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      Paid TV execs really don’t get it

      November 4, 2010 /

      Satellites.I’ve been writing here a lot about the development of online TV services and my desire to be able to truly cut the cord and fully rely on the internet for my media consumption. I don’t currently have a cable subscription of any kind, which makes me really really happy, but my system isn’t perfect and could definitely stand to get a lot better.

      The biggest thing standing in my way are the paid subscription services. They show up every few weeks to say stupid shit like this about Hulu and similar services: “If I can watch Glee tomorrow morning and I don’t have to pay a pay TV service –- I think that’s bad.” That’s Dish Network’s VP of Online Content Development and Strategy, Bruce Eisen. Sorry, Bruce, but you’re a moron. For starters, Fox – you know, the company that broadcasts Glee – allows me to do this. Why do they do this? Because customers want it. That’s what being in any sort of delivery service is all about – catering to your customers.

      Somewhere along the road to present day, guys like Bruce Eisen forgot that their companies exist to deliver a product that customers want, not to dictate those wants by delivering a mediocre product at a ridiculous price. Not to limit consumer access to content but to provide it. Every time a cable or satellite exec says something like this, I can hear PR firms squealing in dismay. “Bruce! You just told the customers you don’t want them to have what they want! You want to bleed them dry before they can have it! These people aren’t stupid!”

      And there’s the other problem. All these execs like to talk as though we don’t understand their business, like we can’t possibly understand the position Hulu has put them in. Sorry for asking you to think, Bruce. Sorry for asking you to adapt. Sorry for asking that American business men do what they were born to do. Make things. We’ve stopped making and become a country of consumers. Well I, for one, am done consuming and I’m ready to make.

      Yeah, Bruce, that’s from 30 Rock. I loaded it up on Netflix just now, scrubbed forward to the part I wanted and transcribed it. Why can’t you make things like this:

      And less like…wait…hold on a sec. Just have to fire up the old satellite and dig through the DV-ah, fuck it. Nevermind.

      Digital Media, Video

      The reason Facebook didn’t announce a phone

      November 4, 2010 /

      Facebook on all devices.

      I’ve been skeptical of a Facebook phone launch since the moment I first heard of the idea. My biggest question was, why? Why would Facebook want to get into the hardware game? Why would they try to pull market away from existing platforms that are already using its applications? Why would they partner with a manufacturer and go through the headaches of fabrication just to have one more device that runs the Facebook app?

      I can’t think of a single compelling reason to do any of that. There’s a reason Facebook didn’t introduce a phone at its mobile even this Wednesday, and that reason is the picture you see above. All of those devices run the Facebook app. All of them. That’s what Facebook wants. It wants all of them. All the devices, all the people, everyone, everywhere, using Facebook on a mobile device, all the time. They’ll get it, too.

      Yesterday’s Facebook announcement was about leveraging third party developers, about getting all sorts of tools to further enmesh people in the Facebook platform, essentially for free. As the Phandroid article I’m sourcing this from puts things:

      Now, instead of Facebook going it alone to create the perfect solutions, they’ve got a world of developers all “working for them” – for free – to make Facebook’s social and mobile platform infinitely successful. Android is no different. Every time another app or game lands on Android Market, Google has provided consumers with value. All they did was create the initial tools, and now thousands and thousands of people are out there building value for their product.

      That’s what the mobile announcement was. It’s giving consumers value through quality experience and giving developers the tools to reinforce that quality experience. This is what will keep Facebook from turning into MySpace. Facebook doesn’t need a phone.

      Mobile, News

      Facebook serving as an election predictor?

      November 3, 2010 /

      Facebook election results.There’s some interesting data around this year’s election results and the number of people who became “fans” of the winning candidates on Facebook. According to All Facebook, 74 percent of the House and 81 percent of the Senate victories were accurately predicted by the number of fans the winning candidates received.

      Obviously this stat is a bit anecdotal without all the supporting evidence required to back it up (Did the fans actually vote? Did they vote for that candidate? etc.), but it’s interesting to see how Facebook engages the political spectrum. So much of what happens on Facebook is drivel, but everyone has that friend, you know, the one constantly sending you cause invites and voting reminders and all that. Those people, at least in my experience, tend to behave the same way in public – constantly talking politics and causes, so maybe it’s not so different.

      At any rate, give a looksee to All Facebook and their awesome election tracker for more intimate details on each race and the Facebook correlation.

      social, Websites

      Twitter starts in-stream advertising

      November 2, 2010 /

      Allen Stern Twitter feed.

      Here’s some big news. Twitter started running in-stream ads at some point this week. It’s a big deal because it’s so insanely intrusive. I’m not a Twitter user, but I do check a few accounts here and there, and I would hate to see this kind of crap show up on a regular basis.

      As you can see from the photo (which comes from Allen Stern at Center Networks), Twitter inserted an ad in between actual tweets from users, calling it a “promoted tweet.” I don’t really have a problem with these things showing up in search results, but in my own feed? How often will I have to see them? Can I opt out? Will that be a ‘Twitter Pro’ feature?

      Whatever the case, it’s a shitty move by Twitter.

      Digital Media, social

      More pics of the Playstation Phone

      November 1, 2010 /

      Engadget picked up some more photos of the Playstation Phone over the weekend. Here’s what they’ve got to say:

      The device appears to have an 8GB microSD card slotted, and at least 512MB of internal storage (though we’re hoping it’s the 1GB we’ve heard would be present). As you can see from the pictures in the gallery below, the device isn’t exactly thin — we surmise that the handset is around 17mm thick, or slightly thicker than HTC’s Touch Pro 2 (and funnily enough, about the same as the PSPgo). From a design standpoint, the device seems to have more in common with BlackBerry handsets than previous Sony Ericsson phones; that smoky chrome bezel which surrounds the device is definitely giving us Torch flashbacks. As always, we’re hard at work digging up more info on the phone (and potentially more images), but for now, just sit tight and enjoy the exclusive photos in the gallery below.

      You can find that gallery over at Engadget.

      Mobile, News

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