Monday, November 29, 2010

Alloy Digital wins a a Media Vanguard award for original web video series

Media Vanguard Awards 2010

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Most Innovative Use of Original Web Video for Merchandising

'First Day' Web Series


Published: November 29, 2010

firstdaytheseries.com

--> In "First Day," Cassie Mitchell can't get it right. She's a new student starting high school, and in a "Groundhog Day"-esque twist, she has to keep repeating her first day at school over and over again. "Each day," per the comedic web series' synopsis, "she is able to experiment with her look, as she learns about herself as a person and tries to win over her new crush." As it happens, the entire series -- an eight-episode arc of four- to six-minute shows -- is "Styled by Kmart."

It could be cheesy, but instead it's incredibly winning (and as smartly produced as anything you'd see on Nick or Disney Channel). And given that the fashion-as-self-expression angle is integral to the plot, the Kmart branding -- and the "Featured Products" sidebar -- feels servicey, not overbearing. It's like reading Lucky magazine if Lucky had a plot.

Produced by Alloy (the company known for its "Gossip Girl" and "Pretty Little Liars" book series) and distributed through the massive Alloy Digital Network, "First Day" drew a remarkable 8 million episode views by the time the series was over -- at which point, thank God, the calendar finally advanced for sweet Carrie.

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We're very excited to share the news: Alloy has won a Media Vanguard award from Ad Age for our branded entertainment show First Day. Congrats to the team and please check it out for yourself at http://firstdaytheseries.com

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Sunday, November 28, 2010

Follow-up on The Upside of Irrationality - Kindness: Why we help others, not always not everyone

Someone took the time to summarize chapter 9 (why we help others) in a neat little slideshow - easier for me to share than to write. Enjoy!

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From Philip Roth to El Bulli and from subprime mortgages to Hedonic Adaptation

Here's my roundup of Thanksgiving reading - all of it in paper this time, no kindle, no ipad.

For the first time in a long time I actually read 5 books (courtesy of the NYPL) over the last few weeks, especially last week on the beach in Mexico. For starters, two of Philip Roth's latest books - I admire his clean, crisp writing, descriptive language and concise storytelling. I read Indignation and The Humbling and enjoyed both stories and the dark endings (death) in both cases. I'd probably recommend Indignation over the Humbling, it's a quick read (4 hours) and has some vivid descriptions of Jewish Newark in the 1950ies and college life in Ohio at a conservative school.

Next I read the latest Ferran Adria book that proclaims the Catalan chef to be not only a gifted chef but a creative genius and credits him with having changed the face of Haute Cuisine by pushing the envelope and elevating an "anything goes" approach and an experimentation approach to his food. The book is somewhat repetitive but nonetheless a worthwhile read for foodies and aspiring chefs. Being of the several million applicants who never got to eat at El Bulli I've decided to identify his top alumni in New York and will scout for those restaurants shortly (I believe WD-50 is on top of the list).

The next recommendation is Dan Ariely's latest called The Upside of Irrationality which takes the reader on a tour of the mind's not-always rational ways of thinking when it comes to popular business themes such as bonus payments (in summary: low to mid-sized bonuses are great, large bonuses will lead to the wrong sort of results), the power of NIH (not-invented-here) and how you can use it to your advantage (hint: plant your ideas with your boss as if they were his), why sense of ownership is a powerful motivator and how you should take a deep breath before reacting to perceived unjustice and plot your revenge. 

The second part of the book is of a more personal nature and the key chapter is on Adaptation, especially hedonic adaptation - the concept of human beings being able to rather quickly get used to positive things (a new TV, a higher salary, the dream apartment). Ariely analyses the issue using experiments and comes up with an interesting recommendation: when faced with positive experiences, interrupt them frequently as you will enjoy the more. In the case of tedious tasks, force yourself to complete them rather than taking breaks - that would only prolong the pain. Overall this is an interesting read although it does require some attention to detail and is at times a bit verbose; recommended to all fans of behavioral psychology and business psychology; also pay attention to his entertaining analysis of the online dating market and his tests around "virtual dates" - which as far as I know, none of the dating sites haven't yet adapted.

