The future of Digital Media, Predictions for 2008

Highlights

Bandwidth will play a critical role in Digital Media in 2008. This includes bandwidth management, bandwidth speed, and bandwidth ownership. The recent auction taking place that allows new players to own bandwidth that was turned over by the broadcast industry will provide new opportunities particularly in the mobile device industry. Telemedicine, public service media, and even redefining national and international commerce. All the cool gadgets and devices that we read about and experiment with, have 1 thing in common; they must be connected to maximize the experience for the user. In 2008, bandwidth owners will put plans in place to set new higher throughput rates for up and down stream activity.

The Set Top/Media Box is reintroduced: 2008 has already invited new boxes to the video delivery party. Brian Roberts of Comcast announced Comcasts commitment to making the set top box software open to developers, allowing for the cable signals to be integrated with other components such as dvrs and tvs.

Interactive Television: The loch ness monster, that is how my good friend Mark Hess refers to ITV. An interesting set of technologies that will begin to make sense in 2008. Again, as the set top box becomes an open source platform, new ideas will abound and become realistic as new developers begin to implement ideas that have sat on shelves for years. Everything from video gaming to buying direct on your tv will be readily available by the end of 2008. This behavioral change will usher in new revenue opportunities for advertisers, retailers, and even individuals as selling products and services will happen in your living room from your remote.

The reinvention of online video. The good news about all of the user generated content that has spread across the net is that it reminds us that good production, talent, and stories do make a difference. Although I do anticipate that a mainstream scripted on air show will premiere an episode with a script written by a user base, I also believe that the current ugc content trends only fuels the need for high-end production content as our appetite for video is insatiable. Look for more professional online video sites that limit the amount of user generated content but still promotes short format videos.

Social Media sites will continue to find there value but the new area of growth in this sector will be “business community sites”. In 2008 more initiatives will be launched to target specific business interests and to network more individuals for the purpose of collaboration. The BCS movement will usher in new ways to define trade, commerce, and investment. Particularly investment where individuals and ideas will truly come together for win win relationships. Online platforms that allow for investment to be made into companies without the traditional bureaucracy will take hold in 2008.

Mobile Media: The growth of the mobile device industry is very well documented. The challenge is to discover the “killer” applications that consumers will adopt as standard behavior. In 2008, consumers will be introduced to “location media” that takes advantage of gps technology and user patterns to create a customized experience for that customer. This invites opportunities for new applications, new revenue streams and improved customer loyalty. It is not just about what you deliver it is when and where that must be considered as you build and distribute content. Other ideas include the use of the cell phone as a projector, wireless payments, and entertainment management via Bluetooth mobile devices.

Video games: Connected consoles create more opportunities for dynamic in-game advertising, where ad placements can be updated with new campaigns and advertisers in real time. It also allows advertisers to commit to a particular title closer to release date, or even after a game is in stores. Both casual and hard-core gamers alike can be engaged with brands for extended amounts of time with a lower cost per interaction than many other emerging platforms. Console game sales figures are forecasted to push household penetration to 50% in the coming months. 2008 will be a great time to get involved, as the costs are not over-inflated (yet), and the games are not cluttered with interactive advertising. While I don’t think there will be a lot of stand-alone branded games this year; integration opportunities will be abundant – it’s just up to the marketers to make sure the brand presence enhances the gamers’ experience, and not detract from it.

Peer to Peer growth: As mentioned earlier, bandwidth is the kingdom upon which we all build and travel. Interestingly enough we all have a piece of the kingdom with our own home networks. Our kingdom expands as we connect and share our bandwidth with others. This creates the peer to peer phenomenon that up until recently has been frowned upon by the traditional bandwidth distributors. But as the old saying goes, “if you cant beat them join them”. In 2008, the value of shared disc space and bandwidth will begin to become more evident to everyone from the providers to the consumer and new infrastructure strategies will be launched to support peer to peer networking. This will impact online video, online applications, and a growth in home broadcasting.

Advertising: The digital fuel we all are hooked on. A key to many business plans I have looked at over the past 5 years. But what happens with advertising in the digital media space moving forward. In 2008, budgets supporting branded entertainment will increase – a new way to be heard is by posing as content. Advertisers will look to partner with brands that allow them to be integrated with the brand and not seen as an external force. In other words as part of enjoying the given product the advertisement is part and parcel. Finally, advertisers will become more selective. We are getting past the stage of being everywhere and moving towards the point of digging deeper with our targets. Metadata management will become a buzzword in many advertising circles. Database-driven web 3.0 is imminent.

Consumer: At the end of the day we are all consumers and we are all trying to connect with each other. We all have interesting stories about people we have reconnected with through some digital media application. Whether it is facebook, linked in, myspace, or classmates, our ability to be connected is growing exponentially. That being said, the opportunity in 2008 calls for us to make the connections we establish meaningful. This year more partnerships and alliances will be made to join skills and mindshare to pave new roads upon the kingdom to make our collective lives better and more civil. Digital media is allowing us as a nation to evolve as people who will march to the tune of shared responsibility and ultimately take care of one another so that generations will enjoy the wonderful gifts this world has to offer in the way we have been able to do in our lives.