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Justin.tv: “Get A Job”

Posted on Apr 02 , 2007 in Communication & Persuasion & PR & Strategy & Web 2.0

This may seem like a swat at Justin.tv, but I have to tell you the guy really blew it on that Today Show "Exclusive" (April 2) and it shows that when it comes to promotion, you really must consider the core message you're trying to relate. You shouldn't just expect that people will understand your purpose or be "in-the-loop." All I heard during this interview was my father screaming in my ear, "Get a job!" I did Dad, it's called public relations and it's not something you can just do without some planning.

In the interview, Justin tells Ann Curry that he just got this idea one day and thought it would be neat for people to be watching him 24/7. Where do these brilliant ideas come from? It must be a tremendous burden to be so Da Vinci-like that you are saddled with the chore of dreaming up incredible ideas and must share them. (Yes Ed TV (1999) and The Truman Show (1998) fans, dripping sarcasm). BTW, not to be so obviously cruel, but didn't Ed from Ed TV live in San Francisco? The irony is too rich.

So then Ms. Curry attempts to give him an out by asking him wasn't there a higher purpose, or an educational/scientific query, to justify going to the bathroom with your camera on. Nope. And one more criticism: Justin.tv Producer Michael Seibel comes across as a pimp. He's written most of his Twitters looking for dates for Justin. But, then maybe getting Justin a date is the point of Justin.tv.

Now for my point: hype and hyperbole still generate the most attention for a product or service. The greatest promoter of all, P.T. Barnum illustrated the insatiable appetite for the public to eat up the weird, fantastic and unbelievable. We want to believe and be a part of history. So just by sticking a camera on his head, Justin has invited people inside to see, believe and experience an event.

But there has to be more for it to sustain itself. There has to be a reason for the ballyhoo. Is this just one big beta test of the video software or is there another reason for wearing the camera? Incidentally, this is why Barnum constantly found new ways to draw people into his museum. A PR stunt can only sustain itself until the next one.

Some might argue Justin.tv is the whole point: a raw insight into a person's life. The ultimate social media experiment. Perhaps, but I doubt Justin's going to be eager to wear that camera when he's 64. We're not going to get to see him wearing the adult diapers and trolling for babes, with Seibel at his side, in the Sunny Acres Nursing Home.

Seibel suggests there is a market for multiple cameras showing other people's lives. Bubba.tv anyone? But I doubt that is a business model that can carry itself and copy Google's success. Or will Google just eat up Justin for a couple million and force him to wear the camera for the rest of his life with a Google logo stamped on his ass?

Your message and purpose are all important. Develop your message before you say anything. Know your goals, your purpose and your talking points inside and out before you go out and promote yourself. Then you can use cool tools and the media to share it. It also doesn't hurt to have The World's Biggest Man to parade around either.

  • http://martinlessard.blogspot.com Martin Lessard

    I have to say I desagree on your last point. Justin didn’t have to develop his message first. He _is_ the message (eh, isn’t it McLuhan credo? ;-)

    In a state of network where you have to publish first than process later, there is no time to develop any message.

    This isn’t by any means telling us the present message is better or meaningful. But the process Justin is into looks like “let’s do it now, we’ll see what happens next”.

    My guess is, he will quit justin.tv for a real tv shows. At least this will pay the bills…

  • http://www.ask-mr.info Michael Sommermeyer

    Martin,

    While McLuhan clearly better understood the current state of the media becoming the message years before anyone thought of Web2.0, I believe he would still require Justin to introduce something new that in turn accelerates the adoption of a new medium.

    Justin hasn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t really introduced anything new – and apart from allowing viewers and bloggers to comment about his adventures – he is not even requiring them to fill in the blanks. I’m not even sure if he is hot or cool; more lukewarm to be sure. And his idea isn’t even original. So while he is a McLuhan model, I am not sure he delivers on the theory of extending the media to advance change.

    But I do agree with you on your last point: Once Justin becomes a Survivor contestant, he will have a job, which hopefully will pay the bills and help him get a date.