Welcome to our fourth post of the #PLAY2018 speaker blog series. Here, we’ll introduce some of our guest speakers and scheduled sessions for this year’s event. If you’ve already registered to attend, this series will give you a better understanding of what’s in store. If you haven’t yet registered, this series will hopefully inspire you to join us in May!
Let’s all give a warm welcome to media savvy boss, Jocelyn Johnson . With equal parts ambition and old-fashioned hustle, Jocelyn launched her first successful business by the age of 25—public relations firm, JJPR. Two years later, she founded her second venture, VideoInk , a digital news publication covering the online video industry and content community.
As the go-to resource for all things digital video, VideoInk reports the latest news, analysis, and industry intel to hundreds of thousands of readers everyday. As the founder of VideoInk, Jocelyn functions as publisher and editor-in-chief, overseeing operations, revenue, business strategy, and metrics. She also pens her own column and posts regularly to the site. In just nine months, Jocelyn helped grow VideoInk’s readership to over 100 thousand monthly unique visits, in addition to boosting month over month readership by 60 percent. Currently, Jocelyn is raising angel funds and early-stage financing to build the business to even greater heights.
Britta: Hi Jocelyn! Can you tell our PLAY audience a little bit about yourself?
Jocelyn: Just like many of the attendees and clients of Brightcove, I’m a storyteller at heart. From my days as a PR professional helping journalists piece together intelligent stories on the video industry, to my professional crossover to media, storytelling has been at the heart of my career. Growing up, I was also known as a chatterbox, so I guess communications was the right space for me!
Britta: VideoInk is a fun and appropriate name for your company given all the ink you need to spill to keep up with the space. What’s the background?
Jocelyn: We decided on the name VideoInk because of how it relates to “inking” deals, covering the value chain surrounding those deals, and proving their relevance to the larger business.
Britta: The media space has always been a very exciting and fast-moving environment. What are the hottest trends you and your team see emerging this year?
Jocelyn: At the end of 2017, I predicted we’d see a boom in 24/7 linear channels on digital streaming platforms. Now, I think that trend will fizzle out as fast as it has grown, if not faster. We’re seeing a lot of “old” become “new” again. I’m really looking forward to how Twitch further integrates with Amazon Prime Video. Also, for companies and media brands that have doubled down on video, I sense there will be an adverse reaction, so I’m watching out for more layoffs and downsizing in the video space.
Britta: You’re moderating a pretty fantastic session on data this year at PLAY. Tell us a little more about it.
Jocelyn: To get a piece of content made and distributed, there are dozens of execs making decisions — from development to distribution — so our session will take three key roles along that pathway and get their perspectives on how data informs their process. How does a development exec use data to buy shows, vs a producer in developing pitches, to a distributor on how it targets an audience for those shows.
Britta: I’m super excited for your first visit to PLAY this year! I sure hope you’ll be a repeat guest moving forward. What are you most excited about for PLAY 2018?
Jocelyn: I’m really looking forward to diversifying my knowledge and getting a deeper understanding about how Brightcove, its partners, and fellow providers ensure future innovation.
Britta: Thank you so much, Jocelyn. Looking forward to seeing you in May!
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Catch Jocelyn and her expert panelists on, “Data Mining for Dollars, ” Tuesday, May 22nd at 3:15PM.
Not yet registered for PLAY 2018? Visit play.brightcove.com to claim your spot today.