A popular cartoon channel has unwittingly become the catalyst for a new wave of disruptive businesses. Recently the Supreme Court declined to consider overturning Cartoon Networks v CSC which informally is known as the "Cablevision" case. It was a legal battle between video and music companies and a cable operator who wanted to provide a DVR (digital video recorder) service with the equipment in their central offices instead of in each subscriber's home. Normally DVRs are expensive to deploy and limited in expandability. By centralizing the equipment, Cablevision could quickly and cost effectively deploy the service to their customers plus easily upgrade at any time. Media companies alleged recording and playing back material from Cablevision headquarters instead of on a local setup box was a copyright infringement. The courts eventually concluded that it was legally permiss ible, because the customers were making the recording and Cablevision was acting as a store proprietor with a "photocopier on the premises". Cablevision has said they will take advantage of this ruling and soon offer a cost effective DVR service to their customers.
This favorable ruling on behalf of Cablevision also opens the door to a wide range of potential new features and services which can smartly record media. The following are a few product ideas I came up with that could be launched under the protection of Cablevision:
Primetime Recording - Capture all shows from the major networks, or your favorite channels every night from 8-11pm. How often do you find yourself at work listening to others talk about a great show or episode that you missed. Imagine a "Primetime Recording" option which would capture all shows during the 8-11pm hours on the major networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, etc). This service would save those shows for 2-3 weeks and then automatically delete them if no action was taken.
Multi-channel Recording - Simultaneously record 5-10 channels. Newer set top boxes can record 2 shows at once, but if there is a sporting event (for example) airing during your favorite primetime shows, multiple recording options would be a plus. Having the recording done at a central location means you're not constrained by your set top box, thereby making it possible to record 5 or more shows at the same time.
Smart Recording- Your DVR knows your viewing habits and captures shows automatically. Today, DVR systems are largely manual with the user having to specify each show they wish to record. Sometimes you can pick a keyword, but ideally a DVR should examine your behavior and automatically take action. By the 4th episode of the Dog Whisperer, your DVR should know to record all future episodes even if the show switches networks, i.e., from Discovery to the National Geographic Channel.
My Own Channel - Automatically assemble a channel of personal favorites. Instead of requiring hopscotching between channels, your DVR tracks the shows you watch and creates your own personalized channel . For example, my "MR" playlist would be my favorite shows identified by what I had previously recorded or viewed. There could even be multiple channels like the "MR sports channel" (local sports programming, cycling, NBA, but NO soccer or golf), drama (realistic crime shows), mindless, silly reality shows, comedy specials, etc. This would provide more value from the voluminous 600 channels my cable company currently pumps to my house.
Music Recording - Record hours of music for on demand listening. Most cable and satellite systems offer radio channels such as MusicChoice or XM, but if you don't like the particular song that's playing, there's nothing you can do about it. Using a DVR, you could keep a buffer of 20-40 hours of your favorite music programming on hand so that it's available whenever you want to play it. Since your music will be recorded, you can fast forward songs you don't like, or listen to songs you like over and over again. Similarly, there are hundreds of online webcasting stations which could be recorded for users, creating an expansive music listening experience. Previous efforts have been hampered by legal uncertainty, but the Cablevision case clears that up considerably.
Auto-recording Players - Any media player I use (RealPlayer, Quicktime, radio in my car, etc.) should automatically collect media I encounter and add it to my personal collection where it would be available anywhere.
Anywhere Access - Listen or watch on multiple TVs, PCs or mobile phone. Today when I use my DVR, I can only watch the recorded shows in my house on the TV that recorded the program. However, if the recorded material is located at a large data center instead of my living room, I can watch my programs anywhere. I can view them from any TV in my house and since it's easy to connect to the Internet I can view them from my PC at work, my laptop when I travel, or even on my mobile phone. Since my cable bill is $160/month it seems reasonable to expect my programming to be accessible from wherever I am, on whatever screen I might have in front of me.
Social TV Experience - Use friends to get more value from your media. Since your friends typically have similar interests, useful information could be gleaned by looking over their shoulder at what they're recording and watching. Once recording happens on the network then the data collected can easily be shared with others. This could guide you to interesting material, help you find new friends, or even make suggestions as to what programs to avoid.
