Monthly Archives: June 2008

June 27, 2008 · 10:03 am

Integrated Measurement

As Emily Litella might have said, “What’s all this about integrated measurement?  Why, all the people measuring media already measure everyone – Black, White, Asian, etc.  What more integration do we need?”

OK, so that’s not as good as “violins on television” but the point is we DO need more integrated measurement of all media.  It’s a big topic right now and I’ve had a number of folks ask me how, or if, I think it happens.

To me, it’s a “when” not an “if” and the “how” is through the one place that seems to be the junction of all media these days – the ISP, and more specifically the cable guys.  A large percentage of folks get their TV and their Internet through the same pipe.  It’s not unreasonable to think that as those providers move into wireless and other places (or in the case of Verizon, if they’re already there), use of mobile devices can be added to the mix.

Good column discussing the topic by Diane Mermigas today.  Add to that what Sony is doing with set top boxes, the growth of companies such as Phorm, Microsoft’s purchase of Navic, and I think you get a sense that this is where we’re heading.  I, for one, am glad.  Having spent many years living and dying with the Nielsen TV ratings, which are estimates and less accurate than what we’ll be getting in a few years, the process of analyzing consumers’ media habits and the most efficient ways to reach them will be a lot easier.

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June 25, 2008 · 5:34 pm

It’s Different

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the NY Video 2.0 Meetup.  We (myself and 449 of my BFF) heard presentations from Boxee, Hulu, Move Networks, MediaMerx and Visible Measures, all of which were interesting and pointed to the continued migration of media onto well-integrated (across devices and networks) digital platforms.  More on them in another post.

What was most interesting to me was the spirit of camaraderie that prevailed.  Most of the folks in the room were working for early- or mid-stage companies.  Most seemed no older than their mid-30’s (babies!).  All seemed enthusiastic about the business they were in and had a sense that they were helping to change the way the world consumes media.  There was, most of all, a sense of community.  People were encouraged to grab a mic and offer up positions they were trying to fill or consulting help they needed.  It was a feeling of openness and “we’re all in this together” even though you know many of these companies compete head to head and there will be both winners and losers.

Very refreshing and hopefully as a new generation of businesspeople bubble up, a spirit that will come along with them.  Way less cutthroat then the way I remember it being as I was making my bones.  Maybe a side effect of all the social networking is making people more…social!

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June 24, 2008 · 3:33 pm

Check It Out

Over the course of my career, I’ve been involved in a lot of press releases.  I’ve also spoken with quite a few reporters.  Most of the time, I worked with the internal PR folks at my place of business.  Most of them were very focused on telling the best story while staying on the right side of the truth.  They and I never knowingly gave out false information.  Sure, we put the best face on whatever information we gave out and maybe we didn’t highlight (OK, or even mention) the not so good stuff.  But that’s it.  No lies.  Nothing made up.

Maybe I’m naive, but I’m surprised how often I read something that clearly has come from a press person, or from an executive who generally works with a press person, and something says to me “check it out.”  Like most folks these days, I have a pretty good grasp on what the “search” bar is for and it generally doesn’t take more than a bit of looking to figure out if there is a disconnect with the facts and the story.  Sometimes I even know someone who does know the real story and, frankly, I’m sad when I find out someone I know and/or respect is outright lying.

There are a number of sites that do this in the political world but not that many in business.  In fact, the New York Times was embarrassed not too long ago by their failures to check out information they’d been fed.  Is the amount of information we get every day making us lazy?  Are we expecting to be spoon-fed everything?  Or are we just overwhelmed and the demands on media to publish RIGHT NOW make careful analysis and commentary impossible?

Next time you hear some fantastic numbers or a great business story, do some checking.  Let’s see if someone didn’t let the facts get in the way of their story.

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Filed under Helpful Hints, Reality checks

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