Ready, set, go!   Today, June 20, Keith Olbermann starts his new old show on Current TV.

Now on Al Gore’s user-gen channel, the former host of Countdown on MSNBC will henceforth reach 60 million US homes (plus 10 million in the UK and Italy).  That’s not chump change, but it’s still a not-so-shy 35 million less than his previous target primetime audience.

Still, if all goes well, Current’s young(er)-and-social audience will dig Keith enough for maximum ratings – plus help with viral promotion of the program across the online social sphere – which in turn would, yep, help boost viewership.

Current also hopes Olbermann’s name will help with new subscriber acquisition.  Using its new anchor as it’s #1 spokesman, Current is now asking anyone inside Cablevision’s Long Island TV market to campaign for Current TV carriage.

But Olbermann’s arrival at Current TV marks more than just a new show.  Both Countdown and Olberman’s new role as Chief News Officer role further moves the channel away from its original user-generated video roots, towards a (hopefully) capable alternative to existing cable news.

Not sure whether this means a definite end for Current’s initial viewer-submitted short-form video format?  With Olbermann’s arrival, there seems plenty room for an entirely new TV news format.  Let’s see what the new Olbermann / Current TV duo can conjure up.

Meanwhile, off we go with pre-launch coverage about Olbermann the *feuding co-worker* , the *larger-then-life egomaniac*, or Olbermann the *millionaire media mogul*.

Be it as it may, Countdown on Current promises to be every bit as informative and controversial as Olbermann’s previous gig.

PS: If you happen to be a Cablevision customer not wanting to miss out on Current’s Countdown, here’s how to reach out to be heard.

Former MSNBC political show host Keith Olbermann has just announced his new show will air on Current TV.

No secret – I have long been a fan of Current TV.

The S.F.-based (partially) user-generated cable programmer has long been on the forefront of innovative journalism.  Side by side viewer-created short “pod” submissions, Current has its own group of young vanguard journalists. Audiences help to determine at least part of what’s to air, most of which then gets plenty viral distribution up and down the participatory Web.

Next in, Keith Olbermann will be the first veteran broadcasters to join the citizen journalist crew.

It should be interesting to see if and how Mr. Olbermann and Current TV’s participatory media will blend to something greater than the sum of the individual parts.

AOL just paid $315 million for ‘uber blog’ The Huffington Post. Social network giant Facebook seems worth $50 billion. And global media powerhouse News Corp. relies on what’s likely the world’s most popular consumer electronics designer, Apple, as their next exclusive content distributor.

Clearly, the face and valuation of media continues to be in major flux.

In this highly dynamic environment, let’s see where Current and Olbermann can take things next.

Has lengthy Sigur Ros concert coverage replaced subversive short-form clips on Current TV?

In other words, is US television’s first intrepid citizen journalist network gradually jettisoning its user-generated videos, in favor of a content format ubiquitous elsewhere on TV? 
Read the rest of this entry »

While we’re on the subject of record long tail voter aggregation and its impact on democracy, the unprecedented accumulation of small-size incremental financial contributions during the current US presidential campaign marks another success story for the long tail of citizen ingenuity.

According to OpenSecrets.org, over 90% of an impressive $640 million raised by the Barack Obama campaign came from individuals rather than corporations or entrenched interest groups.

And the bulk of that was contributions under $200.

Amazing what a lot of a little can accomplish in its aggreate value – to the benefit of all.

On that note, for all you digital media marketers out there (opportunistically speaking, of course), the current long tail campaign donation phenomenon clearly demonstrates the significant power of consumers’ take on ”motive and opportunity”.

From digital video and online books to for-pay widgets and Twitter posts, monetizing the long tail of any of these things depends on whether they truly matter to people and their lifes.

Meaning, if “the cause” is right, wallets open up.

It clearly worked during the recent Presidential campaign. What does that mean to future branded product campaign designs?

To be sure, way way before Chris Anderson’s pointed Wired article (re)discovered the right side of the curve for us, something as old, tried and proven as democracy knew to utilize the long tail phenomenon all along; to ensure that all, not just a select few partake in shaping government at large.

So, in many ways, we’re only coming full circle here.

Who knew? Democracy as an ingenious grass-root marketing campaign.

Glad it worked so well this time.

As it stands, this country is about to (re)discover the power of long tail voting.

Not since the 60s has the United States seen this kind of voter turnout. Individuals previously ignorant to the democratic process are expected to come out and vote in what clearly is a historic election.

We, members of the digital technology and media industry, have used the long tail idea gladly and often, at least since Chris Anderson’s highly recognized Wired magazine article about “the few that dominate”.

We have since flocked to the long tail concept to describe how the aggregate number of individuals previously ignored by commercial systems can populate and popularize anything from micro blogs to amateur-produced snack-size videos, or en-gross selling of long forgotten books on amazon.com.

The same “saftey in numbers” phenomenon may now be just what it took to change the direction of an entire country.

While the latter remains a promise until proven, no matter who you vote for tomorrow morning, the former is happening as we speak.

Already a record number of those previously discouraged or put off by politics have returned from their voting duties; young, first-time voters, african-americans, hispanics, immigrants, all joined by millions of others in a common believe that its worth standing in line for hours on end, convinced that the time and cause is right.

Of course our industry’s arsenal of lingo would be incomplete if we couldn’t add to the long tail moniker all sorts of related terms.

Think discovery, collaboration, and sharing. Add hyper-targeting and monetization to understand how much the past 21 months of presidential campaigning have benefited from their first dabble with Web 2.0.

Not to mention the unprecedented number of supporting broadband connections that helped to fuel the national debate.

Still, it is not entirely clear whether any side has gained on the other in its particular ability to leverage the long-tail power of the Internet.

It just might simply be a zero-sum game.

But hey. Who’s counting?

For now, let’s go and vote!

PS: For those of you eager to combine your long tail capabilities until the very last second of the democratic process, go to Current TV and fire up your Twitter and your Digg account.

PS II: To be sure, while both campaigns leveraged the long tail power of the Internet, they also knew that a linear TV feed was still a medium key enough to agree to last minute Saturday Night Live appearances or to buy millions of dollars worth of traditional broadcasting airtime to get the message out. Shelly Palmer’s recent post makes several salient points on the deliberate old-school-ness of those decisions. Be sure to check it out.