Digital Interactif

Procruiting - Recruiting 3.0?

Dean Whitney has an interesting post about how recruiters advertise job opportunities on social networks such as Facebook and LinkdIn.  The Internet's affect on the recruiting process is beginning to come to light, but we still have a lot to learn about employee/employer behavior in a recruiting 2.0 environment. Nevermind the old story about employers "googling" prospective candidates - today, we face a world in which candidates are "facebooking" a prospective employer's employees to see what type of people work there. 

I recently came across a great example of how the Internet can affect the recruiting process at WebInno XIV.  Oncero, a Boston-based Internet start-up, operates a social network geared towards connecting employers with qualified job seekers through the trusted contacts shared by the users.  Essentially, employees post their company's open positions on the site and Oncero tracks how the positions are shared within the community.  When a position is filled, all the Oncero members involved in a the referral process receive a fraction of the employee referral bonus offered by the employer.

How it works:

1. my company has a $2,000 referral bonus and I post a job opening for a Marketing Associate position on Oncero.
2. Oncero-user "Bob", who is already happily employed, spots my posted job opening and sends it to his unemployed friend "Sam". 
3. "Sam" applies for the Marketing Associate position through Oncero and gets it! 
4. 90 days after "Sam" is hired, I receive $2,000 referral bonus, a percentage of which goes to "Bob" because he helped locate "Sam". 

Oncero is an outstanding idea because it brings the benefits of social networking and word-of-mouth/viral marketing to the recruiting process and then injects it with steroids by offering a monetary incentive to take action. 

Oncero is currently invitation-only.  If you would like an invite, leave a comment below and I will send you one.

Hulu let the dogs out!

Pardon the pun but I couldn't help myself. 

I received my invitation to Hulu's website last night and I am very impressed. Hulu is a video site that has signed content deals with major studios(MGM, Sony), television networks(NBC, Fox), and 15 Cable Channels(such as FX, SciFi, USA). 

Unlike Joost, Hulu actually has shows that I want to watch!  Hulu features full length episodes of TV series such as The Office, Arrested Development, Family Guy, 30 Rock, The Simpsons, SNL, Chuck, The A-Team, Airwolf, Scrubs, and the movies Blue Brothers and Conan the Barbarian among others.

Hulu creates new channels of distribution for TV Shows.  The best feature I have come across so far is that the site allows you to embed the videos on your own site.  Not only can you embed full episodes, but you can also create customized clips from shows and embed them as well.  It is very easy to create a clip. 

FAMILY GUY CLIP: This joke from Family Guy about Ringo Star is hilarious:

FULL OFFICE EPISODE: And it you have the time, watch the most recent episode of The Office (word has it that until the writers strike is over, there will be no more new episodes of The Office):

Advertising revenue generated from this content will strengthen the arguments underlying the Writers Strike.  It blows my mind that the studios would open up this site while negotiating with the Writers Union over online advertising profit made from television content posted online.  Though the ads in these shows are minimal, they go wherever the clips go.  eCRM for each video likely runs $40 - $120 for sponsorship.  Therefore, if a given video receives 100,000 views, Hulu stands to generate, at a minimum, $4,000 in ad revenue from sponsorship deals.  Considering that these videos can now go anywhere on the web, this estimate may be too low.  Regardless, this revenue source will grow at a near exponential rate in the next couple of years and this definitely supports the Writers on strike in Hollywood right now. 

12th Annual MITX Award Winners

Last night I attended the 12th Annual MIXT (Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange) Awards event at the Marriott Copley Hotel.  MIXT sponsors events focusing on emerging technologies and digital media in the Boston area.

Special thanks goes out to EyeWonder for sponsoring the fantastic after-party at 711 Bistro.  EyeWonder has been behind the iPhone Flash Banner ads you've seen online.  Not only do they produce great work but they also employ cool people.   

And now, without further ado...

