There's lots of Football buzz, in our burg. The Eskimos search for a new head coach is sport topic number one. The media effort is so intense, the Eskimos have stopped talking, about the recruitment process.
Well, not quite, Danny Maciocia went on 'Just a Game', on Friday, and laid out some key aspects of the process.
There is a 17 page questionnaire. Gosh, ever had to wade through 17 pages in a job interview? There is a video component. The candidates are evaluating the current team. That's a conversation. Understanding the culture of the organization is a key criteria. What is it?
Five reasons for the Eskimos to create a conversation.
Live the culture,
Be open.
Discover what your customers know about Eskimos' culture.
Talk.
Listen.
Initiate a discussion, create "Esksnewcoach.com." Leverage the coaching conversation, into current season ticket marketing campaigns. " We'll be Better in 09"! There' always hope and next season, in sports marketing.
Discussion, conversation, and engagement, that mantra works in any business culture. It works for Apple Computer. Apple has created a conversation, around the next set of enhancements to the iPhone. Seems like a good model to emulate.
1) I'll read the paper on line, now 2) I can create my own Edmonton Sun 3) I can read it when I want
Three reasons why RSS is good for the Edmonton Sun.
1) They have re-engaged a reader 2) Over time, they'll know exactly the news I consume and be able to provide more. 3)Targeted Advertising in context with the content I read
RSS isn't new. Canadian newspapers are slow adopters. However, this move by the Sun, amplifies the local discussion, on old media and social medial platforms.
I suggest adding another level to the feed, Columnists and Writers.
Back with another look at ZunaVison, a new video insertion technology, from a Standford University group.
I signed up to test out the service. It's a little rough. I expected to be able to do my little demo quickly. Not so. First, I got confused with the process.
Now what? No direction on what to do next. Hit the submit button is the correct answer. Thought, I'd see the result quickly. Nope! Bruce, I apologize for the delay, but we are getting 100s of videos from people, and we don't have dedicated servers for this yet. The processing takes in the order of minutes, but our servers are backed up as of now. You will definitely get an email by late tonight. Sorry, I wish we could have a server farm for ourselves
Explanation, via email, from Siddharth Batra, at Standford.
Well I got it, at 9:30 PM, on Tuesday evening, 7 hours after it began.
Here's what it looks like .
I added a still photograph to winter scene video clip. The clip didn't have any 'surfaces' building facades,or walls to hang the insertion. They found a spot, though.
The ZuanaVision's algorithm is the diffentiator. It accommodates movement, in the video. Current, Television systems, you may have seen, are still frames, with an insert laid over top.
ZunaVision needs to modify its' production system. Let the content provider to position the image. Simplify and speed up processing. Get it completed, within a couple of minutes. It'll get done. There's money to be made. Product placement comes to mind. Non intrusive branding, logos of all sorts will start showing up, in online videos. Click it, learn about it, buy it. Coming soon. Advertising becomes pull instead of push.
Marc Male has an insightful look, at how local Edmonton media is using social media platforms.
Local media companies struggle, with monetizing and distribution, in today's free and sharing media environment. Most local content remains locked down by arcahic notions of copy right.
There's limited RSS, and content sharing, and no Citizen Journalism, in local media internet platforms.
So, how does a media company make money, if they give the content away, or share it? How do they monetize engagement?
ZunaVision maybe worth a look, when it comes to branding, product placement, and advertising. .
I tried it . Hoped to show the result.
The boys at Stanford advised to stay tuned. We will. We'll show you, when we have something.
Lots of reaction to Gene Dub's concept for a new arena. Actually the arena is the focal point for a new community.
The Quarters (Downtown East) will be a vibrant, healthy community comprised of five distinct areas, each with its own character, activities, and feel, structured around a unique linear park system running through the neighbourhood that provides a defining element for the community. ... Streets are improved with limited through traffic, making the streets safe and inviting for pedestrians and bicyclists. ... There is a mix of parks, shops, employment, services, and housing. There is a diversity of ages, incomes, and cultures. Open space is surrounded by businesses and housing, creating a safe and inviting amenity year round. The Quarters is a place where community is important and pride and investment in the neighbourhood is evident.
