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Blog Post: Nielsen All In With Social Media

Just as many have been saying for the past year, Nielsen has launched a new ratings metric that includes Twitter posts into it’s ratings. Shows that have more people talking about it in real time will now be rated higher than their non-techie counterparts.

According to this release from USA Today: 

“The Twitter TV Ratings will measure the number of people tweeting about TV programs as well as how many Twitter users are viewing those messages.

Nielsen says an analysis of the Twitter TV rating found the audience of users viewing tweets about a TV show is about 50 times larger than the authors firing off tweets.”

Cable shows will possibly benefit the most, as anything that can boost their numbers will help. Network television can also seize upon this opportunity as well to incorporate social media into the program (even more than they already do). With the increase in visibility into this rating, however, you can be sure Twitter will be incorporated into every new show pitch.

The challenge will be for content creators to show advertises these metrics still matter. Just because someone tweets about a show, doesn’t necessarily mean they should be more ad revenue.

What do you think? Do you think shows with heavy Twitter use matter more than without?

Blog Post: Nielsen All In With Social Media

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Blog Post: Why Twitter Will Be Rewarded For Thinking Mobile First

Everyone has talked this Twitter IPO thing to death, and I was wondering if I was struggling to find a great take on the situation. Many have speculated on the success metrics, but nobody really nailed why the social media platform had reached this point.

Enter the Wall Street Journal with the main factor: mobile-first strategy.

Think about it. As they launched, many were passing in its usefulness because they were on desktop machines. That was how Facebook reached out to so many. LinkedIn the same. Yet, even today, I do not really enjoy the web interface of Twitter.

Of course, we all know the story of the famous South by Southwest that truly put Twitter on the map. The momentum gained from tripling its user base in one week has not faded. That doesn’t happen without the iPhone and a fantastic mobile experience.

The pairing of the platform with TV works even better because anyone who enjoys tweeting knows the best time to do so is during live events. When I went to a Dallas Cowboys game on Monday night in 2012, the experience would not have been complete without sharing.

Wish I could have tweeted the ‘Boys to a victory!

I am not going to speculate on the success of the coming IPO because so many factors will go into that beyond my purview. What I will point to is how companies trying to formulate a strategy of success for the rest if this decade must think like Twitter and go mobile first.

We aren’t putting our devices down anytime soon. Be a part of that experience.

Blog Post: Why Twitter Will Be Rewarded For Thinking Mobile First

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Blog Post: Twitter and Your TV

There have been rumblings of this coming for some time, but Twitter is making a major play to be the must-use companion of television watching. In this TechCrunch article, it is stated how the social media platform is “betting big” on television. I would argue there is no reason to state that television is a “bet” at this point, and it is even more clear when you look at the details of the new feature coming from Twitter.

The Silicon Valley giant is currently testing out a new trending aggregator for just television watching. Based on current traffic — mostly hashtags I would guess, but there could be other factors as well — it will list cards of popular shows complete with more information about the particular episode.

Genius of this feature is it can be used on live broadcasts, DVR, and streaming media systems. Regardless of your feelings on cord-cutting, you can have an impact on what is trending in TV on Twitter.

Can you imagine a world where Twitter could replace Nielsen in terms of how shows are rated? It’s coming. Maybe not from Twitter, but the data around what is popular to active, engaged viewers is available for the taking. I would take that over a journal sent to a few hundred thousand four times a year.

This also has mobile implications, because developers are already utilizing devices as “second screens” in unique ways. If the trending data from Twitter is made available, networks could integrate it into their apps for even more engagement with their entrenched fans.

Keep your eye on this, because this is how TV viewing will be changed for the next decade (along with some broadcasters finally sticking it to cable providers). 

Blog Post: Twitter and Your TV

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Blog Post: @Twitter Looks To Be Second Screen Of #Advertising

The validity of this product concept needs a little time and public endorsement to succeed, but I really admire Twitter for really putting themselves out there.

Concept is simple: advertisers buy ad space on TV. You tweet about a show. Ad people see the tweet and have the chance to see if you liked their commercial on the social network. Simple right?

Twitter hopes so.

The chance for user engagement is huge. The platform proved as much with TV watching in general, why wouldn’t it work for product integration and commercials?

