Randy Newman and Steve Job’s Keynote at MacWorld

If you didn’t see the 90 minute MacWorld keynote here is a quick summary of the product launches yesterday.  Jobs photo courtesy of Apple.  

• Ad:  Hi I’m a Mac and I’m a PC — New Years ad ran which poked fun at Vista…what are you going to do in ’08…  Then Jobs enters stage.
• Time Capsule:  backup hardware device the same size as the Apple TV product.  Two models both include Airport 802.11N in a 500MB and 1TB configuration.  Priced at $299 and $499 works in conjunction with Time Machine (back up system) which is included in OS X Leopard.
• iPhone: 4M sold in the first 200 days (averaged ~20K/day); currently has 19.5% MSS (more than combining the bottom three companies – Palm (9.8%); Motorola (7.4%); Nokia (1.3%).  Enhancement announced:
  1. Maps w/ locations (joint effort by Google and Skyhook Wireless (drove the US & Canada mapping 23M wi-fi hot spots and allows triangulation on the hot spots.  Google triangulates off cell towers and Apple uses both systems in iPhone for identifying location)
  2. Webclips (clipping links to favorite web sites or sub-site
  3. Custom home screen (up to 9)
  4. SMS multiple people at the same time was only one prior
  5. Chapter search for videos and song lyric’s displayed if available
  6. Free software update for all current owners which include the above enhancements
• iTunes: 4Billion songs sold through iTunes; Christmas day sold 20M songs in one day – highest ever; 125M TV shows sold (more than any other service); 7M movies sold (more than anyone, but didn’t meet expectations).  Enhancements announced:
  1. iTunes Movie Rental (music users have not wanted music rental); Studio’s on board at launch (20^th Century Fox, TouchStone, Miramax, MGM, Lions Gate, New Line Cinema, WB, Disney, Sony, Paramount, Universal – essentially all of the studios; More than 1000 films by February
  2. Films available for rental in the 30 days after DVD release
  3. Watch anywhere (PC, iPod or TV)
  4. iPod Touch added 5 new apps including maps, email, SMS, web clips and chapter search
  5. Didn’t state, but looks like progressive download as the movie starts within seconds of the rental purchase
  6. 30 days to watch the movie and 24 hours watch it once started
  7. Can transfer the movie watching to another device in the middle (start on a PC then xfer to iPod for a flight)
  8. DVD quality, but also providing Hi-Def (100 titles today growing fast) with 5.1 Dolby surround sound
  9. Pricing is DVD library release – $2.99; DVD New Release – $3.99; HD library – $3.99 and HD new release – $4.99
  10. Service started today in the U.S. and goes International later this year
• Apple TV: stated that we’ve all missed (Microsoft, Netflix, Nubu and other logos on screen) how to get the movies to the flat panel in the living room.  Apple TV was designed as an accessory for iTunes & computer, but it’s about Movies, Movies, Movies.  Enhancements announce:
  1. Price dropped from $299 to $229
  2. All new user interface
  3. Leverages the new iTune movie rental service
  4. Rent directly from the Apple TV box – no computer needed now
  5. Photo from Flickr can be streamed or from your dot mac accounts
  6. Will auto sync with your computer if you want
  7. Free software upgrade to all existing users and get the functionality
• 20^th Century Fox: Jim Gianopolos (Chairman & CEO) on stage to discuss movie rental deal.  Talked about biz models being super important, gushed about how great it is to work with Jobs and put a major plug in for Blu-ray winning the format war as the crowd applauded.
• MacBook Air: launched a new ultra-thin MacBook to compliment the notebook line up. Standard model priced at $1799.  Model with the 64GB SSD flash over $3K,.  Compared the “Air” to the Sony TZ series which had previously set the benchmark in this category.  The thickest part of the Air is thinner than the thinnest part of the Sony for comparisons.  Features:
  1. .76 to .16 thin (no optical device, can get one external if you need)
  2. 13.3 inch LCD back light display
  3. Full size and backlight keyboard
  4. Multi-touch (similar to the iPhone – swipe, pinch etc.) capability on the trackpad
  5. 80GB HDD and optional 64GB SSD (pricey however)
  6. 2GB memory and 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo (C2D) standard or optional 1.8GHz
  7. 802.11N and Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
  8. Usage model changing and driving wireless even for software download – now leverage a PC optical drive across the network
  9. Talked about environment: mercury free, arsenic free glass, Bromide Fire Retardant (BFR) and PVC free
  10. 56% less packaging waste
  11. Jobs applauded the joint effort and working with Intel
• Intel: Paul Otellini was invited on stage to evangelize the 30% reduced form factor of the C2D.  Gave Jobs a souvenir of one and gushed about how great it was to work with Apple.  For those of you into little known factual tidbits, it was interesting to note that the video graphic overlay while Paul walked on stage used the old Intel dropped “e” logo.  The graphic/name/title on the projected stage TV was correct.
• Summation: In the first 2 weeks of the New Year Apple launched:
  1. Fastest ever Mac Pro desktop system
  2. Time Capsule
  3. Software updates for iPhone, iPod Touch along with new apps for Touch
  4. iTunes Movie Rental
  5. Apple TV (software upgrade) along with HD video content
  6. MacBook Air – Ultra thin laptop
  7. Last slide stated…And there’s still 50 weeks left….
• Randy Newman: Music artist extraordinaire played a couple songs for the audience.  Newman photo courtesy of YouTube. He starts by telling us about his trip to Europe, where he noticed that “they don’t like us so much.”   And he sang a song he wrote about it…”A Few Words in Defense of Our Country.”