12th Annual MITX Award Winners   

Awards

• Applied Techology
  • Outsight Interactive LLC
    • FootJoy: DryJoys Microsite
• Biotechnology/Pharmaceuticals
  • One-to-One Interactive (OTOi)
    • Start the Talk  Valtrex Unbranded DTC Campaign   
• Consumer Goods
  • Mullen
    • Stanley FUBAR
• Corporate Training and Support
  • Weymouth Design
    • RSA enVision Product Demo
• Education and Learning
  • Six Red Marbles for Merriam-Webster, Inc.
    • Merriam-Webster Inc.'s Word Central web site
• Educational Institution
  • BigBad, Inc.
    • Connecticut College Web Site
• Entertainment/Sports
  • RDVO, Inc.
    • The Gillette Young Guns
• Financial Services
  • Avenue A | Razorfish
    • Prudentials Retirement Income Calculator
• Government
  • RDVO, Inc.
    • MBTA.com | Official Website for Greater Boston's Public Transportation System
• Health and Fitness
  • Bridgeline Software, Inc.
    • Center for Connected Health Website
• Human Resources
  • Staples, Inc.
    • Employment Brand Website - Staples Jobs
• Kids, 'Tweens & Teens
  • WGBH Educational Foundation
    • Curious George
• Nonprofit
  • ISITE Design
    • Solano County (Calif.) Library Website
• Online Commerce
  • Envisa, Inc.
    • Smith+Noble Site Redesign
• Professional Services
  • Kel & Partners
    • www.bicbac.com
• Real Estate
  • Lightfin Studios
    • Fars Realty Group Website
• Rich Media Application
  • Brightcove
    • Brightcove Aftermix
• Social Computing
  • Bit Group, Inc.
    • Web 2.0 Entertainment Portal
• Technology
  • PHT Corporation
    • www.phtcorp.com
• Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality
  • Kelliher Samets Volk
    • Stowe Find Yours
• BEST OF SHOW
  • WGBH Educational Foundation
    • Curious George

"Best of" Awards

• Acquisition/Direct Marketing Campaign
  • Digitas / Make 3D
    • The Home Depot Holiday Decorating Site
• Best Integrated Campaign
  • Carat
    • Reebok "Run Easy" Integrated Campaign
• Best Use of Mobile
  • Hill Holliday
    • Breaking the Code of Silence with Text
• Best Use of Search
  • Charles River Interactive
    • Bernardi Auto Group -  Fuel Efficient SEM!!!
• Best Use of Social Media
  • OTOi, a One to One Interactive Company
    • Comcastic! Island in Second Life
• Best Use of Sponsorship
  • Carat
    • Get it Done with John Deere
• Best Use of Video
  • Pod Design / Mittcom Advertising
    • Raw Talk from the raw bar
• Best Engagement
  • WGBH Educational Foundation
    • Curious George

The next MITX event, Mobile Social Networking: The Next Revolution in 24/7 Personal Broadband Engagement, takes place at the Hynes Convention Center on Tuesday, 11/13.   

Web Innovators Group XV is TONIGHT!

WOH!  Close call!  I just remembered the WebInno XV conference is taking place tonight at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, MA.  It starts at 6:30pm.

The Web Innovators Group sponsors events every couple of months that showcase various New England-based Internet Start-ups and I highly recommend checking it out if you have the time.

I went to WebInno XIV and it's a great chance to get out, have a beer, and see some local entrepreneurs present their business ideas.

Register here online by 3:30pm today. 

Here are the presenters: 

• Main

  • FlipKey       - T.J. Mahoney
  • Lemonade - Tom Zawacki
  • iiProperty - Owen Johnson

• Side Dishes
  
  
  • Carbon Rally - Jason Karas
  • Mix and Meet - Bruce Franco
  • Panospin - Carlton SooHoo
  • 360Gadget - Vivek Puri 
  • Student Concourse - Steven Bao
  • Untravel Media - Michael Epstein

It's sure to be a good time.  Drop me a line if you're going! 

