Foxwood Online Marketing

The Politics of Piracy: Hollywood VS Internet Companies

 

Politics has hit the internet!  You've probably heard about SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) from the House of Representatives and its counterpart in the Senate PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act).  But have you heard of ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) or OPEN (Online Protection & ENforcement of Digital Trade Act)?  Makes you think:  SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, OPEN, OH MY!...

So here's what happened.  The Hollywood and big media lobby got SOPA and PIPA created based on the logical need to prevent websites from sharing their content without getting paid.  However neighter Hollywood nor the politicians really understood what the bill as written would mean to the internet.  So that community banded together and notified their users and blacked out many of their sites as a protest.

The internet community leveraged their users to contact their representatives and senators by the thousands and the bills, which were cruising through congress, were stopped in their tracks.  Then at a roundtable discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, we were told that ACTA could be even more harmful than SOPA/PIPA.  And worse yet, the US has already signed off on this agreement.  To complicate matters more, the US politician who understands these issues the most, Darrell Issa, has another proposition called OPEN which he and others, including Google are supporting.  If you are a nerd like me (I know I am a nerd rather than geek because of an infographic that defines the difference), you might be interested in the roundtable discussion at Davos hosted by Mashable:

What I picked up from the 43 minute video is that there is a political battle building between Hollywood, the music industry, and big media companies (content generators), and the internet companies (communicators).  The content generators are losing millions in dollars to internet pirates but the communicators are concerned that drastic remedies will inhibit user generated content and the entrepreneurial spirit that has made the internet what it is.  The best example here is Wikipedia.  As the bills were written if it was determined that some piece of owned content was placed on Wikipedia, then a DNS (Denial of Service) would be enforced basically putting it out of business.  The internet folks argue that while there is still some music piracy, the public has gradually gotten on board with subscription pricing like iTunes which has delivered millions to the content generators that wasn't the case in years past.  For years the content generators, particularly Hollywood, have learned how to lobby congress.  They also have tight-knit associations that pool money and speak with one voice on issues.  The internet folks who do not have this yet are beginning to realize they must if they are to compete in the realm of politics.  Another factor about the politics in this situation was raised by Representative Issa.  That is most of the elected people in Congress nor do their staffs have any depth on issues concerning the internet industry.  Following SOPA and PIPA where many were embarrassed to the point of withdrawing their co-sponsorships of these bills, including my favorite Senator Marco Rubio, have recognized they need to move up the learning curve fast. 

Part of the political process is for a lobbyist to give a political contribution to a member of Congress in lieu of being able to present their side of an argument.  The content generators and their associations have developed sophisticated processes to do just this over the years.  As the Google attorney in the video explained, their company just hasn't been around long enough to have developed this capability in spite of how much money they have.  The content generators have been good at putting their movie and music stars out as spokespersons to support their political issues.  The internet companies have the power of rallying their followers but must be careful to not overuse this tool.  It seems clear that this battle will continue.

I suggest you keep an eye on Congressman Darrell Issa.  He was the past president of the Consumer Electronics' Association and attended CES 30 years including back when he was an exhibitor.  He is very knowledgeable about current technology.  I chopped a session of PBS' Communicators shot at CES to give you some perspective on him:   

    

 

If you still want more, check out this chart from Congressman Issa's website that compares SOPA, PIPA, and his favorite OPEN by clicking here.  Given how much there has been in the media, I'm sure this story will go on for some time.

 

 

 

 

 

My Website & Blog Are Back Up!

I just got my website, blog, and Foxwood email back up again.  And as you would expect there is a story and a lesson.  A couple of years ago I signed up with an agency ownership program out of Seattle.  Included in my agency fee was website development and hosting support.  Earlier this year the organization decided to get out of that part of the business and focus on marketing and training.  They provided the name of a person and at first it was a seamless transition.  However a couple of months ago I started to have problems with my website.  Sometimes it would be unavailable but my blog and email would work.  A call to the support guy was usually handled quickly even if he was in Texas fighting forest fires.  Then almost a month ago I lost access to all 3.  I had 3 email addresses and 2 phone numbers for my support guy.  I was relentless chasing him without any success.  Considering how he likes to live on the edge I checked the obituaries in Seattle.  I even sent an email through LinkedIn disguised as a connection offer to a man in Seattle with a very similar name.  All the while I was tweeting and sending messages to any social media site the support guy had.  I went on WhoIs to check all the places where my website was found.  I then began filing trouble tickets with each of them.  Finally I read through my support guy's blog to see if there was a clue and I found it.  He said one of his clients had a self-inflicted problem with his site and contacted the server (host) firm claiming they were my support guy.  An argument ensued resulting in the hosting company dropping all of my support guy's clients including me.  Now I knew what happened.  But because I relied on my organization and then this support person, I did not have the proper log-ins and passwords so for a time my trouble tickets went unanswered.  Finally when I contacted the sales department I got a response.  After some long explanations, they turned on my site, blog, and email again.  All is well.  Except the final part of the process is to move everything to a local source, a friend I trust.  AND to get control of the log-ins and passwords.

