Versatile Amphibian

Digital’s a broad church and I think you need to read widely to get a sense of the changes it’s bringing. To that end, this blog summarises some of the stories that have caught my eye this week. This week: apps flop at Christmas, Polaroid launch tiny and huge imaging products, PC on the slide, super-tech on the rise Media Sony announce the streamed games service that was presumably the idea behind their acquisition of Gaikai in 2011. In summary, from the summer, PS3 games can be streamed to Sony Playstations and TVs. An interesting idea, but I’m not sure how the games themselves will compare to those already available on tablets, smartphones and even smart TVs. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/playstation-now-lets-gamers-stream-ps3-games-to-ps4-vita-and-tvs/0126467 Ace Metrix ranks the most effective TV adverts in the US last year – Google #1 - I include it here because I’m not sure how it works! I’ll try to find out… http://www.acemetrix.com/news/press-releases/the-search-is-ove...

This week: PS4 aims to create gaming celebs, NASA connects moon, Nokia arrives at party 3 years late, electric bikes and self-assembly game consoles Business models An interview with one of the designers of the new Sony PS4, which is intended to ‘celebritize’ gamers. I like the idea and it’ll be a tiny benefit to a subset of gamers. Ultimately though, the PS4 will win or lose on the quality of its games. Simples. www.fastcompany.com/3020236/tech-forecast/building-a-console-from-the-ground-up-playstations-top-priority-was-to-make-ga Some useful data points about when people visit mobile websites versus desktop. Not ground breaking, but nice to have. http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/online/when-are-mobile-owners-visiting-retail-sites-37655/ Now this is interesting: Twitter is now a more important social network than Facebook amongst teenagers. http://www.marketingcharts.com/wp/online/twitter-overtakes-facebook-as-teens-most-important-social-network-37352/ Facebook ad performan...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye – a late posting this week as I was on holiday. Lucky me! This week: Apple and Amazon beat Microsoft on Black Friday, Volvo goes self-drive but Cambridge warns of robogeddon Digital media ITN launch a citizen journalism on Youtube. Perhaps one of the aforementioned citizens can post a story about why ITN would do that. http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/itn-production-s-citizen-journalism-youtube-channel-launches/s2/a551300/ Technology Jawbone were one of the first companies to launch a wristband activity monitoring product. Seems like they’re still learning. http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671325/jawbone-up-20-ambitious-beautiful-and-still-fatally-flawed#1 Tiresome tech wannabe Will.i.am launches an add on gadget that turns the iPhone into a c...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week: $10 ereaders, AOL discovers social media, robots fly in formation, Vodafone eyes cheap SFR deal & Apple poaches Samsung’s chip guru Digital media CDNs account for 40% of the traffic flowing into ISP networks and I can only see their role getting more significant as the web gets richer in content terms and quality of service and latency become ever more vital in powering experiences like augmented reality. Doesn’t mean there’s much money in the industry, mind you. Moore’s Law makes the infrastructure side of the CDN business a Sisyphean task. http://blog.streamingmedia.com/the_business_of_online_vi/2012/10/cdns-account-for-40-of-the-overall-traffic-volume-flowing-into-isp-networks.html This FT article about the unexpected benefits of digital ...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week: maps inspires ill-advised Apple sniping, 27th level Paladins better Managers than MBAs and Android forgives Nokia Digital media I initially presumed that this article about when to fire your social media consultant was intentionally ironic... then I realised that it was serious advice. Worth a read just for the comedy value, but I wouldn’t follow much of the advice! http://www.fastcompany.com/3000052/7-things-your-social-media-consultant-should-tell-you As a friend of mine who works in the mobile ad industry said to me, the reason agencies don’t buy mobile ads from these publishers is that they think they’re selling something special. And they aren’t, so they’re too expensive. Reduce prices, manage yield, ladies and gents. http://paidcontent.org...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week: robots, holograms, hacking save/ destroy world, Valve to make hardware, Samsung vs Apple rumbles on and authors take on sock puppets in by the numbers death match Digital media The first of many Amazon stories this week: their growing publishing arm is to sell its ebooks on other competing content ecosystems. Another step towards Amazon being fully vertically integrated in the book market. http://paidcontent.org/2012/08/29/exclusive-amazon-ny-to-sell-its-ebooks-through-bn-kobo-other-retailers/ Google have quietly given up their efforts to provider a bid style model for TV ad slots. Turns out TV is hard to disrupt... http://google-tvads.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/an-update-on-google-tv-ads.html Arguably the recent Amazon and B&N announcements a...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week: I’m sad for Facebook and Onlive, Sony move mobile, Samsung launch dozens of products but lose out to Apple and retro nukes over Vegas Digital media I feel sorry for Onlive – the cloud-based console – in that they have great technology but have hit the market too soon to make much of an impact. Now Sony and Gaikai are together the writing is rather on the wall. To the detriment of early investors, such as HTC. http://www.zdnet.com/htc-loses-40m-in-onlive-restructuring-7000002856/ I also feel sorry for Facebook. Their earlier swagger is really being knocked out of them post-IPO. Here’s an article slating their Android app. http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-android-app-employees-2012-8 2/3 of the top grossing mobile applications are free to...

It seems that the new iPhone is getting a larger screen - a bump in size from 3.7" to 4" to bring it a little closer to the mammoth devices being launched by Samsung, HTC et al. 4.8" is the norm for these manufacturers at the pinnacles of their phone ranges. If the rumour mill is to be believed, then Apple will also launch a 7" version of the iPad to address an untapped market in (a) poorer people (!), (b) commuters & other mobile users. So what I wonder is whether we've reached an apogee in phone screen size. As one of my colleagues likes to point out, you'd need giant hands to find a 4.8" screen device comfortable to use . And the benefits for media consumption are marginal when judged relative to even a 7" tablet. Part of the reason why I'm more convinced than ever about 7" tablets is that people are becoming more comfortable with the benefits of the tablet for consumption (as opposed to creation). But the 10" tablet ...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week: online shoppers hate Mondays, ARM hits the server rack, experts disagree on digital homes, Google makes a brain and no one believes companies look after their data Business models It won’t have escaped your attention that many major technology companies are trying to create end-to-end experiences of own-brand devices and technology. Intel underpin rather a lot of that technology. Now they’ve started an “experience lab” to see how people will use it. Makes sense to me. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/27/intel_social_computing_parc/ This is fun – online shoppers spend the most on Mondays and the least on Fridays because they’re trying to cheer themselves up. Basic psychology still applies in this “digital” era! http://gigaom.com/2012/06/2...

I’m of the belief that participants in the TMT industry need to read widely in order to understand the present and future dynamics of the market. To that end, this post is a collection of the articles that have caught my eye. This week: clown predicts Zuck move for Nokia, HD goes super, Dragon splashes down and Metro goes public Digital media Samsung have finally launched their own media ecosystem to compete with Play, Market and, of course, iTunes. Coming soon to a fridge near you. http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/45824/samsung-music-hub-music-streaming-locker-service A slightly misleading, but still interesting comparison of the audience for British newspapers. Misleading because the engagement and characteristics of the online reader and the content they consume are very different from print. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/may/09/digital-media-abcs It would be remiss of me not to mention Facebook’s share price. It hasn’t been a good week and this valuation ...