At the New York Festival, representatives from AOL, College Humor, YouTube, Blip, MySpace, MSN and others converged in panels to discuss television in the digital age. GigaOM gives a brief overview of the four-hour event that was live-streamed and archived online.
“Research matters” according to folks at CW Digital who have received show pitches from people who have no understanding of the company or its audience.
“The great content creators, according to everyone on the Development panel, understand more than just making content — specifically, how to market that content on a social media level,” GigaOM writes.
To get more draw online, pick up celebrities with strong Twitter followings over celebrities who don’t; also, web celebs can create extra attention online.
Don’t just hire people who are in it for the money – find people who actually understand and care about digital.
At the beginning, avoid exclusivity. Then, as the show develops, look for companies offering good deals with an emphasis on strong promotion to get the necessary push in an increasingly crowded market.
Check out the YouTube Creator Handbook to get more views.
The homegrown web series Lizzie Bennet Diaries from Hank Green and Bernie Su is teaming up with DECA.
Facebook’s decision to remove email addresses from user profiles has made it harder for Mark Malkoff to book celebrities for his Celebrity Sleepovers series. Even with the show’s notable guest list, the iJustine episode has been by far the most viewed segment of the series.
Blip CEO says “YouTube can be a great way to build your audience, but it’s not the only way to build your audience.”
Creators should experiment with various platforms and determine which works best for their content.
MySpace Entertainment president defends keeping the brand name because of past artists’ success on the platform.
Sony debuts two CineAlta pro cameras that will compete directly with RED.
Both cameras feature a new type of 4K Super 35mm image sensor with a 4096 x 2160 resolution.
Both support multi-codecs including Sony’s new XAVC MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format, the SR codec (MPEG4 SStP) and the industry-standard High Definition XDCAM 50Mbps 4:2:2 codec.
Using the new AXS-R5 RAW recorder, slow-motion imagery can be captured at up to 240fps (PMW- F55) and up to 120fps (PMW- F5) as 4K RAW files on newly developed AXS memory.
The cameras support Sony’s new high-speed, SxS PRO memory cards in 128 and 64 GB capacities.
The new cameras are scheduled to be available in February 2013, with suggested list pricing to be announced.
Power outages throughout the Northeast were the main cause for the loss of more than 20% of cellphone tower sites in 10 states. Restoration is making slow progress down from the 25% rate on Tuesday.
“The crisis is not over,” Julius Genachowski, chairman of the F.C.C., said Wednesday. “Over all, the condition of our communications networks is improving, but serious outages remain, particularly in New York, New Jersey, and other hard-hit areas.”
The New York Times reported that 6 percent of Verizon Wireless’ cell sites remained down in storm-affected areas, but its switching and data centers “are functioning normally.” T-Mobile has roughly 20 percent of its network in New York City and 10 percent of its network in Washington that are out of service.
AT&T and T-Mobile customers will be able to use the networks of both companies in the affected areas of New York and New Jersey at no additional charge as their networks use similar technologies, so switching between them will be seamless.
When people shop at the International Finance Center Mall in Seoul, South Korea, they’re being watched as they approach any of the 26 informational kiosks.
“Just above each kiosk’s LCD touchscreen sit two cameras and a motion detector,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “As a visitor is recorded, facial-identity software estimates the person’s gender and age.”
SK Marketing & Co., which is running the system, plans to allow advertisers to tailor interactive ads to the attributes calculated by the software.
“Advertisers in big public spaces only have a general idea of who they’re reaching and they can only target ads at big audience segments,” explains Ahn Jae-heon, a senior planner for SK M&C. “This can offer more focus and customization for them.”
“The system, which is in data-collection phase now and will begin full operation early next year, is the first of its kind in South Korea and one of the first in the world,” according to WSJ.
Executives have said that no interactions will be recorded nor information stored. “They also won’t ask for any personal information from people as they use it,” adds the article.
“Where’s My Water?” started as a $1 iPhone-only game with just 80 levels. It has since expanded to multiple operating systems, added around 500 levels and seen more than 100 million downloads worldwide.
The game’s protagonist Swampy has become a merchandise sensation and will star in the upcoming animated series “Swampy’s Underground Adventures.” Bart Decrem, SVP and GM of Disney Mobile Games, talks about the game’s evolution into transmedia.
