After a panel on branded entertainment, Laura Martin (who delivered a pleasantly ferocious analysis of the financial dynamics behind the media business earlier in the day) asked the creators and producers of Easy to Assemble, a show "about" Ikea, whether A) they expect audience fatigue of the kind that afflicts network TV, and B) whether they can actually make a living doing this. The answers, in reverse order, are B) they might not get rich, but they make "enough money," but the money isn't the point... and A) The freedom of new media allows them to refresh and switch up …

In a panel about the art of being discovered, a group of panelists talked about what it takes to drive a video viral. For starters, (no kidding!) you need exciting content no one has seen. Several ways to promote a video, including SEO techniques and social media like Twitter and MySpace. Knowing what people search for and capitalizing on the keywords, along with carefully choosing the title tag, can help move the video viral. But at the end of the day if it's a video no one wants to watch you won't get results. Years ago it was easier …

Moderator John Capone asks the question that terrifies media planners: given the difficulties in monetizing online content with advertising, will big content owners be forced to charge consumers for online video? The panel consensus was: no, for the most part. Anthony Soohoo, SVP and GM of entertainment and lifestyle for CBS Interactive, remarked: “Every time we hit an ad recession, people talk about [throwing out the ad model]. I think the ad model is doing very well.” Conceding that it needs to be adjusted, Soohoo was nevertheless confident: “I don’t think the ad model for television will go away any …

According to Charley Shoemaker, Nielsen's director of product management, data from Nielsen's new convergence panel confirms that lots of people are indeed surfing the Web while watching broadcast TV: "We see a very large percentage doing simultaneous Internet activity while they’re watching network TV." Although he said most of the people aren’t surfing content directly related to the show they’re watching, the simple fact that they’re online suggests there is potential for cross-platform ad messaging, if certain technical issues are addressed -- for example (this is just speculation, not based on anything Shoemaker said) by incorporating information on a household's …

Yes, from here, the Internet, the mobile phone, and any other digital tool that streams or lets you download content. When can we access TV from anywhere? MediaPost Editor John Capone led the panel on Battle of the Network Superstars: Getting to TV Everywhere From Here. In time video will stream across numerous devices, but there are several problems the industry needs to work through, including digital rights management and measurement. Industry executives need to sort out digital rights management issues, but problems are being addressed, according to Ian Blaine, CEO, thePlatform. Anthony Soohoo, SVP and GM of …

The reason big network TV hasn't suffered as much as other parts of the media industry over the last year is simple, according to Laura Martin: "oligopoly industry pricing." She added: "if you don't have oligopoly, I'll call it leadership, or collaboration, your media is bound to fracture."

Laura Martin is skeptical of the business plans formulated by the Web-savvy young guns at big content companies. "How hard is it to take $3 billion of content and putting on the Internet for free -- then patting yourself on the back for having such a big audience?" While she acknowledges their smarts, she summed up: "They're not using their IQ."

Laura Martin, who recently made the move from Media Metrics to Needham & Co., ran down some numbers at OMMA Video to determine whether Hulu is the TV killer or the killer application. She doesn't believe video will become a common line item in the media buy for several years, though the adverage person watches six minutes of video on Hulu vs. 3.7 minutes on average for online video. Ad revenue is high at Hulu, about $50 CPM vs. $35 CPM for TV. Last month there were 38 million viewers on Hulu, according to Martin.

Wall Street is confused. Networks spend 2 to 3 billion dollars (except NBC, thanks to Jay Leno) and Hulu provides a safe environment to place it. But the argument that the quality free content fights piracy made by Disney's Bob Eiger and others doesn't hold water for Laura Martin, Senior Analyst, Media Metric. Wall Street doesn't want to hear that; it means there business model is about to go. The argument is not going to make them want to make Wall Street put money in the stock. "I'm going to energy," she says. How hard is that to take …

Video doesn't live alone. It needs a strategy and a plan. So, what are the best practices to integrate video into other media? Give users the tools to share the video, according to Devora Rogers, associate director of lab operations at IPG Emerging Media Lab, who says video content users are fickle. Use existing platforms, says Tom Walker, managing director, digital brand building, Trailer Park. How do you measure the return on investment? Joseph Weaver, group director of digital at Media Storm, says every campaign requires a study to figure out the budget and what would it take to …