Famine City

To iPad or not to iPad

The much ballyhooed iPad will be arriving pretty soon and there is a ton to think about with this device. Apple clearly built on their successes and even took a few issues with them into the new product offering. Whether or not you buy this device, it’s a step forward for network computers and lightweight computing. Surprisingly enough, one of the winners with the iPad might be Google (again). The other winner might be higher education. The question is whether or not Apple is taking aim at its future business model, publishing? Finally, if you are a marketer, how you should approach the iPad.

If you said the iPad is an overgrown iPhone and you’d be pretty much on point. The iPad is taking advantage of all the successes that the iPod started creating almost ten years ago. Some of the successes include:

• Capitalizing on a scale user base
• Centralized app store through iTunes: This facilitates an easy way to purchase, install and remove applications on the device.
• Simplified control interface: Controls are highly similar across many applications, in location, modification and configuration. This simplifies usage of the device, which is especially important for the iPhone.
• Centralized developer services: While there may be people pro or con about Apple’s management of the developer resources on the App Store/iTunes, there are very few people that I hear complaining about crashes with core functionality of the phone, web and email when installing new applications. This means they probably have quality control down pretty well.
• GPS services: The device uses A-GPS, assisted GPS, for the ever growing location based service industry.
• Uses many of the same core applications on the device, from iTunes, Safari and email.
• It uses network computing or lightweight computing to its best ability, using and obtaining data for network services as needed instead of loading it onto the hard drive of the device.
• Good battery life.
• Backwards compatibility with your favorite iPhone applications

With that being said, there are some incumbent problems that are also being inherited from the iPhone as well:  

• The AT&T’s G-network coverage is not exactly stellar.
• Lack of Flash support.
• No camera on this device: Rumor has it this might change.
• No video streaming with the device: Streaming may be possible, but local storage probably not a great idea.
• No additional memory option.
• OLED screen: An OLED screen uses much less power and is easier on the eyes.
• Will not run multiple applications simultaneously.
• Lacks support for multiple users, not an issue on the iPhone, but certainly for the iPad. 

While the promise of HTML 5 (don't let it escape you that both Google and Apple contributed to tech specifications) makes the need for Flash non-existent, it’s a miss on the web today. This takes the multimedia capabilities of this device considerably less, think Hulu or Netflix. HTML 5 is still a promise and not ready to deliver to the consumers today. Therefore, not supporting Flash is a huge miss. However, like most things Apple I would expect some type of fix for this to be in the pipeline not long after the release. My suspicion is that when full video is released for places like Netflix and Hulu, it will be a WiFi only service. Today, the rumors have it that the network simply cannot handle the extra load it would create on the network. Again, Apple tends to have some type of “fix” for deficiencies that usually end up profiting their business.

One of the main successes pf the iPhone platform is the lightweight nature of the applications. The iPad will also capitalize on this success. The applications on the iDevices are a graceful mix of utility and marketing quite often. The iPhone personifies application marketing better than any other product/service, sans Google, providing users both service and utility. Look for this trend to continue on the iPad by providing lightweight and network dependent applications that utilize technology better well.

Another exploit for the iPad will be the realization of the network computing dream (at least it is closer). For the 70-80% of consumers that simply need email, word processing, web browsing, search and some multimedia usage, the iPad will handle these services gracefully. The reason why this will work on the iPad vs the netbook is simple: The netbook is so much like a laptop, our consumer expectations and behaviors are the same—we were disappointed when our netbook did not function like our desktop computer. The form and function the iPad provides will set that expectation correctly, providing lightweight network applications efficiently.

When you do think of network computing, perhaps the clear owner of this in the consumer arena is Google. They will also benefit from this device. At the core of the iPad it is a network computing device that relies on networks to be present to really have any level of functionality. They have a suite of applications like, Gmail, Google Docs, Maps, Latitude and Google Search that will be ready to deploy on the iPad the second it ships. Google has mastered the art of creating usable network apps. The iPad will simply add to Google’s scale.

