Quick Update...

Working on Stage 3-4 video of the Cascade Cycling Classic right now. Should be up in about 1 hour.

Cascade Cycling Classic video update

No update tonight as it's late and criterion has just finished, look for the update of day three after tomorrows stage.

2008 Cascade Cycling Classic Day 2 Highlights

Day 2 highlights. Tomorrow will be focused a bit on the time trial, but more on the criterium in downtown Bend. Thanks to my extremely great moto driver Brad.

2008 Cascade Cycling Classic Day 1 Highlights

We are proud to be covering the 2008 Cascade Cycling Classic. This is highlights of today's stage.

Kent Couch after Landing...

So I thought I would go ahead and post this great picture of me taping Kent probably about 15 minutes after landing. Photo credit www.couchballoons.com.

Oh yeah and something else...

There might be one more event to cover this week....

My head made international news...

See the bottom right hand corner... Yep that is my head. Kent made it today all the way to Idaho. Stay tuned for more! (photo was on the AP)

The Chase Begins...

In Prineville! Check out the website!

Kent Couch and His Chair

Here Kent Couch discusses the details of his lawn chair



Video courtesy of Smart Solutions and Pinnacle Media Inc.

Kent Couch Final Preperations

Here is Kent talking about final preparations for tomorrows flight.



Video courtesy of Smart Solutions and Pinnacle Media Inc.

Two more videos coming tomorrow!

We are in the final run up to the launch of Kent Couch and his cluster balloon flight. Tomorrow we are going to sit down and talk to Kent about preparations and more about the chair. Stay tuned as we have made preparations for the possibility of at least 2 if not 3 videos from the road during the chase thanks to Wireless Source here in Bend. If we are not able to get them up during I will post as soon as we have wi-fi coverage.

Proud to be a part!

We are proud to be documenting this historic flight. Kent couch will be attempting to fly to Idaho with his cluster balloons. Head on over to here to find out more.

What a meeting should be

I really enjoy Seth Godin. His post today is very much relevant to how I feel about meetings. Make them different and watch the results. Click on the link to find out some more specifics.

The new television show we have been working on!

I present you with episode 8. Enjoy!

Business Travel Today vs Days of Yesterday

When I began this venture a while ago I set out to create a nice little niche for myself in Bend. I have slowly began to travel more and more for work with a culmination of a recent trip to Atascadero for some consulting work. What I was struck with was the difference of travel today vs what even a generation ago would have done.

I was hired by a company out of Portland to travel and set-up two Final Cut Pro workstations for Charter Media in Atascadero California. What I realized was the first difference was being able to leave from Redmond and be able to end up in Santa Barbara. Kind of a mistake flying in there as it is about a two hour drive, but hey it was a good drive. While I am completely comfortable in the computer world I struggle with being in cities that I do not know. I had a bit of anxiety over making it and where I was going so the next difference was renting a GPS from Enterprise. I am pleased to say it did not take me into any ocean and took me right to my destination. This was truly a trip down memory lane as growing up my grandmother lived in Nipomo. I decided to stop. Thanks to a quick call to my aunt I was able to find the house that does not look much different than it did when I was growing up. I arrived rather late into Atascadero, but was greeted by a very nice hotel called the Carlton that is just down the road from the job. Now the whole thing was arranged by the company I was working for over the internet with confirmations sent right to me. Very easy and a very different experience than you would have even 8 years ago.

The hotel had wifi and a wired connection for internet which was a pleasant surprise and a very nice feature as a lot of hotels in this price point force you to pay for internet. A welcome change and a definite selling feature. In the morning I woke up and traveled to the job. I was able to get the two stations configured including wiring up an entire one after moving 3 decks from an existing edit bay. This is where the story has another interesting side note because of some improvements to our infrastructure I was able to edit a spot while in the hotel and upload it back to Bend. This is a definite time savings and allows me greater access and flexibility. A special thanks to Darren back in Bend who put it back to tape.

On the final day I was able to spend about 4 hours training the staff who have virtually no experience editing with Final Cut and it was great to see them understand and hopefully catch hold enough to begin doing spots. I then followed my trusty GPS back to Santa Barbara and filled up with gas so I would not be charged the service fee. Finally on my way home, I type this in LA as I await the 9:00 to Redmond. This will be posted in the wee hours of the morning on that series of tubes.

So what has changed within a generation-
-2 states in 3 days
-240 miles being tracked by a gps
-2 non-linear editing stations with 3.6TBs each
-TSA (good experiences this time around)
-1 spot completed and delivered while on the road
-1 crazy picture of the propeller of the plane (taken with my BlackBerry)
-1 very tired consultant- Okay this was probably true back then also

Thanks Jo for picking me up!

I find this interesting...

Courtesy the Economist

We have a long way to go...

Boys And Girls Club of Central Oregon

We finished this yesterday to be used at this mornings breakfast. If you haven't heard they have been in a bit of a financial crunch of late. This is an extremely valuable part of our community and we support their efforts.

The HD/SD Dilema- Can it get more confusing.

Do you produce in HD?

