The Smartphones are Gaining on Us

The T-Mobile G1 was just announced on Sept 23rd and is looks like it might come pretty close to be considered a viable “iPhone Killer.” I, for one am a big fan of the emerging crop of smartphones that are coming out these days, Apple iPhone, Blackberry Thunder, T-Mobile G1 etc. Though I haven’t seen one yet that makes my heart go a flutter, I think that the G1 may come the closest. Smartphones are great for those of us who are are constantly on the move, and need to receive and send info all the time. (Definitely me). So its a perfect little device that allows you to be on the go so you can walk, talk, surf, send and receive e-mails, basically conduct business from your local park bench. (And in my case being able to carry around a multi-media business card which allows people to see some of my film work immediately) Hooray! to not having to lug around hefty laptops that weigh a ton, or waiting to get back to your desktop before being able to anxiously send out that e-mail that you meant to do before you left the office, and most importantly, Heaven forbid, you don’t receive and respond to that important e-mail within a 15 min timeframe.. Oh! the Horror!

Smartphones have the ability to prevent such tragedies from ever happening. While I don’t want to get into the technical specs of each of the phones and virtues of why more storage capacity is better, etc. etc. etc. For me, what I like most about the T-Mobile is that it gives me a lot of choices. Being able to customize a device to my own personal settings is a huge bonus in my books. Personally, I am not a big fan of touchscreens. I find them messy,cumbersome and awkward. the T-Mobile gives you a choice. Touchscreen or QWERTY keyboard. You decide. Also, Google Android Operating System. Again, love all products by Google because they are designed for real people and are simple to use. Why then would the Android be any different? (I hope!). Love the fact that it is an open-source system which allows developers the ability to go out there and create thousands of different applications. Any developers looking for their next project? A word processing or spreadsheet software for the T-Mobile would be fantastic! Appears to be a reasonable price, although I guess that remains to be seen and will vary from region to region, while giving you all you’d expect in a smartphone these days, built-in camera, 3G, 1 GB storage etc.

While I know there are people who would swear by their iPhone or Blackberries and I happy that it works really well for those people. Based on my personal lifestyle I am all about choice, and as far as I can see T-Mobile gives users just that.. and lots of it.

The Emmy’s

Didn’t get a chance to watch the Emmy’s this year as I was busy helping my sister get settled into her new apartment on Sunday night. However, I did catch the winners on the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences website. I am not always a big fan of the Emmy’s as typically the only awards ceremony I watch is the Oscar’s. (Haven’t missed it in about 4 years! Oscar party next year anyone?) but am very excited that Mad Men won overall Best Drama Series and 6 awards in total. So proud. As well, Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold on Entourage picked up an award for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series. Absolutely LOVE him!. 

Seeing alot of press around 30 Rock and Tina Fey, (who is awesome!) lately and wondering if I should start getting into it. Apparently, its really good, and considering how much I adore Tina Fey perhaps it might be interesting. 

Seems to be a lot of great stuff going on in television programming these days (American shows, but other countries including Canada are in that mix no doubt) I wonder if people watch more TV during an economic crisis than going out to the movies? How much of an effect does the economic cycle have on people’s entertainment preferences?

Granted there has been more of a switch to net-based programmes in recent years. Clay Shirky, a new media professor in NY suggests that by 2011 net-based tv programs will have more viewers then TV shows distributed on traditional TV networks . This, however, is an ongoing issue and has little to do with how a Bear or Bull market economy affects or TV viewership.

Economic downturns certainly have an effect on the number of programs available to watch on television. As advertising revenues decline in a Bear market, so does the amount of dollars broadcasters/networks are able to spend picking up new shows.

But now if we think about it from a viewers perspective, if I (as said viewer) am faced with a clamp down on my discretionary income due to a downturn in the economy, then I am going to have to think really hard about whether the latest film release is worth the $12 plus popcorn and pop and gas and babysitting. Despite the fact that the economy is in a recession, I still need to be entertained in some way non? albeit a less expensive way. And am I really ready to call the cable company and ask them to cancel my subscription to The Discovery Channel, The Movie Network, HBO etc.? probably not. Thus, I will probably resort to watching what is on television as a source of entertainment. Probably more so when I don’t have the discretionary income to go out 3-4 times a week. Oddly, shouldn’t that mean that advertisers should be spending more on TV commercials rather than less in times of economic crisis? since more people are at home watching TV?

Bear Market= TV Watching
Bull Market= Film Watching

Just a thought……..

The Highs and Lows of Multi-Platform Content Distribution

It seems these days when it comes to entertainment media everyone and their mother wants to be able to consume their favorite shows and movies on various different media platforms. From plasma-screen TVs, to laptops to iphones, everybody wants to be able to watch what they want when they want it. While I myself am a huge proponent of watching Mad Men on the CTV.ca website whenever I feel like (Note to CTV: last week’s clip isn’t functioning as of yesterday evening) as a producer creating content for multiple platforms becomes a herculean effort in some cases, and without fail always requires mega-strategizing before even getting to the production phase of the project.