I'm often asked my opinion on new business opportunities and feel that it makes sense to look at these new services that are now legally permissible due to the Cablevision ruling. AT&T's Uverse TV service is already capitalizing on this opportunity by moving more functionality to it's main office so all TVs can view recorded programming. They also permit (as does DirecTV) recording from any web browser. For my company, MP3tunes, Cablevision is a great precedent that confirms our vision of "your music everywhere." There's an additional legal challenge to watch from a net based video service in Singapore. RecordTV lets Singaporeans record programming from 5 hidef video channels broadcast across this island nation. As with Cablevision, media companies say it's an infringement, while RecordTV says consumers are doing the recording. Let's hope Singapore courts agree with US courts.
--MR
michael@michaelrobertson.com
2009/07/23
EARTHQUAKE PROTECTION
Researchers at the University of Liverpool, UK, have developed an
`invisibility cloak' that protects buildings from earthquakes. The
seismic waves produced by earthquakes include body waves which travel
through the earth, and surface waves which travel across it. The new
technology controls the path of surface waves, which are the most
damaging and responsible for much of the destruction which follows
earthquakes.
The technology involves the use of concentric rings of plastic which
could be fitted to the Earth's surface to divert surface waves. By
controlling the stiffness and elasticity of the rings, waves traveling
through the 'cloak' pass smoothly into the material and are compressed
into small fluctuations in pressure and density. The path of the
surface waves can be made into an arc that directs the waves outside
the protective cloak. The technique could be applied to buildings by
installing the rings into foundations.
Sebastien Guenneau, from the University's Department of Mathematics,
helped develop the technology. "This work has enormous potential in
offering protection for densely populated areas of the world at risk
from earthquakes. The challenge now is to turn our theories into real
applications that can save lives - small-scale experiments are
underway," said Guenneau.
Read more here: http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20090723A2
`invisibility cloak' that protects buildings from earthquakes. The
seismic waves produced by earthquakes include body waves which travel
through the earth, and surface waves which travel across it. The new
technology controls the path of surface waves, which are the most
damaging and responsible for much of the destruction which follows
earthquakes.
The technology involves the use of concentric rings of plastic which
could be fitted to the Earth's surface to divert surface waves. By
controlling the stiffness and elasticity of the rings, waves traveling
through the 'cloak' pass smoothly into the material and are compressed
into small fluctuations in pressure and density. The path of the
surface waves can be made into an arc that directs the waves outside
the protective cloak. The technique could be applied to buildings by
installing the rings into foundations.
Sebastien Guenneau, from the University's Department of Mathematics,
helped develop the technology. "This work has enormous potential in
offering protection for densely populated areas of the world at risk
from earthquakes. The challenge now is to turn our theories into real
applications that can save lives - small-scale experiments are
underway," said Guenneau.
Read more here: http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20090723A2
2009/07/09
Writing Email Marketing Copy That Sells
A Vertical Response Blog:
Writing your email marketing campaigns can make anyone want to pull their hair out, especially if you're trying to sell a product/service, or ask for a donation, either as part of your newsletter or the sole purpose of your email. You want to make sure you hit all of the highlights and make sure people SEE your offer.
I've put together some ideas you can think about and put to work when writing copy that sells in your campaigns.
Benefits - I've written about this before, but I can't stress how important it is for you to answer your recipient's question, "What's it going to do for me?" "How is it going to make my life easier?" They don't necessarily care about all of the nifty features you'll offer without getting to the heart of why they need it first. Many businesses get caught up in focusing on themselves rather than their recipients. Recipients should always be the focus of the copy.
Use Subheads - Getting the attention of your readers using subheads is always a great idea. It breaks up your thoughts and gets to the heart of what you're selling quickly while letting them do the skimming.
Write in Small Chunks - You need to get to your point fast in small succinct paragraphs. When was the last time you read an entire press release in an email? It's difficult to do, no one has the time, they need you to tell your story briefly. If they want more detailed information, link off to a page where they can find it.
Use Bullets - Bullets break up points or benefits so that your readers can get your information quickly by scanning. This is a very popular copywriting tactic for email and the web in general.
