JULY 15, 2009

We’ve posted several times here on Undercurrents about Verizon FiOS - and we’ve talked even more times about using social media and other media channels (TV, newspaper, etc.) in tandem. Verizon recently announced a new feature for its FiOS home media DVR that conveniently brings the two together in one set-top box. Adam Ostrow at Mashable explains some of the new capabilities:

Verizon FiOS TV is adding Facebook and Twitter integration, as well as several other social media options, to its service. Similar to the integrations we’ve seen on the Web, this allows you to update your status on either network when watching a given show or event and also see what your friends or the larger social media community is saying about it.

In addition to this functionality, Verizon FiOS customers will be able to access what are essentially big screen, simplified versions of Twitter and Facebook. For example, with Twitter, you can search and view currently hot topics, and with Facebook, you can view friend’s photos.

I applaud Verizon for taking steps to transform the consumer’s TV-watching experience, but as Adam also alludes to in his post, aren’t we already doing this? I’m already using Twitter and Facebook while I watch TV, albeit via either my laptop or Blackberry. Verizon is obviously targeting the technologically savvy here (I’m assuming that this won’t recruit a new wave of Twitter or Facebook users) - and I think most of the people in that group are already participating in social media as they watch. I initially thought these new features were intriguing, but the more I think about it, beside making Twitter’s trending topics look a whole lot bigger on my TV, this doesn’t seem to add anything to my experience.

What do you think? Will this feature prove to be useful - or will it join the FiOS weather, sports score, and horoscope widgets as another fancy add-on I never use?

For more on the service, check out Verizon’s demo video:

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]

JUNE 3, 2009

What do you get when you give a group of Lord of the Rings fans $5,000? You get The Hunt For Gollum, a LOTR sequel that premiered last month. While the story is “inspired by the writing of J.R.R. Tolkien,” the production is actually an unauthorized fan film that takes place in the same universe and follows the same storyline as the original famous films.

I first heard of the production from Boing Boing and I was interested enough to check it out. Like many fan films,  The Hunt for Gollum was available on various video sharing sites. I watched a little bit of the film and, I have to say, for only a few thousand dollars, they made it look just as good as the multi-million dollar versions!

With over 700,000 views on YouTube, it looks like the film is a success. But is it reason for Peter Jackson and the Tolkien Estate to call their lawyers? The website for the production carries a very hefty disclaimer that starts with, “‘The Hunt For Gollum’ is an unofficial non-profit film being made for private use, and is not intended for sales of any sort. No money is being made from this film, and no one was paid to make it.”

It’s clear that the film is a tribute to Tolkien’s work and to the LOTR films. The fact that it was produced and posted online without interference hopefully demonstrates that “The Tolkien Estate” understands that fan films like these are beneficial to their intellectual property, not harmful.

There are other movie franchisees that have been tolerant of fan film productions. Are you a fan of “Star Trek”? Then maybe you’ll like Star Trek: New Voyages, a fan series that picks up where the original series left off. Even though Kirk and Spock are played by lesser-known names, the series has become so popular that original cast members have made cameos.

My favorite fan film series happens to be Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager. As the younger brother of Darth, Chad manages a grocery store… and hilarity ensues. Lucasfilms has embraced the use of its IP and even encourages it. The company sponsors an annual Fan Movie Challenge where it judges fan made films inspired by the epic trilogies.

While many companies are often quick to use litigation to protect the use of their images and trademarks, these brands clearly realized that fan creations actually enhance the brand in ways beyond marketing and advertisement.  Perhaps more companies should think twice before suing for copyright infringement.

[Comments(2) »] [TrackBack »]

APRIL 8, 2009

I’ve often heard that in tough economic times we shed from our lives those material goods and luxuries that we really don’t need to survive after all.

My colleague and Lexulous player extraordinaire, Gayle Weiswasser, recently wrote a post about industries that are faring well, if not better than ever, during the recession.  Apparently, when we cut back on some non-essentials, we spend more on others.

So, where are we redirecting our money?  It turns out we’re using it to access companionship websites like eHarmony, which, of course, is expected and understandable. We’re also buying more candy from candy stores and renting more movies from Netflix than we have in the past.  And how could I leave out the infamous Snuggie blanket, with sales recently topping $60 million?  These “comfort items,” which also happen to go very well together, quickly and effectively enable us to take a necessary and great escape from the daily grind.  We are, as New York Times columnist Rob Walker put it, becoming “a nation of Linuses.”

