SAG stays in stall mode

Sometimes its hard to admit defeat. SAG has no leverage to construct a better deal now that AFTRA and the writers have come to terms on new media participation. Given also that the economy is in a state of flux and the new media market still remains undefined, a short term deal is reasonable. As they fight over digital downloads, mobile usage is another screen with some potential. But as one area grows, another declines. The revenue coming from advertising is not an unlimited bucket of money. It flows to different media, from one screen to another. Ultimately, compensation should be measured regardless of where it is seen, but as a percentage of total business over a period of time.

Kindle is Doing Pretty Well

It seems Kindle is doing pretty well, with celebrities talking it up gratis. Martha Stewart and others continue to mention that they are Kindle users. Increased production, price cuts to appeal to abroader audience, should help drive revenues and increase brand presence. As consumrs continue to embrace the concept of e-books, as they have books on tape, Kindle may be the ultimate device to provide both a video and audio presence for one low price. "The retailer sold 25,000 to 50,000 devices during the first three months of 2008, according to an estimate by Mitchell. Amazon doesn't disclose Kindle figures."

Need a reason to switch from hard copy to e-copy, "The paper edition of ``Sail,'' by James Patterson and Howard Roughan, ranked second on the New York Times bestseller list, sells for $16.79 on Amazon.com while the Kindle version costs $9.99. Customers don't pay extra for download time. Users can also transfer text documents and MP3 music files from their computers, according to Amazon's Web site." Add enough extras, like reading blogs and free books on the web, and the voracious reader will see savings with their Kindle very quickly.