The video you linked to offers that URL at the end, and my guess is that his audience is really hooked on what he's doing.
As far as i can tell, this is a tightly scripted, well thought out production, rather that a fly by night video blogger who doesn't have support from professionals and is making waves by just being silly/interesting.
Kudos to the production team/interactive agency. Very well done.
Christopher Coulter
· 1 year ago
Ahh just jealousy, you'd take the traffic if someone gave it to yah (and you've done quite wacky things in the past), and I seem to recall you going ga-ga over Ze Frank, which had the same inane hyperactive formula.
It's like a car wreck, everyone looks, but not easy to sell the goods. That traffic is not the end all, be all, is something that everyone should have learnt from the first "eyeballs" dot.com (con) crash. But playing "only the "smart" people care and get it", elite-games, is equally (and double) limiting.
As always, when traffic down, claim superiority of audience (we are better than you, nah nah nah), when traffic up, why it's validation for whatever is the bug-hype of the moment. Shell con game, can't ever lose.
stanley
· 1 year ago
"Do something really stupid that’ll make people laugh."
Do you ever what some of your videos, particularly the Qik ones? I thought that was what you are doing.
Dario Salvelli
· 1 year ago
It is an intersting point of view but Fred is already sponsored by Zipit, the Wireless messenger that Fred use in the video. There is an online store at: http://www.zipitwireless.com/default.aspx?skinid=1
It's a interesting campaing, 2 milion of traffic on YouTube for these stupid videos are too much, i think. But it's really viral. So, if Youtube can't monetize this video and haven't some revenue, we can imagine that Google closed YouTube in the future?
Charbax
· 1 year ago
Youtube will monetize the 4 billion monthly views. The day they start allowing Youtube producers to activated overlay ads, those ads will be relevant and popup in the bottom 10% of the video for a few seconds once per video or once every few minutes. Pehrpas Google will be able to use voice-recognition to improve the relevancy of those overlay ads.
Estimates of the monetization level that Google can achieve with those overlay ads being on the video on youtube.com, embedded and full screen is around 15 dollars per 1000 views. That is really huge. This means Fred would have earned 675 thousand dollars by now for his 45 million views, and Google would have probably made even more money cause their share is always larger then the content providers on Adsense.
ralph
· 1 year ago
*twitches* a few million?
ok, my blog is not very huge, not very good, and enough other things "not very", but i am able to greet every visitor by his name (and i do have no memory for names)
but i think i will be happy with a few people with the same interests as me,
Jose Sandoval
· 1 year ago
"Because I’d rather be in the race for a smart, focused audience."
I'm offended by your assumption. Yeah, Fred is kooler...
Michael Ray Hopkin
· 1 year ago
Traffic (or 'eyeballs' as we called it back then) was the goal of many 'cool' companies in the late '90s and early 2000s. We all know what happened.
I'll take the smart, more focused audience any day.
Rutger Blom
· 1 year ago
This is nothing new. People have always been drawn to look at out of the ordinary things. That's much more exciting than following a bunch of nerds talking web 2.0. What is your message here Scoble?
Tony Steward
· 1 year ago
I would rather interact (deal) with a smart and focused audience than the type of people that are commenting on Fred's youtube videos. Of course the conversation we are having is both about our personal interactions through social media, and then a companies interaction which have different values in both investment and return. But I do agree that engagement translates more value for both audiences (individual and company) than just pure traffic.
jaycruz
· 1 year ago
In other words, traffic is not necessarily a good measure of a websites value.
It all comes down to goals: do you want the popularity? Can you monetize it if you get it? Or do you want to attract bright minds and talk to them about topics that interest you?
Great post. Thanks for kicking me in the ass to write my similar thoughts on the subject.
-- Jeff
Brent
· 1 year ago
As we say in the radio biz "content is king."
Keith
· 1 year ago
The trick is SUSTAINABLE traffic: 45 mil hits is worth nothing if it doesn't keep coming back. Websites should be sustainable organically growing businesses...NOT once-off pop hits that fade quickly.
