Entries from December 2005
Last January, an experiment began. After less than one year — with no advertising dollars spent and lots of word of mouth linking around the world, Joint Communications seems to have figured out how to break through Google organic searching. Naturally.
“Jointblog”. “Media Trend Watching”. And now “Joint Communications”. Fantastic!
When a search for “Joint Communications” was done on Google in January 2005, tens of millions of results showed up, mostly referring to military or governmental committees. Media Strategist firm Joint Communications Corp. was way in back of the pack, at least in terms of Google searching. Basically nowhere to be found through search. “Long Tail” theorists believe that in order to win brand name effectiveness with organic internet searching, firms must be in the Top 2 search results. But making that happen — getting the searchbots to find the site — is not that simple.
Yet, today, just 11 months later, out of 62,400,000 link results found, Joint Communications Corporation (that’s us at the Jointblog) is the #1 site identified when “Joint Communications” is Googled. Same thing with the other top search engines: they all agree JointCommunications.com is what you mean when you search for Joint Communications.
Thank you to all who enjoy the Jointblog…make sure you share the bookmark with your friends and colleagues. 2006 will show more growth from the Jointblog, with a promise to deliver and share essential stories, articles and thought pieces on the very best of “Media Trend Watching”. Don’t forget…send your tips on stories we should include to the email links in the right-hand column. Peace — Chris Kennedy
Categories: Uncategorized
(John Parikhal, December 2006)
The biggest news stories in 2005 were poorly handled disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes, oil prices), technology shakers (WiMax, iMusic/Video), and the brief “rediscovery” of poverty in America (before everyone switched channels for the new episode of Lost).
On the media/advertising business side, quite a few head-in-the-sand CEOs woke up with a headache. In most cases, their company had at least 10 YEARS of warning about how technology might disrupt their business and when it did, they acted as if it were someone else’s fault.
Record companies continued to blame the customers because of their own unwillingness to acknowledge the digital train that had been running down the track since at least 1992 (can anyone say “Kodak”?)
Advertisers suddenly discovered that “mass” advertising was no longer working (Alvin Toffler wrote a best seller about how this wa already happening – 25 years ago!).
And, without a clearly articulated plan, the multi-billion dollar radio business suggested that HD radio would somehow save their 40%+ margins.
The biggest “missed” story was the continuing damage to productivity that is caused by e-mail.
If you get and respond to more than 85 e-mails a day, you’re losing about 2-3 hours a day in productivity (which is why you’re working harder and getting less done). This explains a lot of the collapse in creativity and forward thinking that used to happen in radio (and many other businesses). There’s no time or incentive to think.
Read the rest of John Parikhal’s article on 2005 and what’s ahead for 2006 click here.
Categories: Uncategorized
Okay, there are things that happened as predicted…and many things that did not.
“90% of everything is crud”…as Sturgeon’s Revelation goes regarding how wrong science fiction gets at predicting the future. Case’s corollary to Sturgeon’s Revelation is that 90% of technology trend predictions are wrong. And this year is no different than others…a lot of predictions went wrong.
High Def for Windows Media Player?
Fixed compression loss for mp3s?
64-bit Windows XP…let alone the much-fabled/maligned Longhorn?
HD-DVD or Blu-Ray?
Sony’s copyright=protected CDs?
Erosion of Apple’s iPod/digital music servicing domination?
The completely digital-connected home?
Gmail becomes as important as Google?
Well…maybe in 2006…or maybe not.
This Yahoo article takes a look at 10 failed tech trends for 2005.
full story
Categories: Uncategorized
The iTunes Music Store’s single sales gets most of the news for download totals. Last July, the 500 millionth download was sold…the countdown for the one-billionth download sale will happen sometime this late winter/early spring. Almost 4 million videos have been downloaded from iTunes since the release of the Video iPod in mid-October. All amazing news for download sales and depressing news for brock-and-mortar retailers.
There’s another new trend to watch from iTunes. While physical album sales continue to slump at retail outlets (blamed on digital music downloading), Apple is doing brisk business in online album downloads. Its iTunes is offering exclusive songs, digital booklets and added tracks as bonuses for consumers who buy iTunes albums, marking them with a special “iTunes Version” tag.
“While the record labels whine about losing album sales, Apple is selling albums. Apple is proving albums are popular — they’re just not popular at stores,” said analyst Richard Doherty of Envisioneering Group.
By adding in special features and content, iTunes is proving customers will buy albums — and not just singles — if the CONTENT is there, if the CONVENIENCE is there, if they can CONTROL when they want to consume and use, if the product can increase their CONNECTION through entertainment. THAT’s the New Entertainment Economy in action.
–Chris Kennedy
referenced AdAge story
Categories: Uncategorized
On-demand and increased confidence in online information drives surging 55+ use of the Web.
ABOUT 61 PERCENT OF ONLINE users age 55 and older say they use the Web more heavily now than one year ago, according to a new study by Burst! Media. The study, based on a recent survey of 1,000 Web users at least 55 years of age, also found that the vast majority of respondents–65.5 percent–visit more Web sites now than last year, with about one in three–34.5 percent–saying they visit “many more” sites today than last year.