A question I think I have had once. I said yes because if we have to deliver in HD I will and can. We do not have an HD camera, but there are plenty of people I know that do. The dilemma is that as I am walking the floor of NAB there is no clear direction for HD. The manufacturers have their flavors and then you have to figure out which flavor you like.

I was at one of those manufacturers parties last night and got the opportunity to sit next to a DP (Director of Photography) who shoots for Dateline, 60 Minutes, and CNN. His dilemma is that each of his clients, the networks, are asking for different flavors also. One of the clients even said that they would only accept packages shot on one of the most expensive solutions out there. Needless to say he is not liking the option of having to have different cameras for each of the flavors.

In Bend we are greeted with a different dilemma. As I wright this I believe that neither of the HD stations, KTVZ or KOHD, do not offer HD playback of content i.e. commercials other than news. I know that they say they are HD, but that is only during their news and the packages that play back during those.

So what are we to do. We will support HD production because it is the next step, but most of the projects we do will not be delivered in HD because the only way is through brodcast or on blueray. With broadcast it does not exist currently in our market and there are not enough blueray players right now.

What can you get for free?

Chris Anderson has a great comment on his blog this morning regarding free. He talks about the Oprah touch on Suze Orman's "Women & Money". Oprah announced this last week that people should go check out the free download. Well a lot of people did. Did sales suffer? Nope. In fact Chris was able to graph the sales that came out of it on Amazon and it looks like it is now the #1 seller. As Chris says Oprah + Free = Blockbuster. I would agree. So what can I give away for free?

Facebook

So something happened the other day. I actually clicked on an ad inside of Facebook. The ad took me to Jack Myers dot com. Why would I post this. Well this is actually the first time I have clicked on a link and taken action. I have not purchased a product, but instead have added it to my news feeds. Today this story came across. What is interesting about this is how production has changed and also it shows how important product placement is for advertising. Give it a read it is pretty quick.

What we all should strive for!

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Our new promotional page...

So we are now on Facebook. Come check out our new page and become one of our fans.

Fear

Fear is standing in your own way.
Fear is not allowing yourself to be successful.
Fear is not willing to take the next step.
Fear is not willing to hang on for a wild ride.

I am done with fear!

Think I Posted This Before but...

I think it should be repeated. Marketing has changed and this shows how it has.

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Event Tomorrow

So we are helping produce this event tomorrow. Check out the press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 4, 2007

CONTACT: Beverly Lucas, Bend Bike N Sport, 322-8814,
beverly@bendbikensport.com

TOP PROFESSIONAL CYCLISTS CONVERGE ON TOWER THEATRE FOR “TRAIL TO TOUR” PANEL DISCUSSION ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21
Event benefits Central Oregon Velo Youth Development Program, which helps introduce the region’s youth to cycling programs and benefits

(BEND, Ore.)—They spend the majority of the year traveling across the country and around the globe for bike races, but for similar reasons they all choose to call Bend home. And now, Bendites have a rare opportunity to hear firsthand what motivates these elite riders to compete, what they do to maintain top form, what their plans are for 2008 and why they choose to live and train in Bend.

Scheduled for Friday, December 21 at 7pm at the Tower Theatre, the “Trail to Tour” event features an informal talk show panel discussion with some of cycling’s biggest names who also happen to be Bend residents, including Chris Horner, Carl Decker, Adam Craig, Chrissy Ruitter and Megan Elliott. The panel will be moderated by Anthony McCrossan, head commentator for the internationally-renown London-based Cycling TV, the world’s largest broadband cycling television company who will simulcast the event globally on www.cycling.tv.

Admission to the “Trail to Tour” event is $10 for adults and $5 for kids age 12 and under, with proceeds benefiting Central Oregon Velo’s Youth Development Program. Doors open at 6pm, and the forum begins at 7pm. Admission includes a complimentary beer for attendees age 21 and over courtesy of Bend Brewing Company, or a complimentary soda. Tickets can be purchased at the Tower Theater box office, online at www.towertheatre.org, or at Bend Bike N Sport.

Admission also includes a chance to win a number of door prizes, including a cruiser bike courtesy of Felt Bicycles, autographed cycling jerseys, equipment and apparel.

The “Trail to Tour” panel discussion is presented by Central Oregon Velo, Bend Bike N Sport, Racecenter Northwest, the Bend Visitor & Convention Bureau, Bend Memorial Clinic, Lowes Commercial Properties and Cycling TV. For more information visit www.bendbikensport.com or call 322-8814.


We are producing the simulcast. Will post the link when they have it. Nice international event.

Do you like Google Maps for Mobile?

So you must check this out!



I just installed this and I am really going to enjoy this!

AVID... Why do we care

So this came across in onve of my news feed today (Click on the title if you want to read the entire press release).

Avid Announces Major Shift in 2008 Strategy in Response to Customer Feedback

The press release goes on to say that they will be refocusing with the direct result being their customers. They also stated that they will NOT have a NAB booth. Now I know this bores a few of my readers, but I think it is interesting to note that they have chosen to not have a booth. While I am sure this is expensive the last time I was at NAB there were a lot of people around the booth and I think that there will be a few potential clients deciding on going the Final Cut or Premiere route. Also of interest is the focus on the customer.

