Saturday 28 January 2012

Cool article on a cool project at the NYTimes beta620 lab:
Meet Deep Dive, the New York Times’ experimental context engine and story explorer

Funny what you can learn on the interwebs:
Comcast reveals social TV strategy that rewards subscribers in patent application  Read more: Comcast reveals social TV strategy that rewards subscribers in patent application

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Happy 2012. Two new pieces, coinciding with CES. No further comment:
How People Watch TV Online And Off
Myspace — Yes, Myspace — Says It’s Going to Sell You Web TV

Monday 28 November 2011

I've just now gotten around to reading this piece from Fast Company in late October. It's a pretty good precis on how things are shaping up for Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google:
The Great Tech War Of 2012

There's even an update meta-story that was published 30 days later:
The Great Tech War Of 2012: Ongoing Skirmishes

Tuesday 22 November 2011

A few acquisitions and announcements from some small video search and recommendations players, all for around the same pricetag:
Synacor Guns for $75M IPO
Al Gore-backed VideoSurf bought by Microsoft for $70 million
Ebay’s Got A Hunch, For Around $80 Million

This last one is interesting, especially given Ebay's new 'couch commerce' Watch With Ebay app. Soon you may actually be able to buy Rachel's sweater after all.

Friday 18 November 2011

Two new stories of hardware manufacturers looking to disintermediate content distributors by doing deals to connect broadcasters directly with consumers. It's not that they're trying to eliminate the middleman; they are trying to become the middleman.

• Sony Considers Internet Rival to Cable TV
• Boxee’s Latest Cord-Cutter Tool: A Cable Set-Top Box ‘Stick’

Friday 28 October 2011

A few interesting snippets on 1) interactive and targeted TV advertising, 2) Facebook's role in the TV ecosystem, and 3) Apple's plans to upset the television applecart.

Interactive Ads: Cable’s Future May Already Have Passed
Can Facebook Improve TV Ads?
Blockbuster to offer VOD on Facebook
What’s Really Next for Apple in Television

Also this late-breaking piece:
Google Tries Again With Google TV

Thursday 27 October 2011

Facial monitoring: The all-telling eye
A piece in the Economist explains how webcams can now spot which ads catch your gaze, read your mood, and check your vital signs. In my last job, I tried to get a POC off the ground to do this with digital out-of-home billboards, but I honestly never thought of doing it with front-facing cameras on people's PCs, iPhones, and tablets. Seems like an interesting concept, provided you can get over the privacy implications.