At the same time, many Web users in that age group have cut back on their use of traditional media, according to Burst! Media. About 44 percent told researchers they spend less time watching TV today than one year ago, while about 44 percent spend less time reading newspapers and around 37 percent spend less time reading magazines.
Why is this age group turning to the Web? The greatest proportion of respondents–around 69 percent–said the on-demand nature of the Web gave it an edge, while around 68 percent of respondents thought the Web had more accurate information than offline media. About 60 percent thought the Internet was superior because it offered content that couldn’t be found in other media.
An eMarketer report released last May also concluded that older boomers and adults in their early 60s tended to be Web-savvy. That report found that about two-thirds of adults between the ages of 50 and 64 use the Web.
full story
Categories: Uncategorized
CNet.com looks back at 2005, dubbing it “The Year of the Internet’s rebirth”. Five years after the dot com meltdown triggered a nationwide recession, Internet media is thriving as it never has before. Cnet writes that convergence is now (finally) upon us, a generation that has grown up with the Web is coming of age, and a digital, social revolution is imminent. Not only is the Web bringing the once anonymous to prominence through tools like blogging, but it’s also leading countries like India into a technology renaissance. The special feature discusses all of the major stories of the year–from the Supreme Court-Grokster ruling to Apple’s once-unthinkable alliance with Intel–providing links to 30-plus articles.
full story
Categories: Uncategorized
Look for the On Demand surge to get bigger in 2006.
With the growing number of technology-infused products and services tipping into the mainstream, even hesitant tech adopters are starting to take advantage of new ways to acquire, share and enjoy entertainment.
Which items will go from conversation pieces of the digerati to must-haves for the mass market? Sizing up some of the notable entertainment technology trends of 2005 gives one perspective on the emerging status quo and what are likely the breakout technologies in 2006.
1) Portable Entertainment PCs
2) HDTV
3) Making Digital Video
4) Sharing Personal Media
5) Video to Go
6) Podcasts
7) Entertained by Open Source
full story
Categories: Uncategorized
The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved a budget that calls for all American TV to be broadcast via digital signal by Feb. 17, 2009. Translation: Consumers who don’t subscribe to cable or satellite television or who don’t own TV sets capable of receiving digital signals will be out of luck. Since only 15 percent of U.S. households do not currently subscribe to cable or satellite TV, the 2009 date should not pose much of a challenge
The new budget provides up to $80 per household in the way of coupons for those who must purchase converter boxes for their old TV sets; the converters permit old-tech analog TVs to continue to function. Among those objecting to the moves yesterday was Consumers Union. “This is the government making your TV go black and then only paying for part of the costs for some of the people to make it work again,” said Gene Kimmelman, public policy director of the organization.
full story (NYTimes.com log on may be required)
Categories: Uncategorized
Most Internet buzz over the last year has raved about things like new video distributions, blogs, iTunes and podcasts. That’s consumer-side (or Business-to-Consumer) excitement bubbling up to mainstream media reports. However, the opinions from B-to-B is quite different. Recently, executives in the B-to-B sphere weighed in on what they think is hot and what’s not for 2006.
Among their hot items are Internet video, RSS, blogs and podcasts, but they don’t expect much advertising revenues just yet via these formats–particularly RSS and podcasts, which may have been pushed too hard too fast, and when there’s currently very little opportunity for ads, some said. Consumers will grow their usage of these media forms but the business prospects for them remain small, executives said. B-to-B media revenues, however, are expected to grow more than 20 percent next year. Sounds like good growth to me and reason to wondere why those B-to-B execs aren’t feeling more cheery about their predictions? Maybe they still remember their mis-steps from the dot com bust not too long ago…? If so, good for them for being sensible.
full article
Categories: Uncategorized
The year is ending nearly two weeks too soon to catch the biggest radio news of the day: the debut of Howard Stern on Sirius Satellite Radio.
His move is arguably the make-or-break moment for Sirius. The company predicts it will have 3 million subscribers by the time Stern hits the air on January 9. Rival XM expects to have twice that.
If January holds satellite’s D-Day, then terrestrial radio took the covers off its beach-head armaments on December 6. That is when eight major broadcasters came together to announce their strategy to turn high-definition radio (terrestrial’s digital initiative) from a neat idea to a practical reality.
But satellite is not the only competition for terrestrial radio. The success of the iPod and the podcasting phenomenon that followed have worked to make everyone a radio programer and inspired the likes of NPR and Infinity to release podcasts of their own. The latter also took a San Francisco AM and crowned it the first all-podcast radio station.
The shuffle function of the iPod was equally inspiring to radio. Stations that had switched to the format du jour, Jack, touted it as the radio version of an iPod on shuffle. Jack became the new format by not having a format. The listener never knew who the next act would be (K.C. & the Sunshine Band into Nirvana was fair game) but would surely like it.
Latin formats were another big format-flip target. By the time the summer ratings came out, a baker’s dozen of stations in the top 25 markets had flipped to Spanish-language programing. Ten had ratings increases.
With all of these pressures, the business of radio is no longer a stock market favorite. To combat that, traditional radio is aggressively investing in itself.
full Billboard.com story
Categories: Uncategorized
“Jointblog”. “Media Trend Watching”. And now “Joint Communications”. Fantastic!