Apple has learned from history. If you want to be indoctrinated with generations to come, you get them when they are learning consumer behaviors like in college. The iPad is going to be a mainstay in higher education institutions. My prediction is there will be adoption at colleges by the fall of 2010. The iPad is a boon for the classroom, especially at the college level where connected classrooms are growing. Better battery life allows the device to make it through an entire academic day. The iPad provides an easy way to interact with connected classrooms—answering polls, comments and such in real time. Remember, engagement doesn’t just happen on your website any more. It’s going to happen in the classroom as well. Students are growing to expect this as part of the classroom experience. Finally academic institutions can begin to control the costs of books which are ridiculously high. Publishers like this because they are finally going to be a hero. They can actually lower the cost of a textbook and keep more of the proceeds from their sales. It’s a win-win for Apple, textbook publishers and higher education. Remember: Students want Apple products. There is an implied equity and purchase path/history. Education was always an equity mainstay for Apple and they are returning to this heritage.

The real question is will Apple change their core business model. The publishing model in terms of applications, music and textbooks might prove to be an easier, more sustainable business than their desktop computing division over time. They simply provide the purchasing mechanism, scale audience and serve as a quality gatekeeper for their platform, making money off the transactions between publisher and consumer. For Apple to continue this model, they’ll need to keep delivering on the elegance of the Apple experience, new innovations every 2-3 years. They have a unique ability to create products people want. I think this is a unique advantage over other ebook platforms. The Apple experience isn’t just in the utility of the product. It starts with the packaging. It’s a bit of a luxury product that delivers at every step of a transaction, three equal parts of elegance, utility and want. Therefore I believe that the iPad will be successful. Apple has transformed the music industry. If they succeed in college publishing, expect magazines and newspapers to quickly follow. In fact, Apple just might save newspapers for a few more years, finally providing them a viable subscription model. Then it’s on to the biggie. Television. If Apple truly enters the television market, looking like a Netflix partnership in my mind, watch out cable companies.

As a marketer and wondering what the iPad means for you? It's easy. Focus on what you do well. Then extend your brand onto the platform. Think of products and services like Spark People, Mint or Pandora. They simply extend their desktop functionality onto your mobile device. It’s a wonderful convergence and a natural extension of their brand today. Like the iPhone, the iPad will continue to dissolve the lines between the mobile web and web. The brands that succeed in this space will be those that actually provide a service or utility on the device. Don’t try to do everything well. Find natural information or service you brand can own on the device and start there.

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Short post on today's technology tidbits



- Finally, electronic Board Passes for a flight. Today I went to check-in for a flight on Delta tomorrow and I had the option for an electronic boarding pass. I had a flight a couple months ago and it was not functioning. Today it gave me the option to print, or it would txt me the link to a QR code on a WAP site. So I'm going to use it tomorrow. I don't expect any problems with this, but still the group that I'm going with was thinking of printing out boarding passes. You know, just in case. A great use of QR codes, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code .



- Another finally. Apple, http://www.apple.com/ipad/ , released the iPad today. It's $499 dollars. A simple laptop based on many of the technologies that's already working on a smaller device, i.e. iPhone. I think this is an important step to cloud computing. It's always connected, access to Google Docs, email and I'm pretty much set. I'm wondering if this could be a Kindle Killer. Lots more utility, but not a ton more in price. Just sayin.



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Will Haiti increase awareness of mobile commerce?

 

According to an article on Inforum the text to donate program for Hatian Relief has been extraordinarily successful:

The American Red Cross has raised more than $22 million for Haiti earthquake relief, all from text message donations. By texting the word "Haiti" to the number 9-0-9-9-9, a $10 donation is automatically sent to the Red Cross Earthquake fund. That donation amounts to about a fifth of the $112 million the Red Cross has raised to help Haiti so far.

I am very excited and pleased that this effort has been successful. However, after much reluctance for mobile commerce to take off here in the US, I'm left with a number of questions? Are people donating because of emotion? Is it because they do not have to setup a new payment service? Why are people embracing donations in this way? And then, beyond the unfortunate circumstances in Haiti: When is mobile commerce going to take off? Will this effort be the catalyst that finally germinates the seed of mobile commerce in North America? Unfortunately, I don't have most of the answers, simply more questions. 

I am left confused why people have not exploited mobile commerce. In tough economic times, taking on a new way that might allow more commerce seems like an easy call to make. Even though (my guess) is that providers like Mpayy might have high transaction costs in some cases, in a down economy even marginal sales could be important. It would also enable credit at events where cash has traditionally been king, like outdoor festivals and events. 

