An Outside Perspective on YouTube

YouTube, owned by internet mega company Google, draws BILLIONS of viewers every day. From music videos to bum fights, YouTube has just about everything a person could desire right before their eyes in seconds. While some of us watch the occasional funny video with friends, or use it to listen to music, the power of YouTube seems to be escaping the glimpse of the public eye.

YouTube revolutionized entertainment. It has also bent the boundaries of what exactly constitutes entertainment. Sick videos are circulated quickly around the internet, which leads to anxious computer heads ready to blog about it and spread it via their own websites. This never-ending cycle has really revolutionized the online experience in the last five years.

“Go to YouTube and type ..” is a common phrase for my generation (born in the 80’s). We turn to You Tube for laughs, information, or just to watch some insane car wreck that happened on the other side of the world thirty years ago. I mean EVERYTHING is on YouTube. Even in Microsoft Office, YouTube (big T) is part of the spell-check, it has officially become a word.

YouTube has made superstars out of nobody’s and encouraged everyone with an idea for a stupid video to go put it on YouTube. Some videos are worth watching, but others are so bizarre it’s difficult to even comprehend them. While users hope to never see the end of this glorious open forum, YouTube has to find a way to draw revenue, and they have to find it soon.

Believe or not YouTube is having some money issues. According to an MSNBC article, the company lost over $170 million during the last fiscal year. Although YouTube has become an even more popular diversion since Google, it still hasn't proven it can make money. For all of the views YouTube generates, it has yet to be able to translate those into dollars. A recent scheme by Apple has been putting links to the iTunes store on every song when it is played via YouTube. Personally, I listen to music there all the time, but never bought a song. Looks like I’m not the only one.

As for now, a site that has been touted as a news creator is still looking for a way to turn a profit; a thought very confusing to a world addicted to the website.

Score One For The Good Guys

After aiming their guns at bloggers receiving under the table payments, The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has suspended the majority of a judgment levied against two defendants accused of selling bogus security software to up to a million consumers.

A PC World article reported that James Reno and his Web hosting company, ByteHosting Internet Service of Ohio, will forfeit $116,697, just a fraction of the $1.9 million the judgment levied against Reno and the company. The settlement must still be approved by a court, the FTC said.

The story went on to say the rest of the penalty was suspended due to an inability of the defendants to pay, the agency said. However, if it is found Reno and the company misrepresented their assets, they will have to pay the full amount.

The program the accused party was pitching falsely alerted people of a security problem on their PC. If installed, the program will badger users with warnings until they buy the application, which cost around $40. The FTC complaint also asked hosting providers to prevent people from accessing the Web sites hosting the programs. The FTC asked the court to force the defendants to forfeit money from the scam and compensate consumers.

The decision marks a victory for computer users everywhere. As the technology industry evolved from Comodore 64’s to the do it all Mac Books and PC’s, computer virii, and ways to infect host computers have been keeping pace. Various programs exist and look so similar to normal programs (ByteHosting settled a lawsuit with Symantec in 2004 for allegedly creating pop-up ads that told consumers their Symantec software was about to expire) that only very carefully trained computer eyes could pick up their lack of authenticity.

These scams have provided a legitimate source of income for their proprietors, and have been a thorn in the side of all computer users for a very long time.

This marks the second time the FTC has taken action, and is sending a message to all individuals using the web to make money illegally;

Try it and you will get caught, and then you will pay a large amount of money for getting caught.

Ew, the OLD iPhone? You must be joking

So all the buzz has been about the new iPhone. Your friends have been running around screaming (or most likely texting, video messaging, or utilizing the new Teleport App that allows users to zap themselves to any location of a current contact) “Look at me I have the new iPhone!! It can give me directions to work, drive my car, put on my make up, pick out my clothes, even call the office for me to tell them I am sick while I sit on a beach in the Caribbean. With a phone that can do all that in less than 15 seconds, while still offering three trillion other apps, it certainly seems appealing. But what about its older, uglier, cheaper self, now only $99? Well who would want an iPhone that can’t even do your laundry for you? Thus the exploration was conducted looking into other phones available for the same $100 price tag.

