You can't outsource content creation

I finally got around to watching the really well done Ted Koppell documentaries on China. While I am glad that Koppell's droll self satisfying humor is not a mainstay of documentary television, I was blown away by many of the insights into the new Chinese culture. One of the things that really stood out to me, was a set of interviews with a fashion photographer in China. While trained in America, he had returned to China to set up shop. One of the little gems in his discussions with Ted, was that Chinese and their education system puts no importance on the arts or creative thinking. I guess this isn't such a strange insight coming from the land that forced college professors to toil in the fields in order to be re-educated. But it struck me as odd in thinking about how much of a premium is being put on the Chinese as the next major consumer market, and the source of much production.
With economy progressing as well as it is, it is understandable why so many would be fearful of the outsourcing of jobs. Lord knows some of the finest developers to work on my projects don't speak English and will probably never need to. But more than that, what about my job? Certainly project management is a field that can be outsourced and probably made more effective through objective empirical study. But creative concepts and communication are some of the most context sensitive ideas there are. Can these be outsourced too?
Personally I hope not, but beyond my hubris, I think many of our archetypes and traditions that we generally riff on to sell brands and ideas are completely embedded in community and society. Would JetBlue's newest campaign work in a country where flying is not a commodity but an indulgence like it is in most of the world? Would Scion's innovative non-traditional advertising campaign work where 20-something lifestyle isn't tied to manifest destiny and individual identity?
Certainly it would be naive to say that some traditions and ideas aren't shared by all people around the world. And of course similar levels of income, education, and social progress make many cultures similar enough to lust after similar brands and ideas. But the other half of the equation remains how users approach media and messaging. It isn't enough to post a microsite and drive a European/North American audience through paid media and expect to see similar trends. Every culture embraces not only messaging, but information and media usage individually.
So what does all of this mean? Well, basically I think my job will be safe as long as American's keep up the trend of top consumers in the world. Hell even if we drop 4 or 5 places in consumption as part of GDP, I think I will be alright. Even if China isn't embracing creative thinking in it's culture, their are brilliant creative minds that will bring quality ideas to life for brands all over the world, especially China. And like all good creative ideas, it will be rooted in an understanding of what narratives work for potential consumers, as well as how people are looking for and using information. Some process' can be outsourced for great benefit, but the things that touch us as individuals will be defined by a direct understanding of what makes us tick as a people.

Why Ad Agencies won't save advertising

I love advertising. I think that while some tactics and campaigns may be ill concieved or downright stupid, in general advertising serves as a counterpoint to our day to day lives. Marketing provides a meter of our culutural and sociological patterns either through context or content.
Ok enough pandering. I definitely think that advertising has a lot to add to
our lives and social conversation. But the advertising industry, like most large systems, is set to perpetuate it's own existence. From strategy to concepting to media to execution, ad agencies are part of a larger microcosm that is built on the principles that have defined it through generations. Outrageous costs, self perpetuating metrics, and supporting industries built around antiquated methods litter the industry.
Hollywood and the RIAA are learning first hand what holding onto outdated systems and process' can mean for antiquated business models. While ad agencies still sell branded items, the consumer is gently moving to a model that finds and uses information differently. The media is the message, and while the message has not changed, the media has evolved. While some entrepeneurs are embracing the new method, many hinge on multi-million dollar production budgets and the spread of large companies to create content.
The last major shift in the evolution of content was cable television. Many large companies attempted to buy and apply their working models. However the audience demand and splintering of content and delivery forced large companies to get out of the way and let enterprising small companies design the future of delivery. After many years, and many failures, a stabilizing method was born out of a new paradigm.
Their is much we can learn from these times as we move into the future of content delivery and new user interaction. Most notably, that we should need to stop basing all decisions on what worked in the past, in other media, and let smaller more nimble companies prove the method. Learn from the best then build the rest.

The one way to make online video work...

...there is no one method for online video. I have been working and playing in the online video realm for a few years now, and like with most things online their is no one way to do it right. Youtube Hulu or Revision3, portal or super-distribution, content heavy or viral; the slippery question of how to distribute, monetize and express your web video to the world is beset on all sides by the inequity of web content distribution. The truth of the matter is that a) the web is created and driven by its users, not by the content creators, b) broadcast rules do not apply to this media, c) context not content is king, and d) if no one can find your video, then no one cares how good it is.
I am sure I am not saying anything new. In fact anyone who has read The Long Tail and listened to a few good episodes of This Week in Media has probably pieced this together on their own. But still the argument persists on how to make online videos that get huge traffic, drive sales, and can be monetized and owned by a single author. Users are out their looking for something particular, and don't have the capacity to play by artificial rules generated by antiquated media distribution frameworks.
Viral videos will continue to populate Youtube and be a repository for office workers killing time. Hulu, Joust and the other old media players will help connect the two screens of TV and computers and let individuals catch up on their favorite shows. But we are at the equivalent of 1986 cable television. Splintered niche content trying to use the same methods that used to work for old distribution and money.
As the web moves further and further from destination content and more towards user centered design and structure, videos and all media online will become a commodity unto themselves. Within a year or two, meta-tagging of videos will become very sophisticated allowing all content to be searchable. Creating content that fits the niches all people are finding online in text already will be the most direct method of engaging an active audience. Utilizing technology such as Overlay's ability to embed direct links to ownable content will allow brands and advertisers to define direct sales channels.
Their will always be tv commercials online, tv shows online, user generated/viral videos and video portal sites. But none of these by themselves is a conduit to the future of web video. It will be a collection strategies and technologies that propel video online (not to mention bandwidth issues and/or ubiquitous peer to peer installations). However, users control the conversation and consumption of content online, and this requires a new way of looking at the entire issue in the future.

In the beginning...

I have held off on blogging for so long. It seems weird that someone who interacts with new media, reads blogs daily, watches for new trends, and loves thinking about how people use media would sit idly by and not have something to say. I have no idea what this space will become, how often I will get a chance to write or if anyone will ever read these posts. And frankly I don't care. I think its an amazing time to be involved in media and technology and just want a place to put down some of my thoughts. Please forgive my horrible grammar and A.D.D., but if you are reading this, I hope you enjoy.