Customer focus is where we should all be. Focus on what your clients think and need. Can you provide it then provide it otherwise move on and suggest someone that can do it for them.

What are your thoughts on this?

A great picture

I am really liking this one! Excellent look from Lance Hardy Photography. This was taken this weekend at the Central Oregon Women's Expo. Thanks Lance!

Uh OH!!!!!!!!

You ever wonder what would happen if you lost your hard drive? Well last night as I was geeking out and installing my software for my new slingbox I got the spinning wait wheel on my Mac. This has happened from time to time and I waited, and waited. I tried to force quit an could not. Well no worries just power off and everything should be good. Turned back on and was greeted with a horrible clicking noise. I waited and was greeted with a screen that had a folder with a question mark in it. Huh?! Well after doing a few other things there is a strong belief that the drive may be dead. Yes dead. It will be going to the local authorized dealer here in town in the AM in hopes that the Apple Care I purchased will take care of it I hope, but my thoughts are that everything on the drive is now gone. So the message to the masses, always back up. I believe that I will recover fairly quickly as most of my project files are stored on externals. Maybe it is time to upgrade to Leapord and make sure I always am upgrading.

Early adopter pains?

Okay a better title probably should have been my struggles with T-Mobile since last Friday, but in fairness to them I am going to give them a chance. The problem since Friday has been repeated all circuits are busy errors on our phones. I say all because we have a total of 5 lines with them. Yes we pay a small fortune as 2 of them have full service including BlackBerry Enterprise. The phone staff has been courteous and I have now filed 2 trouble tickets with them. Last nights tech stated to me "well it sounds like we just don't have capacity" and this really got me going. What do I pay for? Is T-Mobile really at capacity here in Bend? Wouldn't you think that they may have seen this coming in one of the fastest growing cities in Oregon? Okay my rant is done for now...

To blog or not to blog....

Well we are frantically working on the final details of BendFilm which is this coming weekend. Al things look good for another great festival. In addition we are preparing a very special edition on Let's Make a Space to premiere this week. In this edition it is a competition to be Central Oregon's Next Design star. What is exciting about this is in one day we shot 5 designers going to a total of 7 locations. This was don in conjunction with Central Oregon Cable Advertising and some videographers from there. look for a sampling in the coming days.

Hanging on for dear life...

So as I notice the posts growing fewer and fewer between. I have come to realize that it is a reflection of how much production we are doing. I am excited, but at the same time it is hard to keep up. We are right at that spot where we really should hire someone, but at the same time maybe I can do it all. Tough spot.

Few more thoughts:
So on Sunday I celebrate my one year with the most incredible woman. She is truly my world and keeps the business as well as our lives pushing forward. With out her I really don't believe we would have gone through the growth that we have in the past year.

Let's Make a Space:
Have you seen it? What are your thoughts? I am looking for some people that have seen it and can give me their opinion. Look for a couple of more shows in the next few weeks being posted.

Here it is!

Here is the first Let's Make a Space show!

Okay I love it when us geeks poke fun a ourselves.

Unicel to be purchased

So it would look like a bit of consolidation is happening for us here in Bend in regards to Unicel.

The interesting thing is currently T-Mobile is "borrowing" time on those Unicel towers. I am wondering if Verizon has the same relationship?

Secret Part 3

So it also has to do with this... link

The secret part 1...

So the first part of the secret has to do with July 23rd and an exciting event for us...

I have returned with a secret....

Do you want to know? Email me

A Bend Baseball Staple Passes

I found out from Elise over at Live on the Fly that Vince Genna has passed away. While I usually do not post about these sort of things I feel it important to give my thanks as I cut my teeth at an early age televising Bandits baseball from the field that he helped push for. He will be missed.

Imagine the posibilities!

Oh man the kind of instillations you could do with this!

What do you think?

Interesting presentation

I came across this presentation at Slideshare. Interesting and thought provoking.

Apple TV Histeria

I have been watching over the last few days as the Apple TV has finally shipped and is beginning to get some reviews. Most seem to be positive and I think Apple may have another hit on their hands. I think the interesting thing to note is some of the posts that talk about how people have been using Windows Media Center computers to do the same thing that Apple TV does. These users say they have been doing it for a long time. While I do not disagree with the fact that these people may have been doing it I would say that the one thing Apple TV does is make it easy for Joe consumer. While I only speak through anecdotal evidence, it would seem to me that Apple has gone to great lengths to engineer a product that works right out of the box. I really do think Apple missed the boat in not having any DVR function, but time will tell. Now if I can just get my hands on one...

Bad Marketing 101...

Just don't copy! Especially if you are as large as the NAB.



The NAB doesn't like the possible XM/Sirius merger and wants us all to know why it is bad, but they copied one of the people that have dumped a bit of money into the organizations members which are the television stations and networks. I just find it interesting that someone as large as the NAB would even consider doing this.

Jump here for a little on what was done: Radio Online

A reason to switch

So I found this article of some interest why people may be switching to a mac.
Apple of Our Eye: Macs Save Money

Te article raises some interesting point, but I find the discussion about the Apple TV the real interesting point. I have stated before that this is a change vehicle and I think there are even a few things us in the marketing world can use it for. I plan on giving it a whirl to see if perhaps you could make it into an inexpensive digital signage platform.