“We put out the simplest version of the game, with just enough levels to gauge players’ response,” he explains. “This allowed us to get to market very quickly, but one of the happy side effects was that it forced us to really focus on nailing the core of ‘Where’s My Water?’ — which led to a better experience for the players.”
“We then used community feedback and analytics to get a really deep understanding of what was working for our gamers, where they got stuck, and to keep refining the gameplay.”
“This is such an important platform for the company,” Decrem adds. “A whole new generation of Disney guests is growing up with their iPhones, iPads or Android devices as a primary screen — not to mention huge new markets like China and India opening up for the company. We have a huge opportunity to bring existing Disney characters and stories to life on this magical new canvas, but also to create new Disney characters here — characters that hopefully will stand the test of time.”
The game has had spinoffs with other Disney characters like Phineas and Ferb.
The upcoming “Swampy’s Underground Adventures” series follows Swampy the alligator “in his quest for acceptance, friendship, and adventure outside of the bathtub,” Decrem explains. “We created 12 episodes that are launching weekly on Disney.com and Disney’s Network on YouTube. There are also plans to premiere the shorts on Disney Channel beginning in November.”
Unlike tablets, which are well suited for news consumption, “the phone is dramatically different,” says Matt Galligan, CEO of mobile news app Circa. “You’re in line waiting for the subway or you’re in line for coffee and it’s kind of ‘gap time.’ Lengthy articles are very time intensive and attention intensive, and they are tough to consume on the phone.”
Circa was launched by Cheezburger Network CEO Ben Huh and co-founder Galligan with a goal to rethink the production of news in today’s fast-paced mobile society.
“The main idea is that the traditional article or story format that newspapers and other news outlets have produced for so many years no longer fits with the way we produce or consume information now,” writes GigaOM. “The standard ‘inverted pyramid’-style article was designed for the days when people might only see one report about a news event, printed on dead trees and without links, so it had to include virtually everything.”
“Now, however,” the article continues, “the news has become more of a process than an artifact, with multiple reports from different sources, updates, social links and other elements added over time. But news-reading formats remain more or less the same as they have always been.”
Circa looks to take advantage of that “gap time” by condensing news stories into small easily-consumed bits.
Galligan explains that Circa breaks news down into its “atomic units” rather than offering the entire news article. The units typically consist of facts, background information and other elements such as photos and quotes. The user has the option of what to read at any given time.
These “atomic units” allow articles to be updated with incoming information and users can “follow” a topic to be alerted about developments.
Japanese phone maker NTT Docomo is hoping consumers will be interested in its Grip UI technology, which offers functionality through squeezing and pinching phones.
“Consumers have gotten used to pinching and swiping,” reports Fortune. “Soon phone makers may be adding bending, folding and squeezing to their repertoire.”
The primary goal of Grip UI is to create a mobile phone that is easier to control with one hand, freeing up the user’s other hand for carrying a briefcase, for example, or holding on to a pole in the subway.
NTT Docomo’s Android-powered handset has 270 sensors in the phone’s body that enables users to execute operations by squeezing the bezel.
“It is the latest in a range of emerging technology haptic gadgets — and even bendable phones — that promise commercialization soon and that exploit our innate love of manipulating tactile, responsive objects,” explains the article.
“Pressure sensitivity is a very interesting direction for phones so this is great technology,” says Ivan Poupyrev, haptics researcher at Disney’s labs in Pittsburgh.
Flexible objects and haptic interfaces could eventually lead to innovative products such as thin bendable media cards, interactive maps, mini photo albums, advanced OLED screens and various malleable electronic devices.
Apple’s mobile software head Scott Forstall and retail chief John Browett will leave the company in a sweeping management overhaul. Forstall will leave next year and serve as an adviser to Cook until then.
Forstall was responsible for Apple’s recent problems with its Maps app and Siri which has been met with criticism. Moreover, there were reports of friction between Forstall and other senior Apple execs. The final straw may have been his refusal to sign an apology for the Maps app which was eventually signed by CEO Tim Cook.
Browett who joined Apple in April oversaw the retail operation. His plans to reduce staff, cut hours and limit store transfers was reversed as a “mistake.” He was seen as a bad fit since his arrival.