 A couple of parting thoughts about Randy Newman.  The song choice was odd.  If Apple signed off on the first song he sang they have some guts.  A little piano ditty that compares the U.S. to Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia and Europe during the time of the Inquisition.  Now that’s an interesting mix of art meeting commerce.  Highly political and bashed a number of things which will only add to the blog fodder I’m sure.

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HD DVD Takes a Nose Dive

By now you’ve read about Warner Bros. Entertainment announcement to drop HD DVD and focus on Blu-ray, a Sony Corp. backed technology vs. rival Toshiba.  Warner was the last major studio to put out movies in both formats and after May they will exclusively release on Blu-ray. 

The announcement by Warner rattled the industry nerves to the point that the N.A. HD DVD Promotional Group (which included Intel and Microsoft) canceled a major media event.  Who would blame them?   It’s not the kind of exciting news for what’s to come in 2008! 

I predicted Sony would not allow the “Betamax” struggle to repeat and that Blu-ray would prevail (HERE).  No need to bore you with the technology advantages of each format.  Ironically HD DVD has better interactivity today than Blu-ray, but that will evolve with BD Live.  I also observed evidence of a move of desperation during the holiday season when Toshiba HD DVD players flooded the market at $179.99.  Then Sony countered and jumped on the price discounting wagon with their BDP-S300 (entry level player) at Costco for $278.99 after a $100 rebate.  A $100 premium and never mind it didn’t support 7.1 audio. 

So what will Microsoft do now?  Speaking to Reuters, Albert Penello, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware, said in response to a question about Microsoft possibly supporting a Blu-ray accessory if HD DVD failed that they would consider it.  According to Engadget during holiday ’07 consumers purchased 92K HD DVD players for the xBox 360.   I believe Microsoft really wants the market to shift to digital download (aligns with xBox 360 content download service and their xBox 360 IPTV directions) and the format war was likely viewed as a gift which stalled adoption, create consumer confusion while digital download services improve. 

What is really important to most consumers is that the Warner announcement translates to the release of more movies which we want to watch (rent/buy) in stunning hi-def.  Now that the format battle is over I can plan on the Blu-ray release of Lord of the Rings (LOTR).  New Line (parent Time-Warner) will make this happen in ’08. 

And if all this wasn’t enough good news for the week, Sony demoed at CES the “next generation” of portable cinema viewing.  Samples of Blu-ray movies were successfully copied from a PlayStation 3 Blu-ray drive to a PlayStation Portable’s memory stick, as part of Sony’s new web-oriented service/approach to interactivity and play anywhere portability known as BD Live.  Other abilities include ring tone downloading and other media content to a BD Live media player.  One issue is that current Blu-ray players in the market (including the PS3) do not support BD-Live, but Sony confirmed the PS3 firmware update will be rolling out as early as this month to incorporate BD-Live playback into the system.

