Netflix New Streaming Only Plan

November 23, 2010 By

NetflixNetflix recently changed up its DVD rental options, singling a shift away from physical DVD’s and toward streaming of content. There is now a streaming only option for only $7.99 a month. Normal DVD by mail plans go up by $1.

Netflix has very smartly pushed their software onto just about every streaming media device available today from Xbox to Google TV, Apple TV, Roku and many Internet connected DVD players. It makes sense for them to offer a streaming only plan to go along with these devices. The only problem is that while Netflix has increased it’s streaming movie and tv offerings, it’s still nowhere near what is available for their DVD by mail customers. For this to really work, Netflix is going to have to push even harder and make many more  movies available for streaming. Eventually, in all reality, there should be no DVD by mail all and everything should be streaming only. You would think movie studios would love this as profits are higher and copying movies is make more difficult. But as with many things lately, the DVD business model is so firmly intrenched change is hard.

It’s becoming more clear that this is where we are going in the future. Content will be largely cloud based and will be available on demand as a stream. It’s best for all parties really even though some will be slow recognize it.

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Your Skin in the Game

November 20, 2010 By

Here is one big way new media is not like traditional media marketing; you’ve got to get some skin in the game. In traditional marketing you meet with your agency, they come up with some copy and art and you approve it. Out the ad goes and you’re done. In social media However, this will not do. You’re not aloud to pump out impersonal ads, shotgun marketing does not apply here.

You are going to have to figure out how much of you to let bleed through. There is a balance of course but you need to let some of your personality show though. This is the new more personals marketing and it’s the one big advantage small business has over the large corporation. For the most part large corporations have a much harder time letting personality show though.

Filed Under: Blog

New Facebook Messaging Is Built For The 140 Generation

November 16, 2010 By

Facebook MessagingToday Facebook announced a new messaging system that represents a major overhaul to their current very basic system. Roumers flew in the week before the announcement that Facebook would be announcing a “Gmail Killer”. It turns out the new Facebook messaging system is something altogether different and quite forward thinking.

In explaining the rationale behind the new system Mark Zuckerburg talked about how high schoolers use messaging which is quite different than older generations. I am firmly myself in the Email Generation meaning I was brought up with email as the primary means of personal communication via computers. I am used to email, I like email and email is what frames my messaging perspective.

The next generation, however, is coming from a completely different place. This generation has been brought up with small, smart cell phones and the explosion of text messaging. Micro messaging systems like Twitter have also been a key part of their experience. For this reason, I call them the 140 Generation after the 140 characters that make up a Twitter message. This generation’s messaging perspective is framed by short, quick hit communications across a variety of devices.

This is exactly the framework Facebook is targeting with their new messaging system. But Facebook is smart and understands there are two generations overlapping, so this new messaging system is a slow play. It will work perfectly well with existing email systems as well as newer systems like SMS. Facebook sees their new shorter, less formal system as the future and it will be up to the 140 Generation to make this come to pass. No technology will in itself kill email, only users will by their habits and needs. Facebook will be there to pick up the pieces.

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MySpace Goes Back To Their Strength

October 27, 2010 By

MySpace LogoBoldly proclaiming “We are not a social network”, MySpace is re branding and refocusing themselves into an entertainment destination website. MySpace once was the top social network in the world with a huge registered user lead over all its competitors. But like Friendster before it, MySpace failed to innovate quickly enough and could not keep up with the Facebook phenomenon.

I actually think this is a great move for MySpace. MySpace was never better than when they were a music and entertainment hub. This is how they started, catering to small indie bands and their dedicated fans. MySpace could never figure out the larger world of social networking, but MySpace are experts in entertainment and music. With this new tight focus on what they do best, I think the future is bright for MySpace, even if they won’t become the next Facebook.

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Data is King in the Connected World

October 26, 2010 By

DevicesI love my Amazon Kindle and so do a lot of other people. Amazon just announced for their top 10 books, Kindle versions are outselling print editions by more than 2 to 1. One of  the reasons I love the Kindle so much turns out to be one of the best business decisions Amazon has made; Kindle software is available on a variety of platforms, including iPhones, Android phones, iPads, PC’s and Macs. Amazon has not forgotten they are first and foremost a reseller of books, and they have all the bases covered. Best yet, though, is the Kindle software keeps your books and most importantly your place in those books in sync across all your devices. Start reading a book on your Kindle and pick right up on your iPhone.

The key point here is that we are not only living in a Connected World but a device world. The world is littered with millions of devices of all kinds and more people are finding themselves with more than one. When you have multiple devices, the critical factor becomes keeping your data in sync with all of them. The Kindle happens to be one of the best examples of keeping data and state beautifully in sync. We are going to need to see this more with the other applications we use regularly.

This is why we are seeing such a push toward using the cloud, a fancy term meaning the Internet, for these kinds of services. When applications run on the Net, it’s much easier to maintain state and data across devices. Google’s Gmail is another great example of this. You can easily connect to and maintain all the read statuses wether you’re using an iPad or an Android phone.

In the Connected World it’s just as important to be connected to your data as with other people.

Filed Under: Blog, Mobile Computing Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

New MacBook Air And The Future Of Mobile Computing

October 20, 2010 By

Macbook AirApple has announced their new MacBook Air and it’s truly a bold and revolutionary step in mobile computing. Apple has stated this is the future of MacBooks and the way all laptops should be someday. This is a pretty radical statement considering how the MacBook Air is put together. To me, this is a radical leap into cloud based computing for Apple. The machine has no optical drive, so installation of new applications will likely hinge on the also newly announced Mac OSX App Store. With limited solid state storage and no hard drive, customers will likely have to rely on cloud based storage for many of their larger files.