Maybe so. The possibility exists, though, that the audience that uses Twitter might also fast forward through commercials on DVR. They could also watch online, maybe even torrent.

Time will tell. I think this is a great idea, one that can result in additional revenue for my social network of choice.

Blog Post: @Twitter Looks To Be Second Screen Of #Advertising

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Blog Post: Twitter Just Changed The Game

Many have wondered what Twitter was going for as a long term business model. Without an IPO, they have been mostly dependent on investor money to keep the pipelines flowing. Sure, they have some ad revenue currently, but anyone who thinks it pays the bills is kidding themselves. For long term viability of the platform, they needed a game changer in terms of revenue.

That announcement came my way today in the form of this great piece from Financial Times.

Twitter has taken a big step on to traditional media turf by signing its biggest advertising deal with one of the world’s leading ad-buyers, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal with Publicis’s Starcom MediaVest Group is worth

What does that mean to the lay person? This site will start generating some real cash very soon. It also means that some high profile brands basically staked their claim on your Twitter feed. Proctor & Gamble, Walmart, Microsoft and Coca-Cola just bought themselves some prime real estate.

I, for one, am excited about this because all the whispers of Twitter going away can now subside. For years it has been my preferred method of consuming and broadcasting information. A fresh supply of revenue will only strengthen the name of Twitter and possibly transform mobile advertising.

Twitter was made for mobile, and brand recognition can only increase with the platform (Vine included). Keep an eye on your feed, because change is coming.

Blog Post: Twitter Just Changed The Game

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Blog Post: I Am The Vine, But Who Are The Branches?

By now, many of you have heard of Vine, the new platform to share your animated GIFs. For those that don’t know what an animated GIF is, Google is your friend. There’s only a few terabytes of data set aside for you to view.

Granted, the biggest news that Vine has made in the last few days has been related to how Facebook hates it and has put a pox upon it’s soul. Besides that, we are left with what could be the end of the 30 second commercial.

In terms of television advertising, I don’t know if we will ever be through with the 30-second spot. For decades, we have been spoon-fed product ideas for that length of time and I don’t see that medium changing course any time soon. Recently, Internet marketers have tried to add value to the advertisements they place by adding time (often in strange increments) to the spots placed online. 

Vine may change all that with their six-second clips.

Imagine being able to flow through your feed, whether it is on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or any other desired framework. It’s filled with still images (for the most part) begging you to click on the image or link for more information on the next great product in your life. Instead, imagine that same feed with small commercial clips, telling you about products in six-second-looped clips. More information could be parsed quickly and easily than ever before!

Will this require some innovation? Of course! When it comes to the great minds that have transformed ads into every possible medium provided, they haven’t failed us yet.

Keep your eye out for more of these “Vines” in your social media feeds. My guess, is that you will see more and more of them in the year to come. A new standard could be on the horizon, and we are watching it pass in short loops.

I am Jack’s interest piqued.

Blog Post: I Am The Vine, But Who Are The Branches?

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Blog Post: What Does It Mean To Own Content?

It’s funny how people still view social media and digital distribution applications as little kids at the big media table. Granted, any new media is viewed that way by the established model for forever. Twitter has been in the middle of the most recent battle over content. It’s prominence in how people consume news has forced policies of all kind. None of those policies have stopped them from poaching content from others.

Maybe that will change now.

Reuters reported a finding by a judge in New York that a photographer should have been consulted by Agence France-Presse and The Washington Post before running an image posted on Twitter. Getty Images is also named in a similar suit but was not part of this particular ruling.

Packed away in the Terms of Service for Twitter is a clause that requires news organizations to get permission from non-employees before running whatever is posted. Twitter,”respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users of the Services to do the same. Makes you wonder how any decision other than this could have ever been made.

These are the same organizations that force YouTube to take down content they didn’t authorize others to broadcast. What if you tried to make money off this content on your own site? You would have your domain seized by the federal government as well as any assets gained in the process.

Thankfully, someone had the courage to stand up and take back control of his own content. There should be some interesting implications regarding this outcome. We might even see this argued in the highest court in the land. Anyone with a blog, Twitter account or any other form of digital distribution should keep their eyes on this one. It will affect us all and hopefully let us control what we create.

Blog Post: What Does It Mean To Own Content?

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