Monthly Archives: March 2010Blog

Cablevision-ABC Standoff a Result of Shifting Audiences

The recent blackout of ABC’s programming in the New York area can be chalked up to audiences shifting from broadcast to the Internet — a shift that has been underway for several years. “As the broadcast networks are less able to get advertising revenue, they’re turning to the cable guys [to pay more to the networks to show their programming] to make up for that shortfall,” states Todd Mitchell, an analyst with Kaufman Brothers Lp, as quoted in a recent Newsday article. Ad dollars are in short supply because TV audiences have found other options for their time, especially growing Internet use.

A similar shift has hurt the print industry, record sales, DVD sales, and other businesses with physical products that could be delivered digitally. Consumers have shown they prefer entertainment, information, and connections to be digital. Even telecoms will have to face the fact that Internet telephony is the preferred option for many consumers, and TV programmers must eventually follow suit as well.

But in the meantime, according to the Newsday article, we can expect more of these inconveniences as yet another business, built on an outdated model, tries to defy reality and force its market to stand still. Do these companies believe they can continue holding customers hostage? Tactics always lag technology. Consumers, who vote with their dollars, will have the final say, which the iTunes store has already proven when it comes to digital goods.

Read full article: http://bit.ly/dgb94E [subscription requ

Web Video Is Still a Mess

It looks like no one can agree on what is the best way to deliver video over the web. Why is this important? Because with ubiquitous fast connections and processors now available to most people, video is the preferred medium online for entertainment, and in many cases, information. If a picture is worth a thousand words, and a sound is worth a thousand pictures, then video is, well, you get the idea. If this weren’t so, TV and movies would not be at the center of the entertainment world. And because the Internet can deliver these media digitally, it is naturally the best way for consumers to access them. And that equates to big business.

So what do the people who have the power to establish the standards that allow everyone to benefit from video online do? They fight with each other, of course, since it’s much more important to own the whole pie than to create a level field for all to compete on. And the battle goes on.

First, it was Real vs. QuickTime vs. Windows Media. Then Flash stepped in and, because of YouTube’s adoption of Flash and the ubiquity of the Flash plug-in, it became the de facto web video standard. Today, it’s Flash vs. the H.264 codec, which plays without plug-ins in browsers via HTML 5.

So what’s the problem? In brief, Adobe wants to own the world of web video, and Apple doesn’t like this. Nor does Microsoft, which has designs on web media domination with its Silverlight technology. Several patent holders own the rights to H.264 and they can’t agree on anything, especially royalties. And the Firefox and Opera browsers support a format that few have even heard of (Ogg Theora – ugh).

We can only hope this mess resolves quickly, the way the format war between Blu-Ray Disc and HD-DVD did in recent years. But according to this article from Webmonkey, that doesn’t appear to be likely. So in the meantime, keep that Flash plug-in handy — although it won’t help if you own a mobile product made by Apple.

Full article: http://bit.ly/cgxcSu

Twitter: Is It For Posters or Followers?

Interesting: according to this CNNMoney report, upwards of 73% of Twitter users have posted less than ten times! It’s hard to include this site in the social phenomenon when most of its 50MM users are not contributing.

But there is tremendous interest in following on Twitter, and speculation is that the site is evolving into more of a news feed than a social platform. If everyone you’re interested in hearing from is posting on Twitter, that’s reason enough to have an account. But does this mean that the site will soon become just another broadcast medium for the media elite?

Full article: http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/10/technology/twitter_users_active/index.htm

Three Important SEO Factors

In the current web economy, SEO (search engine optimization) and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and the like) are all the rage. Justifiably so. But for the most part, the interest is for the wrong reasons, ie: many tend to think they are free or cheap ways of making money on the Internet. Yes, it can be more affordable than traditional marketing, but it’s far from free! Indeed, a solid commitment of time and finances is required for success in these venues, just as it is in any other worthwhile arena.

Still, there are many things that a website owner can do to improve their search rankings — if not become “number one on Google,” as the spam pitches promise. And some of the easiest techniques to implement can also provide significant results. That’s the point of the following article from ClickZ.com, which shares three simple but effective SEO tips that you can use right away.

1: Use Your Key Phrase in Your Title

2: Use the Target Key Phrase in the Body Copy

3: Cross Link Your Pages Using the Target Key Phrases

Sound interesting? Check out the entire article for details, try the techniques, and see how your site does on Google over the next several weeks.

Full article: http://www.clickz.com/3636405