Indeed, our behavior amidst the tough economic climate appears sound and reasonable – that is, until you look at prescription drugs.  According to a recent Wall Street Journal article,  data from health-information company Wolters Kluwer Health reveals that the current recession is having an unusually negative impact on prescription-drug sales.

For example, due to cost, U.S. patients failed to fill 6.8% of the brand-name prescriptions their doctors requested in the 2008 fourth quarter, a 22% increase from the first quarter of 2007.  Patients also abandoned prescriptions for generic drugs at a higher rate, failing to fill 4.1% of generic prescriptions.  For all of you brand-name drug dissenters, that means you can’t blame this particular sales slowdown on “overpriced” prescription drugs, as even the cheaper generics are being left on the shelves!

Earlier data from the Department of Health and Human Services shows that at least half of all Americans regularly take at least one prescription drug, with one in six taking three or more medications.  Is it not incredibly revealing that, as a result of the current recession, we’ve decided we don’t “need” as many prescription drugs as we thought we did? Or, at the very least, that we are willing to endure mild physical or mental “pain” in exchange for a goofy blanket with sleeves, a bag of Sour Patch Kids, and a viewing of the new Slumdog Millionaire DVD?

What made us think we needed so many prescription drugs in the first place?  And will the alternative, healing power of entertainment and other “comfort items” keep us from returning to prescription drugs in the future?

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]

MARCH 11, 2009

Television is always more interesting when there’s a feud going on, don’t you think? Not a fictional feud, but real life drama, like the current battle between CNBC and The Daily Show.

If you happened to have missed the rant by Rick Santelli (on-air editor for CNBC and host of “The Rick Revolution/Chicago Tea Party“) on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade last month, you missed quite a show. From my view, the rant appeared to be completely staged, a well-planned gimmick designed to bring some attention to Santelli and CNBC. I’m not the only one to suspect that, although Santelli has denied the accusations. Regardless of the real motive, the clip did indeed become the buzz of the day, eventually reaching The White House and garnering Santelli an invitation to appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

But that’s when things got interesting. After accepting the initial invite, Santelli canceled his appearance on the March 4th episode of The Daily Show. Stewart used the cancellation to rip on the entire CNBC Network during his opening monologue. Stewart left no stone unturned, taking shots at everyone from David Faber to Jim Cramer. Not to be outdone, Cramer, the Mad Money maven, responded to Stewart’s attacks several times, including during an appearance on the NBC family of networks yesterday. And that was only the beginning. (For full details, as well as links to all the battle footage, check out this post from Nicholas Graham at The Huffington Post.)

The news, in theory, is supposed to be objective and non-biased, but as this situation clearly indicates, the line between news and entertainment is becoming more and more blurred. As a result, we often get more”views” than news. Why? One word: ratings. People tune in to see drama, but what about plain, old-fashioned, unbiased reporting? Nope. We complain that the news has become biased, yet it appears that if it isn’t - if there isn’t something added to make it interesting like drama and arguments - we won’t watch.

If viewers want the news networks to report unbiased news, then they must be the ones to hold them accountable. We live in a consumer-controlled society - we, the consumers, get what we want.  If we truly want news, then we must turn the “entertainment” off!

[Comment(1) »] [TrackBack »]

FEBRUARY 19, 2009

Is anyone else tired of hearing how bad the economy is getting?  I’m fairly certain that just about everyone -whether they want to or not - is beginning to feel the effects of living within their means.  So I, for one, have decided that if I can no longer buy it, I’ll make it myself!  I’ve always loved craft projects, whether it is paper crafts, jewelry making, knitting, or most recently, sewing.

This past Christmas, I received a sewing machine, along with an enrollment to a beginners sewing class (yes, that’s right, beginners – so don’t ask me to hem anything!).  I was certain that the class would only be me and a handful of little old ladies, but I was wrong.  My class consisted of over 20 women ranging in age from young to old.

Recently, while spending time with some friends, I learned that many of them are closely examining their finances and cutting back on entertainment. A few have taken up knitting to entertain themselves while money is tight.  And companies and organizations within the industry, such as the Jo-Ann fabric and craft chain, Craft Magazine, the American Sewing Guild, are taking notice of the trend.  In a recent interview with NPR, Stuart Aitken, chief marketing officer for Michael’s Stores, suggested why consumers are showing renewed interest:

During down economies, customers tend to go back to basics. Arts and crafts are the most basic form. People are truly looking for value like they’ve never looked before. It’s a great time for retailers to understand that and look specifically at what customers want from them to deliver value.

