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My interview with Quinn Daly from DM when I was with Allthings.TV......
Interview with Quinn Daly of Demand Media
Posted in Development / News / Interviews
Before James left AllThings.tv, he conducted an interview with Quinn Daly, VP of marketing and communications at Demand Media. The interview was recently cleared for publication.
In this interview, James digs into the product development plans related to Me.tv, seeks some serious answers to the premium name pricing issues raised in recent weeks, and inquires about the marketing of the .tv extension.
I look forward to a follow-up interview with Quinn so please feel free to post any follow-up questions you might have and I will be sure to share those with Quinn during that interview.
Text of the interview can be found on the jump.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
I understand that you will soon be releasing tools that will allow site owners to monetize their .TV domain names. Can you go into any detail as to what products you will be bringing to market in the near future that will allow for monetization? And specifically, will site owners be able to utilize their Google adsense code on their website?
We will be able to provide more details on monetization in the next 30 days as we are reviewing all alternatives to ensure that our .TV owners make the most money. The system supporting monetization is proprietary and we are working to bring it to market as quickly as we can. We will offer a flexible way to monetize both the users’ videos and their pages.
Should Me.TV ever be considered as a serious way to make money? In other words, would you recommend businesses use a Me.TV site and the tools that come with it as a way to establish their internet presence online?
There are many factors that will drive monetization of each .TV. We will provide tools that will enable users to make money from 1) referring others to buy .TVs via an affiliate program 2) monetizing their videos and 3) monetizing their .TV’s page views. The amount of money each site makes will depend on the amount of traffic they receive, driven by the popularity of the content.
Can you confirm when user generated videos will be able to be added to Me.TV sites?
You can pull UGC videos from about 20 video sites right now. With regards to uploading videos DIRECTLY to your .TV site, you can do that now from the “manage” tab.
Do you have plans for providing film and music agreements, allowing for the downloading and resale of those items by your .TV clients? For example, will you be providing a catalog of films from which we can push our specific niches?
We are having a lot of internal discussion about the best ways to leverage our current platform, technology and content creation tools to benefit our .TV users. For example, we just acquired expertvillage.com, which has nearly 20K professionally-made how-to videos. The infrastructure the team at expertvillage has put in place gives us access to hundreds of filmmakers who are creating niche content upon our request via an online marketplace. We envision opening this marketplace to all .TV owners so they can order professional low cost targeted content.
Is there a timeline for this project, or any special announcement dates we should be aware of?
We will be releasing features frequently which makes it difficult to give a defined product pipeline in advance. We will make our customers aware of new features, related announcements and projects once they are ready for prime time.
In general, does DM have a timeline that they are willing to share with us, regarding new tool releases and development direction for the extension?
As always, we will keep informing namepros of feature enhancements and the development direction. We’ve shared information as it is finalized and continue to share as soon as new features are available. Several team leaders communicate on the forums, including myself. We will also continue to be very upfront about our plans with regard to monetization and other key features. And we are working tirelessly to update the tools on a regular basis - we have released multiple updates since launch. We value the input from namepros, both positive and negative and we will continue to go the extra mile to demonstrate our willingness to share information with the members of this forum.
Are there plans to provide fully functional forums for the Me.TV sites?
It is definitely on the list of features that we would like to improve. However, that said, I think that we have bigger priorities to address first and foremost, like monetization.
PREMIUM NAMES/PRICING
We last spoke just before the launch of the May 1st, Me.TV promotion and the re-release of the premium .TV names. If we can talk about the premiums first, would you say that the results to date, with regards both to the amount and quantity of premium names sold, have either not met, are in line with, or exceeded Demand Media’s own expectations?
They are in line with our expectations. Our goal was to re- launch .TV to the technology and entertainment industry press – and we have seen great pickup from the media thanks in part to our participation with AlwaysOn Hollywood conference. This has helped us to generate a lot of buzz in both communities. We are very pleased with the adoption of premium names since our launch.
Are you able to discuss the amount of premium names sold to date? So for instance, it was made public knowledge that Demand Media had sold $500,000 worth of premium names within the first twenty four hours of the re-release of premiums. Can you disclose the overall figure up until today?
