Street Corner Confessions for National TV from Bogota
c/o The LA Times via Yahoo! News
Pedestrians in one of South America's largest cities step into a video booth and tell everyday tales of their own lives for a national TV audience. "The clips formed part of the hit show 'Citycapsula,' a weekly compilation of footage of ordinary residents who stop at one of several camera-loaded kiosks around the city and opt to put a few moments of their lives on film."
"The show's inspiration came from a sister channel in Toronto, home to "Speakers Corner," a program named after the famous spot in London's Hyde Park where people station themselves and declaim on any subject under the sun."
At the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment expo in San Francisco, speakers and vendors showcased what 's in store for mobile phones in the near term:
1. Streaming video and TV -- bottom line is it's still earlyy
2. Music -- Everybody's looking to play in here
3. Multiplayer Games -- This looks to be a fast pickup
Link to full article here
Article c/o Kodak Ships Wi-Fi Digital Camera
Priced at $599, the EasyShare-One sends photos and videos via wireless access at home or work. It also works with T-Mobile USA's 6,000 hot spots at stores, airports, hotels, etc. (including for example Starbucks). But, disappointingly, it won't work with other Wi-Fi carriers! More from AP Business News here.
Parking Stripe Advertising
http://parkingstripe.com/samples/stripeview.html
Um ... yeah. That's right. On the strips of painted white lines that separate the cars in the lot. You bet. But brilliant. The company's based in Golden, CO.
Real-Time TV on Mobile Phones -- MobiTV
http://www.mobitv.com/
"MobiTV is the first global multimedia network and technology company providing television and radio services to the 1.6 billion mobile phone and handset users worldwide. The MobiTV® service is available in the US through Sprint PCS, Cingular and several regional carriers; in the United Kingdom through Orange UK; and is now available to Canadian customers through Rogers and Bell Canada. The service offers many popular TV channels such as ESPN 3, MSNBC, ABC News Now, NBC Mobile, CNBC, FOX Sports, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, The Weather Channel, Comedy Time, California Music Channel, Major League Baseball Highlight Channel and others including country-specific channels outside the United States. Founded in 1999, MobiTV is a privately-held company headquartered in Berkeley, CA."
Recent Press -- http://www.mobitv.com/about/company/press.html
Especially check out the USA Today article from 9/27/05 and the CNN SquawkBox review video.
SBC + Toyota Prius Plant Virtual Trees Online
It wraps oh-so-nicely in the eco-friendly thematic that ties oh-so-well to the consumer response SBC wants to elicit. Nice program.
Ford Launches Talking Ad Campaign
c/o Adrants.com (reprinted below)Ford Belgium has launched a speaking ad campaign, called Ford Miracles that, well, speaks. And we're not talking about TV or radio. Created by Ogilvy Belgium and consisting of outdoor posters and customizable e-cards. The campaign site even has a live webcam that is mounted to one of the posters to monitor viewers reactions ... Go to the downloads section to see videos of the spots and other campaign elements.
Family Guys Gets Subservient Chicken Treatment
http://www.adrants.com/2005/09/family-guys-gets-subservient-chicken.php
To promote the release of FOX's The Family Guy DVD, Fuel Industries http://www.fuelindustries.com has created a Subservient Chicken-like site, called Stewie Live http://www.StewieLive.com, featuring the character Stewie. As is usually the case with these command-based sites, Stewie, of course, burps, farts and has sex. Beyond that, Stewie reacts to 160 commands so far and the list will surely grow. To view an homage to the grand daddy of this genre, be sure to type in the word "chicken."
Wal-Mart in-store TV network viewership up 9 percent
SEPTEMBER 22, 2005 --
Here's a backgrounder article from Inc. Magazine
Chip Helps Electric Outlet Go Broadband
By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer -- Link to Article
TOKYO - The common electric socket will serve as your home's connection to broadband with a new chip developed by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. — doing away with all the Ethernet cables or the hassle of hooking up to a wireless network device.
Products are still being developed, but gadgets embedded with the chip from the Japanese manufacturer of Panasonic products can hook up to a broadband network by plugging into the common electrical outlet, company officials said Thursday.
The Average American - 1987 vs. 2003
According to a study by UIC prof Olver Pergams as reported in the Chicago Tribune, Sun, Sept 4, 2005
Hours a year spent using the Internet:
1987 = 0
2003 = 174
Hours a year spent playing video games:
1987 = 0 (?)