The old iPhone, now associated with other antiques including the Model T ford, Colonial Muskets, and honest faithful governors, may be a bargain only because it is falling inline with ECON 101; Supply and Demand. Nobody wants an old slow lame phone when they can have a NEW SHINY FANCY one. Looking outside of the Smartphones by Apple, consumers have numerous $100 options when it comes to Smartphones. T-Mobile offers the G1 for $100 and not only do you get a phone that has a name like a super cool stealth Air Force plane, but it's made and run by Google. How could you ever go wrong? Also on the menu is the touch screen Blackberry Storm. Join the touch screen and Blackberry worlds with one phone while staying covered in those infamous “dead zones” by Verizon. AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint each offer other Smartphones for the same chunk of change including Nokias and multiple Samsungs. So don’t settle for less when you deserve the best! Get out there and get the Smartest Smartphone for you. Also check out those Windows Smartphones… I heard yesterday they were pretty sweet.

Cracking Down on Bloggers

Further proving the significance of the blog, the FTC will now start keeping an eye on blogs which review various products over the internet.

Blogging, a word once not recognized by Microsoft’s spell check, has become a powerful marketing tool, as well as source of information for consumers. Today, society turns to blogs for everything from personal health advice, to whether or not it would be a good idea to buy an iPhone.

Because anyone with an internet connection and a pulse can have a blog, the amount of information available on the “blogosphere” is immense. This leads to a vast amount of inaccurate information, and opens the doors for companies to push some under the table cash to a prominent blogger in return for favorable blog entries.

According to a CNET article the FTC would bring bloggers under guidelines that ban deceptive or unfair business practices. This refers to bloggers who accept free gifts, and even include the practice of affiliate links--for example, a music blogger who links to a song on Amazon MP3 or iTunes that earns an affiliate commission in the process, or a product review that will link to the website where it can be purchased.

Some companies have sprung up around the whole notion of blogger compensation and giveaways. An associated press article discusses companies that do business by offering free blogger incentives. This practice dangerously blurs the line between sales and reviews, and can prove to be a pandemic to the blogging world if left unchecked.

Think what the consequences would be if a newspaper were to base its content on the companies has advertisement deals with; public outcry and FTC regulations would have it shut down in a heartbeat. Cases like this can seriously hurt the blogging world, and take away the beauty of having unbiased opinions from average people in the same situation as readers.

For the sake of the blog, let’s hope the word doesn’t become synonymous with the backhanded marketing tactics it appears to be attracting.

Music Industry v. Technology

The rapid growth of technology has often enjoyed a positive outlook by consumers and business. One of the main industries that has often spoke out against aspects of technology they deemed as damaging to their business was the music industry. The music tycoons accused technology of giving birth to the age of piracy; the illegal downloading of music through shared files on the internet. Through the use of P2P (Peer to Peer) programs people are able to “share” music with all other users on the internet; never having to pay a dime.

The music industry was obviously upset about this because they claimed that every time someone was downloading a song it was a loss of a sale for them. That seems to make logical sense to me. If one has the following options which are they more likely to choose?

A) Buy a whole album because you like one song on it

B) Buy the one song you like an maybe one other on iTunes for 99 cents. (now they have made more popular songs $1.29… Pushing to piracy if you ask me)

C) Use a P2P program to download your song for free (a dollar saved is a dollar earned)

d) Use a P2P program to download any song or album you want.. for free

It would appear as though the music industry would be doomed after a short matter of time. The recent closing of the Virgin Megastore in NYC would appear to serve as evidence in the music industry’s case against piracy and technology. HOWEVER, a recent study by two economists from Harvard and the University of Kansas contest the claim that downloading music is hurting the industry. They argue that the lax copy write laws are even desirable so long as they don’t damage incentives for artists. The increase in music production, artists, albums and other measurable elements seem to say that everything is going just fine. Thus, onward and upward with technology. More gadgets, more gizmos. Wireless everything, digital copies, uploading, file sharing, remote access, video conferencing, The TNS Group, IT services, etc. Even if it means all rappers have the same beats made from the same little machine creating fake sound. I think we can live with that as the side effects.

