Start-Ups Think Big, Like Twitter

September 14, 2010

For many entrepreneurs, start-ups are a labor of love.

Build what you want to see created in the world is the advice offered by Twitter co-founder and Chairman Jack Dorsey to young entrepreneurs.

“I wanted my family to use it, my friends to use it,” Dorsey said. He admits falling in love with SMS, or short messaging service, technology when it first came to the U.S.

And what about the micro-blogging site today? Twitter has some “interesting” scaling issues, with massive spikes in traffic volume. “Engineering for that is very difficult,” he said at the Demo conference in Silicon Valley.

Here are several less-established start-ups at the conference hoping for similar breakthroughs:

*Delphix. The company announced the commercial release of its database virtualization software. The product is designed to save companies money on storage hardware. Big corporations have multiple storage devices holding databases and an opportunity for consolidation. Delphix has several customers, including Staples and TiVo

*Metabeam. Metabeam’s Slideshow sends information about a television show or movie to a touch-screen device, such as an iPad. Ten thousands of people are already using the product, which was announced at the show.

*E-Fuel: The company ships an at-home systems for making ethanol from biomass, such as yard waste. (But don’t think yardwaste, because you would have to come up with a way for breaking down the plant material and converting it into sugar.)

Instead, E-Fuel owners are best off relying on distributors to will sell them distilled plant sugar in liquid form. Put the sugar solution in the fermentation tank and pump ethanol into your car. Cost: $10,000.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Internet Users More Willing To Endure Ads For Free Video Content

April 7, 2009

Online viewers of television and other video content are increasingly willing to put up with advertising to get their programs and movies for free, a survey shows.

However, they also are slightly less likely to link through to an advertiser’s Web site to learn more about a product or service.

The study is a clear indication that free is currency of choice on the Internet. It suggests that consumers are becoming more accepting of ads after initially being turned aside by the prospect of ads cluttering videos on sites such as Google’s YouTube.

According to the study conducted by Knowledge Networks and reported by eMarketer, 80 percent of people viewing television online now say they prefer ads in exchange for unpaid programming, compared with 67 percent in 2006.

Similarly, 37 percent said they watched videos with pre-roll ads, an increase from 2006.

However, fewer viewers now forward ads to others and only 25 percent clicked through to n advertiser’s Web site.

That means they are probably less effective.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Tables Turning In Telecom With Video Trumping Voice

March 20, 2009

It used to be telecommunications carriers made a living connecting phone calls.

But this year could be the first where the new video services offered by AT&T and Verizon grow faster than the telephone services cable companies are selling to their customers.

This year could be the first where new video customers at top telcos exceed new cable voice customers

This year could be the first where new video customers at top telcos exceed new cable voice customers

This analysis comes from the Wall Street firm of Stifel Nicholaus.

Up to now, the cables have made inroads into the teleco’s home turf, stealing voice customers faster than AT&T and Verizon could attract customers to their new fiber-optic networks, over which they deliver high-speed Internet connections and TV programming.

In 2008, for instance, two Baby Bells added 1.8 million video customers while the top four cable companies, such as Comcast, signed up nearly 4.8 million voice subscribers.

But the video programming has been popular with consumers, and both telecommunications carriers have received high marks for customer service.
In addition, voice signups at the cable companies have slowed, with new subscribers falling from 1.2 million in the third quarter of 2008 to 870,000 in the fourth quarter, says Stifel Nicolaus.

“We view telcos as the likely market-share winners over the course of the next couple of years, as cable’s core video product will continue to be stripped away by competitive telco offerings,” the firm said.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Revolution In Interactive TV Viewing Coming Soon

March 16, 2009

The foundations are being laid for a dramatic change in television viewing that will take the passive out of couch potato.

Imagine social-networking features that allow people to chat with friends during a program. Messages would appear at the bottom of the television screen.

Social networking features may let friends message one another

Social networking features may let friends message one another

Or how about an interactive ad where a click will take a viewer to a Web site with more information or the option to purchase a product?

Home shopping channels might be so interactive that viewers could search through product lists and select the items they want displayed on their screens.

All this will be possible within the next 12 to 16 months, says Edgard Villalpando, senior vice president at ActiveVideo Networks, a private company developing software to make the television interactive. The San Jose company’s combination software and service works in conjunction with the set-top boxes consumers gets from their cable operators.

Already ActiveVideo has contracts with Oceanic Time Warner Cable in Hawaii and Grande Communications in Texas for home-shopping services.

“The big trick is how you monetize this,” says Villalpando. “The monetization all comes down to advertising.”

The shift in the television viewing might so dramatic that in two years programming itself could change. Production costs are likely to fall and some on-air segments could compress from 30 minutes to 15 minutes.

Producers also may choose to air some television series for four weeks instead of the typical 13 weeks, says Villalpando. With interactive television, audience feedback can be very fast.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Coach Potatoes Now View Laptops As They Watch TV

March 9, 2009

New living room habits are changing the way people watch television: today’s coach potato frequently balances a computer on his or her lap.

More than 66 million consumers camp out on the sofa with laptops

More than 66 million consumers camp out on the sofa with laptops

According to In-Stat, more than 66 million U.S. consumer curl up with laptops as the camp out on the sofa watching the tube.

The trend is most common among men. A recent survey found between 40 percent and 50 percent of some male age groups use laptops while watching TV, In-Stat reported on Monday.

