Some characteristically brilliant insight from College Humor’s Ricky Van Veen straight from today’s (Motorola sponsored) Mashable Summit…

10 Web Content Urban Legends

Myth #1). People will want to watch your branded content: Why would anyone watch this? If you don’t have a good reason, don’t make it. If your goal is 75% to entertain and 25% to [...]]]>

Some characteristically brilliant insight from College Humor’s Ricky Van Veen straight from today’s (Motorola sponsored) Mashable Summit…

10 Web Content Urban Legends

Myth #1). People will want to watch your branded content: Why would anyone watch this? If you don’t have a good reason, don’t make it. If your goal is 75% to entertain and 25% to sell a product, you already have a handicap.

- Brands need to be flexible. IE, College Humor is a racy site — so if you want to partner with a media outlet like this, its content will be racy. Embrace that. To remedy this issue, you can present content that is not explicitly branded, and then reveal your involvement later.

Myth #2). People will be patient with your content: 35% tune out soon after starting to watch a web video. Also, one third of web activity is executed while watching TV.

- So, get to the point — quickly.

Myth #3). People will find your content: Your video will not necessarily go viral. Over-saturation is not the key, either.

- Have a strong seeding strategy.
– Team up with an established brand or platform.

Myth #4). The Internet is a level playing field: A link on Drudge Report yields more results than some dude’s blog.

- Tap into power users.

Myth #5). We have no idea why things go viral: There are no rules for making a viral video. But all viral videos give the user a reason to pass it on. This all has to do with identity creation: What does passing this video on say about me?

- College Humor has a hit strategy: Only hit for nines and 10s.
– The shorter the better.
– The hook comes within the first 20 seconds.
– Sweet spots College Humor taps into: Topical issues and “Candycorn” (cultural touchstones that everyone knows, but doesn’t actively think about).

Myth # 6). Experience () beats documentation: We have a new generation that puts documentation above experience. It’s all about Flickr feeds and Facebook status updates. It’s basically high-tech bragging.

- if you’re a marketer, create experiences that allow people to show off how cool they are.

Myth #7). You should build your own community and tools: The web values simplicity and openness. Don’t limit the openness of your project. Make all tools open and easy to share. Don’t build your own features — if you want people to share photos and whatnot, use Facebook () and Flickr () . You get much more exposure and reach in that way.

Myth #8). Keep things professional: Show the people behind the scenes. It gives your site personality and makes it sticky. Personality drives your brand. Post photos of staff as well as videos and other content. Perez Hilton does this really well, according to Van Veen.

Myth #9). Traditional media is irrelevant to the web: TV is not over. Content creators are always working to get to TV and film — that’s where the money is. The average American watches 151 hours of TV a month, so that’s nothing to sneeze at. You get a stamp of approval thusly.

Myth #10). People will create good content for you: This is the biggest myth of all.

Along with a day of world class Social Media discussion and presentations all guests and media received a personal MOTOBLUR enabled Motorola Smartphone…

Sniff is a holographic, interactive, fully functional virtual pet created by artist team Karolina Sobeska and James George and currently doing his thing in the window of the Dam Stuhltrager Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn this [...]]]> As both a dog owner and Williamsburg resident, discovering this on my walk home from work was a pleasant surprise…

Sniff is a holographic, interactive, fully functional virtual pet created by artist team Karolina Sobeska and James George and currently doing his thing in the window of the Dam Stuhltrager Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn this April.

He barks, he growls, he rolls rover, and he may play fetch; but unlike Morris and Waffle (the resident Cake puppies) no one has to walk him.

In 2000, the school’s music teacher began posting videos of the choir performances and in 2008, Perez Hilton took [...]]]> In a Staten Island public school on a Friday afternoon, 70 fifth graders are rehearsing “Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi”, knowing all too well that what they are doing will be watched and shared by millions of fans worldwide.

In 2000, the school’s music teacher began posting videos of the choir performances and in 2008, Perez Hilton took notice. A huge Tori Amos fan, he posted a link to the group’s “Flying Dutchman” cover and helped propel it to the top ten most-viewed YouTube videos in a single day. In the last two years the PS22 Choir has drawn in music lovers worldwide, covering songs by Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Phoenix and Billie Holliday. And why wouldn’t they? 70 gorgeous kids rocking out, singing and more importantly ‘feeling’ the music is really captivating. And unlike the cast of Glee, these kids aren’t actors yet the world tunes in to see what they can do.

To date, over 15 million have viewed the PS22 Choir’s Youtube videos, including fans like Kylie Miongue, Tori Amos, and Neil Finn from Crowded House. Are you a fan too?

Before the panels start ramping up, I wanted to share video of my SMart [...]]]> Greetings from SXSW in Austin, TX- where I’ll be spending the next few days immersed in what’s new in digital and how we can best use it on behalf of our clients (and also retain our cool-kid, early adopter cred of course).

Before the panels start ramping up, I wanted to share video of my SMart Camp presentation from this past weekend- “How to Make a Social Media Strategy”. It’s good to think about the basics, while coming across all these technologies that scream “next big thing!”. Keeping your strategy airtight will make sure you pick the right upcoming tools (like Hot Potato which is blowing up at SXSW right now), but only if they’re relevant to what you’re looking to use social to do.

Would love to know your thoughts on my presentation. And if you’re in Austin, please say hello. I’m @miishi on Twitter.

Afraid it’s not as sunny and warm in NYC right now – but summers not too far away…

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

Thanks for the heads up, weather guy. You’ve reignited the zest for being the best at what we do [...]]]> Here at Cake, we like to think we’re passionate about our jobs. And even though our office is closed for this epic blizzard, we’re all home working away while watching the snow peacefully fall outside our windows.

Thanks for the heads up, weather guy. You’ve reignited the zest for being the best at what we do in all of us today.

Chat Roulette is a recently launched webcam site, essentially the equivalent of an Unfiltered youtube.

Launch the site by simply allowing your webcam to be online. The site then pairs you with a roulette style random videochat partner. Wave to you new friend, give a virtual high five or a [...]]]> Guest post by Lauren Jones.

Chat Roulette is a recently launched webcam site, essentially the equivalent of an Unfiltered youtube.

Launch the site by simply allowing your webcam to be online. The site then pairs you with a roulette style random videochat partner. Wave to you new friend, give a virtual high five or a sing a love song. Once you get bored click the ‘next’ button and let the roulette wheel spin.

Chat Roulette has been quoted as the new ‘Favorite Web Site Since YouTube’ and we can see why. The amusement of random face to face conversation with strangers from all over the world is captivating, and with the 20 to 1 male to female ratio this feels like a simpler version of any normal dating.

Watch this space.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

We also spend a fair amount of time griping about technology when [...]]]> Our office is a nonstop inundation of technology and information.  We spend our days geeking out about mobile phone apps, social networks, blogs, widgets, the latest and greatest in online video, and things that are so nerdy I dare not admit to them here.

We also spend a fair amount of time griping about technology when it doesn’t work as quickly or perfectly as we’d like.  There are those L trains that don’t seem to be able to ever run normally.  The email inboxes that suddenly decide not to let you receive emails anymore.  Phones that drop calls, iPod docks that don’t dock, video conferences that cause us to look like Max Hedroom…

But in the spirit of Thanksgiving (only a week away! hooray!), perhaps we ought to take a step back and just appreciate how awesome it is that we can do things like carrying music around with us and interacting with colleagues on the other side of the ocean – ON TV!!! And, as Louis CK reminds us, this whole flying through the air thing is pretty cool too.