Technology360

Public Media 2007 conference

The Public Media 2007 conference in Boston looks to be well-attended (which it should be, because it's become the must-attend meeting in public broadcasting IMHO); alas, not counting yours truly due to a rib injury.  Rob Paterson looks ahead to it in a post titled, Public Radio - IMA - A Tipping Point?  Link: Robert Paterson's Weblog. 

Doc Searls does the same (Forpodplay), linking to a Dave Winer podcast that previews remarks the latter will be giving at the conference.  Link: The Doc Searls Weblog. 

I'll be collecting and linking to whatever I can find coming out of the conference.  --Dennis

Rise of video downloads threatens gridlock on net

Bobbie Johnson writes:

The growth in video downloads could create an internet traffic jam that threatens the net's development, according to Google. Services such as YouTube, which is owned by the Californian giant, are proving tricky for internet providers to deal with and new developments could create even more problems, senior internet executives were told yesterday. ...

Link:  The Guardian.

Where's the Beef: TV Meets Online Video

Liz Gannes has details on three just released reports on this topic by Harris Interactive, NBC/Insight Express, and Informa Telecoms & Media.  Lots of good information.  Link:  NewTeeVee.  --Dennis

What's Next for Democracy Player

The Democracy Player has just been updated.  Janko Roettgers has an update on this interesting open source project at NewTeeVee.  --Dennis

The End of Control and the Future of the Music Industry

Music futurist Gerd Leonhard has posted a PDF of a presentation he gave at the by:Larm 2007 music festival/conference earlier this month in Trondheim, Norway.  He outlines strategies for the post-control era of music distribution.  Link:  GerdsPresentations. 

Rags Gupta has a related essay worth reading, The New, New Music Industry at GigaOM.  --Dennis

Social Media Goes Mainstream

The meeting at NPR to which a number of top bloggers were invited this past week (see National Public Whatsis...) was about public radio and social media.  If you'd like to learn more about this important phenomenon, check out Dion Hinchcliffe's excellent overview with this title.  Link:  Web 2.0 Journal. 

But then, in Are Social Networks Just a Feature?, Om Malik writes:

... It is time to rethink the whole notion of social networking, and start thinking of it as a feature for other online activities. Already, we see companies like Affinity Circles and Social Platform turning the “social network” into a commodity, by offering turnkey solutions. That’s just the start. It is time to start thinking beyond the web-page paradigm, and think of social networking as part of a larger “experience,” one that starts to blend the best of online and offline worlds. ...

Link:  GigaOM.  To which Liz Gannes responds in, A Taxonomy of Social Networks?:

... But one thing I think he glosses over is a distinction between niche networks and social networks as a feature. Both are alternatives to the blank slate of MySpace and its wannabes. And both, especially the best ones, capitalize on communities that already exist — like people who love a certain videogame or parents that send their kids to the same daycare center. ...

Link:  GigaOM.  --Dennis

The Old Guard Flexes Its Muscles (While It Still Can)

Richard Siklos writes:

... But Google’s sheer size and heft — including its rich margins and $140 billion market value — are viewed enviously and warily by media companies. They all wonder: Just how much of that value is coming out of my pocket?  ¶  Thus, the issue of making deals with content companies has quickly led to a kind of Catch-22 for Google. As one Hollywood executive, who didn’t want to be identified because of the continuing negotiations, said of Google: “The more content they license, it begs the question: what about all that other unlicensed stuff you’ve got up there?”  ¶   To make matters even more complicated, a big focus for media companies right now is to share the wealth with everyone who creates valuable content, not just the pros. YouTube has said that it will follow the trend of other video sites and Web businesses by figuring out a way to give some share of revenue to people whose homemade videos attract the most viewers. ...

Link:  New York Times.

The FCC's countdown clock to analog TV shutdown ...

... can be found at www.dtv.gov along with publications and information about the transition.  Seven hundred twenty-nine days and counting.

Updated 19 Feb. 2007:
Don't know why anyone would want to use this, but there's now a screen saver with the countdown clock displayed.  Thanks to John Willkie on the OpenDTV list. --Dennis

BBC explores further options for broadband iPlayer

informitv reports that:

The BBC is exploring plans to make its proposed iPlayer directly available on television screens and considering options for co-operating with other broadcasters. Ashley Highfield, their director of future media and technology, hinted at the possibilities during a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch at a London restaurant.   ¶  He revealed that the BBC was exploring the possibility of a hybrid broadcast and broadband-enabled set-top box. However, he stressed that the pilot project, which aims to bridge the gap between the worlds of the personal computer and the television, was still under consideration. ...

Link:  informitv.  The second paragraph calls to mind what some of us in U.S. have been calling the "Pizzato Box" after Allan Pizzato, executive director of Alabama Public Television and the person who has been steadfastly articulating a vision for such a device.  I joined by telephone this week a meeting with Allan and several others this week that left me a bit more optimistic that such a box can be brought to market.  --Dennis

Interpreting the Transition to Digital TV as a Business Opportunity

While browsing the TeamSoper web site yesterday, I found a link to a PDF of a recent (Fall/Winter 2006) white paper with this title by David Tice of Knowledge Networks/SRI.  The paper is also available in HTML format at the Knowledge Networks site.  Although it doesn't go into specific business recommendations, it's a good overview document to share with boards of directors.

Broadcasters will find Chart 2 useful also (requires clicking a link in the HTML version).  Using data from their Home Technology Monitor survey, the chart displays how consumers expect to make analog sets compatible with the new digital standard.  Just over half plan to subscribe to a multichannel cable or DBS provider which, while maintaining access, nevertheless will diminish the audience of any one broadcaster now enjoying the benefits of limited channel availability in an over-the-air situation.  --Dennis