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Robert Young, a frequent guest columnist on OM Malik’s Blog, has written a very accurate description about the changing media landscape and the power balance between consumers and corporations. The post is called: Social Nets and the power of the URL.

According to Young, one of the most effective ways to measure the shifting balance of power between consumers and corporations it to look at the web as a huge collection of URL’s (I would call it the WebDNA), and then distinguish those URL’s that are controlled by corporations vs consumers.

Simply put, each and every URL should be viewed as a container for content that, in turn, can be distributed and redistributed. And the control of such distribution is increasingly in the hands of consumers, not corporations.

I like that precise definition, it really is what it all boils down to. That is why I prefer to call the URL’s for the WebDNA. Towards the end of the post he envisions the future of people powered community based-distribution networks:

Looking out several years, it’s not too difficult to envision a media landscape where the majority of traditional media distribution outlets reliant on the benefits of natural monopoly economics have largely been replaced with a highly-fragmented layer of people-powered community-based distribution networks.

I really believe that this is what we are going to see, in a way one could refer to “people-powered community-based distribution networks” as a true democratic economy, really even going beyond democracy in the sense that it is both empowering and rewarding the individual.

New York Times has a good write up about how user generated content and how it is changing the media landscape. The article’s conclusion, is that most amateurs are just happy for having their clips posted on sites for everybody to see. However, more and more media companies are offering prices or even paying for user generated content. Even Yahoo is said to have signalized that it is moving away from creating its on content in favor of user generated material – and are willing to pay for it.

So what is so compelling about user-created material?

1. It is cheap
2. It taps into the social aspect of interactive media

But while user-generated materials can attract a lot of attention and drive a lot of traffic to sites like Myspace , the article points out that so far it has not been regarded as a winning format for major advertisers. Myspace is adding up to a million registered users a week, but has attracted little advertising reveune relative to its audience.

In response to this, Viacom’s chief executive, Tom Freston, is qouted saying, “It’s like inserting the advertising into a conversation between two people, and there are still a lot of questions about advertisers supporting user-created content.”

Still, I believe that there really is a good window of opportunity for user-generated content sites and networks over the coming two years, because at the end of the day, its one of the things that makes people tick’. We are all looking for a stage, for a little fame even if it is not on a American Idol format level, but rather amongs our own little circle of friends and peers.

Piper Jaffray held their third Annual China Internet & Technology Conference in Beijing last week. From the discussions & presentations held at the conference, the following key take aways emerged:

1. The economy is less of a risk, compared with last year
2. Leaders are emerging within the sector
3. Companies are more realistic about market opportunity and margin leverage
4. Regulation is helping moderate growth rate, preventing potential bubbles
5. New areas are emerging in blogs, social networking, etc.
6. Adoption of advertising and online medium by small businesses is increasing
7. Local companies enjoy home-grown advantage

Focus Media and Ctrip are emerging as leaders, Baidu and TOM Group as well. Baidu is dominating search and Google will have a difficult and uphill struggle in challenging Baidus domination. Online advertising is expecting to grow 35-40% during 2006 (an amazing oppertunity here). What I find particulariy interesting is the new areas that are emerging in blogs and social networking. According to Piper Jaffray, blogging is the big new trend catching on very rapidly. They also believe that it will continue to grow, and the existing players such as Bokee, Blog CN, Sina and surprise: MSN Spaces are likely to be market leaders. Other rapidly growing companies are: online match making, phone agencies and travel search engines.

Against this background I must say that Maxthon is very well positioned in China, we are already driving a huge percentage of Baidu’s search traffic, we are the second biggest browser in China and our user growth in China (as well as outside of) are just exploading.

Tags: Piper Jaffray Tags: China Tags: Internet Tags: Technology Tags: Focus Media Tags: Ctrip Tags: Baidu Tags: Tom Online Tags: Advertising Tags: BlogsTags: Social networks Tags: Bokee Tags: Blog CN Tags: Sina Tags: MSN Spaces Tags: Maxthon

Dinner in Tel Aviv with Techcrunch

Here’s a group picture from the Techcrunch dinner in Tel Aviv. From the right, Michel Arrington (look he’s got Maxthon on a U3 key around the neck!). I’m the happy guy between Michael and Ouriel.

Related posts: China: Strength in Advertising Suggests A Stable Year Ahead, Yide Partners With Maxthon To Launch Browser, Ice Age 2 Viral Campaign, Why I Love Podcasts, The Art of Creating A Community, Digging Maxthon, IE7, Firefox and Opera, Me in New Media Age, Maxthon Users Put Yourself On The Map, Call For Action! Create Your Own Maxthon Video!, Maxthon Make The Illuminati Seem Like Exhibitionists, Today I Become the Offical Anyfilms Blogger For Samsung Mobile, TooDou – Video & Podcast Sharing From China, Douban – A Chinese Book, Music and Movie Recommendation Thing, Celebrating One Year As A Blogger, Cartoons, Dane’s & Word of Mouth

Guy Kawasaki from “Let the good times roll”, by provides us with some valuable advice about the art of creating a community. Having been involved in quite a few “community building companies”, I think that Maxthon by far exceeds them all. The thriving, ever growing and passionate Maxthon community is build by users and with users around one common interest, namely creating the best possible browsing experience out there. Just to get a feel of the Maxthon community read Ron White’s article in Network Computing to get a feel..