Mobile Gaming Industry - MIT Interactive Entertainment SIG

This past Monday, I attended the inaugural MIT Interactive Entertainment Special Interest Group (SIG) event.  The speakers on the panel included Mathew Bellows (GM of Floodgate Entertainment), Jeff Burden (VP Digital Media & Games for Hasbro), and Beth Marcus (Founder of Zeetoo.net). 

The panelists painted a bleak picture for the $1 billion mobile gaming industry.  There are currently two major obstacles facing mobile game producers, Carriers and Hardware:

• Carriers
  • There was agreement on the panel that the single largest obstacle facing game makers is the phone carriers themselves.  The "$6 per game" business model has been undercut by the payments demanded by the major carriers.  According to Jeff Burden, roughly 35-50% of a game's revenue is taken by the carriers upfront.
  • Carriers reserve the right to terminate data packets if they deem them burdensome to the network.  Therefore, even if a game is successful, a carrier may pull the rug out from under it because the game is causing too much traffic on a mobile network.   
• Hardware
  • The market for handsets is too fragmented.  Differences in screen size between handsets make standardization of game resolution impossible. 
  • Memory on most cell phones is not large enough to support high quality games.

The margins for mobile gaming companies are small due to the market's small size and the obstacles thrown up by the carriers.  Matthew Bellows observed that there are not many marketing costs associated with getting a mobile game to market, except taking Execs out to dinner!  Matt insinuated that there was no effective way to market to consumers.  But this point of view avoids the potential of in-store bluetooth downloads and other means of getting consumers to download and interact with video games directly in retail environments. 

Mobile gaming companies have a slight advantage over game makers for traditional gaming platforms because of the relatively low cost of creating a mobile game.  The cost of producing a major PC title typically runs from $4 - $12 million.  The cost of Mobile games on the other hand runs from $150k - $750 per title.  The low end mobile games are 2D, single/multi player whereas the high end games are 3D, multiplater, and bluetooth compatible.  This results in mobile game makers throwing a bunch of games at a "wall" and hoping that they'll stick.   

Mobile gaming has yet to see a game with a viral component.  The first real "big" mobile game will probably arise from a synergy of a mobile social network(Mocospace) and a mobile game.  Additionally, there has yet to be a game with any tie-in on the Internet.  The old model of designing PS2 games for a mobile handset is a dead-end and there is a great amount of potential innovation to be seen within this industry. 

One way to move the mobile gaming industry forward is to look outside of the physical handset for motivation.  Local interactive media company Locamoda has developed technology that allows users to interact with LCD screens hooked up to the Internet via local access numbers.  Using Locamoda's technology and a mobile phone, consumers can control the content on LCD screens, whether it be at a mall or a bar.  This technology could radically alter how the industry develops and looks at mobile games because it would allow game users to bypass the carriers and play games via local access numbers against people in the same room instead of having to use bluetooth or data plans.  This work-around would also allow game makers to do what they are good at: producing high quality games!  Since the games themselves would now be embed applications hosted outside of the handset itself, the level of interactivity and social aspect could be increased drastically . Additionally, projecting mobile games onto an external high quality screen would overcome the fact that it's just not fun to play a game on a tiny mobile screen.

The next MIT Interactive Entertainment SIG event, Financial Game - VC Funding in the Gaming Industry, will be taking place on December 5th.   

5 Ways to Monetize Your Web Content

I went to a few of the Podcamp Boston 2007 sessions on Saturday afternoon and I was surprised to see how much of the crowd was not into Podcasting.  When asked for a show of hands, it seemed the majority of folks there were active bloggers but did not actually post original audio or video on their blogs.  Though the economics of blogging is not one-to-one with podcasting, the conference offered up some insights into monetizing online content. 

Paul Kontonis, CEO/Founder of For Your Imagination, gave an interesting presentation entitled Monetizing Your Web Series/Podcast.  For Your Imagination (FYI) is a video production company that creates original and professional quality content.  Since it's founding in November 2006, FYI has spent $700,000 and earned $400,000 from its various means of monetization.  Though FYI is currently losing money, the IPTV market is looking at considerable growth over the next several years as consumers have begun to adapt to the idea of watching TV shows online. 