Dealing with the legal documents (releasing of actors, music, copyrighted images etc) surrounding a project is a chore at best when dealing with one platform, but can be a downright nightmare when you bring in mobile and web legal agreements into the mix. Additionally, because these platforms are relatively new to the media world in terms of legitimate content distribution channels, there isn’t always a lot of regulations set up to protect content owners against piracy, which is nearly impossible to track down. 

 While it can be a hassle to create legal agreements for your work (though it is extremely important) multi-platform distribution channels become really challenging when you get to the post-production phase of a project. You get to be the lucky content producer that has to deal with deciding what content needs to be compressed and formatted for what distribution channel, thoughts on the release schedule for each platform for the life of the content, etc, etc.

The ultimate question I would like to know is whether content producers are making enough in revenues (overall or on individual platforms) to warrant the increased time spent in pre-production and cost in post-production? or is it better to just produce content for one platform at a time?

Affiliate Marketing What is it Good For? Absolutely Everything!

It has come to my attention (through my cousin David..thanks for your feedback David!….much appreciated!) that some of my blogs have been a little too specific in the area of marketing and entertainment..so I thought I would write at least one (if not more) that was a little more general (thought still in the realm of media and marketing) and perhaps would be able to evoke some lively comments from some readers.

I started thinking about the idea of affiliate marketing and what it all means. So, I thought I would explain things in layman’s terms and provide an example of a successful affiliate marketing program as well as my thoughts on future programs and how to effectively use affiliate marketing initiatives.

According to Online Advertising (www.onlineadvertising.net) Affiliate Marketing can be defined as “A type of advertising system based on the CPA payment method whereby web sites run advertiser’s banners for free but get paid on any sales or registrations that result from visitors that click on the banner.” whereby a CPA payment method is defined as Cost-Per-Action (CPA). CPA refers to the fact that advertisers on the website don’t pay anything unless the user actually performs an action. (i.e. registration, purchases an item etc.) This method is particularly effective if you own a website in which your marketing efforts are directly based on your sales activities. (that is, the web owner doesn’t get paid by the advertiser unless a sale is made and can be traced back to THAT particular website). An affiliate program is essentially the same thing as a CPA agreement.

One of the best examples around of an affiliate program is Amazon. It seems you can’t go on any websites these days without bumping headfirst into one of Amazon’s affiliates. Amazon seems to be doing a great job, as I highly doubt that any sites out there participating in the Amazon affiliate program would continue to do so if they weren’t making any commission monies.

One of the things I would like to see (perhaps it already exists?) is an advertiser’s advertising embedded into the visual content of the site’s itself. Let’s take for example, women’s clothing. The idea would be to create a virtual model (an avatar based on your body type would be wicked!) who wears the partner’s clothes, along with an opportunity for the user to click on the article of clothing they find appealing, and then takes them directly to the advertiser’s website where the user can purchase the item online. First of all I think it would be so much fun to go shopping that way, and secondly it allows you the opportunity to see what the article of clothing may look like on you before purchasing.

One of the most important aspects that I would look for in a website that subscribes to an affiliate marketing program is how relevant the advertising is to the content of the site. If its a website devoted to donating money for lung cancer and there is a cigarette ad placed on the site (I don’t suspect anyone would be so blatant about it, but I am trying to make a point), as a user that would definitely turn me off. I think its important when choosing an affiliate program that as the web owner affiliate partners are picked with some degree of relevance to the site’s content rather than just for the sake of having a profitable affiliate partner. Personally, I think it damages the credibility of the website and what its trying to stand for.

Other than that, I say go out there and have some affiliate marketing fun!

Nurse.Fighter.Boy

Just saw this great Canadian film at TIFF last night called Nurse. Fighter. Boy aptly named after the 3 main characters in the film. The Nurse is Jude (Karen LeBlanc), a single mother suffering from sickle cell anemia. The Fighter is Silence (Clark Johnson) a boxer past his prime who now runs a boxing gym for young boys. The Boy is Ciel (Daniel J. Gordon) a cute, sensitive, musically-inclined 12 year old young boy who is very close to his mother. As the story unfolds these 3 characters’ lives intertwine and they become closer then they ever thought possible. (I won’t give away the story for those of you interested in seeing it)

What I really love about this film is the soundtrack. Lovely! A combination of jazz and modern poetic hip hop that brings to life a lot of the simpler moments within the film. Visually stunning with a great use of colours. Also, great use of wardrobe to emphasize the mood of the scene. Colourful knits for Jude and Ciel (scarves, blankets) during lighter days, and austere white gowns at an important turn in the story.

