ZeLaurent

Because of the blogs I write and post online almost every week, I keep on receiving all kinds of press releases – most of them are inappropriate – that refer to a ‘‘super’’ product, service or event that shall totally change my blog world! For the last few months, I feel like they are trying to impair my “influence”. For example, they promote contests, such as Nissan HyperCube or the opportunity to get the greatest job in the world. Nowadays, customers are even willing to pay for some advice of mine! Furthermore, my interaction within the social networks is gaining in value: I even woke up one day to find that I was quoted in the Stock Exchange!

You are an intelligent public relation agency

If you are a professional of public relations or a manager who tracks influencers, please follow these different steps before contacting me:

1. Read several articles on my blog and in the ‘‘À propos’’ section
2. Ask me if the information you want to deliver is any of my interest, topic-wise and location-wise
3. Ask yourself if I really have time to promote your product/service/event
4. Ask yourself why I should promote your product/service/event
5. Refer to steps 1 to 4 once more
6. Done and done?
7. OK. I recommend you to join me during one of the ‘‘happy hour’’ encounters so we could discuss and get to know each other (Yulblog, Yulbiz, Camp, etc.). Only then I shall be more willing to promote your product/service/event.

I won’t be pointing fingers at anyone in order not to disillusion any of the new professional workers. Instead, I recommend you to read (yet again) Sylvain Carle’s article that came out last year on all the contact persons he was able to get from the Nissan HyperCube contest designers.

Could I be traded for an airplane ticket?

To tell the truth, I once traded myself for a train ticket. It happened last year when ViaRail sponsored the Montreal PodCamp team so they could get to the Toronto Pod Camp with Via1. We did not have any obligations; we only had to share our experience of the WiFi access during the trip. Each participant shared its most honest point of view. I am taking the opportunity to thank Nadia who was then working in the communication dept. at ViaRail and who put this fun event together.

This week, Virgin America is trying to seduce web influencers with the launch of a new airline company in Toronto. The Toronto-based residents carrying a high Klout score shall receive a free airplane ticket. Klout is a service of Twitter user influence scoring. At the moment, my score is worth 42/100.

Please buy me!

Karl Marx would turn in his grave if he found out that even human beings are now quoted in the Stock Exchange. With Empire Avenue, each person may increase its presence value on the social networks. The Canadian start-up is playing certain games with ego and lure of profit, two sin concepts that are usually quite popular. However, after only a few weeks as a participant, I am simply not into it. Empire Avenue does not seem to take off either.

I start to wonder where this ‘‘human being marketing’’ will take us. I still believe that social networks are definitely not the best place to do so. Reality TV might be more appropriate.

In conclusion, I will give you the same answer I gave to a public relation specialist who asked me to promote a ‘‘revolutionary pocket charger”: I like the ‘‘social’’ in social networks. The smallest dose of ‘‘social’’ during conversations sometimes gives the best results.

NB: I wrote this article with a Canadian movie in mind. It is called: “Un capitalisme sentimental”. The story took place during the 1920’s and talks about the main character being quoted in the Stock Exchange. Simply a must!

More and more companies ask for their customers/consumers to play a part in their communication. Furthermore, they could even ask them to find their brand name and to produce their promotional video.

Where stands the limit in terms of User Generated Content (UGC)? Should the media take a step aside to let the members of the audience take the lead in terms of news editing? I did try to answer that particular question during my last chronicle on Canal Argent [FR].

UGC: no new marketing concept

My first observation is that people are already turning the brands away. For example, you may refer to vodka Absolut, Adidas or the very popular video with Tigers Woods who chats with his father from beyond the grave.

The web surfers learned to become their own media, thanks to the fast and easy access to publishing tools, such as WordPress and social networks like Facebook, Twitter or MySpace. They can easily influence certain market niches.

The brainwave from marketing geniuses – Yes I am one too – is to take the credit for consumers’ creativity to the benefit of their brands. That is how the user generated content was made and began to work in the name of advertising. Ask Loic Lemeur what he thinks about it.

Doritos is an expert in the promotion of UGC contests. The American company did so during the Super Bowl and in Canada during the Doritos Guru. The company asked consumers to pick the flavour for their new product.