The final read of the month was The Big Short by Liar's Poker author Michael Lewis. This is the second summary of the subprime mortgage crisis I've read after The Greatest Trade Ever and was fairly repetitive in terms of storyline. Lewis looks at a few of the same players as Gregory Zuckerman and comes up with a lot of the same conclusions. The Big Short is a quick read but not as detailed as Greatest Trade Ever - if you're in for the more fictional approach, go for Michael Lewis, if you're a bit of a finance geek yourself, pick Greg Zuckerman.

 

 

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Friday, November 19, 2010

Shoeboxed Business Card Scanner for iPhone saves you time and helps connect.

Description

Never lose a contact again with the Shoeboxed Business Card Reader and Business Card Scanner!

Digitize business cards and auto-share your contact information with your new contacts. Simply snap pictures of business cards with your iPhone and Shoeboxed does the rest. Important contact details are extracted with OCR and human-verified for accuracy.

Features:
• Free and unlimited business card submissions—no paid Shoeboxed account required
• Contact details including name, title, company, email address, phone numbers, city, state and zip (mailing address optional) extracted with OCR and human-verified for accuracy
• Add new contacts directly to your iPhone address book and flag duplicates
• Export contact info to BatchBook, Google Contacts, Outlook, Evernote, Salesforce, CSV, Constant Contact and dozens of other contact management and email marketing programs free at Shoeboxed.com
• Auto-share your contact info with all your new contacts

All of the contact info extracted from your cards is reviewed by highly trained and qualified Shoeboxed operators to ensure accuracy. Contacts stored in the iPhone app are also backed up in your secure online account.

Shoeboxed.com transforms receipts, business cards, invoices and other paper documents into a secure, searchable, IRS-accepted online database. Send paper clutter to Shoeboxed via mail, email or mobile phone and say goodbye to scanners, data entry and paper cuts forever. Tax preparation, expense reporting, bookkeeping and contact management are all easier with Shoeboxed.

...More

My friends at Shoeboxed have come up with a great new business card utility - the app lets you scan business cards for free and connect with the people you've just met. It's a free app - so go ahead and download it now!

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Monday, November 08, 2010

The online advertising ecosystem for Startups by @dherman76 - great overview

Great overview by Darren Herman on the ecosystem. Highly recommended.

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Tremor-Scanscout Merger: the consolidation in the video ad network space continues

Digital

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Tremor-Scanscout Merger Creates Web Video Ad Player on Par With Hulu's

Wave of Consolidation in Space Driven by Advertiser Demands for Reach

by Michael Learmonth
Published: November 08, 2010

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Lots of advertisers want to buy online video -- they just don't want to buy it in dribs and drabs from a bunch of different places. That quest for scale is leading to a swath of consolidation in the fastest-growing segment in online advertising.

Tremor Media, the largest independent network, reached a deal last week to acquire Scanscout, one of its smaller competitors, in a bold attempt to consolidate the market, and create a scaled competitor to Hulu and YouTube. Separately, Undertone Networks is expected to announce a deal Monday to buy Jambo Media, a video syndication and ad platform. Two weeks ago, Specific Media snapped up BBE, one of the first pure-play video networks in the market.

Bill Day, Scanscout CEO

Bill Day, Scanscout CEO

-->

The latter two deals are about display ad networks attempting to add video capabilities, just as AOL added video inventory when it bought 5Min earlier this fall. The Tremor deal is about creating the largest independent source of video ad inventory, in hopes it can better compete for the TV budgets moving online.