Great. What about the people who live there now? How do we account for them? Do we just move them out? Or do we provide for them? How? Do we create a fund for them? Does a dollar from every purchase in 'The Quarters' go into the fund?
How 'smart' are we? Remember the smart city concept? The political and business elite put that together. The rationale is to identify and market what 'we' are good at. Medical research, at the University Hospital, is one, or was, until the province disbanded the local health authorities. That's another story.
"They" could have made the movie smarter. Why not an online interactive Lego set. Let us play. Engage our children. Let every school kid, in the region, build 'The Quarters', on line. That could have been an education legacy and 'we' haven't even started, yet!
Change the process. Treat us as investors, partners, contributors, yes tax payers, for the investment subsidy we will provide. Call it a social, or community dividend. Engagement is the method. It's easy to do.
Mr Dub has provided some form. Now comes function. That's where we can be smart. Let's start with zero waste, not just the arena, the entire community. Let's challenge the engineering department, over at the UofA to produce some commercial grade, zero waste, technologies. Let's challenge Stantec and PCL to commercialize them into business systems. Lets build it, the entire community, with smart materials.
Imagine 'The Quarters' as a an energy producer, using solar, wind, and thermal technologies . Look what Los Angeles is doing. Let's challenge Epcor. What's the business model for a community that sells energy, instead of buying it? How does the utility make a return in that environment?
Build 'The Quarters' like that. Create engineering, business, environmental, and financial systems that don't exist. Build it smart, so our kids and theirs inherit an asset.
On Saturday, Virgin Airlines debuted its' in-flight Wifi service.
LIVE TO THE NET @ 35,000 feet
Virgin joins American Airlines, Air Canada, and Delta with limited airborne wifi service, at the moment. They use the Gogo service, from Aircell.
Southwest and Alaska airlines will use Row 44, as their wifi service. Given West Jet's synergy with Southwest, we'd expect them to follow suit.
Canada is a problem. Aircell can't own the license to spectrum frequencies needed to facilitate the Canadian system. Aircell needs a Canadian partner before it can build the ground system.
That regulatory snafu will cause service disruption, when US flights use Canadian airspace. No net aloft, domestically, in the Great White North. either. Too bad. We'll be able to leech off the American system. Most Canadian flights use American airspace flying across Canada!
Seems we're are always a little behind the curve. Why? Is it an antiquated regulatory environment? Why does Aircell need a Canadian partner? How much will the partnership add to the cost of the service? What is the benefit to the consumer of such an arrangement? Just a few questions that come to mind.
In flight communication may be a differentiator, between the two systems. Both have the capacity to deliver cell and VOIP phone calls, and live video streaming out bound from the plane. Row 44 actively promotes the phone capacity.
Gogo does not. The Airlines are unlikely to unlock those applications, citing passenger privacy. Email and text messaging no problem. Don't plan on Qikthough.
Search, find, use, especially, use wouldn't that be good, if 'Search" really worked that way. I'd like to see a study that calculates the hours and places economic value on the time lost, in search! Lost because we don't find. Can't use. Waste time.
Maybe Yahoo's Glue will help. Glue is billed as a one stop search shop. Glue search results include web search, images, news, blog search, Wikipedia and YouTube videos.
In the beta phase Glue works well. Beware the database is limited. You night not find what you are looking for.
$150.7 BILLION DOLLARS, that's an attention grabber. It's the value of the economic loss, if there is no auto manufacturing bailout. A GM calculation and a one year loss, by the way!
To forestall manufacturing Armageddon General Motors has taken to You Tube, of all places. The message, is clear. GM matters on main street. That resonates, sticks , in today's parlance.
The auto bailout, beyond the financial implications, is a live social computing and communication case study. So far, 170 thousand have viewed the pitch on You Tube.
For GM, social computing tools, like You Tube, are cost effective way to mobilize an audience. The 3 million people, who live on main street, who could be looking for work. Some of them, allot perhaps, will be anyway, even if there is a bailout.
