As someone who studies the impact of innovative technologies on markets and societies, I found it ironic to write books on the subject that were strongly rooted in traditional channel formats. I struggled with the paradox of urging people to challenge conventions when I clearly couldn’t follow suit. So, going back to the my first solo book, ENGAGE!, in 2010, and with every book following, I borrowed from iconic Hollywood trailers to promote each title. But the books themselves, were still…
Audience as the New Currency: YouTube and Its Impact on Hollywood and Social Media
Guest post by Brendan Gahan (@BrendanGahan), a YouTube marketing expert. Gahan was Forbes 30 under 30 for Marketing & Advertising and has helped Fortune 500 brands with their YouTube and social media marketing. Let’s face it: YouTube has become big business. One billion unique monthly users? Yes. Six billion hours of video watched each month? Yes. Over 100 hours worth of video uploaded each minute. Yes. All, yes. The dominant player in the online video space continues to blanket the…
Music, Film, TV: How social media changed the entertainment experience
Social media is more than a digital water cooler for TV and movies. The global conversation that takes place around events and the experiences people share based on what they watch teaches us about consumer preferences. More importantly, their activity influences behavior. Behavior counts for everything. Studying it is just the beginning of course. In order to understand and eventually steer behavior, we must translate activity into insights and in turn, translate insights into actionable strategies and programs. The Hollywood…
Hollywood’s Next Production: Gagging Social Media
Source I carefully considered this topic before sharing my views. In doing so, my perception might have altered since the news of Hollywood studios banning film stars from using Twitter initially broke. It’s not a secret that Hollywood has a long history of controlling what is said in the media. Like in almost every industry it touches, Twitter has completely disrupted the chain of command, democratizing influence and shifting the power of publicity, control and reach of information from executives…
Channeling Our Inner Celebrity Through Twitter and Social Media
After I finish the new (unannounced) book that I’m feverishly writing, I plan to finally pursue “Internet Famous – The rise of micro celebrity and the end of privacy.” Alexia Tsotsis (disclosure, she’s a dear friend) recently wrote an intriguing article at the LA Weekly entitled, “Is All of Hollywood the Bitch in Twitter’s Sex Tape or Just P. Diddy?” She links to a recent article written by A.J. Keen, author of the controversial book, Cult of the Amateur, in…
Snakes on a Mutha F*****g Plane is the New Blair Mutha F*****g Witch
The day has arrived! Seriously…Samuel L. Jackson lucked out on this one. From a marketer’s perspective, Snakes on a Plane (SoaP) is the new Blair Witch. Not because both are on the same plain field (heh), but both share a common channel for success. The power of the web has come down like the hand of god to save Samuel L. Jackson’s poor choice in movie roles. Whereas the success of the Blair Witch Project was spun out of people…
