ThePrintedBlog Was A Good Idea, If Done Correctly…
I’ve been following the story surrounding ThePrintedBlog, a startup that recently failed that centered around publishing blog posts and other user-generated content into a bi-weekly newspaper in cities such as Chicago, New York and San Francisco.
The idea worked in the beginning, but tried to grow to fast. The idea was simple- take blog posts and publish them (with the bloggers permission) into a newspaper-type format, and then offer them free of charge at subway stations, news stands and other areas around its cities. The idea was monetized by third-party advertisements, and the revenue of such was shared with the bloggers who appeared in the various publications.
The startup recently shut down, but I think the idea had a lot of staying power if done correctly. The founder admitted this fact in an interview with the New York times, stating that he tried to grow to fast, and that if he’d started with one edition that sold at one subway station in Chicago, he could have bootstrapped it effectively without needing outside funding to keep afloat. The lack of funding was the eventual nail in the coffin of the startup that cost the founder an estimated $250K to get off the ground.
Using innovative initiatives such as putting commercial printers in the homes of the delivery personnel, the startup was on the right track from the beginning and managed to publish several issues before cutting the cord, but it leaves me wondering if the idea would work elsewhere in the country. If a pilot program was introduced in a smaller city, with around 100,000 people that were very focused on their local media, I think it would have a lot of traction. The only problem being the lack of local, online, user-generated content via blogs. Smaller communities usually lack a lot of good online content that would be suitable to publish for the masses.
Another thought would be to distribute the newspaper free-of-charge to the entire community (a smaller one of course to get things started) and subsidize the third-party advertising that runs alongside the content with a section dedicated to local advertisers. You could charge a flat-fee for local companies to include coupons, announcements, etc. and could help offset the costs of printing, distribution and other expenses while not having to worry about circulation.
In the end, I have to commend the founder of ThePrintedBlog for giving it his best, I think he had some excellent ideas and executed them to the best of his ability. I still think we’ve haven’t seen the last of this concept yet….thoughts?
Cloud-Gaming Coming – HD Games Streamed Right In
While some may argue that cloud computing has its drawbacks I, however, see it as the absolute future in many respects. Another example of that was the introduction by AMD of what they call the “Fusion Render Cloud,”- a supercomputer aimed at changing the way we consume and interact with media and the internet, with a particular focus on video games. In other words, gaming will one day be moved from proprietary gaming consoles and standalone games to an all-internet based environment where the games are actually streamed. From Wired’s article on the subject:
“…As part of the new Fusion initiative being unveiled over at CES, this supercomputer would combine cutting edge hardware and server-side rendering technology to deliver next-gen games and HD content to internet connected devices. AMD’s press release does a fine job of explaining the composition of their computational beast. Over 1000 ATI graphics cards work in tandem with AMD processors and chipsets to render and compress graphically intensive content, which is then streamed over the internet to all sorts of devices, eliminating the need for computational effort on the receiving end.
Internet-connected devices — from cell phones to laptops — would theoretically be able to play games and HD movies without draining much of their battery life or even requiring potent hardware.
Though the system isn’t scheduled to be ready until the second half of 2009, the ramifications of such a device are staggering. System requirements for PC gaming would be a thing of the past, as your computer would serve as little more than a conduit to the internet, and all of your devices would be interconnected.
Imagine playing Crysis on your cell phone, pausing the game as you stepped off the train, and unpausing at the exact same position, in full resolution, at your PC hours later. With Electronic Arts as one of the major publishers showing support for the Fusion Cloud, the idea isn’t as far fetched as it seems.
But will it work? As far as PC gaming is concerned, piracy fears would be mitigated, as content would be streamed directly from the Cloud — why risk going to retail, or even making digital downloads available, when customers could just stream their games? Add in the fact that expensive gaming PCs would no longer be required, and developing for the PC suddenly becomes a no-brainer.
As an added bonus, if the technology proves sound, imagine shutting entire armies of fanboys up once and for all — there would no longer be a need for dedicated consoles, and third party manufacturers could simply create a few peripherals to suit a player’s needs, whether that be a gamepad, a mouse and keyboard, or a Wiimote-style pointer device. Content would be king, and forum warriors would have to find other ways to pass the time….”
