NBC Universal yesterday announced the launch of myNBC, a social networking site created for fans of NBC programming.
As Louise Story reports in today’s New York Times, there are various takes on this by industry observers including Forrester analyst Charlene Li, Jack Myers and yours truly.
I told Louise that NBC should unlock the embed code of its clips for open use and realize the power of other social networks, not try to create its own.
It’s hard to say much social networking can be established around a big corporate institution. MTV has tried with limited success. CBS is giving it a shot. But the thing to remember is the power of many of the NBC franchises and the interest of the fans. That’s where the promise for success lies.
I believe the big turning point for myNBC could be the Olympics next year in Beijing.
Sources close to NBC tell Beet.TV that the Peacock network will create a vast amount of online video profiles of thousands of U.S. Olympiads who will compete in nearly all the sports. This will surely be a watershed moment for Internet video coverage. I think NBC will be really smart if they create social networks around all these athletes. Visit NBC Sports Olympics home page and you’ll see Internet-centric Web videos of athletes.
Stay tuned.
— Andy Plesser
myNBC
Louise Story
Olympics