Now if Universal and Paramount can see that it makes sense (or is that $cents) to move to Blu-ray we’d be all set for a great hi-def year!

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Intel eJam’s with SmashMouth

I didn’t make CES this year so, I’m doing a bit of “web watching” and trying to stay current on the events.  

One keynote I sat through was the live webcast of Intel’s CEO Paul Otellini, eJamming’s Alan Jay Glueckman and front man Steve Harwell of SmashMouth.  This was an interesting and entertaining demo. 

As a musician I admire what eJaming software is all about.  They are enabling musicians to play together in real-time as if in the same room, but in actuality they could be across the world from each other.  The power of today’s PC’s and the internet make it all possible.  While there was some notable sync delays in the band being remote while Harwell sang on the CES stage — it was cool.  

This technology will only get better and truly encourages creativity, teaching options for kids and will expand the community of musicians. 

There were a couple of references to SmashMouth playing at the Intel party tonight…sorry I’ll miss that one. 

Note: Picture courtesy Intel webcast.

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RIAA Provides New Years Cold Wet Slap to Consumers Face

Just days before the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) where legendary musicians and the buzz of new product introductions will showcase how consumers manage and enjoy their digital media “everywhere”, the Washington Post is reporting that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has a federal case against Jeffrey Howell, an AZ, man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer.  RIAA maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.  

Huh?  It’s illegal to transfer CDs to a computer?  I thought court rulings over the last 20 years have found no violation of copyright law in the use of VCRs and other devices to time-shift TV programs; that is, to make personal copies for the purpose of making portable a legally obtained recording?

Who is RIAA?  It’s an organization that represents the major recording labels in the USA. These labels pay multi-millions of dollars for this representation and since RIAA is based in Washington, DC., they act as an industry lobbyist, literally.  They often urge, cajole or otherwise influence Congress to take their side in the “battle” against “music piracy.”  I’m not sure who would visit, but the RIAA even ran a Holiday Anti-Piracy Campaign message streaming across its web site offering tips on “avoiding pirate products.”

And northwest news the Oregon State Attorney General and the University of Oregon are being assaulted by RIAA’s tactics.  RIAA subpoenaed the University asking it to turn over the names of students that it suspected of making copyrighted material available to file sharers.  Note the keyword here is suspected.  While no one would disagree that it’s appropriate for victims of copyright infringement to pursue statutory remedies, shouldn’t that pursuit be tempered by basic rights of privacy and due process?

Typically RIAA harassment comes in the form of a pre-litigation letter to “suspects” they believe are guilty file sharers. There is even a credit card payment link – p2plawsuits.com where these so called “suspects” that receive the pre-litigation letters can drop off a quick $3000 to stop the RIAA from suing them.  Maybe next up is payroll deduction options?!  Good grief!

But that’s not good enough.  RIAA is now running around with deep- pocket teams of lawyers saying that even making a personal copy on your computer is a violation.  This hard-line position is clear. RIAA wants to roll back time to pre-internet days of vinyl albums.  If you make copies of copyrighted music recordings – even on cassette tape – you’re stealing.  You’re breaking the law and you could be held legally liable for thousands of dollars in damages.

The RIAA’s legal crusade against consumers (its customers) is a text-book example of an old media company clinging to a business model that has collapsed.

UPDATE: The Washington Post left out a couple of facts that are now being reported for the people who need to read all the details.  Turns out the article was misleading in that the RIAA was not only going after Howell for ripping his CD’s, but for also putting those ripped files into a shared Kazaa folder.  I disagree that because he put them in a shared folder its infringement, but its a different claim than the original one of just ripping them to his PC.  It will be interesting to watch…

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Unlimited Download TV Service

Let’s see, I slept for 7 hours; it’s a new day and an announcement of yet another start up in the internet video space.  This seems like a daily ritual. 

The newest is Sync TV, a spin off from consumer electronics company Pioneer, which launched a beta download service.

