Who Would Have Thought That Northwest Airlines Pilots Were So Techie?

Ahh, yes, Northwest Airlines. I have had a love/hate relationship with the airline from the very beginning. We are both Minnesotans after all -- and we both were originally "based" in Minneapolis, land of the free and home of the brave (Vikings, at least with Brett Favre at the helm). And, now that I live in San Diego (for the past 7.5 years), Northwest Airlines is essentially the only way to fly non-stop back to my home city (which I will be doing again this year for Turkey Day).

So, it was with special pride that I embraced the news that Northwest pilots -- on that San Diego to Minneapolis flight the other day -- apparently decided to hone their techie chops by spending time on their laptops in the cockpit. Perhaps, I thought, Northwest (now Delta) had trained its pilots to be digital media mavens? Could this be?

Alas, not so fast. There was one hitch with this admirable plan to bring pilots into the 21st century land of laptop technology. They forgot that they were flying 20th century technology planes -- and, that, they actually had to fly those planes!

Well, what's the big deal here, you may say. Those fortunate to have flown on this "Laptop Special" flight likely enjoyed 4 views of my original fair city -- twice while they flew past it and back to it (only 150 miles past! Enough to see beautiful Lake Superior!) and twice more when they made their (what ultimately became their) final approach.

Double the pleasure, double the fun!

(Remember, Northwest Airlines was the airline that also flew the "Cocktail in the Cockpit Special" a few years back.)

Northwest Airlines -- bringing new meaning to the word "Festive" during this very festive time of year!

Skype Approaches $800 Million Annual Revenue Run Rate

While Skype's very existence is threatened by those who birthed the revolutionary IP communications company, the company's numbers continue to grow impressively.

Now, Skype's registered user count is 521 million (whereas it was 370 million same time last year -- or a year-over-year growth rate of 41%). And, even more importantly, Skype's monetization efforts are paying off. Skype is now approaching an annual revenue run rate of $800 million -- specifically, Skype's revenues hit $185 million in Q3 (whereas they were at $143 million same time last year -- or a year-over-year growth rate of 29%).

Perhaps even more importantly, just think of the revenues lost by the major telecoms who have been Skyped -- likely tens of billions of dollars.

And, with the major telecoms about to lose a key FCC vote today on net neutrality, it is not a happy time for them ...

Forever Staples -- LA Venue is Permanently Identified with Office Products

Okay, so this post isn't really about digital media or technology. It is about something that is of personal interest because I have been involved in these kinds of deals in the past when I worked at Universal Studios (way back when in the 90s).

In the first ever deal of its kind, Staples (the office superstore) has agreed to paid some unknown sum for a venue naming sponsorship that will last forever -- i.e., in perpetuity. That means that LA's downtown entertainment venue will be forever named the "Staples Center" and forever associated with paper products, paper clips, post its and ... well ... staples.

This is a first -- has never happened before. Is really unprecedented. Is quite amazing actually.

Previously, in 1999, Staples agreed to pay $120 million for a 20 year sponsorship. So, what did it take to extend the additional 10 years remaining for essentially the rest of the venue's life? Neither party would say, but that "perpetual" price apparently had already been defined in the agreement struck in 1999 (in other words, Staples apparently exercised a pre-existing option).

(NOTE -- actually, digital media is involved in a tangential way in relation to the Staples Center, as performances and events within the building certainly are now monetized over the Web and those online broadcasts and on demand performances ultimately should yield some real money.)

Vevo -- Music Vids Served Up YouTube Style -- Adds a New Chef

Veoh, Tivo, Vevo! Veni, Vidi Vici?

Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Group (SMG) at least certainly hope to come, to see, to conquer. Conquer the online music video space, that is.

Vevo -- which sounds awfully like a combination of Veoh (an online video sharing site that UMG crippled with litigation) and Tivo (also video on demand -- go figure!), sprinkled in with a dash of the music group Devo -- is the soon-to-be-launched online music video sharing site from those two former music powerhouses. Think of Vevo as Youtube -- but exclusively featuring music videos (rather than user generated content or UGC). The interesting thing is that Vevo will use Youtube as its primary distribution platform in a deal that gives Youtube, of course, more premium content to monetize.

And, Vevo just added a new major investor to its party -- Abu Dhabi Media Company -- in a deal that is reported to value Vevo at $300 million.

