It looks like Microsoft is finally giving up on its Live Expo classified ad service. They close the doors on July 31st of this year. I wrote about the launch back in March ‘06 and had this to say:

It’s a run of the mill classified site with a pinch of social networking thrown in for good measure - because you know…social apps are cool.

Microsoft has the same problem every other classified newcomer has ... gaining momentum. I just ran a search on “Events” within a 50 mile radius of Washington DC. Surely I’d expect to find something listed - but no. Nothing going on in the sleepy little area around the beltway.

This is where newspapers and companies like Oodle really leverage their strengths. They can launch a classified listing service right out of the gate complete with ads and therefore provide a good experience for the first time user of the service.

Companies like Craigslist, Oodle, Yahoo!, eBay continue to dominate the classifieds market. Microsoft (once again) came in too late with too little.

[linklove for videoisnow.com. Thanks for pointing me to that site Liz!]

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Hell yeah - the return of the rock anthem!

Feast your eyes on the latest from White Gold (sure, it’s an ad for milk - but let’s leave aside that pesky detail for the moment). It’s milktastical! It’s the kind of thing you want to listen to when hanging out with Zaphod Beeblebrox and drinking Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters.

(and is it just me or do you think the bass player is a hotter, younger version of Oprah?—did I just write that??!)

Want more? You got it—> http://www.whitegoldiswhitegold.com/

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Between my job and personal interests, I have my head stuck so far up the internet that I often forget that many people never see some of the online video news memes that make the rounds.

Family and friends routinely email videos weeks or months after they appears online and I have to politely acknowledge that “yes, indeed…that’s funny - thanks for sending that (even though I saw that 2 weeks ago)”.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at this great video promoting AOL News as it includes bits from the recent “Don’t tase me bro”, “Leave Britney alone” and “Miss Teen USA”.

Good entertainment and a good ad. I ended up stopping by AOL News for a bit.

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I stumbled across TurnHere in June of ‘06 and immediately connected with the high-quality production values of the local, local, local content. TurnHere offers more than just an online video ad - they present a picture of the business - the story behind the sales. And because it’s a story about a business in the community (and not some faceless corporation hawking goods) people are more willing to listen.

It seems that some of the major players in the industry have recognized the same.

Cory Bergman writes this morning on Lost Remote that

Superpages.com has inked a deal with TurnHere and Denver Multimedia to create video profiles of local businesses.

The plan is to leverage the Superpages sales force to upsell clients to the video packages, and the clips will appear alongside directory listings. Recently, Yellow Book and CitySearch have begun similar video efforts.

He goes on to say…

local TV stations aren’t players despite long track records of innovation in video advertising. And in some cases, it may already be too late. Why? Stations haven’t invested in building innovative local directory/search products that have succeeded in achieving a large enough audience.

Last week, I met with a former co-worker who now heads up the interactive media group at a television station in Richmond. One of the topics we discussed was the failure of local television (and most of the media outlets in town for that matter) to honestly engage the online community in storytelling.

By not finding and sharing the stories important to the community, they’re doing a disservice to their next generation of audience, they’re leaving a lot of money on the table and they’re opening the door for low-cost, high-return competition.

It’s time for TV to innovate or die with regard to their online operations. Tossing up a couple of paragraphs related to the broadcast and links to weather doesn’t cut it anymore. People can and do get that content elsewhere. Short-form video storytelling is an art though - one that’s been practiced for decades by the TV reporters. It’s time to leverage those strengths and engage the local online community—before Superpages or anyone else does.

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More commercials should have poo flinging monkeys in them.

I just finished reading Bob Parson’s article about GoDaddy’s recent attempts to get a Super Bowl commercial on air and saw this comment…

Ok…here’s a good commercial to run. It will work.

Monkeys in a zoo wearing Go-daddy t-shirts, flinging poo.

Couldn’t be worse than anything else that is on, and don’t ask what it means, I just think it would be funny.

Poo-flinging monkeys, Bob…works every time. Trust me on this one.

Cheers,

~Chandler

Ah yes. Poo flinging monkeys. Does the trick every time, doesn’t it?

I wish more commercials involved flinging poo.

Who wouldn’t want to see more of that?

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