The audio and video quality of the TV shows is comparable or superior to the same show on DVD.  SyncTV will provide HD programming across some of the different channels and will also have programming available in discreet 5.1 Dolby Digital Plus, giving you the “home theater” experience.  They allow you a great deal of flexibility in how you play back the TV shows you download. You can play back shows on up to five ‘home’ devices which mean PCs/Macs now and other home entertainment devices in the future (read portable players). 

That’s the good news.  The bad news is yet another DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology for the consumer to try and get their head around.  Sync TV is using an open-standard DRM called Marlin.  Yet another group of top electronics manufacturers joining forces to develop a standard for content management and protection.  Marlin is also referred to as “OMArlin” because it supposedly bridges between the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) DRM v.2.0 and the Marlin DRM standards.  Does anyone care, outside the companies involved?  Not really.  Consumers might agree that content protection is a good idea but, they just want to play their stuff on all their devices. And they want everything to be cheaper, too. 

It’s another set of companies trying to protect what they see as their intellectual property and make money. You could make the claim as the same motive as Microsoft, Apple, RealNetworks and others in the DRM struggle.  The marketing spin tries to convince us that DRM is intended to make it easy for us to buy content and share it, without being encumbered by content protection schemes.   But, adding Marlin to this mix will be yet another failed attempt to create a DRM “standard”.   

What I do find interesting with Sync TV and all the regulatory noise about bundled programming, is the fact that users can subscribe a-la-carte for a variety of programs they want to watch. Each channel costs about $2 each per month, and currently there are four subscription channels available. Showtime is the foundation partner with promise of more.  

The Sync TV launch underscores the two worlds that now exist–the heavily regulated telecoms and broadcasting sectors and the almost entirely unregulated internet channel.  

Where do you think most of the innovation is?

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Jittery with iTunes/Starbuck Withdrawals

I don’t know about you, but I’m bummed over the end of the Starbucks and iTunes music promotion which ended last month.  The promotion ran October 2^nd and ended November 7^th to be exact, but every time I go to Starbucks I can’t help but look for the little “redeem-me-now” credit sized cards. Maybe I’m in a need deprivation state of mind?   

I remember first learning about the promotion where I get a free, new song every day in Starbucks. It made my morning stop so much more pleasant.  The first artist was Dylan and included other greats such as Gloria Estefan, Dave Matthews, John Mayer and many more.  Personally, I thought this was a great combination of two awesome products, coffee and music, brought to me by folks who know how to pamper my whims and do it so well, “Bucks” and “Mac”.  I don’t have an exact count on the total number of artists, but I collected 31 of those little redeemable cards and punched in 100’s of alpha-numerical characters to obtain the music goods.  How many did you collect?

But, don’t worry about my Apple/Starbuck-withdrawal-syndrome (ASWS).  I continue to frequent the place and now find myself trying to resist the urge to buy a CD every time I get a latte!  Maybe that was the intent…everytime I sip a latte I think of a song?!

 Hey don’t forget — you have until the end of December to redeem all those Song-of-the-Day cards.

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Give A Computer A Cookie

Like the famous book “Give A Mouse A Cookie…” by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Illustrator Felicia Bond, “cookies” are often used by advertisers and Web analytic firms on most all web sites.   They place “tracking cookies” on your computer.  And like the book, the mouse will “ask for a glass of milk…” you can sure bet those web advertisers and analytic firms will be asking you for something. 

In most cases they don’t even let you know that they’ve ask!  Let me explain.  On the web, a “cookie” is a small text file that contains a string of alphanumeric characters. The tracking cookies tell companies what you are doing online, even though they don’t typically record your name or other personably identifiable information. The cookies are used by companies to try and match ads to a user’s interests or in the above mouse example they will “ask for a glass of milk”. 

There are two types of cookies used on most websites: a persistent cookie and a session cookie. A persistent cookie gets entered by your Web browser into the “Cookies” folder on your computer and remains in this “Cookies” folder after you close your browser. Persistent cookies may be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the site. A session cookie is held temporarily in your computer’s memory and disappears after you close your browser or shut off your computer. There are websites that use Web beacons (also called “clear GIFs” or “pixel tags”) in conjunction with cookies. Web beacons are small strings of code that are placed in a Web page. For example, if you arrive at website by clicking on a banner ad for a product or service, a session cookie may be used. This cookie will contain an identification number for the ad that you clicked on, or will contain an identification number for the site that you were visiting when you clicked on the banner ad. 