Susan
· 1 year ago
Getting traffic is NOT my real goal. If that was my objective, I would put 3 live webcams with Playboy playmates showing their pussies 24 hours a day. Also, I would upload this live onto YouTube. That would give me 400 million views in an hour. If you check out YouTube video average viewership, you will find that pornography, salacious entertainment and cheap stunts consistently average the most traffic.
Also, making money is NOT my real goal. If so, I would be selling crack cocaine and make more money in 1 week than even your mighty salary, your highness.
The crux is that we each of us wants to get views, traffic, money, etc. in our own tasteful manner that would give us satisfaction and self-esteem. "Parading like a clown before a webcam" personally does not appeal to me as a way of getting traffic or making money. YMMV. I don't want those 40 million views.
Please don't expound shallow philosophies on your blog, Mr. Scoble. Stick to tech and geek, and I'll keep watching.
ashish
· 1 year ago
I couldnt agree with you more on the need for quality audience, rather than pageviews. Infact, the reader engagement is far more important and fruitful than anything else - it enriches one.
YouTube will continue to evolve - it is in investment in the new revolution of communication. Eventually, it will find a way to make a profit from everything. But for now it is a new revolution that has to still evolve
Tom Lee
· 1 year ago
You need to have the traffic coming back to your site, people are coming to your site only once is not much to bank in the end of the day.
bob
· 1 year ago
Ummm how did you come to the conclusion that YouTube can't monetize him? They sponsored him, he's a YouTube partner, they have ads on his videos, so I guess you'd be wrong about that.
Sure advertisers really don't care about traffic, not at all. And they also don't care about magazine circulation numbers, or TV show viewership, or click through rates. All they care about is supporting creative people doing creative things no matter how little traffic they get. Yeah. Brilliant.
Jedd
· 1 year ago
Oh, c'mon. Sour grape much. In fairness to Fred and his "traffic", I think it takes an amount of creative intelligence to whip up those hilarious videos. It's also not fair to say that the kind of audience he's got isn't focused and smart. He's got a different kind of content for a different kind audience that is fit for a different kind of product. Wait till he does a video on the misadventures of chewing "Brand" gum..
Oliver Reichenstein
· 1 year ago
In other words: You'd rather run a tech blog than an ordinary TV-channel?
edricchen
· 1 year ago
I think what Robert is trying to point out is if a company wants to be popular, it should do a Fred stunt instead of spending millions on the old media. Fame is much "cheaper" now.
However, I guess it all depends on the product. If a viral video can drive the product's growth, then you would've hit the jackpot. The real problem is relevance. Being a hard sell doesn't help at all.
45 million views... That's easily half the size of my country. In a mass market point of view ("reach"), that is tremendous. But on the web, it means nothing if it isn't sustainable, as Keith pointed out.
Dr Wright
· 1 year ago
Since most of my viewers are NOT that into You Tube, I dont worry about it. I have a few videos there but frankly, thats not where they go for most of information on Business Building.
Nice post Scoble. I'm extra encouraged to post a comment today because I just finished reading your book Naked Conversations.
Online video will need a way to monetize viral videos that spread very fast usually without knowing the viral effect will occur. TV has it easy (or at least it used to), show the content to the advertisers, get sponsorship deals lined up in the spring and summer, air the shows in the fall, and everybody wins (except most of the advertisers of course because TV advertising isn't effective, measurable, provides a poor ROI, etc.).
New systems will need to be put in place, I do see big potential in creative overlay ads at the bottom of the video screen, but scaling advertising inventory to match content inventory is something that needs to be more closely looked at. Especially with the Web getting more connected, social, interactive, collaborative, and community driven by passionate individuals.
I'm personally obsessed with online video, and love working with new media models in the emerging Web 2.0 jungle.
Chris Albrecht
· 1 year ago
Actually, for a 14 year-old, "Fred" has made some pretty decent money.
Rather than waiting for YouTube to monetize his work, Fred got a manager and they monetized it on their own.
Fred got a five figure deal with Zipit to do three "viral" vids. There were performance benchmarks bonuses built into the deal for 1 million, 1.5 million, etc. plays. He beat all of those benchmarks in a week.
Fred's launching his own URL this month where he'll offer merchandise and further monetize the character. Plus, he's had meetings with execs at Fox and Disney.
