This eye opening video on Globalization was made by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Bronman, and has received well over 2 million views since it was posted in October 2008.  Enjoy….

The Top 10 demand Jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004: An example is community manager a position that did not exist in 2004 that now exists

1 out of 8 couples married in the US last year met online: I have used an online dating website, but found my love elsewhere…

…today’s learner will have 1o to 14 jobs by the age of 38: I already have had 8 different jobs and I am less than 30 years old…

Getting the right information at the right time will require more communication, collaboration with each other and that is what technology (web 2.0, mobile services, lbs, …) is made for.  Welcome to the NEW world!

When video marketing emerged on the scene years ago, many marketers decided to focus on developing strategies for user generated video campaigns, where users submitted their own videos to corporations to represent their brands or products.  Now, as video evolves into a multi-dimensional medium, user generated content (UGC) is decreasing in popularity and success.  Why is UGC declining?  Simple, the decline can be attributed to an emergence of professional video campaigns in the market, causing corporations to turn to newly developed video marketing firms to create, implement and manage their video marketing campaigns.

According to the report “Pro Online Video Views 1998–2012” from AccuStream iMedia Research, professionally produced online video grew nearly 25% last year, accounting for 41.6 billion views. “The sharp escalation of professional video content on the Web—mainly from TV networks—is creating a viable base for brand marketers,” said David Hallerman, senior analyst at eMarketer.

In another study by The Diffusion Group (TDG) in 2008, short and user-generated clips made up 60% of US video advertising revenues.  But TDG analysts predicted that 70% of streaming video ad revenues will come from long-form videos in 2013.

According to LiveRail, this change in videos has not gone unnoticed, with 18-to-24-year-old social network users  spending more time watching online video than ever before.  In a Q4 2008 survey of more than 400 young adult social networkers, LiveRail found that 53% said that in an average month they spent more time watching online video than traditional TV. Nineteen percent of respondents said they watched each “about the same,” and only 28% said they watched more TV than online video.

So not only are more people watching online videos, but the types of videos they are watching are changing drastically.  Gone are the poorly developed UGC videos of the past, the new online videos are sleek and professional, with content playing a very important role.

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) recently completed a study showing the effect the recession is having on the marketing industry.  This is the second part of a two-part study, the first part was taken back in August of 2008 and asked if marketers thought their budgets would increase, decrease or remain the same in the next six months. Marketers were asked the same question again at the start of 2009, and the ANA is looking to analyze how the 2008 budget predictions compared against the actual budgets for 2009. This new study reveals that “more companies are identifying cost savings and reductions (93% as opposed to 87% six months ago) and that 37% of respondents today plan to reduce budgets by more than 20%, up substantially from the 21 % of respondents in the first survey.”

According to the study, the top five areas where marketers plan to reduce costs or expenditures in marketing and advertising efforts are:

• Departmental travel and expense restrictions (87% versus  63% in the previous survey)
• Reducing advertising campaign media budgets (77% versus 69% in the previous survey)
• Reducing advertising campaign production budgets (72% versus  63% in the previous survey)
• Challenging agencies to reduce internal expenses and/or identify cost reductions (68% versus  63% in the previous survey)
• Eliminating or delaying new projects (58% versus  61) in the previous survey)

Fortunately, online marketing is one of the most cost-efficient types of marketing out there today, which means that even though advertising/marketing budgets are being cut by over 70%, the remainder of those budgets are being used to create effective online marketing and social media campaigns.  If you are a marketer facing these deep cut-backs, let me share with you a few strategies that are cost-effective, and have not only been weathering the recession, but have proved to be extremely successful.

• Social Media Marketing - There are many benefits to engaging in social media. Social Media applications, like communities, social networking sites, and word-of-mouth marketing are proving themselves to be a rich new marketing technique that needs only a poor man’s investment.  These sites depend on an abundant resource – your customers – rather than a scarce one – advertising dollars, and with all of the new ideas for social media evolving, you may find these strategies improving all aspects of your business.
• Online Video – There has been a significant increase in video marketing over the past few months, and heard all of the chatter about the value of video from marketing experts, but did you know that video marketing, or social videos, are also an extremely valuable SEO tool?  That is a 2 for 1 deal!!
• Mobile Marketing - eMarketer forecasts that mobile social networking will grow from 82 million users in 2007 to over 800 million worldwide by 2012. “Along with the rapidly growing audience, marketers are drawn to mobile social networking because it creates a unique context in which to promote their goods and services,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and co-author of the report. “It goes beyond simply linking people with digital content by adding the immediacy of sharing with friends—a very powerful marketing proposition.”

