Can Large Corporations Buy "Cool?" 209
TobyToadstool writes "With the recent news that NBC and News Corp. will launch a YouTube rival, CNet asks: Can big corporations buy the zeitgeist or will they inevitably screw up? CNet calls the new wannabe 'Me Too Tube.' The article looks at companies trying to buy their way into user-generated content. Quoting: 'There is something incredibly boring and sad about giant companies who constantly chase the fleeing tailcoats of the latest Internet trends. Like the kid who [leaned] over and copied you in art class, News Corp./NBC are the archetypal corporation — lumbering and so very uncool.'"
This may be "uncool"... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:This may be "uncool"... (Score:5, Insightful)
No they didn't, and that's the point. MySpace was already cool, they bought it and didn't really change it. They didn't MAKE it cool. And more importantly, they didn't compete against MySpace to do it. NBC is looking to try to make their clone cool, when YouTube already exists and gained much of it's early popularity though content they won't allow.
Let's not forget that Google tried to take on YouTube (in a way), and failed. They ended up buying YouTube.
NBC wants to make another YouTube, they have to compete against the original. And with the kind of restrictions that will likely be placed on it, I don't think they'll succeed at all.
They aren't starting something new in a new market. They aren't taking an existing small market and trying to expand it. They are trying to kill a very poplar and nice Goliath.
Re:This may be "uncool"... (Score:5, Funny)
Answer: Yes, they bought MySpace.
That's it.
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Re:This may be "uncool"... (Score:5, Insightful)
Look at all the great applications, that just blew up out of nowhere. They're all started by people who are so amazingly fucking stoked about this idea! It's the coolest thing ever! It's going to change the world! I used to work with a guy who had that vibe, and it's like fricking crack, those people are just so into it, and amazed by it, and they want to use it, they want it to be like their dreams, and they think about it constantly.
Contrast that with a group of people whose sole goal is to try to take apart this successful thing, and pick out its success, and put that into their own thing so it'll be successful. It's like taking a famous piece of art and trying to pull the art out of it...They're looking for an ephemeral thing. They don't know why it's cool. They don't know what it is about it that makes it great.
The thing is, YouTube is hardly unique. The idea is a simple idea. There are a lot of other sites out there that allow you to host your videos for other people to see. But it has that thing...That ephemeral thing...Hell in this case, it could just be that it built a great user base out of daily show clips, and now those people are putting great stuff on YouTube, so it has great content...And it's by no means certain that another venture, no matter how well funded, will be able to tap that secret sauce. They may though. Never underestimate the power of a sufficiently large integer with a "$" in front of it.
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You can buy cool. A giant company can even create cool. However, a press release that says big companies are going to create a competitor to something cool is not the way to do it. That's a decidedly staid way of doing business.
Imagine some uncool kid at school announcing that he was about to compete with the cool kid(s) for cool. That's absurd. The smarter thing to do is to throw smart money from behind the scenes at a seemingly grassroots/startup site - and manipulate the odds. Underhanded
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So what you're saying is that if you're rich and uncool, you can buy cool and own cool, but you can't make it.
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The topic is "Can Large Corporations BUY Cool", so I think it really is the point.
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It is interesting how you know the topic writer's meaning when he writes something completely different.
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The subtitle though is If so, can they keep it cool, to which I believe the answer is "no". MySpace may not have become uncool yet (I don't know, not a user of it myself), but it is a simply matter of time before one division whose numbers are slumping decide that they need to leverage the corporate assets and you find the site awash in flash ads, can't-opt-out spam campains and other fantastic inventions of the 1950s br
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If they put up full-length, high-quality clips that play without buffering, and filter out the chaff such as people miming to songs, then they could do youtube some damage.
'Cool' doesn't count for much, what's cool today is passe tomorrow.
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Re:This may be "uncool"... (Score:4, Insightful)
That said, Youtube is not a small time site. It never was. You could say that the original creators did buy cool. One of the two guys is from an affluent family and I believe his wife's father (who is some big CEO somewhere or something like that) helped invest heavily in getting youtube off the ground. It frustrates me when people talk about Youtube like it is some phenom that started from the underground by some kid in his bedroom. It was started by a couple of older guys who had a lot of money and connections and the means to make something big. It's the difference between a Subway and a McDonald's . . . neither of them is your local mom and pop sandwich shop.
Of course, we can argue all day long as to whether MySpace is cool. I think most of us can agree that it certainly is not. Same for Youtube. Both are just places for teenage self-indulgent attention whores to whine about how hard life is, shake their asses and lipsynch on video as if the rest of the world cares.
It appears to me that all NBC is doing is creating a site where you can go to get their content. Of course, you know it's going to be restricted like crazy. But having a place to go and watch NBC content (other than Heroes, what the hell is there to watch?!) doesn't make it a youtube site. Youtube is Youtube because it has tens of millions of videos by tens of millions of wannabe stars who live for attention.
