Thursday, September 04, 2008 Twilight-mania: Playing catch up! POST A COMMENT 'late-to-lunch on that Vamp-Twilight-saga (by Stephenie Meyer)...'but, my hunger for pop culture, cool Vamps, and a writing-success story got me reading. Both on the Meyers back-story and the 1st Twilight book: 'bout the sappy-relations between a abercrombie-looking-vamp and an semi-average teenage girl -- (I'm on the final few pages of the book, and I'll post a review later in the week)... 'Lets get into how-Meyers-did-it-story. Those big sales -- 'isn't due simply to her vivid imagination for vampire romance,' as Business Week points out. They called it -- 'the first social networking best seller.' 'Meyer, a 34-year-old mother of three from Phoenix, went well beyond standard marketing. She engaged with online readers to answer their most detailed questions about the star-crossed lovers, Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. She put up her own Web site, in addition to the one by her publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, posting her personal e-mail address and family photos...' In turn, 'Meyer's readers have responded by creating an entire world of Twilight on the Web.' While the web -- (and the rabid-fans-need-to-know) is the best way to connect with other fans...it's not without pitfalls. 'Just yesterday: Meyers punished fans after a partial (rough) draft of the next book was leaked on the web. As Meyer wrote on her website, "I'd rather my fans not read this version of Midnight Sun...'My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write Midnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die..." Source: Business Week Labels: Books, Can Writing be Taught, Stephenie Meyer, Twilight Saga, Vampires, web trends, what I'm reading posted by Henry Cruz at 4:33 PM Tuesday, August 12, 2008 The iPod of the book world... POST A COMMENT In this rough economy, 'always great to hear about a company -- (that's not in the Oil-Biz) -- with a rock-solid-foundation in place. I got the Kindle -- (Amazon.com) -- as birthday present in June...'and I will admit to being a little put off by yet another-gadget-to-feed...'and another attempt at another e-book reader... 'however, Amazon's figured out how to make a book-reader-done-sorta-right -- (and no, I don't own stock in Amazon) -- 'apparently I'm not alone in this assessment...'as it's projected to be the hot holiday stocking stuffer this year. "Kindle will about sell 380,000 units in 2008, more than double what analyst previously projected..." -- which is good news -- for a selfish reason, because it actually means this gadget might stick around for a while. "In its first year, that's exactly how many iPods were sold," Says the Seattle PI. "Turns out the Kindle is becoming the iPod of the book world." I'm not going to sit here and do a commercial for it -- (and frankly, they don't need one)...but, I've used it since June, and thought I'd offer my three-cents: on a scale of 1-10 it ranks a solid 8 in the world of gadgets...Now, if only we can apply that same Amazon-business-model on tougher things like world peace, or that cure for Cancer... Here's a decent review: Source: Seattle PI Labels: Amazon.com, Books, Business-101, Gadgets, Kindle, News Trends, Tech, web trends posted by Henry Cruz at 4:44 AM Sunday, August 10, 2008 U.S. plan they don't want us to hear about POST A COMMENT It's been called the digital "national embarrassment" -- how other nations' residents have high-speed at home, while the U.S. numbers keep slipping; An FCC proposal, on the table this month, hopes to "boost U.S. competitiveness by giving each household (Free) high-speed Web access..." however, the duopoloy wants to stop it. It sounds like a no-brainer: With more and more businesses shifting towards the web, such a huge-digital-divide can definitely effect how good -- (or how badly) -- the future U.S. economy performs on that bigger global arena... FCC chairman's Kevin J. Martin free-high-speed plug votes this month -- basically says "any household in the country -- (would be able to) -- cruise the Net at broadband speeds, at absolutely no cost." Says Business Week. "But his idea faces heated opposition from companies such as AT&T that worry their profits will be threatened by a free alternative." The facts: "Only 60% of American households have speedy Net access). And that huge gap " puts the country in 15th place among developed nations..." -- a huge drop from 2001 when the U.S. ranked fourth. The plan: "create incentives for private companies to roll out more broadband..." much like basic Television, it could "make money by selling advertising and advanced services." --(with a premium no-ad option for those that can afford to pay more). Just think, a free web model could actually create more competition to get an even faster web out there, and help those helpless resentful-ignorant people -- (who don't get high-speed) -- so, we'd all actually be on the same high-speed-playing field... 