Monday, January 28th, 2008

Measurement Is Money

Measurement and analytics have always been critical in any medium where advertising is the primary revenue driver. That’s because measurement – an online currency used to value media space – creates the financial relationship between advertisers and media networks, e.g. publishers, web site developers, TV networks, digital billboard companies, and others who carry advertisements.

Analytics also help both publishers and advertisers understand their audiences. They answer the question of who is reading or watching, what categories they fall into, how much money they spend, and on what. As each new medium has come into being, new forms of measurement and analytics have emerged to provide demographic insight and determine value.

One of the most recent and exciting spaces is online video. Already, some 63% of the US Internet population consumes video on the Internet. Today we see that in the consumption of user generated content on sites like YouTube as well as on sites operated by large media companies such as MTV and others. We know this shift to online viewing is happening because “Did you see Seinfeld last night?” has been replaced by water cooler discussion about specific clips.

What does all this mean?

  • Consuming video on the Internet is now a mainstream consumer activity

  • Content producers, publishers, and advertisers are struggling to figure out how to finance and monetize online video

  • Confusion persists about how to track, measure, and analyze viewer behavior patterns

Check out two companies helping to solve these problems: Visible Measures and Fliqz.

1 Comment »

  1. Hi David –

    Wanted to let you know about a new platform for bloggers – PicApp – designed to allow online publishers to easily and legally post editorial and creative images to their blogs or sites. The company will demonstrate PicApp for the first time this week as part of the Israel Web Tour happening in Silicon Valley. See details in our press release pasted below. Or, to hear from PicScout CEO Eyal Gura and others participating in the Web Tour, go to BlogTV.

    You can also test out the service for yourself by going to:

    www.picapp.com
    User Name: press@picapp.com
    Password: 3475vh

    Check out some great Super Bowl highlights by simply logging in and searching for Super Bowl.

    Enjoy!

    Thanks,
    Kelly for PicScout/PicApp

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    PICSCOUT TO REVEAL FEATURES OF PICAPP PLATFORM
    AT MICROSOFT SHOWCASE EVENT DURING ISRAEL WEB TOUR

    Platform Lets Bloggers Download Creative and Editorial Imagery from Getty Images

    SAN FRANCISCO – Feb. 4, 2008 – PicScout will demonstrate its new PicApp platform this week during the Israel Web Tour, by showing the wide breadth of content that will soon be available free to bloggers and other online publishers – using art, cartoons, stock photography and even breaking news photos from events around the world. Millions of copyrighted images, previously illegal to use, will be available from Getty Images (NYSE: GYI), the largest provider of still imagery, footage and multimedia products.

    PicScout will show PicApp for the first time this Thursday, Feb. 6, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Microsoft in Mountain View, Calif., as part of the Israel Web Tour 2008 Showcase, which is slated to highlight technology and applications from 15 of the most promising companies to recently come out of Israel.

    “By offering the breadth of content that Getty Images provides, we are making a huge amount of new material accessible to online publishers,” said Eyal Gura, CEO, PicScout. “We’re interested in getting feedback that can help us improve PicApp’s usability, look and feel so we can continue to improve our offering.”

    Currently available only to closed beta users, PicApp (www.picapp.com) makes the process of posting images to web sites quick and easy. Based on proprietary, patent-pending technology, PicApp allows online publishers to select copyrighted imagery from PicApp content partners and post them in seconds to their web site or blog to illustrate their comments. Images streamed from PicApp’s partners carry non-intrusive advertisements related to the content. Revenue is shared with the content partner.

    “Getty Images is committed to protecting the livelihood and work of its photographers and this partnership enables our photographers to benefit from a new revenue stream,” said Brooks McMahon, vice president, business development, Getty Images. “Through PicScout’s innovative PicApp solution, this emerging customer segment is now able to legally license our award-winning imagery to bring their stories to life.”

    Interested bloggers can contact PicApp (www.picapp.com) about participating in the closed beta trial.

    About PicScout
    PicScout is the leading technology services provider to the digital content industry. For years, the company’s flagship ImageTracker™ has been the industry standard application for helping visual assets owners control and monitor the distribution of their proprietary images across all media. Through its PicApp platform (www.picapp.com), PicScout allows online publishers to quickly and easily post creative and editorial images to blogs and web sites. PicScout headquarters are in San Francisco. The company has a development and operations center in Herzelia, Israel.

    # # #

    Technorati tags: PicApp, PicScout, Israel Web Tour

    Media Contacts:
    Kelly Taylor/Kimberly Uberti
    The Bohle Company
    Kelly@bohle.com/kim@bohle.com

    Comment by Kelly Taylor — February 4, 2008 @ 12:43 pm

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