Friday, February 26, 2010

Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 7 Series

As if there weren’t enough competitors in the smart phone market, you can now officially add another to the list. According to a Cnn.com article, “Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new operating system for mobile phones [February 15], marking its latest move to reclaim a leading position against rivals Apple, Research in Motion and Google.”

In efforts to reclaim what once was a considerable share in the percentage of smart phones sold (where Microsoft was once embedded in about a quarter of the phones on the market), Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told CNN that “this is a major push for the company to get back in the mobile space.” Microsoft is expecting one of its biggest years to date, and in reading this article I have generated a few observations about the move, ranging from timing, the intended market they are entering, and most importantly the product itself.

To start, I believe the timing was about as good as it could be in introducing this product. While the official release date is set to be near the holiday season, you can never undermine the impact that a projects preconceived hype will have on its reception and overall performance in the market.  It was stated in the reading that at the end of 2009, BlackBerry continued to hold the lead with 41.6%, followed by the iPhone with 25.3% and Microsoft coming in third with 18% of the smartphone market share. With the ever-growing popularity of the iPhone building and BlackBerry being accompanied by the Droid, it was crucial for Microsoft to join the race before their competitors were out of sight. Alongside this, the product itself is a self-proclaimed best choice in a “one size does not fit all” mobile device world. To back this claim up, Microsoft has implemented a new operating system for the smart phone made up “live tiles” that update in real time…that’s right. You can see live Facebook status updates, Tweets, and stock performance simultaneously from one hub without moving to swap from application to application. These tiles are also customizable, to the point that the user can create tiles on the start screen for various contacts to receive updates from specific individuals.

One of the most interesting decisions made by Microsoft would have to be their intention to collect all of the company’s heavy hitters into one device. Their new “Windows Phone” is set to include access to Xbox Live for gaming, Zune for music and photos, and even the newly created Bing search engine. When analyzing all of this, Microsoft has put together a single product that I feel will compete with the major facets of all other competitors. Time will tell how well it fares, but I foresee this product making a big splash.

The Article:

 http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/15/technology/microsoft_mobile_software/index.htm?cnn=yes

Thursday, February 25, 2010

SCHOOLS KILL CREATIVITY

Alright, everybody, get a snack, grab a drink, and get cozy for this video I found of Sir Ken Robinson, one of today's leaders in innovation and human resources, speaking on the current state of our educational system. He makes a very solid point about the outdatedness (if that's a word) of the system in that it was created in the time of the industrial revolution to prepare people for jobs in the industry. Unfortunately, today the job market and its demands have changed and there needs to be a change in the school system for it to keep up.
He's insightful, charming, and funny as hell.

Check him out and let me know what you think...

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Oh La La, Internet Television!!!

In an article written by David Goldman, http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/24/technology/future_tv/indez.htm, he writes television will be "available anywhere, on any device, at any time," but at a cost.

Many online television viewers are frequenting websites such as Hulu and YouTube. The author cites that in December more than 178 million Americans watched TV online; this is unfortunately causing problems for network companies, advertisers, and other technology providers because of the issue of making enough money, and licensing fees are left out of the equation.

Creating revenue is clearly the biggest issue regarding Internet television. Advertisers are less likely to put money in placing ads on the Internet television because effectiveness is questioned. However, there are potentially positve aspects. With improvements in technology and more consumers purchasing the latest technologies, a newer audience can be reached and consumers are likely to begin watching television more online.

There has been talk of Hulu moving into a subscription service, but with the cost yet to be determined. Netflix is an example of subscription-based streaming service. This helps to set a model for mobile services and Internet providers to follow. Experts believe that for the Internet television to work successfully, a subscription model will have to be implemented.

I think this is a very innovated concept, taking television with you everywhere you go, but is this good for media? What are other potential pros and cons you see with Internet television? Who do you think this will directly affect? Do you think this will ultimately fail or succeed? Why or why not?

