Scenes from today's hike, McTaggart Sanctuary SW Edmonton

Berries on a Brrook

Wild Berries near stream

Brook from the Pines

Late fall by the River

Busy Critter

Muskrat Gathering

Brook in Fall

Over Looking a Brook

"Woody" 

Wood Pecker in action 

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Blog post Oilers creating new revenue by streaming pre season games. #yeg #oilers #nhl

Monetizing ' free' is the holy grail of new media. How stumps content producers. There are signs that's changing.

At least glimmers, some content produces are willing to experiment, invest, and explore to solve the elusive new media revenue riddle.

The Edmonton Oilers, are streaming their NHL, pre season games. Try here for tonights game with the Islanders. According to Allan Watt, VP Broadcast,  they drew  60,000 for one effort. Not a big number by TV standards. A really big number in terms of a live event, gate, equivalent to over three sell outs at Rexall Place.

So there's a market. Production is enabled by lower cost digital technology. Distribution, via the internet, is cheap. The reach is global. Seems like opportunity for sponsorship, advertising and host of revenue generating interactivity.  However, the Oilers are prevented by NHL convention, league rules, from maximizing the opportunity.

According to President, Pat LaForge, the pre-season games are 'geographically gated'. Net distribution is restricted to Oilers market footprint, Western Canada and the NorthWest Territories. Hmm, typical old business model. Create scarcity in the face of abundance. Restrict instead of enable.  

The net is a global distribution platform. The NHL and other content producers, still, believe they need to protect themselves, from each other. So they create artificial markets and loose money in the process.LaForge says, "We don't want the Maple Leafs' games streamed, in our market, we agree not to stream ours in theirs". Why? 

This suggests head to head, the Leaf brand is more appealing, than the Oiler brand. The latter needs protection. The Leaf brand is appealing to Western hockey fans, no question. So why not take advantage of it. Why not give fans a choice, Leaf Brand and Oiler brand! Charge the Leafs a fee for the privilege, say 50% of the revenue, they might garner from a live streaming event. New revenue to them. Additional revenue, though not triple A margin revenue, revenue just the same, for the Oilers.

Choice and options always create massive value. Value earns premium revenue. In this case, both teams have the potential to generate more revenue. There's no scarcity, no restriction. Isn't business about competition? Well in theory. Business doesn't like competition at all. That's why business seeks to control markets through convention, or regulation. 

This territorial rights issue is, exactly, what Jim Balsile is fighting about, in his attempted take over of the Phoenix Coyotes.  Despite claims to the contrary, territorial rights do exist, in professional sports. They don't have to be restrictive. Ironically, they could be a key in unlocking the mystery to making money, in the free digital economy.

What do you think?  

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Neighbour's Garden a canvass in soil, in July

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Bruce Winter
Communication Strategies
780 464 7992
Skype: nitguy

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Twitter Key Tool in Solving problem with Direct Energy tags: Edmonton, Direct Energy , Social Media

I'm on the move. Pretty chaotic chore. Last week, got hung up with gas company trying to cancel one service, at the old address, and re start, at the new. Started the process on line. It didn't work well. Direct Energy has policy requiring 20 days advance notice to process a move. 

The company is organized, as 3 separate companies. Direct Energy Regulated Services is the one, I was dealing with. Initially, it was frustrating and ineffective experience. After four attempts, on line and 3, 800# calls, I sent out  some tweets, in frustration. DE's silo organization enables the company, not the customer. 

Tweets got picked up by Lynzey MacRae, in DE's PR department. She offered to help, took up her offer.  She solved my problems. Happy ending. Received follow up call, from Don Carter, also in Customer Service. He advised, Direct Energy companies not allowed, under provincial privacy laws to share information, with each other. I wasn't asking anyone to share information. I was asking the CSRs to refer me to the right company. Three of the four I talked to, wouldn't, didn't.  Dumped me back into the call centre cue. One, simply gave up. 

So PR and CSR need to get on the same page, inside large organizations. There should not be a gotcha, if the customer calls the wrong number, or visits the wrong website. Customers don't, intentionally, do that. Customers don't know, nor should they need to know, how a company organizes itself.

To the execs at Direct Energy, Twitter was key tool, in solving this problem. Once identified, it was solved in a matter of hours, though the episode took a couple of days. That's a metric.  Albeit a small one, measurable, just the same. Call it Conversion Time, in problem resolution.

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Sunday Video, The Internet

Gosh some holes in the blog over the last little while. Several projects on the go. So the blog has been idling. Thought this might be useful. Take a moment to reflect how the net impacts your life. If it wasn't there, how would that change things for you?

Here's a glimpse of where we are and where we may be going.

Tech Saturday

Musings about technology we can use, make, or enjoy. Mostly to learn how we can change consumption and still benefit from abundance.

To all deep thinkers, in Edmonton, those who'll make lots of money from the downtown redevelopment, a trip to Taiwan may be provide insight. Hello Rexall Sports and Entertainment.

Taiwan's Solar Stadium


For Bikers and Green Geeks, solar powered bicycle, ah fooled ya, sharing system, in Montreal.
What a simple way to get folks to the River Valley, in our berg. Of course 'we' need to want to get them there, in the first place.

Bike Sharing System


Cut it Green. Electric riding mower, that's quiet ! Great for sustaining neighbourly relations.





Practical crowd sourcing event created by Airbus to learn how to clean up air travel.

Green Skies

Sunday Video Monetize Free

The news debate continues. How to get it paid for? Associated Press still thinks it is 'their' content. They create it. They do the research to find it. They distribute it. They own it. Yep they do all of it.

BUT once it is out, it has no value. The information belongs to the consumer. The consumer can now be Associated Press, and redistribute it. That's syndication. It can be monetized. However, most old mass media companies don't understand that.

That's the part of the new emerging business model that confounds the media barons.
Well it's their barronhood (sic) that's under attack. That's the real issue.

With 150 million users, could Facebook be Associated Press. In a way, it is for the demographic, which uses Facebook. They don't know and don't care, who AP is. AP and its' mass media conglomerate benefactors might want to note that.

Take a look, this video might offer a better understanding, why Newspapers and Broadcasters are in distress, financially.



Charlie Rose understands it. I can redistribute his video material. Do it often. Could not do that with AP Video.

AP is vast and important player. They aren't the only player. They don't get that yet.

Neither do local media, in our town. That's why reporters continue to get laid off.

Here's what old media thinks will work.

Will you buy it?

Here's what new thinkers think

What say you?

Saturday Tech Day

Useful, well we hope so, energy and conservation solutions.

Composter from Costco

Hydrogen Power Home

Solar Powered Home Theatre