Are we falling or flying … and will we ever know?

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Posts Tagged ‘dancing with the stars’

For Whom The Bell Tolls… or, Another Business Model for $0.00

July 27th, 2009

From Techcrunch, last week:

At first this announcement appeared to be a good candidate for “News of the Weird:”

Microsoft Officially Retires Soapbox, The Poor Man’s YouTube

by Leena Rao on July 21, 2009

Microsoft’s YouTube clone Soapbox is officially shutting its doors, according to reports today. Soapbox, which was launched in 2006 as a hub for downloading and sharing user-generated videos, was never able to be a viable competitor to YouTube.

MSN corporate vice president and chief media and technology officer, Erik Jorgensen, said that Soapbox delivers less than 5 percent of the overall 480 million video streams worldwide on MSN Video each month. In June, MSN Video posted its best month ever, with 250 million streams. But this nothing compared to YouTube’s streams which top around 1.2 billion per day.

…. Even this past week, Microsoft chose to use YouTube for its Bing Jingle contest.

After thinking about this for a bit, I realized it’s yet another business model for $0.00.

Yes, Microsoft is diluting its own brand value by broadcasting a jingle contest for its new search product via Google’s YouTube – but at the same time it’s using – for free – Google/YouTube’s bandwidth, and its user traffic – to draw attention to its competitor for Google Search.

Hmm. I wish I could view those Google Analytics.

Rescue Me

July 27th, 2009

Each economic downturn brings some cultural shift or change; during this one I realized I’d pretty much given up on network TV.

I’ve never watched even one “Survivor,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “American Idol” or “The Apprentice.” I’m going to keep it that way.

Other than some of the original series on cable networks FX, TNT, USA, and HBO, I really don’t miss regular – or the extended digital cable package -Tv. Chris Anderson is right – $0.00 really is the future of business.

After all – the FX, TNT and USA series I like – The Closer, Burn Notice, Monk, Pysch, and Rescue Me are available on Hulu and/or Boxee -and both are $0.00. I’m also a big fan of several of HBO’s original programming – Big Love, True Blood, and No. 1 Ladie’s Detective Agency (which is actually the BBC’s original content); but I can rent those from Netflix under my existing eco-friendly monthly online and mailed dvd subscription.

At least the cable networks have realized it’s better for their original series to have short seasons with new episodes, then slot them so at least one series starts its season as soon as another of the network’s series airs its season fnale. Besides adding some interest for the viewer, it no doubt keeps the paid subscriber base fairly stable. I deliberately waited until after No.1 Ladies Detective Agency completed its six episode first season run before canceling my digital cable subscriber package.

Similar to the auto manufacturers, broadcast networks loudly struggle to identify new business models which both draw viewers and are profitable, too.

In fact, Hulu is co-owned by NBC Universal, News Corp. and Providence Equity Partners, although operated independently by a dedicated management team with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Beijing; its full disclosure about its corporate culture is both noteworthy and commendable – although I’m relieved they don’t currently have an office in Seattle; we have plenty of existing corporate culture challenges to work | life balance.

Note to Hulu (and with special thanks to Gerry Mooney):

Diminishing returns. It’s not just a good theory. It’s a LAW.

I’ve given up TV before and spent more time with friends, family, and pets; working out; reading; and quilting. And yet – once in a while a new TV series turns up which draws me back in…

“We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.” - John W. Gardner

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