Are we falling or flying ... and will we ever know? » free

Some Broadcasters Doth Protest Too Much.

andi — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:13:32 +0000

Change is certain, progress isn’t as internet media business models morph by the second in the never ending search for profitability.

Yesterday Erick Schonfeld posted an interesting article on TechCrunch, Leaked Email: Quincy Smith Of CBS Wants To Counter “Reckless Hulu Streams,” which included a Contentinople piece quoting members of a recent Advertising Week discussion panel, who disparaged Hulu.com for giving away premium content.

Smith, CEO of CBS Interactive, confirmed the leaked email is real. What remains to be seen is which entities’ business model succeeds, and which is based on product envy…

Read the full post here.

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.“ - William Shakespeare (1564 –1616), Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, 222–230

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A Netflix Stream in Hand…

… would be a killer app – and in more ways than one; streaming more than one movie would easily eat up most people‘s iPhone minutes package on AT&T without making *any* calls… Today, from TechCrunch, via Hacking Netflix: Rumor: Netflix Streaming Coming To The iPhone by MG Siegler on August 3, 2009 One big story …

Dead Like Me.

I’ve been broadcast/cable tv free for about a month now, with only mild withdrawal symptoms (having really re-run episodes of NCIS makes great white noise for me when I work from home; so now I have to improvise….). Even so – the combination of watching/running Netflix offerings in the background is …

Hulu-baloo.

According to Silicon Alley Insider, with data partly from Comscore, 38 million people watched Hulu at least once in July - a viewership which easily topped Time Warner Cable‘s July viewership of 34 million. That same month, only DirecTV (47 million viewers) and Comcast (62 million) pulled larger audiences: While impressive, Hulu.com has a long way to go before reaching the cable companies’ …

Rescue Me

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 …

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

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 …

Free is Not Always Free.

So – the featured speaker at the July 2009 Seattle Chamber of Commerce’s speaker at this month’s “Author Speaker Breakfast” is Chris Anderson, author of FREE: The Future of a Radical Price: FREE: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson the bestselling author of the The Long Tail In his revolutionary …

Free is Sometimes Free: The Future of a Radical Price

For those not able to make the Seattle Chamber of Commerce breakfast tomorrow, featuring Chris Anderson talking about his book Free: The Future of a Radical Price, his presentation at Wired’s “Disruptive Business Conference” is available online, for free: Related content: Free is Not Always Free. So – the featured speaker at …

Free: The Future of a Radical New Price is now…Free!

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Marketing Really is All About Targeting Your Customers.

andi — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 05:11:45 +0000

From TechCrunch, today:

…but one thing about Bing really stands out – it may be the best porn search engine ever created (see Badda-Bing Indeed). In private conversations Microsoft employees always said that the porn search feature was an unintended byproduct of good video search. But we always wondered if that was true.

Anyway, in May we noticed Bing ads on Google, which seemed a little ironic to us given how seriously the two companies compete with each other.

But one thing we didn’t notice until now is that Bing is also advertising on Google for the query “pornography.”

Which in our opinion removes all doubt about Bing’s intentions. There’s nothing wrong with being a good porn search engine, in our opinion. And why not go ahead and advertise it to the world.

Discovered via a TechCrunch employee who has asked to remain anonymous….

Check out the full story here.

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

Free is Sometimes Free: The Future of a Radical Price

MP3s as Keys to the Galaxy.

andi — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:52:44 +0000

Knowledge can indeed be free, especially within the technology space; all it takes is a little initiative to find key web community sites, plus iTunes to unlock the podcast keys to the galaxy.

My favorites include:

Software Engineering Radio

The Pragmatic Bookshelf

IT Conversations Network

Controlling Chaos

Harvard Business Ideacast

Business

Now – if we’re bored, not learning new things, or not being mentally challenged is … we can only blames ourselves.

Enjoy!

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

Free is Not Always Free.