The beginning...

So when one goes silent on their blog does that truly mean they are out of ideas or thoughts? I know I have been absent for a while and wanted to take a few moments and bring you up to speed on what we are up to.

1) The Drakes- The once a year recognition of the great advertising that we do in this market.
2) A space- More details to follow on this, but we have moved! In the coming months I will bring you a few details about what is going on, but we will be developing a 25' X 25' insert stage. This stage will be available to clients as well as be useful in producing our own content.
3) Marketing and sales- We really have not done a good job within Central Oregon of telling our story. We have been helping others tell their stories, but our own has not been told. Anyone got any ideas here?


That is it for right now, but I am going to give a post a day for a week and see what thoughts I may drum up.

Amazing technology

As a highly visual person I look at this and wonder what the possibilities are. This could power amazing multi layer editing platform.

What marketers think?

What are your thoughts?

Digital Delivery

It was announced that Wal-Mart will be selling digital downloads of all of the major movie companies movies. This comes on the heals of a weekend where movies saw a decline from the previous year of 12 percent. The motion picture companies are finally discovering that they have a vast inventory why not make it easy for people to get at it in other ways. Putting that aside for a second though let's look at if this makes sense for Wal-Mart.



Wal-Mart is the world's retail sales giant. You either love them or hate them so obviously if they are getting into this there must be money in it right? Well here lies the "Long-Tail" theory. Movies that are new releases will cost you almost as much a if you went down to Wal-Mart and bought the DVD, so then they are going after the user who may want to download the older movies as it will be more cost effective. In my opinion Wal-Mart is going after a different customer with this venture than they get in their average store. In order to succeed with this they will have to bring web viewers to their pages which Wal-Mart currently does not do a very good job of. Why would I want to look at their site when I can go down the street and get it for cheaper. That is where HP supposedly comes in. They reportedly have been hired to optimize and change Wal-Mart's digital movie area into a better experience.

I think that this recognition in digital download model change by both Wal-Mart and the motion picture companies is a good start. Wal-Mart has to somehow bring people to their website though in order for this to succeed.


Oh yeah and this little jewel:

Sales for the top 12 films fell 12 percent to $71.6 million from a year earlier. Sales have fallen 3 percent to $779.8 million this year from a year earlier, while attendance has decreased 5.2 percent.

Mac Transition Week 2

So the transition continues. A couple of thoughts and recommendations.

I know all of those PC people out there will disagree with me, but the Mac OS just feels smoother. I enjoy the simplicity of design and ease of use. I know that the PC has gotten much better in it's over all design, but I just find the Mac to be somehow more user friendly.

Issues: Seems to be a small one under Boot Camp with Premiere, but only an annoyance and as such it does not preclude the work flow that I am developing until the full switch.

Programs:Here are a couple of programs that I have found on the Mac to be invaluable and have opened up new work flow possibilities that I had not discovered on the PC.

Handbrake: A great DVD ripper. I do not use this to rip movies, but often we record a backup DVD of the events we do. This program allows us to rip that file into the computer. I know there are PC programs out there, but I have not found any that are as fast and easy as this one.

Perian: This is a QT plug in that allows virtually any file to be played back including FLV. Very nice for attempting to open those pesky windows files. Now it doesn't support wmv, but that is what Flip for Mac is for.

So far so good and we are progressing well with the migration.

iPhone or whatever it is going to be called...

So this is an interesting post on a person who will be getting an iPhone hopefully in June when it is released. The interesting part is that it would appear Cingular does not have a concrete plan on what to tell people that may want to switch now. Revolutionary product, but no plans on how to handle things?

Build it and they will come... Okay couldn't resist.

The switch....

So a few weeks ago I spoke of a transition that I may make. Well I decided to do it.



Yes it is a Mac. We are needing a speed boost in our production and this seems to be a very good solution. The next photo shows XP being installed in Boot Camp.




Finally this is After Effects running inside OS X using Parallels. I will write a bit in the next few weeks about how this is working out.

Oh yeah and there is one more thing....

Steve Jobs on nightline last night. Is there anyone out there that is still doubting there is convergence today?

New media...

So a few things are going on in the world of media and I thought I would take a moment and give my 2 cents.

Apple TV Those of you out there know that I am a Mac fan. I would stop short of saying fanatical, but I admire what they have done. I really think this product will begin the next step in bringing internet content to you television. It is exciting to think of the opportunities that this device that is syncronized through iTunes can bring television shows, podcasts, and any other media you have in iTunes to your television wherever you have it plugged in. They have taken the time to develop a user interface that will be easy for the most people to use it. It will not require a geek and that is a distinct advantage.

CES: Being a geek I could go on for a day about all of the exciting products that are being unvailed, but some of the most interesting things are how the broadcast networks are showing up. They are beginning to realize that the model of television as we know it is has shifted and they need to begin to develop a new model for themselves. Time will tell, but I am excited because the next television will be the internet.

Interesting music stats

Interesting read today from Chris Anderson in regards to the recording industry.

OS X vs Vista

Well... David Pogue gives us his comparison. I think it is fun as I may be looking to convert to the dark side. Or is that the right side?

