A Few Simple Questions

I received an email from a former colleague of mine looking to break back into the creative online ad world. He sent me a few questions which I hammered out some answers to and sent back to him. I found my own answers very interesting– not because I am completely narcissistic and egotistical, but because it made me think about some simple things that I don’t normally consider in the rush of daily life and work. Try asking yourself a few simple questions like these, and see where you end up. It might surprise you. Here’s an excerpt of the Q & A:

Where do you see Interactive media/advertising going in the next couple of years?
The landscape is fragmented. No one has the right answers yet. Boutiques are growing into larger agencies, larger agencies are trying to break themselves into boutiques. Pure-plays (digital agencies) are trying to be more strategic on the brand side, and global full-service agencies are trying to figure out how to hang onto the business when they cost so much. Everything is in flux.

Why does the Interactive space excite/motivate you?
Because it changes every day. Because there are no rules. We aren’t entrenched in 50 years of how things have been done, like television and radio.

What is the most exciting trend you see coming up in the Interactive area?
Data portability. It doesn’t sound sexy, but it would allow you to move your data from one vender or service to another. You would own your information and content. You could move your videos from YouTube to Vimeo if you wanted. Or from Facebook to Orkut. It would be much like transferring a word document from MS Word to Simple Text.

I’m also excited by online applications (Like Google Docs) that are the beginning of de-centralization: where we just need an access point, and don’t need a big heavy laptop. Free ubiquitous wi-fi would be nice as well.

What examples (read ‘list of links’) can you suggest of fantastic work you’ve seen or been a part of online?
As strange as it may sound, I’m less interested in campaigns and advertising online as I used to be. I am far more interested in the personality of an online communication tool, and how individuals and businesses us that tool to their possible advantage. Take Twitter for instance: it is a simple SMS broadcasting tool, set up to let people know what they are doing at any given time with a strict character limit of 180. Yet the community surrounding it and the many different uses of it, are of great interest. Using an application like Twitterific, I can keep track of what my ‘friends’ and acquaintances are doing and saying in real time. It’s like having a mini telepathic receiver on my desktop. Breaking news and viral videos come to me first. Interesting sights and links come to me first. It’s faster (and less predictable) than email. It’s not as invasive as Instant Messaging. I also get my New York Times and CBC headlines on it. I get blog updates, and track some of geekdom’s biggest celebrities: what they are thinking, what they are up to. It’s an application that has changed the way I use my computer.

To see some of the things that inspire me, or that I find, I have my collaborative link site at 1over100.com. It is published by me and a few friends, and contains found videos, sites, things of interest.

Ffffound.com is a sight that bookmarks images. I can’t wait to see how they monetize it.

Plaxo.com is an interesting way to keep track of your contacts, and what they are doing online.

The fastest growing social network in the universe right now is for kids: Webkinz.com. You cannot get into it without a plush animal that comes with a unique PIN code. Once inside, there are games, a virtual version of the pet, peer-to-peer “safe” chat and play dates, and countless product extensions with their OWN unique codes to makes sure kids want to buy things in the store and come back online in a vicious and expensive cycle.

The viral campaign for Cloverfield, the movie by JJ Abrams of “Lost” fame, was interesting. They created so much buzz online by not naming the movie or showing the monster. It made fans rabid for information, and Abrams’ team hid teasers online. These included pictures of a giant object on a Japanese radar screen, images of large chomped up fish washed up on a beach, etc. This fed the flames and created a monstrous opening week for the movie.

I’m fascinated by the viral videos being created for Barack Obama, as they all seem to stick in the top ten forever. Check out the ViralVideoChart.com to see what’s in the top 10 of videos shared online.

Hope that helps!