We are happy with the sales momentum. We have seen consistent and sustained growth in .TV premium name sales. Within only the first two months, we have sold in excess of $IM of inventory.
We already know from a VeriSign press release that .TV registrations have seen a 100% increase this year to last, which is a success by any standard, but in particular, how would you rate the success with regard to big businesses and small businesses alike in the adoption of the .TV extension?
We are moving the needle and see this as a success, but one that we plan to continue to improve upon. We partnered with VeriSign because we genuinely believe in the possibilities of .TV. That is why we “re-launched” .TV with a free set of social networking tools and why we are committing resources – from engineering, development and marketing – to increase awareness.
As I am sure you are aware, there has been a lot of discussion amongst some .TV investors and potential investors as regards premium renewals, with particular focus on the “prices are subject to change” clause contained therein. I understand that this is a clause created by VeriSign, I am interested to know from your perspective, has this made the selling of premium names more difficult or is it a non-issue?
The “prices are subject to change” clause is standard. To be clear, Verisign has the option to change premium pricing ONLY AFTER the name expires and goes back into the registration pool. For example, if someone bought several .tv premium names, any names that are not renewed on their anniversary would be re- priced before being made available again. They will not be changed on existing registrants in normal cases.
Can non premium names ever change their status to premium names on the renewal date?
No. They can’t be changed from non-premium to premium on renewal.
Can a premium that is $250 per year all of a sudden become 2K per year?
Per my response above, VeriSign has the option to change premium pricing ONLY AFTER the name expires and goes back into the registration pool. For example, if someone bought premium names, any names that are not renewed would be re- priced before being made available again. They will not be changed on existing registrants in normal cases.
Can we expect what we are paying now will continue? And is there a cap on maximum increase if there were to be an increase?
Yes, you can expect to pay what you are paying now. No, there is no cap in place because there will not be an increase in premium name renewals.
Given the very legitimate concerns regarding the subject to change clause, do you agree that the ONLY way to address this is to have VeriSign issue a statement for the record, clarifying their position as to what is and what is not included under that clause and have that statement included in their TOS?
Per my response above, the “prices are subject to change” clause is standard. VeriSign has the option to change premium pricing ONLY AFTER the name expires and goes back into the registration pool.
Do you agree that if Verisign does not do this, then the extension will suffer as a result?
I think that both VeriSign and Demand Media are doing a significant amount of work to promote and grow this TLD, not cause it to suffer.
How would you describe Demand Media’s relationship with VeriSign?
It is very good. Leadership from both companies has a history of working together and VeriSign truly believes that Demand Media can help to grow the popularity and adoption of .TV.
MARKETING .TV
I have noticed some TV commercials using the .TV extension over the last few weeks and I have to say that it is very nice to see. What I would like to know is if Demand Media will ever advertise the extension on TV? Let us not forget what TV advertising did for Godaddy. I see no reason why it could not do the same for the .tv extension? Isn’t it time for a full blown marketing campaign that will include tv commercials?
At this point, we do not have plans for television media buys. Our marketing plans are to invest in building buzz with influencers – film-makers, musicians, tastemakers, athletes, philanthropies – who will help build an audience of .TV users.
Moving on to Me.TV. So far you have a network in the region of 2300 site. Are you happy with that figure?
Yes, but we also think this number will increase significantly as we continue to update the tools, bring promotional partners to market and drive consumer awareness. One of the key features of an upcoming release to drive adoption is an affiliate program. If someone comes to your site, clicks through on the me.tv “get your own channel” button and purchases a name, you will receive a bounty for that sale. We will be providing the details when we launch this feature.
In addition, we now have over 100 resellers that are actively promoting .TV and have kicked off a reseller program to increase adoption. Our CEO, Richard Rosenblatt, will be giving the keynote at HostingCon next month and there, we will roll out new tools to help our resellers come on board and join us in promoting the benefits of .TV.
As far as one of your target markets are concerned, the YouTube/MySpace crowd, how easy has it been to sell them on the $25, have your own site, concept?
