“Something in the air…”
But first, Netflix. Tonight (Sunday), Netflix has announced that starting tomorrow all their subscribers, except for their cheapest level, will be able to watch streaming movies online. Over 6,000 movies will be available by the time anyone reads this which is a first and major step in saving Netflix money and making membership to Netflix more important.
The obvious reason they are announcing this in a press release is to beat the thunder that Apple will be announcing tomorrow. Nobody knows exactly what Steve will be announcing on screen, but most people think that one of the minor announcements will be that you can rent movies through iTunes. Not a bad move, but if they only have one or two studios on board and Netflix has over 6,000 movies, well I think we know who the winner would be. However, if Apple were to announce some other new offerings to help people watch more movies through the iTunes rental store, it may put their limited selection in high demand.
The title of this post refers to the banners that have been hung outside of the Mac World Expo which begins tomorrow. The predictions for what it means are all over the place, from WiMax, to Slingbox, to computers that don’t need any cords for charging or connecting to other machines. My predictions are an ultra slim macbook (under 12 inches), an updated appleTV (maybe stream HD to your tv from your computer), updated cinema displays (with isghts built in), and for good measure lets hope that this MacBook Air is happening.
I doubt they will be announcing anything that I will be NEEDING, but who knows what my reaction will be once I see the new toys. Last years event almost sent me to the U Village Apple Store during my lunch break…if only the iPhone had have been available that day, I would have been $500 poorer.
Any guesses what will be announced today?
Sports tickets on a commodity exchange?
I just read a very entertaining book called Rigged that was written about the Merc Exchange in NY. How it started as a place to trade potatoes and grew into what it is today, an oil exchange.
Well this weekend I read about my new favorite exchange that I really hope takes off. Yoonew, is an exchange for sports tickets, that is focusing for now on Super Bowl 42 tickets. This is a great way for fans to potentially get tickets to watch their teams in big games, at a fraction of the costs. For example, I can buy tickets to watch the Seahawks (if they make it) in this years Super bowl, for about half the price of face value and exponentially cheaper than the after market value. However, if the Hawks were not to make it to the Super Bowl, I would be out a few hundred dollars. You can also buy futures for tickets and still make money if the prices of tickets were to go down.
I think this is a phenomenal business idea and with fans always feeling more optimistic about their team, than the odds actually are, this will lead to alot of trading if the business can get to a critical mass. It can also lead to an affordable way for people to experience dream events. I hope the word spreads and this exchange takes off, because everyone wins, as opposed to only a select few ticket brokers winning at this time.
What will Bill do after Microsoft?
Bill Gates will be stepping down later this year from Microsoft. What does the world’s second richest man do after retiring?
Video: Bill Gates Last Day CES Clip
Actually, he’ll be heading up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but a rich man can dream can’t he?
Blackberry and Facebook… making eachother better.
So last week Facebook released a Facebook Application strictly for the Blackberry. Now, I’m sure there are plenty of people using their iPhone’s to update their profiles on Facebook, but this app is going after a totally different market. Now there is a convenient way for the executives on the go to see when someone wrote on their wall, see friends status updates, take and share pictures, etc. All from their Blackberry and without using the slow and clunky browser.
Not only does this help Facebook land more of a mature audience, but it also helps give Blackberry a great new app to lure in the younger crowd. With the Blackberry Curve and the Pearl both having cameras, being small, and looking good. Why wouldn’t you want to have Facebook, email and gchat at your fingertips.
Since I use both Facebook and my Blackberry 8800 excessively I’m happy to see this roll-out for two of my more major addictions.
Twitter changes users name
A service I once used alot, and could see myself using again, if more friends used it, is twitter. Twitter, is a small tool that you post what you’re currently doing, and it sends the information out to your friends who are following your feed. Nothing that useful until your friends get up to a critical mass.
One useful thing that has been done with twitter though, has been conference “casts” if you will. A large conference called TechCrunch40 was going on the past two days, and a group of individuals got the twitter user name of techcrunch40. Therefore people could follow their take on the conference, only problem for the conference was they were being honest, and mostly mocking the presenters and the conference itself. Then randomly, after this twitter account had quite the following (almost 300 people in two days) Ev Williams, twitters founder, changed their name to nottechcrunch40.
That kind of thing might fly with your buddies, but if you’re trying to create a tool to be used by a critical mass you shouldn’t change a users name (not delete, change) because you don’t like what they are saying (Williams is on the board for TechCrunch40). The users said nothing offensive, and although I was not at the conference, I would imagine many of the things said were true. I agreed from what I had read online and what they were saying.
Ev has made alot of very smart moves (Blogger and Odeo) and I think twitter has the potential to be something very useful. I hope to one day make a third of the great decisions Ev has made. This move, however, is something that should not happen if you’re trying to create something on a large scale.
The New York Times, setting the paper free.
In a move that I wasn’t sure I would see for at least a few more years, The New York Times is getting rid of their “Times Select” paid sections. They are also releasing all of their archives for free online. This is a huge move for the publishing industry that such an old media beheamouth would take away such a large chunk of gaurunteed income.
Fred Wilson, has previously stated that the Wall Street Journal should allow their online edition to be totally free (I’d say about 90% is for subscribers only) and I have had a hard time believing this would be worth it. People are paying between $50-$70 to access the WSJ online and that is money you know is coming. It has been there for years, and with the Journals market, it seems like it will be there for a long long time. I mean, I’m 25 and I’m willing to pay for it. The NYT says that the traffic they are now recieving through Google is worth more than the paid subscriptions. If that is true, then there is no reason not to open up the WSJ.
We’ll see how long Ruper opens up the WSJ. With the NYT move, I have a feeling I will be asking for some of my subscription money back soon.
About Otis
I live in Seattle, Washington. I am passionate about working with and interacting with others. My work experience includes marketing, account management, and sales.
I am a huge sports fan who on top of cheering for my favorite teams (Go Beavs!) also appreciates coaching strategy, as well as the marketing behind teams, players, and events.
Personally, I enjoys exploring new cities and areas (particularly small towns) and getting outside and playing.