Get Customer Testimonials - Nothing sells your product better than your customers, but getting the testimonial right is essential. "I love this product!" is not good enough. You need to get to the heart of why they love your product or your cause. "I love this product because it saved me $500 in fees per year!" tells a much better story. Make sure you put your customer's real name and city or company they come from. It adds credibility to the quote.
Get the Subject Line Right - Make sure you think about the subject line first, it's the most important item in your email. In just 40-50 characters get across what they'll get for opening your email.
Write Like You Speak - If you're talking to a prospect or customer you don't speak in long boring sentences. You are probably concise and conversational. So should your email marketing copy be.
Ask For The Order - I've spent a lot of time on calls-to-action lately and it's because they're important. Your call-to-action is your "Buy Now" link or your "Call 1-800.." copy. It's essentially what you want your recipients to do. You should definitely display your call-to-action above the fold so that your recipients don't have to scroll down to find your offer links. Don't be afraid to get in your recipient's face either. If that's what you told them you'd be sending them, they expect it and probably want it. Use expiration dates and bold colors, and make sure to link from everywhere you can in your email to get your recipients to act now!
I hope you find this helpful, if you've got any great copywriting tactics to get more sales, comment!
Email this • Twit This! • Share on Facebook • Save to del.icio.us (3 saves, tagged: blogs business) • Stumble It! • Digg This! • Submit to Reddit • Add to Mixx! • Technorati Links
Writing your email marketing campaigns can make anyone want to pull their hair out, especially if you're trying to sell a product/service, or ask for a donation, either as part of your newsletter or the sole purpose of your email. You want to make sure you hit all of the highlights and make sure people SEE your offer.
I've put together some ideas you can think about and put to work when writing copy that sells in your campaigns.
Benefits - I've written about this before, but I can't stress how important it is for you to answer your recipient's question, "What's it going to do for me?" "How is it going to make my life easier?" They don't necessarily care about all of the nifty features you'll offer without getting to the heart of why they need it first. Many businesses get caught up in focusing on themselves rather than their recipients. Recipients should always be the focus of the copy.
Use Subheads - Getting the attention of your readers using subheads is always a great idea. It breaks up your thoughts and gets to the heart of what you're selling quickly while letting them do the skimming.
Write in Small Chunks - You need to get to your point fast in small succinct paragraphs. When was the last time you read an entire press release in an email? It's difficult to do, no one has the time, they need you to tell your story briefly. If they want more detailed information, link off to a page where they can find it.
Use Bullets - Bullets break up points or benefits so that your readers can get your information quickly by scanning. This is a very popular copywriting tactic for email and the web in general.
Get Customer Testimonials - Nothing sells your product better than your customers, but getting the testimonial right is essential. "I love this product!" is not good enough. You need to get to the heart of why they love your product or your cause. "I love this product because it saved me $500 in fees per year!" tells a much better story. Make sure you put your customer's real name and city or company they come from. It adds credibility to the quote.
Get the Subject Line Right - Make sure you think about the subject line first, it's the most important item in your email. In just 40-50 characters get across what they'll get for opening your email.
Write Like You Speak - If you're talking to a prospect or customer you don't speak in long boring sentences. You are probably concise and conversational. So should your email marketing copy be.
Ask For The Order - I've spent a lot of time on calls-to-action lately and it's because they're important. Your call-to-action is your "Buy Now" link or your "Call 1-800.." copy. It's essentially what you want your recipients to do. You should definitely display your call-to-action above the fold so that your recipients don't have to scroll down to find your offer links. Don't be afraid to get in your recipient's face either. If that's what you told them you'd be sending them, they expect it and probably want it. Use expiration dates and bold colors, and make sure to link from everywhere you can in your email to get your recipients to act now!
I hope you find this helpful, if you've got any great copywriting tactics to get more sales, comment!
Email this • Twit This! • Share on Facebook • Save to del.icio.us (3 saves, tagged: blogs business) • Stumble It! • Digg This! • Submit to Reddit • Add to Mixx! • Technorati Links
2009/07/08
first Free-On-line Computer
This headline and an accompanying article is written in German. We hope your browser is able to translate with decent accuracy.