Will We Ever See Relevant Text Ads On Television?
I know it would probably never work, but I got to thinking about whether we’ll ever see relevant content-type text advertising on TV. I know it sounds absurd, but hear me out.
We’re already bombarded with text on the screen in almost every show we watch if you think about it. From channel logos, schedules, and show titles being displayed at the bottom corners, to running tickers on news and finance channels, text is always displayed somewhere in most cases. Why not use that prime space for advertising and allow for more programming and less commercial interruption.
When you think about it, the guide on most cable and satellite providers already incorporates some form of advertising in the form of banners, etc. that advertise upcoming programming or channels. If you turn the guide into more of a “search engine-esque” type of interface, you could display the program guide on the left side of the screen and relevant hyperlinked text-ads on the right- just like Google.
By hyperlinking the text ads not only to channels and DVR settings, you could integrate television and the internet to provide a whole new way of advertising interaction with consumers. People wouldn’t mind the advertising as much as annoying commercials because they would be relevant to what they’re watching and non-obtrusive.
Software could be introduced on set-top box receivers for cable and satellite providers that would constantly monitor the programming someone is watching and automatically serve relevant ads alongside or at the bottom of the screen. They could be semi-transparent to not take away from the programming but visible enough for the consumer to take action is they want to. Dish Network has already introduced new receivers at this year’s CES that use a mouse-like pointers instead of d-pads and numbers on the remote control. What this means is that the user can move a mouse-pointer on screen to select programming, input channel numbers, etc. This is perfect for text-based advertising on television.
It’s just a thought, but I think it has real merit if executed properly. What do you think, would it work? Would you rather see semi-visible text ads at the bottom of your screen rather than minutes of commercials interupting your favorite show? I think it could work.
Cloud-Based OSs And Netbooks Are The Future, Maybe…
Since netbooks seemed to have taken off like many said they wouldn’t, it’s raised some questions as to the future of cloud-based computing and the devices we use to access it. Since the applications and overall functions of today’s computers are being moved online, or the “clouds,” the devices and computers needed to access them require much less substance, battery power, and processing power. In other words, the “computing” of today’s computers will be moved online. The speed of the processing will then rely on the Internet connection rather than the computer’s hardware which is much easier to increase remotely and cheaply.
Since netbooks really don’t need bulky Windows installed on it, it’s left open a niche for OSs built specifically for netbooks. Some have been introduced which are pretty cool. One from “Good OS” called “gOS” was reviewed recently:
Good OS has been trying to position their operating system as a good fit for netbooks for ages. Or for what passes for ages in a market that’s barely over a year old. While gOS can run pretty much any application that runs on Ubuntu, the operating system’s claim to fame is its integration with web-based services like Gmail, Google Docs, and YouTube. In other words, applications that are hosted online in the “cloud” and which don’t run natively on your computer.
The concept makes a lot of sense. After all, netbooks tend to be underpowered when compared with more traditional laptop and desktop computers. So why exert a lot of processing power to load local apps when all you really need is a web browser than can reach remote applications? But if you think about it, web-based applications aren’t exactly choc full of powerful features. After all, Google, Zoho, and other web service providers have to make sure their applications can interface with thousands or millions of web browsers simultaneously. So while it’s certainly nice that gOS offers a few big buttons that let you access web apps, the truth is you can easily run native desktop apps like OpenOffice.org that probably offer more features than the web apps.
On the other hand, the nice thing about Cloud Computing isn’t just that you don’t need to install and run software locally. It’s that you can access it from any system. And since most people probably don’t use a 8.9 inch netbook as their primary computer, cloud-based applications like Google Calendar can be a great way to update your data on one comptuer and access it on another. In other words, you can upload your Word or Excel documents to Zoho Office from your home or work computer, and edit them on the go by logging into your Zoho account on your portable machine. Or you can update your appointments with Google Docs
I don’t know know if something like this will ever be more popular than a simple Linux-based OS which is also light-weight and pretty perfect for netbooks. It might provide an easy-to-use OS for niche netbook designs but widespread popularity is doubtful if you ask me.
