According to Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey, people have never paid for content. They have paid for access to content. You’re paying to read this blog post right now. Unfortunately you’re not paying me but instead you’re giving your money to your Internet service provider.

The lesson for product strategists: make more content available, on more devices, in the most convenient ways possible and
“If you want to win, help people get access to content and you will be amazed at their willingness to pay.”

Read more of James analysis at his blog: http://blogs.forrester.com/james_mcquivey

Are you on the fence about attending SXSW? Looking for some ammunition to take to your boss? Have a look at what top social media professionals Guy Kawasaki, Rebecca Corliss, Chris Brogan, Brian Solis, Greg Cangialosi, Dan Neely and Jeff Pulver have to say about why you should attend SXSW.

In this soon to be viral video an electric mower drags guy across a yard, into the street and then in front of a truck. The only thing else the video does is super impose the website address http://www.electricityuntamed.com which redirects to http://www.audiusa.com . There you get a slick presentation on electricity facts and a countdown clock to 9/15/09 that leads you to believe that Audi is coming out with an electric car.

Audi is using a cheesy funny viral video to drive traffic to their website and there’s nothing wrong with that. But there is a disconnect for me.

I own a luxury car but I want an electric car. I like the look of the Audi Q7 SUV. I like viral videos. I am the perfect consumer to want an electric car from Audi. What’s not working for me with this video?

Brand permission.

A brand is a promise. The Audi brand has a promise of luxury. Their website looks luxurious. Their cars look luxurious. But this viral video looks like a beer commercial.

In the 1990′s Ford came out with the Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer package and sold many of those cars because they had brand permission. Although I’ve never seen one, I have been told that Ford also created a Ford Explorer with a MTV Package. That car did not sell in the US nor was it meant to but I have been told it did very well in Brazil where it had brand permission.

Does Audi have brand to make a luxury electric car? Absolutely.

Does Audi have brand permission to make this viral video?

Well, I think Audi has as about as much brand permission of doing this viral video as they do in sponsoring an episode of French Maid TV.

It makes no sense and it cheapens their brand.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a fun viral video. I just don’t think it’s right for Audi. Now if it had been done for a car brand that was targeted at a younger crowd I think it might have brand permission and be a brand fit.

What do you think and have you seen any other brand disconnects in viral videos?

No Joke. Corporations are working hard to squeeze out the little guy and make internet access cost more for small business. Hear what actress/producer Justine Bateman of fm78.tv has to say about Internet Freedom and how you can help by joining the Open Entertainment Alliance.

Whether you are a blogger, video producer or online publisher this issue could affect you in a big way. Right now there are no laws in place to keep Internet Service providers from throttling or blocking downloads or censoring your FREE SPEECH.

The Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009 was just introduced in Congress. This important legislation would make Net Neutrality the law once and for all. Your Help is Needed to make this a law.

If you are a small business owner who uses the Internet to sell or market your products this is an issue that affects you.

If you are an individual who likes to watch Internet Videos, this affects you.

If you are a large corporation who provides Internet access to consumers and small business this doesn’t affect you. Please don’t pay attention and go back to work. – Your boss might think you are goofing off by reading this blog and block or throttle your internet connection at work.

For the rest of you, please Tweet and Blog this video while you still can.

Thanks.

Grandpa is more than happy to let his Grandson drink his denture cleaning solution after it has cleaned his false teeth. It sure makes for a great viral video but is it going to sell more dental cleansing products? Maybe in other parts of the world but I don’t think it will in the US.

Just because you can make a video doesn’t mean you should.

Watch/Download in HD

I often speak at conventions about what it takes to create a viral video. The ingredients of a viral video are simple: Spectacle, Story and move 2 or More Emotions. But who you get to cook those ingredients makes all the difference in the world. The Bui Brothers are well on their way in becoming viral video chefs with a series of videos that they are producing that showcase Internet celebrities like Veronica Belmont, Sarah Atwood and most recently, The Guild’s Creator, Star and current Online Video It Girl, Felicia Day.

Each of these videos shows a behind the scenes look at a Bui Brothers photo shoot and markets the photographic and video production skills of Vu Bui and Lan Bui in a fun, elegant and emotionally engaging way. Now keep in mind that these videos are not the kind of videos that will go SUPER VIRAL but they are videos that will get lots of “TWOVE” on Twitter and will be passed around the online video community with love, care and respect. How many demo reels or portfolios can you think of that will do that?

In his book World Wide Rave, Marketing, Leadership Speaker & Number #1 bestselling Author David Meerman Scott talks about creating free triggers that make people want what it is that you have. The Bui Brothers have done just that with these short portfolio videos that not only show the creativity that these men have but also showcase how easy they are to work with and how much fun a photo shoot with them can be. It also doesn’t hurt that they have photographed 3 of online video’s smartest, funniest and sexiest women.

I like the new Microsoft (MSFT) online video for their new decision engine “BING” and I like that they have posted it on Google’s (GOOG) YouTube to market it even more. This is a great example of online video marketing where a complicated new service can be explained by using a simple video. In this case it’s how searching online can generate an overwhelming amount of results and that Microsoft’s Bing gives fast, intuitively organized information that helps users make decisions faster and with more confidence.

Nice work.

At the 09 Inbound Marketing Summit in San Francisco I asked social media guru Chris Brogan the question, What is Inbound Marketing?

So you are looking for a career change or maybe you want to start your own business and work from home? You’ve been working on a business plan but you’re not quite sure if you really want to start your own company. You need a career builder and you’ve heard about jobs on the Internet but you would really like to hear it from someone who is making a living in social media. Well here’s a video to include in your job search. It’s an Interview I did at SXSW with Jennifer Van Grove. Not only is Jennifer a social media blogger, she’s an associate editor at Mashable the Social Media News site and she’s had a fictional web video series made about her and her career in social media.

I know, I know, you might be looking for careers in entertainment, employment in medical jobs, a marketing or sales career or some customer service jobs, right?

Well while you’re working on your job description and checking out all the job openings in your particular field you might want to consider how you could work from home and pick up some training while you work at home and search the www.

Imagine if you could share the job search information you are picking up and get paid for it?

And it’s a chance for you to be social and improve your network through inbound marketing.

In this video Jenn talks about her career in social media, how she finds clients or rather how they find her and her involvement with the web series about her life Jenn2.0.

Jeff Pulver is the Chairman and Founder of pulver.com, and one of the true pioneers of the VoIP industry and a leader in the emerging TV on the Net industry. I found Jeff just hanging out in the place to be at SXSW, the TechSet Blogger Lounge.

Jeff told me about his new project Social Media Jungle.