On the upside, I am seeing more and more mobile payment applications in the app store. While that obviously only applies to iPhones, it seems this user based might be more apt to use mobile payments. There are applications like FonePays that allow for SMS based dollar exchange. There's also services like YAP which basically is a credit card like system with an SMS interface. It's a system where you load money into it, accessing and transferring dollars from your mobile device. For a service like YAP, if they prove it works, it'd be easier for a company like American Express to simply offer this service. However, there always has to be a trailblazer and YAP might be that trailblazer. 

At a base level, I don't see why businesses have not even tried to exploit PayPal? PayPal is an easy way to integrate all of your online and credit card payments. There's also a PayPal app as well for the iPhone. You can pay your bill via PayPal. I'm simply wondering why I have not seen it somewhere outside of the online space. While I do understand that cost can be prohibitive at times for some businesses (PayPal isn't cheap), but it's also the cost of doing business at some level. 

Will 2010 be the year of mcommerce? No, I cannot say it will be. However, I will say that the events in Haiti will lead to increased awareness mobile commerce. Additionally, I do hope and anticipate that towards the end of the year we may see some of the mobile pay services pop up in the largest of our US metropolitan areas. I would also expect that a company like Google, PayPal or American Express will be the that does have payment services will lead the way in this arena. 

follow me on twitter @marty_b

Location based services: please suck less

Last year, Gartner reported some strong potential of location based services. Gartner even claimed the users would more than double from 41-million to over 95-million while revenue would top over $2.2 billion. Being an early integrator, I love the thought of what location based services could and might supply, but I just have one message today: suck less. 

For background, a location based service or LBS, courtesy of Wikipedia A location-based service (LBS) is an information and entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device. LBS services can be used in a variety of contexts, such as health, work, personal life, etc. LBS services include services to identify a location of a person or object, such as discovering the nearest banking cash machine or the whereabouts of a friend or employee. They are an example of telecommunication convergence.

Every year a group of friends and I head out to Las Vegas a week before the Super Bowl. It's a tradition now that we're on a third year. It all started as a hallway conversation and the next thing you now we had 7 guys heading to Vegas the following weekend. On our third year, our group has grown around 20 or so. At twenty people, it becomes harder and harder to manage who is with who and where in Vegas. It's pretty typical for a group to go one place while another goes someplace else. This year we've been trying to plan more than ever since the group has grown. A number of us have been testing out location based services and it as the titles says, sucks. 

What makes this technology near unusable or at the very least very unreliable in Cincinnati? I'll just bullet point a few thoughts here (I've heard my blog posts are too long). 

• It's accuracy is less than perfect. I can be sitting next to my wife, both with iPhones and Google Latitude whipped out. According to the application, we're miles apart. This happens with many people on my friend list. 
• You may say, try another app. It's not the app. Most LBS services on mobile phones, where the real potential lies, typically use the Google Maps technology/algorithm. This includes most of the popular applications like FourSquare, Loopt and Google Latitude. Note: if someone knows this to be untrue, please let me know as I could not locate it from a quick API scan. 
• There are numerous locating methodologies from AGPS (assisted GPS) to WiFi positioning to triangulation, all available on the iPhone. However with my friends and I trying the different apps and phones, the HTC phones seemingly are the worst offenders (thinking they are triangulating). If you're interested in such fanaticism (as I am), you can find a trilateration model here, the suspected iPhone location modeling and a comparison of the locating models here.

Warning: bout to get geeky. 

There is hope. It might not be the technology or the phones,  AGPS or HTC. It might be the cellular network here in Cincinnati for AT&T. This has been the one consistency between everyone that is trying the service with our group of friends. Because of the nature of transmitting that much data, most celluar phone companies use a bit of triangulation on top of the GPS signal. It keeps the cellular provider from having to provide that much data to the phone/network. It also explains why a regular car GPS, which may use between 5-7 satellites is more accurate. The more satellites, the more triangulations and points to do some math, ergo a more accurate location. Therefore, perhaps the accuracy problem for the phone's GPS is the cellular networks. Cincinnati notoriously has one of the worst cellular networks ever. My hope is that Vegas will be more accurate, at least for our trip. 

End geeky explanation. 

If you are a typical consumer, you just want this stuff to work. You don't care how it all works underneath. Just live up to your expectations. You are right. Just work as you intend. Simply put, you want it to know where you are and tell you where your friends/services are located in direct proximity to your existing location. Now that you expect things to know where you are, there's a real service and growing reliance on these services. In other words, it's a burgeoning channel for communicating with consumers. Albeit less than perfect one today, still a growing model for all intent and purpose.