I think that Brooke Brodack (Brookers) is a great example of this crowd. She has been on board with use since before launch as one of the beta testers of our tools. She LOVES the tools and her two sites – brookebrodack.tv and brookealley.tv – are two of our fastest-growing .TV domains in the me.TV family. She appreciates that she has her own real estate to brand herself that doesn’t take away from what she has already built on her YouTube channel and her myspace page. She is excited about the coming monetization tools, and has provided feedback that is helping to scope out future releases of the tools.
With regard to Carson Daly, a lot of people have noticed the lack of showcasing or involvement with the .TV extension since the launch. Was his involvement at the launch a one off publicity stunt or can we expect any further involvement from Carson?
Carson is very involved in the marketing, vision and development efforts around .TV. His site has close to half-a-million views. He moderates it himself, and updates it every day.
Whilst everyone undoubtedly appreciates Carson’s talents as a talk show host and comedian, some people are asking why Demand Media did not choose someone more mainstream? Especially if you are trying to win over the MySpace/YouTube crowd?
This is an interesting question and may reflect a lack of information. According to NBC, “Last Call with Carson Daly” beat Ferguson and tied ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in adult 18-34 rating for the May sweep, though “Last Call” airs 90 minutes later than Kimmel and an hour later than Ferguson in much of the country. I would say that this is not only mainstream, as Carson averages about 7 million viewers every night, but speaks directly to the MySpace/YouTube crowd. Carson is heavily involved with our retail initiative on .TV, but we are also working with other celebrities to help bring in other demographics.
In terms of numbers of developed Me.Tv sites, what figures are you aiming for by May 2008, a year from its launch date?
We expect significant growth and like Myspace, it is impossible to predict size or timing of WHEN the ‘take-off” will really begin. When it does, we expect hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of .TV sites.
Do you see an increased awareness of the .TV extension in your circle of friends since your promotional launch in May?
Absolutely. But I am also the evangelist for my friends as well. When I know that I have done my job is the day that my nieces – who are in their teens – are showing ME their .TV sites!!
Interview with Quinn Daly of Demand Media
Posted in Development / News / Interviews
Before James left AllThings.tv, he conducted an interview with Quinn Daly, VP of marketing and communications at Demand Media. The interview was recently cleared for publication.
In this interview, James digs into the product development plans related to Me.tv, seeks some serious answers to the premium name pricing issues raised in recent weeks, and inquires about the marketing of the .tv extension.
I look forward to a follow-up interview with Quinn so please feel free to post any follow-up questions you might have and I will be sure to share those with Quinn during that interview.
Text of the interview can be found on the jump.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
I understand that you will soon be releasing tools that will allow site owners to monetize their .TV domain names. Can you go into any detail as to what products you will be bringing to market in the near future that will allow for monetization? And specifically, will site owners be able to utilize their Google adsense code on their website?
We will be able to provide more details on monetization in the next 30 days as we are reviewing all alternatives to ensure that our .TV owners make the most money. The system supporting monetization is proprietary and we are working to bring it to market as quickly as we can. We will offer a flexible way to monetize both the users’ videos and their pages.
Should Me.TV ever be considered as a serious way to make money? In other words, would you recommend businesses use a Me.TV site and the tools that come with it as a way to establish their internet presence online?
There are many factors that will drive monetization of each .TV. We will provide tools that will enable users to make money from 1) referring others to buy .TVs via an affiliate program 2) monetizing their videos and 3) monetizing their .TV’s page views. The amount of money each site makes will depend on the amount of traffic they receive, driven by the popularity of the content.
Can you confirm when user generated videos will be able to be added to Me.TV sites?
You can pull UGC videos from about 20 video sites right now. With regards to uploading videos DIRECTLY to your .TV site, you can do that now from the “manage” tab.
Do you have plans for providing film and music agreements, allowing for the downloading and resale of those items by your .TV clients? For example, will you be providing a catalog of films from which we can push our specific niches?