So – the featured speaker at the July 2009 Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s speaker at this month’s “Author Speaker Breakfast” is Chris Anderson, author of FREE: The Future of a Radical Price: FREE: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson the bestselling author of the The Long Tail In his revolutionary …

Free is Sometimes Free: The Future of a Radical Price

Free: The Future of a Radical New Price is now…Free!

Late last month, Chris Anderson released a free downloadable unabridged podcast/audiobook version of his book, Free: The Future of a Radical New Price as zipped mp3 files, and via iTunes. It chapter is an individual podcast; all of which are narrated by Chris. [caption id=”attachment_1506″ align=”aligncenter” width=”162″ caption=”Free: The Future of a Radical …

My Favorite Hugh MacLeodisms From the Gaping Void

Hugh’s list of 37 tips which helped him be more creative is available as an awesome print and as a blog post. My favorites from his list : 5. You are responsible for your own experience. 9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb. 10. …

And One More Thing…

Steven Jobs, cofounder of Apple, has been labeled many things, from visionary to egomaniac. Often I think he is inspirational too: We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here? Innovation is the distinction between a leader and a follower. The system is that there is no system. That doesn’t …

Customer Experience, Part II

A t-shirt popular within the Apple Computer team building v.1 of Quicktime read “Apple: 80 hours a week, and loving it!” So much for work | life balance. At the same time, I think Steve Jobs gets a lot of things right – including not making decisions for the short term without …

Follow These Footsteps…

Most of us are aware of the adage “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” I like to include “Add value or stay out of the way.” The world would be a better, more effective, and much happier place if “Lead, follow, add value, or get out of the way” was reality …

Others’ Thoughts From the Blogosphere.

Yesterday Scott Berkun wrote a very interesting blog post on How to call bullshit on a guru; equally interesting was the reader discussion which followed. My favorites: “Do you know how to innovate? How?” “How interested is this guy in understanding my problem(s)?”. If they’re not, then they’re a hammer looking for nails, …

Putting a Dent in the Universe.

Steve Jobs is many things – obsessive, a visionary, a micro-manager, and until now, ever-present. Outside of his recent weight loss, not much is known about the health issue behind his announcement today of a six-month leave of absence – but it’s a safe bet it’s something quite serious. Steve Jobs …

Dead Like Me.

andi — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:23:32 +0000

Even so – the combination of watching/running Netflix offerings in the background is really nice – and so far has resulted in a new mini-addiction for me – Dead Like Me – which originally ran on Showtime during 2003/2004.

Besides being mostly available via Netflix‘s instant watch offering, all episodes are available here via Hulu, for free.

Watch it – or rewatch it. It takes a slightly twisted often funny, and frequently bitingly accurate look at life and at one possible version of life in the after life.

Intriguing thoughts and quotes from the series:

George: We lead our lives, and when they end, sometimes we leave a little of ourselves behind. Sometimes we leave money, a painting, sometimes we leave a kind word. And sometimes, we leave an empty space.

George: I don’t want to fit in, I just don’t want to stand out.

George: So… my whole life, everything… All I get to keep are thoughts and memories?

Rube: That’s all we ever have, Peanut.

George: [voiceover] Maybe death was the temp job, and life was the vacation. A vacation you were supposed to spend with the people that you loved… with the people who loved you, and if life was that kind of vacation, what then? What would your last thoughts be then?

George: [voiceover] There are things inside you that no one wants to face. Things that you keep secret, even from yourself. But secrets are funny. The things you try to hide always turn out to be the things you can’t forget.

Daisy Adair: I gave up on forever, doesn’t last.

Even better:

What if death is not the end?

What if it is not even an escape from the issues that plagued us?

Upping Your Netflix Geek Factor

andi — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:01:10 +0000

Worried you’re not getting your money’s worth from your $8.99 a month, 1 physical DVD at a time but also unlimited “Instant Watch” membership?

