Connected World

New Blog Site, New Feed

David — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 00:08:43 +0000

I have moved the blog to its own domain. You can find The Connected World now at http://www.theconnectedworld.net

The new feed address is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/theconnectedworld

YouTube Asked To Remove 1,000 Sports Clips

David — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 23:35:15 +0000

A digital rights company representing sporting bodies has asked YouTube to remove about 1,000 videos for copyright infringement – and believes there are as many as 10,000 more illegal clips on the website.

At what point does YouTube become boring and uninteresting as it’s content gets sucked out? At what point will Google be unable to maintain and improve YouTube as it is overwhelmed with takedown requests? Maybe that’s the strategy all along. Bleed ‘em dry and max them out with work. YouTube, your 15min of fame is up. Time to move on to the next hot thing.

The Problem with DRM

David — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:05:33 +0000

Other than the fact that it limits control over content that we purchase, sooner or later, you’re going to get hacked.

The Boy Scouts and the MPAA

David — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:10:15 +0000

Another great and insightful post from Dave Slusher. The battle for the next generation of Internet users is on. What are we going to call these guys, the YouTube/Google generation? The GooTube generation?

Here is a link to the pdf describing this program.

Craig Newmark (aka craigslist) Won’t Sell Out

David — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 17:25:02 +0000

He’s sitting on one of the hottest Internet properties, but Craig Newmark of craigslist has no interest in taking the money. Newmark says he doesn’t need the money because he has all he needs to live comfortably. It’s a remarkable statement on humility but I disagree with him on charity. Newmark says he is also not interested in taking the money to give to worthy causes. “Finding a good cause is incredibly hard and time-consuming” he said. What? Are you kidding me? AIDS research, cancer research, diabetes, or just talk to Bono; he has a ton of things you could do with a few million dollars. When the time and the situation is right, Newmark should absolutely take the money and use his unique opportunity to have a major impact for good on the world.

Yahoo Targets Internet Growth Areas

David — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 17:51:23 +0000

Where are the growth opportunities in the Internet economy? Take a look at where Yahoo is planning its future investment. Social media, video and mobile access. I think they’re right on with this outlook but they did just get beat out for YouTube (video) and they were not able to complete a deal with Facebook (social media). About the only place Yahoo has some traction is in mobile phones. Yahoo Go is available on several popular phones and they plan to be everywhere by the end of the year. Yahoo’s mobile stuff is actually quite good and useful. They’re doing better than most, but watch out because Google maps is available on phones as is gmail and the google rss reader.

Tattoo Your RAZR – Wicked Cool

David — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 17:26:53 +0000

Always finding new ways to breath new life into the RAZR line, Motorola and T-Mobile have introduced new RAZR models with laser tattoos based on the work of artist. These phones look great and if I weren’t so interested in moving to a smart phone, I’d want one.

The Best Marketing Campaign Ever

David — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 17:26:02 +0000

Cisco has launched a new marketing/advertising campaign called “The Human Network”. I first saw it as an ad on tv and I actually went back (thanks Tivo) and watched it a second time. When is the last time you did that? What a fantastic tv ad. Then I saw it on-line and today I have found the main site. They are also now getting Internet industry luminaries to help define what is the human network. In fact, anyone can submit a story about what the human network means to them. The main site has lots of inspiring and interesting content on it. Nowhere do I see an ad or data sheet for a Cisco router. This is about branding and it works.

How Friendster Blew It

David — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 23:33:45 +0000

The Internet world was their oyster. Right technology and the right time, and still Friendster, the worlds first social network, messed it up. Here is a good article about how they did it.

Reuters News Service for Second Life

David — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 22:20:08 +0000

The Reuters news service is opening a virtual bureau in the on-line world Second Life. Adam Pasick will be the first correspondent, reporting on news, cultural events and finance in the virtual world. More and more big name companies are starting to dip their toes in this virtual water. It’s interesting to watch but when will someone crack a Second Life business model that really works?

Microsoft-Vista Licensing Sucks Ass

David — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 23:53:20 +0000

I’m just waiting for Apple to ship Core 2 Duo MacBooks and I’m gone. See you later Windows. The latest nightmare story about Vista and it’s insane licensing/restrictions is that you will only be able to transfer your license to one other computer. Windows XP allowed for unlimited license transfers. This is just a huge pain in the ass, making it more difficult for legitimate users. I don’t know what Microsoft is thinking.

Apple is already starting to slowly chew up market share and now they are making it even more tempting to move to OS X. People are going to hang on to XP as long as they possibly can. Who cares about your ultra slick eye candy. It’s mostly copied from Apple, you can’t run it unless you have a fairly powerful system and now the thought police is looking over your shoulder all day watching that you don’t do something wrong.

Apple isn’t perfect either, but they’re much easier to deal with and desktop Linux just isn’t there yet.

In-Game Advertising

David — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 19:14:40 +0000

Ozgur Alaz has a nice post on in-game advertising.

Disney Orgy – Messing With The Brand

David — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 17:28:28 +0000

How out of control are companies with regard to their brands? Very. Check this video out; shot backstage at Disneyland Paris presumably by a Disney cast member. The combination of cheap, mobile video recording and media sharing social networks like YouTube make this kind of thing all to easy. I’m sure these cast members thought they were backstage and therefore in a safe place where they don’t have to be “on”. Backstage should be a safe place for employees but someone did shoot the video and it did get out. Disney’s new or reinforced policy will be, when you have the outfit on, you’re “on”, no matter where you are. Think of Abu Ghraib in Iraq. People casually taking digital pictures, but with the power of the network, they got out and created a firestorm.

It also means as a person living in this connected world, you have to be extra careful of what you do or say. You could be recorded at any time, by anyone. So where are the lines drawn? Does anyone have the right to record you with audio, video or a photo and share that to the world? Do you control those permissions? Will there be a wave of lawsuits by people who have not consented to have their image or voice published on the Internet?

utube or YouTube? What’s In A Name

David — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:58:23 +0000

Now this is funny. The Internet is a series of tubes; so these are the guys who are really running things!

Palm Treo Breaks News

David — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:54:11 +0000

Using a Palm Treo 700, a Fox News cameraman was able to shoot video and send it directly to Fox which proceeded to use it live on-air. This is the first time a major news organization has used live streaming video from a cell phone. The cameraman was actually on a completely different assignment but was close by when a single-engine plane crashed into an apartment building in downtown New York. The software technology used is called CometVision from Comet Video Technologies.

With so many cell phones now having camera and video capabilities, this kind of on the spot citizen media link to major new outlets will only increase. I can see the possibility for an affiliate citizen media program. For every photo I make available to a major news outlet, I can get compensated. For every minute of video I provide, I can make a little cash. How soon until we see fake, staged news events created by people who want to see their stuff on tv or who just want to screw with the system?