Because of that potential, it would seem to me that mobile phone carriers would be upgrading their networks systematically. Especially in large cities with big companies that spend millions and millions of marketing dollars. One could say that they should prioritize such locations, one such might just be Cincinnati. If they can prove the quality of these services, they will grow their potential opportunities by providing value added services back to the consumer. This means for higher adoption, more profit and more data gathered on mobile consumers they can sell back to big companies.

LBS, please suck a little less next year. Mobile carriers, please upgrade your networks. Vegas, please have a great network ready for me. 

follow me on twitter @marty_b

Economists might be the computer scientists of tomrorow

Over the past few years the some of the fastest growing professions have been in the area of technology and healthcare services. You can see the predictions to the right here from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the growing professions from 2008-2018. While not on this list, I think that economists are going to have a growth spurt or rise in demand in the coming years. Why? 

The why is simple. We need people to make sense out of all of the data we are collecting everywhere around us. Economists might just have the best suited skill and tool set that aid in deconstructing this level of scale data. 

Wikipedia's entry, courtesy of The Economist, says:

Economists work in many fields including academia, government and in the private sector, where they may also "...study data and statistics in order to spot trends in economic activity, economic confidence levels, and consumer attitudes. They assess this information using advanced methods in statistical analysis, mathematics, computer programming [and] they make recommendations about ways to improve the efficiency of a system or take advantage of trends as they begin. 

Economists have a unique tool set. One that isn't really found in a ton of fields. Economists are trained in dealing with scale or volumes of data. In fact, they thrive one it. They also have the unique ability to analyze the data with statistical analysis and mathematics. However, most often people think immediately of dollars when thinking about economists, but that's not at the heart of it. It's the study of incentives and what levers (read incentives) will drive a particular behavior. 

If you notice, I just mentioned behavior. That's because economics is a social science. It's grounded just enough in the social science with the tools of a math-a-magician. This, as it turns out, is about the perfect mix or skills and tools to make sense of the ever growing volumes of data that we are accumulating. There is so much information and data that we cannot ever begin to know what to do with it. However, that is where economists come in to assist and make sense of it. 

I've read Freakonomics and am currently reading Superfreakonomics. Of course, Levitt and Dubner have talent, unique insight and are (obviously) great writers. However, what stands out about the books are that when you pickup a tool set from one profession and apply it to another, there are some pretty interesting results. 

So my prediction is that economists are going to be more and more in demand in the coming years. Or said more like an economist: the price of their services will increase as consumer demand for their services increase. The raise in incentives for the profession will pull more people into it. 

I love this blog from Jodi Beggs, Economists Do It With Models. She's smart, funnny and interesting. 

 

follow me on twitter @marty_b

Do you adopt or integrate?

In technology and marketing, we often talk about early adopters, innovators etc. when describing our user base or target market information. For a reminder about the specifics, visit Wikipedia's entry on Rogers' Diffusion Model. If you have followed this blog, I have poked and prodded at the diffusion model for some time and will continue today. 

I don't care about adoption any longer. I care about integration. The audience that integrates is my target market not just those who purchase the technology. 

Adoption is yesterday's news. Integration is today's most important aspect around a marketing or technology market. Let me go on to explain what I mean.  

• Traditionally adoption in the past means that you own a technology and may have tried it. However, it does not imply or require that you are actively engaged with said technology. 
• Integration means (at least to me) that you own the technology and it's a vital part of your life. Said simply, you can't live without the technology or you rely on it to a degree where it causes pain if it is not present. 