The New York Post reported that the Sewing & Craft Alliance “boasts that there are 35 million home sewers in America, up from 30 million in 2000.”  Krissy recently blogged about companies that are doing it right during the sloping economy, and her list included businesses that sell small luxuries and inexpensively priced goods.

This is a great time for companies to introduce customers to a lifelong hobby that will entertain them and accommodate their budgets.  But do you think this trend will last, or will consumers abandon simplicity and a “back to basics” attitude once the economy begins to pick up again?

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]

FEBRUARY 9, 2009

Dating. The word alone conjures up some of the best of times and, perhaps, even some of the worst of times. As a whole, dating tends to get a bad rap - whether it’s first date awkwardness, unreturned phone calls, over-analysis, mixed signals, or unreciprocated affection, most people either laugh or let out a long sigh when pondering their own experiences with the dating game.  But, nonetheless, “the game” is fascinating, which is most likely why the newly released movie, “He’s Just Not That Into You“ exceeded box office projections this weekend.  The movie, adapted from the New York Times bestseller of the same title (which sold over 2 million copies in 2004), provides audiences with a tough-love approach to the rules of dating.

Yes, I said “the rules.”  You can deny it all you want, but there are rules – some spoken, some unspoken - and just like everything else these days, the rules are changing faster and faster.  With over 30 million active users on online dating sites like eHarmony, Match.com, and Plentyoffish.com, it’s safe to say that the dating game has forever been transformed in recent years.  Email has become an acceptable means of asking someone out on a date, “hook ups” are becoming more popular than dating, breaking up through a text messaging is happening more often, and women are playing more of the “pursuer” role. So whether it’s technology or a shift in values, there’s no denying that many of the rules are drastically different than they were 20 years ago. 

Tamara Duricka is a NYC-based writer who turned 31 years old last month, and happens to be single. In a quest to “do something different” this year – she began a project she calls “31 dates in 31 days,” in which she dates 30 different men in 30 days, blogs about each one of them, and then chooses one of them to go out with her for her 31st date.  I like to think of it as ”The Bachelorette” meets “How to Lose a Guy in 10 days” meets “Sex in the City.

“Sex and the City” romanticized the single life in NYC - a place where every young woman is over-sexed and unattainably glamorous, spends thousands on designer shoes, and drinks cosmos every night of the week. Tamara’s site, on the other hand, does not reflect any sort of “big city” propaganda.  If anything, it presents a more traditional and simple approach, while still remaining fairly open-minded, particularly about whom she will date - friends, strangers, set-ups… all the types of encounters acceptable in the modern-day dating arena.  One of the most fascinating aspects of her project, though, is the balance of the new with the old. It is a very technological, transparent approach to dating, in that all privacy is stripped away and the audience is encouraged to participate in her adventures, yet her expectations and rules seem to revert back to a more chivalrous approach. Love. It.

Being single myself, I admit that the dating game isn’t always fun, but in a society that has created the term: “starter marriage,” where over 50% of marriages end in divorce, and one in five adults in monogamous relationships admit to cheating, I’m quite content with playing the game for a little while longer.  Perhaps I’ll even give Tamara’s approach a go; after all, I’ll be turning 31 in less than 6 months!

[Comment(1) »] [TrackBack »]

FEBRUARY 4, 2009

My Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday in quite thrilling fashion. While I usually split my time during the game evenly between nachos, beer, football, and advertisements, this year was special and I expended all my energy watching the game and hollering at the top of my lungs at the slightest of provocations. That means I didn’t get to spend as much time as I’d normally like mining the ads for every sliver of pop culture gold - I was too busy yelling terrible words I’d never ordinarily say at Cardinal wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald, and defensive lineman, Darnell Docket.

So I spent some time yesterday perusing the ads at the office, and I quickly found my favorite of the night - the Hulu ad with Alec Baldwin as 30 Rock’s slimy executive Jack Donaghy. Check it out:

According to the tongue-in-cheek Baldwin, Hulu “beams TV directly to your portable computing device.”  Ah, Alec, if only it were that simple - there’s nothing “beaming” about the United States’ internet infrastructure.