News information is worth a lot. Why shouldn’t we ask members of the audience to direct it?

The media took advantage of the fact that it is easy to have consumers over to do all the work. For example, Radio Canada invited 32 people to blog about the 2010 World Cup, with an invitee to represent every country. For now, only Japan and Korea are missing a ‘‘representative’’. CRTC recently moved forward with the Génération V channel which content will be entirely generated by users.

I seriously think that we reached the limit of ‘‘free of charge’’ user generated content. Just like the Sorel-Tracy video contest, it became a must to consider and recognize the work done for the benefit of a brand or a company. Otherwise, I consider that as an act of volunteering and I rather keep on doing it with Île sans fil.

While Quebec is still moved by the launch of IllicoWeb, the Quebecor version of Hulu, Google is taking a step forward in the field of online video editing with Youtube Video Editor. This free of charge online service allows to edit videos. We now got two visions of the Net, one more promising than the other.

In 2007, we had access to a fleeting version of Youtube remixer, which was based on Adobe Premier Express. Back then, this app was not necessarily up and running and was too innovative to be fully appreciated. Youtube now launches a simple, yet efficient editing tool. Small is beautiful! All you need to do is select videos from your Youtube account, make several changes, add up cool music, and there you have it!

Just this morning, while I was getting ready for my chronicle on Canal Argent, I took the opportunity to put one of François Gagnon’s videos to the test with Youtube Video Editor. The result was not tremendous, but shall I add that the whole process of editing and issuing the video took less than a minute.

But don’t worry, the Final Cut pros are far from going unemployed. Just like iMovie software that is now available on the new iPhone4, Youtube Video Editor’s main goal is to make it easy for budding producers to quickly share their great holiday moments or their encounter with Paris Hilton.

In the end, this new Youtube Video Editor will allow Google to add up a new piece in its cloud computing solution puzzle, thanks to Google Aps.

NB: When you edit a video with Youtube Video Editor, a statement is automatically generated, such as ‘‘I created this video at http://www.youtube.com/editor’’. The problem with the generated link is that it leads you to a user account named ‘‘editor! #bug’’

Way before knowing which channel would broadcast the 2010 World Cup of soccer (or the Vancouver Olympic Games back in February [FR]), I started to wonder where to watch the live games on the Internet. In Canada, the World Cup takes place during weekdays AND during business hours. Here is a list of the best solutions in order to follow intensively the live competition on the web.

1. The World Cup live on Internet TV

Thanks to recent technology, TV channels that are authorized to broadcast the World Cup now offer a free streaming video through their website. As for 2010, major improvements have been performed quality-wise. Thus the games are now displayed in full-screen mode.

On the other hand, you ought to know that the majority of TV channels will impose a video geo-blocking. It means that if you are in Canada, you cannot watch the games broadcasted on a French website and vice versa. Only China seems to broadcast ‘‘worldwide’’ without apparent geo-blocking. This should remain for a while unless the Dalai Lama starts to play soccer!

In France, TF1 offers a fabulous experience thanks to a Flash video player replaying the game greatest highlights while the current game is still live through a small shift screen. The image finish is amazing. NB: An Internet connection with a VPN from France allowed me to test the TF1 stream from Montreal.

Canada

• Radio Canada: fifa.radio-canada.ca
• CBC: cbc.ca/sports/soccer/fifaworldcup

France

• TF1: coupe-du-monde.tf1.fr
  France Television: sport.francetv.fr

Belgium

• RTBF: rtbf.be/sport/football

2. The World Cup live on Internet video

If you live or spend your holidays in one of the few countries that won’t broadcast the World Cup, I recommend you to go for MyP2P. I will not get into the legal details of this option; but let’s just say that you will be able to watch live games from relatively anywhere in the world.

MyP2P only displays the sources. In order to watch these stream videos, you will need to install software. Spocast is a recommended for P2P video player through Windows. You may use Flip4Mac for Mac, even though it might not work for all types of video flows.

3. The World Cup live on social networks

I think that Twitter takes advantage of its skills to promote a ‘‘social’’ coverage of the World Cup. On twitter.com/worldcup, you will find comments per country/per game as well as the complete game schedule.
Facebook did things differently for the 2010 World Cup. News websites (L’équipe [FR]) and TV stations (TFI and Radio Canada) created their own Facebook page and placed it beside their video or live comment. The main advantage is the possibility to see if our friends are online and discuss with them. Unfortunately, I did not really enjoy this experiment because it was very loud and noisy.

