What does data portability mean to marketers? It’s “a way of technologically breaking away from the constraints of the cookie,” says Ted Shergalis, co-founder and chief strategy officer of x+1, to know far more about the consumer. Indeed, rich data collection is great for marketers, says David Honig, co-founder of Media6 Degrees, but the “advantage to consumers is small.” Shergalis …

Why are OMMA attendees listening a National Geographic rep -- Rob Covey, SVP of Content Development and Design, National Geographic Digital Media -- during lunch? Because, according to MediaPost editor-in-chief Joe Mandese, Nat Geo is perhaps doing the best job of navigating the new media landscape. Because, there’s so much more to their brand than the yellow binder than Nat Geo is famous for. And, because they’ve got the coolest wilderness-filled video with which to dazzle attendees while they eat. "We certainly are rich and long in content," remarked Covey.

What will it take to move ad dollars online? “Years and years and years of haranguing,” proposes Dennis Miller, general partner of Spark Capital. “You don’t get fired for buying NFL football,” he says. But experimenting with an interactive video game or YouTube is another story. Many marketers say they’re wary of YouTube or other Web sites because they’re afraid the content will be too racy or amateurish for their brands. But Miller, a former executive at Turner Network Television, said Madison Avenue execs had similar complaints about cable years ago. Satya Patel, principal of Battery …

Chris Gonzales is the product manager for CondeNet with responsibility for their social initiatives, which means roughly 35 widgets and apps for the various brands. It's the dead simple ideas that work, he says. Epicurious has a MyEpi and a Recipe of the Day widget that foodies can put on their pages to get just that.

Steve Mitgang, CEO of Veoh says the structural problem with advertising around online video is  shortness of clip.  He says, for example, that a lot of clips on YouTube are 9-second clips.  "But we are already seeing a ton of 22 and 45-minute  minute viewing.  All of our studio partners are shocked at how much full long-form shows are being consumed on Veoh," he says. Jordan Bitterman says that online video doesn't have to be production-quality.  "If it's contextually relevant it should have good impact," he says.  "Video on the Web is active onTV  its passive. Mitgang says …

If there's a truism about social media, all the panelists agree, it's that you can't predict what is going to take off. Sure, it's usually stuff that's funny. You've just got to try everything and enable the ability for things to take off. The users are the ones who are going to decide what takes off. Editorial judgment is just one element. "Do stuff poorly quickly. Get it out quickly and call it beta. Don't let committees build things." -- Chris Tolles of Topix.

ra Baehr from The panel on video advertising online focused on where spend is getting cut. Mediator Ross Sandler of RBC Capital Markets set the tone. "In my world, it's the worst environment since the Great Depresssion." Is online advertising feeling it?  Jordan Bitterman, SVP Media and Content says there's a lot of pressure on spend, but "We haven't seen a lot of cuts versus where we have been in years past or quarters past; a lot of clients moving more and more chips into internet space. There's a lot of renewed focus on what works." Steve …

Where do you start with a social strategy? Start with a college intern, pay them $10/hour (or Free!) to let them come in and build you a Facebook app. They couldn't be happier. For an entire summer, you can have them develop Facebook apps for you with a perspective you will never have. College students will design for college students.