Monthly Archives: September 2010Blog

Streaming TV, not 3D, is the ‘Next Big Thing’

Tempted to buy a 3-D telly? Didn’t think so. If HD was a study in hype, the 3DTV pitch is beyond belief. Who, other than a floundering content delivery industry, would believe that wearing glasses and watching objects fly into your face would sell? At least HDTV was a big step up in the quality of the viewing experience. 3D is still, and always will be, just a “special effect” (and not a very good one at that).

When I visited the Panasonic booth at a recent trade show, what did the model on the 3D set do when I looked into the monitor? She picked up a glass and reached toward the camera. Like wow! The glass looked like it came off the screen and was actually coming toward me. I shrugged, and then moved on and spent a half-hour talking to a rep about the AF-100, micro four-thirds camera. Now there’s something to write home about (in another post perhaps). The moral: 3DTV is just a sideshow act. There are better ways to spend your money. For example, on streaming.

Despite what television manufacturers want to believe … the Next Big Thing in TV is where the content comes from, not how it is displayed.

Wouldn’t it be nice to access music and video content on any device? That’s the promise of streaming. Subscribe to your favorite shows. Rent movies. Access a music library online. Streaming frees us from managing bits, storing plastic, and conflicting formats. Apple has proven that coupling good content, superior technology, and a sound business model can generate mass appeal. It will be interesting to see if the new Apple TV fulfills streaming’s promise and cracks the mass market for digital content. (No glasses required.)

Full article: http://bit.ly/9d6SdX

Update: 22-Oct. Panasonic announced specs and availably this week for the new AF-100 camera. It sounds like a dream come true for video shooters. Except for one big problem: the micro four-thirds sensor has a crop factor of 2X, meaning that your 50mm normal lens becomes, in effect, a 100mm telephoto. For many, this may be a deal-breaker. I’m looking forward to the reviews as people start using this camera after its late December release. In the meantime, however, I lament.

Engaging Customers

The Web offers so many ways to engage people, as long as you’re putting the right content in front of the right people. Yet, the sheer diversity and quantity of engagement opportunities are far greater on Websites than anywhere else. Why does this matter for marketers?

Today, marketers must focus not just on reach but on engagement — high-value brand interactions — and of course, actual leads and sales. Think of it this way: there are banner impressions and then there are lasting impressions. Engagement helps brands make lasting impressions with target audiences.

Web marketers, do you have an Engagement plan? Here are 10 good ideas to help you engage customers: http://bit.ly/aZ8pzP

Time for Businesses to Broaden Social Media Efforts

Social media continues to grow in use, usefulness, and buzz. But the real importance of social media is that it’s becoming a part of everyday communications for a massive number of people. As the saying goes, businesses need to position themselves where their customers are.

Even more noteworthy: social media is now used regularly by over 50% of people over age 50, which tells us that social media is now mainstream. And this presents an opportunity. Adapting quickly to innovations that catch on is essential for businesses to succeed online.

For more information see the full article:

http://www.clickz.com/clickz/stats/1731723/users-over-double-social-networking-use-year

Why Touchscreens Are Important

There was a time when no one could imagine a digital device without a keyboard. However, touchscreen interfaces have become mainstream with the success of the iPhone and iPad. We’re likely to see them graduate from tablets to laptops and desktop computers very shortly.

This transition reminds me of when computer mice first appeared. People said, “Why bother? We know all the DOS commands.” But mice were a big part of bringing computers to the masses. Touchscreens bring us closer to computers and will thereby extend what we can do with them. From the article:

… people tend to get frustrated by the limitations of the tools that we need to manipulate the technology and power inside a computer. We want to do away with mice and keyboards and drawing tables and whatever else we need to get our ideas out of our heads and into the machine. We want to be close.

Read full article: http://bit.ly/afI32L