Michael Sweeney's  Instablog

For a number of years in the 2000's, I worked as a writer/researcher for public companies that were looking to spread their message. The marketing/research reports were your garden variety 8-12 page reports which explained the company/client via:

• executive summary;
• data and charts;
• pictures to support the prose.

Here is an unrelated example from Griffin Securities:

In the old days, the reports were sent by mail, then email, and now they are shared by companies and researchers on SlideShare.

LinkedIn acquired SlideShare for $119 million in cash and stock. SlideShare is a sharing platform for business documents, videos and presentations. SlideShare lets anyone share presentations and video and also serves as a social discovery platform for users to find relevant content and connect with other members who share similar interests. The company also has a huge enterprise following, and companies like IBM and others use the platform to curate content from all of their employees and partners on a branded page.

As of March 2012, SlideShare users uploaded more than nine million presentations, and SlideShare had nearly 29 million unique visitors according to comScore. For comparison purposes, Film Annex had 54 million unique users in October 2012, and this "corporate Blog" will get 70,000+ readers/visitors in November 2012.

The simple question is, "Does anyone read twelve to twenty page reports anymore?"

Before I get hate messages from Wall Street analyst, let me say that there is a place for independent Wall Street research, but in the modern world stakeholders/readers/investors are looking for messaging that is direct, to the point, and most importantly, transparent.

Here is an example of our private company client Cupcake Digital sharing their "Positioning Paper" on the "Investor" page of their website:

LinkedIn also announced its acquisition of online content-sharing service SlideShare for almost $119 million in cash and stock. Company CEO Jeff Weiner said in a statement that SlideShare's widespread use for sharing presentations among professionals would fit "perfectly" with the company's mission and help to deliver more value to members. The deal is expected to close by June.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/173903/linkedin-doubles-revenue-acquires-slideshare.html#ixzz2Db0jkiNN

I make the argument that people/stakeholders/investors/hedge funds want to read 5 pages (or less!) of an executive summary and more importantly, they want to see their Chairman/CEO. In this video, Brad Powers, Chairman of Cupcake Digital, tells us what makes them different:

In addition, you can find an entire video series on Brad Powers, Cupcake Digital Management, Board Members and other stakeholders at:

Cupcake Digital WebTV @ Film Annex

Cupcake Digital Management Videos

Cupcake Digital Blog

Wall Street video messaging or investor video messaging combined with target marketing makes a compelling presentation for corporate and NGO clients at Target Marketing Annex.

In a recent video, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Mathews discusses the unique business model of Aspen Group, Inc. (OTCBB: ASPU), a nationally accredited online post-secondary education company. Aspen University delivers the highest academic excellence at the lowest possible cost per credit. Aspen is primarily a graduate school and the administration wants their students to graduate with great opportunities for their future, not with heavy financial debt.

Mathews begins by explaining how many of the current for-profit universities are failing to position their students for long-term economic success:

"Over the last decade, most of the for-profit [universities] utilized internet lead generation companies to drive the majority of their student enrollments. These were virtually all undergraduate students, and many of these students were from the lower socioeconomic classes. These students then utilized Title IV Federal Financial Aid Programs to fund the majority of their education costs. So far, so good. However, what's the real reason these adults enter a for-profit university? Of course they want to become an expert in their chosen field of study, but the real reason is that they want to leverage the asset [of] a diploma to improve their long-term economic prospects and [those of] their families."

With graduation rates for bachelor-level students at other for-profit universities in the mid-20th percentile range and an average debt load ranging between $20,000 and $30,000, these universities are clearly not setting up their students for long-term economic success.

Aspen University is different. Mathews explains, "For example, Aspen's tactics of keeping all online marketing Aspen-branded and working directly with internet publishers keeps all student leads "exclusive in nature, which is how we currently achieve average cost per enrollment in the vicinity of $1,250, which is dramatically lower than the rest of the sector."

He goes on to discuss Aspen's differentiated business model and touches on the advantages of long-term distance learning and the University's unique master of nursing program.

Full Video Here @ Film Annex

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

Earlier this year, the New York Times posted an article that questioned online education,"The Trouble With Online Education". It stated:

"Online education is a one-size-fits-all endeavor. It tends to be a monologue and not a real dialogue. The Internet teacher, even one who responds to students via e-mail, can never have the immediacy of contact that the teacher on the scene can, with his sensitivity to unspoken moods and enthusiasms. This is particularly true of online courses for which the lectures are already filmed and in the can. It doesn't matter who is sitting out there on the Internet watching; the course is what it is."

The world started to modify that view of online education when it was was exposed to the Khan Academy on 60 Minutes. Kahn Academy is a free online tutoring site that has gone global, and it was made famous by Bill Gates kids who used the Kahn Academy online education platform. The Kahn Academy is now backed by Google, Bill Gates, and other Internet powerhouses. Sal Khan wanted to change education worldwide, and his approach is already being tested in some American schools.

Film Annex's work in Afghan education and building schools in Afghanistan led us to create Examer, which is an Interactive and Educational Social Networking platform with a Micro Scholarship Payment System. Examer is "universal" as it is easily tailored to the needs of regional languages and cultures. Examer was developed for the education of Afghan children by three exceptional Afghan women, Roya Mahboob, Fereshteh Forough, and Elaha Mahboob.

The next question is, "How can Film Annex bring higher education to Central Asia?"

We have recently been exposed to Aspen University (OTCBB: ASPU), which is a leader in online education. Aspen University delivers the highest academic excellence at the lowest possible cost per credit. Aspen wants their students to graduate with great opportunities for their future, not with large financial debt. We are exploring a variety of economic models with them in Central Asia and Aspen states on their website that their mission is:

• To make educational goals financially accessible
• To exceed students expectations
• To maintain the highest academic standards
• To provide a dynamic learning experience with one-on-one student care
• To enable students to achieve the highest level of success in the pursuit of knowledge and enrichment, emphasizing the value it can create in a student's personal and professional life.

Aspen University is the ideal place for distance learners and international students because all of the programs are completed through flexible online courses. Since Aspen is an online academic environment, international students can earn their degrees in their respective countries without ever being required to enter the United States.

In this film, Michael D. Mathews the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aspen Group speaks about the uniqueness of Aspen University.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.