Nearly every day, I read something or use something that makes me feel like I am living in those sci-fi novels I read as a kid. Sure, we still don't have flying cars but some of the things we have are so damn cool.
While PicTranslator isn't exactly earth-shattering technology, just the fact that it exists and can be used by anyone with an iPhone is certainly cool:
Snap a picture of any menu in question and have it translated on the spot. Priced at 99 cents, this iPhone application captures text from users’ photos and translates it. In addition to menus, it can handle any form of printed text. Though not at all a replacement for language skills, it does provide a quick and painless way to avoid the all too routine tourist-guidebook-flip. (via)
Every time you turn around someone is using the internet to provide you with free content that you previously paid for to privilege of consuming. From Hulu to HuffPo one wonders if there could possibly be anyone left who thinks "free" content isn't a business.
Two great examples today. First is Songite, the rebirth of Songerize, a simple site where you type in the name of any song and then it finds the song and plays it for you, free. Sure, it might not solve all your music needs but it is a whole lot cheaper than the $.99 you'd spend on iTunes to quell a musical desire.
Even more disruptive might be the news that Google is offering free, turn-by-turn style GPS on their Android phones. This is the same service companies like TomTom and Garmin have been charging hundreds of dollars for over the past decade or so.
What's next? Well, take a look at the world of 3D printers and brace yourselves…
One of the more interesting grey areas in the super-grey world of copyright is the realm of fan-created homages to the original. From filthy Harry Potter fan-fic featuring Hermione in positions never imagined by JK herself to any number of spoof videos, these creations are often a true sign of an existing work's popularity.
At the same time, we read over and over again how rights-holders try to stamp out these sorts of efforts. It seems deeply counter-productive but that arguments tends to fall of deaf ears as lawyers rack up fees.
So, it is super-cool to see that LucasFilms seems to be allowing the creation of a truly epic undertaking, a complete, shot-for-shot remake of Star Wars done completely by fans of the film. Check out this sweet trailer that uses all the original music, too boot.
A recent article in the NYT points out that a big part of the success of the DVD-rental outfit, Redbox, has to do with lack of selection:
"…at the end of a long supermarket slog, the consumer doesn’t want to browse for half an hour. Redbox doesn’t really want you to browse, either; it wants a quick decision, and the focus on newer releases helps. “We found that as we narrowed the selection, mostly things people are aware of from advertising and marketing campaigns — big celebrities, big box-office titles — that’s what people wanted,” Lowe adds."
This is a great lesson for those looking to make some money online. Sure, nearly every imaginable movie, TV show and band, not to mention billions of pictures and videos and millions of books books are available (often for free) to anyone with a decent internet connection but the truth is nobody has the time to consume it all. The all-you-can-eat buffet always sounds great, but you usually end up sick. As true diners know, the great meals come at the hands of top chefs who select just the right ingredients and serve only those to the consumer.
This means that, now more than ever, there is a need for good curators when it comes to content. A great example of this is the site Classic Cinema Online where they have taken readily available public domain classic films, selected the best and created a fun, easy to navigate site for the viewer. An ad at the bottom gives a clue as to the revenue stream.
Will it make them millionaires? Doubtful, but it could end up bringing a few bucks and it doesn't look like the cost was all that high.
TubeRadio.fm is a slick, impressive and probably soon to be sued website that uses YouTube as a source for all the music one could ever hope to consume for a price of zero dollars.
Unlike similar sites that will find and play songs from YouTube based on your search, TubeRadio will, for instance, compile entire albums in this manner, as I did in the above pic with Girl Talk.
Between the user-friendly iTunes-like interface and the seemingly endless pool of music, TubeRadio is proving why the whole idea of selling music tracks is a dying business.
When will the music industry learn that denying customers what they want in the format they want it will just force those potential customers to become "pirates?"
In yet another tragic example of just not getting it:
The Michael Jackson soundtrack to the posthumous concert film "This Is It" will be released as an album only download, according to sources. Fans who want to purchase the single, which is already making noise at radio, will be have to purchase the entire album.
Now, I'm sure some music exec thought this was a brilliant way to increase sales by forcing fans to buy more than they, perhaps, would like to own. Instead, the new Michael Jackson single, "This Is It" is now guaranteed to be the most pirated single in music history, instead of the top selling single in music history.
The vast majority of advertising is uninspiring at best and more often than not it is just plain depressing.
Check out this new promotional video from Volkswagon to see an ad done right. The goal is to associate VW with the concept of "fun" and they nail it with a video that would be great if it weren't an ad but suffers nothing from being one:
There are two things I need to say about this, maybe three.
1) Technically, this is a copyright violation on any number of levels and it is interesting that it has not been taken down, muted or had a lower-third pop-up to buy on iTunes.
2) How much money did this cost?!
3) This video is deeply disturbing and was obviously made with the help or at least consent of one of both parents. They should be a little bit ashamed of themselves, no?
Ok, watch at your own risk…
In it's latest attempt to save itself without actually changing any of it's obsolete business model:
The Associated Press is considering whether to sell news stories to some online customers exclusively for a certain period, perhaps half an hour, the head of the news organization said Tuesday. (via AP, ha!)
Come on! How on earth can the AP promise exclusivity on a news story? Let's say NewsSite.Com pays AP $10,000 for an exclusive 30-minute window on breaking news reported by the AP. How can the AP promise the OtherNewsSite.com won't get the same story from another source seconds after it breaks on the AP? Anyone who witnesses or even hears about a major event can then "report" on it and thanks to ye ole internet, that information can travel instantly to any and all who are interested.
This whole notion of having rights to news is complete absurd and then trying to sell some sort of magical blanket of exclusivity pushes things into the realm of the flat out impossible.
These sorts of schemes by the AP and lots of other dying big media companies just makes it terribly clear that it is their failure to understand how the internet works and how it is used that has led to their (likely) demise.
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October 29, 2009 11:11 am | 
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