An online resource for "Dialogues That Matter", Mediem offers discussion with thinkers all over the globe
Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Tide Rise is conceiving, creating and managing polished brands, campaigns and products for a handful of extraordinary companies. Our customer/demographic-focused approach has us crafting messages and imagery for Russian farmers all the way to CEO surfers. Our value is our limited client base, client-brand immersion and customer-satisfaction:profit relationship philosophy. If you are small to mediem sized business looking for ways to exact your core brand values on the ultimate target customer base, contact us to hear how we might help.
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Stylus. Sketching, drawing, handwriting, notes. And, two handed multi-touch gesturing.
make your own predictions with this handy tool. I think there is an app too.
http://unweary.com/2010/01/prediction-score-card.html
Note that almost none of my predictions are even on the prediction sheet. . .
Via Vimeo / Via Blogotheque – brush up on your Spanish.
There is no doubt that the internet era has been exciting. I have designed, produced and maintained dozens of websites, some that are truly fantastic. The technology, reach and ongoing, living/breathing aspect to websites is very interesting and rewarding. However, from an interactive and design perspective, I preferred making CDROMs in the mid 90’s with Macromedia Director. The biggest difference was that they took over the entire screen like a video game and you had complete control of the design – no browser rendering liabilities. We could use vibrant sound and video with no lag-time, plugins or downsampling. They were beautiful.
I am not sure if web designers will ever have that kind of artistic control again. But maybe tablet magazine designers will . . .
The scuttlebutt is that the Conde Nast, Apple, Bonnier, HP and others are working on a new standard for the display and delivery of interactive magazines. Immersive and animated, these new publications could spell relief for the industry. My money is on Apple to extend iTunes LP/Extras (the tools/environment for album liner notes and dvd-esque menus for videos) to the magazines. Then sell the magazines in iTunes to be viewed on Computers, iPhones and upcoming table (iSlate?). I think all of this runs on Webkit (the rendering engine in Safari, Chrome and other browsers).
So, the magazines never really succeeded in evolving into websites and were crushed by online upstarts. And now they may evolve into digital versions of themselves sold over the web and authored for display in a browser-based technology? What is the difference?
Stubborn Editors and Art Directors.
Web-people have been firecrackers – loose standards, no timelines, typos fixed after the audience catches them and low costs and far reach. Print Editors and Art Directors are control freaks, not because printing does not allow for errors to be fixed, but because they are control freaks; they have integrity, they adore creating something and sealing it shut, something complete and extraordinary. Magazine publishers and creators want to work on one issue at a time, release them one issue at a time and be judged one issue at a time. And soon they can in the new world.
I want in. I see the browser becoming a place where you find web tools and somewhere else (iTunes?) for Media. That is how it is for TV, Movies, Art, Books, Photography, Music and almost every other media – websites do not cut it. I design a great deal of brochure-ware and always feel handicapped – if 2010 means full screen, deep multimedia, single rendering engine and stereo sound are the new aspects of interactive design, color me adrenalized.
PaidContent is reporting that the movie studios are working out a new licensing deal with distributors where new releases will only be available for sale and then available for rent 30 days later. Evidently DVD sales are declining and rental models are booming (Redbox, Netflix, iTunes, etc.). Certainly there are films where ownership makes sense, children’s movies that are watched ad nausea, personal favorites and workout videos – but the lion’s share of films we watch are one time events. The attempt by the industry to force DVD sales is understood, there is more money to be made. There is money to be made in selling $300 Hamburgers too (as long as you outlaw $5 hamburgers).
I do not think this is another example of Media struggling with technology, this is Media struggling with customer behavior. It seems that the average consumer is gorging media like never before, but like a whale – thousands of small morsels make up a meal. And the economics are almost the reverse of tradition. We are not buying titles, we are renting access, we are not loyal to sources, we are loyal to choice and we excpect our $200-$400/month internet, cable and mobile investment covers the licensing of the content. I have AT&T, Comcast, XMradio, and iTunes expenses. I do not subscribe to a newspaper or magazine and I have not purchased a DVD in years, but my Media costs have skyrocketed. I do not think there are large sums of my money headed to the Studios, they too are earning like whales eat.
The studios are also losing the one-to-one connection with the consumer. Never mind the physical resonance with the brand when we purchase physical media, but the satisfaction of rental is reflected on Netflix, not Paramount. The marketing, packaging, retail and distribution choreography is major part of the Studio’s workload and presumed value.
So, there is still money to be made, lots and lots of money, but in a whole new manner- finish movie, upload to server, collect money forever (no need for grand opening weekends). Just let Apple and Netflix manage marketing and distribution. Best part about this model, the Studios can focus on making great movies, not forcing us to reluctantly buy landfill-destined media we watch once. Making great products means making happy customers – the essence of a good brand and great business model.
(Another thought – Apple has $34,000,000,000 cash on hand – how much of that would they need to buy Netflix?)
WordCamp Boston 2010 will be held at the Microsoft New England Research and Development (NERD) center in Kendall Square, Cambridge, on Saturday January 23rd. Never been to one, but it looks interesting. You can read and see more at 2010.boston.wordcamp.org.
Tide Rise client Castaway Clothing has recently launched their Fall 2009 / Winter 2010 Fall Clothing Line at the store we built for them this past Spring. There are plenty of terrific everyday clothes for man, woman and child, but right now it might be fun to pick up a pair of embroidered pants/skirts with Turkeys, Dreidels, Snowmen or Santa’s on time for the holidays. Shipping is free with orders of $250 or more.
www.castawayclothing.com
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