Writers Strike negotiations to resume Monday

Great video from SNL's Will Forte and Kristen Wiig. Lets hope both the writers and producers come to the table with the intent to find a win-win resolution. I want to see professionally produced content come back. Reality TV has its limits too. Happy Thanksgiving!

Kindle update

From Valleywag - great comparison!

Amazon creates Kindle for a Digital Read Experience

Last night on the train ride home, as I was reading my book, I noticed my seatmate trying out her new Kindle reader. And as a technophile, I was intrigued by its sleak look and its readability, even from my sideways angle.

And yet, I did not feel compelled to keep looking over her shoulder. As a fan of reading, I love the feel of a book. And I love the chance to share what I have read to others. In fact, my current book is a recommendation from my wife who passed on the book from her to me. I am thoroughly engrossed in its story.

At some point, books stack up on the shelves. Some are shared with friends and family. Some remain to be re-read and enjoyed again; others sent to the local library or book fair for others to enjoy. Is Kindle the reader that changes that dynamic? At some point it will. Chnage is inevitable; when did you stop using the yellow pages to get your business phone number and went to the web instead.

But I don't think Kindle is the answer to the book reader yet. In today's environmentally friendly world, it may make most sense to replace the daily newspaper or weekly magazine, which tend to be read and recycled quickly. But for now, I don't think the book reader will find Kindle advantageous.

How many friends can you have

Terrific article in today's WSJ about the social networking phenomenon. And while business networking sites like Linked in may be more effective the larger your contact base, it, like Facebook and My Space, does lose its effectiveness as the number of "friends" increases.

At some number, those friends have to be divided into groupings - Best, good, and once in a blue moon. In the beginning, it's great to be linked to everyone, but as the number of contacts swell, I find myself not even looking at some of those friends updates as often. And as the article suggests, these sites are simply passive connections; real friends physically keep in touch.

So is social networking a fad or future. How we take back our lists and determine our core relationships from our secondary ones may impact its value. I just hope the sites don't inform you that you have been "DE - LINKED" or "UNFRIENDED"!!

Writers Strike continues to Stop Production

It looks to be a loooooong strike and as more productions stop, NBC has already pulled out of the TCA press tour. It sounds like other big studios will follow and call this season a do over. The shame is that corporate and shareholder responsibility take a front seat, while social responsibility takes a back seat. Should the writers have gone on strike as opposed to work without a contract, I had hoped so. But they didn't, and the studios are using it as an opportunity...yes, an opportunity, to lay off many people and save costs. Will they get hired back when the strike ends? Who knows. But likely, staff will be reduced and budgets cut on EVERY show. And yet, it is these people, formerly employed by the studios, that they should have protected. It is them that will help them get into the digital age, doing the actual production dirty work to get the content looking great. The studios should have treated their own production crews as allies, rather than after thoughts.

Digital media is changing the world. The only thing constant is change. But as traditional revenue sources shift because of new technologies like Tivo and DVRs, cellular and wireless, VOD, streaming, and downloads, it opens up the mind to endless new opportunities for new revenue streams. The potential is there for Hulu and Joost and others to succeed. The shift has already started and the writers don't want to lose their fair share. And studios deserve to earn their profits. The pie's slices may be different sizes, but they are changing every day. Get back to working toward a resolution; treat the slices as one pie and decide on a fair percentage regardless of how the pie is cut.

There is enough to go around; if you work together, the new doors will open wide and all will win!

Big Screen vs Little Screen

Today, I met a person who said he didn't own a TV. He relied on the web for his news and public establishments when watching a game. And does he watch episodes through players like Hulu, I asked. Not really, was his reply.

I happened to watch a :30 Rock episode recently on Hulu, and while I like the quality of the video, I missed the intimacy of watching on a bigger screen TV. if I could have watched the same video on VOD, I would prefer that format. But I wonder if I am unique in my preferences. And until the big screen TV is simply a monitor for streams from the computer, how I differentiate the two.

I see Hulu and You Tube as a secondary way to stay close to my favorite shows. There value to promote the brand, not replace. It keeps you close to the show until the next episode is ready to air and lets funny, or interesting, water cooler moments be shared across the web.

Let's get this writers strike settled, let's get everyone back to work, and let's put on great content.

Writer's Strike, Who Benefits, Who Gets Hurt

Some may argue that the writers strike actually benefits both the writers and the producers. For each continues to have alternatives to make money while the strike continues. For the producers, some have argued, that the strike enables them to fire all, cut costs, and get a do-over. Some believe that they are so disappointed with this year's crop of new shows and some old ones, that they can clean house,and use reality and news to offset their loss. For the writers, shows that are in the can and being aired new or in syndication, the writers, and even actors, continue to receive royalties. So the income continues to come in. Thus no need to settle early and leave potentially lucrative new sources of income on the table.

So who gets hurt, first all the behind the scenes people, who work tirelessly to make the creative side look good. They have been the first laid off, without a layoff package, potentially without healthcare, and truly with an uncertainty whether to wait out the strike and hope to be rehired or seek other employment. It is a no win.

The viewer loses, but not nearly as much. Unlike the last writers strike, there are new opportunities to view old shows missed the last time, or start watching their dvd collections or further embrace web based programming. And so the crux of the writers motives. Viewers, writers, actors, producers will all survive. For production and back office, it is another story.

Hulu looks great

I put my email address on the hulu website and was fortunate to get a password sent to enjoy the beta version. And while I can't understand why the investment in hulu to promote NBC shows, when nbc.com should be that resource, I do have to say I like the easy navigation that hulu offers. The nbc.com website comes across too cluttered and hard to navigate. Think you clicked a link to full episodes, but find your self on another general page. To many clicks to hard to get what you want quickly.

Hulu, on the other hand, has created a nice clean player, easy navigation, and at the moment, no full frontal assault of advertising. And while the NBC and Fox partnership may have created a nice new business, I continue to wonder why you couldn't take all this same learning and simply apply it correctly to your own network website. Hulu doesn't easily roll off your tongue and too many times I want to type H U L A. Thank goodness for bookmarks.

I like the concept of Hulu, I just don't like the clutter of a hundred different websites offering the same things, or each site offering something slightly different: one for downloads, one for streaming, another for clicks, a fourth for fan user generated versions. Rather, organize one website cleanly with easy search and quick access. Do we need hulu, no; but we do need the kind of thinking that makes for better synergistic use of the web and TV.

Data: U.S. Internet Advertising to Double to $42 Billion Over Next Four Years

Why are the writers striking - well with announcements about the growth of internet advertising, it's no doubt that everyone, writers included, want their "fair share" of the pie. Still,the number not mentioned is the overall growth of advertising spent, regardless of where. Does more choices for viewing, TV, DVD, broadband, mobile, equate to growth of viewing or simply redistribution of the same pie? Are the dollars moving to internet coming from something else? Is the overall growth simply inflation? My advice to both parties, find a fair % of the action regardless of the distribution method. You get paid a lot, the percentage is bigger; if you say there is no revenue, the percentage of nothing remains nothing.

Yes the times are different and consumers can flock to other resources to be entertained. But quality content still requires quality writing. How long this strike will take will depend on how soon the viewer gets bored with user generated and amateur videos and keeps asking for new fresh professional content on these new distribution outlets.