Internet analyst Mary Meeker from Morgan Stanley presented a report on Internet trends at Events@Google yesterday. Echoing those trends identified in her 2009 presentation, the report focuses on the rapid and continued growth of the mobile internet and social networking. Claiming that the world has entered the fifth major technology cycle, Meeker predicts that this cycle will be marked by the adoption of mobile Internet technologies, as the trends of "3G + Social Networking + Video + VoIP + Impressive Mobile Devices" converge. Meeker predicts the mobile Internet will be bigger than desktop in five years, noting that by comparing iPhone and iPod touch versus AOL and Netscape users, that mobile Internet is ramping up at a rate far faster than desktop did. Furthermore, she argues that 3G coverage has reached a global inflection point, meaning it is available to at least 20% of the world's cellphone users.

Within the next five years "more users will connect to the Internet over mobile devices than desktop PCs," according to Meeker.

Also -- based on adoption rates of iPhone/iPod touch compared to that of AOL and Netscape in the early 1990s -- Meeker says that mobile Internet usage is increasing substantially faster than desktop Internet usage did. Indeed, adoption of the Apple devices is taking place more than 11 times faster that of AOL, and several times as fast as that of Netscape. Supporting this trend is 3G technology, which Morgan Stanley says recently hit an "inflection point" by being available to more than 20% of the world's cellular users.

On the social networking side, Meeker’s report notes that social network use is bigger than email in terms of both aggregate numbers of users and time spent, and is still growing rapidly. Social networking passed email in terms of time spent in 2007, hitting about 100 billion minutes/month globally — it’s now twice that — and passed email in terms of raw user numbers in July of 2009, with more than 800 million. Given the rate at which Facebook has been growing, that number is probably now closer to a billion. Meeker attributes social networking’s success to the fact that it’s a “unified communications + multimedia creation tool/repository in your pocket.” And Japan’s experience makes how crucial mobile is to that equation: Mixi, one of the country’s largest social networks, has seen its mobile page views grow to 72 percent of the total from just 17 percent three years ago.

While the trends Meeker identifies in her report will be familiar to ReadWriteWeb readers, it is worth considering how some of what she observes might impact startups, providing opportunities for new business ventures.

Mobile E-Commerce: Not only is mobile increasingly the method by which users are accessing the Internet, Meeker contends that mobile will revolutionize e-commerce, forcing both innovations for both online and brick-and-mortar companies. She identifies location-based services, push notifications, transparent pricing, and instant mobile delivery as four potential areas this will occur.

Virtual Goods: The success of Tencent, with over $2 billion in sales of virtual goods in China, demonstrates the potential for this area, Meeker argues

Applications: Noting the success of both Facebook and Apple in the app market, what Meeker labels as "vibrant developer / application platform ecosystems, " she suggests that companies will continue to leverage social networks for fans and for revenue.

Video: Meeker's research points to video as outpacing VoIP and other resources people seek to access with their mobile devices.

Look to Japan: Meeker points to the Japanese social networking site Mixi, who has seen its mobile page views increase from 17% of total views three years ago to 72% today.

It is clear that social networks and mobile Internet will continue to play a huge role in shaping the future of technology and business development.

The Full Report:
Internet Trends Mary Meeker (04/12/2010)

The growth of mobile & social media go hand in hand. Ironically however as marketers have begun to allocate more of their budgets to social media it has been at the expense of mobile. Marketers need to take a more holistic approach and think about digital spend rather than smaller buckets.

Social Media: The New Front Row of Fashion

Social Media: The New Front Row of Fashion

by Lauren Benet Stephenson and Rachel Strugatz

Posted Monday February 15, 2010

From WWD Issue 02/15/2010

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Alexander Wang’s billboard in Times Square.

Photo By Lexie Moreland

Launch Slideshow 10 images

A still from Marc Bouwer’s digital fashion show.

Photo By: Tom Concordia

Launch Slideshow 10 images

NEW YORK — What began as a tepid courtship between fashion and social media has become an all-consuming love affair as designers unveil new digital initiatives for fashion week.

Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger, Rodarte and Perry Ellis are among the brands that will live stream their shows over the coming week, while scores of others — including Oscar de la Renta, Tory Burch and Nanette Lepore — are using Facebook, Twitter and their Web sites to update fashion followers on their shows, effectively expanding access beyond the exclusive enclaves of Bryant Park.