In fact, United States broadband speeds lag behind almost every industrialized nation. According to a recent study done by the Communications Workers of America, U.S. broadband speeds rank 15th in the world, with the fastest speeds available only in major metro areas. Japan, for instance, enjoys broadband download speeds several orders of magnitude faster than those in the United States. Broadband speeds in much of America are such that many users likely cannot take full advantage of Hulu’s features, including streaming HD video.

We aren’t just talking about seemingly-frivolous things like streaming video here. Broadband is increasingly becoming a prerequisite for any serious brick-and-mortar business, and is also opening up new opportunities for online entrepreneurs. “Always-on” internet access is also quickly becoming a part of our emergency infrastructure, with the use of technologies like Twitter becoming a standard element in emergency response. And finally, the more things that can be done on a computer, the less that have to be done in a car, which means less carbon in the atmosphere.

Now, a lot of this discrepancy has to do with the geography of the United States. Any network, whether it’s a transportation system or communications infrastructure, is going to be less effective over long distances. That’s why, according to the speed map generated by the CWA study, rural Americans have dramatically less access to fast broadband than their suburban and city-dwelling counterparts. It also explains why places like Japan and South Korea, with very high population densities, can enjoy much faster internet - bits and bytes have to travel far less to get to their destination in those countries.

But it also speaks to our collective unwillingness to deal with the issue. There has been essentially no will on the part of the federal government to make meaningful changes to the way our broadband infrastructure is run. Broadband speeds have been an issue in the United States for quite some time - why hasn’t any concrete policy action been taken to correct the problem?

[Comments(2) »] [TrackBack »]

JANUARY 14, 2009

What qualifies as an “experience economy?”  You may have first heard the term described in a book of the same title written in 1999 by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore.  Arguing that businesses must learn to orchestrate memorable events for their customers, Pine and Gilmore envisaged that memory itself will become the product, or the “experience,” on which consumers will spend their free money and free time in the 21st century.  From the plush, oversized chairs and indie music at Starbucks, to the “retailtainment” toy store known as FAO Schwartz - for the past ten years, we’ve been living in an experience economy.

Although the concept of the experience economy was born in the business field, in recent years it has crossed into the frontiers of tourism, architecture, nursing, urban planning and other arenas – even art media.

Take Lomography, for example – a niche, retro form of photography that was “born again” in the mid-1990s and enjoys a cult following today.  Inspired by former state-run optics manufacturer LOMO PLC of Saint Petersburg, Russia, Lomography encourages taking casual, snapshot-like photos rather than purposeful, realistic ones.  Its motto: “Don’t think, just shoot.”  There is even a list of rules to follow.

According to Ben Sellers of The Free Lance-Star (VA), “For photographers in the digital age, film is a bit like vinyl is for music buffs – there’s an intangible quality that is more about the process than the product.  Maybe it’s nostalgia – or maybe an indie, do-it-yourself spirit – whatever drives film lovers to their passion is in full effect in the cult of Lomography.”  Sellers also reports that the Holga, a Lomographic camera first manufactured in Hong Kong in 1982, has seen a minor resurgence in popularity of late.  (A fan site on Facebook recently boasted more than 5,000 members.)

Photo enthusiast Alfred Klomp has a different take on Lomography, however.  While Klomp agrees that Lomography is a lot of fun, and that “its philosophy isn’t crap,” he believes nonetheless that the medium has become less of a philosophy and more of a business, therefore losing its shine.  Says Klomp, “Lomography is an orchestrated hype, a marketing trick right from the get-go.  A sort of early exercise in viral marketing, not for a product but for a lifestyle.”

In my opinion, while the business and cult-like nature of Lomography may have lost its shine, the philosophy – process over product – remains as brilliant as it ever was.  When you purchase a Lomographic camera, you are not investing in the realistic, true-to-life photographs it will produce – say, as a pricey 12-megapixel digital camera would – but you are investing in the experience you will have with the camera.

To me, Lomography seems to be more about the value of the experience of taking pictures than about the value of any particular photograph.  (Unlike with digital cameras, you are not distracted by the instantly-developed image.)  It’s true that you may later develop a beautiful photograph to share with your friends and family – or, in the case of Facebook, with the entire world – but the point is that your photograph will more than likely spark conversation about the why and the how and not just the who or the what.

