The Best of 2.0: Video Meets the SocNet PaidContent brought OurChart.com to our attention this morning. It's a social network based around webisodes that are loosely spun off of Showtime's The L Word. It's worth noting that the Long Tail social networks centered around content seems to be working. PaidContent reports 72,000 users and over half a million hits thus far and there's only one episode up (although the social networking aspect appears to have taken off). The creators report that the show came first and then the SocNet was built around that.
OurChart.com and GirlTrash (the webisode series which is clearly NSFW!) is a perfect example of how the Long Tail works. Our favorite Web 2.0 applications, web video and social networking come together to bring a certain demographic together, in the case of OurChart.com, lesbians. It's certainly a very specific demographic that is valuable to some advertisers (most of the banners I've seen are for content from Showtime's The L Word, to XM Satellite Radio's LGBT "The Agenda" programming, to a True Colors concert series. While the numbers are not staggering like MySpace or Facebook, this is a very targeted demographic where advertisers know that every pair of eyeballs could be a potential customer as opposed to a MySpace where there are many "wasted" impressions.
The combination of professionally created content around a social network seems to be a very powerful combination. I'm very interested in how other content can be as perfectly segmented as GirlTrash and OurChart. There hasn't been much content out there that has a definitive audience as GirlTrash. Perhaps a WallStrip and StockPickr joint venture is next?
Crowds Being Manipulated I didn't want to write about this, but I think that if its brought to attention to most of these online platforms, perhaps something will be done about it. Some of the most influential websites include Digg, Reddit, YouTube, MySpace, and Yahoo News. Like most social networking sites, these sites include areas for superlatives, that is Most Viewed, Most Emailed, Highest Rated, etc. Collactive which Sequoia Capital invested in (via The Alarm Clock) helps you get your story to the top of these sites. You simply submit your story to Collactive and they utilize their network to affect the social network rankings. Digg, of course, is not happy with this, as their tool like most of the other tools above is all about the collective "wisdom of crowds" and not about a single lobbyist manipulating the system. However, as Mashable has pointed out before, its fairly easy to game YouTube to get to the "Most Viewed" list via a couple of browser plug ins and a desire to do so.
As you can see this is a big problem not just for marketers but news in general. To some extent, yes, we need editors to make sure that we get real news on the front page instead of simply the most viewed, otherwise we'd still probably be reading about Anna Nicole. But at the same time, Web 2.0 is about the collective intelligence of the group, and not simply the brute force that Collactive or any other system manipulation provides. And therefore you can see the danger here. The Web is about equality and not about money. However, if tools can be used to receive honorable mentions, high diggs, YouTube views, then the rich will continue to get richer. Great products and services will still be available online but will need to compete against the deep pockets of larger companies whose products might not be as superior. Furthermore, if we know that these rankings are being manipulated then what's the point? It becomes editorial again and the most Digg'd article becomes similar to "Collactive Presents..." and YouTube's Most Viewed becomes "Videos who's owners had nothing better to do but refresh a few hundred thousand times in order to draw traffic to their own websites."
It's a big problem for Web 2.0 just like spam was a big problem (and still is) for Web 1.0, especially for YouTube, where SuperMoviesDownload.com is trying to steal some of their traffic by gaming the system. And based on this, perhaps they will be able to more accurately reflect the collective wisdom of crowds...
Trouble for US IR Sites? The latest statistics from Alexa (via IR Web Report) show that traffic to Thomson's IR sites (corporate-ir.net) have hit an all time low. With a large number of US blue chips and mid cap companies using Thomson, along with the recent run up in the S&P 500, one would expect a positive correlation between page views and stock price. However, the latest statistics do not corroborate this. It seems that investors are turning more to blogs (like Seeking Alpha and tons of other blogs talking about industry, companies, products, etc), portals (like Yahoo! Finance) and message boards/social networks (like Stockpickr and Bullpoo) for their information. Is it a Web 2.0 thing? Doesn't appear to be, as Dominic Jones also notes that European companies' traffic is hitting an all time high.