Why such an important distinction? Simple. Adoption isn't a channel and should not be a target audience until there is integration. My pet peeve in this area are people that own HD televisions, but do not have HD programming. I would argue they are only adopters, but not integrators. Sure, they have this great big screen with pixelation all over the place. When considering target audiences or adoption statistics, especially as it pertains to new technologies, it comes with some surprising math. Let's look at target numbers for mobile adoption for North America: 

• There were 254 million US mobile subscribers in Q1 2008, according to CTIA, the wireless industry trade group
• According to Nielsen, 144 million (57%) US mobile subscribers were data users in Q1 2008 (defined as those subscribers who used their phone for any data use, be that SMS text messaging or accessing the mobile Internet)
• 95 million (37 percent) US mobile subscribers paid for access to the mobile Internet, either as part of a subscription or transactionally
• 40 million subscribers (15.6 percent in May 2008) were active users of mobile Internet services, using those services at least once on a monthly basis

Numbers courtesy of Nielsen Mobile (this report is from July 2008). The numbers aren't perfect, but they illustrate the point: 

Now when you consider that you're building an app or a mobile application above, who is your target audience? Is it the 254 million people? The 144 million people that sometimes text or might use the mobile internet? Or are you thinking of the 40 million people that actively use the mobile web? My estimation here is that these numbers are considerably higher today. You can follow that mobile internet usage has followed Moore's laws.  However, this piece isn't just about mobile. It's about technology and marketing in general, especially digital. 

Let me provide one more example. I an a Wii adopter. However, I am not a Wii integrator. I play on the Wii a few times a month (at best). My four year old plays on the Wii almost daily. He is an integrator and, frankly/sadly, knows how to play it better than I for most games, sans Tecmo Bowl. If you were trying to reach me via a Wii channel or the like, probably not a good way to reach me as a marketer. 

Integration is an active opportunity for marketing. Adoption feels like a false number today. Though I recognize that this is a numbers game and audience segmentation exercise. I believe it's worth the effort. More importantly, you might be able to development something more meaningful for that respective segment. 

The next time that you are presented with technology adoption, ask the question how many people have integrated the technology to the point of "they can't live without it". When they say they can't live without it, you know they have deep integration.

follow me on twitter @marty_b 

Quick side note: Been enjoying the holiday season. Ready to get back to blogging at least weekly, not weakly. Sorry for the delayed posts. 

AP will never win lawsuit against Google

In 2009, the Associated Press has threatened legal battles to news aggregators, including folks like Google and Yahoo. In an NY Times article, it stated "A.P. executives said they were concerned about a variety of news forums around the Web, including major search engines like Google and Yahoo and aggregators like the Drudge Report that link to news articles, smaller sites that sometimes reproduce articles whole, and companies that sell packaged news feeds." The AP will never win this lawsuit.

The reason the AP will never win this lawsuit has nothing to do with Google or Yahoo's indexing practices. It has to do with the way that writers are utilizing social media. Today I see articles and writers are starting to include "live Twitter feeds" to social media outlets or tweeting out links to specific written posts. They are profiting from the use, sales, reuse of social media and they are not licensing it. Yet they are profiting from the indexing, links and so forth from the social media outlets. On the right, you can see how an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer has links back to Twitter updates and search terms. Obviously, practices such as this only further convolutes that debate, one which I do not believe the courts are well-suited to handle.

While I'm not surprised by the overall practice of linking to Twitter feeds, including individuals or search terms, the more the adoption spreads of the practice the less legal grounds the AP will have to stand on in the court of law. It's a murky area. Google and Yahoo are attributing correctly, simply not sending users to their (news outlet) site where news sites are profiting from advertising. While newspapers are utilizing social media and search engines to push their content out, for survival, they are simply making commoditizing their own content. It's an interesting path to extinction the AP is on and the court of law can't protect the AP. 

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Social media or Tagliabue's exit: Which impacted the NFL more?

Has social media changed the NFL image? Absolutely.The image of the NFL and the players have certainly taken a rash of negative feedback in the press in the past few years. Every missed step, misdemeanor and speeding ticket will end up being reported by news outlets everywhere, including social media. The Washington Post has a database dedicated to tracking such violations. However, I noticed a serious increase in these reports starting in late 2006. Was it the rise of citizen jounalism accompanied by social accountability? I do not believe these are not the only catalysts. The exit of former commissioner Paul Tagliabue had as much to do with the negative impact as the rise of citizen journalism. When Paul Tagliabue left the league, he took with it the last standing fortress of the "old boy network". Tags left Goodell with the responsibility of being socially accountable and figuring out how to handle the new world of journalism. Tags' exit took the last of the NFL relationship domination with major news outlets and networks, which had as much impact as the changing world of journalism powered by technology.

