Hulu's letting users be their own marketers by giving them some control over the ads they see with a video, whether a a spot for certain type of car or watching a 2.5 minute movie trailer up front intead of shorter ads throughout. Given that choice, Kilar said viewers have overwhelmingly chosen to watch the trailer, something for studios to consider. Other short original films by the likes of BMW and AmEx have also proven popular as an alternative to more conventional spots.

Kicking off the OMMA Expo with a bang, Geoff Ramsey, CEO, eMarketer, just set a new world record for the most trade-industry keynote presentations performed over the course of a lifetime. The Guinness people were waiting in the wings ready to present Ramsey with his plaque and a gilt-certificate to the Oliver Garden. We hear that Ramsey seized the keynote throne from Suzi Orman, who has apparently cut back on her speaking schedule as a result of a newfound passion for Pro-Am Golf. ... Yes, I kid. The OMMA crowd is big, seemingly pleased with the setting, and--perhaps for the …

eMarketer's Geoff Ramsey this morning tried to buck up the courage of online marketers in the face of this week's ugly headlines about the demise or bailout of one Wall Street institution after another. "You need determination in this market," he said, assuming a pugilisitic mentality with a slide of Bob DeNiro as Jake LaMotta in "Raging Bull". "Rocky" may have been a better choice, but the idea is to fight the urge to freeze marketing budgets amid the economic and financial carnage all around. Ramsey backed up his optimism with a raft of eMarketer data showing continued double-digit growth …

Thank you Jason Kilar. The former Amazonian and one-time Disney employee is now running Hulu. He's talking about the importance of a culture fostering obsession for quality. At Hulu, they are obsessing the details. (Kilar certainly learned about usability obsession from his days at Amazon.) When he worked at Disney, Kilar says, the street sweepers were the most essential employees because Walt Disney was obsessed with quality and cleanliness. At Hulu, they're obsessing every detail of the Hulu design from thumbnail size to the quality of every pixel. My kind of guy! The easier you make …

This is just my second OMMA but I love seeing so many media and marketing industry people gathered together to learn from each other. I also enjoy being with Laurie Petersen again. I followed her as editor of "Marketing Daily," which she created. Right now I'm enjoying a presentation around "obsession" and I can hear a little giggle behind me as Laurie connects with the topic. Laurie, who has moved on to Minyanville.com, is here and she is blogging. She is obsessive about our industry and it shows! Glad to share this space with you, Laur.

Fear of the financial climate could cause you Mr. or Ms. Marketer to retreat for awhile. But remember, says Geoff Ramsey, the people who spend on marketing in bad times always come out better on the other end. Be complacent or come out fighting. Ramsey forecasts online spending will come out OK through all this. And hey, did you know that 27% of Internet users are now watching full-length TV shows online? I've been doing that for years now, because I only have one TV set in the house! Keeps peace in the family.

Interesting thing just happened. Geoff Ramsey from eMarketer is rattling through stats on social networking. For instance, 29% of Facebook users earn more than $100K/year. Suddenly got this overwhelming urge to go check my Facebook page. Meanwhile, only 13% of social network users say the ads on the sites match their interests. And Joe Marchese from Social Vibe says use of social networks has now surpassed pornography for the first time. The fattie ads drive me nuts sometimes on Facebook, but Ramsey's creeped out by the ones involving hair loss. Ramsey's advice to marketers who want …