Newscorp didn't go out and create their own myspace. They bought myspace. NBC isn't going out there and buying youtube. They're trying to create their own. And it's not going to work. As bad as youtube sucks ass, the NBC version will be even worse.
NBC creating their own "youtube" will be like a poor kid who has to wear clothes that his mom made for him out of scraps, while all his friends and classmates go to school in brandname. It'll be the K-Mart and Value Village of video sites.
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And the difference between that and 'cool' is...?
Sorry to rain on the slashdot parade, but very, very few of us are cool. We make decisions based on a wholly different set of criteria than the people who are on MySpace -- and that's exactly why they're on MySpace, and why we're here. And, guess which one has, what, freaking 200 mill
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No. Making cool is usually pretty cheap. It's just that those who make cool aren't trying to make cool. If they are, they're not cool. They're just doing their own thing, which may or may not be perceived at some point as "cool". Predicting whether or not that will happen cannot be bought, for any ammount of money, by anyone. If you're not cool, sifting through all the un-cool and finding cool is expensive because the marketing drones you hire to do that are not cool. They'
The cool is in the brand (Score:2)
The same goes for any brand or buying a small development company or whatever.
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That may have worked for MySpace... but it didn't work out so well for Napster.
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That may have worked for MySpace... but it didn't work out so well for Napster.
That's because the "new" Napster is just another pay-download service (formerly known as Pressplay) which uses the original's branding, but has nothing else in common with it. Couple that with the fact that there was at least two-year gap between the spiritual demise of the original Napster service and its "relaunch".
By contrast, there were no obvious immediate changes when YouTube and MySpace were bought out; the underlying services remained the same, as did the branding, and there were no gaps in servi
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Going back to the analogy, so long as you keep your mouth shut, and all people see are the clothes you'll remain "cool".
Re:This may be "uncool"... (Score:4, Interesting)
Also, look at Wal-Mart. They've already tried to make a "MySpace" and... well, have you heard of it? No? That's because it's not 'Cool'. Sure, 14 year old girls could go there and add Wal-Mart clothes to their avatar and show off their styles and 'where' (see Wal-Mart) they could buy those cool clothes.
Heck, I think they might have even paid employee's kids to use it to get it kick-started.
MySpace and Facebook 'grew' into cool. Trying to break into it with a big promotion and throwing money at it, rarely works. It goes out with a bang. Sure, you hear and see it at first, but after the dust settles, it will be gone.
If something is 'cool' and you buy it, yes, you bought cool. Of course, it could become 'un-cool' but you still bought 'cool' at that time.
Cheers,
Fozzy
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Cool? (Score:5, Insightful)
The NBC/News Corp. site will be a convenient place to watch NBC and FOX television shows. Who cares if it is "cool"?
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Not necessarily true. I post my videos on youtube because it's the only place to post them.
If NBC creates a site that's free and easy to use, so I can upload my videos easily, without giving rights to them to NBC, and if people can watch them through a link in my blog without being interrupted by ads, then I'll be just as likely to use NBC, regardless of who else is doing it.
I haven't done a study, but I'd bet a substantial number
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Me too tube? (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah that never works. (Score:2)
Can slashdot decide what "cool" is? (Score:5, Funny)
You probably think it's uncool because it isn't compatible with firefox for unga bunga linux or dragonfire BSD.
NBC and NewsCorp have tons of content people want access too. They will be successful, whether you like it or not, or whether it gets the tag of "cool" from a bunch of geeks.
YouTube cool? Whats so cool about some fat kids video diary?
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It's called Ubuntu, racist.
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Wake up to a little bit reality here pal (Score:5, Insightful)
you are probably thinking that who are hanging out in slashdot are a bunch of long haired geeks in their mom's basement and half lit university labs. along with a couple of linux, ms and nasa junkies
reality is that
not to mention countless hordes of developers & programmers, whose collective mind decides the fate of programming languages, numerous software and hardware products, and even ideas, for the future.
ever wondered why there are so many anonymous posts in slashdot ? only for trolling better ? afraid of persecution ?
think again.
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I sincerely hope that the people you are referring to, the people in the top eschelons of engineering and technology, are not deluded enough to think that they dictate coolness to the teenagers of the world. I would
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in the end, these are the carriers of the burden of technological world we are living in. or rather 'we'.
not to forget that majority, heck, all of these people are having
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Brian Johnson: Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you're crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...
Andrew Clark:
Allison Reynolds:
Claire Standish:
John Bender
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It's the biggerest!
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Re:Can slashdot decide what "cool" is? (Score:4, Funny)
My keyboard is now covered in soda, thanks.
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for a change..
unga bunga linux (Score:2)
Built on Ubuntu, but having Kswahili as the interface language. Primary networking is via a bongo ppp (yes it's been done). Packages are called bungas and are managed by "apt-bunga".
