Pandora - Post No Bills

The following is a bit of a whine so skip it unless you want your IQ to drop a couple.

We all like money. I like it. You like it. Don't lie. So I know that the very awesome Pandora music player also likes it. But, dammit, stop interrupting my music with Smelly Dove Body Wash ads. I'm done with it.

I am so in love with you, Pandora, and now all these ads started getting between us. You play awesome music and then all the sudden I am being told to smell better (peachy or kiwi-ish, no less.)

I know, I know nothing good comes for free, but what about our love, Pandora? Our mutual love of beautiful music. You even introduce me to new and beautiful music! Who thought life could be so sweet. I was raised on Napster -- when it was FREE -- and then was made to feel like a criminal when record companies started suing middle-schoolers for having too much ripped Metallica.

Isn't it enough that you have a little ad on the side? It doesn't interrupt anything and I see it there. I'll click it if I'm interested.

When all is said and done, I will still listen to you, though. If you haven't checked it out, yet, here ya go: http://pandora.com. Believe me, it's worth it. It's like being a really lazy radio DJ.

4 Points From "Breaking Boundaries"

Last night, I attended PRSSA's "Breaking Boundaries: The Revolution of Social Media." The event was a success. Thank you to panelists and moderator: @jerseycoach, @gloriabell, @blankbaby, @k8teshields, @podcaststeve, @conversationage, and @gloriabell. Here's what I learned.

1 - The principle of paying it forward. Thanks to Gloria and Moderator, Rick Alcantara, for bringing this up. The way to attract people in the virtual social world is the same as in the real world. Be kind, generous, and pass things along.

2 - Valeria Maltoni and Kate Shields brought up and emphasized the fact that people trust their peers more than they trust marketers. That fact probably explains why Social Networking sites are the most popular and visited sites. It also explains why a user-generated site like http://tripadvisor.com is visited more often than any other travel site.

3 - Panelist Steven Lubetkin reminded us that customers are actively looking for our product online. Social Networking makes it easy for marketers to tap into communities that already want our product.

4 - Right off the bat, Scott McNulty made the point that Social Media is two-way. Don't do just all listening or all talking. Do a bit of both.

Four Insights From Philly Interactive Event

First of all, thanks Philadelphia Interactive Marketing Association (http://www.phillyinteractive.org/) for putting on such a fabulous and informative event called "Monetizing Video Online: Transforming Digital Pennies Into Dollars."

1. "Trust Your Agency." This pertinent quote and opinion was shared by two of the Panelists, Kevin McGurn from Hulu.com and Brendan Gallagher from Digitas Health. What they seemed to mean by this was that clients need to trust their advertising agencies to place ads and come up with a game plan to achieve the company's specific goals. The internet especially has a lot of under-researched possibilities and sometimes immeasurable ROIs. However, the medium has been around long enough that a good agency will know how to incorporate a New Media game plan as part of an over all campaign.

2. "Trained Viewer." This was an extremely interesting point made by all of the panelists. Regarding shows and movies, the consumer or viewer accepts and understands commercial interruptions. However, people are not willing to accept YouTube interruptions. Nor are they willing to accept having their internet content interrupted. The consumer gets "used to" or "trained" participating with content in a certain way particular to the medium. The trick is getting people to the point where they accept certain interruptive aspects of the internet and learning what their limits are.

3. "Capturing Lightning In A Bottle." This was the pet phrase for discussing utilizing YouTube to make clients money. I suppose agencies like to make promises that they can deliver. Obviously. But I refuse to believe monetizing YouTube is impossible and the charms are not as fleeting as every one seems to believe. Blendtec is the classic example. Susan Boyle is another. Let's get a true understanding of what makes a video truly viral or "sharable."

4. "Sharability." Not to be confused with Budweiser's "Drinkability." This is my new favorite word and will be applied to every thing I produce on the internet. The best quality of this word is that it focuses the content on the consumer. It forces the producer to ask herself, "if I am the viewer, will I share this with my friends or will I be bored out of my mind?" It forces creators to be a little more viewer-centric rather than company-centric.