Campaign Articles From Newsweek Become E-Books for Amazon Kindle

Talk about great synergy, repackage content and republish across a brand new media. That is what Newsweek is doing and I think it is a great idea. During this election period, voters are interested in knowing as much as they can about the candidates. Newsweek is taking these articles and putting them into a book series on the candidates. But rather than publish them with the risk of losing money on the cost of ink and paper and distribution costs, they are creating e-books for Kindle.

"This week, Newsweek will publish four books, one about each of the major presidential and vice presidential candidates — Senators John McCain, Barack Obama and Joseph Biden, and Gov. Sarah Palin... Turning this kind of collection into books is an old idea; what is new is to do it with such minimal production and distribution costs that even the most limited sales could be profitable."

I expect more publishers to follow a similar tact. If content can be monetized more than once, it becomes that much more profitable. The timing for this type of coverage at this moment in history is never better. And the Kindle technology gets a boost from this kind of increased awareness. Try reading these books on an iPhone and you may become a believer. Perhaps it is time for Apple to have its own reader in the marketplace.

YouTube starts running full-length CBS shows

Ask most people who watch video on the web where they go and they will surely mention You Tube. In fact You Tube is ranked first in usage and continues to lead others by a wide margin. As an aggregator of video content with the premium bran identity, it makes sense for You Tube to continue to grow to reflect changing usage factors. The rise of full length content on the web, the success of Hulu, and Netflix's recent partnership with Starz for online content has led You Tube to also present full length videos. Recently they showcased the second Presidential Debate. And now they have announced a partnership with CBS to stream old and new CBS shows on its platform.

"A mix of archive CBS shows, including "Star Trek," "Young and the Restless" and "Beverly Hills 90210," will now be available in full-length episodes of 20 minutes to 48 minutes. The shows will have a full-length badge to distinguish them from shorter clips, and will be available in a new 'theater' mode to improve the viewing experience, YouTube said."

Hulu, a joint venture of NBC and Fox, must be disappointed that CBS has not joined them; clearly, it would have given Hulu a much stronger impact in the race for eyeballs. The You Tube - CBS deal seems a perfect fit though, the blend of both short form clips along with the chance to watch the whole episode. Versatile, flexible, viewer friendly. "YouTube's audience size dwarfs Hulu. YouTube is the world's largest online video site with more than 330 million users in August, according to Web audience measurement firm comScore. Hulu by comparison had just 3.3 million users." For CBS, they went with the leader. If the eyeballs follow and the ad dollars get monetized, it will be a home run strategic move.

Good News For Stand Alone Tivo Fans

As a user... of a standalone Tivo, I have been a little bit concerned that the digital switch next year, coupled with Comcast moving to a switched digital technology, would make my Tivo useless. And while switched digital hasn't reached my neighborhood yet, it is being tested in Cherry Hill, NJ. The good news is that Comcast "confirmed Wednesday that it is making a new breed of Tuning Adapters for customers who use inherently one-way CableCARD-capable digital TVs and stand-alone TiVo digital video recorders (DVRs) that require help accessing channels delivered in the operator's switched tier."

Having used both the DVR accessed via a cable box and a Tivo, I absolutely prefer the latter. It's easy navigation, it's trick features, it's guide, it's suggestions, all appeal to me. These features and more make it a better DVR device. Today, it is not a big problem. Switched Digital Video (SDV) is not being deployed quickly, but as the pipe gets more congested, SDV is seen as a way to improve the broadband pathway. And so it is nice to know my Tivo will be safe.

Comcast and the other cable operators should see this as an opportunity. The cable box needs to be vastly improved to make a competitive impact in the market. For Comcast, that has meant putting Tivo inside their cable box ins some markets; for Time Warner, it is making the box more interactive through its ActiveVideo partnership. We are moving in the right direction. The question is how quickly.

Cable Taking Interactive TV To The Next Level

Perhaps one day, the cable box will be more responsive, more user friendly, more necessity than annoyance. Time Warner certainly is trying as they have inked a deal to give more web content and interactivity to their customers. Through a deal with ActiveVideo Networks, formerly ICTV, "Cable subscribers can play interactive games from TAG Networks, and get fully customized news, sports and children's programming through P:Mosaic, a personalized video navigation system." It is being rolled out first in Hawaii and hopefully more systems follow.

Frankly the cable box needs better navigation, a more logical and economically designed guide, and easier controls. And even more important an interactive opportunity to better engage with the viewing experience.

Convergence Alert - Hulu To Stream NBC Feed

Hulu is streaming tonight's second Presidential Debate, taking its feed direct from NBC, in a move that might just irk cable operators and local broadcasters. And while it is in the public good to enable access to these debates in whatever form, it demonstrates how content and the audience it serves, can bypass local broadcast stations and cable operators to reach its audience.