By focusing on getting the highest value for their budget, Marketers can still develop highly successful campaigns and return measurable results, IF they focus their campaigns on the cost effective space of Online Marketing.  Hopefully this will be one of the final pushes CEOs and CMOs need to get off the fence and really dive deep into a strategic social media plan.

Of Facebook’s 150 million members, 25 million are strictly mobile users, utilizing their mobile phone to manage, interact, and grow their accounts.  With all of the new mobile phone technologies arriving from Apple, Nokia, and Blackberry, users are able to engage online via cell phone, as easily as they can with their laptops.
Facebook is only one of many platforms promoting their mobile profile services.  MySpace is another extremely popular mobile platform, recording over 7 million mobile users in it’s first 6 months of existence, and you can imagine what that number has grown to today!

Following along with this trend, eMarketer forecasts that mobile social networking will grow from 82 million users in 2007 to over 800 million worldwide by 2012. “This population will comprise current online social networkers who are extending their digital lives to mobile as well as a growing number of mobile-only social networkers,” said John du Pre Gauntt, eMarketer senior analyst and co-author of the new report, Mobile Social Networks.

“Along with the rapidly growing audience, marketers are drawn to mobile social networking because it creates a unique context in which to promote their goods and services,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and co-author of the report. “It goes beyond simply linking people with digital content by adding the immediacy of sharing with friends—a very powerful marketing proposition.”

To help you as you begin to develop your mobile social networking strategy, I have developed a list of my top mobile social networks for you to begin with.  Remember, each network listed below has it’s own set of users, with it’s own demographic appeal.  Find the network that works for you, and engage like you would online.  Remember, these are social networks.  Ads and spam will be just as unwelcome here as they would on MySpace or Facebook’s internet-based communities.

• Hobnobster – Hobnobster is a web and mobile relationship service where singles can search and communicate with quality singles online and mobile.
• Zyb.com -ZYB is an easy way to store your phone’s contacts, pictures, text messages and calendar events online. ZYB also lets you connect with people you know and makes sure you always have their updated contact details on your phone. As most of your real life friends are already on your phone, ZYB gives some additional social features like photo tagging and content sharing with the people you know.
• Mig33.com – Get mig33 and you’ll be connected to people around the world. IM, visit chat rooms, send email, share photos, SMS and, of course, make cheap calls
• Mobiluck.com – Share where you are with your friends, receive alerts when they are nearby and chat 24/7 for free.
• MeetMoi – MeetMoi is a safe and easy dating service for meeting people near you. Using groundbreaking technology, MeetMoi looks for people around your location and lets you browse pictures, send messages, and connect with members, all from your cell phone. Since MeetMoi values safety above everything, no one’s actual location is ever revealed.
• BrightKite.com – Brightkite is a location-based social network. In real time you can see where your friends are and what they’re up to. Depending on your privacy settings you can also meet others nearby.
• JuiceCaster.com – JuiceCaster lets you meet new people, connect with friends and share your photos and videos directly from your mobile phone. Instantly post videos and pictures to your Myspace, Facebook and other sites.
• Treemo.com – Treemo is a online and mobile community dedicated to sharing digital media, empowering self-expression, and transforming creativity into action. By offering an ever-evolving gallery of video, audio, photography, words, and visual art, Treemo inspires visitors to create their own digital expressions, and to share those creations with the world – on the web and on mobile phones.
• Veeker.com – Veeker is Video and Picture Messaging for Phone and Web.
• Groovr.com – The groovr goal is to help people stay connected, not just online, but out in life too. We want our users to move seamlessly from laptop to mobile phone to meeting new friends in new places. Groovr keeps track of what’s cool. Find local events happening in your city right now. Mobile pictures, video, and live chat give you an inside look before you head out.
• Flagr.com – Whether exploring new places or revisiting their favorite venues, most everyone you know is constantly exploring. Every now and again, you may hear of the travels, but more often than not, such news is lost to the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Flagr changes all this by enabling you to easily keep tabs with your friends’ most current whereabouts as well as their thoughts along the way. Whether it’s a killer burrito place or a new hilarious movie that your friends stumble upon, you are “in the know.”
• Socialight.com – Socialight lets you create, share and discover virtual Sticky Notes stuck to actual places all around you. Sounds simple right? It is! It’s also very powerful…
• Twitter.com – Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?
• Zannel – Zannel is about life in real time. It’s a way for you and your friends to share what you’re doing, feeling, and seeing as it happens. It’s a free service that allows you to create your own mobile page where you can post videos, pictures, and text updates with your phone to instantly share with your friends and start a conversation. You can also follow friends, meet new friends, and watch videos.
• Myspace Mobile - Myspace on your mobile phone.
• Facebook Mobile – Facebook on your mobile.