Imagine, You Tube, a lobbying platform, who anticipated that, four years ago. Imagine a public platform with the power to influence to public policy.
"WE Move You" is Edmonton Airports new mantra. Seems appropriate. Check out these stats:
Check out these stats:
Edmonton International Airport (EIA) served 530,730 passengers in October 2008, an increase of 6.0 per cent over October 2007.
The busiest month ever at EIA was August 2008 with 619,725 passengers (enplaned and deplaned).
EIA has served 5,395,101 passengers year-to-date (YTD), an increase of 6.4 per cent over the same period in 2007.
source edmonton airports
Folks are still coming and going, despite the emerging recession. So much so, airlines have increased capacity by 43% this winter. Itll be easier to exit 'Dodge' when winter, finally arrives!
Saw yesterday, American Airlines has instituted 'mobile check in' , joining a host of airlines using mobile technology to mitigate the 'airport experience'.
Combine that with a 'self bag tag' program at EIA and we'll be able to move ourselves more quickly, through the check-in process.
Sure 'hope' all the servers storing that ticket info, are talking to one another, and don't crash, as we enter security. Remember old Chinese saying "No Tickey no laundry". Backup is always a good idea.
You can watch all 'Hockey Night' games 'live', on the net, on Saturday Night.
Even though you can have two or more video streams playing; there's only one audio feed.
So beyond the wow factor, what's the value add?
Why not let the fans play on Hockey Hot Stove, Hockey Night's, second intermission, gossip feature.
Let the fans prod the panel. Ask some questions, live!
The dialogue could continue on the net, perhaps for days. The story could be updated, between the first and second game, on the network. It could prompt additional discussion in, "After Hours", the post second game, fill show.
All of that activity, on both platforms, has the potential to attract sponsors. "Live" interaction adds value. It engages the fan. Keeps them participating throughout the night. Creates, timely content. Promotions could be built around it. Watch for this to grow, over the course of the season.
Even in recession, companies need to engage their customers. Certainly, they'll be looking for cost effective ways to do to it. Live engagement between television and the net, may be one way to do that, on Saturday night, in Canada.
No live broadband broadcast of the CFL playoff games today.
That's a consistent Canadian broadcaster internet policy. Restrict and limit access, lock down the internet. Protect the television property.
No willingness by TSN to explore the potential of interactivity, on the net, during a high profile time for its' football property. That's hardly sports broadcasting leadership. Instead TSN, restricsts live game access to the television platform.
Playoff time is an opportunity to drive new sponsorhip. It's a three week period, when interest, in the property, is at it highest. It is a strange strategy to leave the internet platform out of the sponsorship mix. However, that's modus operandi of Canada's braodcasters.
TSN should have more consumption literacy. Their audience doessn't just sit and watch TV. They text, instant message, twitter and call, while the game is on, and after. Why not capture some of that, Why not monetize it. Can't do that on TV but you sure can on the net.
CNN.com 's live election coverage confirms the Internet's capacity to deliver compelling content.
Note the video viewer above. All the windows in the right hand pane are live video feeds the internet viewer can select. An example of audience engagement and interactivity that doesn't exist on television as we know it, now.
click start button
Affording the audience a voice, in the news is a major shift. The value add, in doing so, is targeted news. Issues, viewers say they want to know more about. Embracing that approach has potential to deliver more eyeballs and keep those advertising rates from evaporating.
We'll be inundated with US Election news for the next 48 hours. Longer if 'they' can't determine a winner.
CNN is leveraging a Google application, US Voter Info Mapplet to create an on line election service for its television viewers and internet audience.
Where to vote, how to register, and a myriad of state specfic election details are included at Election Center 2008.
It's another example how American networks leverage the internet. They readily deploy third party products to create services, which drive audiences between in house platforms.
They engage them, too! The objective, get as many eyeballs as possible to keep those advertising rates up. There's no moaning, about technology fragmenting the audience, just a concerted effort to strategically, deploy it!