TV advertisers are the ones moving most aggressively into web video, looking to achieve similar goals through it. "I think that has been one thing that has been missing for advertisers is the ability to deliver mass reach," said Chris Allen, VP-video innovations at Starcom USA. "A lot of our clients are married to the reach metric, and TV delivers reach as fast as possible. The only way to achieve that reach online is through a network."

While traditional display ads have slowed way down, video advertising is just revving up, growing an estimated 48.1% in 2010 off a relatively small base and another 42.7% to $2.1 billion in 2011, according to eMarketer.

"If you look at agencies and their motivation they are looking to buy the strongest and the biggest; this creates a must-buy against that," Jason Glickman, CEO of Tremor Media, said.

His play is to create a scaled player in the mid-market, something below Hulu, but above the mix of content available on YouTube. As it is, there isn't a whole lot of differentiation in either scale or offerings between Tremor or Scanscout, and other providers such as Brightroll or Yume. "You might see some price variations but most will come in at the same CPM range depending on the targeting you use," Mr. Allen said.

The combined Tremor/Scanscout served a collective 667.5 million video ads in September, according to ComScore, a close second to Hulu's 794 million and well ahead of No. 3 Brightroll with 476.4 million. Google served 242.5 million in September.

Tremor has raised nearly $80 million over the past four years. Its 2010 revenue is said to be in the $70 to $75 million range and is expected to grow to $110 million on its own in 2011. Scanscout has raised $17.5 million and has revenue of $20 to $25 million. Scanscout CEO Bill Day will become CEO of the combined company to be called Tremor Media and Mr. Gickman will become executive chairman.

Both companies, based in New York City, are profitable or near-profitable, given they are both still investing heavily in technology, said Mr. Glickman.

The combined company will look to complete an IPO in the next 18 months, giving investors the only pure play on the growth of video advertising, provided Hulu doesn't go public first.

Tremor's backers also won't rule out more deals to further consolidate the market. "You are going to see further consolidation," said Warren Lee, a partner at Tremor investor Canaan Partners. "After this deal we will still have a very strong balance sheet and there will be other things we can acquire in terms of products, services and technology."

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A number of deals in the last few months (BBE, Joost, Jambo, 5min) point to a quick consolidation/ concentration in the video ad network market; not surprising given that there's no real differentiation here (think display ad networks years ago) and that the exchanges are continuing to push into this area. The video ad networks currently operate with low margins as it's all about building scale for that desired IPO. Let's hope they get there on time and don't get into a situation of overraising/ underdifferentiating like some of the display networks.

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Monday, October 25, 2010

Facebook gets even more promotion - now in a banner ad near you

Facebook, MediaMind Enable 'Like' Button In Ads Across Web by Laurie Sullivan, Monday, October 18, 2010, 9:00 AM

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TAGS:  TV, Retail, Facebook, Social Networks, Social Marketing

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The Facebook "Like" button inserted in ad units began running across display networks and publisher sites on Saturday could become a new metric for advertisers to measure the success of advertising campaigns. Mountain Dew became one of the first to stick the social signal in ads. Facebook provides the pipeline, and MediaMind the technology to make it happen, supporting the trend by brands to bring social media to consumers across the Web.

The ads are not limited to the approximate 300-by-250 Mountain Dew display ads running across a variety of publisher sites, explains a source close to the agreement. Through Facebook's API, it only took one week to design the integration and get the tool up and running in the ad.

Consumers clicking on the "Like" button in the ad are not redirected from the publisher's site, but rather asked to sign into their Facebook account and provide permission to connect the ad with their Facebook page. The action of the click on the like button triggers a "like" on the consumer's Facebook wall through an API data feed.

The first integration of the "Like" button in online ads signals the continuation of Facebook Co-Founder Mark Zuckerberg's mission to make the Web and advertising social, but the start of a new metric to measure ad conversions on the Web. Not only do advertisers gain impressions and click-throughs for display ads, but some will gain new Facebook Fans to their community.

