Posts by David Card from July 09, 2008

David Card | July 09, 2008, 09:18 AM
Getty and Flickr: Sounds Good; Details Sketchy

Flickr and Getty Images are definitely two great brands that should go great together, but it was pretty difficult getting any details out of the two when they briefed me the other day. Under the arrangement -- money does change hands but no one's talking -- Getty editors will pore over Flickr photos to fill out a collection of stock images they think will number in the "tens of thousands in a reasonable amount of time" with a bias towards "authenticity" and underserved regions. Getty will do individual deals with the would-be pros by contacting them via Yahoo communications.

The two talked about tools beyond Flickr tagging to help the editors find the good stuff, but wouldn't reveal any secret formulae. Getty claims its editors process 7,000 to 10,000 images a day already, but aren't those submitted with pretty strict guidelines and metadata? In any event, Getty isn't planning on hiring any extra staff to handle the newbies, nor re-writing its contracts.

So snap away, Flickrs, you could be a star.

David Card | July 09, 2008, 08:22 AM
MSM Google Backlash Continues

Gee, first it was a juicy daycare mini-scandal, now the Journal shows just how screwed up Google's YouTube ad efforts are. Hint, fixing ad operations was codenamed "project spaghetti." Chinks in the armor?

From a Jupiter report on Competing with YouTube.

According to consumers, YouTube excels across all criteria, including the three core video experiences. However, it scores its highest marks in easy sharing, user-generated content (UGC), and effective search. Through these strengths, YouTube has carved out a dominant position and mind share in the viral video market.

YouTube has linked its core strengths to an activity system for users that competitors will have an extremely hard time matching. JupiterResearch's second-mover framework identifies and evaluates competitive options: fast-follower, niche-segment, profit-margin advantage, and disruptive strategies.