Posts Tagged YouTube
Social Networking via your Smart TV…the future is closer than you think:
Posted by Paul McSweeney in E-Commerce, Facebook, Online Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking, Thoughts & Opinions, Traditional Marketing, Web Development, World News on May 18th, 2010
A year from now, according to Intel, television will have been reinvented by a concept it calls, Smart TV. Google and Intel are widely expected to announce a significant breakthrough into consumer electronics and the broadcast industry with the announcement of the launch of a “Smart TV” platform.
Intel says it’s chips and software will enable not just internet video streaming but could also allow operators to turn set-top boxes into video game consoles with games served over their connection.
Grid-style TV guides will be replaced by interfaces blending broadcast TV with internet content.
Samsung, Sony, LG, Vizio, Sharp and Panasonic are all releasing internet-enabled TVs this year with features such as Skype video calls, Netflix movie streaming and on-screen widgets that offer news, weather, financial quotes, social networking and internet radio.
With TV’s, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes rapidly adding wired or wireless internet connectivity to their features, a host of companies are tailoring and integrating web-based content for living room entertainment.
Apple has yet to mount a serious challenge to. It’s Apple TV box allow users to buy and rent movies from its iTunes Store to play on their TVs. But apart from YouTube videos and Flickr photos, it’s access to the wider web is limited.
Intel Chief Executive, Paul Otellini, told analysts last week that “The revolution we’re about to go through is the biggest single change in television since it went colour”. It already has a backlog of 1m units for its latest Atom Chip; which offers better audio and video performance, wider and open software support and is cheaper than the competition.
For it’s part, Google is expected to call on its Android developer community this week to create applications for TVs and its software could prove popular if it also promises advertising revenue for TV manufacturers.
YouTube: no longer simply one big video library!
Posted by Paul McSweeney in World News on April 27th, 2010
There are over 78m registered users and 24hrs of video uploaded to be shared on YouTube every minute (source: Social Commerce Today) Whilst much of this content is not so much shopping-related, research shows that people are increasingly sharing information on products and services via YouTube. For younger people especially, YouTube is fast becoming their premier product information resource. A new shopping search engine if you like.
One of the best examples of this is a video showing a diver being effectively mugged by an octopus. The diver was trying out a new Panasonic camera, which the octopus stole. The video depicting the robbery and the subsequent chase to get it back, went viral with over 2 million views in just a few days. Moreover, this created long conversation threads, with much of the conversation focusing not just on the event, but also on the durability of the camera and the quality of the video!
Of course, this is beyond the wildest dreams of the Panasonic marketing department, but it shows an important point. This is content from real people using real products in real situations – and this is far more compelling than content which is pushed at the consumer via any marketing agency. It shows YouTube as a powerful product demo tool.
http://bit.ly/abNNTb
I am not suggesting that this happens all the time of course. It is more luck than anything. Something takes hold and it just goes from strength to strength. The power of the viral loop is something everyone is chasing, but very few marketing agencies manage to attain. It is something neither they nor any manufacturer can control. It all lies with the user. No-one can predict it.
But when it comes to marketing, video can be a great way to interact with potential customers, but you must do it correctly in order to attract new customers and not chase them away. They must see your video as providing them with interaction as well as value in order to be an effective means of social media marketing.
YouTube should certainly not be overlooked as a social media tool. We would be interested in hearing your YouTube success stories. How have you used it? How has it worked for you? Do you have any tips or tricks that you would like to share? Please use the comment section to share your YouTube experiences.