Before I get into specifics about this piece, let me be the first to say: "I don't live in a glasshouse." I feel for the men in the NFL. I have personally known a couple NFL players, ex-players now. Their lives aren't peachy-keen. Wealth is not everything. These men live under a microscope. People prey upon them, from their life-long friends to the person at the local bar. Their lives are difficult. We can sit, on our couches, and think they have it easy. However these guys are the ultimate specialists. They focus on the same task, day after day. I admire anyone that works that hard at a singular goal. This piece isn't about demonizing players, it's about how Tags' relationships protected the NFL. When he left, Goodell had the incumbent responsibility of dealing with those exiting relationships and the rise of citizen journalism.

In 2003, Paul Tagliabue had an ESPN program canned. It was called Playmakers. It was about boys behaving badly. Phil Taylor of SI described some of the plotlines, err headlines, better than anyone in his 2003 article, NFL should worry about the real-life misdeeds that spawned Playmakers. He wrote, "One of the star players gives a false report to police after a murder outside a nightclub. Ray Lewis, anyone?

A running back gets in legal trouble for allegedly assaulting his wife. Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman is living that one in real life.

A player gets pulled over by the cops while driving with drugs in his car. Funny, the same thing happened to William Green of the Cleveland Browns two weeks ago.

Steroid-using players start to sweat when it appears they might get caught. The four Oakland Raiders who reportedly tested positive for THG, Bill Romanowski, Barret Robbins, Dana Stubblefield and Chris Cooper, can probably relate to that one."

A USA Today piece describes Tags' handling of the incident rather succinctly. "...Over the years, he's shown he can play smash-mouth football. Tagliabue thought ESPN's risqué dramatic series Playmakers gave NFL players a bad rap in 2003. So he went over the head of the network to its corporate parent Disney and confronted ex-CEO Michael Eisner. ESPN canceled the series after 11 episodes."

In other acts of relationship power, Tags accomplished the following (excerpt from Wikipedia):

• No players' strikes or lockouts during Tagliabue's term, an accomplishment unmatched by any of the other current commissioners. He made it a priority to develop a strong relationship with the players' union and its head, Gene Upshaw, from the start of his tenure. Furthermore, in 2006, Tagliabue ended his tenure as commissioner by negotiating a new agreement with the NFL players' union that averted an uncapped year and potential labor stoppage. The agreement ensures labor peace for a few years but it remains for his successor to flesh out and build upon it in order to ensure labor peace in the long term. NFL owners have since voted to terminate the agreement after the 2010 season.
• He took a stand against the State of Arizona for refusing to establish a state holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., like other states had done. In 1993, the Super Bowl was to be held for the first time in Arizona, but after an election, Arizona rejected establishment of a Martin Luther King state holiday. Subsequently, Tagliabue moved the Super Bowl to Pasadena.

All of these acts were relationship and money pressure directly from top of the NFL offices. While easily some of these are viewed as accomplishments, Tags exercised his relationships for the benefit of the league. In some cases, protecting the image of the brand. Something that has definitely changed on Goodell's tenure. Goodell has great power, from money and weight of the NFL, but the relationships are not like those of his predecessor. Tags had great relationships from old NFL money, like the Mara and Rooney family, to the new money, Kraft and Jones. Tags knew how to wave his influence around, but it was changing in the 2000-era. Perhaps Tags saw that the network and empire of influence the NFL had was crumbling and it was becoming bigger than him? While I don't know how he would answer that question, I would say that he saw the writing on the wall and handed over a pretty tough situation to Goodell. 

You could argue that it was Tags that started reigning things back in in the early 2000's, dubbing the league the "No Fun League". I would agree only with part of that. The rise of citizen journalism forced starting forcing the NFL to be socially accountable for its actions more so than in the past. However, there is absolutely no way the NFL would get away with controlling the media today as it once did.

In one example, what would happen today with the Leonard Little case? To jog the memory (thanks Wikipedia), "after leaving a birthday party in 1998, Little crashed into and killed Susan Gutweiler in St. Louis, Missouri. When tested, his blood alcohol level measured 0.19 percent, a level in excess of the statutory level of intoxication (0.08) in the state of Missouri. Little received 90 days in jail, four years probation and 1,000 hours of community service. From the NFL, he was suspended for 8 games."

Let's compare this to Donte Stallworth, "on the morning of March 14, 2009, a 2005 Bentley coupe driven by Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian in Miami Beach, Florida. Stallworth was headed toward the beach when he hit Mario Reyes, 59." I don't want to demean the lives of any of the victims, but these were eerily similar crimes. In comparison, Stallworth was suspended for the 2009 season. Quite a different sentence from the league for very similar crimes.

