Online Movie Streaming

After going through the Netflix case in class, I was reading this article from the New York Times (Web Deals Cheer Hollywood, Despite Drop in Moviegoers), and found it extremely relevant.  The article basically discusses the current state of DVD sales and how unlike the music industry, the movie industry will not fall complete victim to the internet.  More importantly it discusses the vast amount of competitors that will be entering this market. 

Some of these include the likes of Google which will be creating a home entertainment device for consumers.  Google is another extremely powerful company and could be a great threat to Netflix who is already in some serious issues after increasing prices last year and losing approximately 800,000 subscribers.  I also found this article interesting because it expressed the power of content in this industry.  The company who can ultimately provide the most desired content as well as a strong service will most likely become the leader in the industry. 

So despite DVD sales decreasing and consumers not as present at the theaters, the movie industry should still be fine.  The major reason they won't fall or atleast fall as quickly as the music industry is because it is much more difficult to download or stream movies due to the size of the files.  In conclusion, the online movie streaming industry is up for grabs, despite Netflix once dominance, there is absolutely no lifelong customers in this technology industry.

Cowbird: A New Social Network

I was recently reading the New York Times and I came across an article for a new social networking site called "Cowbird ."  Immediately I was somewhat interested, but at the same time I didn't get the feeling that I had just discovered the new Facebook.  However, I read on and to my surprise I actually found the concept somewhat interesting.

Most social networking today is based on quick blurbs that get straight to the fact, they remove the substance that usually surrounded our stories in the past.  The concept of this new social networking site was to bring that substance back.  Cowbird allows users to tell their story using pictures, words, and sounds.  Unlike popular sites like Tumblr, Cowbird does not allow users to just bring together content from others' pages and share it, instead it forces people to create and tell their own story.  The site truly wants its' users to be able to fully express themselves and take time to develop their thoughts instead of just nonsense, short blurbs.

The site already has accumulated over 7,000 users, which seems like nothing in the world we're living in.  But, it is still in its test phase so you must request an invite.  I am interested to see how this site develops and if it will catch on to the masses.  Currently it is used by the likes of photographers and artists, but I believe it could become mainstream.  I wonder if Cowbird will be able to slow down this fast paced world, and get people to embrace a longer form of social networking.

YouTube and Free Marketing

I recently was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal about Jimmy Kimmel and the techniques he uses to drive people to watch his late night television show.  I wouldn't consider Kimmel one of the top late night hosts, and no amount of money is going to help him overthrow older hosts such as Letterman and Leno, however he has found his own way to reach out to viewers, which the others do not necessarily utilize.  Jimmy Kimmel has a YouTube.com channel in which he posts videos with his celebrity guests that usually go viral.  These quirky videos usually reach viewers that would not usually watch his late night show.  And the best part is it is not costing him anything but time.  I felt that this was extremely relevant to our class because it exemplifies how marketing is changing.  Companies are no longer forced to use millions of dollars on ad space in order to reach their target market.  Instead they can use free social media forums and allow their viewers to market their products using word of mouth.  This is very effective and saves the company tons of money.  You wouldn't immediately think of Kimmel as a product, but he is, and he is exploiting the new age of marketing to gain millions of new viewers with every video posted to his YouTube channel.

1st post

This is the first post