I finally saw iCaught last night on ABC. If you have not heard of this show, it is a basic news format show that looks at CGM vids on the web and then goes in depth as to their creation and their creators. It is actually a smart idea. If a video has gotten 12 million views on YouTube, then for some reason, people have responded to it and may be interested in the story behind it. Last night's episode had a pretty droll report on users filming themselves doing Jackass type stunts, but I was happy to see the story on William Sledd, the self-proclaimed "Ask A Gay Man" host who we covered back in January. It explored how the medium can create celebrity at least a fleeting moment if not a little longer. It also must be a pretty cheap show to produce, which makes sense for the network as the content is already out there and there is built in interest. Whether it is the Philippine Thriller phenom or Darth Vader Chocolate Rain(see below), people are paying attention.
The most interesting twist is that new media has turned the tables on traditional media and yet trad media is still finding ways to monetize and sell ads against it. I wonder if the creators are sharing in the ad buys?
Talk about an opportunity for product placement! Coke and Mentos anyone?
Posted by: Poyla | August 22, 2007 at 05:58 PM