This is a guest post by Robert Richman, social media strategist. He can be reached at Robert(at)Richman.LA and you can follow his thoughts at http://twitter.com/richman17. Photo by m. Marc Salsberry

Let’s call it social media mania, shall we? Everyone is high at the thought of super-viral instant live video collaborative aggregation feeds (with an open social app on the side)…and I am no exception. I haven’t felt this excited about new technologies since AIM came out and I almost got fired. So what does a socially intoxicated new media maven do in this situation? That’s right – go to conferences.

Under the Radar – Social Media and Entertainment
First stop Mountain View. Dealmaker throws great events, so it was no surprise that it was $795. Thank God for blog contests. Debbie promised a free ticket for the best ideas on the Top 3 pain points for entrepreneurs, and apparently I know pain quite well.

With a set-up reminiscent of American Idol, the entrepreneurs pitched their wares while rotating sets of three digerati judges added their critique and the audience texted in their votes. Kara Swisher took the role of Simon, with her smart yet bemused skepticism. The Scobleizer was genuinely intrigued, though huddled in his sticker-tattoed non-Mac much of the time. And there were a cadre of google execs, bloggers, and VC’s, all led by Rafe Needleman playing the role of Ryan Seacrest (sans hair gel).

I felt a sense of wonderment as I saw the future of the medium evolving. The presenters were all well-selected, and the judges were supportive with a touch of snark. A few highlights:

• GumGum – monetizing online content
• MediaForge – branded widgets
• MovieSet – marketing movies before they’re even out
• Overlay.tv – the future of product placement in video
• Sometrics – monetizing apps

Crowdspring perfected the art of powerpoint with simple funny statements in white text on a black background “What’s our revenue model? People pay us.” Their presentation took the audience choice award.

The Future of Advertising
But perhaps the most interesting part was the conversation at the end- a panel of advertising execs, both from new media and the old guard, who debated the future of Madison Avenue. The underlying tone from the audience was that old media just didn’t get it and when they did, they didn’t put the ad dollars behind it. But the panel responded back with a surprising rejoinder…

1. The risk of brand equity
It’s not that they don’t get it, or don’t want to spend the money. It’s the bona fide brand risk that their precious six-figure logo might appear by a scantily clad pre-teen, calling for the downfall of America (of course while sipping a venti-sized ice-blended).

2. Your blog sponsorship is our rounding error
The advertising firms would love to spend more money on social media, but the meat is such small fry that managing a vast portfolio of micro ads is like asking Sequoia capital for $100 for each of your 1000 start-up ideas. Not gonna happen (despite your mega-zillion dollar ROI).

OnHollywood 2008

This conference doubled the cost of Under the Radar, so I was once again fortuitous to receive a press pass from a friend at well-known web site. But when they asked, “What outlet are you from?” I stalled to ask Andrew if I could write a guest column for Mixergy. It worked.

The first panel I saw was the Future of Digital Entertainment. The overall vibe was hopeful confusion, although Quarterlife COO Melanie Hall seemed to have a lackluster tone, like she gave up on her own brand. “It is so competitive. Without a cable station or sponsor it’s hard to get out there and be seen.”

Sandy Grushow of Filmaka was much more excited, in classic pre-chasm start-up mode. “We have not yet figured out a way for big brands to spend their money online. We have to proactively figure out a way for these brands to spend their money on the web.”

I turned to my cohort, Heather Meeker, who had an interesting insight…”It’s simply going to take time. It will take a new generation of ad buyers who grew up with computers all their lives. We’re just not there yet.”

I didn’t realize how true that was till I saw the dazzling presentation by Spot runner. Get this…one agency alone can send upwards of 7000 faxes for and ad buy. Does it get anymore old school than that?

I was beginning to sense a theme so I decided to skip a few sessions and talk to people outside, including uber conversationalist, Cathy Brooks of Seesmic (you know you’re still a kid when the most exciting part of your $1500 conference is getting stickers and a t-shirt of a funny wide-eyed racoon). I find it equally exciting and terrifying that technologies like seesmic and twitter have created a business model based on A.D.D.

My notes from the rest of the conference seem utterly unvaluable except for my conversation with Quincy Jones III on how my brother should market his band.

The Future of Television
Surprisingly, the most insightful conference was a room of about 30 people at the Future of Online Content organized by Michael Liskin at BLANKSPACES. There was an all-star panel including Amanda Congdon (formerly of Rocketboom), Tim Street (French Maid TV), Hayden Black (Goodnight Burbank), and seven other players.

The entire conversation (start at the 23 minute mark) was fascinating. A few quick insights:

1. People won’t pay for content, but they’ll pay to participate
Deal or No Deal charges for SMS text votes, Goodnight Burbank will mention your name on the show if you sign-up for their newsletter. Consider giving an “Executive Producer” title to people who donate.

2. There is money to be made.
Ask a ninja is making $100,000 a month, through various revenue channels. Tim Street of French Maid TV said he is making enough “to earn a living if he were in his early 20′s.” We are at the very early stage of all of this.

3. Play to the medium
Tim silenced the room when he said that his hit show, like almost every other on the web, is playing to spectacle, but the big change will come when we see a storyline and format that maximizes all the interactive media that are out there.


Conclusions:

Okay, so what is the point to all this, or am I just wasting your time? Here are the conclusions I’ve come to that I believe will play out in the marketplace:

1. Content will take the lead
We’ve seen it before. When the technology becomes a commodity, it’s the aggregators and the content that win. But don’t get trapped in that word. Stretch your imagination for what that term (content) really means. It’s just what we use to fill a medium. What might that mean? What would the first crowdsourced movie look like?

2. Brands will be the new VC’s.
As the technologies become more ubiquitous and free we’ll see another shakeout (and more outfits like Ycombinator). As traditional media becomes more and more irrelevant, brands will seek new channels to reach new customers, while strengthening brand loyalty with the existing ones. So if you have something that can get attention, think about what brand is in alignment with those interests and values. Prove you have something that people will use or watch, and you may just have an investor.

3. People don’t like to pay money, but advertisers will.
Yes, it’s shockingly that simple. Go where the money is. People do not want to pay for content, and unless Paypal can streamline a one-click micropayment, we’re not going to see much change. So stop mining the miners and look at the big skyscrapers up-town. Nielsen is having a harder and harder time tracking ratings. You’ve got the razor’s edge. They want to bleed.

“Okay, I’ve read your whole post. Now would you please tell me how I can use all this to make money?”

Yes. In my next post, “Brand 3.0.”