December 2011
23 posts
the old dividing lines between television, radio,... →
Convergence oracles have been preaching the gospel for the past 2 decades, the era of the tablet has finally made it a reality. Hat tip to David Carr for a nice compact sum-up !
Content has a price tag, which is reassuring, but the old dividing lines between television, radio, Web and print disappear within the four corners of a tablet. That means, for instance, that CNBC and The Wall...
Call in airstrikes on your iPhone with JJ Abrams'... →
clever oh very clever indeed Mr Abrams ! Given the success of Freddy Wong et al, I agree with one of the commenters that we’re days away from a web action flick powered by this app
Director JJ Abrams has always gone above and beyond with viral marketing. We all remember the plane he sabotaged to crash safely in the Bahamas for the last season ofLost, or the actual extraterrestrial...
“Comedian Louis CK’s recent digital distribution experiment to sell his latest...”
– http://venturebeat.com/2011/12/22/louis-cks-special-1-million/
The ubiquity imperative: Why content needs to be... →
Viewers were formerly beholden to the whims of a select group of programmers: If they wanted to watch a show, they were forced to be home and tune in at the time it was broadcast. That world has changed, thanks to the broad proliferation of time-shifted viewing options — whether they be DVRs, cable video-on-demand services or online options like Hulu. Just as importantly, viewership doesn’t just...
Five Years After Banning Outdoor Ads, Brazil's... →
could this example yield copycats ?
In September 2006, São Paulo’s populist mayor, Gilberto Kassab, passed the so-called “Clean City Law,” outlawing the use of all outdoor advertisements, including on billboards, transit, and in front of stores. Before being enacted, the law triggered grave alarm among city businesses and other economic constituents. Critics worried that the...
2012 TRENDS – #5 : Time for coopetition
“The more consumers adopt new technologies, the more comfortable they become with accessing content on every available screen and expecting the experience to be seamless across devices and platforms. The companies that are best suited to meet these formidable consumer expectations are those that can deliver hardware, software, content and social i ..read more.. Smartr - your personal newspaper
Infographic: 6 media giants control 90 percent of...
Are you in to independent films? You probably enjoy the Focus Features studio, which prides itself on its indie credentials. Focus Features is owned by GE. What about music? Are you a hip-hop fan, who can’t stand the sound of country music? You might be surprised to learn that Viacom owns BET and CMT (and MTV). The world of media conglomerates can b ..read more.. Smartr - your personal...
The Next 5 in 5 — innovations that will change our...
In the latest Next 5 in 5 multi-year forecast, IBM examines market and societal trends expected to transform our lives in the next five years and emerging technologies from IBM’s global labs:Energy: People power will come to lifeImagine being able to use every motion around you — your movements, the water rushing through the plumbing — to harn ..read more.. Smartr - your personal newspaper
The future: Too old to care about tomorrow
I’VE been doing a little reflecting on my view of the world, amid the (relative) quiet of the holidays, and it seems to me that my thinking about things has undergone a subtle shift. In a nutshell: I’ve become far less confident about our ability to accurately describe possible outcomes more than a decade out. Correspondingly, I’ve become increasing ..read more.. Smartr - your...
Netflix Instant Could Wreck The Entire Internet →
for all the naysayers…
During peak hours — after dinner time until around midnight — Netflix already accounts for somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of all US Internet traffic. So what will happen to the Internet if the 14 million Netflix subscribers who send and receive DVDs via the mail suddenly start streaming everything they watch? Well, that traffic will jump by 50 percent,...
What Louis CK knows that most media companies... →
Louis CK edits his own stuff on his Mac !
The comedian now joins the alternative rock group Radiohead and DJ mashup artist Girl Talk (both of whom have released “pay what you want” downloads”) as an example of how successful a direct-to-fans approach can be. And Louis CK’s experiment shows that this approach can have the same kind of disruptive effect on television and movies as it has had...
Louis C.K. Internet Comedy Special Is Already... →
“Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theater,” which has been selling online for $5, has made a profit of around $200,000, according to the comedian.
The special, Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theater, has sold more than 110,000 copies of the special, which became available Saturday for $5, the performer said in a Tuesday night post on louisck.net, according to the Times. More than...
Banking on the vaults - film libraries are... →
A few years ago, banks wouldn’t dream of lending against the libraries of indie film companies. Some are still skeptical, but others are starting to appreciate the long-term value of older content thanks to the digital distribution deals inked during the past two years with rising platforms such as Netflix and Hulu. (…)
At this point Miramax is only a library, with no firm plans as...
“The banks have said, leave us deregulated, we know how to run things, don’t put...”
– Jeffrey Sachs, the controversial economist talks about the collapse of the global financial system and how to end the crisis with Al Jazeera (via mohandasgandhi)
“it may not be long before a generation of Americans grows up without ever having...”
– Kodak’s long fade to black - Los Angeles Times (via interestingsnippets)
Detained by U.S. Customs: Some thoughts about the... →
Great sumup of our interesting times by Mathew Ingram from GigaOm:
Am I taking jobs away from Americans by writing blog posts from Toronto, and should the U.S. be concerned about that kind of activity? I honestly don’t know. All I know is that anyone living anywhere theoretically has the ability to do what I do, for any company based anywhere in the world — just like anyone can be a journalist,...
Comcast execs: Verizon deal to bring the... →
Late last week, Verizon Wireless signed a deal to purchase 122 spectrum licenses from SpectrumCo, a joint venture between Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, for $3.6 billion. As part of the deal, which awaits approval from the Federal Communications Commission, the Comcast will now be able to sell Verizon Wireless service as part of their communications packages. To the casual...
“Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said he sees an “arms race” to dominate Web-based TV...”
– Netflix’s CEO Sees ‘Arms Race’ to Dominate Video Streaming - Bloomberg
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“imagine the massive retaliatory response that would be triggered if Iran were...”
– George Orwell on the Evil Iranian Menace - Salon.com (via turkeyjaws)
The Amazon movie revolution ... one year on
There is something wrong with modern Hollywood – we can agree on that. Too many remakes and sequels and prequels; far too many computer game and toy adaptations. Everyone thinks the profit-focused, top-down system is too busy chasing “pre-branded content” to find new talent, and too risk-averse to take a chance on original stories. Industry inside ..read more.. Smartr - your...
The EXPEDITION for the FUTURE →
On February 8th, 2012 I am boarding the Hanse Explorer for a 33 day journey from the end of the world, Cape Horn, to the beginning of humanity, Cape of Good Hope. NOMAD Industries has chartered the amazing vessel with the capacity to safely carry a few selected individuals across the sub-antarctic sea, to the most remote place on the planet, Bouvet Island. The EXPEDITION for the FUTURE will...