As more advertisers build in the Facebook "like" button into ads, videos and other online through Google TV and Apple TV, as well as offline content such as billboards and print ads connected through QR codes or Google Goggles, the social signal will increase in value, driving up the valuation of Facebook and the demand for the tool.

Brand marketers began shifting ad budgets to Facebook earlier this year to try and earn "Like" against brands, which would give them a measurement tool to determine demand and loyalty. Inserting the "Like" function in expandable ad units or video ads gives consumers a new experience and will likely become another reason for advertisers to shift ad dollars from television to online by repurposing TV ads.

For example, eMarketer points to research released in September by Dynamic Logic that found online ad awareness got a bigger lift from repurposed video ads than made-for-Web video. Purchase intent became higher for made-for-Web ads among those ages 18 to 34 but flat among the older age groups. Adding the Facebook "Like" button to ads could contribute another metric to support allocation of advertising budgets.

Gotta love it when everyone promotes your product for you - and i'm sure it'll actually work fairly well for advertisers - the Facebook like adds credibility to their ad units and helps their cause of building their opt-in list on Facebook. This all reminds me so much of email marketing and direct mail - brands building up audiences to talk to - the question will be: can they engage those audiences and will it lead to purchases?

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Saturday, October 23, 2010

The Underwater World - photography competition

Check out this website I found at ciwem.org

Some beautiful photographs around humans, the environment and animals. Check out all the galleries. Found via Google Reader Play - the perfect way to stumble through filtered content.

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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Christian, we dare to be square. Foursquare, that is.

What a great subject line and opening line to an email - love it!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Zipcar <underthehood@members.zipcarmail.com>
Date: Wed, Sep 15, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Subject: Christian, we dare to be square. Foursquare, that is.
To: "christianbusch@gmail.com" <christianbusch@gmail.com>


Foursquare fans, the place to be is on four wheels. Check in to the latest Zipcar places. (Trouble viewing? Click here)
zipcar underthehood
http://www.zipcar.com/nyc/reservations/search-by-time?utm_medium=EMAIL&ut...://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?OakCQ8AYvrtPZMHvKvstvAHZwNmu30LiO&" target="_blank">reserve now http://www.zipcar.com/members/account?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN0..." target="_blank">my account http://www.zipcar.com?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN0910_01&utm_s..." target="_blank">zipcar.com
my local forward http://twitter.com/zipcar" target="_blank">follow http://www.facebook.com/zipcar" target="_blank">fan
mayor christian kinda has a ring to it.

Foursquare fans, the place to be is the nearest Zipcar. Check in before you jump in the driver's seat and you might work your way up to mayor. Got a ziptip? Tell your friends about the art of zipping gracefully. https://foursquare.com/signup/" shape="rect" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(222, 117, 33); text-decoration: underline;">Sign up for foursquare now to check in and see where you could be crowned.
http://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?7aVa.80YirYVZ5NvPiLtvIsZwNmwD0si7&http://foursquare.com/search?q=zipcar" target="_blank">zip to foursquare
 
indulging in a low-car diet
Who's trading odometers for pedometers? Hooking cup holders to handlebars? Learning to live less on wheels can be tricky, but take it one day at a time, Zipsters. Think of the cash, the energy, and the earth that you're saving. Find and follow our low-car dieters on Twitter.
http://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?7OVC.30Q6OtjTMJvKiLtvIsZaNmuD0Li7&http://www.zipcar.com/lowcardiet/?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN0910_01&utm_source=NYC&utm_content=NATL_B" target="_blank">zip to foursquare
lock out late fees
Don't forget to scan out when you return. (It tells us your Zipcar is tucked in on time.) Looking for more ways to avoid late fees? Be sure to http://www.zipcar.com/members/account-contact?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campai..." shape="rect" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(222, 117, 33); text-decoration: underline;">sign up for text alert reminders. (They'll let you know when your reservation is ending, plus let you know if you can extend.)
http://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?7aka.80QiryPTMJvPvL.vIsZw32uDbLo7&http://www.zipcar.com/help/during?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN0910_01&utm_source=NYC&utm_content=NATL_C" target="_blank">learn more
 