In Search of Excellence -- Why Have We Come to Expect Less (and Accept It)? Skype, Twitter, Pandora -- Guilty (But Shutterfly Gives Us Hope)

Skype, Twitter, Pandora -- three services I regularly use. And all are excellent ... well, scratch that ... very good ... well, scratch that ... get the job done?

When they work -- all three services are compelling. But, the problem is that they frequently simply do not work.

Take Skype -- I literally have not been on a single Skype call in the past month that didn't drop within the first 30 seconds, forcing me to call back, cross my fingers, and hope that the connection lasted the second time. Is that "business" grade? I think not. (And to add insult to injury, not only did eBay pay $3+ billion for this technology that frequently does not work, they now have been hauled into court for patent infringement by Skype's own founders who are challenging Skype's rights to use that broken technology! Now that is something!)

Exhibit B -- Twitter. In the past week, I have seen the Twitter "Fail Whale" swimming across my screen 50% of the time (with a smile on its face and with happy little birds lifting it up from the sea), meaning that my spontaneous moments of brilliance were forced to stay bottled up within me. Just think of all the profound thoughts that you all missed as a result. While the whale seemed to be tranquil, I certainly was not -- and I doubt you were as well. But, then we moved on with a collective shrug of the shoulders and muttered "oh well" to ourselves ...

And, how about Pandora? I know it is a critic's darling. But, c'mon. How many songs are in its library? 20? I keep hearing the same songs time and time and time again in an endless loop. Look, I like repetition as much as the next guy (especially with my favorite music -- I get obsessive really), but Pandora takes it a bit too far. Those wonderful algorithms -- and the service's much ballyhooed "human" factor -- are in need of a face-lift in my humble opinion.

Yet, despite these significant foibles, I continue to use all of these services ...

... and there's the rub.

I came to realize late yesterday that I have come to expect mediocrity from most of the services I use ... that mediocrity is to be simply, well, accepted. All of us are in the same boat really in this regard ... we put up with services that frequently not only fail to satisfy -- they simply frequently fail!

And, that's plain wrong.

Now, don't get me wrong, first, I highly respect each one of these services -- all 3 are kings in their respective spaces and all 3 have had great successes (Pandora is not quite in the same league of course). And, second, I hold myself accountable for continuing to use these services even with their persistent problems.

But, the problem is that we all are faced with these kinds of issues on a continuing basis from a number of the services we use (case in point -- how about our wireless services? We still pay our wireless providers for their spotty service and for frequently ridiculously bad customer support ... borderline comical really). Why do we put up with this? Put simply, it is because this problem is so pervasive -- so many services simply do not work that we accept that as being "just the way it is" (in a very stoic-like Cronkite fashion).

Where oh where is excellence? Where oh where is pride in business and customer commitment (I know this is a bit harsh particularly for Twitter, because its whale is a victim of its own success). And, when the service does not work, where oh where is the old edict that taking care of customers is the best way to take care of your business?

But, occasionally, there are glimmers of hope out there. Beacons of light pointing us to where the world should be and how things should be done.

Shutterfly is one such beacon. I have been a long-time loyal -- and frequently heavy spending -- customer precisely because they have elevated customer service and excellence to an art! There is no doubt that they actually really care about their customer experience. Yes, of course it is for commerce sake. But, so what? I want them to make money precisely because they do things right -- they should make money! I happily give them my money because if I ever have an issue, they address it right away. Picture books too dark? Simply return them -- we will re-print them!

That's the way to be.

Customers will remember that -- and they will tell their friends ... and so on ... and so on ... and voila -- business success!

We at Sorenson Media are obsessed with excellence. We are obsessed with doing everything ... even the little things ... absolutely perfectly. We may not always succeed, but we will not accept mediocrity in our services. And, if a customer has an issue (let's face it, every service will have issues at one time or another), we have a great support team that gives the personal touch -- personal attention. Many of those issues go all the way to the top, because I want our senior staff to know about the issues our customers are experiencing. And, we try to address them all. Literally all of them.

Excellence is out there ... it just frequently is lost in the din of the white noise of mediocrity ...

We are personally responsible to support those services that are committed to absolutely getting it right.

Okay, that is my diatribe for the day ...