"The feed will be provided by NBC News and will run about 90 minutes. In addition, Hulu will live stream the final presidential debated slated to be held Oct. 15. In that case, Hulu will carry the Fox News coverage. Fox and NBC are joint partners in Hulu."

As Time Warner fights with LIN Broadcasting over retransmission fees, the argument gets strengthened when content can be accessed over the web. Per the NYT, "In the midst of a contract dispute with a local broadcaster last week, Time Warner Cable did something that was until recently unthinkable: it told its customers to hook up a computer to their television and watch their favorite shows using the Internet." And for cable operators like Time Warner who rely on subscription to their cable line-up, including broadcast channels, the concern is that consumers will stop paying for a cable connection and rely strictly on their internet connection for content. It is why Time Warner doesn't want to pay a fee for content that is free elsewhere. Thus, the Hulu move while applauded for its desire to bring this content to the web, is dealing with a very slippery slope.

Will The iPhone Kill Amazon's Kindle? No.

Silicon Alley Insider also has an opinion on this competition and does a great job of explaining why the iPhone and the Kindle are not competitive with each other. They include screen size, battery life, and content available on each device. Ultimately, these two devices actually encompass different spaces.

"We agree that Kindle might make more sense as a software application on many devices -- not just one Amazon gadget. But while Stanza/the iPhone is a neat toy, neither the hardware (small screen/small battery) nor software (can't read the books you want) makes it an attractive offering to a buyer in the digital reader market. (And there is a market, we have photographic proof.) If the Kindle dies, don't blame the iPhone."

Better to look at what the Sony e-reader is up to and when the next generation Kindle reader comes out. Even in a down economic climate, we like our technological toys.

IPhone Stanza Downloads May Top Kindle Sales

Apple iphone users love their phones. As new apps emerge, their value to their users increase. One such app, Stanza, turns the phone into an e-book reader, capable of downloading reading material on the go. And as their are more iphones than Kindles in the market, it makes perfect sense that this free reader has surpassed Kindle sales.

Short term, it shows the appeal of the iphone; long term, it demonstrates that their is real appeal for devices that can download written content for immediate consumption. Whether that device is the Kindle or another device that Apple creates, it still needs to be a screen large enough to read, but portable to carry, capable of presenting text and pictures in a full range of colors, and with a long battery life. And content is king; "And Stanza only offers books in the public domain, unlike the wide variety of reading matter available via the Kindle, including newspapers, magazines and bestsellers."

I'd love to own an iPhone; my problem is still with the primary function of a cell phone, to make and receive calls. Today, the AT&T wireless network in the NY area does not compare to the Verizon wireless network. I made the switch a few years ago because reception was so poor. I am still not impressed that their coverage has improved. It's time to make the iPhone available to all carriers.

How Many Boxes Can Fit On The End Of Your TV?

Dateline - The year is just a couple years in the future. Quick, check your connections; how many "boxes" are connected to your TV? In the past it was the cable box, a DVD player and perhaps still a VCR. And some TVs were just connected directly to the cable or even an antennae. But let's assume it is post 2/17/09 and most every TV is connected to either a cable box or digital converter box. In addition, their may be a Wii or PS3 or Xbox or all three. Their is still a DVR or even a Blu Ray, unless your happy with your "game" box playing your HD DVDs. And perhaps you have a Roku, Vudu, a Tivo, or some other box to connect to your internet downloads. And worse still, all those different remotes are lined up on your coffee table. Now which one turns the TV on and how do I switch from one device to another. It can make your head spin. The good news, Tivo is becoming available on your Direct TV and Comcast box, Roku attaches to the web and some of the new game consoles play your DVDs. Now if we can only simplify it even more.

Vudu Making A Splash

A number of articles on the new HD format now available through an internet connected device, Vudo, David Pogue of the NYT seems pretty impressed with the quality of the picture. "Vudu calls the service “HDX,” with video encoded at variable bit-rate in MPEG-4 H.264 in 1080p at 24 frames per second—the highest HD format currently defined." And while the download isn't instantaneous, iit iis certainly faster than the day or two wait that occurs to receive your DVDs in the mail from Netflix. We certainly have become a society that lacks patience.

One interesting discussion that Pogue makes is the 24 hour window that limits how long your rental lasts for. With Netflix, hold on to your DVD for as long as you like; although, their download policy is also one day. VOD has this same one day rule. Vudu offers the second day at only a dollar more. Still, Pogue has an ingenious thought, "The 24-hour window is absurd from the get-go — why should downloadable movies offer any less viewing time than a DVD rented from Blockbuster? It should be a three-day or seven-day window, period." Cable companies should consider this move as a competitive benefit.