Guy Kawasaki: Ten Questions With Aziza Mohmmand

This post struck me this morning. I guess it goes to show you that when you make a difference in peoples lives you are rewarded. Give it a read and let me know your thoughts.

DVR captures a different audience.

Nielsen product placement has come out with a few new numbers that show that DVRs are being used to time shift drum roll.... Scripted shows instead of reality shows. What this means is that all of that fabulous product placement going on surrounding reality shows is not garnering the repeat eyes. People watch these scripted shows because they get hooked into the plot and want to watch repeatedly and when they want to. Their also is an interesting discussion of how production techniques may be changing sow that viewers on the smaller screen may get a better look at the subject. Production people will be required to shift their ideas on how they produce content as their is a shift to smaller screens both for those pesky product placements as well as to better showcase the production.

Girls Go Bend

Take a look at Bend!

Stephen Spielberg anti viewing movies on iPods?

A statement he made through Reuters/Hollywood Reporter:

"That's one medium where I have to draw the line," he said. "We'll shoot for television and the movies and let there be a wide gap" between that and the small 3-inch screen. He also said that he felt that people are social animals who will choose to go out to a movie rather than watch a show on wide screen."

Now I can agree with this statement in principle, but after watching a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy playing off my iPod onto my TV I will have to disagree. The general principal of viewing content on the smaller screen is not without its challenges, but the realization of the when we want it world is coming. I certainly hope the MPAA is up to letting us have it our way.

I also know that in a recent Nielsen study it shows- less than 1% of content items played by iPod users on either iTunes or the device itself were videos. Among video iPod users, that percentage barely improves, up to 2.2%. So video is not being played back using the iPod, but what if it was a different experience. Media today is not necessarily targeted at this small device, but it can be used as a tool to shift that content and make it easier to playback on other devices like your television. I also believe this shows that there is a large opportunity for growth within this market if the user experience can be improved.

So the future of media is yet to be truly determined, but with Apple, Microsoft, Tivo, SlingBox, and many more actively working on how we can shift the media to when we want it I believe it is only a matter of time.

Why the TSA should think differently

Marketing guru Seth Godin rants on his experience in travelling in the last week and why the TSA should be different. On a more personal note Jo Ann flew to Denver last week and had a very similar experience as Seth writes.

read more | digg story

Why have you stopped posting?

Well... BendFilm.

This is an exciting time with the "buzz" that goes on around Bend. Independent cinema for the filmmakers and fans. We are proud to be providing the AV logistic and consultation for this years festival. It is an exciting time. I will post photos of the happening this weekend.

So now a quick multi billion dollar thought on gootube...

Do you really doubt you should have video on your website? I think it will take Google to monetize YouTube. Just my thought, but it makes sense. I am not sure that it is worth the amount, but Google I think needed the technology and had the cash to buy it.

Just my humble opinion.

Okay finally back....

It was a wonderful ceremony and I am so happy.

A few thoughts on convergence and media:
1) Apple and their news. First I applaud their increasing the size of their resolution to 640 X 480. This will allow a better quality viewing experience as they migrate with their "iTV" project. Now I feel this is important because their are not many devices out there that will just plug in and work and as I have mentioned before Apple seems to at least understand that. This device will allow you to automatically (not sure how they are planning on it completely) allow you to play and watch your iTunes library content on a TV connected to it. There are some other interesting ideas like taking your photos and having those play with music as a nice different background for a party or a slide show. I have 3 hours of photos from our last vacation wan't to watch? Okay maybe not.

The other interesting thing that this will make possible is targeted delivered video podcasts on subjects that people enjoy. Easy all I have to do is go down to the podcasts and watch them. This could be interesting.

2)Amazon- They launched their new download service. I am trying it out with the pilot episode of Studio 60. The challenge is that Joe consumer still will have a challenge. Amazon became easy because all one had to do was find the book they wanted and click buy. Once their details were entered it came right to them. The challenge I still feel is how are we going to make that jump between easy and hard. I will let you know tomorrow the whole details of the experience.

"Labor Day"

A labor of love. That is what it is and will always will be. A business is about a way of love if it is done correctly. You must have that feeling of love for it. You work long hours and at often times for an unsure future, but if you are staying pure to your thoughts and why you do it you will succeed. Do it for the love of it and not the money. Do it to make a difference and change something. Oh and truly love those around you that help you make these things a reality! Thank you Jo. I love you.

A quick post and a thought

Check out this little tidbit in Guy Kawasaki's Blog about word of mouth advertising.

I was having this conversation in regards to Zappos' return policy with my fiance and she mentioned she would not shop at Nordstrom because she had an experience that was bad. When I asked what it was she mentioned that many years ago she purchased some clothes that simply fell apart and that colored her experience. This is interesting because how many of your customers may be out there with that one experience. Nordstrom has very good customer service, but the one experience they could not control was the life of the clothes and have lost a customer.

This sort of measurement and feedback is essential to continued growth and development of a company. When is the last time you talked to a long term client or customer about their satisfaction level?