Paul's presentation addressed the ways in which his company has attempted to monetize its video content/audience and I have summarized the findings below:

1. Advertising
   • Banner Ads
     • Average CTR (Click-thru-Rate) for a flash banner ad located at the top of a webpage is only .25-.3%  Very much due to the Banner Blindness affect.
     • Interestingly, Feedburner ads on an RSS feed have an average of 3-4% CTR and therefore, banner ads could be leveraged better if placed primarily within feeds. 
     • Banner ads yield an average of $1 - $2 eCRM (Ad revenue generated by 1000 actual click-thrus on an ad) for a general web audience.  Niche markets can fetch higher eCRM (ex. $23 for the Business School audience: 26-33 year old, college educated, finance background).
   • Video Ads
     • Stand alone video ads yield an average eCRM of $2 - $3   
2. Sponsorship
   • To make money on sponsorship, a web property must either have a massive audience(200,000+ unique visitors/month) or a good size niche audience (50,000+ for potential Business School candidates).   
   • Product/Company sponsorship typically pays $40 - $120 eCRM. 
3. Merchandise
   • .1% of For Your Information visitors actually buy the site's branded merchandise.  For instance, Patrice O'neals Web Show has sold 70 pairs of branded panties! The average customer purchases $4 worth of merchandise off the site.
   • Resources for creating Branded merchandise: Cafepress, zazzle, and CreateSpace.
     • Ideas for Products: DVD's, Tshirts, Posters, Buttons, Thongs, Buttons, Coffee, Mugs, ect...
   • Set up an Amazon affiliate program.  Visitors will be more likely to buy your merchandise if they associate your brand with a reputable online merchant.
4. Licensing
   • Since FYI is a video production company, the figures they provided do not correlate to blogging.
   • $2k - $5k per episode should a web show be picked up by Showtime, HBO, or another major cable channel. 
5. Franchising
   • Deals for a cable channel buying the right to your video content can range from $250k - $5 million.

For more information on the Monetizing Your Web Series/Podcast presentation, check out Lori Magno's write up.   

Facebook App - Flog

Thanks to George Jenkins I came across the Facebook application Flog.

The Flog idea is interesting because it is targeting the niche of people who have their own blogs.  Essentially the widget provides your Facebook profile with an RSS feed of your blog and automatically displays new posts within a contained box.  Currently the display is rudimentary but the Flog team has stated that they are working on incorporating images, video, and flash into the RSS feed.  According to the app's stats, the application is currently on 551 profiles.  Here's a summary of it's features:

• Automatic For Everyone: Your Flog can be synchronized to your Blog automatically, regardless of your blogging platform.
• Flogroll: Browse the Flogosphere. Read recent posts, or peruse at random! Enjoy great content from other Floggers.
• News Feed Integration: Your friends are alerted whenever you post new content to your blog!
• Customization: Choose how your posts are displayed, down to the number of characters

I added this application to my Facebook page the other day and I think it may have messed up my RSS feed.  I've noticed that my feed on Google Reader is now abbreviated and does not display the entire post.  I find this extremely annoying and I really hope it's not an unintended consequence of adding the Flog app.  Proceed at your own RISK!   

5 Reasons to start a Blog for your Business

Tonight I went to the Tech Blogs with Scott Kirsner panel in Cambridge, Massachusetts and I came away feeling great about both Boston and the future of digital advertising.  Thankfully Dan Bricklin, podcaster extraordinaire, recorded the event and has posted the audio on his website.  If your business doesn't have a company blog yet, listening to this podcast may very well convince you to start one.    

5 - Give your employees/partners a creative outlet for their ideas.  It can serve as a platform for exchanging ideas as well as highlight the talent that your company can offer. 

4 - A blog provides you with greater credibility when speaking with a potential client or investor for the first time.  It offers them a glimpse of the ideas and insights that you can bring to the table.   

3 - Fills the void in between press releases.  This will keep your company in the headlines and create more interaction between you and your clients and investors.   