Most web sites tell you nothing upfront about tracking cookies, or how to get rid of these tracking cookies assuming that you want too.  Cookies are used all over the Web, but in most cases, their presence is only disclosed deep inside privacy policies.  When was the last time you read a privacy policy? 

Some of the more reputable web sites want you to know how to get rid of these tracking cookies or opt out of the cookies set by any ad-placement or analytic contractor they might use and will provide the information.  For example, here is a link to a page where you can opt out of the cookies set by an ad-placement or analytics contractor of Omniture. 

 I’d prefer a totally opt-in system, but, as far as I know, the ad industry doesn’t have a practical one yet and not enough consumers have complained about tracking cookies to make an impact for the industry to change. If you want to clean out all tracking cookies from all your Web sites the following links take you where you can download three programs that can help clean out tracking cookies: 

• http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php
• http://www.spybot.info/en/download/index.html
• http://www.webroot.com/consumer/products/spysweeper/

 I’ve used some of these applications and been satisfied with the results, but give them a try and let me know your results. You can also change the preferences or settings in your Web browser to control cookies. In some cases, you can choose to accept cookies from the primary site, but block them from third parties. In others, you can block cookies from specific advertisers, or clear out all cookies. 

Not all cookies are tracking cookies. Like a lot of Web sites, they may place cookies on your computer, in addition to any placed by advertisers. But they aren’t “tracking cookies.” They merely do things like save your registration information, if you choose to register. They do not tell the companies what you do or where you go online. 

I’ll take warm milk with my cookies, thank you.

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26 Years Later Mobile Penetration at 50%

November is an important month in the global mobile business.  First off, Apple launched its iPhone in the UK, Germany and France, after a successful launch in the US. Google put a line in the sand on the mobile space with the release of Android and the formation of the Open Handset Alliance.

According to a report from Informa Telecoms & Media , worldwide mobile penetration hit 50 percent. The report states there are 3.3 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide. At the end of September there were mobile networks operating in 224 countries, which is up from 192 countries in 1997 and 35 in 1987. Even though there are now an estimated 3.3 billion mobile subscriptions activated currently, its important to note that some countries have a mobile penetration rate of more than 100 percent, meaning some users have more than one subscription.

And in related mobile news, Apple plans to release a developer kit for the iPhone in February.  That is notable since they have routinely controlled access to many of their products, but now will welcome software written by outside programmers.

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Wand Waving My iPhone Remote

Odds are that as a developer you went to college, earned a degree to specialize in something and avoid a career serving up burgers and fries at the local grill. But now day’s developers are spending most of their week developing mobile applications for the fast-food giants.  That’s ironic! 

According to Adweek, consumers are facing mobile advertising saturation and a growing number of brands are turning to mobile developers to create interactive wireless services and tools in lieu of conventional mobile media buys.  Advertisers are investing in “branded utility”–i.e., services they believe enable their customers to perform tasks, rather than interrupt the mobile experience. 

And speaking of branded utility, AppleInsider reports that Apple filed a series of patents for sensor layouts, mobile sensors and compliant conductors, together indicating they are working on a multi-touch device that recognizes more intricate gestures–e.g., grabbing or swiping motions with one or more fingers–and selectively disables input depending on context. In the patent, Apple explained that pressure-sensitive technology could recognize rolling, tilting, or twisting motions for manipulating content in 3D. And because the touch controls need not be flat, the technology would enable more unique and ergonomic device designs. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to the day where I can twirl and whirling my iPhone to buy a burger and then roll that perfect 300 bowling game!

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Blog World and New Media Expo

Sorry about the delayed post on this, but I was flying home late last Friday night and there was a little gal coughing the entire 3 hour flight in my row…needless to say I contracted whatever she was spreading into the air.  Ugh!!  Anyway here is my delayed post on Blog World.

Summary:

A bunch of bloggers getting together sounds like “geekfest” and this conference delivered.  It’s dedicated to promoting the blogging industry and “new media”. This was a first for an industry-wide exhibition, and BlogWorld featured more than 50 seminars, panel discussions and keynotes from a who’s who of personalities.   The conference was for the serious blogger, podcaster, or vlogger who want to increase readership, improving functionality of blogs, but most important were the discussions and examples of new business models leveraging affiliate or ad/promotion programs.   