Lastly, I'll only say that if the Ray Lewis incident occurred today, things would be different. That is not an indictment of guilt or othewise. The NFL has been forced to deal with negative publicity in an entirely new way.

Why the difference? Transparency, citizen journalism and social accountability. This is the wave of the future of society and the NFL. In fact, I would say perhaps one of the greatest moves that Tags made was his stage left. My estimation is that he acutely observed that the management style that he used to control the networks and league were on their way out. He saw that the networks of few became networks of thousands through Twitter, social media and real-time reporting.The informal relationship networks that previously helped manage the message were no longer as valuable. In today's model there is no way to control the message, to manage the image of the league. It's too much information, too fast and from too many parties. With that, he handed the baton over to Goodell.

Today, Goodell has to abide by new rules. He has done so, by mandate of the public. Credit him, he's a very smart man. The exit of Tags' relationships simply hastened the adoption of the new rules. My suggestion is that the league look at people like Chad Ochocinco and figure out how to clone him. They could grow loyalty, allowing co-creation that is part information, part technology. The future of the league isn't just about expanding the fanbase to new markets, getting more games through the NFLPA or more content on the NFL Network. It is about connecting to the fanbase in new, creative and 1:1 ways. Goodell would be well-served to figure out how to exploit the connectedness the new mediums offer. Otherwise, he's simply going to just be living by the new rules, not exploiting them. The rules certainly have changed because of technology, but they also changed when Tags took his "ol boy network" with him.

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Mobile phone etiquette on the potty, best practices while you go

You may say there is not a need for this guide, but you know there is a need for this guide. Believe it or not, I actually wish there wasn't a need for this guide, but according to a Wired article "75 percent had no objections to anyone using laptops, netbooks and cell phones in the bathroom." Though I fall to the 25 other percent, I thought I'd give some best practices if for mobile usage "while you go".

1. Hit the silent button on the keyboard/ringer. We know what you're doing. We pretend that we don't know. So help us out, keep the keyboard beeps to a minimum por favor. We don't need to know that you're banging out a master treatise while taking your constitutional.
2. If you are surfing the web reading textsfromlastnight.com or failblog.org, keep giggling to a minimum.
3. May as well cover the talking thing. I consider talking while in a public restroom tantamount to going with the door open. I did this when I was in the military, no real duty to do this today. I prefer that you did not, but if you do talk:
   1. Carrying a conversation into the bathroom is more favored than striking up a new conversation or calling out. See point 3e below.
   2. Answering a call is also more forgiven than starting a new call. See point 3e below.
   3. You may not take calls, in or out, if people are waiting. House rules. See point 3e below.
   4. New outgoing calls are seriously frowned upon. See point 3e below.
   5. In any event, should you encounter other people during any of your bathroom journey; we ask that you hold your phone by tilting your head to your shoulder type thing. We all know what just went on, but we don't want to believe that your dirty nubs were all over your phone.
   6. You cannot tell the other party of your presence in bathroom. It's like peeing the lake when boating, everyone might do it. We just don't want to know about it.
4. It can be awkward for a courtesy flush while talking, we all understand. Therefore, you must mute, hit pause or hold or call them back momentarily. It's really a benefit to everyone, immediate company included.
5. Beyond simply the courtesy flush, you are still required to flush. No exceptions. Uno y dos, you're still required to flush. If you follow the Brocode, you know what rule that you'll also need to follow.
6. Commit to a hand. You can't swap hands for swiping, wiping and/or aiming purposes while you are midstream or otherwise.
7. If you are wearing headphones into the bathroom, co-workers I have seen this, you may not touch them or your mobile device within the site of others. I consider this confusing and disorienting to other people in the facilities.
8. You must still wash your hands. Don't do the running water over the hands like I'm the cleanest thing in the bathroom routine either. Soap, hot water and towels must be used, by you.
9. When exiting the restroom, you must quietly let your other party know that you need just a moment. Then you must do the following. Though I could describe it, there's a much better line in The Godfather that Clemeza said to Michael Corleone. "Just let your hand drop to your side and the gun slip out. Everyone will still think you've got it. They're gonna be staring at your face, Mike. So walk out of the place real fast, but you don't run. Don't look nobody directly in the eye, hut don't look away either." In this case, it's not a gun, but rather your mobile device.
10. If you drop your phone in urine water, you are permitted to retrieve it. Though you must tell friends about said incident. If you drop in any other situation, you must buy a new phone. Flush it away, away. That's the risk you take. No exceptions. If you need to repair your phone from the urine incident, see this site.
11. It's OK to wipe off your phone with a towel, though people may think that is weird. When you return to your desk or other safe environment, it's required to add some sanitizer to the mix.