“Ignoring the Internet is total madness,” said Diane von Furstenberg, who didn’t live stream her show Sunday but did update her Facebook page with backstage photos and tweeted from the event. “Being active on the Internet is indispensable to growth and for being relevant. It helps your business to be truly global and truly multigenerational.”

More brands than ever are embracing live streaming this season for two reasons, said James Gardner, founder and chief executive officer of CreateThe Group, a social-media focused agency. “First of all, the cost of streaming and bandwidth has come down significantly. And consumers’ appetite seems unquenchable for fashion.”

Michael Kors has proof of just that. The brand began live streaming its show two years ago and saw a 111 percent increase in page views from the spring 2009 live stream to the fall 2009 one. There was another 81 percent jump from the fall 2009 show to the spring 2010 event.

Brands are adding a few new wrinkles this time round, however. Calvin Klein, in its first foray into live streaming, broadcast its men’s show Sunday and will do the same with its women’s show Thursday. The live streams are being shown on the company’s Web site as well as on the brand’s Facebook page. The company is using Facebook to allow feedback from viewers.

Alexander Wang collaborated with SHOWstudio’s Nick Knight for live feeds of his show. According to Wang, it became apparent last season that live feeds were what all the “megabrands” were doing. He continued, “We like to push the boundaries…and we wanted it to be much more democratic, and we wanted to do something special that no one’s ever done before.” The designer took the idea of a Web site live stream and upped the ante, by broadcasting his show Saturday on a Times Square billboard. With the live feed in Times Square, Wang achieved his goal, that “everyone [be able to] at least access [the collection] and view it and experience it.”

Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez aren’t simply live streaming their show Wednesday night — they’re using it as a selling tool. For 24 hours after the show at Milk Studios, online shoppers can preorder the fall handbags straight from the runway through the recently introduced e-commerce on the site.

“Having a voice and personality on the Internet has become increasingly important,” Shirley Cook, chief executive officer of Proenza Schouler, said. “It’s a place for people to connect to what Jack and Lazaro have to say. Live broadcasting on our Web site is the closest thing to being a guest at our show. You’re seeing everything as it is intended to be seen.”

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The Twitter page of Oscar de la Renta’s p.r. representative.

Photo By Courtesy Photo

Launch Slideshow 10 images

Isaac Mizrahi is displaying a countdown to his show Thursday on his video blog. “Fashion in a way is even more about communication than it is about clothes,” said Mizrahi. “I feel communication has always been more important than [strictly] fashion.…It’s just one more way for me to communicate to my audience.” Mizrahi said he decided on a live feed because, “It’s more exposure. I don’t know if every woman wants to come to the fashion show, but they certainly want a peek at it.”

After years of avoiding social media, the Marc Jacobs brand will dive in headfirst this season via Twitter and a live feed at 8 p.m. tonight on its Web site. President Robert Duffy began tweeting in late January and has filled his Twitter feed with a flurry of daily updates on everything from “the most inspiring person,” in his life to ticket giveaways and behind-the-scenes pictures of the show set coming together.

Tommy Hilfiger’s show Thursday night will be live streamed on Facebook and the brand is urging users to submit questions for the designer to answer that day. “We’ll also provide exclusive backstage access through our Facebook page to followers, allowing them to have direct interaction with Tommy,” said Avery Baker, executive vice president of global marketing and communications at Tommy Hilfiger. Followers can then check in prior to the show to see if their questions were answered. “During the live stream, we’ll be asking our fans to vote on their favorite looks. As a viewer sees each look on screen, we’ll be posting information on that look so that fans can interact with and give input on the collection. Those who vote for the top three men’s and top three women’s looks will receive an exclusive offer on those looks as well as a chance to win seats to the next fashion show,” Baker said.

Though embracing live feeds is a technological leap forward for fashion, it isn’t active engagement in social media unless it’s embedded on a page where anyone can comment, which is what most brands are doing. What a live feed does offer is the quality of being a wide-reaching but strictly controlled medium. Yuli Ziv, ceo and founder of Style Coalition — a community of independent fashion bloggers — said, “The reason we’ve seen more and more live streaming is it’s an attempt to control their message.” Ziv continued, “Exclusive streaming is a good excuse to not invite online media.”