Your authentic voice

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.”
-Helen Keller

Daring, scary, hard, but can be rewarding in many ways. Today now more than ever we owe it to ourselves to have that authentic voice and as companies we need to be able to handle those voices. The success of YouTube, Google Video, MySpace, Flickr, and many other social networking sites are built on having an outlet for that authentic voice. Some would say that this is a niche market and yes it is, but the case can be made that as that niche grows being authentic and real leads to an even wider succeess. That is one of the conclussions made in the book "The Long Tail". We are increasingly a culture of choice and we enjoy showing how we execute that choice.

The real challenge as a company is how do you stay true.
1st Find it! Take some time and get inside yourself. Really spend some time in that uncomfortable or comfortable place. This is crucial as not only does this really allow you to explore your thoughts and feeling, but it can help chart the course to that voice.
2nd Make a statement. Now this does not and should not be a long winded blah blah blah speech, but how does it relate and empower me to do what I/We want. Make it a few words.
3rd Follow it. Try living in that statement for a week. Does it hold true? Can you live with it?

We owe it to our employees to listen to their voices as well. Some of the advantages of Google is that they try things. I am sure they are trying things behind the scenes that never make it to prime time, but they try them. Yes they have lots of money, but if the risk is low try it. Maybe even if the risk is high maybe you will help change the world. Be bold!

Probably my longest post to date, but I hope it gets you thinking. Don't believe that it can work?

Guy Kawasaki: Video about entrepeneurship
Chris Anderson: "The Long Tail"
Seth Godin: What you should be learning about marketing with your voice.

New media alert..

So over at TechCrunch they have a post in regards to Amazon's upcoming launch of their store. This is an interesting find and I applaud the guy who found it. I just hope they don't go mess it up with DRM issues.

Also this little tidbit about iTunes and a Lions Gate tie in. Now this really isn't news, but it does show that all of the larger players are moving to make downloads of video content a reality. I put the Digg link in because if you haven't seen digg go check it out.

Is this truly revolutionary?

Okay normally I post links to the stories I quote, but today I am going to copy and paste this from Mediaweek.


Mediaweek-
Couric's Show to Be Simulcast on Web

Marc Berman

AUGUST 17, 2006 -

The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric, which launches with the former Today Show co-host on Tuesday, Sept. 5, will become the first network evening newscast to be simulcast live on the Internet.

Viewers can now see the CBS Evening News live, as never before, said Sean McManus president, CBS News and Sports. This is a groundbreaking development in making the program available to the largest possible audience. For people who can'’t be in front of their televisions when the Evening News is on, they can now watch the program live on their computers. It's another giant step towards providing CBS News content to people wherever they are in their homes, in their offices, in their cars, on their computers or on their cell phones.

In addition, CBS Evening News With Katie Couric will also be available as an on-demand program any time after the live simulcast, via daily blog Couric & Company, via Web-exclusive Eye to Eye, and daily Web exclusive on-camera rundown CBS News First Look with Katie Couric.


Groundbreaking? It is more of a what took them so long. They should have been streaming the show to the world a long time ago. Now for the more subtle it is time for everyone to wake up moment. Big media companies are realizing they are losing eyes and hence ad revenue. The model is shifting to the when you want it and CBS may be moving in the right direction with this one. So who is next?

Oh yeah kudos go out to KTVZ for already thinking that the VOD idea makes sense. I think this has been on there since they relaunched the website.

Web 2.0 Experience

With these sites popping up all around I thought I would dabble with one. I have made a lens about Bend. Let me know your thoughts. The process is easy, but time consuming. I think these tools will empower us all to be experts in our fields and allow others to interact with us much like blogs have already done.

Media Consolidation In Bend

So this was posted on Mediaweek as of around 12:00.

AUGUST 16, 2006 -

Meredith Broadcasting announced Wednesday it is exiting the Bend, Ore. market with an agreement to sell KFXO-CA, its low-power Fox affiliate to NPG of Oregon, Inc., for undisclosed terms.

The deal gives NPG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of News-Press & Gazette Co. a duopoly in the market, where it owns KTVZ-TV, the NBC affiliate.

Jerry Upham, vp and general manager of KFXO has resigned his position with Meredith and will be replaced by John Edwards, sales manager of the station, until the transaction is finalized.

So media in this market is changing. Any thoughts?

Streaming VS Downloading

In this Mediaweek report there is discussion about CBS and their streaming of shows for free the next day. While I applaud CBS for doing this why not take the next step and allow purchase of these shows? Broadcasters need to develop another model for their content. I realize their is other negotiations with rights holders, but they are not helping their future by not allowing purchase.

My belief is that even YouTube should develop a model like Google Video that allows videos to be sold and to share in that profit. Google Video at least allows you to download the video in iPod or PSP format. That is forward thinking for sure.

We want content when we want it and how we want it.

Another video

Here is another video that we put over at YouTube. Nice to know they are back up after being down for a few hours today. This was for a local organization called On Track Ministries.

Today's Link List

So a few things have stuck me as interesting in todays blast of emails:

Google coupons: Google maps to add coupons in this deal. Could be an interesting way of tracking direct customer to interaction.

Cable upfront flat: Television is not the king it used to be.

Seth Godin: Some interesting thoughts on the current state of travel and customers. This even has implication for marketing.