'and then we'd all be able to watch Ceasar and Chuy talk about Amy Winehouse --('in the end doesn't it sounds like a win-win-win for all?): Source: Business Week Labels: Business-101, ceasar and chuy, freeconomics, net neutrality, News Trends, Poverty Divide, rich and poor divide, web trends posted by Henry Cruz at 4:01 AM Wednesday, August 06, 2008 Women pick babies over naked men... POST A COMMENT In tough economic times, with even fewer people buying print magazines -- (Bloomberg reports Magazine ad sales down 8.2 percent in 2008)...'it might be time to make some tougher choices at the newsstands. Two extremes in that world catering to Women tastes might showcase what women really want: Playgirl's editor-in-chief, just confirmed the magazine is indeed halting its print operation. "Playgirl is going all-Web. The last print issue will be the comes out Nov. 18," -- I personally never met a female who would actually buy a copy of Playgirl. 'Sure they'll be a few mourning the end of the magazine -- (talking about how they only read the great articles)...but, I'd be first to speculate women don't just want your standard manporn; they'd rather get their fill in what you read in romance novels -- where there's some degree of sensuality -- and not just still pictures. "Women rather look at pictures of other women," says my good-girlfriend...adding -- "They like to compare." 'We could simply blame it on the Internet -- (where I hear you can get just about any porn niche imaginable). On the flip side was the recent frenzy to spend millions for pics of celebrity babies...'which also says a mouthful about our society. So are magazines -- like the world of fashion -- trading down for an even younger face? "New mothers feel a connection to these celebrities as if they were family members," says USA Today. "So there's a natural inclination to want to see the baby pictures of someone you care about..." Sounds like, for women at least, pictures of other-peoples-kids win-over in this very informal study of people I know...'so, go figure. I'm sure we can find some government agency out there to russle up a full investigation on these very important issues. Source: Media Bistro Labels: Business-101, Magazines, Print publication, web trends posted by Henry Cruz at 3:20 PM Sunday, July 20, 2008 Will Outsourcing become the bogeyman? POST A COMMENT As we see more small businesses shift toward Globalization -- (thanks to the Internet) -- those smaller Mom-and-Pop Multinationals gotta deal with that sticky question of outsourcing work to stay afloat - (meaning sending jobs outside the US)... 'especially true online, with a need to stay competitive and resulting in a better bottom line with "savings for customers and any shareholders." As reported in Business Week recently: Lower wages are not the only motivating factor..."the performance of the provider on quality...is much higher than here in the US." Small businesses -- "from car dealers to advertising agencies are finding it easier to farm out software development, accounting, support services, and design work to distant lands...Sites such as Guru.com, Brickwork India, DoMyStuff.com, and RentACoder also report fast growth." Hmmm, sounds like the world will live as one after all. Source: Business Week Labels: brain-power, Business-101, capitalism, co-create, Outsourcing, rich and poor divide, web trends, Wiki-way posted by Henry Cruz at 4:04 PM Tuesday, June 10, 2008 Its the brain-power, stupid! POST A COMMENT Talking 'bout the Future of the web yesterday, question came up: Q: 'Aside from this talk of "online video convergence" -- (and business musings -- on trends like co-creating) -- "can you name the next-big-thing online?" Me: "C'mon, don't be a dummy, one word: Brain-power - 'sorta like that movie 'Field of Dreams' ...'think-it' and they will come." -- to me it sounds like a way-too-obvious-concept...'til, I get hit with the follow-up: Q: "Brain-Power? - What does that really mean?" - Think Social Networking sites: And take it a step further and you get the inevitable future of the web. It's not going to be that much different from engaging the people you meet, or the business principle of a peer "master mind" group. Like one big board meeting of the minds. - Think open source alliances: And you'll see why Web 2.0 future methodologies lies more in "collaboration" and "sharing of ideas," -- exchanging opinions and experiences between peers, all across business, and certainly between business and the consumer. -- 'Kinda like a-big-orgy of like minded folks, 'cept sex is usually not an option. - Think music "Mash-Up" - or better -- (if you're a geek), think the Borg cube on Star Trek -- and how we'll all be assimilated into one big collective online. Going with the Borg collective visual - take a few clicks over to the Wiki-World, (that site Wikipedia.com is all about integrating brain knowledge)...except it's not shaped like a cube. Going with a Smashing-Up concept - take two popular songs from different artists -- to make a new single...mixing the two sounds. Whatever, the visual, the results are the same: one-big super powered "collective" brain - that utilizes the brainpower of others on that idea to make it better. The web will become one big voluntary -- or viral Mish-Mash -- that will end up looking like one big information dump -- (sniff at your own risk). 