Onward and Upward says IBM

Computer software giant IBM announced on Tuesday that it plans on spending $100 Million over the next five years investing in cell phones. It seems that over the last week or two cell phone news has been all the buzz (no pun intended for those of you whose phones are on vibrate as we speak). At Apple’s global conference in San Francisco last week the world was introduced to the latest and greatest iPhone yet. With every feature you could ever want, and then 50,000 apps on top of it that can all be used to customized your mobile experience, the iPhone is a pretty serious piece of machinery.

Top researchers and experts for IBM believe that we are only still taking off into the age of cell phone use and accessibility. IBM seeks to develop a simple efficient interface that will facilitate mobile communication past the point where it is right now. Research provided to IBM from Internet World Stats shows that 83% of the world does not have internet access through a computer at home. The development of the mobility of the mobile, that is making it do more and more stuff while being more and more mobile is the goal for this endeavor. The notion of being mobile and yet fully accessible and functioning as if you were sitting at your business’s headquarters or in front of your clients is a very appealing idea to just about everyone in the corporate world.

The technology for phones is growing and expanding at a rapid rate. The way that technology grows in general in it is no wonder that the development of the mobile phone has taken off in the way it has. We have gone from beepers, to car phones, to cell phones the of an arm, to analog screens, black and gray displays, to straight phones, to flip phones, to phones that could access the internet, to now. Phones that are a computer; and a phone; in the palm of your hand; that also play full color HD movies; and stream live baseball games (check out the new At Bat app from MLB.com. Hey remember that time that cell phones could only make phone calls? Gosh, how did we ever survive. IBM know that will be the same mindset in 10 years looking back on the phones and PDA’s we have now, and that is why they are looking to move forward with such a plan.

New Deal Inked for Music Downloads

The fight by record labels to curb illegal music downloads is one they will unfortunately never win. There are simply too many people who don’t want to pay for music, and too many ways for them to go about getting it for free. When one site (Napster) is shot down, two pop up to take their place.

If you can’t beat em, join em.

According to a New York Times Article ,the Universal Music Group and Virgin Media on Monday said that they had reached a deal that would offer consumers unlimited downloads as part of a partnership that steps up antipiracy enforcement.

Universal, the largest recording company in the world, said it would offer its entire to customers of Virgin Media for a monthly subscription. The announcement comes the day after Virgin Media decided to close its flagship store in Times Square and focus on virtual sales.

The music will be offered sans a copyright protection, which keeps files from being uploaded onto virtual devices where they could be replicated on other computers. This feature is found on most other legal downloading sites such as iTunes.

In return for the removal of this feature, Virgin Media, agreed to execute measures reducing piracy on its network, something that other broadband providers have resisted. Virgin has reportedly contacted Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group, among others, in an effort to expand their offerings.

This deal is monumental for many reasons. First of all, the rock of the record store industries, located in the heart of the business capital of the world is closing. For long time music fans, this marks the end of an era. Conversely, the powers that be of the music world have acknowledged that they cannot compete with illegal music downloads. According to that same Times article, 95% of all online music is distributed illegally. Rather than continue to watch their money fall through the cracks, music industry leaders finally are getting the message that the “times they are a changing” (Bob Dylan).

As the band SemiSonic put nicely, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end”. Let’s hope this online venture can save the sanctity of the music industry from internet pirates determined to get something for nothing.

Dont Compromise; Virtualize

For companies who run their business off of multiple servers, the term “going green” now holds dual meanings. VM Ware Inc., a global leader in software for industry-standard virtualized desktops and servers, specializes in server virtualization, which increases a servers utilization rate tenfold.

