Something I found interesting written by someone else.
If you’re not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you are the product being sold. http://bit.ly/cwgr4x
This is (yet another) reason why I don’t like advertising. Effectively whoever makes the program (website, etc) is not interested in me, only that they can sell me out to advertisers who’s content I do not want to see (99% of the time).
I am not a product to be sold.
Boxee Embraces HTML5, Switches to Webkit http://bit.ly/bVtAsX
Not, as you might think another Flash refugee, but a switch from the Mozilla Gecko HTML rendering engine to the more popular Webkit HTML rendering engine. Webkit is fully open sourced and used in almost all mobile browsers, Safari and Chrome, but heavily subsidized by Apple with its development.
The switch to Webkit was:
The switch is an attempt to make full use of HTML5 within Boxee, but it should also help with accessing a wider array of video content that’s not yet available through dedicated Boxee apps.
Interpreting Criticism http://bit.ly/afHmK4
A good read from one of my favorite marketing-oriented writers.
Heartfelt criticism of your idea or your art is usually right (except when it isn’t…)
When people criticize a new approach, new product or new service, it’s from within the context of their existing assumptions. I’ve been dramatically wrong about technology trends, taking a little time to “get” the benefits of pay-at-pump in gas stations, or even ATMs, because my assumptions about what I wanted were wrong.
The useful element of this sort of criticism isn’t that the fact that people in the status quo don’t like your idea. Of course they don’t. The interesting question is:what about the world as it is would have to change for your idea to be important?
Iron Maiden Connects With Fans And The Fans Buy http://bit.ly/dbtEup
I believe that the secret formula for monetizing media is based on Techdirt’s CwF+RtB=profit. Connecting with Fans and giving them a Reason to Buy. Iron Maiden have known this for years as they had to connect with their fans instead of relying on radio promotion to get the word out.
Now that the traditional revenue channels are drying up because they don’t serve the market well, that fan connection seems to be working for Iron Maiden, where there latest CD is selling very well on CD and has limited unauthorized download.
Then again, when you consider the advice from the band’s manager on why they’re successful…
“Invest in the long term. Apply an image. Give the fans what they want. Tour and keep touring. Play the festival circuit. Embrace new technology. Be innovative. Be honest. Be original. Write good songs.”
…you realize that maybe the product from the MPAA studios and RIAA labels just isn’t that great any more.
Why Waiting Until A New Business Model Is Proven Doesn’t Work http://bit.ly/bcybin
Technology changes business models. That’s a given. The problem is, the business models that are being disrupted are often very big businesses, with good profits and the company doesn’t want to disrupt those nice, regular, current revenue streams in order to accommodate a new one. The new revenue is (at least during these phases of disruption) very much below what they are now. No doubt you recall NBC CEO Jeff Zucker’s fear that that the Web will turn “analog dollars†into “digital pennies”.
The examples quoted include Netflix (who innovated and disrupted because they had no stores to protect) and Blockbuster (who had stores to protect; and Kodak who saw digital coming, new it was important but failed to act in time leading to massive layoff and factory closures.
The problem with waiting until you see a clear path forward to the sorts of profits that will be available in a disrupted industry, it’s almost always way too late for the disrupted to catch up. This is why disruption does not come from the major players in an industry, but rather from the small innovator who has no legacy to protect.
There are a few reasons for this:
- Companies always misjudge the speed of trends, especially the rate of change. Things like digital revolutions start out slowly, and the quality seems bad. So companies in legacy businesses figure they have a long time to make the change. But the rate of change increases rapidly, especially once it “tips” and reaches a critical threshold. At that point, if you’re not fully invested in the new business, you’re, way, way, way behind.
- It’s difficult to really understand the new technology/market unless you’re playing deeply in the space. This is the same thing we noted with people who claim that patents are necessary because once a good idea comes along others will just copy it. In many cases, that’s not possible. That’s because the truly innovative ideas require some real hands-on experience. Watching others do it is not the same thing.