Maxthon has several sites initiated and build by community members themselves from plug-in-sites, skins-sites, help-sites, to blogs sites and Wikis‘ and much more. The art of creating a community is, to constantly nurture it, let is develop by itself as an ever changing organic being. However, just as every beautiful garden needs the caring touch of a gardener – so a community needs the caring hand of its community builder.

Like Guy rightfully points out – it is very important to stimulate the discourse and not try to play down critical voices from within the community on stuff you’re doing. There will always be people who don’t approve of what your are doing etc, but ignoring critical voices from you community, is like not listening to one of your family members. Hey, they are part of the family, and many times the reason for why your company reached where it reached – you listen to your family don’t you?

Related posts: Digging Maxthon, IE7, Firefox and Opera, Me in New Media Age, Maxthon Users Put Yourself On The Map, Today I Become the Offical Anyfilms Blogger For Samsung Mobile, TooDou – Video & Podcast Sharing From China, Douban – A Chinese Book, Music and Movie Recommendation Thing, How To Fold A T-Shirt, Celebrating One Year As A Blogger, Cartoons, Dane’s & Word of Mouth

Technorati Tags: Guy Kawasaki, Community, Maxthon, Let the good times roll

New Media Age (19.01.06) published a piece on Samsung Anyfilms project, mentiones me and my role in this exciting project. The article is for subcribers only, but here is what it said:

Samsung promotes short-film initiative via blogs and Yahoo!

Samsung has launched an online campaign to promote its multi-million-pound AnyFilms short films for mobile and Internet initiative, using blogging, messageboard marketing and search marketing. The company has also secured Yahoo! as its global media partner to promote the AnyFilms project. The online campaign has been developed by Hyper Happen, a joint venture between creative agency Fallon and strategic planning consultancy Naked Communications, to seed interest in AnyFilms ahead of any future above-the-line marketing activity.

AnyFilms, launched in December, is designed to position Samsung as a leading brand in mobile entertainment. The site features short films that can be viewed on mobiles or online, by Hollywood directors Joel Murray, Alex Merkin and Mark Dippe. A separate interactive film enables users to tailor the way they understand the content by providing 11,000 different ways to view the film.

The initiative has been developed by Hyper Happen alongside New York agencies MFP, First Look and Burger King Subservient Chicken creator Barbican Group, plus Tokyo agency Drill.

Hyper Happen has tied up with Israeli A-list blogger Netanel Jacobssen to kick-start the online campaign. The agency views such bloggers as key to effective blog marketing, enabling trusted links to spread.

“Blog marketing can go horribly wrong, so it’s crucial to work with bloggers who are linked in and trusted by all the A-list bloggers,” said Hyper Happen partner Brad Fairhead.

Messageboard marketing has been used to stimulate conversation and debate of the AnyFilms initiative. The Yahoo! media deal goes beyond straightforward banner promotion to include editorial coverage of AnyFilms throughout the site.

Finally, a search marketing campaign covers keywords such as ‘cool content’ and ‘mobile movies’.

“Samsung has taken a big leap with this campaign,” said Fairhead. “It could have just gone with a normal banner campaign. What we’re doing is risky as it could have fallen flat.”

Well, I don’t know about the ” A-list blogger” part, however, it is alway nice to get recognition for what you do.

It seems like Scoble have nothing better to do over at Microsoft today than inventing a new word (brrreeeport), then tag it and see what happens. BTW, the brrreeeport sounds extremely familiar to a certain bodily sound that Adam Curry happens to let loose in the Daily Source Code on a regular basis like a 30 second spot…sponsored by (oh you know by whoom..). The worst thing is that even I find myself writing a post on it..Is this the sad true state of the blogosphere today, or is it just what makes people tick’?

Looking at the more serious side of it (if there is any..) when I was running a blog campaign for Samsung Mobile’s Anyfilms.net some time ago, I noticed that Google Blog Search by far out numbered Technorati and the others in tracking the posts. Technorati turned out to be really disappointing as a reliable tracking tool (which was a pity since I really like their service). The big surprise however, was MSN Search tracking far more blogs with the tag “anyfilms” than the others (after Google of course).

Technorati Tags: Brrreeeport, Technorati, Google, MSN Search, Scoble, Microsoft, Tags, Search, Tracking, Blogs, Blogging, Adam Curry, Daily Source Code, Samsung Mobile, Samsung, Mobile, Anyfilms, Video, Film, Movies

Anyfilms.net Blog on Yahoo 360

Today I offically become the “Anyfilms blogger“, on behalf of Samsung Mobile for the Anyfilms.net project through my cooperation with Hyper Happen on Yahoo 360. On the Anyfilms blog on Yahoo 360, I will discuss the cross over between cell phones and movie technology, and the future of movie making in general. Check it out for yourself, come join me in the discussion and let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: Anyfilms.net, Anyfilms, Samsung , Samsung Moblie, Movies, Films, Mobile, Cell phones, Gadgets, Blogs, Yahoo, Yahoo 360, Hyper Happen, Media, Blogging

TooDou – Video & Podcast Sharing From China

Related posts: Douban – A Chinese Book, Music and Movie Recommendation Thing

Technorati Tags: Internet, Media, China, We Media, Citizen Media, Podcast, Video, Music, mp3, Movies, Sharing, Youtube, web2.0

Douban in Chinese

Technorati Tags: Maxthon, Internet, Media, China, Blogs, Recommendations, Movies, Books, Music, web2.0, Chinese