Daily Marauder

GET RETRO: BE KIND REWIND

As defined by Wikipedia, retro translates to “backwards” or “in past times”. This implies a focus on the past rather than movement towards the future. Defined by Marauder, I see the retro as being the missing link in understanding the future. In our rush to understand new platforms and new forms of consumption, we forget how relatively recent our methods of consumption were completely different. Understanding our past helps understand our blaze towards the future and just how fleeting all of this chit chat about new platforms could turn out to be in the future.

In the spirit of keepin’ it real, I am bringing it retro in a 3-part series inspired by the upcoming film Be Kind Rewind, in theatres February 22^nd .

Part 1: VHS Love

Here’s some things I had forgotten about the VHS tape of my youth:

• Failure to rewind fees at the video store. Who has the time to painfully sit idyll while the VHS tape whirs to the beginning?
• Accidental erasure. I’m betting we have all had one of those holy shit moments after realizing that we’ve erased Karen’s birthday party. Sorry Karen.
• Tape degradation. After playing Dream a Little Dream 50 times as a youngin’, the Coreys didn’t quite look their best. Don’t hate. You know you loved the Coreys. . .

Thinking about all of these slightly less than positive qualities almost brought a tear to my eye. Ah, memories. . . As further evidence to the negative connotations associated with VHS, I present to you the following:

The Ring Trailer

The Ring: a story about a video tape that haunts the viewer setting in motion a host of events leading to death. Yup, just a wee bit negative.

In antithesis to the negative, the movie Be Kind Rewind reminds us of our past in a way that leaves the viewer smiling rather than cringing. The movie, directed by Michel Gondry and starring Jack Black and Mos Def, takes a look at the anti-new media world. After all of the VHS tapes in a video store have become demagnetized (and therefore erased), the employees take about the task of re-creating the classics, including Ghostbusters and Transformers to name a few.

Be Kind Rewind Trailer

Here’s the quick history lesson on VHS:

1976

• The VHS tape, short for Video Home System, is introduced and competes with Betamax. Many now compare the Beta/VHS wars to the current rival battle of Blu-Ray and HD DVD.

1997

• The DVD is released.

2002

• DVD sales outpace VHS sales.

2005

• The last movie in VHS format is released in the US (History of Violence).

All this aside, the VHS still inhabits many homes from coast to coast. The technology isn’t dead as much as it’s on its way out. For more information on the evolution of the VCR, click on the image below.

In essence, keep it real kids and don’t get too caught up in the news of the now. Every day, there are more and more viewing options but linked throughout all of these new platforms is the desire that has been the case since before before: instant gratification. We have always wanted it now. The only difference is that we can finally get it immediately. Now, all I can demagnetize is my credit card. Awesome.

This post has been heavily inspired by an intriguing article from the Sunday NYT by Dennis Lim: Instant Nostalgia? Let’s Go to the Videotape.

Get ready to salivate. Part 2: the talk box. Can you dig? More retro action next week.

BROADCAST/CABLE

With sparse fresh content available for viewers thanks to the ongoing writers’ strike, HBO’s “ In Treatment,” according to this review, “is the proverbial manna in the desert.” The half-hour drama about a psychiatrist, which stars Gabriel Byrne and Dianne Wiest, premieres tonight. (Los Angeles Times 1/28)

The informal talks between Hollywood’s striking writers and studio bosses are going “in a positive direction,” says an insider. Big media may even let the writers’ union “declare a face-saving victory” in order to get a deal done. (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/urgent-talks-progress-report  1/25)

IAC/InterActiveCorp chief Barry Diller is in discussions to bring in outside investors or possible buyers for all four of the companies he plans to spin off including the HSN home-shopping cable network. IAC has been approached by large retailers interested in acquiring HSN. (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120131093622118585.html 1/26)

Comcast is pulling the plug on AZN Television, its Asian-American channel. AZN will go off the air after April 9. Comcast says it had difficulty attracting advertisers for the network. AZN’s reach was also a lower-than-expected 13.9 million viewers and wasn’t growing. (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080125/comcast_asian_channel.html 1/25)

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is proposing a $1.4 million indecency fine against 52 ABC television stations over a 2003 broadcast of cop drama “NYPD Blue.” The fine is for a scene depicting a woman’s “nude buttocks.” ABC argues that “the buttocks are not a sexual organ.” (http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Fcc-Fines-Abc/800031853 1/26)

AT&T is rolling out U-verse in the Chicago area on Monday. U-verse, which offers home video and high-speed Internet service, is expected to lower cable rates. Nationally, AT&T has installed U-verse for 231,000 customers and is proceeding with about 12,000 new installations a week. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-mon_att_0128jan28,0,2611073.story 1/28)

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Look out iTunes. Amazon.com announced plans to expand its DRM-free MP3 store to international markets later this year. Launched in Sept. 2007 with content from all 4 major labels, Amazon’s digital storefront now offers over 3.3 million songs from 270,000+ artists, with more than 1 million tracks available for .89. Amazon’s international destinations include www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr and www.amazon.ca.