Prosumer video production: Read this and then email me.

FOX/IN: Proof that it is what and when we want it. Not thrilled about their pricing, but it is a step in the right direction.

That is it for now.

Tech Geek Alert!

I think this has potential. Leave it to Sony and forward thinking. This is definetly let's try and make it work product. It would appear that it is a high risk, but may offer a high rate of return.Tech geeks of the world unite.

The battle of the titans

So it would appear that MTV Networks is making a play to out fox Mr. Murdoch and Google will be in the middle of it all. In today's news MTVN as they are known has aquired Atom. Now while this doesn't seem very interesting they put up $200 million to aquire them. MTVN has quietly been aquiring properties and repositioning themselves to aquire more eyes and hence make their properties much more attractive to the potential on-line ad dollar. MTVN will be basically running into the 20 ton gorilla that is MySpace/Fox online. This will be an interesting thing to watch. Anyone want to take bets who will come out on top?

Oh yeah and also MTVN has made some of their content available on Google Video on a pay to own basis. The model is changing for distribution and the big networks are beginning to shift as well.

Seth Godin at Gel

How can we do it better?

Here is the Google Video version

Which do you think looks better?

First of many!

Embrace the change!

The swan song...

Okay so first read this.

Now my 2 cents. I find it interesting that they find these finding shocking. Watch my 12 year old son and you will see he would much rather use the computer than watch TV. We are a fractured world and my feelings are that the only kind of television we are going to watch is the kind that we have delivered when we want it. A shift has been started and we will need to figure out a way to shift our dollars to the new model. The article also talks about there is still a future. Oh yes be sure to hang on to that future. Television is changing and in order to truly compete we have to provide better programming or deliver it to our customers when and how they want it.

EBay Changes Advertising

In the changing face of advertising this may allow all of us to buy ads across the country.

read more | digg story This may be an interesting future. This levels the playing field and just maybe will bring prices down. Well we can hope.

UPDATE:
I just found this much better post on the WSJ.It is interesting how AdWeek says that this will not replace the upfront and yet WSJ suggests that this is the future. Read them both and let me know what you think.

The end of the AOL Coaster

I will miss it...


Sometimes you have to adjust your model. It really is amazing at what AOL helped do for the early adopters of this so called internet. "A series of tubes"... Just a dig there.

Speaking of that dig if you support net neutrality go here.

Ch Ch Ch Changes....

Okay you have to sing the song when you read the title. A couple of interesting things in the news.

First has to do with Apple. With building anticipation to Steve Jobs' keynote on Monday regarding the new Apple products, this little tidbit has been released in regards to the Apple and iTunes legality in foreign countries. Now in my opinion Apple is going to need to adapt and figure out a way to make this work out. Apple has been sitting a top a virtual monopoly because they designed a great player and made their software as easy to use. They will need to be careful to not alienate consumers while navigating these new legal waters. Maybe a licensing program? I know they fear this because of their last dealings, but maybe a strategy.

And also this one. Time to go start shooting some video. I use iStockPhoto all of the time for stills as they have some great contributed stills, but with this change projects may get even easier.

One laptop per child project prototype

The first working prototype of the laptop for children of third world countries. A noble endeavor! Not really marketing, but this is definetly a different way of looking at computers and could help empower other parts of the world. Also I am curious about what people will watch these days. From a production standpoint not the best, but interesting content.

Embrace the change

So Amazon is embracing the new age of digital media with this new service. From a marketing standpoint I wish they wouldn't have called it "DV" as in the production world DV is a tape format, but I think this shows that there is a demand for this service or they are going to at least give it a try. The article also talks about Apple and Microsoft strategies for the future. What excites me is that increasingly this will allow "Jo Schmo" to sell their products to a larger audience.
Hopefully digital rights management and GUI don't mess it up.

Your way today!

Some thoughts today revolve around what media is to people today.
1) Have it your way
2) Tell us your story
3) Be authentic
4) See number 1

I only put number four on there because this is truly what today's digital age is about. You Tube, Google Video, MySpace, and a host of other social networking sites is about having it your way. Now your way is not a slogan that was used by one of those burger joints it is about the freedom to choose. People have chosen that is why MySpace truly does rank up there because people have chosen to have it their way and yet also tell their story. Hence number two which combined with number three is again the reason why we are seeing this influx of social networking and video sites.

The face of advertising is changing. Media is about you not about someone else. Each of us has the power to let others know how we feel and make it authentic. As advertisers we owe it to our customers to reach out and share our feelings on our product. Make it real and authentic not sanitized. Empower the customer to make a choice through the experience.

If you doubt what I am saying see number one again.

Links:
Seth Godin (Social commentary)
Washington Post (free registration)
Media Works
(How people have it their way and yet ad retention went up)

The changing face of MySpace?

So I posted a while ago about a commentary on how they could kill MySpace. Do you suppose this little tidbit is the forshadowing of things to come?

Now every provider of "free" content reserves the right to cancel said service at anytime it is just interesting timing. Now I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I would imagine that there are for more objectionable MySpace pages.

This one will be an interesting one to watch.

UPDATE: So it is back up.... Ted Stevens Fan Club

Oh and you need to learn more about what this is about!