4. The World Cup live on your cell phone

If you live in a modern country such as France (Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom and Canal+), Japan or Tunisia [FR], you may watch the World Cup in video on your cell phone. These countries’ great telecom operators offer TV mobile programs broadcasting live games.

For those with tight budgets or the ones who live in one of the digital ‘‘Third World’’ countries such as Canada, you may download apps available mainly on the iPhone in order to support your favourite team. Two apps stand out: Mondial 2010 – Radio-Canada and Coupe du Monde 2010 France.

5. The World Cup live on your game console

While I was browsing the web for inspiration hints, I found this article from Comment ça marche [FR] explaining all the steps to ultimately watch the World Cup from a game console. The Sony PSP console allows reading a video flow in WiFi. Although its range limits are equivalent to the wireless network, it could still be used as a 5th TV screen if all of the others are already taken!

6. The World Cup live in a bar

Cyberpress [FR] states that watching a live game from the World Cup was nearly impossible a few years ago. Back then, Radio Canada broadcasted pre-recorded games a few weeks after the event took place. Hard to imagine this kind of scenario when it comes to hockey games!

In my opinion, the best way to watch and follow deeply the World Cup of soccer is mostly by meeting with all the passionate fans in bars where soccer games are broadcasted. That is exactly what I did in 2007 for the World Cup of rugby [FR] thanks to their last years of the Top 14 games in France. At last, my team did finally win the ‘‘bouclier de Brennus’’ in 2010!

Each community has their favourite bars in Montréal. As for French people, they meet in bars like Le Barouf and le Massilia. Not a fan of soccer games? Well, let’s just say that the main advantage of hanging in bars during these soccer games is that you may always enjoy a nice and cold beer AND get the chance to discuss with lovely ladies that do not follow that sport either.

Additional sources:

• FIFA official Web sites
• Where to Watch the World Cup Online and on Your Phone

Marie-Jose Montpetit, scientist at MIT’s Research Lab for Electronics, talks on Social TV during the TR10 conferences. For her, Social TV could improve the viewing experience and provide new business opportunities for carriers.

I just created a Facebook page for ZeLaurent. Don’t worry; I do not have a split personality. It is all about creating a rationalization of communication and image.

Since Facebook does not compel us to be a page “Fan” any longer and just say “I like” ZeLaurent, my ego tends to deflate and my heart feels like flying.

Facebook Page vs. Facebook Profile: Privacy vs. Social life

As it is for this blog, my ZeLaurent page will contain more of my thoughts about recent professional findings (Internet marketing, social media, on-line video, mobile…). This should give more room for personal interactions on my Facebook Laurent Maisonnave profile.

I think I might have bored some of my dear friends in posting information in a delirious way on my Facebook profile, whether it was during seminars or special events that are part of my professional geek life.
The split between the cult and state will allow me to preserve close relationships, while keeping on sharing my passion with colleagues.

A Facebook page: a reasonable choice

At the moment, I got 23 requests for friendship on hold on Facebook. None of these future friends stated the origin of our virtual encounter. I redirect you to the article of Christian Aubry [FR] to learn more about my opinion on the subject.

I deliberately avoid posting personal details of my life on my Facebook profile. I want my interactions to be transparent. I open my mind but I won’t open the door of my home to everyone.
A Facebook page is the right way to organize your virtual life. Many of my friends did it: Sylvain Carle, Benoit Descary, Christian Aubry and Vincent Abry. Despite her great tolerance, and pressure from her friends and family, my friend Michelle Blanc did create a Facebook page for herself.

At your convenience or if you feel like it, I invite you to comment on this blog, on Twitter and/or on the ZeLaurent Facebook page: facebook.com/zelaurent.

Like number of friends, I am delighted to greet the launch of Google TV that will finally transform Connected TV into reality. If Google TV is only a set-top box filled with Android, the fact that Google is behind with its Youtube content and its strike force will strongly help it to break through the Internet TV market.

