12Seconds.tv In Gestation Phase

Note: This was one of the first Life Cycle Analysis posts, and it accidentally swaps the names of the 2nd and 3rd stages, confusing Gestation with Adoption. 12seconds.tv was actually in the Adoption Phase. The stages are Experimentation, Adoption, Gestation, Escalation, Monitization, Consolidation, and Maintenance, as explained in the first Life Cycle Analysis post.

As I mentioned earlier this week, we’ve been working on analyzing the life cycle for new and emerging web distribution channels and platforms.

Over the next couple of months I plan on releasing frequent updates and analysis  for a series of web distribution channels. This kind of information is extremely valuable to online content marketing professionals because it should be used to determine  when, if and how you should be interacting with these new channels.

First off: 12seconds.tv

12Seconds.tv Life Cycle Analysis

According to their website:

“What is 12seconds 12seconds is the best place online for video status updates. It’s a super easy way to share what you’re doing with your friends and family using short video clips. You can use your web cam or mobile phone. Show your friends where you are, share your thoughts, or tell them how you’re doing. We are building a video status platform that will help you keep up to date with your friends 12 seconds at a time.”

While 12seconds.tv is really intriguing and exciting for potential content marketers, it’s going to take some time to figure out exactly how to use it. If you’re looking for a great example of where this might be applicable take a look at BinEndWine on 12Seconds.tv. They’re experimenting and I’m impressed.

That being said, it looks as though BinsEndWine hasn’t updated his ‘daily’ video in a couple of months. As you know frequent distribution and creation of content is required to be successful on any content channel. BinEndWine won’t be the ‘big hit’ for 12Seconds.tv that can help break it into the adoption and escalation phases unless they stick with it.

Life Cycle Analysis

So exactly where is 12Seconds.tv in the Life Cycle?

Tippingpoint Labs' Life Cycle Analysis: Channel - 12Seconds.tv

Looking at the data from Compete.com 12Seconds.tv entered the Gestation period in June of ’08. The gestation phase is characterized by a relatively small amount of core users (mostly domestic) frequently and actively using the new channel. The content is usually of mediocre quality while the audience and user base attempts to figure out what kind of content works best on the Channel.

A couple of Key Indicators have led to the elevation into the Gestation Phase:

• The debut of the Public Alpha in July obviously helped scale the channel.
• The release of the 12Seconds.tv developer API led to its ability to be integrated into other platforms (a key for the new content distribution and consumption model.)
• The creation of 12Second Challenges in August is a great idea, and certainly is an attempt and trying to understand the application of the medium for its users.

The Gestation phase for any new Channel can be long. (In the case of twitter, the gestation phase lasted about six months.) The end of the gestation phase for 12Seconds.tv is very near. Given the fact that people like BinEndsWine have started to use the medium in a productive manner. In fact, the press (US News & World Report) actually profiled BinEndsWine online and commended their effort. As more people use the channel in a valuable way, the shorter the Gestation phase will be.

The next phase, Adoption will be marked by a core group of really high quality content producers using the medium and distributing their content in wide distribution channel. I’ll keep my eyes on 12Seconds.tv and let you know as it scales.

What do you think of 12Seconds.tv?

About the author

Andrew Davis -

In 2002, Andrew founded Tippingpoint Labs with journalist James Cosco. Since then, he's spent countless hours exploring the online universe and building a methodological approach to developing digital strategies that drive revenue or reduce costs.

Andrew's always asking big questions and analyzing data to understand markets, online forces and even business models. Andrew's research has resulted in the creation of innovative online metrics including Online Brand Value and Category Brand Value, eye-opening graphical representations of website evolution through the New Media Life Cycle and even using online data to predict offline revenue.

When he's not surfing the web, Andrew's traveling the globe speaking to a wide-variety of audiences about everything from social media to the future of print. Andrew is a frequent contributor to the Tippingpoint Labs website and has been creating valuable content since the early 1990s for The Jim Henson Company, CNN, The Today Show and MTV.

He's contributed to a book of short stories, called The Way Things Were and produced and co-wrote Roadside Ambition a documentary film about one small town with two huge balls.

"In a world where content is consumed as rapidly as it's created, companies need to develop a sound strategy to creating valuable online experiences that can, and should, be leveraged enterprise-wide. There is a content solution to every business challenge."