Or maybe not
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Of course they can, corporation != uncool (Score:2, Insightful)
They have an uncanny ability to enter an established market with a "cool" product and trample over the competition.
Re:Of course they can, corporation != uncool (Score:4, Informative)
Any company that tries to be cool isn't cool (Score:5, Insightful)
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So, Apple doesn't spend massive amounts of money on marketing and litigation to make (and keep) itself cool??
There are tons of companies out there that make good products that are not cool. There are tons of companies out there that make bad products that are cool.
Apple made good products and bought cool as part of an extremely successful strategy. When something un-cool comes up (eg. the wireless security debacle last year, or the report that Apple had one of the worst environmental records of th
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Re:Any company that tries to be cool isn't cool (Score:4, Insightful)
When a corporation that doesn't know what the fuck it is doing tries to be cool, it ends up making a disaster of a product. And it's not because they tried to be cool. It's because they tried and didn't know what the fuck they were doing.
Again, Apple and Google succeed at being cool because they are operated by people who know how to create that image. On the other hand, Microsoft, Exxon-Mobile, Walmart, et al. fail miserably, because they apparently have MBAs running their creative departments. They don't do shabbily, obviously, but their market appeal is more based on a utilitarian need rather than an aesthetic want.
Now, one can make the argument that a corporation, as an entity, is intrinsically uncool, but that's all a matter of ideological persuasion. I'm merely talking empirically about what the broad appeal of these corporations seems to be.
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You do realize Google failed at 'being cool' with Google Video, and they did exactly what the article talks about, only moreso; they literally bought 'cool', that is to say, they bought Youtube.
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With re
Unchilled all the way to the bank (Score:2)
The Secret to Being Cool (Score:5, Funny)
Learning is fun! "I to learn, it's my style. I'm quiet in class and I always smile." *boom shika boom*
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and I rock the telly.
I'm half Joe Camel
and a third Fonzarelli.
etc.
Re:The Secret to Being Cool (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:The Secret to Being Cool (Score:4, Funny)
Of course not (Score:2)
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You can argue that the kind of cynical, postmodern, commercial/corporate kitch can be cool , but I say again, as long as something is being what it is, rather than trying to be something else to impress someone, then it is cool. If they are consciously going with corporate/commercial kitch with awareness, and embracing it, then they are being cool, being themselv
It's best to shrug this kinda thing off (Score:4, Insightful)
Once again we're going to see a catfight over technology being brought down to the same level as fashion.
My advice for real geeks: shrug it off. Or do you want to be part of what is slightly above a Montel Williams show?
Can they? (Score:2)
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you are very proactive.
With deep regrets... (Score:5, Funny)
Sorry, I'm not for sale.
Superman flames Batman (Score:2)
Oh yeah, in my lame attempt to be relevant to the topic:
As long as the rich corporation brings the content in a reliable media format, the people will come.
Your free first taste shouldn't come with a EULA.
They must become cool. (Score:4, Insightful)
Those that do not will die.
This is very difficult for companies that are used to filtering your culture and promoting only a small subset, which they consider exemplary. That kind of cynicism can be seen back as far as the Beatles "Hard Day's Night" where a company follows the advice of their "resident teenager". In a world where original content can and does come from everywhere, big companies are going to have to get used to being one of many equal players. Those that do will be cool by definition. Those that don't will increasingly become keepers of legacy and irrelevant entertainment, kind of like museums.
Cool is like stupid. Stupid is what stupid does. Both become apparent in time.
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Really? You think that's the meaning of A Hard Day's Night? Methinks you're reading way too much into the lyrics:
It's not that it's "cool"... (Score:2)
Sure they can! (Score:5, Funny)
Can Large Corporations Buy "Cool?"
Of course they can! A good example is the entertainment industry's Captain Copyright! [medialoper.com]
Why, if that doesn't make little Timmy stop downloading his Metallica MP3s, then by golly nothing will! Captain Copyright is totally fresh!
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You buy cool buy hireing really cool inventave people, stick them into a room, slide pizzas under the door until they come up with something that is new and people will like.
Sounds good, but I've never seen it work that way. Your experience may be different than mine though.
I've been in product brainstorming sessions. Engineers get happy and think up new features, and management tends to shoot them down. Not out of malice, mind you. Management types just tend not to be risk-takers.
What you really
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Will this work with monkeys? Because my uncle owns a zoo and I'm pretty sure I can get a bunch of them wholesale.
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Cnet really isn't cool either... (Score:2)
No, see... The cool kid didn't care enough to notice somebody leaning over and copying. They just went on making cool stuff.
TMZ.com owned by AOL (Score:2)
The answers are yes, and yes (Score:2)
The summary asks two questions. Can corporations buy cool, and will they inevitably mess it up. The answer to both questions is yes.