Recent statistics back up the contention that a brand fully immersed in social media will boost its bottom line. Macala Wright Lee, a fashion blogger and founder of digital marketing and merchandising agency FashionablyMarketing Me cited a recent statistic from the International Herald Tribune Technology conference, which stated when engaged in active social media integration, brands have reported as much as a 25 percent return on investment.

To be sure, Ziv appreciates the challenges these companies face. “A lot of [brands] are still trying to figure it out.…The truth is we’re living in such a fast-paced age…[and] there’s always a new platform…they might not have resources.”

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Nicole Miller’s Twitter page.

Photo By Courtesy Photo

Launch Slideshow 10 images

Style Coalition has spotlighted the designers who are “doing it right” with the first annual Fashion 2.0 Social Media Awards, sponsored by Ideeli and Lucky Magazine. Garnering the most nominations, with four categories each, were Chanel and Diane von Furstenberg; followed by Dolce & Gabbana with three, and Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin and Tory Burch with two each. The winners were revealed on Feb. 10 and included DKNY for Best Twitter.

There are also a few fashion pioneers who are going beyond social media and embracing other innovative technologies. Vivienne Tam collaborated with Hewlett-Packard for the fourth time, setting up a live blogging station of TouchSmart computers for the third consecutive season. The TouchSmart notebook replaced standard clipboard check-in, and a selection of bloggers received notebooks to view the run-of-show, e-mail their comments, and upload images and videos directly to their blog during the presentation. The invite list for Tam’s presentation on Saturday included 200 bloggers or 20 percent of the total press invited. An LED tower at Tam’s SoHo boutique also displayed a live feed of the presentation.

Norma Kamali is using ScanLife technology throughout the exhibit at her flagship during fashion week. ScanLife is a system that allows users to scan a two-dimensional barcode on clothing with their camera phones to receive information on the look on their mobile device. Kamali will also makes sure brand updates are sent through all viral venues, including Facebook and Twitter, and views bloggers as very important.

Then there is Marc Bouwer, a self-declared pioneer of digital fashion shows. The Halston alum was the first American designer to host a virtual show of the collection in 2007. According to Bouwer, his fall runway show was taped Feb. 5 in a studio with model Candice Swanepoel against a green screen. The video will launch on the Web on Feb 18. When asked what caused him to switch to a digital show format, Bouwer said, “At first it grew out of frustration with getting a really great time slot during fashion week at Bryant Park…You sometimes get lost in the shuffle, and the cost of shows is rising and rising.”

As a cost-effective solution, Bouwer said, “The future was totally obvious: going on the Internet.” He continued, “You have to understand your new audience and how they are getting their information and go with that. There was a much more useful and intelligent approach to marketing ourselves.” According to the brand, Bouwer’s spring show this year got 42,000 hits on YouTube.

Temperley London is another designer that has embraced a digital installation format over the last two seasons instead of showing on a traditional runway, and will do the same for its fall collection on Tuesday. The tech-savvy brand is blogger friendly as well, and its guest list for the installation consists of nearly 40 percent from the online set.

Reem Acra will also embrace a digital-only format for her show on Wednesday, in place of a in-person live show. “I have so many clients overseas. I have so many people who want to be part of [the show],” Acra told WWD on Thursday.

Rachel Roy had live backstage video of her Sunday presentation on Twitter and Facebook. The designer said this was to “give people a more 360-degree view of my presentation. It lets people feel like they are on this journey with me and creates excitement and anticipation,” said Roy. “Access is important. I want my presentation to feel inclusive rather than exclusive and bloggers help add a level of intimacy and access to my collection. The Rachel Roy woman is everywhere — not just in New York.”

Nanette Lepore started a diary blog on Feb. 8 that chronicles everything going on in the 10 days leading up to her fall runway show. There will also be live-tweeting from the show. “I think a lot of people don’t know what goes into the production of a show,” she said.

