"In tech startups, marketers are more important than developers." That's what one aspiring Web entrepreneur and software developer told me the other night. Yet while I love to celebrate my art and craft -- I'm a marketing guy -- I disagree

Many companies are now taking steps to try to control their destiny in a future where TV can be consumed "everywhere," on a multitude of different and widely distributed devices and platforms. So today, I am going to discuss my thoughts on how this future might play out -- who might find the elusive business model for profitable cross-platform video scale, and who might not.

If you read the news, you can become very confused about the state of the economy. According to some sources, things are looking up (see the stock market) -- and according to just as many others, things don't look too good (see the impending wave of mortgage resets in real estate). Whom do we trust? Whose opinions do we value?

Recently I've become quite nostalgic. There are some personal reasons for this, but, primarily, my current professional mode has triggered career remembrances both hilarious and gratifying. Walk with me. Some of the references may ring a few bells for you, too.

The most recent Advertising Week focused relentlessly on social media. I saw this firsthand as co-emcee of OMMA Global. I also saw it as an attendee of several other events. But for all the excitement and expert pontification, most people are getting it wrong. When it comes to social media, the fundamental problems and opportunities for marketers lie in culture and scale. Following are two great examples that explain why -- pulled right from Advertising Week.

n the online ad world, so much is measurable. You can know how many browsers viewed a page or an ad, you know how many interacted with or clicked on an ad You can know how many of those browsers immediately visited the advertiser's site, or how many visited the site days or weeks later. Advertisers and their agencies can track and manage their online ad campaigns on a census-based cost-per-thousand or cost-per click or cost-per-action/acquisition basis. That has not been possible on TV, but with the growing digitization of the television infrastructure and the recent availability of second-by-second anonymous …

I have officially entered a new phase of my life; the Daddy-phase (and I love it)! I am no longer in the core 18-34 single male demo (actually a couple of years past it as evidenced by the growing volume of grey hairs on my head) and I'm now part of a family household with "1+" children and it makes an amazing impact on how you view the web!

When I first sat down to write this column, I wasn't exactly sure what I should write about. Working in the online comedy business, I figured I was "qualified" to write about anything from why the Internet is obsessed with creepy vintage ads to a detailed history of bizarre sexual Egyptian legends. As much fun as that would be, I thought it might be more helpful to share some insight I've gathered as Comedy.com has grown its audience .

We've all been asked for the Big Idea, scrambled for a better idea, scratched our head over an "off" idea, or spent time vetting the originality of someone else's prescribed brainchild. The standard frankly has gotten higher and more specific. The "idea" that comes off-the-cuff, overnight, at the team meeting, on the train, in client confab, under fire, or while ideating with your brood -- has to do something to take flight, when the stakes are up and the game is on. What's an idea got to do?

Following are some of the major best practices that presenters (including me) should embrace. There are a million books, training courses, coaches and gurus who've covered these before. But common negligence requires broad reconsideration