Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says goodbye emotionally and with his favourite song. And it's not, "On the good ship, Lollipop".

'Crazy' Steve Ballmer, the food of many a blog and mine included, departs Microsoft as CEO. He says goodbye to 13,000 Microsoft employees in Seattle after 13 years at the helm but 33 years at the business.

'Crazy' because of his style of presentation and if you search him on this blog, you'll get the drift. This goodbye one, is actually tame in comparison.

Fairly emotionally he says it too and it's hard not to feel for the man. Despite it all, it's a tear jerker until that is, he ends with a song. A song of his choosing that says it all up for him. His favourite song.

Jennifer Warnes "Time of my life" from 'Dirty Dancing'. Jesus. But that kind of sums him up.

Wonder what Movie song will Bill Gates choose when he goes? Answers on a postcard but I'm guessing..... "Working 9 to 5".

Coke. A real good example of a story well told using online video. Terrific.

Not a big fan of Coke (which is like giving a compliment with one hand and taking it away with the other) because of the high level of sugar which damages kids. There's an average of 11 cubes of sugar in a can of Coke.

But I am a big fan of the type of activity that Coke have done to market themselves. Like the surprise of spreading a little happiness on a grey day as the video shows. It's a great little idea.

What's more too, is the video production which is super, although I don't know who made it. 

It gets across the spirit of the day using gentle cutaways of people being happy in an almost 'secret filming' way and yet it tells the story of the greenery being rolled out. Like every good online video, it should have a start, a middle and an end.

The music track is ideal and certainly feels "commissioned" rather than stock library music. It builds brilliantly.

The reveal of the bottle shape at the end leaves something for the viewer coupled with a lovely end graphic which was not cheap to do, I can tell you.

So a great story, well told.

And a great story to "share" as I am doing with you, which is the whole point of video. Nearly 60,000 personal up close views, in 2 days. That's real one-to-one marketing.

So it's a classic example of online video doing a great job for Coke. Exactly the way video was intended to be used. Little bit of trouble, little bit of thinking and you get something that's viewable and shareable.

Good for Coke. Pass it on.

Delta Airlines 11,000 pilots to get Microsoft Surface tablets instead of flight bags. Ad Campaign crying out to be done....

Delta Airlines have announced that they're to replace Pilot's flight bags with Surface 2 Tablets. That's 11,000 of an order for Microsoft Surface where Pilots will now board without the iconic, but 35 pound heavy, flight kit.

The saving in weight is one good reason as well as reducing paper (and therefore, CO2) but flying lighter saves fuel, saves money. Also, one would think that it's more efficient and that the tablet will have better, up-to-the-minute graphics and information such as weather detail.

The Microsoft Surface has had a poor first year - 900m usd in write downs and a price slash to attract customers and only about 1.5 million Surface tablets sold. How many Ipads sold in the same period you ask? About 60 million.

So there was some surprise at Delta's decision to opt for the Microsoft Surface. However, it does bring Microsoft a gift in marketing terms, if they're smart to it. A whole Ad campaign about what tablet do pilots trust? After all, your life might depend on it....that sort of thing. 

The Tablet that's trusted because it's reliable; it works under all conditions; it's accurate; it's light - all the stuff that a pilot might need it for.

An Ad campaign crying out to be done.
Hello? Anybody?

YouTube Music Awards November 3rd. They're killing Television.

If ever you wanted an example where digital broadcasting is eating into traditional Television, here's one.

YouTube have designed the 'YouTube music awards' on November 3rd, a lovely idea in itself because of their younger profile and the fact that music is a such a big YouTube driver. A lot of stars would never have got a music deal (such as Psy) were it not for exposure on YouTube.

However, the show which features Lady Gaga, Eminem, Arcade Fire and loads of other top acts, will be broadcast live.....on eh,YouTube. The 90 minute show will be driven by awards from votes and data about viewership on YouTube.

YouTube will also be showcasing contending artists in the build-up. And some of those artists will not be hugely well known generally but big on YouTube.

But this will be bigger than MTV. 

So here is a digital channel that's generating its own awards that it will broadcast itself. So no need for traditional TV there at all and in fact, they're being left out in the cold as they won't have the content. They won't be able to broadcast the show.

So when they tell you TV viewing is growing, be careful out there.

Cause it sure won't be on November 3rd amongst that younger audience who'll be glued to YouTube. 

YouTube and exclusive content on Netflix are killing Television.
This is only the start.