Like I said earlier, I wish these did not need to be stated. Yet, they do. Have a horror story about this? Be sure to share in the comments below.

Follow me on twitter @marty_b

More stories on the subject:

Stats: http://www.virtualpressoffice.com/publicsiteContentFileAccess/112095/112095.html/?fileContentId=112095&fileName=112095.html&fromOtherPageToDisableHistory=Y

http://www.websavey.com/viewpost.cfm/1/43734/ (pretty foul)

http://randomactsofunkindness.blogspot.com/2007/08/cell-phone-and-public-bathroom.html

TiVo rocks my television world

  

Apparently the world of television viewing continues to rise according to Nielsen above. While I might buy into that a bit, I'm going to call BS on the actual watching of television. I think the time that people actually watch has probably declined, but the time spent in front of the television has gone up. Why? It's directly proportionate to the terrible navigation, use and functionality that is provided by the terrible boxes connected to their televisions pushed upon you by your local cable company. I rebuke thee. I hate those dysfunctional boxes. In fact, I hated them so much that I've watched less than probably a week of programming (outside of professional football) for the entire year. I have a feeling that is all going to change soon. The return of the living room is back. It's lead by the return of my second bestest friend, TiVo. In case you are wondering, my first bestest technoid friend is Robbie the Roomba.

I decided to purchase the new TiVo Series 3 HD box and I think my television enjoyment may just return with this purchase. TiVo has improved the television experience. It's proof positive that great technology integration can improve a completely old experience.

What is so great about the TiVo experience?

- The user setup/basic use is simple with TiVo. From set up, remote, to hooking it up, it was extremely easy. I discovered a hundred channels that I did not even know that we subscribed to previously. The hardest part was getting the cable decoder card from the cable provider up and running properly (we had a bad decoder card). That's not the fault of TiVo.

- The powerful part of the TiVo is when you hook it up to a network. I hooked it up to the wireless network here at home and it was immediately more valuable. We were able to add Netflix content to our instant queue and enjoy from the television. You can watch or share content from your desktop devices to your television or even enjoy some Drunken History on it via YouTube. Want to rent movies? Bypass your local cable provider, get them from Amazon on Demand.

- Finding and recording programming on the TiVo is simpler than any other device we have used. The season pass feature was available on our previous system, but we could never figure out how to use it where it would actually work. TiVo is working like a dream.

- It's so easy to use that our son, four years old, has figured out how to use it. He knows how to navigate to Netflix to watch his instant queue that has Tom and Jerry. Jackpot for junior.

- Their web integration is beautiful. Login to the website to record items to your TiVo. Wait for it, it's not just their website. Add items from your iPhone, no problem or add instant queue to your Netflix from your iPhone and no need to leave the couch.

What TiVo has locked in on more than any other device is simple, user interface and feedback mechanisms. The TiVo has the little beeps that audibly confirm your action. Programming navigation and search works easily on the device. Usability is darn near perfect in my opinion. There is no need for the manual, though I admittedly read it. The interface is so simple, it's elegant.  

Outside of usability, TiVo has nailed integration. I cannot think of another device and/or service that allows integration so keenly. From my mobile allowing recording, to my desktop computer streaming content from the TiVo to integration with external services, Blockbuster, Amazon and Netflix. The integration with networked services is near flawless.

I can only hope that I feel the same way about the TiVo a year from now. I hopefully will regret the purchase as a big time succubus. If so, TiVo will continue to deliver on my needs. I was visiting a friend over the weekend and saw his menu system on his television device. I instantly felt repulsed and left thinking I can't go back. Ever. I want to enjoy television programming. I promise, I do. TiVo has returned the television to my life.

Again, TiVo is proof positive that integration and simplicity can improve an age old technology.

find me on twitter @marty_b