Looks Like Yahoo! Took My Advice to Heart -- Focus On Video!

Almost exactly one month ago, I wrote a post about Yahoo! titled, "What's Yahoo! To Do?  Here's What -- Disrupt Video!"  And, my argument -- piggy-backing on an extremely insightful blog post by LA-based business accelerated MuckerLab -- was that a focus on video could unlock tremendous value for Marissa Mayer and her team.

Well, it seems like Marissa and her team have taken that advice to heart (I won't give myself all the credit after all).  Just yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo! was in advanced talks to take a controlling interest in YouTube-esque online video company Dailymotion (which apparently is valued at about $300 million).

This would be Mayer's first major acquisition since coming on board to steer the Yahoo! ship away from the ice-berg.

And, without comment on the price itself -- or the specific target -- I certainly like the general direction this type of bold move would signify.

What's Yahoo! To Do? Here's What -- Disrupt Video!

Yahoo!'s Marissa Mayer has been on the job as CEO for about 6 months now.  Still too early for a verdict.  But, just yesterday, Yahoo! redesigned its site to mixed reviews.  On the more pessimistic side, leading tech blog Gigaom calls "Yahoo!'s latest attempt to reinvent the portal [as being] too little and too late."

So, what's Yahoo! to do?

"Disrupt [the] legacy media distribution and consumption" model "via online video," that's what -- in a "must read" analysis titled "Video and Yahoo" by Mucker Blog.  Mucker Blog is the mouthpiece for SoCal start-up focused accelerator MuckerLab.

Mucker's analysis is well-reasoned, thought-provoking, insightful -- and whatever other "you know what I mean" words you can think of.  Definitely worth the time for anyone interested at all in the media business and online video (and the disruption to both happening right before our eyes).

Here are some nuggets from that analysis:

-- "Yahoo is a new media distribution and monetization company -- and its main asset is its audience of 150M monthly unique visitors and its 1000+ strong sales force for selling premium advertising."  "Put it another way, Yahoo is a new media network ... [and] is really closer to ABC, NBC, and even Comcast than it is closer to Google."

-- "Yahoo needs to re-invent yahoo.com as a major destination with video as one of its main forms of content."

-- "Yahoo should partner with companies like Maker and Machinima or -- ideally -- acquire one or both to gain scale and full economics right away."

-- "Yahoo should attempt to license premium TV content for over-the-top linear TV applications."  And, "Yahoo could become Hollywood's best friend and beat all the other online companies to the punch" in doing so.

-- "In the end, the right portfolio of online content combined with traditional TV content PLUS a native user experience for cross device consumption will be a game changer and sets the stage for Yahoo to take over the living room."

Q.E.D. and res ipsa loquitur.

Well said and well reasoned, MuckerLab and Mucker Blog!

Evergram Part II -- Send A Video Message To Larry Page, Marissa Mayer, Even Zuck

Yesterday I wrote about future messaging platform Evergram -- a service definitely worth checking out -- and which is getting nice, and well-deserved, significant attention (TechCrunch being one).

Well, those smart and passionate guys at Evergram are also clever marketers.  First, they pitch themselves in wedding dresses (yes, 'tis true, check this out -- and you will understand why they did).  Now, they are giving you a direct channel (literally a direct video channel) to Google's Larry Page, Yahoo!'s Marissa Mayer, and Facebook's very own Mark Zuckerberg, enabling you to create a message that will be delivered to them on New Year's Day.

Don't understand?  Well then check out the links above -- and you'll see what I mean.  Smart, very smart.  Helps you internalize the power and potential of "future messaging."  And, gives the company great buzz in the process.

Now it's up to Page, Mayer and Zuck to pick up your message on New Year's Day and watch it ....

Here's more about this ambitious service, Evergram.  Yesterday, I gave some of the back-story about how it came to be in the first place -- i.e., THAT moment of inspiration.  More detail is warranted to give that moment justice -- and here it is directly from the founders themselves (which will help you really understand why Evergram is here in the first place -- and the depth of ambition and meaning behind this company -- it's raison d'etre, if you will):

When Evergram’s CEO and Co-Founder, Duncan Seay, was diagnosed with Cancer in December 2010, his business partner and co-founder, Jeff Caden approached Seay with an idea that would allow him to send wisdom messages to his loved ones for delivery in the event of his death. The idea quickly morphed into a solution firmly embedded around life’s important occasions and deeper human connections; a solution the founders believe will profoundly change the way our society uses social media, and social video, in particular.

“When we first learned that the disruption of time fostered the creation of meaningful messaging, we became very excited," says Caden. When video, text or audio messages are sent for future delivery, whether hours, days or even years later, the degree of thoughtfulness and connection typically increases. This is a phenomenon often experienced in letter writing, and one that the Evergram team has integrated into its entire user interface. Evergram further believes that technology has the ability to strengthen human relationships, and not to replace them; an increasing concern studied by MIT’s Science and Technology Professor, Sherry Turkle, who notes “We expect more from technology and less from each other.”