The Real People in the Middle of this Election (and the TV hype)

Errol Morris is arguably one of the most important documentary film makers of our time. More than just an Academy Award winner (for "The Fog of War"), he has an amazing talent for listening to people and letting them tell their own stories in ways that inform and even illuminate reality.

Now, he has written for the NYTimes blog site an extremely insightful perspective, including an impressive selection of historical examples, on real "everyday" people in election advertising campaigns. This perspective, "People in the Middle" also includes discussion and links to Morris' brand new web video site, PeopleintheMiddleforObama.org which was sponsored by People for the American Way.

About this new work, Morris says, "If you’re not going to put words in people’s mouths, if you’re really listening to what they have to say, you’re going to learn something. Admittedly, the evidence is anecdotal. I haven’t selected these people through some kind of statistical sampling. These people are self-selected. They wrote in and said that they were registered Republicans, Independents or switch-voters who were planning to vote for Obama. People in the middle. And I was interested in talking to them on film about why they were making the switch from voting for a Republican to voting for a Democrat."

Most interesting to me was this conclusion, "The people I interviewed have embraced Obama. They are voting for a candidate, not against a candidate."

Read more of Errol Morris on "People in the Middle" by clicking here.

Information R/evolution

I love the way these videos from an outpost in academia illuminate information's revo-evolutionary process. IMHO, the insights are way worthy of reflection. Enjoy and appreciate the disruptive dynamics of our rapidly changing information society...

Seniors Nintendo Wii Bowling Video Scores as Viral Video Marketing

Here's a video that's not only entertaining and about seniors using the innovative Nintendo Wii video game, but it is also a clever form of viral video marketing which subtly promotes a senior assisted living company. Expect to see more of this kind of thing in the future. This one is unusually well done, and they save the low-key pitch for last. Appropriately putting the fun first...

The Digital Ad Biz Beginning to Sprout & the Seed of an Idea

We are way too early in this to be talking about blossoming, but the sprouts or seeds that are the revolution of the advertising business going totally digital, totally accountable, totally targeted and totally interactive are HUGE!

I cover the basics in my internet marketing ebook, and today's New York Times covered how Microsoft is trying to catch up with Google in this arena. This is a good article packed with perspective.

At one point, this NYT article emphasizes how advertising-supported free media is winning out over subscription models by pointing out that, "In recent days, two prominent news Web sites — The New York Times and The Financial Times — said they were scaling back attempts to charge subscription fees for some of their content."

And then Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer says, “As much as people sometimes like to pick bones with advertising, people much prefer an ad-funded experience to one that they pay for.”

Hey, isn't this the guy who runs a software company that sells more software (and software upgrades) than any other company on earth?

He continues: “Even the basic software that we’ve delivered for so many years — if it can be ad-funded in the way it gets delivered to consumers, it probably will be ad-funded.”

In other words, free ad-supported digital media will rule, and digital advertising will blossom into channels of humongous proportions... proportions that make Google as it exists today seem small.

Bottom line, they all agree that it’s ALL going digital and this will change everything. Personally, I'm interested in building an advertising "on-ramp" for small businesses... A web application platform that would guide small business users so that they could leverage the advantages of the new media & advertising world. This is seriously needed by millions of small companies.

Like I've been saying for years, we need communication bridges spanning the grand canyon gap between people and technology... Anyone want to play?

3 Tips to Save Money on PPC Search Advertising

I like it when two of the authorities on web marketing who I most respect get together. I've had personal contact with both Dr. Ralph Wilson and Catherine Seda (whose most recent book How to Win Sales and Influence Spiders looks excellent... I've not read it yet). Bottom line, like me, both of these people are committed to helping small and medium size businesses succeed with their internet marketing campaigns. This video offers three solid tips that are fundamental strategies. I know from experience that each of these will help you save money with PPC search advertising:

Google Audio Ads Ramps Up Radio's Reach

It's been widely understood and acknowledged (ever since Google's January 2006 acquisition of dMarc Advertising) that Google would be launching an interface to sell radio advertising based on it's widely popular Google AdWords platform.

Well, the wait is over. It's here. Now, anyone with an AdWords account can buy targeted radio advertising via a new tab at the top of their AdWords interface.

The impact of this innovation on the radio advertising industry cannot be overstated. Google facilitates the production of the spot as well as its placement (you can pick radio stations by audience demographic as well as geographic location, etc.). Thus this new service is truly revolutionary because it makes the whole process of advertising on local radio a whole lot easier and far more accessible than ever before.

New Apple TV Ad

Business 2.0 has a new "get-a-Mac" Apple TV ad before it's release on a day when Apple stock reached new heights, pre-iPhone's release (for which surveys are showing a strong demand). Seems it's a mad, mad new Apple world where the superior platform is even gaining market share.

Google, DoubleClick & the Next Era of Internet Advertising

While Microsoft & ATT are quick to raise defensive legal questions (and Google's Eric Schmidt is quick to scoff at them, while also downplaying their new online presentation application), Sara Holoubeck at the DMNews (DM as in direct marketing) has some nice references to emerging ad exchange networks that introduce and integrate EBay-style bidding into online display advertising.

Bottom line, this merger idea is not just Google getting a new way to connect to display ads, it's also about the continuing re-modeling of online advertising in general. It's moving fast and it's just another brand of toothpaste that's not going back into the tube.

Even SmartMoney calls Microsoft's claims "almost laughable" amongst other more progressive comments.

Online TV & Video: "social revolution" No Longer an Exaggeration

Sighting a pressing TV industry need to monetize the "massive interest in online (video) content," eMarketer.com summarized an Informa Telecoms & Media research report (which I could not find on their site) including numbers that would make almost any venture investor salivate. For example, "In the US alone, revenues are forecast to rise from $538 million in 2006 to nearly $4 billion in 2012."

"These trends are now so pronounced, that the term 'social revolution' no longer seems too much of an exaggeration," said Adam Thomas of Informa.

Personally, today, I was checking out VideoEgg.com which boasts an easy to use video upload, Flash compress, and, yes, video editing platform as well as a pretty impressive online video ad network that's focused on social networking sites.

Does anyone have a good comparison of all these new Web 2.0 video platforms?

TechCruch seems to think that SplashCast may have the ultimate player platform.

I wish it was like the Videography days when I could get paid to research and write about this stuff. Who knows, if I can find a way to monetize it, maybe I'll be doing some video clips soon. Potential channels would include internet marketing, online video, and the joy of golf. But should I do SplashCast channels, distribute via the VideoEggNetwork, BrightCove, all of the above, or what?!?