 

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Vivienne Tam’s blogging station

Photo By Courtesy Photo

Launch Slideshow 10 images

 

Beginning the week before its presentation on Sunday, Rebecca Taylor shot backstage footage, uploaded exclusive photos and created preview reels for Facebook and YouTube. Taylor will also live tweet before and during the presentation, according to ceo and owner Beth Bugdaycay.

Then there is the increasing outreach by fashion houses to the blogging world, a group of critics designers at one time barred from their shows but one they now not only embrace, but in some cases put in the front row.

“Bloggers are increasingly important to us and we invite a select group of 35 to 40 to the show,” said Eric Delph, vice president of public relations and marketing at Nicole Miller, which showed Friday. “Moving more bloggers into seats and putting some as far up as the first and second row was a priority.” About 10 percent of the press attendees at Miller’s show were bloggers.

Contemporary sportswear label Walter, which is live streaming its show Tuesday on elle.com, will have both a blogger station in the front row, as well as a Tweet deck in the VIP lounge for celebrities to tweet before and after the show, according to social media coordinator Jared Craft. He said this year’s guest list is comprised of nearly 40 percent bloggers, versus only 25 percent last season.

Tory Burch’s guest list for her Wednesday morning presentation will consist of nearly 15 percent bloggers. “Bloggers are key influencers. They fuel the immediacy of information during fashion week,” said Burch, adding the positive reaction from bloggers to the original content featured on toryburch.com’s Style Guide has not gone unnoticed.

“A-list bloggers with large audiences were seated in rows one and two, alongside newspaper editors, and the smaller bloggers with less audience were seated in rows four and above, depending on their viewership,” said Tony Alcindor, vice president of marketing and public relations for Ports 1961, which boasted a guest list that is set to include nearly 35 percent bloggers. The brand also hosted blogger-centric events post-show to showcase the entire collection for this specific group.

Prabal Gurung, who partnered with Swarovski and live streamed his show on Swarovski TV on Saturday, said, “Blogging opens the door to greater brand recognition and familiarity to a younger generation. The average age is younger than our targeted customer so it is incredibly helpful in gaining exposure with that audience. It is an approach to marketing in a more unconventional way that is becoming almost the norm.” Among the blogs invited were Fashionista, Bryanboy, Sam Spector, Rafe and Red Carpet Fashion Awards. “Social media has in a way made the world smaller,” Gurung said. “Information is instant and is put out there immediately, allowing not only the American public to be a part of the Prabal Gurung world, but everyone who is interested in fashion and all of our international supporters.”

Yet even as the fashion world dashes into social media as fast as it can, a significant minority of brands continues to prize the intimacy of a traditional runway show in favor of the bells and whistles offered by the Internet. Luca Luca is one that believes that less is more when it comes to luxury brands.

“We believe that luxury breaks down when access is in excess,” said Yildiz Blackstone, the company’s president.

A Year in the Multicultural World of Social Media Marketing

December 10th, 2009

By Lee Vann, CEO of Captura Group and Felipe Korzenny, Ph.D. Director of the Florida State University Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication

Astronaut José Hernández, aka @Astro_Jose, tweets in both English and Spanish to 100,000 people who have been following his remarkable life from picking the fields as a child in northern California to outer space.

It’s not hard for him to find followers these days.

The majority of online Americans now visit social networking sites, and Hispanics and other minorities continue to visit them more than Non-Hispanic whites, according to the 2009 Multicultural Marketing Study by the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University, DMS Research, and Captura Group.

The study also reveals that social media usage among Hispanics and other minorities continues to grow by double digits with Facebook and MySpace leading the way. What’s more, smaller social networking sites such as Hi5, Black Planet, Twitter and LinkedIn have strong appeal with certain ethnic groups.

Most online Americans visit social networking sites at least twice a month

In the past year, we found that usage of social networks across ethnic segments has grown exponentially. Marketers take note: most Americans now use social networking sites and use them as increasingly important means for communication and information.

Although ethnic minorities are still more likely to visit social networking sites when compared to Non-Hispanic Whites, the gap has closed considerably as social networking has become more popular.

Most ethnic segments now prefer Facebook over MySpace

In 2008 we found that MySpace held a firm lead over Facebook. Today, the tables have turned and Facebook has become more popular among all of the ethnic groups that we analyzed with the exception of Spanish-Preferring Hispanics.