For Businesses & Enterprises, Video "Quality is Credibility"

My company, Sorenson Media is in the online video game, of course. And, our Sorenson 360 Video Delivery Network (our re-imagined and differentiated publishing/hosting platform) serves businesses of all size, including both the enterprise and SMBs. Video is transformative for these businesses, because online video optimizes their business growth -- driving more revenues by more effective product and service marketing, customer interaction, etc. That is how the vast majority of businesses harness the power of -- and look to monetize -- their video assets.

And, in the words of a colleague that recently resonated with me, for businesses video quality is "credibility." Nothing less than absolutely pristine video is acceptable to showcase their products, services and ultimately their overall brand. For businesses, consumer grade video platforms like YouTube simply are not good enough -- the quality, control, and more is simply not business class.

"Quality is credibility" -- and, fortunately, the Sorenson Media brand is synonymous with quality. That is our foundation -- and we have significantly differentiated technology and expertise in this regard, based on our 14 year head start from many in our space.

That is critical as the growth of professionally produced high quality video content continues to explode over the Internet -- already reaching 22.5 BILLION streams served this year.

Vivendi Opens Door to Comcast NBC Universal Deal

I recently wrote about Comcast's hope to purchase a controlling interest of 51% in media giant NBC Universal. I also wrote about why Comcast is looking to make this move -- and the ramifications to the online distribution of "TV" content and other rich media if this were to happen.

Well, a major impediment to that deal -- i.e., Vivendi's current 20% stake in NBC Universal -- is now clearing, with Vivendi signaling that it is, in fact, willing to sell its stake. The next major hurdle to Comcast's mission is valuation -- i.e., what price tag to put on NBC Universal.

And, you can bet that Comcast will clear that hurdle and continue to aggressively march forward with its IPTV vision.

AT&T to "Ration" iPhone Bandwidth? What a Difference a Day Makes

Yesterday, the big wireless news came from AT&T -- it had reversed course and agreed to permit Internet calling via Skype and other services across its network and on the iPhone. That drew a big smile from consumers, given that such news seemingly held the promise of reduced rate plans and exorbitant overage charges.

Well, not so fast -- iPhone users, just as you were basking in the glow of AT&T's new found benevolency, you may need to wipe that smile from your face. At yesterday's session at the annual CTIA conference in San Diego, AT&T Wireless' CEO Ralph de la Vega bemoaned the amazing growth of wireless broadband usage (5,000X in the last three years) and, in particular, bemoaned the significant data usage and multi-media (video in particular) habits of iPhone users (who make up about 3% of all of their wireless broadband users, but who consume 40% of all smart phone data).

And, he hinted -- in no uncertain terms -- that something needs to be done about this. Combined with his comments about "net neutrality" -- against it, not surprisingly -- it seems self-evident that AT&T has some kind of plan to "ration" bandwidth usage for AT&T mobile customers. None of the choices here are palatable for consumers -- read more here from PC Magazine's Mark Sullivan.

(And, read more here from my earlier post about Comcast's previous plan to "tier" Internet data usage amongst its customers -- i.e., anti-net neutrality and, in essence, pricing punishment for heavy users.)

CTIA Is "On" -- Mobile/Wireless News is FLO-ing

The Fall's CTIA (mobile/wireless/communications) conference is now going on in my backyard here in San Diego -- and the mobile news is FLO-ing. As in Qualcomm's MediaFLO, among other things.

First, Qualcomm just announced what I believe is its first hardware device -- its FLO TV "Personal Television" -- a handheld device that has a 3.5 inch screen, is razor thin, and will sell for about $250. FLO TV is Qualcomm's live television initiative for mobile devices, and the company hopes that its new Personal Television -- which is NOT a smart phone -- will spur subscriptions to its service that streams 20 or so channels of live television (monthly subscriptions run between $10-15). The company hopes that there are enough passionate sports fans, among others, who "Want their Live TV" for those special events where "on demand" -- i.e., time-shifting -- isn't good enough.

Then, there has been a barrage of other mobile/wireless communications news -- perhaps the most exciting being a major policy reversal by AT&T. Specifically, in a major boon for consumers, AT&T will now permit Internet phone calling across their network and on the iPhone via services like Skype. Now consumers will have a real chance to substantially reduce their monthly phone bills ... and those exorbitant overage charges.