2 - Adds a human dimension to your business.  Your company blog should let readers know that your firm is run by thinking/innovative/talented people, not a bunch of automatons. 

1 - Three letters: SEO!(Search Engine Optimization) A blog will direct traffic on your website.  Google ranks a page higher when it receives links from other websites and a blog is a great way to generate quality links by hosting original content. 

Wiffiti brings the Interactivity to your Hompage

The above is a Wiffiti screen that exists in the digital realm and can be updated via text messages. 

The website lists all the publically viewable Wiffiti screens and each screen is geo-tagged on a Google map.  Though texting a SMS message to an online message board is nothing innovative in of itself(twitter has allowed this for a while), Wiffiti creates a visually pleasing application that could be displayed on a large LCD screen in a bar, cafe, sports venue, ect.   

For instance, since the application records when messages are put up on the screen itself, this type of device could be used in conjunction with quiz nights at bars.  Instead of long, drawn out rounds at quiz night, the Wiffiti screen could serve as the official judge of who texted the correct answer to a given question.   Not only would this save people time by speeding up rounds at quiz nights, but it would also solve the problem of cheaters who use the long rounds to call/text their friends for answers to questions. 

Go ahead and leave a message, its very easy: Text @DIGITAL to 25622.  Wait to receive back a text from 25622.  Then text your message and it will appear on the board.  Very easy! 

Wiffiti is a product of Boston-based Locamoda.
 

Car Pooling via the Internet

Last week I went to the Massachusetts-based Web Innovators Group conference.  One of the companies presenting was GoLoco, a Car-Sharing service that connects you with friends and strangers in an attempt to save both the environment and your money.  GoLoco was founded by Robin Chase, co-founder of ZipCar, and it is based out of Cambridge, MA.   

I am pretty skeptical of GoLoco's business plan itself.  They have successfully established a presence on Facebook with a Facebook App but their plan for monetizing the service is weak because it is limited to a niche of people that can't build up the courage to ask people for money. 

Their monetization plan is to charge a 10% transaction fee when users pay each other through their Facebook Application via PayPal account.  The rationale is that friends typically don't ask friends to chip in $2.46 for a ride to the NH State Liquor store, and when they do ask, the normal response is "yeah, I'll get you back later" because it's such a small, inconsequential amount of money.

The potential situation arising from friends using the GoLoco service to pay each other is pretty awkward:

Driver: Hey dude, mind tossing me some gas money for the ride to Walmart?
Friend 1: Sure no prob man, is it cool if I get you back later? 
Driver: Errr, that's not gonna work.  I'd like you to sign into GoLoco and pay me through paypal real quick if you could.
Friend 1: Sure, no problem.  Dick...

This situation would be even better if there were even more people involved.  Yes there are people that are early adopters out there and it might seem cool to pay each other online, but who in their right mind would do so if it meant that some random company, GoLoco, got 10% of money rightfully owed to the driver. 

The cool thing about the service is that it calculates how much money the trip will cost for gas and tolls and therefore it provides you with a concrete amount of money to ask for.  I like the service but I am not convinced by their plan to make money off of it.  For more info on GoLoco, check out this New York Times article.

GoLoco is not alone in the market for Car Sharing via the Internet.  Ride Amigos is a similar service and it currently operates in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.  This company does not to seem to be aiming to make a profit on the service but instead is more interested in making a positive impact on the environment, or at least that's their marketing spin.  Unlike GoLoco, this service doesn't provide a mean to exchange money and it does not have a Facebook widget.  But it is noteworthy all the same.  For more info, check out this TreeHugger post.   

As for you Europeans out there, I came across the German website Mitfahrzentrale which translates into "agency for arranged lifts" (thanks Babelfish).   When I used this website last year it only had a German version and I was still able to navigate it which just goes to show how easy and straight forward the service is.  Thankfully though the site now allows you to translate it to English .  It appears this site is used mainly within Germany still.  I like the social networking functionality of the site and it's great how the homepage shows which cities are most actively using the service.   

So go sign up for GoLoco, add the Facebook widget to you profile, and go on n' get your carpool on.