Masterlink Interactive Blog

Say it smart. Say it with heart. And say it in as many different ways as possible.

Some interesting stats were released this week from a new Nielsen Three Screen Report about how people are watching online video.

According to Web Pro News:

High-speed broadband access, now in 63.5 percent of homes, has created a better user experience for watching online videos and nearly a quarter of households have smartphones, allowing people to “place shift” and watch video anywhere.

Despite the common perception that viewers of videos on mobile phones are mostly teens, more than half (55%) are adults aged 25-49. While mobile online video viewing is still fairly limited, year over year growth is notable at 51.2%.

[…]Also in the first quarter 138 million people watched video on the Internet spending on average 3 hours, 10 minutes.

When it comes to mobile video, 20.3 million watched mobile video in the U.S., spending on average 3 hours and 37 minutes each month.

So online video is officially mainstream. How do these stats affect your web design and Internet marketing strategy?

Basically, it just means that there’s more and more reason to effectively integrate video into your comprehensive web presence. It can pay big dividends: Catchy content tends to get passed around. Shared links both spread your message and boost search engine rankings. Video platforms like YouTube give viewers the chance to respond and interact with your company. And with the rise of mobile video, these elements could be targeted in ways that will benefit users on-the-go, potentially giving your company a critical edge.

In other words, there are limitless ways now to creatively reach potential customers.

At Masterlink Interactive , we recommend a multi-faceted approach to Internet marketing and web design. All of our clients provide great products and services—our goal is just to help broadcast those impressive capabilities via as many different platforms as are needed to reach their potential customers. Different people will respond to different modes of communication, so it’s important to modify your message where possible.

Beyond video, this also means integrating elements into your web design like social media marketing, flash design, and e-mail marketing.

Contact our Dallas interactive marketing experts to learn more about video elements in web design and internet marketing.

Each week I have the privilege of speaking about the developments of the Internet on Everything Internet Radio. In the two years since our show began airing we have covered a wide range of topics including Internet Marketing, Blogging, Wordpress, Google, Yahoo, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Advertising, Web Design, and Security just to name a few. The Internet is a rapidly changing place and what was in two years ago in some cases is gone today. The life cycle of the new products and ideas has grown ever shorter over the years and is likely to continue getting shorter.

We introduced Twitter to our audience 18 months ago on Everything Internet and it was just a cute word, we were twitting, tweeting, and trying to explain a blog that was only 140 characters long. When we would get questions and explain it, people usually responded with “why would I want to know what my cousin had for lunch”. In fact one cell phone company actually launched a campaign featuring a father tweeting and a mother on Facebook using their mobile phones while their teenage children attempt an intervention.

While there has been a lot of fun poked at things like Twitter, there are emerging very useful applications of the technology. It will be interesting to see if Twitter can actually make it. They still lose money.

Along with Twitter we spoke about My Space which was replaced for the most part by Facebook. Like Twitter these social media applications have trouble finding ways to make money. Thanks to Farmville and freemium games, Facebook is making a profit. (freemium is a new Internet word for part free and part fee based products). Predictions however say that Facebook will soon be replaced by yet another form of Social Networking within a couple of years.

Old stable Internet operations also have their challenges. It seems Google is gobbling up all the new ideas as quickly as they hear about them. Even companies like EBAY have slowed down when they changed some policies that their users did not care for. Amazon keeps running strong in the web store space but both Google and Yahoo are angling for the space.

One of the best things about doing a weekly radio show like Everything Internet is having a company Like Masterlink Interactive to draw on for expertise. None of us can know it all and being able to tap the experts at Masterlink has provided a valuable resource for our clients and listeners alike. It really helps when your resource for knowledge has been there from the start of the Website industry. Masterlink has been there since 1995. For those of you mature enough to know that’s when it really started to develop.

If you get a chance, drop by the www.eiradioshow.com website and listen to two years of archived program segments or listen live Saturdays at 1:00. You will find just about everything that is and will be happening on the Internet. You will also hear from some of guest experts we have on the show many of whom come from Masterlink Interactive.

By Ed Frazier - CNN 1190 AM - Everything Internet

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According to the Search Engine Journal, Google is currently in negotiations to begin offering paid movies and shows on YouTube. Hulu and Apple are already knee-deep in paid content. Amazon is now offering paid videos online, and Yahoo is exploring the possibilities. How long will it be before Microsoft gets into the game? Begun the video wars have.

Some of these services draw you in by giving lots of free content. Some just have a good pricing scheme. Each one of them is stepping directly into the “streaming” content that Blockbuster and Netflix have already pioneered via rental service agreements.

Rentals sound great until users look at their monthly bills and realize they’re being nickel-and-dimed to death. The word “subscription” is being thrown about wildly. After all, these companies have to pay for the infrastructure and bandwidth to support the viewings.

Many web companies have tried to use advertising to avoid this outcome. Still, they’re all finding that it just can’t support everything as Joost found out the hard way. They’re going to keep the site running, but they’re joining Crackle in being one of the numerous video application providers.

This all comes down to the question over whether free online video content will eventually join the horse-drawn cart in the dustbins of history. If this comes to pass, video stars such as Thunderf00t, communitychannel, hotforwords, and even the lovable Fred Figglehorn.

Even if the signs are on the horizon, the winds of change won’t blow in overnight. So, in the meantime, let’s all enjoy the free video content throughout the internet.