I’ve gotten a lot of verbal feedback from various technology marketing execs about Jeremy Allaire’s new company Brightcove.
Most think it’s similar to the role blogs are continuing to play with the major news channels [mostly television news like say The CBS Evening News formerly with Dan Rather]. They feel the ability to give on demand tv to anyone with a browser is huge but the ability to allow the little guy to be seen and heard via internet tv is even larger.
I personally believe this will bring about more advertising opportunities for small and large companies alike. Back in 95 you could launch your online store by simply being found in the Yahoo! directory and likewise now a blogger can launch an incredibly powerful and fruitful blog if he’s commented on by the right blogger or if he’s found in the search engines for relevant terms about the topics he covers. Now I think it’s the indie videographer’s turn. Perhaps Brightcove will offer the same type of opportunity to independent directors, actors and editors. The ability to get noticed because your work is easily accessible by the masses is where we’re headed as a net society and that will flow over into the offline world as well.
I’ve always believed a man / woman should be judged based on what they bring to the table and what they’re capable of. An artist carries a portfolio, as does a web developer, a real estate agent has a list of clients, a restaurant has secret guest diners and the list goes on… but the commonality is the fact that all of these people had to get noticed before they build any sort of reputation. An artist most likely had to work for free, the real estate agent had to have the guts to convince someone to let him represent them in the biggest sale / purchase of their life, the web developer probably had to do pro-bono work, the restauranteer had to know how to build a restaurant and cook before he could possibly expect people to pay him for the food he serves.
So if we can overcome the visibility factor and make getting noticed the easy part, then each person’s | company’s work will speak for itself. Then we’re well on our way to a brighter tomorrow for all concerned [creator and end user]. Yes, I fully understand technology is simply a tool and is neither positive or negative but it’s rather how we use it that makes it good or bad. I alo understand that every form of technology [new or old] is susceptible to some form of spam or wrongdoing but those of us who understand it are it’s anonymous watchguards if you will. And I believe the entrepreneurs of today and tomorrow who will have the biggest impact on society as a whole will be the “enablers“. They’ll level the playing field as much as possible to the little guy can compete with the corporate giant and each will be judged based on what they bring to the table by way of their product offering instead of how big their marketing budget is. Hats off to Jeremy and company for taking us to a brighter tomorrow.
Jason Dowdell is a technology entrepreneur and operates the Marketing Shift blog.