Salesforce “Service Cloud”- SaaS 2.0 And A Wealth Of Knowledge
Building on the success of Salesforce.com’s CRM cloud-based service, they’ve launched a new service called “Service Cloud.” The idea is to centralize the knowlege of particular subjects from sources like Google, Facebook, IM chat histories, etc. into a web-based cloud environment.
“The Service Cloud is the first customer service solution that empowers companies to join and manage all service conversations happening in the cloud,” said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of salesforce.com. “This has been made possible through the emergence of native cloud computing platforms like Force.com that are built to harness the power of other clouds like Facebook, Google, and Amazon.com.”
Here are some of the major components of the service:
- Online communities–talk with the company and with other customers.
- Connections to existing social networks and the blogosphere–funnel existing knowledge into a company’s knowledge base.
- SEO–make sure your company’s community shows up high when I reach for Google.
- Sharing with business partners–the cloud makes it easy to share portions of your knowledge base with partnered companies.
- Contact center technology–give your customer service agents access to this knowledge base.
Traditional on-premise contact center technology is disconnected from the experts and knowledge found in the cloud. Yet so many customer service questions are already answered online in forums, Facebook, Google, Amazon, or others. Or the answers are sitting on your personal Instant Messaging history, e-mail history, or corporate intranet. It’s a great idea and definitely something to watch. It follows the same method of Google wanting to index the world, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they introduce their own model similar to this in the near future.
Microsoft’s TagReader Is Just Another QR Reader, Really?
Microsoft has released its second iPhone app called TagReader which is really just a reader for its own type of QR codes. The problem is, it’s another type of code in an industry that’s still widely undeveloped and under-appreciated. Why wouldn’t they just improve QR codes?
Microsoft Tag is the software maker’s take on barcodes. Basically multicolored mobile barcodes can be applied to product packaging, advertising, points of sales and other points of interest. Tags are meant to be snapped by mobile phone users to retrieve more information. Paired with the accompanying tag reading software which recognizes shapes and turns them into query sent to Microsoft’s servers, the technology connects users to related online information, freeing him from having to type long URLs or texting shortcodes or launch browser.
With TagReader for iPhone, you can snap a tag using built-in camera on your handset to get linked interactive content. The application is pretty straightforward and it gets the job done. You simply center the barcode (filling about half the screen), tap the button to scan a tag, and, while holding your hand steady even after the click, press the “Use Photo” button to get the linked information. Since a camera is required for the operation, TagReader does not work on iPod touch. Things get really interesting when you create your own tag that links, for example, to your social profile on the web, blog entries or your contact details.
To marketers, tags provide a way to connect their brand in a physical world to personalized and interactive content on users’ cellphones. For instance, you can snap a tag of a restaurant in a print or online ad to get driving directions on your phone. Or, scan a tag on a movie poster to get trailer on your handset and local movie times. You can even put tags on your business cards to enable your contacts to easily get to your online profile and real estate listings and they are popping up in public places like bus stops where a tag on a route sign connects you to real-time schedule on your phone or the entire route map.
There’s most likely no tags anywhere that would make this app useful on a widespread basis. The future doesn’t really look bright for the technology as well, so my question is why would Microsoft put so much stock into this, and even go as far as developing its own iPhone app.
Future: Image Recognition And Google Street View
I came across news of a company out of Europe who has perfected an image recognition technology that can actually pick out aspects of an image such as buildings, people, etc., and hyperlink them. When associated with mobile devices, the possibilities are endless.
The new system, dubbed “MOBVIS” can recognise individual buildings, for example, in a photo you take with your camera-phone. It can then apply icons that hyperlink to information about the building. Simply by looking at a picture, the system knows where you are and can tell what you are looking at. If you’re like me, this sounds like something that would be perfect for Google’s Street View. A lot of people have wondered what the point of Street View is and why Google would make such an investment out of capturing that much imagery.
Beyond Google’s sheer desire to capture and organize the world’s information, Street View will enable yet another monetization platform for advertising and other future ventures. The MOBVIS image recognition platform seems like a perfect example of something that would be perfect for Street View. If all the imagery Google captures for Street View could be hyperlink and monetized, it would not only be very beneficial for Google, but also advertisers who want to capitalize on a new-age ultra-targeted form of mobile advertising.