By virtualizing, a company can save both time and money because multiple applications can be run off of one server, which means less maintenance, energy, and upfront costs are required to keep the company up and running. The method also protects a company in the event a given server goes down. When virtualized, it is possible to quickly get the down application up and running without troubleshooting an entire server.

Today, VMware Inc. introduced a self-service Web-based TCO Calculator that estimates the return on investment of VMware Infrastructure, the industry’s most robust virtualization software suite, and provides a detailed report of potential cost savings.

By crunching numbers, the Calculator can determine how energy efficient a company servers are running, and how much the company can save by virtualizing their servers. This cost cutting method not only benefits the company, but helps reduce its carbon footprint.

The TNS Group offers VMware services, and can make a difference for your business today. Server virtualization is the future of data management, and will soon make servers holding only one set of applications archaic. Take your IT services to the next level and virtualize your servers soon.

Mother nature, and your bottom line will both be better off

Green Tech goes to Top

One of the latest social awareness crazes that has cemented a pretty broad following is the idea of “going green”.  Though many people have been stressing environmental preservation for years, it has really caught on the last 5 years influencing more than just leftist activist rallies and peace demonstrations.  The Go Green mindset has now settled itself into the business world, corporate America, the domain once viewed as the arch nemesis of everything Green Initiatives stood for. 

Green ideas are everywhere we go now.  People are trying to incorporate the Three R’s into their daily lives; Reduce, Recycle, Reuse.  People have traded in their Hummers for the sporty new Prius (just go with me on this one) and are looking to minimize energy consumption and their environmental footprint.  Cars are starting to get more mileage per gallon?! Wow, talk about a timely scientific break through! Wait? What is that? Automakers have had the ability to do that for years, but nobody cared enough to implement it? Why is that? Because consumers didn’t care? Interesting.  The Green lifestyle is more than cars though it’s bringing your own bags to the grocery store, it’s using energy efficient light bulbs and appliances, it’s turning lights off when you leave a room, it’s not running the air conditioner on MAX COLD NORTH POLE temperature all day. 

Now however, these ideas and lifestyle adjustments that people are making in their private lives are carrying over into the corporate world.  Companies, and not just the small ones, have hopped on the bandwagon and are going green.  There is a whole new market sector developing in the corporate world completely dedicated the development of Green products and Green technologies.  This past week news came from Chromasun, a solar power development company, that they will be unveiling their new solar powered air-conditioning unit later this week.  Air-Conditioners are one the top energy consuming appliances in the world, especially in California, where they consume half of the peak energy load.  The new solar powered air-conditioner will look to reduce total energy consumption by nearly 15%.  

They are not alone in the push for Green however.  Many other companies are seeking out strategic business plans that not only to cut cost, but to be more environmentally friendly by reducing energy waste and carbon foot prints.  The TNS Group is proud to be one of these companies that provide these types of services to many of our clients.  Through the utilization of remote access, network optimization, and server virtualization The TNS Group is allowing companies to travel less, spend less, and use less.  These practices reduce carbon emission from traveling, cut energy consumption from powering unnecessary servers, and save on the cost of product hardware and the power needed to run that hardware.  The TNS Group is proud to be part of Green Initiatives and saving clients time, energy, money.  

 

New Movie Marketing

Exploring new forms of marketing and advertising is not always the easiest task. For this reason many companies have complete departments dedicated to marketing or in some cases hire out marketing firms to advertise for them. In our quest to expose our name and get our brand out there we have opened our minds to creative ways of advertising it hopes to find our groove. Thus we are now meeting with cinema advertising companies in hopes of running our commercial in a nearby theater frequented by our target audience.