(If you ever have time, have I got a story for you in that regard from my recent family trip to Europe ... and as a result of streaming music from Rhapsody ...)

Brits Prefer Their Advertising Online -- U.S. Not So Much (Yet)

Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that Internet advertising in the U.K. overtook TV advertising in the first half of this year. The market share for Internet ads was 23.5% compared to TV's 21.9%.

Think about that -- truly remarkable.

The same thing hasn't happened -- yet -- in the U.S., where TV ads still rule the day (43.4% market share compared to Internet ads' 13.9% share).

But, make no mistake ... it is happening ...

Res Ipsa Loquitur -- The Favre Speaks for Itself ...

... 30-23 Vikes ...

Life is good ...

... beginning tomorrow, back to digital media reality ...

Thanks for obliging me today -- I have been a Vikings fan all my life. We are 4-0 right now. And, for real. Things feel different this season.

Why? Passion. I write about it all the time -- and you see it time and time again.

Good for Favre. Good for the Vikes. And, good for my people in Minnesota!

Comcast's Impact on Hulu -- With or Without a Stake in NBC Universal

Comcast is poised to purchase a 51% controlling stake in media/content giant NBC Universal, as I have written about the last couple days.

This is a big deal for Comcast and the future of online video in general, and Hulu in particular -- since Hulu is a joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corp.

With or without ownership in NBC Universal, Comcast's impact on Hulu and the overall Hulu experience already has been substantial. The cable giant's 800 pound gorilla influence has significantly pared back the amount of content (TV shows) available on the site. In other words, Hulu already is not what it was and, ultimately, Comcast's actions -- and those of other cable companies (and hence, the media companies that need them) -- will marginalize the current power position held by the company.

I have written about this at lengthy previously, and thought that it may be worthwhile to bring my former piece to light for some weekend reading in light of these new developments.

Cisco Buys Tandberg for $3 Billion -- Video Conferencing Front & Center

Cisco's full-scale assault on "owning" the video conferencing space took a dramatic turn yesterday with its announcement of buying video conferencing giant Tandberg for $3 billion cash. Cisco -- in a space near and dear to me (via my former company SightSpeed) -- sees video conferencing (including its high end "telepresence" initiative) as a significant growth vehicle. And Tandberg can play a critical strategic role in that drive for greatness, by bringing video conferencing to the desktop and, hence, to small businesses who cannot come close to affording Cisco's current high end services.

This is a bold move -- it represents the power and promise of video conferencing. And it also represents a direct shot across the bow to several other video conferencing titans, including (1) HP (its Halo initiative), (2) Polycom (Tandberg's arch enemy in the collaboration space), and (3) Logitech -- the company that acquired SightSpeed last year. SightSpeed was known as offering the best in class desktop video conferencing application, and SightSpeed's promise always included the small-to-medium business (SMB) owner (and not only SightSpeed's consumer service which is now known as Logitech's "Vid").

Believe me, these companies will not sit back idly to watch their market share shrink. "Things" will happen ...

"I Want My NBC!", Sings Comcast - Implications for Hulu & Your Web Viewing Habits

The LA Times today reports that Comcast may be eyeing a major stake in NBC Universal -- possibly as much as 20% (which is Vivendi's current stake in the media company). According to the company itself, it is worth between $30-35 billion.

Why? Apart from its massive distribution muscle, Comcast wants more control over content as more and more content and "TV" viewing (i.e., premier highly produced TV programming and motion pictures) moves to the Web. Hulu and other sites that feature that kind of highly produced programming represent a direct and significant threat to Comcast and the other cable and satellite behemoths. I have written about this several times before -- these are the IPTV v. Internet TV wars (with Comcast aggressively -- very aggressively (and understandably from its perspective) being the poster child for the former cause. And Hulu in particular -- the most popular of those sites that feature TV programming -- is ... surprise, surprise ... a joint venture between NBC Universal and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Coincidence? Hmmmm, I think not.

With a significant ownership stake in NBC Universal, Comcast would have a strong voice in how the media company's content would be distributed (and monetized) across the Internet, including via Hulu.

Not a surprising move at all ... and possibly a very significant one for consumers and how they will be able to view premier content on the Web. And, this would represent just the latest move by Comcast to push its IPTV vision ...