Actually while everything is back to normal I learned a few tricks just in case.  My website could be copied and pasted from Google Cached Pages.  My blog site, TypePad, had all the content from my blog but none of the videos, links, or images.  And there was even a way to go to the domain company and get a bypass on my email.  Thank heavens I didn't have to do that as there would have been many hours of putting Humpty Dumpty back together again.

So as you might expect, there are lessons.  Don't assume a supplier has completely investigated a substitute if they get out of a particular service.  Don't rely on an "expert" for your ownership responsibilities.  Finally it's always better to do business with someone you know and trust, even if it costs more.  While this adventure appears to be almost over, it certainly was not a pleasant one; and you know, I should have known better!

 

 

Highlights from 2 Presentations at Web 2.0

I discovered there was a big internet trade show recently.  Web 2.0 Summit was in San Francisco and Web 2.0 Expo was in New York.  There were a number of presentations, interviews, and panel discussions as is the case with most trade shows.  What I find especially nice now is how they video most of the sessions so you can watch without having to travel to the sites or pay the large admission fees.  As a corporate warrior for over 20 years I have been to similar events in New York, Las Vegas, LA, Chicago, San Francisco, and Disney World.  My favorite 2 elements presented are visions of the future and surveys of senior executives.  With that in mind I picked 2 presentations; one from an IBM executive who is reporting on a major study among 1700 CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers) and an executive from Intel who laid out their forecast on growth in the Web 2.0 world.

First here's a 15 minute video of Kirk Skaugen of Intel:

Here are the highlights I picked up:

• There was more data transmitted over the Internet in 2010 than the entire previous history of the Internet
• They predict there will be 1 billion more people added to the internet by 2015, up to 2.5B now
• They predict there will be 15 billion connected devices by 2015, up from today's 4B
• The average upscale car next year will have 300 micro-controllers and 12 cameras
• The average car is going from 5 to 50 million lines of code.  Note it only took 10 million to put a man on the moon.
• They say, "If it consumes electricity, it will end up computing, and if it computes it will end up connected to the internet and generating data."
• The big advances in devices will be in vending machines and appliances (maybe the "smart refrigerator" is finally coming)
• One useful application of the explosion of data and computing power is hurricane forecasting.  In 1985 you could predict 48 hours out for an area of 300 miles.  Today that is still 48 hours but for a radius of 100 miles.  The goal is 2 week's notice for a 10 mile radius.  This will limit evacuations to a zip code and enable a focused effort for preparedness and rescue.
• What's enabled Intel to continue to increase computing power is converting transitors to a 3 dimensional format.  It's like adding the ability of a high rise to increase usage of a scarce downtown space.

 

The second presentation is from Cindy Finnecy of IBM and is about 10 minutes:  

Highlights of the study, which can be downloaded from LinkedIn or from IBM's site:

• The CMOs said they have 3 needs:  1) Deliver value to the empowered customer,  2) Foster lasting connections, and  3) Capture value and measure results.  "Marketing must become more adept at managing the magnitude of change now taking place; otherwise it will be like going into battle with a Swiss Army Knife.
• 48% said they are NOT ready for the changes coming in technology
• They said they need to increase the digital IQs of their teams across the board and also infuse a new set of skills.  They need a new class of marketing professional that has financial acumen with the ability to do analytical thinking so that we can divest from lower ROI projects and invest in those activities that have a higher ROI.
• The top activity planned, in terms of increase, was social media at 82% with 81% picking customer analytics in 2nd place
• "We need to replace our CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system and are actively looking at a new system that will address our future plans, including social media, ROI analytics and the global company strategy."
• Of all the main sources of concern (13 criteria), and planned increase in technology use (14 criteria), they are only confident of being able to deal with 2 each of these
• The 2 top areas of pain are data explosion (71%) and social media (68%)

 

 

So my conclusions from these 2 presentations are:  1) If you think you are having a problem with the rate of change in the Internet, you are not alone as evidenced by the CMO study; and,  2) Given the forecast of the rate of increase, you haven't seen anything yet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

So How Different Was the Fox News/Google (YouTube) Debate?

Note this post is not political.  While I am a news & political junkie, even I did not watch the debate.  However this one was interesting from a digital media perspective.  Because Google was a co-sponsor and because Google owns YouTube, there was much more citizen participation than normal as 19,000 questions were submitted and 100,000 votes were received on which questions should be used.  Here is a short background video on the online process:

 

Here are some graphics on the debate:

Here's the data visualization of the most used words during the debate:

 

Here are some search results during the debate.  Note that the highest volume of searches came when (presumably) Gary Johnson was speaking and because he was a new entrant into the debates.  Likewise for the 2nd chart when Herman Cain spoke of his 9-9-9 plan which is relatively new.