Best regards
Stefan Baginski (IMU Group Swiss, www.imugroup.eu)
Published: 2009-07-03 07:36:00 CEST
Xcerion - Pressemitteilung
icloud, der weltweit erste Gratis-Online-Computer, kündigt mit seinem sicheren und privaten
icloud, der weltweit erste Gratis-Online-Computer, kündigt mit seinem sicheren
und privaten Filesharing-Netzwerk Fortschritt in Richtung Webfreiheit an
Die Idee hinter dem icloud-Filesharing ist denkbar einfach: Personen und
Gruppen brauchen eine Lösung für privates und sicheres Filesharing,
Datenspeicherung und Back-up.
Bei icloud können Sie Ihre Musik, Videos und Fotos hochladen, haben Zugriff auf
diese und können sie mit Leuten teilen, denen Sie vertrauen.
LINKOPING, Schweden, 3. Juli 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - icloud, der
Online-Computer, der Ihnen die Freiheit gibt, über den Zugriff von Freunden auf
Daten und über Ihr digitales Leben von jedem beliebigen Computer aus zu
entscheiden, kündigte gerade verbesserte Filesharing-Möglichkeiten, schnelleren
und weltweiten Zugriff auf seinen Online-Desktop und seine Online-Community an.
Jeder kann nun einen „Always-On“-Internet-Computer für das Sharing seines
digitalen Lebens bekommen. Dieser repräsentiert eine digitale Persönlichkeit.
Ob im Büro, zu Hause oder bei Ihren Freunden - Sie können auf alle Ihre Dateien
und Ordner zugreifen und diese mit nur einem Mausklick mit anderen teilen.
Binden Sie Ihr icloud-„On Demand“-Laufwerk als lokale Festplatte ein und
transferieren Sie Dateien und Ordner per Drag and Drop auf Ihre „cloud“, die
Sie dann sofort teilen und benutzen können.
Momentan ist icloud in 21 Sprachen erhältlich: Chinesisch, Dänisch,
Holländisch, Englisch, Filipino, Französisch, Deutsch, Griechisch, Indonesisch,
Italienisch, Litauisch, Norwegisch, Polnisch, Portugiesisch, Rumänisch,
Russisch, Spanisch, Schwedisch, Türkisch sowie Vietnamesisch.
Mit icloud ist Ihr Computer „always-on“, „On-Demand“(auf Abruf) verfügbar, um
Ihnen, Ihren Freunden und Ihrer Familie mit allen Informationen zur Verfügung
zu stehen. Das ist leichtes „On-Demand“-Computing für die breite Masse.
* 3 GB freier Speicher für sicheres Speichern und Back-up Ihrer
Dokumente,Fotos und Musik online
* 50 kostenlose Anwendungen und Widgets wie beispielsweise Office,
E-Mail, Musik, Video, Instant Messaging, Spiele, Entwickler-Tools
sowie zur Zusammenarbeit
* Öffentliches Profil, http://my.icloud.com/benutzername
* Kostenlose E-Mail-Adresse @icloud.com
* Filesharing und WebDAV-Unterstützung, Einbindung als Netzwerk-
Laufwerk
* Keine Installation, icloud läuft im Internet Explorer oder in
Firefox
icloud ist ein kostenloser Dienst, für den man sich jetzt anmelden kann.
Weitere Informationen über icloud finden Sie auf www.icloud.com.
Über icloud
Xcerion wurde 2001 von Daniel Arthursson gegründet und bietet mit icloud.com
das weltweit führende „Cloud OS" an, das 22 Mal zum Patent angemeldet ist und
sich seit 8 Jahren in der Entwicklung befindet. icloud wurde 2008 zu einem „Red
Herring Global 100“-Gewinner gewählt. icloud ist sicher, steht für privaten
Austausch und ist jederzeit von jedem beliebigen Computer aus zugänglich.
Das icloud-Logo befindet sich auf
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4742
Xcerion AB ist eine im Privatbesitz befindliche Gesellschaft mit Sitz in
Linkoping, Schweden, die von Northzone Ventures finanziert wird. Zu den
privaten Investoren gehören Lou Perazzoli, ursprünglicher Architect von Windows
NT und früherer Manager der Microsoft Core OS-Gruppe, und John Connors,
früherer CFO von Microsoft.