About 30 percent of women under 40 years old also navigate a PC while viewing TV.

This emerging trend presents cable operators and other broadcast outlets with new opportunities to synchronized programming with Web content – especially since it represents little in the way of new costs, said analyst Gerry Kaufhold.

However, before operators count their chickens, the downturn is expected to trim $5 billion from consumer spending on broadband, pay television services and mobile services, In-Stat says.

About 15 percent of consumers plan to cut back during the next 12 months. This will be most common among households with incomes below $35,000.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Americans Watch More Video On Mobile Devices Than Computers

February 23, 2009

Television viewing continues to set records in the U.S. with the average American watching an astonishing 151 hours of monthly programming – almost 5 hours a day.

Consumption of video on the Internet and on mobile devices is on the rise as well, with average monthly viewing reaching 2 hours and 53 minutes and 3 hours and 42 minutes, respectively, in the fourth quarter.

Time-shift viewing, where programs are recorded on a digital video recorder, also increased to 7 hours and 11 minutes, according to a new Nielsen study.

The study underscores the notion that while video consumption on the Internet and mobile devices is increasing, it so far hasn’t detracted from traditional viewing on the home’s big screen.

However, it does show a generational shift. Video viewing on the Internet is strongest among people 18 to 34 and on mobile devices children between 12 and 17 are by far the biggest users.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

IPTV Customers Found Satisfied With Their Service

February 19, 2009

U.S. consumers getting television over the Internet from Verizon and AT&T report being very satisfied with their service, according to a study conducted by Strategy Analytics.

More Than 80%Of FiOs and U-Verse customers report being very or extremely satisfied

More Than 80%Of FiOs and U-Verse customers report being very or extremely satisfied

The survey, completed in late 2008, highlights the competition developing in the American television delivery market as cable companies face challenges to their long-held monopolies. Both Verizon and AT&T have extended fiber-optic networks into local neighborhoods and provided high-speed broadband connections along with scores of digital television channels.

Strategy Analytics said it contacted 845 digital television subscribers, including some who received service from cable companies Comcast, Cox and Time Warner Cable and others who were customers of DirecTV and Dish.

More than 80 percent of subscribers to Verizon’s FiOS and AT&T’s U-Verse said they were extremely or very satisfied with their provider.

Digital television appears to be the greatest lure of the “triple play” offerings telecos developed to bundle TV, phone service and Internet connections, Strategy Analytics said.

Cable subscribers were the least happy with their service, with Time Warner customers most likely to switch.

Today’s television market place is becoming more complicated as consumers increasingly look to the Internet for content and avoid paying a cable or telecom provider.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Apple To Unveil Television In 2011, Analyst Says

February 5, 2009

Apple will launch an Internet-connected television in 2011 as it begins a big push into the digital living room of the future, analyst Gene Munster says.

Apple to sell 6.6 million Apple TVs this year, say Gene Munster

Apple to sell 6.6 million Apple TVs this year, say Gene Munster

The computer and iPod maker has so far shrugged aside initiatives in the networked television market, calling it still for hobbyists.

But Munster of the Wall Street firm Piper Jaffray said Thursday it is gearing up for a major push into the space with an upgrade to its Apple TV late this year, bringing the device DVR functionality.

In two years, it will unveil an Apple television with DVR functionality built in, he said in a research note. Recorded shows could sync with Apple computers, iPods and iPhones wirelessly and blend into the iTunes ecosystem.

“Apple could effectively replace the home entertainment system (including a music stereo, cable box, Blu-ray/DVD player, and gaming console) with an all-in-one Apple television,” Munster wrote.

Munster sees Apple selling 6.6 million Apple TVs this year.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Facebook On Your TV?

February 5, 2009

The notion of accessing a social networking Web site, such as Facebook, on a television isn’t as far fetched as one might think.

A third of social network users are interested in accessing their sites on the TV

A third of social network users are interested in accessing their sites on the TV

According to a recent study of 1,000 households, more than a third of consumers who use social networks would like to see their networks pop up on the television screen.

“We expect the extension of Web 2.0 technologies to the living room to propel growth in new communities of interest,” says Jason Blackwell, a senior analyst at ABI Research. The ABI study found 36 percent of regular social network users were interested in reaching their favorite sites on the TV.

“Younger consumers were more interested in engaging with their friends through chat and messaging, while middle-aged respondents were more likely to be interested in more passive social networking behavior, such as checking status updates,” ABI said.

The most compelling reason for those over 50 to want social networking on the their TV was to be able to see what their friends were watching.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Who Knew? Top Searches On You Tube Seek Songs, Bands And Music Info

January 29, 2009

You Tube has become a major search destination on the Web for music-related topics such as bands, songs and artists.

Fred was among the top December searches on You Tube

Fred was among the top December searches on You Tube

Music-related searches dominate the site, said Hitwise in a first-time study of search on Google’s popular video vault.

Following music were queries for Internet personalities, a category Hitwise labeled miscellaneous and television searches.

However, search interest on the site was concentrated. The top 50 search terms accounted for 20 percent of the site’s total search volume in December.

The top search during the month was for rapper Lil Wayne, followed by Twilight, Beyonce, Single Ladies, Souja Bay, Chris Brown and Fred. Hot!

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Posted by Mark Boslet

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