He's not simply entertaining, the kid's got a plan, and it's working out pretty well.
Christopher Coulter
· 1 year ago
It's not always the stupid gimmick stunts, as Limbaugh's $38 million a year, until the sun goes supernova, attests.
Doug C.
· 1 year ago
Huh, and to think I've been wasting all this time with site promotion and social networking when all I had to do was act like a complete moron.
Victor Curran
· 1 year ago
Novelty plays a big part in the popularity of stuff like this. The novelty is, anyone old enough to buy a computer has spent most of his/her life in a world where broadcast video was made by capital-P Professionals. If we expect professionalism, and we get some kid being a dork, the thing that makes us laugh isn't the dorkiness--it's the fact that it's being broadcast! Thanks to YouTube, amateur-grade video is changing from a novelty to a norm. Once we get used to broadcast dorkiness, it won't make us laugh anymore. After that, anyone who wants a big audience--or a small audience from a desirable demographic--will actually have to make a good video.
gorka arce
· 1 year ago
fred´s video made me really really sad is that supposed to be funny?
i don´t see the point, i must be too old, or to snotty, or whatever
keep on eating sh*t! ............. 45 million flies can´t all be wrong!!
let´s keep on monetizing the "bread and circus"dudes!
cheers
Lynn Rothfuss
· 1 year ago
I do MLM and found the hard way, that traffic alone is no measure of quality leads. For that matter buying leads is even worse!
Get your own leads for free.
Great business building information is available and for FREE! I use it and have great success, the best part is I enjoy sharing with others and seeing them succeed is very up lifing.
It cost nothing to give back and share!
There are many people looking for a real team to work with and learn.
Fred... Strange, but the first thing that comes to my mind is/was the musicgroup Milli Vanilli. I think the same pretending-strategy created by clever marketingpeople without a real soul (:o)) that gave birth to Milli Vanilli (and maybe half of the worlds popular singers) is getting bigger everyday on the Internet. Just like Fred! :o)
James
· 1 year ago
As mentioned above Fred is a partner with youtube as most of the top 100 most subscribed are. Youtube thus makes money of them buy showing CPM or PPC adsense ads. Now who knows if these pay the hosting bill but it's an attempt.
It seems that this is the future as they see it or at least part of the puzzle. I don't know if it will pay the whole bill but as they move their non DMCA offending video posters to promoted status they have more ability to make money if it works out who knows.
But if you are smart you have the ability to drive alot of traffic from youtube. and if can be ultra targeted. In that lies the great youtube secret.
Peter
· 1 year ago
"The type of people that are commenting on Fred’s youtube videos."?
They're called teenagers. And yes, you're old now.
Michael Sheehan
· 1 year ago
And what happens in 5 years time when Fred realises he is not going to be the next Jim Carey and turns up at Goldmans/PWC/etc looking for a "normal" job. Does this help or hinder his employment prospects!?
adam jackson
· 1 year ago
I watched this guy's videos last week. I sat through two of them and my GF was asking me to mute that ridiculous noise. I don't understand it. The top YouTube channels are all a bunch of kids doing dumbass stupid videos.
So that's my rant :)
David K. Enders, D.C.
· 1 year ago
What you want is to Attract Targeted traffic. Social Networking (Web 2.0) is a great way to do this. YouTube is just one of many social sites, such as Facebook, Digg, etc.
Karen Hurd
· 1 year ago
Bingo! Traffic was a numbers game back in 2000, although smart marketers always knew that website traffic is about getting people to your site who love what you are talking about and VISIT OFTEN.
"Wham-Bam-Thank-you-Ma'am ain't so great online either. Give me thousands of people who subsscribe or opt-in b/c they care over millions of one-hit wonders anyday.
Think of traffic as a room fall of blank faces, all waiting for a moment of genius to come forward. If you don't offer it, they will reject you and after awhile they will find another to stare and wait.
Today you figured out something that most have known but rarely talk about. Fame is a shallow guage for acceptance amongst peers whom are preoccupied with their own fame to notice.