How’s this for a visual (see below)? It’s fun to compete with iTunes while advertising the iPod.  I’m down with the Amazon store.  I just wish usability was even in the same playground as the iTunes store.  I prefer to pay $.10 more and deal with the DRM so that I don’t have to navigate an Amazon world.  Here’s the thing.  The iTunes store gives consumers the search and discovery functions that remind us all why we love music so much.  If I’m too lazy to head down to my local record store, I’d like to at least pretend.

Current Media, which operates a television network and current.tv, is filing with U.S. regulators to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. Shareholders include Blum Capital Partners, Yucaipa Cos., DirectTV, Comcast and former U.S. vice president Al Gore. (http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSWNAS794020080128 1/28)

The folks at interactive agency Deep Focus launched another interesting website in support of HBO’s new drama In Treatment premiering tonight, about a psychotherapist (Gabriel Byrne) and the inner journeys he embarks upon with his patients. He’sListening.com features an innovative user interface, allowing the user to click on sections of brain to pull up audio and video thoughts of the main characters. Medical illustrator Bryan Christie was commissioned to illustrate the brainwork.

CBS Interactive announced that Last.fm’s unique U.S. listener base spiked by 85% after announcing its free music service on Jan. 23, compared to metrics for the previous week. Unique visits and page views were also up dramatically throughout the rest of the week.

Top Facebook Applications  U.S. Home/Work/University  - November 2007
Engaged Widget         Penetration of Total
Facebook App.              Viewers (000)         U.S. Facebook Audience
Top Friends (Slide)               6,230                    18.5%
Movies (Flixster)                  5,199                    15.4%
SuperPoke! (Slide)               3,626                    10.8%
Compare People                   3,503                    10.4%
iLike                                    3,449                    10.2%
Super Wall (RockYou!)           3,237                     9.6%
Likeness (RockYou!)              2,693                     8.0%
Quizzes                                2,583                     7.7%
FunWall (Slide)                     2,107                     6.3%
Graffiti                                 1,647                     4.9
Total Facebook.com Visitors   33,660                   100.0%
Total Facebook Applications    20,649                    61.3%
Source: comScore Widget Metrix

The Super Bowl is still the ultimate traditional television event, but some marketers are starting to turn to Web video and profiles on social-networking sites. Companies that aren’t buying a TV spot during the big game hope to tap the Super Bowl’s following online on the cheap. (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120148348745821125.html 1/28)

Proving that it truly is the airline of bloggers and the technorati, Virgin America (the airline with an electrical socket and Ethernet port at every seat) will be offering episodes of Diggnation and other Web shows produced by Revsion3. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/28/diggnation-to-be-shown-on-virgin-america-flights  1/28)

Michael Eisner’s Vuguru, book publisher G.P. Putnam, Cyber Group Animation and Big Fantastic are collaborating on a web series that will serve as a prequel to Robin Cook’s latest thriller Foreign Body. The ad-supported webisodes will debut the week of May 27, hoping to build momentum for the book’s Aug. 5 release.

Ribbit, the startup that is building a platform for Voice 2.0 apps, is creating a Web-based phone service for consumers codenamed “Amphibian.” The point of Amphibian is both to demonstrate the capabilities of Ribbit’s technology and to serve as a marketplace for Ribbit developers to showcase and sell their own voice apps. Co-founders Ted Griggs and Crick Waters dropped by my office last week to give me a sneak peak at the service, which will launch publicly in a few months. Amphibian in a nutshell, says Crick, is the “convergence of your personal mobile communications with your personal web experience.” (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/28/ribbit-readies-an-amphibian-attack-on-voice-apps  1/28)

Very excited about this if the user experience is as seamless as I think it will be.  This effectively would offer one web-based phone number to act as the central communication portal for all incoming and outgoing calls be it at work, mobile, etc.  One place for all the communication in your life.  Very nice.

Clickable online video advertising start-up Ooyala raised an additional $8.5 million in second round financing led by Sierra Ventures.

Social networking service Imeem has made its first acquisition, a small one in online social music service Anywhere.FM. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The San Francisco-based Imeem has also been heavily focused on music as part of its community, and this adds to its service: Anywhere.Fm’s browser-based music player enables consumers to upload their music collections and listen and share them (and playlists) from any browser. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-imeem-buys-social-music-service-anywherefm  1/28)

WIRELESS

Sony Ericsson is also expanding its digital music operations, announcing deals with 10 new music labels and adding 5 million new tracks to its upgraded PlayNow arena music ringtone service. The over-the-air service allows listeners to identify a song off the radio then order it to their handset. Sony Ericsson is also working on increasing localized content. It added 250 new games through existing deals with leading games manufactures including EA Games, Gameloft, THQ, Glu, Digital Chocolate and I-Play.

The arrival of a truly mobile Web, offering a new generation of location-based advertising, is set to unleash a “huge revolution,” says Google CEO Eric Schmidt, in a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “And it is very likely it will happen in the next year.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSL25633640200801251/25)

Bidding topped $3.7 billion during the FCC’s 700 Mhz wireless spectrum on Friday, the second day of the proceeding. Thursday’s anonymous bid of $472 billion for the nationwide “D” block of spectrum still stood as the highest bid. The auction resumes today and is expected to drag on for weeks.