Great performances by all the actors, each playing her/his character to their utmost depth. Locations were visually stimulating (particularly the scene in Jamaica. Wow! who knew Wasaga Beach could look that amazing!) with an air of simplicity about them.

Overall, entertaining film. If you haven’t seen it already its playing again at AMC 5 (Yonge & Dundas) on Wednesday Sept 10th at 2:30pm.

Edu-taining Television

It still ceases to amaze me that it is possible to watch my favorite TV shows (like Mad Men) over the Internet in any location, and at any time which is convenient for me. What has recently caught my attention is the use of online programming for educational-related content. One example that has me excited today is Yorba.TV. High interactivity potential and the option to go back and forth between broad and web-casting.

Yorba.TV is designed for anyone interested in investment vehicles like stocks, bonds, mutual funds etc. What I like about it is that it has these great video clips hosted by Michael Yorba, who has been involved in the investment industry for more than 20 years, who interviews a panel of experts on a regular basis to talk about what’s happening in the world of investment tools and market trends. While the site isn’t perfect (it has a link to a social networking site which is still under construction), it provides the framework for an interactive setting for those looking to learn more about the world of investments and the art or science? of investing. It has an area set up for the experts to blog about their respective area of expertise. An area to join as a member, Yorba.TV badge for your website or MySpace page, area where you can pick up any episodes of “Commodity Classics” the only show available for now etc. etc. I love that fact that it incorporates the webisode segments with the social networking, blogging online tools, particularly for a subject that people tend to be very passionate about. It has the potential I think for a great little niche community designed for those who are interested in learning more about how to invest their money. Personally, as someone who has started becoming interested in investing in recent years, I would recommend separating individual episodes based on specific categories rather than segment numbers. Segment # 1 with (insert expert here) doesn’t really mean much to me. Being able to search based on “The Do’s and Don’ts of Mutual Funds” does. Not sure if Yorba.TV episodes are broadcast on any television networks, though it would be something to consider. Another revenue stream and potential to reach a greater audience. The possibility of syndicating its content on other websites would also make for a great way to drive traffic to the site, or just to gain more advertising revenues via shared advertising schemes.

I would also suggest an interactive game for adults to enforce the rules of investing, and thus make learning about investing that much more fun! or going as far as creating a facebook application that allows members to get play a simulated stock market challenge would be great.

So many possibilities to branch out and use all available passive and active media tools in order to learn about a specific topic of interest.

The Madness and Mayhem that is TIFF

Early September is when the Toronto International Film Festival transforms the rather laid back city of Toronto into complete star-stalking territory, and it only seems to get worse every year. Tickets to interesting screenings are completely sold out before you even get yourself to the end of the 2 hour long line-up, bars and restaurants (particularly in the Yorkville area) that you would normally be able to get into on a Friday or Saturday night around 11pm are completely packed and cramped with people hoping for the chance to tell friends that they “saw insert celebrity name here” or exaggerate the story altogether to “so-and-so celebrity and I had drinks together.” While I will admit there are a number of talented artists, producers, directors, actors, writers that I would love the opportunity to chat with over a glass of wine, the appeal of TIFF for me has always been the actual films themselves. Always an interesting mix of films that in some cases will never see a distributor or a theatre outside of the festival schedule. Exposure to films from around the world that can’t always afford the marketing budget to reach worldwide markets, but are still able to provide audiences with a thought provoking and entertaining experience while being screened at TIFF.

I always wondered why out of all the festivals that happen all over the world, TIFF is considered one of the top festivals. I now have my answer after reading Kevin Williamson’s article “TIFF a ‘must-stop’ for Stars” on canoe.ca today. Apparently it all boils down to timing and the Oscars. Positioned after studio summer blockbusters and leading into the more sophisticated films of fall it appears that a number of films which debuted at TIFF go on to win or be nominated for Oscars, including last year’s Best Picture winner ‘No Country for Old Men.’

Here are a few that I think would be interesting to watch based on their synopsis (not even going to attempt to play the Oscar contenders game)

RocknRolla
looks to be along the same vein as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, should be at least pretty cool and Jeremy Piven is in it. Love him as Ari Gold in Entourage.

Passendale
Yeah! Finally a Canadian film that talks about Canadian history

Burn After Reading
Looks like it may be hilarious, have heard good things about Brad Pitt’s performance in this film.

The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World
Chinese food is awesome. What’s not to love about this film?

Detroit Metal City
because it seems like it might be fun

La Fille de Monaco
The Girl from Monaco
French comedies are funny!

Blindness
I am a big fan of Fernando Meirelles’ previous works City of God (02) and The Constant Gardener (05)

Che
A lot of hype around this film, but am particularly fascinated to see Benicio Del Toro’s take on Ernesto
“Che” Guevara

Down to the Dirt
An interestingly twisted Canadian story

I guess we’ll see which one I end up having time to see, or at least pique my interest enough to consider waiting in a 2 hour line up for.