Finally here is a 5 minute video that gives this Fox News/Google partnership perspective:

 

This is an excellent video.  It couples Fox News that is right-leaning with a CEO who is a big Obama supporter.  However for the partnership to work they had to work together.  When Bret Baier pushes back to Schmidt on his suggestion to have the government stimulate the economy, Schmidt provides ways that the government can stimulate without significantly raising the debt.  This is a private sector solution that makes so much sense we cannot expect our elected officials to do anything close, can we?

 

 

Is the US Getting Serious About Cyber War?

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) just released its Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace.  In the announcement Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III stated that 24,000 Department of Defense files were “lost” in March in a cyberattack on a military contractor. It may be the most damaging breach the U.S. military has seen.  This is a follow-up to the DoD's Quadrennial Defense Report or QDR from February of last year.  This plan involves 5 strategies:

• Treat cyberspace as an operational domain to organize, train, and equip so that DoD can take full advantage of cyberspace’s potential.
• Employ new defense operating concepts to protect DoD networks and systems.
• Partner with other U.S. government departments and agencies and the private sector to enable a whole-of-government cybersecurity strategy.
• Build robust relationships with U.S. allies and international partners to strengthen collective cybersecurity.
• Leverage the nation’s ingenuity through an exceptional cyber workforce and rapid technological innovation.

Happy Birthday YouTube

YouTube just celebrated their 6th birthday.  It would be an understatement to say that YouTube has caught on.  Every minute, 48 hours or 2 days of video are uploaded to the site.  They have experienced a 37% increase in the last 6 months and 100% increase from last year.  YouTube gets 3 million views per day.  Here is a graphic of the growth:

Is Social Media Ruining Students?

 

  
Here is another interesting infographic.  This one comes from Education Database Online Blog.  I like this approach.  It takes survey results and makes a case for both a positive and negative outcome.  I also like that it leaves it up to the student to take this information as input to come to their own conclusion.  Finally I like that they boil down the analysis to 3 questions:

1. Does it affect student’s grades?
2. How will using social media effect your college life experience?
3. What effect does social media have on the emotional health of students?

Here's my take.  First, social media is use

How Web 2.0 Is Having A Positive Impact in Our Lives - A Perspective

The reason I am writing this post is an example of the point I am trying to make.  That is, what some call Web 2.0 and some categorize as Social Media, is making an impact in our lives.  I started out reading an opinion piece on how Social Media is making the writer's life better by allowing him to know the mundane happenings of his 10 year-old while he is travelling on business.  Within the article was a reference to a very long and well-researched article that appeared in the New Yorker on how the internet gets inside us (a must read for anyone in an online industry).  At the end of the original article I saw a related article on Why Social Media Is Bringing Back Our Grandparents Values.  Within the comments of this article I found a reference to a university paper on how today's Social Media role is strongly aligned with the New England Town Meeting concept of democracy by Alexis DeTocqueville in the mid-1830s.  And of course there are countless articles on how Social Media has contributed to the ongoing coordinated protests in Northern Africa and the middle east.

January 28th was Data Privacy Day

Ops.  Looks like I missed it again this year.  But to be honest I just found out about it even though both the US Senate and House of Representatives selected January 28th as Data Privacy Day back in 2009.

Click here to go to their website.  In their Education section, you will find many helpful articles, references, and videos on how to stay safe online, especially for kids.

Rather than making an attempt to put privacy in perspective for you, I have chosen instead to offer 2 really cool infographics:

 

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So mark your calendars for next year and let's have a giant but safe celebration.

 

 

Update on Groupon

This time last year I wrote a post on Groupon.  There has been a lot press recently about Groupon turning down an offer of $6B from Google.  The fact that Google thinks this venture is worth six billion dollars clearly defines this venture as a success.  If you haven't heard of Groupon or not sure how it works here is a video that explains it.

 

Below is an infographic from OnlineMBA that shows where Groupon is graphically.

Now for a personal perspective.  My wife, who is in the target market and an expert online shopper, has purchased several items/services from Groupon.  These include several oil change discounts that we will use and a guided boat and walking tour to the Lost River Cave roughly 2 hours north of where we live.  This Groupon expires in early June and I have doubts we will redeem this one.  Following my other post on Groupon I received a communication from one of the vendors mentioned, Kristin Smith, who sold vocal lessons (this is Nashville after all).  She said she sold 163 Groupons with 65 having redeemed them at roughly the half-way point before the expiration date.  She said the influx had not caused her any capacity problems and that 20% have come for a follow-up full-price session following the initial discounted session.  And about 10% have become weekly regular clients at full price.  Her feedback was totally positive and received other publicity because of her investment including a front page story in the Nashville Business Journal.  Click here to read that story. 

The only bad news on Groupon is that while they invented the model, it is easy to duplicate.  As shown in the infographic there are currently 200 similar sites in the US and 500 overseas including 100 in China.  But given their momentum, I don't see how these competitors can knock them off without developing some value-added features.  So I remain optimistic about Groupon's success.  And if they sell to Google and receive a boost from search; that is consistent with Google, they will establish an even stronger barrier for competitors.  It's a good model that delivers value to both consumer and vendor.