We are having a lot of internal discussion about the best ways to leverage our current platform, technology and content creation tools to benefit our .TV users. For example, we just acquired expertvillage.com, which has nearly 20K professionally-made how-to videos. The infrastructure the team at expertvillage has put in place gives us access to hundreds of filmmakers who are creating niche content upon our request via an online marketplace. We envision opening this marketplace to all .TV owners so they can order professional low cost targeted content.
Is there a timeline for this project, or any special announcement dates we should be aware of?
We will be releasing features frequently which makes it difficult to give a defined product pipeline in advance. We will make our customers aware of new features, related announcements and projects once they are ready for prime time.
In general, does DM have a timeline that they are willing to share with us, regarding new tool releases and development direction for the extension?
As always, we will keep informing namepros of feature enhancements and the development direction. We’ve shared information as it is finalized and continue to share as soon as new features are available. Several team leaders communicate on the forums, including myself. We will also continue to be very upfront about our plans with regard to monetization and other key features. And we are working tirelessly to update the tools on a regular basis - we have released multiple updates since launch. We value the input from namepros, both positive and negative and we will continue to go the extra mile to demonstrate our willingness to share information with the members of this forum.
Are there plans to provide fully functional forums for the Me.TV sites?
It is definitely on the list of features that we would like to improve. However, that said, I think that we have bigger priorities to address first and foremost, like monetization.
PREMIUM NAMES/PRICING
We last spoke just before the launch of the May 1st, Me.TV promotion and the re-release of the premium .TV names. If we can talk about the premiums first, would you say that the results to date, with regards both to the amount and quantity of premium names sold, have either not met, are in line with, or exceeded Demand Media’s own expectations?
They are in line with our expectations. Our goal was to re- launch .TV to the technology and entertainment industry press – and we have seen great pickup from the media thanks in part to our participation with AlwaysOn Hollywood conference. This has helped us to generate a lot of buzz in both communities. We are very pleased with the adoption of premium names since our launch.
Are you able to discuss the amount of premium names sold to date? So for instance, it was made public knowledge that Demand Media had sold $500,000 worth of premium names within the first twenty four hours of the re-release of premiums. Can you disclose the overall figure up until today?
We are happy with the sales momentum. We have seen consistent and sustained growth in .TV premium name sales. Within only the first two months, we have sold in excess of $IM of inventory.
We already know from a VeriSign press release that .TV registrations have seen a 100% increase this year to last, which is a success by any standard, but in particular, how would you rate the success with regard to big businesses and small businesses alike in the adoption of the .TV extension?
We are moving the needle and see this as a success, but one that we plan to continue to improve upon. We partnered with VeriSign because we genuinely believe in the possibilities of .TV. That is why we “re-launched” .TV with a free set of social networking tools and why we are committing resources – from engineering, development and marketing – to increase awareness.
As I am sure you are aware, there has been a lot of discussion amongst some .TV investors and potential investors as regards premium renewals, with particular focus on the “prices are subject to change” clause contained therein. I understand that this is a clause created by VeriSign, I am interested to know from your perspective, has this made the selling of premium names more difficult or is it a non-issue?
The “prices are subject to change” clause is standard. To be clear, Verisign has the option to change premium pricing ONLY AFTER the name expires and goes back into the registration pool. For example, if someone bought several .tv premium names, any names that are not renewed on their anniversary would be re- priced before being made available again. They will not be changed on existing registrants in normal cases.
Can non premium names ever change their status to premium names on the renewal date?
No. They can’t be changed from non-premium to premium on renewal.
Can a premium that is $250 per year all of a sudden become 2K per year?
Per my response above, VeriSign has the option to change premium pricing ONLY AFTER the name expires and goes back into the registration pool. For example, if someone bought premium names, any names that are not renewed would be re- priced before being made available again. They will not be changed on existing registrants in normal cases.
Can we expect what we are paying now will continue? And is there a cap on maximum increase if there were to be an increase?
Yes, you can expect to pay what you are paying now. No, there is no cap in place because there will not be an increase in premium name renewals.
Given the very legitimate concerns regarding the subject to change clause, do you agree that the ONLY way to address this is to have VeriSign issue a statement for the record, clarifying their position as to what is and what is not included under that clause and have that statement included in their TOS?