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Google Voice

Have you heard about Google Voice yet? This new application by Google offers such great services as
  • Voicemail transcription to text
  • One phone number for all your lines (ie. work, cell, home)
  • Personalized greetings for individual callers or groups of callers. (You can still keep that cool Meatwadd voicemessage for your friends without being embarrassed at work)
  • Inexpensive international calling.
  • You can screen your callers by sending them to voicemail and having the ability to answer at any time during their recording
  • Easy conference calling through your cell phone.
  • And the best thing of all: IT'S FREE!
Check out the Google Voice Youtube page for run-downs of the different applications.

Discuss...

Friday, February 19, 2010

Radio Stations in the cross-hairs

The recording industry wants to impose a performance tax that would financially hurt local radio stations, stifle new artists and harm the listening public who rely on free local radio.

For more than 80 years, radio and the recording industry have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship: free play for free promotion. And it works. It’s a relationship that has sustained businesses on both sides.
In fact, radio’s free promotion of artists translates to as much as $2.4 billion annually in music sales for record labels and artists. And this doesn’t even include the enormous revenues they receive from concerts and merchandising.
But the labels–like many businesses–are struggling in this economy. They have failed to adapt to the digital age, and find their business model is broken. And now they want to impose a fee called a performance tax on local radio stations to subsidize their losses.
A performance tax would threaten the local radio stations that communities depend on. It would financially hamstring stations, stifle new artists and harm the listening public who rely on free local radio.

Read the complete article here: http://www.noperformancetax.org/Radio%20at%20Risk


#1. If you were an up and coming band or artist how would you feel about this fee?

#2. How else could the recording industry create revenue and still allow radio to play music for free?

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Leaving Las Facebook

I found this article last week and I felt that it really reinforced why I never bought the social network hype in the first place. After seeing some of my friends become very dedicated to social network sites several years ago, I decided to not participate because of the amount of time and energy involved. The following article was on the front page of last week's USA Today.

SOME DISH SOCIAL NETWORKS TO RECLAIM TIME, PRIVACY

By Marco R. della Cava, USA TODAY

Facebook reports that it has 400 million active users worldwide. Make that 399,999,999. Laura LeNoir is done.
"I feel better, I feel lighter, I got my privacy back," says LeNoir, 42, an office manager at an educational software company in Birmingham, Ala., who logged off a few weeks ago. "People say, 'You'll be back.' But I read more, walk the dogs more. I'll be fine."

As the social networking train gathers momentum, some riders are getting off.
Their reasons run the gamut from being besieged by online "friends" who aren't really friends to lingering concerns over where their messages and photos might materialize. If there's a common theme to their exodus, it's the nagging sense that a time-sucking habit was taking the "real" out of life.

When I first closed my Facebook account, I felt disconnected from the world and missed the constant updates," says Leanna Fry, 32, of Provo, Utah, who is teaching English in Erzurum, Turkey. She signed off after feeling harassed by strangers. "But I've discovered I don't have to know what hundreds of people are doing. Now I have more time for people who really matter in my life."

Read the entire article: http://tinyurl.com/yh2f8mo

1.) How much time do you honestly average on social networking sites ( computer and mobile device)?

2.) Have you recently stopped using a social network site or thought about stopping? Why or why not?

Pandora rises out of the streaming music rubble

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In an online world saturated by struggling streaming music services, Internet radio site Pandora appears to be making all the right moves.

Last year, the 10-year old company recorded its first profitable quarter, doubled its subscription base to more than 40 million users and took in $50 million of revenue. The company also announced several new partnerships that allow users to take Pandora with them in the car and on the TV.

Pandora certainly seems to have found its sweet spot, making it a standout among other streaming services that have not been able to make it on their own. Social music site iMeem was scooped up by MySpace in December for just $1 million, and Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) bought cloud-based music service Lala for not much more. Analysts say even mighty MySpace Music may be unable to sustain itself for much longer.

The company attributed its ability to rise through the rubble to its substantial user growth over the past year. With a rapidly increasing number of subscribers, Pandora has been able to attract better advertisers and demand higher ad prices.