Social media preferences are beginning to fragment among minorities

When considering a social media strategy, marketers should take note that ethnic groups have preferences between social networking sites. Consider the case of Hi5, a social media site with a strong presence in Latin America. Its success in the southern hemisphere has made it extremely popular with Spanish-Preferring Hispanics in the U.S. who want to connect with family members back home.

Today, Hi5 competes with both Facebook and MySpace among Spanish-Preferring Hispanics (29.1 percent usage versus 36 percent and 41 percent, respectively).

These findings are important because as social networking has become ubiquitous, specialized sites have become viable options for advertisers looking to target ethnic audiences.

Asian Americans are twice as likely to use LinkedIn and Twitter

The 2009 study also included the usage of LinkedIn and Twitter. We found that both sites are still emerging and most popular among Asian Americans. We attribute the popularity of LinkedIn and Twitter among Asian Americans to higher income levels and technology adoption.

More social media growth expected for 2010

In the past year, usage of social networking websites has exploded among all ethnic groups and we expect this trend to continue. While preferences of certain social networking sites might change over time, social media promises to remain relevant for all ethnic groups.

People such as José Hernández can expect many more followers.

For marketers, the sky should also be the limit.

10 Twitter Tools To Help You Track And Perform Better

in social media

I’m guessing if you are reading this is because you use or want to use Twitter for more than just pure fun. Maybe you even have an objective in mind. Maybe you are trying to convert followers into prospects for your product or service or you are trying to increase traffic to your website or blog.

Whatever those objectives are, having the right tools handy is always important. Think of a traditional marketing campaign, big or small, there are tools that help you measure your performance, compare with the competition, manage your cost, track your conversion rate and many more that will allow you to adjust your strategy and go after the right prospect. Social media is no different, but I’m sure at some point you have felt that Twitter doesn’t provide you with those tools.

The good news is that there are applications out there that you can use to get some visibility on how you are doing and help you get in front of the right public. So I made a list of 10 websites to help you track, perform better and hopefully leverage from Twitter.

1. TwitterCounter

TwitterCounter shows you stats based on your growth, it obviously counts your followers and following over a period of time but it also gives you a couple of cool digits like a projection of what your following base will be in a specific time, your ranking and your average daily growth. It also offers a paid service if you manage multiple accounts and need to compare to each other. Pretty cool and simple.

2. SocialMention

Another destination with some cool data to take in consideration. SocialMention, which gathers data from all social sites and not just Twitter,  analyzes positive versus negative mentions, your reach with unique authors, top keywords, users, hashtags and resources on those mentions.

3. Klout

One of my favorites. Klout measures Twitter influence. It tells you if you are a Persona, a Connector, Climber or Casual. It gives you a score from 1 to 100 based on influence and it analyzes reach, demand, engagement, velocity and activity. The other very cool feature is that you can search for a topic and it will show you who the biggest influencers are so you can learn from them.

4. Twitter Grader

Very simple, TwitterGrader gives you a grade based on the number of followers, power of those followers, updates, follower/following ratio and engagement. It also provides you with a ranking. HubSpot has also launched the FacebookGrader, but that’s a whole different conversation…

5. Monitter

What if you had the power to know what people are talking about on specific topics, let’s say… your industry or a product you sell. Better yet, what if you had a dashboard in front of you that let’s you track these conversations so you would know what step to take next, in real-time! That is exactly what Monitter does.

6. Xefer

Xefer creates a graph of your tweets by day and times in relationship with the replies you get. It is a good method to visualize the quality of your tweets.

7. HootSuite

I think I mentioned enough features on my post “10 Reasons Why I Use HootSuite… And You Should Too” but in this case, I want to point out the stats. As long as you use the Ow.ly URL shortener, HootSuite tracks all your clicks and it also displays the most popular ones. If you have a blog, this is a good tool to see what content had good responses so you can follow that trend.

8. GraphEdge

GraphEdge is not free but is very affordable depending on the number of followers you have. This is another tool that presents some pretty cool data to analyze. Some of this data includes your legitimate followers and the percentage in relationship to your total followers, your followers’ most relevant friends, which I think will be the next person you need to follow and it also shows your churn rate.

