February 3, 2010 • 12:08 pm
A status update that included a link to a clip of the movie “Smokey and the Bandit” by my friend and Phi Tau fraternity brother, Sam Ceresi, sparked an idea this morning: create a television channel that does a 24×7 loop of the following movies:
Maybe a play for Netflix or Comcast or DirecTV? I don’t know the technical limitations, but it seems to me they already have quite an inventory of spectacularly useless channels already in their lineup. What’s one or a couple million more? Would it be possible to give everyone their own personal channel — like Google does with email. Hmmm, doesn’t Google already own YouTube? If they could figure out a way to compensate the studios — and either create their own or buy their way into an existing network — this could be an interesting play for them.
Think it would could fly? Would there be enough demand? What would you pay? And, most important, what five movies would you loop on your personal Google TV channel?
Filed under: Technology , Comcast, DirecTV, Google, Netflix, Smokey and the Bandit, Television
November 21, 2009 • 12:25 pm
It’s getting to be that time of year when pundits start making predictions about the hot technologies on tap for 2010. My favorite so far is less a prediction and more a reality that is happening right now. Mashable’s Peter Cashmore points out that Foursquare is the next Twitter-like social technology to break out, however I think his definition of the application programming interface (API) and its role in Twitter’s (and, eventually, Foursquare’s) meteoric success is even more insightful:
“This week Foursquare debuted the singular piece that launched Twitter into the stratosphere: an API. This application programming interface allows third-party developers to build anything they desire on top of Foursquare’s location-based social network.
It’s been shown time and again that once these ecosystems gain momentum, potential competitors face an arduous task. From Flickr to Google Maps to Twitter and beyond, it’s clear that early critical mass — having enough users and applications to make a service invaluable — sets the stage for a landslide victory.”
Filed under: Technology , API, application programming interface, cashmore, mashable, foursquare, developer
November 11, 2009 • 6:36 am
Filed under: Business, PR, Public Relations, Technology , defragcon, defrag, defrag2009, tech conference, denver, kedrosky, feld, scoble, scobleizer
October 26, 2009 • 12:07 pm
I make no pains to hide that I am a proponent of the always on culture. I believe technology is less a shackle and more a liberating tool that frees people from archaic views on time and place relative to work (not to mention the positive effects technology has on the environment and economy via reduced commuting and office air/heating costs).
That said, this post by TechCrunch’s Paul Carr challenges the always on, always connected lives many of us today live:
“And yet this real-time mentality – pictures/tweets or it didn’t happen – continues to seep into every aspect of our lives, both personally and professionally. Whereas once we might attend a conference to watch the speakers and perhaps learn something, today our priority is to live blog it – to ensure our followers know we’re on the inside; first with whatever news might be broken. And it’s not just journalists doing the live-blogging, but anyone with a laptop and a wifi connection.”
I agree with Carr on many points of the post. Technology that allows us to stream our lives should come with a governor that forces us to put down our devices and experience the experience. Yet, not everyone is lifestreaming with the intent of ego; some, like my friend Graeme Thickins, do so to help others learn and — here’s that word again — experience what they are experiencing by — one more time — breaking down the barriers of time and place.
Where do you fall on the always on spectrum? Let’s hear it in the comments.
Filed under: Technology , always on, paul carr, real time web, realtimeweb, techcrunch, Technology
September 22, 2009 • 8:59 am
There appears to be a lot going on in the world of enterprise mobility (he says as he types this post from his iPhone on a bus at 5am). I say this after sitting and listening to a number of my client’s customers who came together yesterday I’m Orlando to talk about how they are using mobile solutions to make their operations more efficient. These were big companies saving big dollars by simply (okay, maybe not that simply) using souped up cell phones to read bar codes and radio frequency tags to capture diferent kinds of data. In doing so, they are making their companies faster, smarter and more responsive to changing conditions.
Filed under: Technology , mobility mobile operations
April 22, 2009 • 12:38 pm
OK, so maybe my SATs and choice of communications as a major hindered my shot at getting into MIT. What they didn’t hinder was my luck in getting a letter printed in MIT Technology Review. The letter is based on a story I read in the publication on my way home from SXSW last month (as well as a tweet from the magazine’s editor, Jason Pontin):
Technology Review: Letters From Our Readers: “Out Of This World”
I read the January/February 2009 issue on my flight home from South by Southwest (the magazine was part of the conference’s swag bag). There wasn’t a weak story on any page, but one was out of this world: Adam Fisher’s oral history of space tourism (‘Very Stunning, Very Space, and Very Cool’).
While I’ll probably never have the millions to afford a flight to the International Space Station, I can rest easy knowing that my $300 three-hour flight in a cramped coach seat was more comfortable than the accommodations afforded professional space travelers. I only wish I had the window seat they had.
Mike Maney
Doylestown, PA
I may never make it as a subject of one of the magazine’s articles, but it’s still pretty cool to be a part of one of the smartest crowds in technology, if only for a fleeting two paragraphs.
Filed under: Technology, Writing
August 21, 2008 • 5:18 pm
Palm recently released the Palm Treo Pro to a thundering wall of silence from the masses. Why? In my opinion, because no matter how great and innovative the device is, the company has become irrelevant. Palm was the only one not talking about the iPhone over the past year. I used to be a Treo fan (I think I had the only Treos that never crashed). By putting its head down and not engaging in the only conversation its peers were engaged in, Palm faded and not even an incredibly innovative device is likely to save it.
Filed under: Technology
Congratulations to Philippe on his and Richard Clarke’s successful Transpac Sailing Record. I’m by no means a close friend of Philippe’s, but I have been lucky enough to have had an e-mail conversation with him (we have a mutual professional acquaintance). I’m not a sailor, but it’s fun following one I know.
Filed under: Technology, fun
Rule #1 in PR is don’t lie. Spin? Sure, we all do it to some extent (I’d claim spin is no longer the sole domain of PR even). But never, ever lie. The truth always comes out.
The current Bush Administration is a prime example of this. Another is the current dustup around Apple’s PR team trying to game the press and shareholders about their CEO’s health.
I encourage you to read the posts by former Fake Steve and current Real Dan Lyons for an inside look at how both sides are playing this game. The Fourth Estate smells blood and rather than getting out of the water (or getting a bigger boat), Apple’s PR team continues to chum the waters.
Filed under: Public Relations, Technology
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