Want easy to digest, visualized data updated ever 24 hours about:

Your Netflix Rental Habits
DVD Vs Instant Watch
Subscriber Growth
Comparisons of yourself to other Netflixers?
Your Netflix Rental Habits
DVD vs. Instant Watch
Blu-ray Adoption
Shipments by Weekday
Rental Periods
Popular Plans
Queue Sizes

FeedFliks is an independent website created by Netflix members for other Netflix members, and utilizes the Netflix API to visualize yours – and other’s – rental and instant watch habits.

Worried about Privacy? (and really, who but bloggers isn’t these days? ) The site’s privacy policy is here; highlights include:

New users by default only have their Netflix Reviews shared
All other data, their Queues, their Recommendations etc are private
Users’ Rental and Streaming Histories have *always* been private – as have been their statistics, graphs and calculations
By default, FeedFliks members share only their Reviews shared (unless they’ve made that section also private already)
User who prefer to share more can set their sharing preferences via their Sharing page.

Even better – it’s FREE. (And at least for now, the website is almost advertising free too; the only banner ad is to join Netflix).

Free: The Future of a Radical New Price is now…Free!

andi — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 22:04:11 +0000

Thanks, Chris :)

Hugh MacLeod today posted an interesting interview with Chris; several key takeaways for me were:

I’d like to be equally know for innovations in business models.
Don’t wait to be given a job to do something cool. Follow your passions, create something every day, take chances and try to be the best in the world at something, no matter how tiny and trivial. Nothing impresses me more than initiative. And there has never been a better time to take it.
I think that leading people is perhaps the most important skill these days. My business card says “Editor in Chief”. I suspect that if any of my children follow in my footsteps, their card will say “Community Manager”. Helping (and inspiring) other people to do cool stuff is what an editor does, and when you take it out of a purely professional media context that looks more and more like effective community management. It’s a great skill and I admire those who do it well.

Related content:

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

Free is Not Always Free.

Free is Sometimes Free: The Future of a Radical Price

Rescue Me

andi — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:20:48 +0000

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

Related Content:

Free is Not Always Free.

Free is Sometimes Free: The Future of a Radical Price

Free is Sometimes Free: The Future of a Radical Price

andi — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:04:08 +0000

Related content:

Free is Not Always Free.

Free is Not Always Free.

andi — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:57:24 +0000

So – the featured speaker at the July 2009 Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s speaker at this month’s “Author Speaker Breakfast” is Chris Anderson, author of FREE: The Future of a Radical Price:

FREE: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson the bestselling author of the The Long Tail

In his revolutionary bestseller, The Long Tail, Chris Anderson demonstrated how the online marketplace creates niche markets that allow products and consumers to connect in a way that has never been possible before. Now, in his new book, FREE: The Future of a Radical Price, Anderson makes a compelling case that many businesses can profit more from giving things away for free than they can by charging for them. Far more than a promotional gimmick, “Free” is a business strategy that is essential to a company’s survival.

The concept of “Free” was introduced in the last century as a marketing trick, giving away one thing to charge you for another. But as this new century dawned, “Free” was changed by digital economics–things now really can be free. As a result, entire industries are being built on new business models such as “Freemium,” where most people get the product for free and a few people pay for a premium version. FREE: The Future of a Radical Price describes and explains the business model that seems impossible: you can make money by giving things away.

Anderson also explores how this radical idea will function in the new global economy and demonstrates how this zero-dollar price can be harnessed for the benefit your consumers and your business.

Ironically, the Chamber is charging to attend this event: $15 if early registration; $20 if not, not including the cost of parking in downtown Seattle; which can now cost $25 or more a day.

Then again – list price of Anderson’s book is $26.95, which may make the breakfast a bargain.

Malcolm Gladwell wrote an interesting review of Free which includes this wry note:

“Credit Suisse estimates that YouTube will lose close to half a billion dollars this year. If it were a bank, it would be eligible for TARP funds.”