My first Lomographic camera arrives next week.  Out with the new and in with the old!

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]

DECEMBER 17, 2008

Have you ever left a store and suddenly found yourself singing a song that you don’t remember hearing – perhaps one that you haven’t heard in years? “I got soul, but I’m not a soldier / I got soul, but I’m not a soldier…”

What about in the morning, after you’ve hit the snooze button a dozen times and finally dragged yourself out of bed and into the shower: do you ever start humming a familiar tune, but have no idea why? “I used to rule the world / Seas would rise when I gave the word… Dum, dum, dum de dum dum dum.”

Well, chances are that The Killers’ 2005 hit song, hypothetically speaking, was actually playing in that store you were in - your conscious mind was just too busy searching for a smaller size to take notice. (Meanwhile, your subconscious mind was having a jam-session with itself!) In addition, Coldplay’s latest single was likely one of the first songs your radio/alarm clock played when it first woke you up this morning. You just weren’t quite awake enough to realize it consciously .

Remembering something without being aware that we are remembering it is a consequence of priming and implicit memory- two relatively harmless psychological phenomena. But a problem arises in the artistic world (music, film, literature) when an artist subconsciously adopts someone else’s work while believing it was actually a product of his/her own creative powers.

Earlier this year, for instance, musician Joe Satriani accused Coldplay of lifting elements of his song “If I Could Fly” for Coldplay’s hit song “Viva La Vida.” Immediately, I was inclined to believe that Coldplay’s Chris Martin (creative genius) may have subconsciously copied the beat, chords and melody of Satriani’s song. As Wired’s Eliot Van Buskirk explains, it’s not uncommon for musicians to hear something and “regurgitate” it later without realizing it. Considering all of the songs we have access to in the digital music era, I would have to agree with Van Buskirk.

To complicate things further, however, it appears that videos depicting similarities between the two songs have been disappearing from YouTube, courtesy of Coldplay’s label, EMI, which claims that the videos infringe on its copyright.  (One of only a few surviving videos can be found here.) A legitimate claim on the part of EMI, or a clever attempt at a cover-up? You decide.

Either way, Van Buskirk finds it interesting that EMI is using copyright as a way to remove one version of a Coldplay song while allowing other versions to remain online.

It’s a useful reminder of the ways in which copyright law can be used for purposes other than thwarting the infringement of copyright. In this case, it’s a somewhat useful tool for downplaying plagiarism accusations directed at one of the world’s top acts.

We already know priming agents can influence cravings and the consumer decision-making process - that’s been the aim of marketing and advertising gurus for years. In an over-saturated society, however, I wonder: have priming and implicit memory lost their touch, or are their influential powers yet to be tapped?

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]

NOVEMBER 25, 2008

In 2004, vintners and wine store owners commonly referred to the “Sideways effect,” whereby the Oscar-winning film directly influenced consumer impressions and purchases of pinot noir, a once relatively obscure red wine.  According to ACNielsen, sales of pinot noir reached an impressive 370,000 cases between October 24, 2004 and January 15, 2005, an increase of nearly 16% from the same period a year earlier.

It still came as a surprise last week, however, to learn that the “Sideways effect” may have actually reached Japan. Seriously. In an article in Variety magazine, I read that Fox Japan and the Fuji TV network recently announced the details of their joint Japanese remake of Alexander Payne’s 2004 hit movie.  “Wait,” I thought.  “Japan remaking Hollywood?  Usually it’s the other way around!”  This time, though, it wasn’t.

Curiously, as Cinematical’s Peter Martin reports, Japan doesn’t have a native wine culture equivalent to that of the United States, mostly due to weather and soil issues, not to mention a scarcity of land.  In the past year, however, California wine imports have significantly increased in Japan.  Martin writes, “And the comic Kami no Shizuku (translated as The Drops of God; pictured) has become a phenomenon over the last couple of years, read by 500,000 Japanese weekly, according to Telegraph (UK), and sending wine sales skyrocketing across Asia.  The series details a young man’s quest to identify the 12 wines described in his father’s will.”

Set to release in Japan next fall, the remake, which is already shooting on location in California’s Napa Valley, will likely spark a new Asian interest in American wines.  And, if I were a Napa Valley vintner or wine seller, I would already be personalizing my website and my shop for the massive wave of Japanese tourism that is sure to seek my business next winter.

[No Comments »] [TrackBack »]