We’ve gotten to the point were web 2.0 is now fading into history giving way to the next “big thing”.  Unlike Web 1.0 we haven’t seen any new sustainable businesses.  Looking at the big user generated content sites, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, we’ve seen no positive revenue — just a lot of burn.  So what becomes of these sites?

Here’s a post from PaidContent.org that sheds some light (link here) “YouTube and William Morris Agency close to deal”. User Generated Content sites don’t attract advertisers.  Advertisers are scared to death of user gen content.  I should know — We once had to explain to Disney way their display ads where appearing on a dominatrix site.  These sites have to add professional content to attract the ad dollars.  The YouTube deal is an obvious move.   Will we see similar things from the others?

Well, with MySpace we are with MySpace videos and music.  Twitter is hopeless.  But Facebook?  How would we are pro content to Facebook — Celebrity Fan Pages!  Where are they?  Why am I not friends with Ridley Scott, Will Ferrell, and John Stewart?

Another way to look at this — what happened to all of the UGC sites of Web 1.0?  Where is TheGlobe, Tripod, Geocities, Friendster and all the others?  None of them adapted — what comes next may benefit from thinking Pro content first then UGC second.

Dove Micro Site on MSN

Dove is soap.  Or is it?  Dove is an expression of self esteem.  Is it?  Dove would like you to think so.  Have a look at this very well produced micro-site (link here).

Dove has used the Internet to create a brand position in a way no other medium would allow.  Consumers of Dove can delve pretty deep into their concept of beauty and self-esteem.  Forums, expert Blogs, Widgets, and other tools provide Dove’s consumers with a way to interact with the brand that truly connects the consumer with the position.

If you think your products transcend the product benefit/need fulfillment and can connect to the consumer on an emotional level — or if your product is a commodity like soap and you need to create an emotional connection as a differenciator nothing beats the web to offer a robust engagement.  Have a look at the Dove site and get a feel — they are not selling Soap.  They are selling self-esteem and using the web do to is very effectively.

Mountain Dew Volt Micro Site

This is a very robust online campaign for Mountain Dew Voltage.  Check out all the details at ClickZ (link here).

A couple highlights:

• Visitors got to contribute with the making of this new product by voting on flavor, packaging, ect.
• The campaign leveraged advergaming, Facebook ap, mobile, banner, email — just about everything to surround the consumer.
• The micro-site is built on and in conjunction with Yahoo.  This is an interesting way to tap into the built in audience on Yahoo.
• The campaign uses a point system to reward it’s consumers with contests and prizes.  The more the consumer is engaged with the brand the more points. More points equal more rewards.  This is advergaming PLUS continuity

The soda companies are always a bit ahead of the rest of the pack in innovating marketing.  This campaign is a good example of leveraging just about every online stratgey available.  I’ll keep an eye out for any results data.

Above is our new president’s weekly address — on YouTube!  Next up is Recovery.gov, a web site that will track how the government spends our tax dollars.  This administration is getting into digital communication in a big way.  What does that mean to us Internet Marketers?

Thoughts

• The more the gov’t uses the Internet to communicate the more “main stream” the Internet will be viewed by main street.  Ya sure, everyone is wired and hip and online.  What will change is the ubiquity of the net — the sense that it is no longer “The Internet” and simply is.
• How long till we are voting online?  There are some hassle with this — but give it a couple years and hopefully the gov’t will directly asking the people.
• The concept of using the Internet to create the conversation will be even more pronounced once it sinks in that the biggest conversations — the gov’t — is fully transparent and engaged.  Woe be the business that continues to ignore the fact the their consumers are using the web as the largest tupperware party.

eMarketer Report on Medium Influence

As Internet marketing professionals we get really excited about the potential of the medium to influence purchase behaviour.  And we get a bit sour when we see all of the budget going to TV.  What we have to remember is that TV is still king in creating demand AND TV is still king when it comes jazzing up the buyer to get incremental product placement at retail.

TV and the Internet will merge — but which marketing discipline will trump the other?  Will the TV guys morph into Internet guys or will the Internet guys morph into TV guys.  It will be an interesting 5 years — change is coming.