Apple execs Jony Ive, Eddy Cue, Bob Mansfield and Craig Federighi will take on added management responsibilities. Ive will now oversee responsibility for the user interface design. Cue will inherit Siri and maps which puts all the company’s online services in one group. Federighi will take over iOS development and the Mac operating system, merging the mobile and desktop teams. Mansfield’s new Technologies group will combine Apple’s wireless teams as well as the semiconductor groups.
Google unveiled the new Nexus 10 tablet with an impressive 2560 x 1600 resolution, 10-inch screen. This 300ppi display competes directly with Apple’s high-res Retina display.
The Nexus 10 will be available in 16GB or 32GB models and will be Wi-Fi only. It will include a dual-core ARM Cortex-A15 chip, 2GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel camera on the rear and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera, a 9,000mAh capacity giving it up to 9 hours of HD video playback, front-facing speakers for audio, microUSB, Micro HDMI and two NFC chips.
Running Android 4.2 will allow it to support multiple users with personalized homescreens and apps.
The Nexus 10 will be priced at $399 for the 16GB version and $499 for the 32GB version. It will be available on November 13th in the Google Play Store in the US, UK, Australia, France, Germany, Spain and Canada. In the US, the 32GB model will also be available in Walmart stores.
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in stock and cash which the New York Times says “gives it a commanding position in the world of fantasy movies.”
Disney is planning to revive the Star Wars franchise. It will release a seventh feature film in the series in 2015 and have new films every two or three years thereafter. Disney’s CEO Bob Iger said the company had also acquired a detailed treatment for the next three “Star Wars” films as part of the acquisition.
While founder, George Lucas, will step down from day-to-day operation of the company, he will be a consultant on future film projects.
Lucasfilm will continue to be run by Kathleen Kennedy who will become its president reporting to Alan Horn, Disney Studios chairman.
The acquisition includes Lucasfilm’s live-action production business, the Industrial Light & Magic effects business, Skywalker Sound and its consumer products unit.
When you Google a song title, often guitar chord information will show up in the results. And say you don’t know a chord for that song, search it on YouTube and you’ll probably be able to find numerous guitar lessons online.
Today, the opportunity to learn how to play musical instruments no longer requires expensive private lessons or going to a class. This phenomenon is likely to spread to other areas of study.
“The current hype is that ubiquitous Internet connections and tablet devices will emerge as a competitive threat to real-life teachers, kill the textbook business and bring low-price learning to billions around the world,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
“There will be big business opportunities for a select group of star teachers and a handful of companies, too,” the article continues. “The downside: Schools and teachers will have to adapt to lower-cost competition from around the country and the world. And they may have to acknowledge that technology might be better at many tasks done today by a fidgety teacher and a metronome.”
Already, some online guitar instructors have been able to make a comfortable living through YouTube videos, like Justin Sandercoe who accumulated 170,000 subscribers. He now travels the world giving in-person lessons to fans or $100 personal sessions online.
“The business problem with such media models is that production can be ramped up only so much — it largely relies on one person’s available time,” the article notes. The piece acknowledges other efforts that leverage computing power to “teach.” For example, one system can track how well students follow streaming sheet music.
Online systems can be much more distracting for some students, and ultimately, motivation and discipline determine the student’s success. In the future, teaching may become more about motivating than explaining.
The U.S. Copyright Office reauthorized circumvention of certain copyright encryption techniques for jailbreaking mobile phones and e-books, but the group remained unmovable when it came to game-console modifications and copying DVDs for personal use.
“The ruling hands yet another loss to digital rights groups who are waging an ongoing campaign to chip away at the scope of a law that limits citizens’ rights by treating copyright owners’ encryption techniques as sacrosanct,” reports Wired.
Every three years, groups can submit requests to the copyright office to change aspects of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This year, the regulators argued that controls on DVDs and consoles are necessary to prevent piracy.
“The record demonstrated that access controls on gaming consoles protect not only the console firmware, but the video games and applications that run on the console as well. The evidence showed that video games are far more difficult and complex to produce than smartphone applications, requiring teams of developers and potential investments in the millions of dollars,” the copyright regulators state.
Regulators backed the Motion Picture Association of America in keeping DVD duplication illegal. Users can, however, legally circumvent encryption “to make use of short portions of the motion pictures for the purpose of criticism or comment,” regulators say.