Gone are the days of large, powerful laptops designed to handle the work of a desktop on the road. Trends are moving toward smaller, lighter devices driven more from the power of the Net. As notebook computers eventually started to outsell desktop machines, I think we will see these smaller devices, call them NetBooks or tablets or what have you start to outsell typical notebooks. With this, I believe we will also see a resurgence of desktop machines as people give up trying to use one machine for home and mobile use. I have already made this move, as I gave up my laptop for an iMac at home and a small pc based netbook when mobile. Of course I still also have my smart phone when I want complete pocketability.

Apple had no entry in the super small and light portable and the iPad doesn’t quite substitute yet for one. The new MacBook Air fits the bill perfectly. The original Air was maligned with problems and never took off but I think this new model will see much more popularity. As with everything Apple, it’s a bit overpriced but drop dead beautiful and elegant. I think the real legacy of Steve Jobs will be the way he singularly blends cutting edge technology and art. Seth Godin always talks about making products remarkable. It’s an important lesson for all business and Apple gets an A+

Filed Under: Blog, Mobile Computing, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Connected World Radio: The Power Of Local

October 15, 2010 By

On this edition of Connected World Radio we talk about the power of local. Topics of discussion include Yelp, Foursquare, Facebook Places, Google Places and the importance of the mobilization of society in general.

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Filed Under: Mobile Computing, Podcast, Social Networks, Web 2.0 Tagged With: , , , , ,

How Not To Do Business By AT&T

June 2, 2010 By

ATT Death StarThey’re one of the worlds largest and richest companies, and they have no idea about the most fundamental principles of business. Oh they think they know; it’s on their wall somewhere, buried in some mission statement or company goals. Plenty of lip service is given to it as it usual in large companies, but AT&T continues to treat their customers like dirt.

The latest and perhaps most shocking example is the story of Giorgio Galante, an AT&T customer who wrote emails to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson in part to complain about several aspects of his AT&T experience. After the second email in as many weeks, Giorgio received a phone call from AT&T’s “Executive Response Team” thanking him for his feedback and at the same time warning Giorgio if he continued to email the CEO he would be served with a cease and disist letter. Threatening your customer with legal action because he tries to communicate with an officer of the company is so shockingly dumb I am at a loss for words. Is that what they teach you at B School?

It’s not the first time, however, AT&T has acted in such a way. As they were being barraged by complaints about the poor network service AT&T said it was the customers who were using too much data and they would have to look into doing something about that. Yes, our service stinks and it’s your fault mr. customer, so I will have to find a way to penalize you for that. And in fact, AT&T has now found that way, this week announcing dramatic changes to their data plans for smart phones like the iPhone. Unlimited access is gone and customers now much choose between two data plans, both with data limits and charges for going over the limits.

How does AT&T get away with this nonsense? Because they have the iPhone, the most popular cell phone in the world and you cannot buy it from anyone else. Apple may have signed a pact with the devil on this one and like it or not, there is some blowback that Apple suffers from all this as well.

I believe something needs to change drastically in the mobile world. We can no longer allow companies to sign us up for long term (2 year) contracts and then treat us so poorly. Since all the mobile companies seem to be in league with each other on most of these egregious practices, it’s going to take some kind of government action to step in and fight for the American consumer.

In the end, I don’t know what AT&T is thinking on this one. Is Giorgio Galante a pest? Unnecessarily filling up an important CEO’s email with trivial complaints? I don’t care if he is a nusense . He’s a customer, he has a right to be a nusense. He deserves to be treated with respect. He deserves an answer to his questions, not a threat of legal action.

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Kids and Ease of Use in Technology

April 4, 2010 By

Any parent with kids probably realizes this, but kids are incredibly savvy with technology. They have no fear or preconceptions about anything, so they are willing to jump in and try anything. It’s one of the things that’s so beautiful about kids, before they get tarnished by the world.

I learn so much from watching my kids work with technology. I learn about the future. Having kids is like living with your own personal crystal ball. I also learn a great deal about user interface and ease of use in tech products. My daughter, when she was just nine, picked up my iPhone and knew just what to do with it, no instruction needed. That’s when I knew it was a most amazingly built device. I think every technology company should have kids employed in their labs to do their user testing. If the 5 year old can master it, you’re ready to ship.

Tyler Gray realized the same thing and put it further to test with his iPad and his 5 year old son Cash. I’ve included the video in this post, and here also is a link to the original Fast Company article.

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Filed Under: Blog, Mobile Computing, Technology Tagged With: , , , , ,

Goodbye Neighborhood Video Rental Store

March 21, 2010 By

It used to be we had small neighborhood mom and pop video rental stores. That gave way to the large, big box, mega retailers like Hollywood Video and Blockbuster. Hollywood Video is in Chapter 11 and now Blockbuster is hanging by a thread. Netflix was the first nail in the coffin. Now there is iTunes, Amazon.com, Boxee, and Roku among others. There’s just to need to drag yourself down to a Blockbuster and put up with their silly return rules, let alone hoping the title you want is even available.

RedBox has been a massive hit without large stores because they put their vending machines where people already are, like the supermarket. No extra trip or hassle required. And at $1 a movie, Blockbuster doesn’t stand a chance. It’s interesting that Blockbuster has watched all this go on in the past few years but has not been able to do much of anything about it. They’ve experimented with a few things, but halfheartedly and they have been failures. Someone at corporate didn’t want to hurt the mainline retail business, which was really bad strategy because that business is dead now anyway and they have nothing to show for it.

Blockbuster has misread and misunderstood most every new business reality of the digital age. There CEO talks a good game but somehow I doubt they will have the boldness and smarts to actually do what it takes to catch up. The only thing they have going for themselves is a still strong brand name. If they can just find the guts to capitalize on it.

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