Tag: IPG

Why Obama’s DTV delay is a bad idea

Posted on by Lab Team

(iStock)There’s talk in Washington of a delay of the transition to digital TV. I can understand the reasoning – the federal program that offered $40 vouchers for those who want to buy the devices needed to pick up digital signals, ran out of money.

While I sympathize with the reasoning, delaying the transition is a very bad idea. Here are four reasons why:

(1) It turns a minor bungle (the underfunded voucher program) into a much bigger bungle. For years now, the switchover date has been drilled into our heads. To push back the date is going to cause more confusion than just biting the bullet and going through with it.

(2) Second, the transition has been, if anything, far too overhyped. According to a recent report by Nielsen, only 5.7% of households are unprepared for the transition.

Continue reading “Why Obama’s DTV delay is a bad idea”

Inaugural Web traffic breaks Internet

Posted on by Lab Team

Wordle Tag Cloud by Frank MeeuwsenInternet networks across the country were given a run for their money Tuesday during the inauguration. CNN says it provided as many as 21.3 million streams throughout the morning and afternoon; Facebook announced it had 1.5 million Obama-related status updates. However, the enthusiasm generated by President Barack Obama’s historic inauguration also challenged Internet providers and the nation’s bandwidth. Online video, (see my angry post for more on that below) in particular was problematic. Many people, the NY Times is reporting resorted to old televisions and radios. I was among this crowd: After suffering through a shaky video experience on CNN Live, I didn’t get my first full appreciation for Obama’s speech until I heard it on the NPR as I headed home from work. Sigh. So much for the tech revolution. Continue reading “Inaugural Web traffic breaks Internet”

Tuesday sexy tech trifecta

Posted on by Lab Team

Sexy tech trifecta (iStock)Tuesday has brought a perfect trio of tech stories to feature. A mix of good news on the economic horizon, Australia’s exotic travel for blogging trade, and a new appointee to the FCC from the incoming President elect. Check out these top three glorious stories:

1. Hang on till 2010. Despite analysts’ predictions that tech spending will decline in 2009 (and that the earth will implode and we’ll all be living in Hoovervilles–do check out Scott Brown’s “Guided Tour of the Most Awesome Depression Ever” in this month’s Wired), things are looking brighter for those of us who can hold on for a year. By 2010 Forrester Research says spending could increase again…by as much as nine percent. So hang on to your hats, hunker down and let the fowl winds pass ya by, matey. There’s fair weather round the corner. Continue reading “Tuesday sexy tech trifecta”

Best and worst of CES 2009

Posted on by Lab Team

Best and worst of CES 2009 (iStock)When exploring a huge show like CES, it’s inevitable that you will discover that not all manufacturers give equal thought to their products.  Some will shine with obvious innovation. A great many will barely register above a yawn.  And some will leave you shaking your head in disbelief.

Here are just a few that fall into these categories…

Continue reading “Best and worst of CES 2009”

Can new Palm Pre compete with iPhone?

Posted on by Lab Team

Palm Pre at CES (Josh Lovison)It is a classic tale.  A once great legend, now down and out, falls for the quirky girl who no one really notices, and with her support, stages a final comeback.  No, I’m not talking about a new Hollywood release.  I’m talking about Palm’s new smartphone and Sprint.

The Palm “Pre” is the newest smartphone from the company that was one of the pioneers of the PDA age.  The handset is initially an exclusive release on the Sprint network, known more for its economical pricing than its sexy handset lineup. Continue reading “Can new Palm Pre compete with iPhone?”

CES 2009: The future of video

Posted on by Lab Team

CES and the Future of Video (iStock/CES)Ubiquitous video to the consumer was the topic of discussion in a Digital Hollywood panel I attended at CES.  Rather than focusing on the publishers and media buyers, this panel was manned by those creating and running the infrastructure that allows consumers and marketers to create, optimize, distribute, measure and monetize video.

The group keyed in on IPTV, cable TV and broadband video channels and shared a variety of opinions and insight that will give a sense of the current and future business of internet connected video. Continue reading “CES 2009: The future of video”

Top 10 reasons CES matters

Posted on by Lab Team

The Lab team is heading to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week to roam the showrooms and take part in the massive gadget brain-exchange. We’ll be blogging live through the weekend–and here are 10 reasons you should stay tuned:

1. It’s like Paris’ Ready-to-Wear event of the year–but instead showcasing gadgets in Vegas. While there will be far more geeky men than hot models in pretty get-ups (I’ve already heard that a fellow digerati femme was one of only 10 women on her plane to Vegas), this is the place to look for what technologies and consumer electronics are coming down the line in ’09. THIS is the place where dreams are made, battles are won, hearts are broken. Okay, perhaps I’m pushing it. But, if you have any desire to keep abreast with technology, stay tuned (preferably here) for all the latest and greatest advances in consumer tech.

2. We might finally learn if this is the year the Internet will kill the TV star. (Check out the WSJ’s round up of reasons how it might). It likely won’t–but this year even a scaled back CES promises some amazing new solutions for watching video and TV via the Internet including two of my favorite new devices: New player ZeeVee is presenting their ZvBox which turns computers into an HDTV channel on your TV set; WhereverTV allows consumers to watch hundreds of international television shows on your television via the Internet (sign me up!)

Stay with me, I’ve got 8 more reasons CES is THE consumer event of the year: Continue reading “Top 10 reasons CES matters”

Gaming’s next YouTube?

Posted on by Lab Team

LittleBigPlanetThis is part of our best-of 2008 series, previously featured on our newsletter, Advance. Imagine, for a moment, a universe that does not yet exist. A flying saucer navigates a galaxy of oddly colored planets and moons teeming with life. The saucer slows upon reaching one particular world, and moves in closer. It is a lush green landscape, and scattered around the planet are cities – sculpted from Coke bottles. Moving closer, vehicles created from Coke bottle caps race back and forth between the buildings. And zooming in reveals the townspeople of this foreign land to be none other than the creatures from Coca-Cola’s "Happiness Factory" commercial.

This imaginary planet sits in a galaxy created by Spore, EA’s new hit game. Or rather, it could. There’s a trend beginning to hit mainstream in-video game design: User-generated content. September saw the release of EA’s aforementioned Spore. a "universe simulation" that allows players to create and share entire worlds with other players. In late October, Sony released LittleBigPlanet for the PS3, a highly anticipated title for all ages and both genders where the user generated content provides levels for sack-puppets to play through. Continue reading “Gaming’s next YouTube?”

Emerging Media, Barack Obama, and the Future of Political Campaigns

Posted on by Lab Team

Beth Rankin via FlickrWith the 2009 Presidential Inauguration approaching, we wanted to share our findings on how Barack Obama and other presidential candidates made use of emerging media.

In the 2008 election, Presidential contenders across the political spectrum utilized new media platforms to reach out to voters in unprecedented ways. And voters responded, participating online, via mobile, and across social networks in historic numbers.

What were some of the most notable emerging media triumphs from the 2008 election? And what was the emerging media strategy behind Barack Obama’s campaign? What was John McCain's best emerging media tactic in the race to the White House?

Click here to view IPG Emerging Media Lab's research into the uses of new media in this year's election–and how it has changed political campaigning for good.

Photo courtesy of Beth Rankin via Flickr