They are allowing jailbreaking for smartphones, but not for tablets. “When the only difference between a Galaxy Note and a Android tablet is an inch and a radio that can handle voice and data channels, it’s a pretty odd line to draw,” Wired writes.
While some consider e-books “tablets,” authorities allow circumvention for e-books to enable read-aloud functions for the sight impaired.
Fans of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” could see their likeness used for characters in the new Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC game.
Activision Publishing has teamed with developer Terminal Reality for the eight-week “Dead Giveaway” contest, giving fans the opportunity to be a part of the upcoming game, a prequel to the show.
“Clues will be revealed during new episodes of ‘The Walking Dead’ season three on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. on AMC,” The Hollywood Reporter explains. “Fans can enter the clues online at www.amcdead.com and each week one lucky winner will be chosen to appear as a character in the game.”
“Terminal Reality will then use photos of his or her facial likeness to create a unique character whose backstory and chilling death scene may be encountered by players during ‘The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct.'”
“‘The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct’ is a do-whatever-you-need-to-survive first-person action game that brings the deep, character-driven world of AMC’s Emmy Award-winning TV series onto console gaming systems and the PC in a frightening new way,” the article explains.
In the game, survivors will be able to learn about these characters and their horrific ends; there will be a special task to discover all the contest characters.
From now until December 2, 2012, every new episode of the show offers a new chance to win.
With the advent of e-readers and tablets, people aren’t reading less and authors aren’t searching for new jobs. In fact, by many reports, consumers are reading more and, as this fall publishing season demonstrates, there is a great range of books still being produced.
“The notion that books are somehow less of a factor in the cultural or information ecosystem of our time doesn’t hold up to the evidence,” suggests The Atlantic.
Trade sales increased 13.1 percent to $2.33 billion in the first six months of 2012, according to the Association of American Publishers, which looked at 1,186 companies.
“The most important indicator is the continuing boost in e-book sales, up 34.4 percent, to $621.3 million, which makes it competitive with the totals for hardcover print sales,” explains the article. “When you consider that it was only with the appearance of Amazon’s first Kindle reader in 2007 that e-book sales took off, the pace of change is stunning.”
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently revealed that his company doesn’t make any money on selling Kindle devices. “What we find is that when people buy a Kindle they read four times as much as they did before they bought the Kindle,” said Bezos. “But they don’t stop buying paper books. Kindle owners read four times as much, but they continue to buy both types of books.”
Amazon notoriously makes hard bargains with publishers and they in turn have become dependent on Amazon and other tech companies.
“Instead of the competition among traditional booksellers for the attention of readers that was for so long the way books were sold,” The Atlantic writes, “publishers now must confront the immense power and reach of tech giants and adapt to their influence.”
“Satellite radio seemed like a good idea a decade ago,” writes Wired. “But today, paying for satellite radio has become much less appealing, as gigabytes of music fit in the palm of your hand and smartphones with streaming services flood into vehicles.”
Satellite radio provider SiriusXM is now looking to telematics to supplement the flailing radio service. The company will provide 24/7 emergency support for accidents, stolen vehicle tracking and roadside assistance to select Nissan models.
“Customers will also enjoy the simplicity of a consolidated bill for their audio entertainment and a central site to manage subscriptions,” SiriusXM said in a press release.
The company says it will incorporate both satellite and cellular networks to “expand coverage beyond traditional cellular-based telematics services” and “create the potential for personalized services and next-generation audio offerings.”
“And while having a satellite connection to the car could give SiriusXM an advantage over cellular-based telematics services by allowing wider coverage — when you’re out of cell range with most systems, you’re out of luck if you need help — the company’s satellites currently only beam information one way,” explains Wired. This means that satellite signals can transmit to connected cars but not visa versa.
Because SiriusXM is already available in multiple vehicles and it has a strong brand name, the company has the ability to add services to stay relevant — although what these services will be is still uncertain.
Roger Lanctot, an analyst at Strategy Analytics, says the SiriusXM weather, news, sports and traffic services are less competitive now but adding a cellular connection will allow the company to deliver premium content in an IP manner “with potentially more personalization and maybe with some social aspects.”