With a commercial previously made to run in cable spots all we hope to do is acquire air time spots for a good price that will show in front of an attentive audience chalk full of business owners and decision makers who have been praying to the IT gods for an answer to their problems. Then, right before their eyes, just as they are preparing to see this summer’s ‘movie of the year’, (most likely sitting next to their screaming kids asking when the popcorn will be there), their prayers will be answered. A local IT services company; with a Big League reputation, unprecedented customer service, glowing testimonials for work done all across the Tri-state area, and the ability to optimize, upgrade, and resolve any IT problems will flash across the screen in big black and orange letters… The TNS Group. They will think to themselves, ‘What a great day to be me.’ Monday morning they will call us up at 203-316-0112 and say, “I am so glad that I saw your commercial at the movies this weekend, when can I get you in here?” Just like that we are on the move. That is at least how I see it playing out in my head.

All joking aside, The TNS Group is on the move. We are on the move for a successful marketing approach that will further legitimize our name and more importantly bring in new leads to our business. After much research about movie goers, box office numbers even in today’s market, and the retention rate that movie ads produce, we have agreed that this is something worth attacking. The cinema advertising industry is just taking off, and the numbers don’t lie. Steady and large revenue increases and projections are hopefully a sign of things to come as we venture out into the world of cinematography. This, along with a continued direct contact approach through the phone, email, mailing, and face to face meetings should bring us results. And if it doesn’t? Then it is on to the next idea.

iWant the new iPhone

Today’s top story in the “one up your competitor” department comes from who else but Apple.

At the recent trade show for MAC users in San Francisco, Apple unveiled the newest version of its popular iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 3G S. Famously known for their creativity in products and commercials, Apple took a simpler route, and said the S stands for speed. Not too flashy, but effective.

The iPhone 3G S is being touted as a faster, longer lasting, and more functional version than its predecessor. The new iPhone also has a built in internal compass, and full functioning video camera that can be focused by touching the screen with a finger. According to the Washington Post Apple VP of worldwide marketing Philip W. Schiller explained that through a simple voice command, users can upload an iPhone video directly to You Tube. Wow

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the launch is the price tag. The previous iPhone was priced at $399 on its launch date. The new device will be priced at $199 and $299, for the 16 gigabytes and 32 gigabytes of storage respectively. For those of you unfamiliar with gigabyte conversion, 32 is an insane amount of memory, and more than almost any normal human would need on their handheld device. The iPhone 3G S will hit stores next week, and will surely draw more crazed crowds of people, especially with the devalued price tag accompanying it.

The launch of this device only moves Apple further into the stratosphere, while their competition remains grounded on earth. The smartphone is evolving into a do everything tool, closer to a pocket sized PC rather than a smartphone. This phone can prove to be a game changing device that will bury the competition, and undoubtedly uproot the Palm Pre which came out only days before.

"Palm Pilot" Ring Any Bells?

Back in the dinosaur age of technology when a cell phone only made phone calls, people relied on Palm Pilots to keep their lives in order. These days, when smartphone like Blackberries and I-Phones do just about everything except serve you breakfast, the archaic idea of separate devices for calling and organizing seems downright strange to most tech-savvy users. The seamless integration of these services placed the Palm Pilot next to your VCR and CD player on the dust collecting shelf reserved for technological antiques. While the Palm Pilot probably won’t ever leave that shelf, Palm is banking that its new product, The Palm Pre, will be leaving store shelves in a hurry and dethroning the incumbent giants as the new “it” gadget.

The Palm Pre came out June 6^th, and did not draw the mass hysteria the iPhone did on opening day. No one camped out for days, but instead arrived and average two to three hours early in hopes of snagging a new Pre. Sprint is the official service provider of the Pre, and was selling the phone for $299, with a hundred dollar mail in rebate. According to a CNET article about the launch, the biggest lines came at Best Buy’s, which were selling the phone for $199, and eliminating the need for to go through the mail in rebate process. Retailers refused to give specific information on early sales figures, but said the stores experienced a “steady stream” of customers throughout the first day.

