AFM 2008: Web Entrepreneurs Conference

The 2008 AFM Web Entrepreneurs conference was hosted by a panel of founders and executives involved with companies such as StrikeTV, BitterLawyer, and ElectricFarm. To be blunt, the event was a dud. The topics covered were highly generalized, lacking the specific examples and application knowledge that I expected. It is ironic given New Media’s “threat” to the motion picture industry (not to mention the event at which the conference took place) that topics were covered on such a surface level. Here are the broad takeaways:

• Knowing your audience it critical – niche is best.
• Sponsorships and brand integration are evolving as a viable revenue model for web shows.
• Seek partnerships with brands who can be organically weaved into the storyline.
• Utilize the wide reach of social networks to attract new viewers.
• Advertisers will continue to be hesitant without a standard metric to measure return on investment.

Though none of these points provides you any specific direction, I suppose it is always good to have them reinforced.