The recent demise of another premium and studio-backed producer of original Web series and entertainment content -- NBC Universal Digital Studios --- shows two main problems that exist with a Web-only strategy.

Online video and social media marketing seem to be obvious choices for those tasked with marketing new video game titles, but I'm consistently surprised at how those strategies are misused, underused or used not at all. Following are ways that video game marketing directors, brand managers and social media managers can help launch titles using video and social media marketing:

Content is a woman, distribution is a man. In the online video arena, I've cut hundreds of deals with distribution companies. By and large, distribution companies never make any promises, have no-strings-attached offerings, make no commitments, rarely seek exclusivity -- and when they do, it's usually too good to be true. Content owners, meanwhile, enter distribution deals with expectations, believe the promises they hear, expect a commitment, and want a guarantee.

This week Netflix's announcement of pricing changes has created a stir in the industry. Netflix issued a seemingly reasonable explanation for the increase. That is what PR is for. However, one has to look at this move in the context of a simultaneously complicated playing field and dynamic industry environment within which Netflix is trying to both survive and shape the future.

You'd think that viral video fever would have run its course by now. But judging by the number of marketers who continue to ask their agencies to take their brand messaging and turn it into the next Evian "Roller Babies" or Dove "Evolution," it's clear the epidemic rages on. Please, people, take two aspirin and call me in the morning. I'll cite you the latest statistics on just how many of those online videos designed to go viral actually do. And then I'll let you in on some good news.

I've been reading a lot about how the digital video marketplace is (or is not) a component of the TV upfront. The truth is, while the digital video marketplace shouldn't be part of the TV upfront, there is absolutely a need and a role for digital video publishers and networks.

This past weekend I was visiting my folks on Cape Cod. While I was watching Comcast, an interactive commercial popped up, prompting me to click the remote for a free sample of shampoo. For all the discussions in the trade publications that ruminate over whether or not people will "click," I found the real-world experience so simple it was hard NOT to click.<

While most new media startups have seen valuations spike, video content remain under-valued, providing investors with a considerable safety net and compelling risk-reward ratio. But content owners are by and large not optimizing (let alone maximizing) their inventories.

I've recently been participating in a number of thought-provoking conversations on the future of digital video advertising. It's certainly a hot topic, and for good reason: eMarketer predicts that U.S. video ad spending online will reach $5.5 billion in 2014, up from $1.5 billion in 2010. But we're not there yet. With so much money on the line, a lot needs to happen before digital video can fulfill its potential and grow to the point where it's competing with the likes of TV and even digital display advertising for ad dollars. Everyone's placing their bets on what the future …

Stats abound; video's growth in e-commerce is undeniable. According to eMarketer's "Video for Ecommerce" report, 73% of US retailers featured video on product pages during Q4 2010, up from 55% during the same quarter in 2009. Last month, SundaySky shared in its Q1 2011 "State of Video in E-Commerce" report that the number of retailers who surpassed 1,000 videos on their websites increased by 10% from Q4 2010 to Q1 2011. Yet despite the traction, major hurdles face the growth of video in this unfolding segment. Among them: lack of leadership or willingness to find and exploit a defining video …