Blogging Statistics – Level Set

• Over 12 million American adults currently maintain a blog.
• More than 147 million Americans use the Internet.
• Over 57 million Americans read blogs.
• 1.7 million American adults list making money as one of the reasons they blog.
• 89% of companies surveyed say they think blogs will be more important in the next five years.
• 9% of internet users say they have created blogs.
• 6% of the entire US adult population has created a blog.
• Technorati is currently tracking over 70 million blogs — over120 thousand blogs are created every day.
• There are over 1.4 million new blog posts every day–22 of the 100 most popular websites in the world are blogs.
• 37% of blog readers began reading blogs in 2005 or 2006.
• 51% of blog readers shop online.
• Blog readers average 23 hours online each week.

 Blog statistic info/source: HERE. 

Conference Details:

The conference had a lot of exhibitors that provided product services to bloggers, vloggers, and podcasters. Another way to view this is a tradeshow catering to individuals and businesses that tie at least some of their efforts to the process of communication and commerce through the internet.  Exhibitors included: Blog publishing software, RSS services, Broadband ISP’s, Wi-Fi services, Podcasting services, Advertising networks, News readers, Aggregators, Badges, Widgets and Plug-ins, Web hosting companies, Blog designers, Affiliate program partners, recording hardware/software, and more. 

I thought about blogging a blogging conference, but there was no time to post.   Conferences (at least the good ones) are about action and events. And when formal events (like panels or keynotes) aren’t in progress, there are numerous informal conversations, exhibits to visit, etc.   I can’t write, talk, and listen at the same time. 

The event started with an opening keynote which was a Q&A between Ed Sussman from FastCompany.com (also Inc.com) and Matt Mullenweg who is the founding developer of WordPress. This was not very dynamic. The speakers sitting down in leather chairs and had the energy of The Actor’s Studio. It was interesting, but wasn’t the best morning kick-off for a long day packed full of sessions.  Ed asked the questions and Matt provided answers and weaved in a “state of the union” on the blogging industry (both content & software) and where things are heading.  Matt had several interesting comments, and the key points were: WordPress will ALWAYS be an open source project.
WordPress is working an “auto-update” feature (ala Firefox) that lets you update your blog through a single button click when you log in to your admin section. 

Overall I found the sessions to be very interesting and the exhibits had many ideas on how to add to a blog and earn affiliate or ad banner revenue/cash. 

Notable Sessions:

1. Blogging 101 – by Andy Wibbels.  Great presentation.  Discussed how 73% of journalists are looking for expertise from blogs.  Discussed how the unexpected connection changes your life, your perception.  Kind of exciting, but also a bit creepy.  Mention that 1/3 of all blogs are in Japanese.  We’re missing a lot of good insight due to language.  Discussed multiple streams of blogging income:  Contextual text ads (Google Adsense); Impression based ads (Tribal Fusion); Traditional Affiliate Programs (Amazon Assoc., Commission Junction); Contextual Widgets (Chitika.com); Paid Reviews (payperpost.com) and other branded schwags and RSS “tip jars”.  He also mentioned several blogging search engines: Blogpulse, BlogCatalog, IceRocket, BlogDigger.  I really liked Andy’s analogy of “Why are people on-line?”  a. Fun/Entertainment, b. Utility/Get Info (What’s that rash?), c. Community.  This was a similar theme in other speaker’s presentations as well and needs to be constantly referenced to make sure we are serving our customer.
2. Good to Great: Blogging & Profit Potential – by Jim Kukral.  Jim has made more $500K blogging.  He is a jedi master so’s to speak.  Deliver a great presentation, with topics covering how blogs are making money and that everyone should be tapping into the money with online videos.  Like his “MarkCubanCallMe” blog idea.  Never spoke with Cuban, but generated a lot of views.  Jim discussed that the majority of blogs do not make money.  It’s a lot of work and with out setting a goal or serving a targeted niche or solve a problem you will not succeed.  He worked thru the mechanics of click-thru payments.  Jims view is that people got to the internet to have fun or get a problem solved.  That if you have a passion and can be an expert then you will do well producing quality content.  Described how problogger.net bought a home on blogging revenue.  Referenced one of the most successful blogs is by Tim Carver “askthebuilder.com”.  Think of it as a how to blog.  He discussed how no one is doing video on blogs.  Very small numbers today and that Google are doing a lot to drive video search.  Jim stated buy a $100 flip video camera and solve problems for people.  A secret to success.
3. Building an Online Community – by Wendy Persall and David Nalle.  Wendy runs Emomsathome.com and David runs blogcritics.org  Discussion around content for the clicks and building a blog so that people don’t leave.  Meaning sometimes the affiliate or ad’s will redirect a reader away from your site and it might be more advantageous to run direct ads on your site so they stay and read more content or ads.
4. Social Media vs. Pay-per-Click – by Jalali Hartman.  Played an interesting video “EPIC 2014” by museum of media history. Basically states to watch out for Google world domination.  Jalali talked about a project Wardancethemovie.com and how “movements” attract much larger and passionate members than a movie can.  He discussed the viral content elements of the project and type of tricks he used.  He mentioned an example of a movement on the Colbert for President on Facebook groups was generating 120 users join requests per second during the first 24 hours.  When people would post comments to The Wall they wouldn’t show up for hours.
5. Using Social Media to Drive Traffic to your Blog – by Robyn Tippins and Larry Bailin.  Great presentation and primarily a Q&A session.  Robyn is super knowledgeable.  Works for Yahoo.  I met with her after the session and learned that she did some work for ISN while back.  I learned several techniques on how to cross reference/link for maximum exposure of a blog.  Mybloglog is a gold nugget.
6. The Web 10.0 – by Thomas Frey (DaVinci Institute).  This was a futuristic discussion and Thomas pushed the level of understanding of what the net/blogs will become.  Basically his presentation is about the net being group into 3 categories:  Education, Global Systems, Techno-Nation.  Depressing to learn that in 1970 30% of all college graduates lived in the U.S., but today it’s 14%.  The most educated country in the world is Canada.  He discussed how future of education would evolve.  The Techno-nation area discussed economic borderlines of the world will not be drawn between countries, but around economic domains.  Virtual countries and no land involved.  With borderless economies it’s caused countries to lose control of commerce.  Lastly he discussed how search will become increasingly more complicated and an even bigger business opportunity with taste, texture, reflectivity, smell being some of the attributes.
7. Social Media – by Chris Heuer and Marshal Kirkpatrick spoke on the Social Media landscape. An interesting discussion group and the Q&A session were good.  The main point is that Social Media enables us to tear down the walls between each other. It opens all of us up to one another and it allows us all to connect with the community around us and bond with it. In the end the Social Media Landscape is up to us and what we make of it.  Chris answered the “What is Social Media?” question by: “Its evergreen & persistent, it creates more opportunities to be found, puts a human face on your business, builds trust in the market and allows you to co-create with your customers.” Thinking about this statement it’s very true and we apply it every day to our Social Media usage whether we realize it or not.

I didn’t conduct in-depth research, but did listen to several brief demonstrations in the exhibit area.  Some of the notables are: 

• Ligit: I’m going to use this site!
• AdaptiveBlue: If you like movies, books, and music and blog about them often this site would be a great addition to your blog and a great way for you to make a little money as well.
• SezWho: This is interesting but to be truthful, I need to play with it more before I totally understand it.BlogCatalog: Great site.  I’m just putting it here in case you haven’t been introduced yet.
• WooMail: These guys hit me up while I was outside on break and were not part of the show. I know nothing about them other than its e-mail but I’m going to have a look. 

Summary:

Putting all this data and learning’s about blogs/Internet into good use:

1. Focus on building relationships between businesses, bloggers & readers
2. You will not succeed unless you focus on the things you have passion
3. Commenting on Blogs to increase visibility and credibility.  Not something routinely done today.
4. Always provide value by offering substantive material.
5. Further the conversation in comments and be inviting/friendly so as to promote community and the sharing of ideas.
6. Experiment with affiliate programs and continue to leverage any viral element.

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