On the day we’re publishing a piece about :15 spots on the new MTV online service, the NYT has a piece about shorter spots gaining ground on TV. Meanwhile, I spoke to someone at iTV ad agency BrightLine Partners yesterday regarding Reebok’s debut of long-form content in the VOD environment. Could it be we’re seeing things migrate to :15s and shorter in more interruptive environments, and to longer forms in opt-in environments? It’d certainly make sense.
A little quiet
The next few days are likely to be quiet on the blog front. We’ve found out we can’t renew our lease in August (the month after the baby is due), so we are in intense house hunting mode. Meanwhile, the lame washer/dryer in the house (an all-in-one model I urge you to avoid at all costs) has broken. (I can’t remember the brand but it’s like this one.) So every day is an adventure in finding clean clothes. On top of it all, our home laptop is infected with spyware — it’s bad bad stuff that keeps re-installing itself despite multiple spyware scanning programs’ attempts to delete. All this to say that my non-work-time attention will likely be elsewhere for the next few days. *Sigh*
UPDATE: I checked the brand of the washing machine/dryer and it IS the Equator. Don’t buy one unless you are a glutton for punishment. Even when it worked it was a complete PITA.
You Know Blogs Are Going Mainstream When…
A book like this hits the stores. Can’t remember where I saw this originally — I think an ad in the print New Yorker (how’s that for recall?) — but one can now pre-order on Amazon. Needless to say there’s a blog to promote the book.
Google Gulp
Google is back this April 1 with a new product announcement, Google Gulp. This is a sign my blog is around a year old, as I recall one of my first rants was about Google’s Gmail PR fiasco last year. Some interesting notes from the Google Gulp FAQ that give some (humorous) hints about the company’s marketing/PR philosophy.
4. What if I don’t want to use Auto-Drink™?
No problem – simply turn off Auto-Drink™ on your Google Gulp preferences page.
5. Well, shouldn’t Auto-Drink™ be default-off?
You mean we should cripple a perfectly useful feature just because of a little bad PR?
6. Yes.
Okay.
7. How can I get my hands on a Google Gulp?
This “limited release” beta product is available to anyone who turns in a used Google Gulp bottle cap at any local retailer. If you don’t have any Gulp caps, ask a friend to give you one.
8. What if none of my friends have a Gulp cap to give me? Can’t you just give Google Gulp to anyone who wants it?
Well, we’re thinking about it, but, um, you have to understand that there are many considerations which go into deciding how to distribute —
9. I mean, isn’t this whole invite-only thing kind of bogus?
Dude, it’s like you’ve never even heard of viral marketing.
At least the company has a sense of humor about the controversies it causes.
UPDATE: Battelle, in a post very similar to mine (journalists think alike, I guess) says the company’s jokey privacy language weirds him out. I agree that it does sound a bit cavalier.
Also, people are saying Google Gulp “caps” are finding their way onto eBay. No time to check it out.
Highland Squares
Ran across this Flash Scottish trivia game promoting Scottish tourism and couldn’t resist linking. Test your knowledge on topics like Braveheart, Charles Rennie McIntosh, and the Loch Ness Monster etc. The game/site/etc. are all tied into New York Tartan Week, which we’ll unfortunately miss due to being on the other coast this year.
OptinRealBig files Ch 11
In light of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Scott Richter’s OptinRealBig, I thought it a good opportunity to link to a previous entry on the Daily Show interview of Richter. Searches for related topics have been coming up in my server logs, so it seems like there’s some interest. Very funny segment.