9. Bit.ly

Bit.ly is more than a URL shortener. What I like about it is the simple way of displaying data related to one specific link. It includes the clicks, the reactions on different websites including Facebook and all the conversation generated around it.

10. Tweepi

Tweepi helps you manage your followers/following by sorting information by different criteria. It helps you “flush” the people that you are following but are not following you back and keep a good ratio. At the same time, it helps you increase your following in bulk, but it is not your typical mass-following application. It is free at the moment but I expect that to change soon.

Final Thought

I’m not suggesting that you become a Twitter analytic junkie but looking at some stats from time to time can give you the answers you need to perform better. As I always say, tools are only tools. The main thing is that you have a clear objective of what you want and they help you accomplish that.

Are you using other tools? Share them in the comments…

Icon Credit: Kailoon

Investigate which might be appropriate to implement

Gangs in New York talk Twitter: Use tweets to trash-talk rivals, plan fights

BY Simone Weichselbaum
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, November 29th 2009, 4:00 AM

Showalter for News

Some groups of teenagers in Harlem use the messaging website Twitter, via their mobile phones, to organize street fights and other shady activities.

The city's street gangs are becoming tweet gangs.

Manhattan's young thugs have turned to Twitter, and the cops who track them are fast behind, the Daily News has learned.

It's old-school crime meets new technology: attacks being plotted - and thwarted - 140 characters at a time.

One investigator recently warned parents and teens that the bastion of OMG and LOL has been infiltrated by violent crews waging turf wars.

A boy shot in the leg weeks earlier on Lenox Ave. may have been targeted because of a battle the Original Young Gangsters crew started on Twitter.

"It's horrible," NYPD Lt. Kevin O'Connor of Manhattan North's gang intelligence unit told a forum in Harlem.

A basic search of the social-networking site for OYG or Jeff Mob, the gang based in the Jefferson Houses in East Harlem, yields shout-outs and throwdowns.

"I knoe bitches from oyg that would dead mob yah s--t in harlem," one girl wrote in a series of tweets aimed at drawing out a rival for a fight.

Investigators are monitoring the traffic in hopes of sweeping up gangbangers before the bloodshed - and searching Twitter after attacks for clues.

"It is another tool ... just like old phone records," a police source said. "We can go through them [messages] to track these guys."

Harlem pastor Vernon Williams, who runs Perfect Peace Ministry Youth Outreach, said his staff uses Twitter, MySpace and instant messaging to keep track of 4,000 at-risk teens.

A week ago, Twitter helped the volunteers stop a street war after they saw the Get Money Boys, based in the St. Nicholas Houses on W. 127 St., exchanging threats with Goodfellas and The New Dons, based just a few blocks north.

"They were threatening to go and hurt two people," said Williams, 51, who sent staff out to find the tweeters.

An NYPD spokesman and the Manhattan district attorney's office declined comment on the phenomenon, and Twitter did not respond to e-mails.

Gang members who grew up in the digital age are blasé about their tweeting.

One 15-year-old in the 28 Gunnaz gang said it's just like any other "form of communication," except that the world can listen in on the conversation.

That feature can actually fuel disputes. A heated exchange between rivals on the service can turn into a full-fledged beef when others get wind, he said.

A 15-year-old nicknamed Lil V, who belongs to The New Dons, says Twitter is useful for "settin' up the fights" and making plans.

He seemed aware that the cops or anyone else could follow them - and said the gang takes precautions, using lingo gangsters from an earlier era wouldn't even understand.

"We got our own page," Lil V said. "Our page is private."

simonew@nydailynews.com

Who says teens don't tweet? Not surprisingly young people are leveraging technology to enhance and coordinate their social behavior both legal and illegal. The drug trade was directly responsible for the growth of the pre-paid mobile phone market . The explosion in e-commerce was driven by on-line porn. It is Interesting that leveraging new technologies for "bad" is often the tipping point.

There is opportunity here for more than just convictions, but also prevention and intervention. Ways to channel the ingenious use of this social media by these young people into something productive must be explored.

Social networking can set you free - as in the case of the young man in Harlem wrongly arrested yet freed by his Facebook alibi - or it can get you locked up.

Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," Lionsgate, 2009

Serious African-American cinema scarcely exists. It arrives in fits and sputters, in the occasional legends (Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks), outliers (Charles Burnett, Julie Dash) or mavericks (Spike Lee). But demanding cinema based around the black experience are largely absent from American screens, displaced by gangstas, guns and masquerading comedians in drag or fat suits (Tyler Perry, Eddie Murphy). The film industry has always loathed challenging movies, no matter the race, ethnicity or gender of their subject matter, but for black creators, making artistic cinema and getting it seen is a near insurmountable task. Can Lee Daniels' "Precious" change all that?

The Sundance-winning, Oprah-backed and Tyler Perry-supported "Precious" broke all box office records for a limited release last weekend, grossing $1.8 million on just 18 screens. The film will expand nationally in subsequent weekends. According to distributor Lionsgate, "Precious" drew an equal share of both black and white audiences -- a testament to its broad appeal. However, despite its enormous sales, "Precious" is, so far, the exception, not the rule, and while African-American filmmakers are excited by the movie's early success, they also retain a mix of skepticism and hope for the future.

Some filmmakers remain cautious, because despite "Precious'" dark subject matter -- rape, child abuse, poverty, HIV -- its very content also conforms to many black cinema stereotypes. As New York Press critic Armond White so viciously penned, "Full of brazenly racist clichés (Precious steals and eats an entire bucket of fried chicken), it is a sociological horror show." Ultimately, the film is also inspirational, with a traditional upward arc and a resolution that leaves viewers feeling good about themselves -- hardly the tenets of challenging cinema.

"White folks are up to their necks with hip and quirky films validating their existence every year. To believe that a black audience with the same desire does not exist is silly."

"'Precious' is the sort of black film we've gotten used to seeing," says Barry Jenkins, the San Francisco-based director of "Medicine for Melancholy." "A gritty story of urban struggle and strife -- there's nothing wrong with that, but why aren't there other films filling out this portrait of what it's like to be black in America today? Whatever backlash there is against 'Precious,' it's not about the film itself -- it's about the dearth of films to complement it."

For Jenkins, it was in February 1997 when the industry got the proof it needed to give up on alternative black cinema. "I always cite 'Rosewood' as the example," he says. "John Singleton wanted to make a serious film about a serious event in American history" -- a racially motivated massacre that took place in 1923 -- "and not enough people went to see it. And the very next weekend, 'Booty Call' came out, which was made for a fraction of the money, and it did amazing business. It's simply all about dollars and cents."

But Jenkins says the early 2009 release of his no-budget identity-politics rom-com "Melancholy" showed that audiences are hungry for different perspectives on African-American life. Though the movie only played in a handful of cities and the theatrical gross was a tiny $112,000, the film's run was held-over in New York and had strong per-screen averages in San Francisco for 16 weeks.

"There just isn't a precedent for how you release even a quirky [black] film," says Jenkins, who has a new project set up at Focus Features. "Medicine" wasn't even released in urban centers like Atlanta, Philadelphia or Chicago, "because we've gotten to this point where there's the sense that black people aren't interested in movies about black people unless they fit into a specific type of black film," he says. "But what would have happened if the 'Medicine' trailer ran before [Tyler Perry's] 'Madea Goes to Jail'?"

"Mississippi Damned" producer and editor Morgan Stiff also blames the industry for a lack of imagination. From the time that Stiff pitched the project -- the story of a down-and-out family in a rural southern town -- at the American Film Market in 2007 to the conversations she's had with distributors this year, she's consistently come up against the same resistance: without a star on the order of Beyoncé Knowles, the film is dead in the marketplace's uncharted waters. "The issue is that studios and distributors don't know how to market a black film and are not open to new models to reaching audiences, in general," she says.

MORE >

I echo the call for increased diversity of black images in cinema. Hollywood's pattern, especially for black film is to put out copies of what has been successful before.Even Lee Daniel's needed the attachment of Oprah and Tyler Perry to ultimately secure distribution. Wouldn't it be great if Oprah or somebody similar to her book club model helped to highlight and promote independent black cinema on a continual basis.

Even with all its success, I just randomly stumbled upon 'Mississippi Damned' today and I consider myself somewhat attuned to what's going on and I've missed any opportunity to see it. Imagine the experience of the average moviegoer who has no clue.