AOL Latino goes "America Idol" with Fashionista reality series, but why

A few weeks back, I commented that Univision exposed that its on-line thinking was so off-line when it announced a telenovela for the web. I stand by that. If it could be used off-line, then it really doesn't take advantage of power of interaction, interconnection and interactivity of the net. So why bother. It's not going to give you any competitive advantage. Someone will just steal it and post it on YouTube just like NBC's Saturday Night Live's skit Lazy Sunday. By the way that stolen piece of content propelled YouTube and its founders into the realm of the super wealthy. YouTube takes full advantage of the interaction, interconnection and interconnectivity of the Net. A show does not.

So why did AOL Latino attempt a reality TV series ala American Idol for the web? You got me.

AOL Latino Preens For Fashionista Finale
Finalists for AOL Latino's online reality design contest, Fashionista, will be featured in separate webisodes on Friday before the winner is announced that day.
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/08/29/aol-latino-preens-for-fashionista-finale

Why pan-Latino sites failed - 2nd bonus reason - the Univision giant

Competing against Univision in Spanish for US Latinos is like competing against Microsoft in operating systems for desk top dominance.

The primary reason pan-Latino sites failed - Wall Street

Entrepreneurship drives business success. In this country, there's two kinds - one focused on creating value for customers and the other in the financial markets focused on changing numbers on spreadsheets. The former generates wealth by solving customer problems; the later extracts wealth by playing games with numbers.

The pan-Latino sites were not designed for the customers of media sites - end users and advertisers. See Reasons 1 - 5. A pan-Latino site does not address those issues. During the dot.com heyday, the pan-Latino sites I read about were obsessed with the public markets and creating the spin needed to fuel the psychology that would float the stock price.

In short, the customers of pan-Latino sites during the heyday were not Latinos or advertisers targeting Latinos, but investors looking for a quick return.

WSJ - Brazil has its own Flickr - NY-based Fotolog

WSJ - Brazil Propels NY-based Fotolog - a Flickr for South America's largest country.

http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB118826785574210637.html

comScore release data on LatAm

Review Published of Latin American Internet Usage
http://www.govtech.com/gt/127896?topic=117673

Bonus Reason why pan-Latino sites failed

Bonus Reason #6
• Internet access in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries is dominated by telecommunications monopolies.

In Mexico, Internet access is dominated by TelMex. In Spain, it's Telefonica. The later was just sanction by the European Union for anti-competitive behavior in selling broadband access.

Top 5 reasons why pan-Latino web sites failed # 5

Reason #5
• Latinos in the United States speak English

While most us Latinos speak and read Spanish, most of us also speak and read English. Sites with superior technology, a larger install base of audience, quality content or other features are able to offer a compelling value proposition beyond language.