I’ve been thinking a lot about how we consume media these days and how this transformational shift is affecting us all.

First, I should tell you that when it comes to technology trends in communication I tend to be an early adopter…not quite on the cutting edge but close enough. I also tend to be enthusiastic about these changes, most of which are happening online, viewing them as a positive step forward in how we engage with content, how we learn and how we obtain our news. But as sources of online content increase in number and scope, coupled with the rise of social networking, it looks as though we may also be in for a future of increasingly balkanized information and fragmented content consumption…something I’ve referred to in the past as info snacking or media snacking. But before I get too deep into an explanation of what I mean by that terminology, let me first describe what my self-created media ecology looks like .

Several years ago we stopped almost all of our magazine & newspaper subscriptions (I still have a couple that I can’t let go of…like Harper’s and The Atlantic…and my wife still gets Washingtonian Magazine). We did this partially in an effort to be “greener,” and partially because we had become increasingly used to getting our news, educational and arts & entertainment content online. So I now read The Economist on my iPad, as well as browse through Politico, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Huffington Post and Slate. I get a digest of the Wall Street Journal in my email inbox every day. I also get e-newsletters from Government Executive, Nextgov, Washington Technology and several other government related publications.

A few months ago, I also decided that we would cancel our cable TV subscription. We had already been getting used to watching movies and documentaries via Netflix (by mail) and other programing fare via Hulu, so I canceled our cable subscription but kept our cable modem, and bought a WiFi router and a Blu-Ray DVD player instead. The router lets me access the speed of the cable modem via various of the WiFi devices we have at home (via our iPads and laptops) and the Blu-Ray DVD player lets me view Netflix and Hulu movies and programs on my TV.

While proud of our move towards more media independence and control, I also wonder about two trends that have accompanied this new state of affairs. Increasingly, both my wife and I can sit in front of the device of our choice and watch (or interact) with whatever content, information and programing we may be interested in at the time, which includes what our friends, colleagues and others may be saying or doing via the various social networks we belong to. It also means that although we have narrowed our own fields of interest, those funnels are now capable of presenting me with almost unlimited choice within that narrower scope. Let me explain. I love documentaries. And furthermore, and more narrowly, I love political and social justice documentaries. Netflix now knows this (better “suggestion” engines, a la Amazon) and has managed to recommend no less than a hundred political and social justice documentaries of all types…and since they make it so easy to add a title to my personal instant “queue,” I’ve got more than a hundred documentaries patiently waiting for me to decide to watch them.

Now multiply similar access to various other passions and interests (via smaller screens on multiple devices) and it’s not hard to imagine that the Aldo Bello media universe is a fairly large space. Not only that, it’s got so many goodies, all of them pre-selected and waiting to be sampled, that it’s hard to stay with only one thing…hence, my media snacking comment. I have found myself sampling and accessing content of short duration from many different sources. The social media networks actually function best in this manner…Twitter being the most extreme example…but Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media spaces function very similarly…short bursts of content, often devoid of larger context. Additionally, when I got rid of my magazine and newspaper subscriptions and began to sample news and information via selected online sources, I have been reading more but not as deeply, another problem associated with media snacking.

So one trend is towards media snacking which I believe, forces one to sample, and which often implies that deeper understanding is out of the question. But I’ve observed an even more disturbing trend, and that is towards the balkanization of information. Aldo Bello’s universe of online media is so attractive that it tends to present me with the things that I want (hurrah for that) but keeps me from accessing other information, in a way that hardly ever happened with print magazines and newspapers…or cable TV (even though I could always choose to ignore certain channels, and did). Increasingly, I hear people talk about the content that they access in a way that is different from the recent past: favoring certain channels and altogether avoiding others. I am beginning to think that it’s this trend that is contributing to a lack of civility in political discourse and the resulting lack in bipartisanship.

What do you think?

Earlier this week the Department of Energy (DOE) launched its new web site and I have to say, I’m very impressed!

In comparison to the online presence of the majority of government agencies, Energy has taken the best of Web 2.0 and successfully applied that philosophy to the way they present themselves to the public.  The end result is an open and intuitive web site that clearly and powerfully communicates DOE’s mission and the diverse range of vitally important energy projects the agency oversees. Additionally, the use of several social media platforms to connect and engage with DOE, and their urging of the public at large to actively participate, is what truly gives the site its Web 2.0 ethos.

Clear navigation, transparent headings for their sub-pages, plenty of white space and clearly defined information areas (via layout and design) all contribute to the openness and clarity of the site.

The prominent positioning of the blog entry on the Home page and the various social media pathways open to the public to engage with the Department of Energy, especially via Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s Facebook Page, as well as Twitter, You Tube and Flickr accounts, speaks to their willingness to connect with the American public.

Finally, the use of localization and segmentation tools via their “More From Energy” and “I Am” sections, gives any visitor the ability to quickly get to the information they want to access.

All in all, a fantastic site.

If you’re thinking of producing video for online distribution, here are some quick tips on what you should be doing and advice on some things you should avoid:

1. Unless you are a Hollywood or Television Producer (whose aim is to distribute their long-form content via Hulu or Netflix), short is best. Keep your videos to the 2-5 minute range as most consumers have little patience for anything longer than that. Our fast-paced culture promotes info-snacking and this is especially true of online video.
2. If you are producing videos to promote an idea or product or are fundraising for a social cause, include a call to action. The easiest call to action is one that will drive traffic to your website, so include a URL at the end of the video. And if you are distributing it via YouTube, Vimeo or any of the social networking sites, take the opportunity to include your site’s URL on the text box provided to describe your video.
3. If you are distributing your video via services such as YouTube and Vimeo, protect your intellectual property by including a bug that indicates where the video came from.
4. If you are thinking of using humor in hopes of creating a viral video hit and that its popularity will draw attention to your product, idea or cause, don’t do it on the cheap. Humor is difficult to do well and requires skill and real dollars to pull off. Most successful viral videos used for promotion have been created by large advertising agencies or their online subsidiaries. Additionally, although this is NOT written in stone, most edgy and humorous videos work well for edgy and humorous brands (such as the Axe effect series of videos promoting their line of men’s grooming products).
5. Include measurement in your campaign. The great thing about online video (actually, anything online) is that you can measure its effectiveness. If you are running any sort of campaign, you can keep track of how many people have viewed your videos and consequently, how many viewers visit your site after seeing the video. If things aren’t working as well as you’d hoped, you can always tweak your campaign until you get it right.
6. Contests work well to generate interest in your company, non-profit and government agency but if you ask people to create content on their own (videos about your mission, for example) you’ll have to be prepared to take the good with the bad (most video contests are run by publishing ALL of the videos created and then having your viewers vote on the best ones).
7. Tell a story about your idea, mission or product. Most people don’t want to be lectured or told what to think, they’d rather draw their own conclusions after watching your well-crafted and compelling video.
8. Be cognizant of who will be watching your videos. Obviously, you know who your target audience is and what you want them to do, so a runaway viral hit might not always be the answer…you may just get a lot of people watching your video but very little follow-up. And although by reading most articles you could be led to believe that only 18-24 year olds are interested in watching online video, the 25-54 age group is quickly catching up…especially if you let people share the video via social networking sites like Facebook.

Your ride ahead will be a lot smoother if you keep some of these do’s and don’ts in mind as you embark on the planning and execution of your online video campaign.