Livia Iacolare

Today I read Tommaso Tessarolo’s blog and I found out that he has a project in the works, which is called N3TV. Basically, he wants to create a Web TV platform that will host several formats. It is an experiment and I am sure it’s going to be very important for Italian Web TV (and not only).

To many producers that are into Web TV, the most difficult thing is certainly to tell what kind of content/format works and what not. When Justin.tv launched (do you remember the freaky cyber-guy wearing a camera on his hat?) and Ustream.tv gained some more popularity (rapidly followed by Mogulus and its impressive Web-based TV studio), I saw many people starting to stream events live: some shows were (and still are) amazing, while others were (and still are) pure crap.

We are at the beginning of a revolution and I see many bloggers throwing themselves into this big Web TV pot without knowing exactly what to do: some focus on airing pre-packaged shows, others dedicate themselves exclusively to live streaming (doesn’t matter whether they are streaming a conference or themselves taking a shower).

But when the narcissistic fever of these “justins” will be over, what will remain? I bet only some of them will survive.

I think that what will really make a difference in the Web TV production world will be coherence and focus on niche audiences. Yes, because it is important that we don’t transform Web TV into a generalist TV, just like the old mainstream medium. Formats should be carefully designed around a specific type of content and audiences should be constantly stimulated to participate and contribute to the creation of new formats.

(Of course this is valid for people who want to do this job seriously: there will always be someone who just does it for fun - and this is totally acceptable!).

I like to imagine Web TV as a “tele-participation“, rather than a “tele-vision“.

What’s your take?

Who doesn’t love them? I believe there are at least seven reasons why MOO products have become so popular on the Web and outside of it.

Here they are:

1) Reinventing the wheel in a creative way

Let’s say it: business cards and note cards are nothing new to the world, but MOO had the ability to move a traditional business from the offline world to the Web without pain. I think MOO provides one of the best examples of how creativity can make a difference when it comes to reinvent the wheel and propose a traditional product in a new way.For example, we are all used to imagining business cards in a certain way, with specific dimensions, font types and colors.

This is how they mostly look like and the idea of crossing the line to create something different would have been unlikely until some time ago. Starting from the classic and “boring” business cards, MOO has created something completely new, appealing not only traditional customers but also to web bloggers and simple people who now consider MOO cards a cult product.

2) Partnership with social networking sites

By partnering with social networking sites such as Flickr, Bebo, Fotolog, LiveJournal, VOX, Habbo and SecondLife, MOO made a very effective move. Customers that have accounts on those web sites are highly facilitated when it comes to creating their MOO cards, since they can immediately utilize their existing photo sets, already uploaded to their preferred social networking site.

Social networks are the home-base of word of mouth marketing and a product like MOO cards would have never become so popular if it hadn’t been adopted by the users of social networks. I also believe that it is not a case that MOO launched two new products this year just right after having added support for Flickr and other new social network as the greatly expanded exposure provided business motivations to put the creative people at MOO back to work.

3) Great quality of the products and packaging

MOO is an example of the fact that purchasing something online can be a convenient experience both for the eyes and for your wallet too. The quality of the MOO cards is truly astounding and it is not easy to find anything like that in the “offline” world. Moreover, the way these products are carefully packaged gives them a sort of sacred appearance.

The packaging itself is made to stimulate the user’s curiosity since the very first eye contact and the accuracy of details makes the package look as precious and attractive as one could expect. This is a very important element which should never be forgotten, especially by companies that sell online and don’t have the possibility to showcase their products in the real world (and thus get immediate feedback from the customers): quality is a must.

4) Multiple personalization options

Today it is almost impossible to deliver a product online without letting its primary users participate to its creation. MOO pays a lot of attention to user-generated content and thus provides many customization options to its customers. Moreover, the fact that the customers can create their own card set according to their desires and without needing to be censored or approved by anyone makes them be more creative and, in many ways, more “daring”.

I have seen lots of amazing MiniCards and NoteCards which are really nothing but true mini-artworks: I frankly don’t think that this would have been possible if the creators had had to rely on their best graphic designer and the top typographer in town.

5) Respect for nature

All the MOO cards and their packages are produced with recyclable material. This is not a point to be missed and the guys at MOO know it very well: this is why they carefully report it on each package and on their website. And customers do seem to appreciate it.

6) Social events

The July 19th party organized to launch the StickerBooks demonstrated how social events can reinforce customers loyality and generate a stronger sense of community. When a company is based on the Web it is very important to keep it in touch with reality and to present your products to the world through your own staff and not through artificially created print campaigns only. Such occasions offer great opportunities for networking and for strengthening the bonds between passionate customers and the people inside the company.

7) User-friendly MOO website

Creating cards on the MOO site is a breeze. The interface has been specifically designed to allow also non-English speakers to easily upload and choose images, crop them and add text lines without making it a hassle. The interface is very user-friendly and offers many options to the customer without overwhelming her with too many details.

This is just an excerpt: the full article can be read on MasterNewMedia.

Photo credit: Rachel Barsness.

Just came back home after having spent four days in London. I attended the MOO party with my friend Luca and got to know a lot of interesting people while chewing miniburgers and drinking free beers.

By the way, I absolutely love the stickers!

I also had the opportunity to meet all the European team at Intruders TV and participate to our first official meeting.

It was simply amazing and I have never been so enthusiastic about a project before. We talked about our plans for the future and the upcoming launch of the Italian edition, which will be edited my me. It is a great responsibility and I am glad that the guys are counting on me.

London was as charming as always and despite my predictions the weather was pretty good. Luca has been of great company (London has no mysteries for him) and I will never forget our Saturday night exploration of the Charing Cross area (hehehe). Anyway, I’ll get back to London on August, probably during the second week: if anybody is around, let me know.

I had a good time last night at NetTV, the web television produced by Tommaso Tessarolo. The crew at NetTV invited me to join the episode entitled “Women and the Internet“. Despite some technical issues due to the Mogulus platform (which is still in closed beta testing), the show went on and I had the pleasure to meet some interesting women who are very active in the Italian blogosphere.

And how could I ever forget mentioning the amazing Mary Patterson and her book “Networks trade-off: the future of the Internet“? I think it’s the bible of women bloggers and her vision totally changed my idea of the Internet and its future development.

In conclusion, this experience at NetTV made me realize that Italy is very interested in the implementation of online television and this is certainly a market that is going to grow fast and generate a lot of competition. Of course any attempt to import formats from classic TV to web TV will have to be carefully pondered. But I will dedicate a more detailed post to this topic in the next future.

The ultimate trend is to record videos through web-based services and then paste them into web pages. It’s a nice way to leave short messages around without having to plug in a camera and upload files on video sharing services.

Yesterday I have published a roundup of the coolest online video recorders available on the Web: they are free, very easy to use and do not require any particular ability (except being capable of clicking the “record” button…).

They are an excellent way to personalize a post on your blog and you can use them to transmit messages that would otherwise lose intensity if put into written words. Check them out, pick the one you prefer and embed a video message in the comments, if you want (I wished I could post one here, but my webcam doesn’t work… sob!).