Unlike what some people think, I would not be so fast on deleting the schedule as it appears on TV. Even if I am a fan of video on demand — wherever and whenever I want it —, I still believe in the persistence of great TV moment encounters.

The web crazy zappers

There is a foolish belief that sees us all as chronic zappers. Even if that could be the case for teenagers, the Ritalin age effect leads us to be more low profile in terms of audiovisual consumption.

Being back at home from work; people don’t necessarily want to waste precious time on finding what program to watch. A well-established schedule — that we see when we open the TV — fulfills the need to go with the program flow, while making sure that it stimulates our centre of interests.

Moreover, there is something comforting about finding our TV shows at the exact same time segment day after day. Like my grand-mother used to say, she cherished her own daily routine: TV shows, entertainment, news, movies and then go to sleep!

The three types of live broadcast of Internet TV

Internet evidently brings new ways of watching TV. As for me, besides the video on demand, the notion of live broadcast will be as mandatory in IP as on my grand-mother’s TV.

1. The great event “live” broadcast

Whether it is for a concert or the accession to power speech of Barack Obama, nothing compares to the true feeling of sharing a great moment of live TV together. This type of broadcast gathers the greatest numbers of audiences.

2. The direct TV with flow control

It is the television as we know it since 60 years. Video programs follow on at precise time frames. The shows are not always broadcasted live but are displayed through a non-stop flow. Similar to the launching of cable and satellite, Internet will bring a sharper program topicalization. We can surely compare this ascent to the Web radio service such as Deezer. We shall get a TV channel for each topic of interests. Ex.: German action series.

3. The social ‘‘live’’: intelligent TV in real time

The TV live broadcast that is in at the present time is by far related to our social networks. Let’s imagine an intelligent TV that generates itself in real time from our community video consumption. With a little push, I could provide to this social live broadcast a touch of sport or entertainment. That would be the ideal TV that goes beyond all my TV needs.

Opportunity for the WebTV Internet TV

The actual TV channels take advantage of their powerful media potential to support their Internet invasion. Tou.tv is the best example. Meanwhile, WebTV can only operate with the tools offered by the Internet: video sharing site and social networks.

To gain viewers and meet with real audience success, I think that WebTV should first consider them as Internet TV, i.e. cross-platform.

The Quebec WebTV tends to prepare its content with TV broadcast in mind. Furthermore, its protagonists often come from the TV world. If that is the main goal, it must fight on equal terms with TV and integrate the live group — live, flow control and social—, which is technically attainable on Internet.

Google offers a bit of juice to bloggers and media that make use of videos that are hosted on Youtube. In simpler terms, if a great number of people watches a Youtube video (embeder) on your website, your source will be displayed on Youtube’s top rank with the mention ‘‘As seen on…’’.

If Youtube offers such recognition on its site, it is surely not because it feels kind or generous! It is because it offers an incentive to choose videos from its platform instead of its competitors’ platforms.

To date, in terms of direct referencing, it is more profitable to host your videos your own way, since Google is referencing your site as its origin. This same technique is used by ‘‘Chauffeur de Buzz’’ that hosts the majority of videos that it displays.

Youtube offers mostly an indirect referencing. It means that you take advantage of the platform traffic to get some exposure to your site as well as get new web surfers. Thanks to its embed mode, Youtube also gives the opportunity to display a video on a larger scale on other websites or social networks such as Facebook or MySpace.

Presently in a testing mode, the ‘‘As seen on…’’ function shall seduce more than one SEO experts that seize there an interesting opportunity of gathering popular links from Youtube, the top video sharing platform worldwide.

While we wait for this function to widespread, it would be interesting to know what is the required number of viewers for Youtube to qualify that video as ‘‘significant’’. Is it 10,000, 100,000… or a given percentage?

Please find below a video example where Youtube displays the “As seen on: blog.newsweek.com’’ mention.

I watch so many videos on the Net that it’s great to find a positive and intelligent creative concept. Successful mission for The Fun Theory of Volkswagen, a competition to recycle urban environment and change behavior.

Imagine an army of 200 flies to promote your company. No, I haven’t watched too many times the movie The Fly. Yes, it exists. In the last Frankfurt book fair, Eichborn has created a spectacular buzz with a guerrilla marketing operation that is blowing the competition.