- It’s very difficult, culturally, to build up businesses that cannibalize your existing cash cows. The skill sets may be different, and people begin to recognize that these “new” people may be working on projects that replace the “old” people. That leads to a lot of resentment and makes it really difficult to actually hire the good new people — since they recognize they’re going to face those kinds of institutional restrictions. For them, it’s just easier to go to a “native” company that has bet entirely on the new offering.
How Many Times Will Content Industries Claim The Sky Is Falling Before People Stop Believing Them? http://bit.ly/bUNPOi
I think we’re ready to stop believing them now. From Jack Valenti’s infamous comparison of Betamax/VHS to the Boston Strangler to today’s complaining about unauthorized distribution, the content production industries have fought every technological change. And every time that technological change has opened new markets for them. Instead of VHS/Betamax and DVD being the death of the MPAA studios it’s been the salvation.
It may, in fact, be the case that the sky is falling. But, if you claim that the sky is falling whenever a new technology threatens an existing business model, the rest of the world can be forgiven for not believing you when you claim that this time around it’s going to be different than all of the other times. Now, let’s be clear, each one of these technologies changed the business model of the industry. They caused certain revenue streams to decline. But they also opened up new ones.
Is Flash on Android “Shockingly Bad†or “Shockingly Great?†http://bit.ly/cXleXP Better results surface with more testing.
Michael Panzer, a reader from Germany, for instance, posted a video of his experience with Flash video on his Galaxy S. Unlike Kevin’s experience, movie trailers from Metacafe — including the HD trailer of Alpha and Omega — loaded just fine, despite a few stutters along the way, as did the trailer for the latest Resident Evil film, also in HD. However, Panzer didn’t record his attempt to watch videos on ABC.com or Fox.com, which were the sites that gave Kevin the most trouble.
It may be certain sites that cause it more problems than others.
Episode 7 of The Terence and Philip Show is now available for comment and discussion. http://bit.ly/9DIcN1
In this week’s show, Terence and Philip discuss the politics of Industry Award Shows. Why should we care? Is there an alternative or does there even need to be one? If not awards, how do we judge skills, with a divergence down memory lane to the “Gunsmoke” footage and similar exercises. How do we judge the work of an editor? And only one reference to the “NLE from Apple”
Piracy Is Promotion, Says CEO of Porn Multinational http://bit.ly/aAqEFN
Not your usual CEO approach to piracy but one that is consistent with his conclusion:
Milton believes that entertainment companies should look beyond piracy, and explore alternatives business models as the battle against piracy is one that can’t be won.
“I think it’s a lost battle,†Milton said, adding: “I look at my own kids, because that’s the best way to know where the market is going. It doesn’t matter if I tell them that it is illegal to download. As soon as they close the door to their room, they download.â€
“They are not afraid of someone who’s tracking their IP-address. They just don’t care, Milton said. “It’s a new world and we have to accept it.â€
So instead of following the RIAA and MPAA down useless fan-tagonistic approaches he suggests:
In the video Milton says that his company will focus more on selling the ‘private lifestyle’ which includes luxurious vacations with an adult theme, and toys and tools that may come in handy while reenacting pirated videos.
With slow progress on human cloning and the 3D-printer, Milton’s bet on selling the sex ‘experience’ rather than videos seems to be a safe one for now.
Rather Than A Record Label, How About A Musical Affinity Group? http://bit.ly/bKibhF
If the Record Labels have a future maybe it needs to be a different future?
I was reminded of this a bit, two years ago, when Topspin’s CEO, Ian Rogers, penned an open letter to Guy Hands, the head of (struggling) EMI, suggesting that rather than think of itself as a “record label” focused on promotion and distribution (two things that are easier and cheaper than ever before), it could instead focus on being the smart filter for music listeners today, struggling to find the music they love amidst so much musical abundance in the world. The suggestion was to take some of the key, iconic, bands under the EMI roof, and put them under affinity-based “mini-labels” with other less well known bands, that would appeal to people who liked the more well known band. It seemed like a great idea, which, of course, EMI has not done.
Then again, isn’t Apple’s new Ping in iTunes heading in that direction, but with a more social component that doesn’t really require the record labels?