'Not sure the "Wiki-way" has already been influencing how we will do things -- and going to be doing things in the future -- check how we got our latest presidential nomination and get back to me. 'course -- as seen in this video clip -- there are down sides to having "too many cooks" in any kitchen...but, nobody said the future was perfect: Source: NY Times Labels: brain-power, Media Trends, web 2.0, web trends, Wiki-way posted by Henry Cruz at 6:58 AM Monday, June 09, 2008 Art-house Flicks find a new home? POST A COMMENT 'Was chatting with my partner on that unstoppable drum-beat of the blurring of media online...sounded something like this: Me: "You can watch all your fav TV shows online." Partner: "More and more shows..even cable." Me: "Add to that the equalizing factor of the web, and you'll get your next new shows starting right here..." So, why-not throw the "art-house" into this mix of colliding trends...look-y-here: Announced today: Tribeca Film Institute partnered with Amazon to launch on web: Reframe, a site for INDIE films -- and owners of content that would otherwise be unseen to convert digitally and sell their films. With this service, called Reframe - (reframecollection.org)-- -- "copyright holders will split the profit on digital download rentals and purchases (distributed in Windows Media Player format) evenly. DVD sales will operate under a tiered system, with 40% of $50 and under titles, 85% of $51-$200 titles and 90% of more than $200 titles going to rights holders." I'm one all for the old-school experience of that dark-shared-experience in room with buttery popcorn to watch my movies...but, this at least gives hope to those niche films that might otherwise never see the light of day. Source: NY Times Labels: indie film, movies, News Trends, web trends posted by Henry Cruz at 4:02 AM Monday, May 12, 2008 Saving-what-that-movie-will-do POST A COMMENT As heads-roll, over at the "Speed Racer" camp...The need-to-know-it-all-now-dorks - ('spoiler sites like: aintitcool - that feed off film titles, script-deals, and such...'before one frame is shot, also telling you everything that's in the film) -- saving us all the time of actually ever having to leave the house...gee, thanks. well, those same sites are offering "mixed reviews" to the yet-to-be-released INDY 3 - and Studio Exec's -- have their panties-in-a-bunch; wanting to avoid the "crash and burn" box office of that racer-clunker: "young males who love their action heroes almost as much as their personal computers." I wrote earlier on "How to Direct a blockbuster film" (read it here)...'old-school-ers like Speilberg need-to-remember that old adage: "Keep you enemies close." More than ever before, Consumers (and geeks-alike) now control the Buzz-machines...and in turn have become the gate keepers of the what's the next big thing. Take "Speed Racer," for example...to see where it all went all-wrong; Instead of attracting that R-rated Matrix audience, explains Cinemablend. They should have gone after 12-year-olds boyz. Exec's - "forgot to tell parents that this was a kids’ movie." - Basic marketing-101 in this new era... is to narrow the message to the target viewers...and let them build-up the buzz for you. In this youtube world, viewers not only will make content...they will voice their three cents..the biggest change in the new Hollywood — is the auteur. And mobilizing those people to tell your message to others. In todays world...everyone, and Anyone, can write, direct, produce and market videos without ever having to shake the hand of a Hollywood executive. The next generation of filmmakers, won't need any help from Hollywood. They can, and will, set the tone for what's-next! - and will be the first to tell others what they should do with their time. Check out this cool video primer on Emerging WEB Trends: Labels: Film, News Trends, web trends posted by Henry Cruz at 3:47 AM     ARCHIVES October 2005 . November 2005 . December 2005 . August 2007 . September 2007 . October 2007 . November 2007 . December 2007 . March 2008 . April 2008 . May 2008 . June 2008 . July 2008 . August 2008 . September 2008 .