http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6909078385965257294

Enough said.

According to the media release, dMarc connects advertisers directly to radio stations through its automated advertising platform. The platform simplifies the sales process, scheduling, delivery and reporting of radio advertising, enabling advertisers to more efficiently purchase and track their campaigns. For broadcasters, dMarc’s technology automatically schedules and places advertising, helping to increase revenue and decrease the costs associated with processing advertisements. The company serves thousands of stations across all US markets and formats.

The dMarc platform will be integrated into AdWords, which Google’s Tim Armstrong, vice president of Advertising Sales claims “will bring new ad dollars and accountability to radio”.

Is Arbitron (NYSE: ARB) next? With annual revenues of USD310.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2005, this would be a not insubstantial play.

The next question for the future of personal media is, with real traction in terrestrial radio, how long before we can expect a Google AdWords podcast advertising play, where measurement is inherently simplified compared to terrestrial?

I’ve noticed that the free time I think I have, and the free time I actually have are quite different. The delta is significant enough to be called my “imaginary free time”.

Why is this important? Because the things I buy are still centred around consumption within imaginary time - I frame my purchasing decisions based on what I’d really like to be able to spend my time on. Do you have any of these symptoms?

How is this relevant to personal media? First of all, things that enable the conversion of imaginary time into (real) free time are going to win out against things that eat away at your free time. PVR functionality will be a commodity offering from all major Internet brands.

Yahoo!’s Go TV (image courtesy http://go.connect.yahoo.com/go/tv)

Google doesn’t need to acquire TiVo to build Google TV, but it would give it a nice installed base. For advertisers relying on untargeted mass media, the irresistible forces of broadband, home networking, cheap storage and free PVR software all mean one thing: don’t bother with interrupting us, we’ve got better things to do with our precious free time. Instead, think about life after the 30-second spot, and about how you can really contribute toward helping us cash in some of our imaginary time for real free time (in other words, having more time to do some of the things you really want to do). And that may be spending time on creating our own content - from photos and videos of the baby, to blogs and podcasts, personal media consumers are likely to become more selfish with each successive generation of content creation tools.

Google Zeitgeist 2005

(via Andrew Pascoe)

With dozens of directories, thousands of podcasters, and millions of listeners across the globe, podcasting is set to continue its growth in 2006. However the industry needs to do much more to promote its wares to the public, and radio listeners in particular.

With mobile handsets being the next frontier, podcasting is on a clear collision course with the cellular carriers. In the carrier world-view, content is paid for, and then charged again for the carriage required for its delivery. Listening to podcasts, and lots of them, needs lots of memory. And who subsidises handset prices? WiMax could ultimately unleash podcasting’s real charge into the mainstream.

Next-Generation podcast receivers are likely to stimulate further interest by lowering the cost of trying something new. Just go through the setup wizard, choose your interests, and get a roughly personalised set of feeds to try out. Don’t like a feed? Reject it and get another recommendation.

Podcasting however also faces a threat from within. Whilst some quick dollars have been made with advertising deals, podcast advertising has the potential to quickly negate the positive listening experience.

Life on the long tail should be context-sensitive. Isn’t that the whole point? Inane ads such as Motorola’s “dude” who (dis)graces the head and tail of TPN shows are really becoming annoying. Worst still, TPN has introduced interstitials, creating interruptions during the content. The time that a “regular” listener can devote to podcasts is always going to be limited. Even more precious is their attention. If podcasts are to become just another ad-ridden medium full of untargeted, irrelevant interruptions, what value is there to the potential listener? (and there are far more non-listeners than current podcast listeners out there).

Just what does Google have up its sleave to save the podcasting industry from itself? (hint: that’s why podcast transcription through speech recognition is going to be important: AdWords)

To end on a positive note (for a change):

Google results for “podcast” search
4 October 2004: 5,950
10 January 2006: 77,600,000

I caught a replay of his speech on ABC Radio National this week, and dug up the original recording, by community radio station, Radio Adelaide.

Before you play the mp3, turn off the phone, shut down your e-mail, RSS reader, Skype and IM, and get ready for some quality listening time.

http://radio.adelaide.edu.au/festivalofideas/audio05/on_interuption.mp3

The service is currently being trialled in Los Angeles, Washington DC and San Diego. Subscription fees are expected to be around USD7 per month – substantially cheaper than SIRIUS and XM. Consumers can subscribe to the service by simply tapping an icon on an iRadio-enabled mobile phone, available through wireless service providers in the US later this year. Once licensing agreements are in place, overseas markets are expected to follow.

Instead of expensive birds, limited by bandwidth and service life, iRadio uses PC-based Internet caching of radio content, which is synced to the handset over USB. The service is been targeted primarily at the drive-time radio market, where the bulk of radio listening occurs. To cater for this market, in-car audio is supported through a Bluetooth adapter for car stereos, compatible with units from vendors such as Pioneer, Alpine, Sony and Kenwood. The interface is expected to retail for USD150, including installation.

To deliver content, the handset is docked to a USB port, where it syncs with an iRadio client for the PC. A broadband connection on the PC downloads the desired channels, which are then transferred to a memory card in the handset. Devices such as the Motorola ROKR E2 run a handset client application, which delivers audio from the card to the car stereo over Bluetooth. The buttons on the car stereo can be used to select channels and to provide transport control. Incoming calls cause the music to pause, and when the call finishes, the music is resumed.

The iRadio handset UI (image courtesy of Motorola).

iRadio currently offers 435 commercial-free radio channels, in many cases produced exclusively by or for Motorola. For music channels, iRadio offers a bookmaking feature, where any of the station buttons can be held down to create a bookmark on the handset. When the next sync occurs, the artist and track information is available on the wish list on the iRadio PC client.

To comply with US webcasting legislation, music channels are deleted as soon as they have been listened to, whilst talk shows can be rewound. As well as radio channels, iRadio also supports MP3 playback. In an interview with The Vat, Motorola’s David Ulmer, Director, Marketing, Media Solutions, explained that MP3 files can be played back on the car stereo track by track, forward and back, just as you would on a CD. Multiple playlists can also be created on separate channels. The song’s title and track info are scrolled on the stereo display, however browsing by artist and album is not supported, as this is a limitation of the navigation features on most car stereo units.

Ulmer also explained that podcasting support for the iRadio PC client is “in the pipeline for first quarter”, with details available at http://www.iradionetwork.com/ upon release. The bookmark function can also be used for in-show hyperlinks, which lets a listener interact while listening by pressing their radio’s button for more info or to enter a contest or to vote or purchase something. That action will appear in their PC’s wish list automatically. In another first, iRadio will show exactly how many times a podcast was actually listened to, not just downloaded.

For independent content producers, Motorola’s iRadio Network offers a platform to reach listeners across all major radio markets in the US. Future video services are also a possibility.

The software features a built-in directory of “popular RSS feeds including ACIDplanet.com podcasts”, and retails for USD29.95 (boxed version with free downloads and USB 2.0 cable), or USD19.95 for the download version.

The Vat has recently contacted Sony for advice on submissions to the PSP Media Manager podcast directory.

http://www.google.com/analytics/

(via Seth’s Blog)

(from The Register)

Nov 9-11 at the Fairmont San Jose. Parks Associates’ Fall Focus: Making Media Meaningful is a must-attend for marketing and strategy executives focused on media personalization and meaningful content delivery.

Keynotes from TiVo and Yahoo!.