New Media Frontier? Ask A Ninja!
I know it has been said more than enough times, but there really can be no denying it; we are experiencing the dawn of the next media generation – a new frontier. Today’s youth are not watching T.V, they are not listening to the radio, and they are not buying the National Post. Consumers between the ages of 16 – 30 are a lost market to advertisers of the old media methods. This is a group that watches, listens, and reads on demand. Through their own choices of when, what and where, they receive information or entertainment via podcast, blogs, news aggregators, and internet radio. Advertising agencies are at a loss as they are unable to tap into these new forms of media, it seems that this generation is untouchable to them. That is unless you are smart and willing to change with the times, like some of the publishers on You Tube. A couple of the video castors host advertising clips , now these private publishers have sponsors, and the advertisers are able to grasp onto that ever elusive generation.
All of this came about because I was watching the You Tube for the first time the other night. Someone mentioned “Ask A Ninja” to me, so I thought I would give it a try. OMG! This guy is amazing! He is funny, quick, entertaining, and his short video is very professional in delivery. After watching for a bit, I saw that some of the videos had short clips for advertising sponsorships. I think this is exactly where media is headed. It is a great way for real talent, talent that I chose to watch, gets recognized and gets paid.
Ninja man, good on you! Keep it up. I can only hope that other talented self publishers follow the same path. Imagine a group of entertainers that are made popular by the subscribers, and getting paid for it through sponsors. Welcome to the next frontier.
September 11th, 2006 at 12:39 am
You know Leo Laporte, he said something like that when he heard the report that this year was the lowest ratings in x years in the US.
Leo said that todays youth are turning to youtube now. I half agree, because even if I want to agree I have a teen sister. She has no idea of podcast, nor she discover new music on the internet. Peer presure I think is still the capital source for teens to define what they like or not.
I hope that in college kids grow appart and they actually start discovering alternatives and experimenting with new drugs and also new websites with totally new genres of music/style/lifestyle.
As I was typing I was listening to another podcast I listen called Keith and the Girl, where a 12 yr old boy called and the host asked the same question… Is podcast popullar at your school.
Unfortunately the 12yr old answered that he doesnt know but his friend introduced him to podcasting so I guess it really depends. The internet is becoming this overworld that has a very irregular impact on the world (as opposed to TV).
September 13th, 2006 at 9:19 pm
Kelly,
Great points in your post.
If you like Ask a Ninja, you may want to check out another podcast produced by Kent and Doug called Hope is Emo at: http://hopeisemo.com. It’s pretty funny.
You can also hear an interview with the Ask a Ninja guys on the Inside the Net podcast Episode 27 at: http://www.twit.tv/itn27
September 16th, 2006 at 6:38 pm
JZA, these are all great points. I am in college now and most of them have no idea what a podcast is, but all of them know of youtube or other internet media…I think that the web has become a much more powerful tool for teenagers and young adults, but I still don’t think that they know the full potential of what they have in their palms. I think they mostly use it as a means of communication between friends - chat groups, MSN - never-the-less the point still stands that whether they are using the net wisely or foolishly they are still spending more time with it than the radio or TV which are both conventional means of advertising.
I am with you, I truly hope that with the new generations comes new gurus of the internet stage.
KPG
September 16th, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Hey Eric, thanks…I will check it out and let you know!
KPG
September 16th, 2006 at 6:49 pm
Eric, dude, I am not gonna lie to you man…that Hope is Elmo site was just painful. I thought it was a bad impression of Saturday Night Live’s “Wendy the Whiner”. I had to turn it off after 30 seconds, I have friends like that…not funny man…just scary.
I loved the interview though…thanks!
KPG
September 18th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
Kelly,
You’re right Hope is painful. I heard your comments on the JaK Attack and laughed like crazy.
My brother is a former gothboy and has some emo friends, so Hope’s somewhat funny because I’ve know similar people, but it only made me laugh a few times. The rest of the time it makes me want to cry. Amazing that it’s done by the Ask a Ninja guys.
There are so many podcasts out there that I enjoy that I’m not willing to spend the time - even if it’s only three minutes to watch or listen to crap.
Yours is one I never miss, though.