But growth is a double-edged sword. As more users listen to Pandora, the company has found itself doling out more in royalties. Company founder Tim Westergren said Pandora has finally managed to strike just the right balance.

"We've been able to grow our audience to attract advertisers and do so without going bankrupt," Westergren told CNNMoney.com. "We've gone out of business many times, so it definitely wasn't a smooth path, but we're starting to realize the benefits of scale."



Read the rest of the article at:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/18/technology/pandora/index.htm


Over the last year Pandora has been adding roughly 35,000 subscribers everyday. They attribute the majority of their success to the iPhone app. where subscribers can listen to Pandora anytime. Also, they announced they have a partnership with Ford to put Pandora in new vehicles through the automaker's new bluetooth stereo system. Do you think Pandora would be successful without the iPhone app. and eventually will Pandora be more prominent than terrestrial radio?

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

FCC announces 100Mbps broadband initiative as part of upcoming National Broadband Plan

In the run up to the official announcement of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, due to be presented next month, we’re beginning to hear more about the FCC’s specific goals for broadband adoption in the US. FCC chairman Julius Genachowski has spoken about the need for universal broadband in the past, and we also reported recently that agency is looking into buying back wireless spectrum from broadcasters.

In his remarks at the NARUC conference (PDF) yesterday, Genachowski offered some more nuggets of information. Perhaps most interesting was the mention of a “100 Squared” initiative — a plan to bring 100 megabits per second broadband to 100 million households across the US. He also said that the US should aim beyond 100 Mbps speeds as well, and touted Google’s plan for a gigabit fiber broadband access as the sort of innovation we need to focus on.

What could this potentially mean for provider? What will this do to pricing/quality?

Read more on this article @
http://digital.venturebeat.com/2010/02/17/fcc-announces-100mbps-broadband-initiative-as-part-of-upcoming-national-broadband-plan/

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Docking the Long Tail? Wal-Mart Limits Choices in Stores

I found this article to be interesting because Wal-Mart is limiting selection of products that can be purchased in its store- but they are the staple items that are continuously purchased, depleted and replaced. One of the most telling things in the story is they decided to pull Glad sandwich bags off the shelves, until Glad decided to make their Great Value bags, as well. They can use the decisions they make to gain another bargaining advantage- after all, it is their store and there is limited space.

They make a good point about 15 different prices of toothpaste being harder to choose from- but they also say it is based on the economy. Will good economic times mean they need to restock the shelves with more toothpaste or sandwich bags?

Here is a link to the article-
Dumped! Brand names fight to stay in stores
By Parija Kavilanz, senior writerFebruary 15, 2010: 12:52 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Don't be shocked if you can't find your favorite salad dressing or mouthwash on your next trip to Wal-Mart.

Large retailers -- including Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), the world's biggest -- are wrestling with having too many types of brand-name products. At the same time, shoppers are buying less and looking for bargains.

So unless a particular brand is a top seller in its category, it's getting knocked off the shelf -- and sometimes getting replaced by a cheaper store brand.
For example, Wal-Mart recently removed Glad and Hefty-branded storage bags from shelves, replacing them with its own lower-priced Great Value brand, according to the parent companies of both products.

In the case of Hefty, parent Pactiv Corp. (PTV) told CNNMoney.com that Wal-Mart reversed its decision, and will return its products to shelves this spring -- after Pactiv agreed to make the Great Value bags that will sell alongside the competing Hefty product.

Continue Reading Here...

Monday, February 15, 2010

Youtube Rentals Revisited

I know this is a bit late, but I figured I should do a follow up on the previous blog post about Youtube's initiative to "rent out" films from the Sundance Film Festival line up on its site. The discussion was whether Google could actually make money from this venture. Well, I'm here to tell you.
Mashable. com reported a few days ago that Google made $10,709.16 after their five day rental spree charging $3.99 for each rental.
Now, for me that is a big number but think about how big a company like Google is and how much money they need to actually call a venture a profit. Luckily Google is not currently hurting in the income division as they claimed over $6 billion in their 4th quarter earnings report for 2009.
I guess this is another example of Google at its finest. They experimented with a new service and put it out for the public to decide if it was worth it or not.
So, what do you think? Should Youtube continue to invest in MODs? Is this something you'd be interested in? I mean, these are movies that are only available to the assisting audiences to a very acclaimed Film Festival.
Discuss...

