ktoddstorch @ business thoughts

The Long Tail

Over the weekend I picked up Chris Anderson's book, "The Long Tail".  I knew the book was coming out, because he has broken through and gotten "hit" status from the mainstream media (ironic!) with his economic theory.

I posted about his Wired article back in October of 2004 (along with a bunch of others!) right when my interest was very high about podcasting.

Expect to hear a lot more from the mainstream media about this "Tail".

Amazon link.

WIFM - The Favorite Station to Listen to and Watch

My media consumption habits over the last few months have really begun to change.  As a "radio guy", you know how much I've been watching, learning and playing in the podcasting and technology realm over the last year.

As I thought more about this, I realize that all of us are watching and listening to only one station:  WIFM.

You know, What's In it For Me.  I've used this acronym for years with my sales people, but it is really true now as personalization and  customized content is here to stay (a la TiVo, podcasting, iPods, etc.)

As a guy making his living in radio, my radio consumption is a bit skewed because when I'm listening to radio, it really is a work function.  I haven't really "just listened to radio to listen" for over a decade.

Just a quick review of my recent media consumption:

TV - I can't remember watching a "live" show.  Seriously, dang near never. 
Why?

• TiVo - when Tara and I do actually sit down to "watch TV", we are watching shows we decide to watch and when.  Same thing for our kids.  No longer are they plopped down to watch TV, they are watching shows that Tara has saved on TiVo (and they skip the commercials...)
• Internet - there is just more compelling content out there via the Internet and, I would rather blog or do something more productive than just "watch TV"
• Television shows on DVD - Tara and I got hooked on 24 this season, so now we are catching up in the "off season".  We have rented and watched both season 1 and 2 already and look forward to 3 and 4 before the new 5th season starts. 

Newspaper - I only subscribe to Sunday's paper and have so for years.  Why?  Tara loves to go through the coupons.  I have no need for the newspaper because I get my info from a number of newspaper's RSS feeds, Google News and the blogs I follow.

iPod/Podcasting - I love podcasts.  I have a number that I subscribe to and I will mainly listen while I'm running or while I'm doing work at home.  I listen to shows that have content that interests me.  Triathlon, technology, cycling, music, business issues, etc.  I would say that listening to podcasts has replaced listening to CD's for me.  No longer am I hitting shuffle on my iPod music collection to fill that time.  I am specifically listening to content that has relevance to me.

So, what does all of this mean?  It means that traditional media (ie, TV, radio and newspapers) need to find ways to continually become relevant.  Yes, there are more choices than ever for content, but this is different than "57 channels and nothin' on".  Now, consumers have the choice of what and when.

Having the choice of "when" is more powerful that just the choice of "what". 

So, we (consumers) are becoming program directors of our own station, WIFM.  What, and When is In it For Me?

What about You?!

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tags:  tivo | ipod | podcasting | personalization

Bad News Bears and Bad Research?

I have 3 kids under 10 years old.  When there is a good family movie coming out, you can bet that Hollywood is going to get around $25 to $30 out of us.

The remake of Bad News Bears is advertising right now and my kids want to see it.  Kids, goofiness, baseball...has the makings for exactly what would entertain my kids.

Why in the world did they make the movie PG-13?  Did the market research tell them that kids 13 and above will want to see the movie?  What about all of us in our 30's and 40's that saw the original that have young kids?  Hollywood, did you forget about us?
 

I have fond memories of the original movie, but was the PG rating of it comparable to the PG-13 of today?  Am I just having fond memories?

Sorry kids, we aren't going to see this movie.

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tags:  bad news bears | mpaa

Digital Force: Lessons to Learn

This week's InformationWeek (May 16, 2005) has a great article entitled Digital Force.

It walks through the current challenges/opportunities facing the movie industry's reluctance to convert to a complete digital experience.  Centered around Lucas' new and final Star Wars episode:  Revenge of the Sith, you get a good understanding of the economics and distribution challenges that prevail.

Television and radio are facing similar challenges with HDTV and HD Radio, along with most industries looking to capitalize on a digital vs. analog conversion.

It truly is a fascinating time to be in business.

[read] via

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tags:  hdtv | hd radio | star wars | digital cinema

Digital Rights Management (DRM), Hollywood and You

If you own a DVD player, a PC, a TiVo or a .mp3 player, you are or have been subject to DRM.  This is best read I've seen so far explaining both sides of the subject (or at least one side slamming the other side's point...)

Boing Boing has a great post from the Editor-in-Chief of Wired Magazine and the blog.

Be warned, you may realize that your "rights" are really not yours.

[read]

UPDATE - 12/30
Phillip Torrone at Engaget has some great commentary at the beginning of the 12/15
podcast (yes...I'm a week behind).  He references this blog posting.  I highly recommend you listen!
[link]

UPDATE - 1/02/05
Cory Doctorow has a followup to his original Boing Boing post I listed above.  I have a feeling that the pot is just beginning to boil and this will be a mainstream-America issue soon.  What's the over/under before this issue makes an appearance on "60 Minutes"?  Wait...will CBS let this happen or will it be restricted so you can't save it to your TiVo?
[read]

UPDATE - 1/04/05
Another good blog posting, this time from DROXY that covers the digital flags that the RIAA wants in all digital signals, TV, Radio, etc.
[read] via

Watch a movie, get the DVD: Peter Davidson agrees with me

I wrote about this back on August 17th...why can't Hollywood figure it out where you can buy a DVD immediately after you see the movie?

[read] what Peter Davidson has to say about this

The Long Tail - Best Article I've Read

...in at least a month! Seriously, thank you to Jon Strande for bringing this article to my attention!

If you want to take a good look at the new economics of how distribution/demand/supply of the obscure (music, books, film, dvd's, etc.) really work, read this article.

[read] via Business Evolutionist

BTW, I'm looking forward to the redesigned blog Jon!

M18-34 - Where Have They Gone?

I'm late on getting this posted, but I'm sure there are a number of you that haven't seen this yet.

Lots of links to this article in Wired. Make sure you read the blog posting at Radio Marketing Nexus, then read the entire article at Wired.

[read] Radio Marketing Nexus blog posting
[read] article at Wired Magazine

TiVo + Netflix?: I love it!

In a VERY COOL way, TiVo could just be doing what its customer's have asked for...deliver DVD quality rentals via their set top box.

Not sure if the Netflix rental would delete automatically, or if you could dump it to VHS/DVD, but this is only the start of a very useful Internet distribution network!

[read] via engadget

Mark Cuban - His newest business thoughts

What I love about Mark Cuban, is that he will always tell you what he thinks. His "video to key fob" thought here is right on. Remember, he was the one that wondered "Why can't I hear my Indiana basketball games when I live in Dallas?".

Hello Broadcast.com, hello Yahoo writes a big check, hello Mr. Billionaire.

[read] his blog posting