2003 = 90
Increase in hours spent on enterainment media:
327
iTunes 5.0 Supports Video Podcasts
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050915-5313.html
"`Apple recently added support for video podcasts (or vodcasts as some people call them).Video podcasts are currently only playable on your computer, although it seems clear enough that a video iPod is on the way. For instance, Crookz, a video podcast (iTMS link) spoof of Cops, appears to be one of the few video offerings out there ..."
These are still just little videos that play only through iTunes, though there's a full screen view option. Look for more development soon.
Ingenious RSS File Sharing Service
http://www.box.net/filefeed.html
I need to follow up on exactly how this works. It promises to let you share files via RSS subscriptions. This ought to make Jack Valenti nervous.
Hey Look - Convergence is Good for TV
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=45993
Fox is previewing one of its fall shows on Yahoo! seven days before it debuts on the tube.
Now see the next post ...
Uh Oh ... Looks Like It's BAD for TV
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=45987
DIGITAL GAMERS REDUCE TV VIEWING FURTHER
Watch Four Hours Less Per Week Than in 2004
- There are 76.2 million game-playing households in the U.S. in 2005 -- up 11.4% from 67.5 million in 2004.
- the number of hard-core game-playing households increased by 900,000 from 18.9 million to 19.8 million over the same year's time
- Among video-game players overall, 61% are male, as are 57% of PC gamers. Among hard-core gamers, 65% of video gamers and 68% of PC gamers are male.
- Over one-third (34%) of hard-core PC gamers are 35 and older. The mean age of this core group is 31.
- Core video-gamers are younger. Forty percent are 19 and under. But 29% are 35 and older. The mean age is 27.
- Hard-core video gamers watched 18 hours of TV per week in 2005, down from 22 hours per week last year. However, hard-core players watch more TV than general gamers, the study said. General gamers watched 16 hours of TV per week in 2005 -- a drop of two hours since 2004.
AdAge Reports Podcasters Go Commercial
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=45932
- Podcasting is fast hitting the mainstream, attracting the attention of media, advertisers and entrepreneurs looking to cash in on a new medium.
- There are 22 million iPod owners and 29% of them have downloaded podcasts, according to Pew Internet and American Life. But those numbers were calculated before Apple opened up the floodgates.
- Michael Butler of The Rock and Roll Geek Show used to talk about his love of Heineken beer. Then Adam Curry interceded on his behalf and talked to Heineken about a possible sponsorship, and the company decided it could start its own podcast, but it never took off. Heineken not only lost at least one loyal drinker, it ticked off many in the podcast world.
Robotic Stores from Zoom Systems
c/o DDI Magazine
See the corporate site hereA 21st century spin on the Auto-mat? Who else remembers Horn & Hardart?
Desperately Selling Razors
http://www.thatsthepowerof4.com
Just in case you haven't taken today's dose of sophomoric "guy" humor. Oh yeah ... and it's an integrated, on-line-off-line marketing campaign (though it reeks of gimmickry). This one's really close to jumping the shark. Then again, how else would YOU try to sell a four-blade razor?!?
Customizing Google Maps - Map Marketing, Anyone?
- http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com
I'll spare you all the tech-speak. Bottom line is Google lets programmers customize its markedly superior online maps/directions application. And some enterprising programmers have begun to create custom maps for specific purposes. Let's say you want to run a scavenger hunt for a client promotion; you could use a customized Google map (with branding) to make it more fun.
At Retail Media - New Web Zine
http://www.atretailmedia.com
Specializes in video, rich media and multimedia systems in and/or near stores.
What the World Needs Now:
A Diamond-Encrusted MP3 Player
Aw shucks ... it's only available in Europe. The maker, Adamond, also offers the world's first 2GB flash memory MP3 player. The "Girl's Guide to Gadgets" blogger likes it; looks like a trend-on-the-rise for "tha ladies"! Oh yeah ... if you haven't already seen it -- Here's a $50,000 mobile phone from Vertu. (You can pick one up at Neiman's right up Michigan Avenue on your lunch break.)
Here Come the Wi-Fi Digital Cameras!
c/o Information Week online
A Kodak Easy-Share digital camera with built-in Wi-Fi will sell for $599 and hit shelves in October 2005. Nikon meanwhile promises to bring two Coolpix models to market by September 15th; but you'll have to wait 'til October to upgrade with a Wi-Fi card.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