nyc/nj zipster news

http://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?7OkC.30YiDRcZMJvKvL.vIsZa32w3bsi7&http://www.zipcar.com/nyc/reservations/search-by-time?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN0910_01&utm_source=NYC&utm_content=LCL_A&zet=http://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?OakCQ8AYvrtPZMHvKvstvAHZwNmu30LiO&" target="_blank">reserve now
New locations in Williamsburg!
  • https://www.zipcar.com/nyc/reservations/location?location_id=296114723&ut...://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?OakCQ8AYvrtPZMHvKvstvAHZwNmu30LiO&" shape="rect" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(222, 117, 33); text-decoration: underline;">Driggs Ave btwn N8th St & N9th St

  • https://www.zipcar.com/nyc/reservations/location?location_id=125481568&ut...://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?OakCQ8AYvrtPZMHvKvstvAHZwNmu30LiO&" shape="rect" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(222, 117, 33); text-decoration: underline;">N 5 St and Kent Ave

  • https://www.zipcar.com/nyc/reservations/location?location_id=287686563&ut...://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?OakCQ8AYvrtPZMHvKvstvAHZwNmu30LiO&" shape="rect" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(222, 117, 33); text-decoration: underline;">Rutledge St btwn Broadway & Harrison
  • http://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?7aVC.3AQ6rtPTMJvPistvIsZwN2u30si7&http://voltaicsystems.com/fuse.shtml" target="_blank">25% off
    Taking your Zipcar into the wild? Meet your new best friend: the portable http://voltaicsystems.com/fuse.shtml" shape="rect" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(222, 117, 33); text-decoration: underline;">Fuse Solar Charger from http://voltaicsystems.com/index.shtml" shape="rect" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(222, 117, 33); text-decoration: underline;">Voltaic. It attaches to bags, bikes, tents, (heck, even your wheels), and will keep your stuff charged on the go. Zipsters can get 'em for 25% off with promo code ZIP2FUSE at checkout.
    http://www.rightrides.org/" shape="rect" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(222, 117, 33); text-decoration: underline;">RightRides offers women, LGBTQ and gender queer individuals a free, safe, late-night ride home Friday and Saturday nights from 11:59pm - 3am, and they're looking for drivers and navigators! Interested in helping out this great organization? Email volunteer@rightrides.org for more info.
    membership fee changes ahead

    Heads up. Starting October 1, the annual membership fee for Occasional Driving Plans will increase from $50 to $60, the first time we've raised membership fees in over seven years. To smooth out the bump, you'll automatically get a one-time $10 driving credit (good for 60 days) next time you renew. Additional drivers can be added at half price. Check out our http://www.zipcar.com/help/generalinfo?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN..." shape="rect" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(222, 117, 33); text-decoration: underline;">updated member agreement.
     
     
     
    http://www.zipcar.com/members/refer?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN091...://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?OaVCQ3AYUrRcP5J3PvLtUIsOaNmwD0LiO&" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Refer a friend | http://www.zipcar.com/gift?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN0910_01&..." target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Gift subscriptions | http://www.zipcar.com/help/mobile?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN0910_..." target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Zipcar mobile | http://www.zipcar.com/help/generalinfo?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN...://emailcontent.zipcarmail.com/?OOkC.80YvDYj-MJ3KiL.vIsOwN2u30LoO&???waiver" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Damage fee waiver | http://www.zipcar.com/6simplerules?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN0910..." target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Six simple rules | http://www.zipcar.com/benefits?utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=ZIPN0910_01&..." target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Member benefits

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    Zipcar is the world's largest car sharing and car club service. It is an alternative to traditional car rental and car ownership. Share Zipcars in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, London, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington DC. Zipcars also live on campus at universities across North America.

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