Right now, I'll be honest, I find you 70% noisey and 30% signal. The 30% signal are usually the random videos that you go into off the cuff, without some agenda.. That's what will keep me staring at your videos for 20mins+, i don't mind spending 180mins with Scoble TV provided that there is something worth viewing.
I'm a viewer, but you make it tough at times to view. Then you have moments and all is forgiven? 14yr kid has 45million views, how many are repeat visitors.. and why..is more the curious metric there..
Don't be a news anchor, be a industry street reporter :)
- Scott Barnes Rich Client Platform Manager Microsoft.
Jeff
· 1 year ago
Let me play devil's advocate - there have been highly successful mass market campaigns that have done a good job at marketing mass appeal products and services.
If you have a niche product then of course you are better aligning it to your niche audience - your cost of doing business will be much lower and response rate much higher.
If you have a mass appeal consumer good or service, then using mass market publicity like these videos is certainly worth the try - and given how much it is costing - likely very profitable.
All Comments
The video you linked to offers that URL at the end, and my guess is that his audience is really hooked on what he's doing.
As far as i can tell, this is a tightly scripted, well thought out production, rather that a fly by night video blogger who doesn't have support from professionals and is making waves by just being silly/interesting.
Kudos to the production team/interactive agency. Very well done.
It's like a car wreck, everyone looks, but not easy to sell the goods. That traffic is not the end all, be all, is something that everyone should have learnt from the first "eyeballs" dot.com (con) crash. But playing "only the "smart" people care and get it", elite-games, is equally (and double) limiting.
As always, when traffic down, claim superiority of audience (we are better than you, nah nah nah), when traffic up, why it's validation for whatever is the bug-hype of the moment. Shell con game, can't ever lose.
Do you ever what some of your videos, particularly the Qik ones? I thought that was what you are doing.
It's a interesting campaing, 2 milion of traffic on YouTube for these stupid videos are too much, i think. But it's really viral. So, if Youtube can't monetize this video and haven't some revenue, we can imagine that Google closed YouTube in the future?
Estimates of the monetization level that Google can achieve with those overlay ads being on the video on youtube.com, embedded and full screen is around 15 dollars per 1000 views. That is really huge. This means Fred would have earned 675 thousand dollars by now for his 45 million views, and Google would have probably made even more money cause their share is always larger then the content providers on Adsense.
ok, my blog is not very huge, not very good, and enough other things "not very", but i am able to greet every visitor by his name (and i do have no memory for names)
but i think i will be happy with a few people with the same interests as me,
I'm offended by your assumption. Yeah, Fred is kooler...
I'll take the smart, more focused audience any day.
It all comes down to goals: do you want the popularity? Can you monetize it if you get it? Or do you want to attract bright minds and talk to them about topics that interest you?
Great post. Thanks for kicking me in the ass to write my similar thoughts on the subject.
-- Jeff
Websites should be sustainable organically growing businesses...NOT once-off pop hits that fade quickly.
Also, making money is NOT my real goal. If so, I would be selling crack cocaine and make more money in 1 week than even your mighty salary, your highness.
The crux is that we each of us wants to get views, traffic, money, etc. in our own tasteful manner that would give us satisfaction and self-esteem. "Parading like a clown before a webcam" personally does not appeal to me as a way of getting traffic or making money. YMMV. I don't want those 40 million views.
Please don't expound shallow philosophies on your blog, Mr. Scoble. Stick to tech and geek, and I'll keep watching.
Infact, the reader engagement is far more important and fruitful than anything else - it enriches one.
-Ashish.
http://www.pluggd.in
Sure advertisers really don't care about traffic, not at all. And they also don't care about magazine circulation numbers, or TV show viewership, or click through rates. All they care about is supporting creative people doing creative things no matter how little traffic they get. Yeah. Brilliant.
However, I guess it all depends on the product. If a viral video can drive the product's growth, then you would've hit the jackpot. The real problem is relevance. Being a hard sell doesn't help at all.
45 million views... That's easily half the size of my country. In a mass market point of view ("reach"), that is tremendous. But on the web, it means nothing if it isn't sustainable, as Keith pointed out.
