Adam Curry

Fierce 15 Online Video Movers and Shakers: Mevio

Pete Wylie — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:09:18 -0400

Mevio (formerly PodShow)
Founded: Oct. 2004
Investors include Caufield & Byers, Crosslink Capital, DAG Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Sherpalo Ventures
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
www.mevio.com

If Metacafe represents the philosophy of "If you build it, they will come" and short-form video, Mevio is all about the talent and building dedicated followers. Think about the model of the old style record corporations (Mevio) signing up singers (Podcaster) and printing records (video podcasts). Mevio has signed up a bunch of people producing episodic programming and has its own technology to enable its talent to easily publish and distribute said programming.

Add on Mevio's mantra of a "brand-safe" network for advertisers to be able to place video ads; campaigns have been delivered for Acura, Anheuser Busch, Budget Rent A Car, Coca Cola, HP, Microsoft, Motorola, Sony Pictures, and. Toyota, It doesn't hurt that founders Ron Bloom and Adam Curry have a solid track record in successfully bringing together a combination of advertising, pop culture, and technology.

Next: Brightcove

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Survival Tips for Short-Form Video Ads

Survival Tips for Short-Form Video Ads

Doug Mohney — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:27:42 -0400

Ovum has mapped out a number of survival tips for advertising in what it calls the "short-form video jungle."

Leading the charge in giving best practices advice is BT Podshow President Adam Curry (known more intimately as "The Podfather" if one knows where to listen). Brand safety is a big one; companies don't to randomly associate their products with randomized user-generated content with no quality control or content vetting. Curry is a big fan of "popularized" content promoted through the PodShow and Mevio networks--vetted hosts, developed brands, targeted audience demographics.

Other tips include focusing on episodic content since serials develop loyalty and establish a consumer franchise to build ad revenues. Ad messages should fit the length of the short-form content; in a three to eight minute video, acceptable ads will run between 3 to 30 seconds long. Ads should be "appropriate" for the online video environment; glossy and over-produced segments won't go over well.

For more
- Ovum's survival tips for advertising in the short-form video jungle
- Adam Curry's other life as The Podfather

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The Generation Gap(s)

Doug Mohney — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:47:02 -0400

Video viewing is shifting (or skewing) to PCs and away from broadcast, according to the latest and greatest research. The youngest online generation seems to be slurping up more video online than they ever did from TV, a trend that would auger that the only thing we'll be watching on broadcast will be the Super Bowl, the NCAA finals, and a funny ball drop ritual in NYC on the evening of December 31.

But it is more than content consumption habits that are different. In Fierce's D.C. office of about 30 people, I think there are maybe three (3) who recognize the name of Adam Curry and know about his early life as an MTV VJ. It's just over their heads. So when I say Adam Curry is over at the PodShow MEVIO network, they look at me blankly. They just don't get it.

Anyone remember JennyCam? No? It's OK, Jenny had a nice long run, unlike Obama Girl's 30 seconds of fame.

Broadcast companies recognize they have weaknesses in understanding the latest viewing tastes, so they've been teaming up with web concerns to buy themselves a clue. CBS's run with EQAL and Will Ferrell's FunnyorDie teaming up with HBO are two examples of the trend. Web video producers are cheap and if they don't work out, there's another fresh face popping up every week.

Is online video strictly a young person's game, only for the under-30 set? I don't think so, since Adam Curry has been building his PodShow MEVIO empire and he's in the mid-40s. But I do think that anyone who ignores the technology and entertainment tastes of the under-18 and 18-30 set does so at their own peril. You have been warned.

- Doug