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Facebook and Twitter grow more than 100%

As we all know, social networking sites such as facebook and twitter are becoming the future of communication as we know it. Both facebook and twitter raised their visitor counts by more than 100% from 2008 to 2009. In May 2009, facebook surged to the number one position among social networks and by December of 2009 it had 112 million visitors. In 2009, Twitter jumped from 4 million visitors to 17 million visitors between the months of Febuary and April, and his been growing since.

These sites are not only gaining users, but also gaining the amount of time spent on these sites by users. Facebook has grown to account for three times as much total time spent online as it did in 2008. Social networking accounts for 11% of all time spent online in the US, making it one of the most popular online activities. Facebook is even very popular among adults of all ages, more so than other sites such as myspace and twitter. According to recent data from Pew Internet & American Life Project, 73% of all adults who use social networking sites have a facebook account. As far as myspace, only 36% of social networking adults ages 30 and older have an account. So the younger generation is more apt to myspace. These networking sites are growing rapidly and have been of much use in regards to media and communication. To you bloggers, what are your views on this? Is this a good or bad thing? Why?

You can read the article this information was gathered from at http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/facebook-twitter-grow-more-than-100-11943/

Friday, February 12, 2010

The Beginning of the End for the Movie Rental Industry?

As an employee of Movie Gallery Inc. via Hollywood Video, I knew about their decision to file Chapter 11 Bankruptcy before the general public. This information is now public knowledge. I see the cause of their financial troubles as a direct result of trying to compete with the "long tail" of movie rentals. They have tried to implement a subscription based discount program, which is simply costing them much more money than they are making. With the expenses of rent/leases, physical movies and selves, and other overhead, they simply cannot compete with the web based companies, such as Netflix. This is the second time that Movie Gallery Inc. has filed Chapter 11 in the past 2 1/2 or 3 years. They filed in Oct. 2007. So, do you guys think this is the beginning of the end for the traditional movie rental store? I'm afraid it might be, but I hope not. I need the pay check...

These are some articles and press releases about the filings:
http://www.kccllc.net/moviegallery
http://www.moviegallery.com/pages-q10151-Restructure.aspx

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A New Business Approach

Read this article about Warner Brothers Pictures and Warner president Jeff Robinov. The article looks at his leadership style and willingness to shake Warner's "corporate gentility and stability" and success formula of "star-driven pictures, effective marketing" to pursue "provocative advertising campaigns" and raunchy comedies.

Chris Anderson suggests that media companies are no longer in the hit or blockbuster business. Does Jeff Robinov's aversion to cookie-cutter movies and embrace of risk contradict Anderson? Or, is there always room for an innovator--especially when some companies may pursue only safe, low-risk opportunities.

Does Warner's success also suppose that aggressive marketing will overcome a weak movie? Or, does aggressive marketing ensure that a great film breaks through the marketplace clutter? Look at the examples and decide.

Here is the article URL: http://nyti.ms/9h0WGK

The flow of dollars

About 30 years ago, researcher Max McCombs suggested that consumer expenditures for media were relatively constant, as a percentage of household income. Whether the early 1900s or the 1980s, the percentage of income devoted to media/entertainment content was about the same. In the earliest days, meager household incomes might have been spent on sheet music, possibly recorded music--on wax cylinders, newspaper or magazines and certainly live stage performances. As time progressed, households bought radio and television sets, acquired cable TV and VCRs, and still continued to consume books, magazines and newspapers, plus live entertainment.

Today, the demand for entertainment content seems to be increasing. The New York Times, February 8 edition, features an article titled As Date Flows In, the Dollars Flow Out. Here is an abbreviated link: http://nyti.ms/ciWLDQ

Read this article and then compare your own household expenditures. What media experiences do we value? What tolerance do we have for media consumption spending?
Income Effect is an economics term that suggests an increase in price, without an increase in income, decreases real income. That is, you have less money to spend on other things. Consider also the Substitution Effect. A price increase makes a good or service less appealing; purchasers substitute a good.