Cutting through the clutter... How not to

So in this article in the USA Today there is great discussion how Honda is using a 5 second ad to thwart DVRs, but do you need to spend that money to thwart something? Why not spend the time developing loyal customers who will sell your product. I can see the trend now more and more shorter ads to get around the commercial skip function. This will only improve the already prevalent clutter in the broadcast market. I think that broadcasters who will increasingly become more and more hungry for revenue will back right up to this model. People choose DVRs because they both want to cut through the clutter as well as watch the shows when they want to.

Let's not clutter it up more.

New term or viable for marketing

So there is a new word out there called freedbacking. What is proposed is this will be a tag that will allow users to post feedback on a product for all to see. What this could mean as a marketer would be the ability to spot early trends on how your product is actually being used. Thoughts?

What do you project?

Each of us projects an image to those around us and to our customers. This fact struck me as I went to the recent concerts this last Saturday in Bend. Both acts were good musicians, but they did not do well with the audience. What I mean by this is they played well, but there was no interaction. Today more than ever we want people to relate to us and this was not done.

We owe it to our customers and clients to give them the same simple form of interaction. They are there to relate to you and your business for the long term unless you don't want them.

Future of mainstream television

The easiest way to fall behind is to not look ahead. I found this story this morning on NPR very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the piece where NBC's Zucker appears like he really is not sure how they are going to pay for shows in this new era. So if you are a big agency thinking that television still has power listen closely. I think even he may be a bit worried.

My Space...

So My Space is successful at networking, but this article posses some interesting questions.

My Space is tough to commoditize. How do you "sell" a site that has a lot of users, but they are there to network not be sold.

The changing face of television

Anyone who may think that TV is still king may well read this article. It seems there is a vast digital wasteland out there besides TV and media buyers may be interested in shifting resources.

Makes perfect sense to me.

I couldn't resist

Okay this is just embarrassing! Does anyone else see a problem with this or am I just being picky?

If you are trying to convey important information make it easy. Maybe just a click here button?

Where am I?

So we are on a job right now. I took this yesterday. Any ideas where I may be?

I just like them!

Creative funny and true to life... Well if you believe everything that the spin meisters want to tell you!

Event last night

We helped produce an event for the Cascade Festival of Music. It went very well. I guess I can't stop fighting this strange feeling of the amount of hours it takes to do an event right and yet it goes by so quick. I used some new software from Serious Magic called Ovation that does amazing things, but it still takes some time to get it to look right. When I put together a show I prefer to layer graphics with transparencies. Now I am not a Photoshop wizard, but at least feather and make the edges softer. This takes time and a lot of it. Do people notice? I hope so. I think I do it because I can and feel it is right.

This time is the difficult thing because when you say I will put together your PowerPoint people think okay well it should take you about an hour so I will pay you accordingly. Now I am not saying this is the case with the production we did last night, but it goes to show the perception that people have.

This thought goes towards how each of us as contractors should value each others time. We should be thinking about not trying to underestimate, but overestimate on our projects. We should do this not in the interest of gouging the client, but to allow the time to do the job right. If we take less time then we bill the client for less.

Let all of us take the time to do things right.

Course charting 101

The first thing you must do is establish it!

Hmmm.... That seems to be a bit hard. We dabble as a company in so many things!

Current projects include:
1) Church History Project DVD
2) Events for
Cascade Festival Of Music
Red Cross
PIA Weekend Conference
3) Promotional DVDs

And this is just a partial list. I think the thing I enjoy most about owning your own business is you get to pick the work, but it can be exhausting with all of the difference in it all. So how to chart the course?

In order to focus you need to have a goal. Mine is to support my family, but more importantly provide the best production that I can provide for the clients we serve and when it comes to the events we produce how can we make them different and unique. Now the goal can become a bit askew from time to time, but it is important to allow minor course corrections occasionally. Time for one....

Man I am vague. Anyone want to read between the lines?

The seeds of an idea

Sometimes the randomness of the world will collide and germinate an idea. These ideas grow until you have to listen to them and act. I know a bit cryptic, but more to come soon...

So we went to NAB last week and saw HD for everyone as Sony coined it. Interesting use when not everyone can enjoy watching it due to things like in this market only having one true over the HD outlet. The further fighting over HD DVD vs Blue Ray DVD is beginning to put a damper on what consumers want which is true HD that they can watch. Only when the final battle over the next DVD format has been one will we have the answer. Meantime I think I should go shoot some HD to see how it works out.

Apple's announcement of the 17" Mac Book Pro is another advancement in the future of media. I found it rewarding to have Apple demonstrating how easy it is to use Garage Band to create Podcasts. I wonder why Adobe doesn't get that?

So the future is HD and in so many other things. With the course uncharted it is time to chart a course.

Events

Here are a couple of pictures from what we worked on this last weekend. It is enjoyable working with such a professional group. Furthermore it was a vey uplifting event. The Oregon FFA Association is a positive uplifting group and it was wonderful working with so many talented youth. We helped produce an IMAG feed as well as DVDs of the event for sale.

What it means to be a marketer

Read this post from Seth Godin and you may learn a few things about what you may want to do with your own business. Authenticity