Early feedback on the Pre has been positive, but only achieved a three out of five star average user rating on the CNET website. The smartphone features a vibrant display with multitouch functionality as well as a solid Web browser and good multimedia integration. The Pre offered good call quality and wireless options include 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. Some drawbacks noted in the websites review were a cramped keyboard, and a lack of, video-recording capabilities, onscreen keyboard, and Flash support as the main drawbacks.

As a self declared “crack berry” addict I can’t say I would trade in mine for a Pre. However, after reading the reviews and researching the product, I think an individual in the market for a smart phone should consider the Pre. While it will probably never be able to compete with the ridiculous amount of apps for the iPhone, or the constant connectivity of all blackberry users, the Pre seems ready to take a bite out of the smartphone pie.

The Latest Craze in the World of Crackberries

Blackberry has wasted no time keeping up with the high demand for instant technology and consumer gratification, all in the palm of the user’s hand. The new Blackberry Curve 8900, code named Javelin, has come storming onto the scene, no pun intended at the Blackberry sister phone the touch screen Storm. This new phone has tech gurus drooling as it seems to have everything one could ever imagine in a phone. The new 8900 offers many of the traditional features that have made Blackberries the sensation they are today including web browsing, email, mobile updates from social networks, and of course the holy grail of text messaging ability.

The new 8900, seen as the replacement to the curve, also offers a highly touted 3.2M camera, Wi-Fi support, built in GPS, Blackberry Maps, and an Enhanced Media Player. One of the most popular features of this all in one “phone-computer-GPS-camera crew-personal assistant” device is the stunning resolution and clarity of its new screen. Smaller than the screen of the Bold, critics say it is the sharpest and crispest Blackberry screen yet.

What about size you ask? Yes it does matter, and in this case it is perfect. The Javelin weighs in at just less than 4.00 ounces and fits comfortably into pockets and purses alike. Coming from someone who is a self proclaimed texting-addict, the keys of the new 8900 seem perfect for hours of messaging at the expense of my thumbs. The keys are said to be spaced just right and have a solid feel to them.

Blackberry always seems to be coming out with new updates, new models, and new ways to keep themselves one click ahead of the competition. The operating system on the blackberry has generally enjoyed widespread success, but could there be trouble on the horizon? Look out for search engine giant Google, as they break into the market with their new Android operating system now being launched on phones by T-Mobile. For more on that and the latest in technology buzz check us out on twitter for daily updates.

Now Introducing...BING

In an effort to combat internet mogul Google, Microsoft launched their own search platform, dubbed Bing, this past weekend. The effort marks Microsoft’s second attempt at dethroning the incumbent Google, after Windows Live Search failed to make a dent in Google’s majority control of market share. (Read up on Microsoft’s past blunders with Windows Live, and other flawed product launches)

According to an article from the Information Week website, Google controls over 60% percent of the market share in comparison to Microsoft’s lowly 8%. Microsoft can’t even stake a claim to second place on that list, which belongs to Yahoo at 21%. After getting toasted by Apple advertisements against their latest product, Windows Vista, Microsoft seems to be taking a stab at a different kind of market; that of the millions of dollars companies pour into search engine related advertising.

While Microsoft can be commended for their David vs. Goliath type crusade against Google, I believe this venture will be placed in the same recycling bin as Windows Live Search. Google is hands down the best at what they do. The company has vice grip on the market, and was successfully able to turn company name into a verb synonymous with attaining information. (How many times a day does the phrase “Google it” get used in your office?) Microsoft is once again biting a bigger piece then their company can chew. Google’s audience data is so comprehensive, easy to use, and dare I say fun; that I don’t ever see another company dethroning them.

Acknowledging this dominance, Microsoft has even purchased “Sponsored Link” space on Google in an effort to promote Bing. Now, when you type in “Windows Live” in Google, the first sponsored link is Bing. If promoting your own product on your new product on your competitors platform is a sign that Microsoft knows its fighting an extremely uphill battle.

Only time will tell whether Bing is able to make a splash in the Google infested waters of internet search engines. Unfortunately for Microsoft, I think they’re going to need a bigger boat.