Dr Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
www.wrightplacetv.com
www.twitter.com/drwright1
Online video will need a way to monetize viral videos that spread very fast usually without knowing the viral effect will occur. TV has it easy (or at least it used to), show the content to the advertisers, get sponsorship deals lined up in the spring and summer, air the shows in the fall, and everybody wins (except most of the advertisers of course because TV advertising isn't effective, measurable, provides a poor ROI, etc.).
New systems will need to be put in place, I do see big potential in creative overlay ads at the bottom of the video screen, but scaling advertising inventory to match content inventory is something that needs to be more closely looked at. Especially with the Web getting more connected, social, interactive, collaborative, and community driven by passionate individuals.
I'm personally obsessed with online video, and love working with new media models in the emerging Web 2.0 jungle.
We interviewed him over at NewTeeVee:
http://newteevee.com/2008/06/25/fred-speaks-to-...
Rather than waiting for YouTube to monetize his work, Fred got a manager and they monetized it on their own.
Fred got a five figure deal with Zipit to do three "viral" vids. There were performance benchmarks bonuses built into the deal for 1 million, 1.5 million, etc. plays. He beat all of those benchmarks in a week.
Fred's launching his own URL this month where he'll offer merchandise and further monetize the character. Plus, he's had meetings with execs at Fox and Disney.
He's not simply entertaining, the kid's got a plan, and it's working out pretty well.
Thanks to YouTube, amateur-grade video is changing from a novelty to a norm. Once we get used to broadcast dorkiness, it won't make us laugh anymore. After that, anyone who wants a big audience--or a small audience from a desirable demographic--will actually have to make a good video.
is that supposed to be funny?
i don´t see the point, i must be too old, or to snotty, or whatever
keep on eating sh*t!
............. 45 million flies can´t all be wrong!!
let´s keep on monetizing the "bread and circus"dudes!
cheers
For that matter buying leads is even worse!
Get your own leads for free.
Great business building information is available and for FREE!
I use it and have great success, the best part is I enjoy sharing with others
and seeing them succeed is very up lifing.
It cost nothing to give back and share!
There are many people looking for a real team to work with and learn.
LynnRothfuss
lynnrothfuss@gmail.com
lynnrothfuss.successin10steps.com
www.youtube.com/lynnrothfuss
Strange, but the first thing that comes to my mind is/was the musicgroup Milli Vanilli.
I think the same pretending-strategy created by clever marketingpeople without a real soul (:o)) that gave birth to Milli Vanilli (and maybe half of the worlds popular singers) is getting bigger everyday on the Internet.
Just like Fred! :o)
It seems that this is the future as they see it or at least part of the puzzle. I don't know if it will pay the whole bill but as they move their non DMCA offending video posters to promoted status they have more ability to make money if it works out who knows.
But if you are smart you have the ability to drive alot of traffic from youtube. and if can be ultra targeted. In that lies the great youtube secret.
They're called teenagers. And yes, you're old now.
So that's my rant :)
"Wham-Bam-Thank-you-Ma'am ain't so great online either. Give me thousands of people who subsscribe or opt-in b/c they care over millions of one-hit wonders anyday.
Just my .02
Karen Miner Hurd
www.MLMmaniac.com
Today you figured out something that most have known but rarely talk about. Fame is a shallow guage for acceptance amongst peers whom are preoccupied with their own fame to notice.
Right now, I'll be honest, I find you 70% noisey and 30% signal. The 30% signal are usually the random videos that you go into off the cuff, without some agenda.. That's what will keep me staring at your videos for 20mins+, i don't mind spending 180mins with Scoble TV provided that there is something worth viewing.
I'm a viewer, but you make it tough at times to view. Then you have moments and all is forgiven? 14yr kid has 45million views, how many are repeat visitors.. and why..is more the curious metric there..
Don't be a news anchor, be a industry street reporter :)
-
Scott Barnes
Rich Client Platform Manager
Microsoft.
If you have a niche product then of course you are better aligning it to your niche audience - your cost of doing business will be much lower and response rate much higher.
If you have a mass appeal consumer good or service, then using mass market publicity like these videos is certainly worth the try - and given how much it is costing - likely very profitable.
Jeff