users to connect, seek, and ultimately locate each other.
GOOGLE Me The Movie, Jim Killeen, and Blog Talk Radio are mergingtogether for a one night event on GOOGLE Me Talk Radio! Thursdaynight April 24th at 8pm ET. This will be an exciting evening withthe host of GOOGLE Me Talk Radio, Jim Cobb and The GOOGLE Me Manwith the plan, Jim Killeen. Be sure to spend some time athttp://www.googlemetalkradio.com/ for the entertaining evening.

Video and the internet

The first time television became available to the general public was around 1930.In fact there are more television in use today than seventy five years ago and still going strong.Video on the Internet can be considered a transition from television. Will people ever stop watching tv? Maybe, But that’s highly unlikely.The power of video can not be denied. It influences people unlike any other marketing channel available.At one time videos were only available on televisions and at movie theaters,because of the internet that has all changed.The cost of advertising on television can range from a few thousands of dollars to as much as you want to spend. The cost to advertising via video on the Internet is free.What a difference this can make on your marketing campaign.What this means for the internet marketer?its an incredible opportunity to use video marketing to increase your traffic, leads and sales. At one time when internet connections were very slow this type of marketing would be almost impossible,who wants to sit around and wait ten minutes for a video to load.As internet connections get faster and faster I think videos will become the number one choice preference for information distribution.Most people would rather watch a two minute presentation about a business opportunity on video, than read five pages of information on the same thing.This is where marketers have a viral edge.If you want to promote a product, service or whatever, Internet video marketing is an excellent route to take.As an Internet marketer, you must incorporate video marketing into your arsenal because videos are not going away any time soon there only going to get better as technology changes.A perfect example is the video on my blog that was created by Jim Cobb for http://www.myvmteam.ning.com/