Per my response above, the “prices are subject to change” clause is standard. VeriSign has the option to change premium pricing ONLY AFTER the name expires and goes back into the registration pool.
Do you agree that if Verisign does not do this, then the extension will suffer as a result?
I think that both VeriSign and Demand Media are doing a significant amount of work to promote and grow this TLD, not cause it to suffer.
How would you describe Demand Media’s relationship with VeriSign?
It is very good. Leadership from both companies has a history of working together and VeriSign truly believes that Demand Media can help to grow the popularity and adoption of .TV.
MARKETING .TV
I have noticed some TV commercials using the .TV extension over the last few weeks and I have to say that it is very nice to see. What I would like to know is if Demand Media will ever advertise the extension on TV? Let us not forget what TV advertising did for Godaddy. I see no reason why it could not do the same for the .tv extension? Isn’t it time for a full blown marketing campaign that will include tv commercials?
At this point, we do not have plans for television media buys. Our marketing plans are to invest in building buzz with influencers – film-makers, musicians, tastemakers, athletes, philanthropies – who will help build an audience of .TV users.
Moving on to Me.TV. So far you have a network in the region of 2300 site. Are you happy with that figure?
Yes, but we also think this number will increase significantly as we continue to update the tools, bring promotional partners to market and drive consumer awareness. One of the key features of an upcoming release to drive adoption is an affiliate program. If someone comes to your site, clicks through on the me.tv “get your own channel” button and purchases a name, you will receive a bounty for that sale. We will be providing the details when we launch this feature.
In addition, we now have over 100 resellers that are actively promoting .TV and have kicked off a reseller program to increase adoption. Our CEO, Richard Rosenblatt, will be giving the keynote at HostingCon next month and there, we will roll out new tools to help our resellers come on board and join us in promoting the benefits of .TV.
As far as one of your target markets are concerned, the YouTube/MySpace crowd, how easy has it been to sell them on the $25, have your own site, concept?
I think that Brooke Brodack (Brookers) is a great example of this crowd. She has been on board with use since before launch as one of the beta testers of our tools. She LOVES the tools and her two sites – brookebrodack.tv and brookealley.tv – are two of our fastest-growing .TV domains in the me.TV family. She appreciates that she has her own real estate to brand herself that doesn’t take away from what she has already built on her YouTube channel and her myspace page. She is excited about the coming monetization tools, and has provided feedback that is helping to scope out future releases of the tools.
With regard to Carson Daly, a lot of people have noticed the lack of showcasing or involvement with the .TV extension since the launch. Was his involvement at the launch a one off publicity stunt or can we expect any further involvement from Carson?
Carson is very involved in the marketing, vision and development efforts around .TV. His site has close to half-a-million views. He moderates it himself, and updates it every day.
Whilst everyone undoubtedly appreciates Carson’s talents as a talk show host and comedian, some people are asking why Demand Media did not choose someone more mainstream? Especially if you are trying to win over the MySpace/YouTube crowd?
This is an interesting question and may reflect a lack of information. According to NBC, “Last Call with Carson Daly” beat Ferguson and tied ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in adult 18-34 rating for the May sweep, though “Last Call” airs 90 minutes later than Kimmel and an hour later than Ferguson in much of the country. I would say that this is not only mainstream, as Carson averages about 7 million viewers every night, but speaks directly to the MySpace/YouTube crowd. Carson is heavily involved with our retail initiative on .TV, but we are also working with other celebrities to help bring in other demographics.
In terms of numbers of developed Me.Tv sites, what figures are you aiming for by May 2008, a year from its launch date?
We expect significant growth and like Myspace, it is impossible to predict size or timing of WHEN the ‘take-off” will really begin. When it does, we expect hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of .TV sites.
Do you see an increased awareness of the .TV extension in your circle of friends since your promotional launch in May?
Absolutely. But I am also the evangelist for my friends as well. When I know that I have done my job is the day that my nieces – who are in their teens – are showing ME their .TV sites!!
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