This integration is already being done actually. One of the MOBVIS project’s partners, Tele Atlas, is already using the platform together with a fleet of vans to gather imagery to feed to the platform. It’s just like Street View, but at its infancy. If you ask me, it would have been easier and more beneficial to team with Google for testing. Google will likely introduce their own image-recognition based solution for Street View on its own- that, or purchase a startup that’s already perfected it. Either way, it’s pretty cool, and promising for the future of Street View and all that data.
The Future of Cloud Computing & Its Devices
The idea of cloud computing is late in getting here if you ask me. The internet has been around for a long time storing tons of information, why hasn’t the processes we carry out on our desktop been moved online yet. Slowly they are, finally. I decided to take a look around at what going on in the world of Cloud Computing…
From Wikipedia: “Cloud computing is Internet-based (”cloud”) development and use of computer technology (”computing”). The cloud is a metaphor for the Internet, based on how it is depicted in computer network diagrams, and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals. It is a style of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided “as a service”, allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the Internet (”in the cloud”) without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them. Cloud Computing is a paradigm in which information is permanently stored in servers on the Internet and cached temporarily on clients that include desktops, entertainment centers, tablet computers, notebooks, wall computers, handhelds, sensors, monitors, etc,
Cloud computing is a general concept that incorporates software as a service (SaaS), Web 2.0 and other recent, well-known technology trends, in which the common theme is reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. For example, Google Apps provides common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.”
O’Reily had an interesting post about the future of cloud computing in what he calls “Utility Computing”…. “Amazon’s success in providing virtual machine instances, storage, and computation at pay-as-you-go utility pricing was the breakthrough in this category, and now everyone wants to play. Developers, not end-users, are the target of this kind of cloud computing.This is the layer at which I don’t presently see any strong network effect benefits (yet). Other than a rise in Amazon’s commitment to the business, neither early adopter Smugmug nor any of its users get any benefit from the fact that thousands of other application developers have their work now hosted on AWS. If anything, they may be competing for the same resources.
Wikileaks.org Wins It’s Court Battle
For those of you who haven’t heard of Wikileaks.org, it’s a new organization focused on revealing secretive government documents, and classified subjects. They’re “leaked” onto the site and made available for review and analyzation by anyone. The site defines themselves as;
…developing an uncensorable system for untraceable mass document leaking and public analysis. Our primary interests are in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we expect to be of assistance to peoples of all countries who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact…
The media frenzie surrounding Wikileaks has been quit large, as well as the somewhat high profile legal proceedings that aimed at bringing down the wiki site. A judge had initially ordered that the site be taken down, but has now reversed that order and Wikileaks.org reigns again. Free speech advocates are happy after the judge ruled that closing down the site would violate first amendment rights. Advocates on the other side, which was a number of banks and institutions that claimed the site leaked several financial documents pertaining to their clients, was obviously upset by the new ruling, but they’re intent to keep fighting. As stated in a blog article from the New York Post;
…After hours of discussion that suggested the judge’s level of concern with reaching the correct outcome, Judge White looked unhappy that he could not think of a way to help the bank customers affected by the release of the documents. But he said that he feared the initial order suspending Wikileaks.org raised serious questions of unjustified prior restraint on free speech, and that in any event, once the documents were online, the court might well be powerless….
A problem lawyers and the judge faced was not knowing exactly how to classify Wikileaks. A traditional individual or organization has citizenship status that can determine when they are subject to a particular court’s jurisdiction. Wikileaks however defines themselves as;
….founded by Chinese dissidents, journalists, mathematicians and startup company technologists, from the U.S., Taiwan, Europe, Australia and South Africa….
Wikileaks was never represented by a lawyer throughout the entire proceedings, which was also a hurdle to overcome. Maybe they felt they didn’t need to. Free speech and first amendment laws are obviously in play here, and to go against that is not smart on anyones part. The judge displayed aggravation when being forced to rule in favor of Wikileaks, but he had to do so to satisfy our first amendment rights. In my opinion they had no case at all.