What is happening here? I think its a few fold. The web is becoming more dynamic and static 'push' sites like Thomson's are just not cutting it. Investors would like a voice and an opinion in what is going on and the blog makes for a perfect forum for it. Social networks like stockpickr and bullpoo have become increasingly popular. Everyone wants to know what everyone else thinks. (I hate to bring it up again, but the Wisdom of Crowds effect.) Further, social networks give everyone an equal footing to be judged based solely on performance. Portals like Yahoo! Finance are not "Web 2.0" ified but then again, its been a staple since pre-Web 2.0 days. WHAT? What I mean is that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Another example: Bloomberg. In my opinion most traders are using Bloomberg as an instant messaging platform. Why? Because they've been using it since pre-email and they are comfortable with it. People have been using Yahoo! Finance since Web 1.0 and they have all of their data inputted and so forth (and since its customized, techincally it could be Web 2.0). Investors relying on third party information like this is truly dangerous. As an IR/PR/Marketer you have no control over what message is being broadcast to the investment community about you. What to do about this? Well, as I mentioned before, about 5% of the Fortune 500 has a blog, and yes we are still waiting for the SEC ruling on Reg FD. However, its clear that instant gratification/communication is what the investment community wants, not day old or even half day old IR information. While it may mean more communication, I think that in the long run investors will be won over and you'll be able to broadcast your true message.
Coke has really embraced the young consumer market with this promotion as they have a MySpace page, encourage you to upload your Second Life creation via YouTube, and of course have you create something in Second Life. This is a full embracement of the Web 2.0 sphere which is something that I haven't seen yet. I also think that Coke is trying to make up for the backlash they received from not fully acknowledging the diet coke and mentos phenomena. While the prize is kind of lame, a trip to San Francisco to be in a documentary, I think that Coke will receive a good number of entries simply based on the fact that people would like to win this very first Second Life creation prize, especially since the contest is about capturing the essence of Coke, and not having to create something that actually works. Again, the great thing about the "flattening" of the world today is that professional tools are now available to the prosumer. Second Life might not be Maya, but it allows you to share with others what is in your mind. Final Cut Pro is the industry standard. After Effects is used in Hollywood movies. And the great thing is that all of these programs install on your MacBook Pro. The bar is going to be raised in terms of production, but alas even like Hollywood, content is king. And in Coke's words: "A truly unique and exciting stick drawing is better than a been-there-done-that professional 3D animation."
Update: Companies Happy with Web 2.0 Well everyone that's spent some cash on your peer to peer network you can now be happy. McKinsey's Survey (registration required) shows that most people are very satisfied with their Web 2.0 investment over the past five years. Most of these folks categorized themselves as fast followers or early adopters, probably because they were able to get in before demand increased and therefore got a good price. In fact 42% said that they invested at the right time while 24% said that they should have invested sooner. A gray web services investment was being used by 80% of respondents followed by collective intelligence, peer to peer, and social networking. Bringing up the rear was mashups, blogs, and wikis, which are not even being considered by many of the respondents. India had the greatest percent increase in investment dollars followed by AsiaPac and Europe, while Retail and High Tech led the way for industries.
Overall the report doesn't say anything that we don't know or couldn't have inferred. The greatest tech growth is obviously in the countries with little to no tech infrastructure. At this time, India and China. Blogs and Wikis still are having a tough time being adopted because companies are still very protective of their IP and don't want anything out there that could offer up their competitive advantage to the industry. Web Services, peer to peer and collective intelligence strategies are leading the way as they are the backbone for any type of further collaboration internally. One lesson learned though is that many of them wish that they had implemented this technology faster. I guess sometimes we never learn, since collaborative technologies like blogs and wikis will (possibly) become a norm, yet very few companies are investing in them.
social networks centered around content seems to be working. PaidContent reports 72,000 users and over half a million hits thus far and there's only one episode up (although the social networking aspect appears to have taken off). The creators report that the show came first and then the SocNet was built around that. 
