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Written on 12th December 2008
9 COMMENTS 
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Youthwatching ‘09 is a Belgian conference about youth culture. Luckily, they realize that such a conference is a pure fake when they’re no youngsters around. Thus they’ve invited young lads and girls to the give a short presentation about their projects and dreams.
Turns out that some guys have really noble goals in mind. Toon and Bert hate the taboo on masturbating girls. To combat this general perception, they’ve started an online initiative called WeMasturbate. With pages on MySpace and Netlog plus stickers, t-shirts, and buttons in the off line world they gain attention for their cause:
Boys masturbate and can talk and show off about it. But when it comes to girls and masturbation, ieeeuw.
The guys believe in positive discrimination, so only girls are allowed to befriend them. So far, 14332 Netlog chicks have joined their cause. Netlog founder Lorenz Bogaert also gave a presentation during Youthwatching and he advised Toon and Bert to expand their business to Turkey, where in a recent research 42 percent of the youngsters acknowledged they had stripped in front of a webcam.
I felt pretty dull when I had to give my talk about problogging…
Written on 12th December 2008
2 COMMENTS
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
“Everybody wants communication, why the hell do we need to pay for that?” That’s Antti Ohrling, founder of BLYK, talking at Youthwatching ‘09 – a marketing conference in Ghent, Belgium. He started a free mobile network for young people, funded by advertising. Mind you, it’s quite a success – BLYK is the fastest growing interactive media outlet for young people in the UK.
Yes, there are actually some British teens lucky enough to make their calls for free. You know how much money that would’ve saved me?
“Most advertising in media shares benefit with the audience. Take the skin creme sample in a magazine for example.”, Ohrling explains. “What’s different for mobile? Exactly, nothing. What would happen if somebody would offer free calls and text for advertising? An operator would become a media company.”
There’s no contract, no phone bill
BLYK focused on youngsters, as they’re a hard to reach but a profitable target group. Ohrling: “If you talk with them and use language they understand, then you have to change to get involved.”
One of the brands British kids most distrusted were operators, so BLYK had to develop a different way to talk to them. Here’s what Ohrling came up with it: there’s no contract, no phone bill. But you do have to get invited. (so that BLYK can get a balanced target audience).
When invited, people had to complete personal profile online so that BLYK can target the advertising better. 95% of the 200,000 people did so.
Does it work?
“If there’s a balance between value for advertisers and customers, BLYK is a success”. Well, it seems like that’s the case. The 2000 campaigns had a 25% average response rate. Normally this rate for mobile advertising is four percent. BLYK has 200 brands on board, of which 66 percent did repeated business.
The obviously proud BLYK founder mentions some success stories. Like a Will Ferrel trailer, 44 percent of the users requested to see it. A Penguin book, Slam by Nick Horby, was also a blast on BLYK. 67 percent wanted to hear a Skins star reading the first chapter out loud. Lucozade supplied users with free drink vouchers. 35 percent was redeemed.
Closing in on YouTube and Facebook
BLYK has the highest net advocacy score among mobile networks in the UK and is closing in on YouTube and Facebook. Why? Ohrling: “In mobile marketing, interaction is key. The power of the question is much higher than the power of the answer. Make people think, and they engage with you. If they engage, you’re in the game. We’re in the game”.
British youngsters become slaves to advertising to avoid paying phone bills. Why wouldn’t they? What are the negative consequences for them? Other than clicking ads away.., none.
Written on 29th November 2008
2 COMMENTS
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
Although our industry is all about online activity, two of the best ways to get connected still takes place offline: conferences and meet-ups. I prefer the first, as some top dogs don’t have time for meet-ups, but do come to conferences. Most of my meetings with heroes 2.0 took place at gigs like Le Web, Next08, The Next Web and Web 2.0 Expo.
Money, money
There’s just one problem with those events: they’re pretty damn expensive. If you’re young, self-employed or a student, and not able to get a press pass – you will have a hard time collecting those 750 euros to get in.
I’ve seen both sides, as I’ve organized a conference as well as having tried to get into them for free. The high prices are there to cover the financial risk, but most people don’t get this and complain on Twitter and blogs.
Skip your holiday
I don’t worry too much about people who have plenty of money to spend on a conference but are unwilling to make the effort – that’s mostly a matter of priorities. Skip your holiday. But I do think it’s a waste that a lot of talented students and young entrepreneurs see no way to cross the financial barrier.
The solution is pretty simple. Next time when I organize a conference, I’ll definitely find a company or angel to create some sort of talent fund. They give me money good for ten tickets, and I’ll give these away to talented folks. That way I don’t risk losing money, the investor gets an image boost, and the talents have the time of their life.
Talent pool
Leading example is Youthwatching, a conference about youth marketing and trends which will take place in Ghent on December 12. If you’re young and able to convince organizer Trendwolves you’re also talented, you’ll get in for free.
Walk up to your hero
Promise me one thing though. Make it worth it. Walk up to your hero (Martin Lindstrom, anyone?), tell him why you admire him, and make a great impression.
The Next Web Blog is closely associated with The Next Web Conference which is held annually in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. At this event speakers from all over the world come together to talk about, and show off, the future of the Web. (More info 