Read the article then consider your income effect and substitution ability.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

No More Privacy for You and Me

CNN also did an article about Google and the Chinese hacking. The article states that, "Google made headlines when it went public with the fact that Chinese hackers had penetrated some of its services, such as Gmail, in a politically motivated attempt at intelligence gathering. The news here isn't that Chinese hackers engage in these activities or that their attempts are technically sophisticated -- we knew that already -- it's that the U.S. government inadvertently aided the hackers." It is sad that so many companies in our country are able to hack into our telephone lines, email, and who knows what else. We are no longer living in a free country. You can check out this link for more information.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/01/23/schneier.google.hacking/index.html?iref=allsearch

Thursday, February 4, 2010

So, does the double "o" in google stand for 007?

Are you familiar with "quid pro quo?" It means to trade something of value for something of value. It seems "Google approached the NSA shortly after the attacks" (the China cyber attacks) and asked them to help. Do you know what the NSA is? It is the National Security Agency (http://www.nsa.gov/). They are tracking absolutely everything we write and everything we do online. Are you scared? Well, if you are a criminal, you should be. And, if you make online purchases, searches, emails, blogs... you should be... maybe.
In contrast to the image we have from movies and television of an FBI agent placing a listening device on a target’s phone line, the NSA intercepts entire streams of electronic communications containing millions of telephone calls and e-mails. It runs the intercepts through very powerful computers that screen them for particular names, telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and trigger words or phrases. Any communications containing flagged information are forwarded by the computer for further analysis.

What is the government getting for their service? Are they getting access to the algorithms Google uses to return search results in so quickly? That does not really concern me because that may help them filter the data quickly and efficiently and get to the information they need.

What does concern me is "the Supreme Court decided in 1970, if a third party has your information, you don't have an expectation of privacy and therefore the fourth amandment does not apply to that information." (see documentary video from MSNBC/CNBC below) There are companies that collect evertything we say and do online and it is recorded/cached (companies such as Acxiom). My concern is "data-mining" and privacy. Basically, companies can "mine" their databases to create psychographic profiles of their customers and market to them; the more data, the better the profile. So, if Homeland Security has a theory about a certain group of people that they think wants to harm the US, could they plug in a search based on a psychological profile now to find who has been searching for such things that match that profile on Google? Do they now have access to gmail accounts? It is a long shot, but our privacy should be a priority.

Here is the Washington Post article that talks about Google and the NSA: Google to enlist NSA to help it ward off cyberattacks
By Ellen Nakashima
Thursday, February 4, 2010; A01

This is a documentary (with commercials) I first saw on CNBC. It is a couple of hours long, but is has a lot of information regarding privacy and business in the digital age. "Big Brother, Big Business" Recorded Nov 1, 2006. If that doesn't work, try this link.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Sony Pictures to cut 450 workers as DVD sales decline

Sony Pictures Entertainment is laying off 450 people, more than 6.5% of its workforce, as part of a studio-wide belt-tightening blamed on the growth of piracy and changing media consumption patterns, particularly the ongoing downturn in DVD sales.

In a memo to Sony Pictures' roughly 6,800 employees Monday, Chairman Michael Lynton and Co-Chairman Amy Pascal said most of the layoffs would hit the home entertainment and information technology divisions in the U.S.

But all business units would be affected, they said, including motion pictures, television, digital production and corporate operations.

Along with the layoffs, the studio is eliminating about 100 open positions.

This will be the second time in a year that Sony Pictures has cut its workforce. Last March it laid off 250 people and scrapped 100 open positions.

You can see more of the blog at: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-sony2-2010feb02,0,7735430.story

The DVD industry is taking another hit. While people download movies for free on their computer illegally, jobs are in-turn are being lost. Is the beginning of the end near for DVDs already? Discuss.

Monday, February 1, 2010