Best regards
Stefan Baginski (IMU Group Swiss, www.imugroup.eu)
Published: 2009-07-03 07:36:00 CEST
Xcerion - Pressemitteilung
icloud, der weltweit erste Gratis-Online-Computer, kündigt mit seinem sicheren und privaten
icloud, der weltweit erste Gratis-Online-Computer, kündigt mit seinem sicheren
und privaten Filesharing-Netzwerk Fortschritt in Richtung Webfreiheit an
Die Idee hinter dem icloud-Filesharing ist denkbar einfach: Personen und
Gruppen brauchen eine Lösung für privates und sicheres Filesharing,
Datenspeicherung und Back-up.
Bei icloud können Sie Ihre Musik, Videos und Fotos hochladen, haben Zugriff auf
diese und können sie mit Leuten teilen, denen Sie vertrauen.
LINKOPING, Schweden, 3. Juli 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - icloud, der
Online-Computer, der Ihnen die Freiheit gibt, über den Zugriff von Freunden auf
Daten und über Ihr digitales Leben von jedem beliebigen Computer aus zu
entscheiden, kündigte gerade verbesserte Filesharing-Möglichkeiten, schnelleren
und weltweiten Zugriff auf seinen Online-Desktop und seine Online-Community an.
Jeder kann nun einen „Always-On“-Internet-Computer für das Sharing seines
digitalen Lebens bekommen. Dieser repräsentiert eine digitale Persönlichkeit.
Ob im Büro, zu Hause oder bei Ihren Freunden - Sie können auf alle Ihre Dateien
und Ordner zugreifen und diese mit nur einem Mausklick mit anderen teilen.
Binden Sie Ihr icloud-„On Demand“-Laufwerk als lokale Festplatte ein und
transferieren Sie Dateien und Ordner per Drag and Drop auf Ihre „cloud“, die
Sie dann sofort teilen und benutzen können.
Momentan ist icloud in 21 Sprachen erhältlich: Chinesisch, Dänisch,
Holländisch, Englisch, Filipino, Französisch, Deutsch, Griechisch, Indonesisch,
Italienisch, Litauisch, Norwegisch, Polnisch, Portugiesisch, Rumänisch,
Russisch, Spanisch, Schwedisch, Türkisch sowie Vietnamesisch.
Mit icloud ist Ihr Computer „always-on“, „On-Demand“(auf Abruf) verfügbar, um
Ihnen, Ihren Freunden und Ihrer Familie mit allen Informationen zur Verfügung
zu stehen. Das ist leichtes „On-Demand“-Computing für die breite Masse.
* 3 GB freier Speicher für sicheres Speichern und Back-up Ihrer
Dokumente,Fotos und Musik online
* 50 kostenlose Anwendungen und Widgets wie beispielsweise Office,
E-Mail, Musik, Video, Instant Messaging, Spiele, Entwickler-Tools
sowie zur Zusammenarbeit
* Öffentliches Profil, http://my.icloud.com/benutzername
* Kostenlose E-Mail-Adresse @icloud.com
* Filesharing und WebDAV-Unterstützung, Einbindung als Netzwerk-
Laufwerk
* Keine Installation, icloud läuft im Internet Explorer oder in
Firefox
icloud ist ein kostenloser Dienst, für den man sich jetzt anmelden kann.
Weitere Informationen über icloud finden Sie auf www.icloud.com.
Über icloud
Xcerion wurde 2001 von Daniel Arthursson gegründet und bietet mit icloud.com
das weltweit führende „Cloud OS" an, das 22 Mal zum Patent angemeldet ist und
sich seit 8 Jahren in der Entwicklung befindet. icloud wurde 2008 zu einem „Red
Herring Global 100“-Gewinner gewählt. icloud ist sicher, steht für privaten
Austausch und ist jederzeit von jedem beliebigen Computer aus zugänglich.
Das icloud-Logo befindet sich auf
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4742
Xcerion AB ist eine im Privatbesitz befindliche Gesellschaft mit Sitz in
Linkoping, Schweden, die von Northzone Ventures finanziert wird. Zu den
privaten Investoren gehören Lou Perazzoli, ursprünglicher Architect von Windows
NT und früherer Manager der Microsoft Core OS-Gruppe, und John Connors,
früherer CFO von Microsoft.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)