Of COURSE they can buy cool. All that requires is that you identify a cool idea, and then pay for it.
The problem is that this isn't the workflow inside these corporations. They identify a cool idea, then they bastardize it, then they fund the bastard child of the good idea, and their idea. Their idea is generally crafted in order to fit with their corporate image. But their c
Of course! (Score:2)
Of course, it is kinda hard for a big corporation to survive while thinking of its consumers wants over the bottom line, but then nobody said it was easy
Nothing can buy cool. (Score:5, Insightful)
The coolness has to come from within.
Can't buy cool -as Disney and others have found (Score:2)
Disney has a lock on the under 10 crowd thanks to 'Little Mermaid on Ice' and direct to video releases of ToyStory 3, etc which the parents all lap up, and which are cross-marketed with Burger King, McDonald's etc. but it seems like that market becomes tota
Rhetorical? (Score:2)
If their attempts at viral marketing are anything. (Score:3, Insightful)
Coolness doesn't matter here. (Score:2)
Even if this new website turns out to be the most dull, boring, embarrassing, wannabe piece of marketing crap ever devised: If you can watch enough free clips from the Daily Show on there w
Brand equity (Score:4, Insightful)
Take the acquisition of Rolling Rock Beer by Anheuser-Busch as an example. RR had a brand that capitalized on its niche quality: We're smaller, but better, and we cater to the more discriminating lager drinker. (Whether or not that's true is debatable, I know, but that's the idea.) Add a little mystery like the "33" on the bottle, and some word of mouth (the branding equivalent of gold bullion), and you have a successful product over time. Rolling Rock is then perceived as "cool".
So, A-B buys Rolling Rock. What do they do? They immediately try to sell it like Bud. Quirky but uninspired ads, flashy web site, increasing the scale of operations, closing the original brewery (now that hurts!), and so on. They figure hey, beer is beer, and we know how to sell it, right?
Wrong.
Most Rolling Rock drinkers by the stuff because IT ISN'T BUD, for starters. And the brand equity -- what marketing types christen that "cool" factor -- is being slowly but surely eroded.
So it's not clear how Anheuser will enhance the brand, to try to regain lost ground. Or maybe they're just out to eliminate a competitor, and shaft the consumer in the process by wiping out one more choice. But maintaining (let alone growing) brand equity is a marketing black art, and one that most larger companies stumble over once they acquire another operation.
What is the point (Score:2)
But how could a new NBC-Tube possibly work? Why would anyone choose to post their content there instead of YouTube? NBC doesn't want to work with YouTube, why would the communi
Nike, Mountain Dew... (Score:2)
This is a favorite topic of Thomas Frank, author of the aptly-named "Conquest of Cool".
Publisher's promotional page here [uchicago.edu].
I am not affiliated one way or another, I just enjoyed the book, along with some of his others.
Creative marketing can buy cool... (Score:2)
Case in point, Apple is no fluke. Every markett
Yes... it just takes time (Score:5, Interesting)
At first, they failed miserably. But with each attempt, they learned a little bit more about how the subculture worked.
Now they probably sell more "skateboarding shoes" than any other company.
Of course, all they've done is buy the mind-share of young people through some adept marketing... but is there any difference between that and "buying cool?"
Probably not (Score:2)
The problem that most corporations get into when trying to delve into something cool, is their first instinct is to cripple the technology. Look at how cool Sony once was when they were doing just consumer electronics. They had the walkman, and the CD and such. After they bought up Columbia and tried to obtain "synergy" between content creation and consumer e
You know what's not cool? (Score:2)
Sitting around worrying whether you're cool or not.
By corollary, sitting around wondering whether someone else is cool or not is also not cool.
What is "cool" (Score:2)
It seems to me there are two kinds of "cool." The first arises from genuine interest and shared excitement. I think back to the first time I played with a 512k Mac. I'd never seen a computer like that. It was so new, so different, and so exciting to me that I couldn't help but think it was cool. The first time I ever rode a mountain bike on single-track, I understood why so many people were getting into riding them. Again, cool.
The second kind of cool is generated by vast marketing machines. Sometimes it
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And, if Google can't do it, I can't see how NBC is going to make this work. Are they going to publish their entire archive, so I can embed it on my site, and make ad revenue off of it? D
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You know how during "The Office" NBC shows ads to go to nbc.com and watch extended scenes? That's the kind of content they will have on it.
I think they are also-rans on the youtube user driven content, but can really suceed with proprietary content. Also if they get into the market scheme of paying the users that contribute content, that could help as well.
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When I worked for a search engine that was #3 in the rankings, the company mantra was, "We don't want to be number one. We can't compete with that, but there is a large amount of money to be made by being a competitor to #1."
There's no reason why Me-toob can't succeed right along side you tube, cool factor or not.