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I have been focussed on mobile recently and this is the direction I plan on taking my blog. Still, when I find examples of good business practices and strategies, I will be sure to share them.

This week Twitter, the talk of 'the tubes,' has faced their fair number of challenges. Namely, their uptime has been challenging their downtime, leading some to speculate on the scalability of the platform.

What is a start-up to do? Share with their users. In a post today, they addressed the recent outages. The reason behind these problems: they just don't know, but they are actively working to isolate and rectify the problem.

How did I discover this? Through Twitter. Evan Williams, co-founder, sent this out on his Twitter stream. Not only did they publish this, they promoted it to their users. The only criticism would be whether or not they took too long to offer an explanation. TechCrunch expressed their displeasure. Then updated the post when Twitter publicly addressed the problem.

PS - Diesel Sweeties got in on the joke too.  

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A new feature here will be mobile site review, an analysis of mobile content as sites are launched. As I have covered in a previous post, Time, Reuters and BusinessWeek have launched mobile sites, and I will have reviews for them soon. For my first review, I will cover MacWorld's new site.

MacWorld chose mDog to mobilize their site. The site identifies the type of browser and provides a redirect for mobile devices. Though I think this is a great feature to ease navigation of the mobile Web, I would like to see the option for users to access the regular site and set a cookie to remember the user's preference.

The mobile site includes articles from News, Products, Weblogs, Mac Help and Magazine sections and is up-to-date with the the content on the full site. The only image or color I found is a logo on the main page, which is a big disappointment. Navigation is simple, but lacks the ability to move from one article to the next without backing up to each sections' menu. I do like the search functionality. I received over 10 pages of results for the term 'iTunes.'

PROS:

• Large amount of content
• Great search feature

CONS:

• Lack of images
• Basic navigation

On the whole, I really like MacWorld's editorial decision to include most of their online content in the mobile version and the search funtionality. If MacWorld added images and enhanced their navigation, they would have a real winner. Read the MacWorld Release here.

For mobile browsing I use a Nokia 6680 the the screen capture utility by Antony Pranata.

Posted by kempblog at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

USAToday.com launched a new design on March 3 and included a plethora of Web 2.0 features.

The enhancements are primarily around creating a social network for USAToday.com readers. After creating an account, readers can comment on stories, recommend their favorites, and submit their own photos. Tags are also supported as well communities where like-minded readers can recommend articles.

This is a BIG STEP for a media company to embrace these features and USAToday has done so with style. Steve Rubel at Micro Persuasion wants USAToday.com to take it even further.

"For example, USA Today should let us add our blog, Twitter or Facebook feeds or even embedded YouTube vids to our profile pages."

Steve is right and I would bet these ideas are on the drawing board, but as the first major media site to adopt these features I think USAToday is right to take it slow. I would even go so far as to guess that most USAToday.com readers have never used social networking before, or if they have, they do not know it.

Read more below. 

Micro Persuasion 

TechCrunch 

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In this lovely Web 2.0 example of how one little sound file made public can result in user generated content. On a post dated Jan 29, the San Francisco Chronicle podcast, 'Correct me if I'm wrong...,' included a reader's phone call complaining about the use of the term 'pilotless drone.'

Since releaseing the mp3 of the call, users have remixed, added video and even created a ringtone from the call. The video below as well as other remixes can be found here, and at Engadget. Kudos to the Chronicle for sharing this gem.

 

Posted by kempblog at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Originally posted on 8/26/2006
In the race to adopt new technology and use it correctly, NPR is near the top of my list. Not only can you catch the shows live on the radio, but they also make most of them available as podcasts.

NPR embraced technology that allows their listeners to enjoy the show at their convenience, and some shows, like Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, have also scored a sponsor (currently Acura) exclusively for their podcast edition.

Best Quote from the 8/20/06 show.

While discussing the new list of items not allowed on flights, Tom Bodett added,

“Well, you know what you can still bring? I flew today and you can still bring those exploding Dell laptop computers.”

Posted by kempblog at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Originally posted on 2/22/2006
This post may stray from my mission to discuss new media, but it is an important way to look at the changes taking place in business, and the flexibility needed to address the challenges of technology.

In an article titled Geeks in Toyland, WIRED recounted a problem that Lego faced when their intellectual property was threatened. The code for the software that controled their new robotics kit appeared on the Internet and soon hacks were being published to make the robotics act in ways that were never imagined by the original product designers. The following quote comes from that article.

Lego's Danish brain trust soon realized that their proprietary code was loose on the Internet and debated how best to handle the hackers. "We have a pretty eager legal team, and protecting our IP is very high on its agenda," Nipper says. Some Lego executives worried that the hackers might cannibalize the market for future Mindstorms accessories or confuse potential customers looking for authorized Lego products.

After a few months of wait-and-see, Lego concluded that limiting creativity was contrary to its mission of encouraging exploration and ingenuity. Besides, the hackers were providing a valuable service. "We came to understand that this is a great way to make the product more exciting," Nipper says. "It's a totally different business paradigm - although they don't get paid for it, they enhance the experience you can have with the basic Mindstorms set." Rather than send out cease and desist letters, Lego decided to let the modders flourish; it even wrote a "right to hack" into the Mindstorms software license, giving hobbyists explicit permission to let their imaginations run wild.

Lego embraced the eagerness and enthusiasm of their users as opposed to trying to control their product too tightly. Though intrinsic values of a decision like this can be difficult to measure by traditional metrics, it is reassuring to see more and more companies working with their customers rather than forcing their products down their throats.

Media companies need to keep these ideas close at heart as users adopt technologies like DVRs, RSS, and portable media players. Users know what they want - how best can you serve them?

Posted by kempblog at 04:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Originally posted on 8/24/2005
Here is a quick break from my podcasting posts to provide an update on the business model associated with new media.

First, there is the money.

• RSS Investors, launched with $100 million to invest in RSS-based businesses.
• Odeo, a business focused on Podcasting announced funding (undisclosed sum).
• Podshow, also focused on Podcasting, announced they had received $8.85 million in funding.

So the money to get start-ups focused on launching new media companies is out there, but how will these new companies make money? The traditional stream for media is in advertising and Pheedo, Google and Feedster are already putting ads in RSS. Odeo and Podshow hove both shown an interest in putting ads in podcasts.

Then there are the buyers.

Big advertisers are getting involved. Lexus is sponsoring KCRW's podcast for one year. Even better news may be that ad budgets are including new media as a major component. A new report from Veronis Suhler Stevenson states that advertising spending is expected to grow 6-7 percent per year through 2009, and the majority of the growth is expected to be spent on New Media.

But will this reach out into the Long Tail of blogs and podcasting? Time will tell, but if Google's AdSense has taught us anything, it is that targeting is king when it comes to new media and any successful strategy should have targeting as a key component.

Posted by kempblog at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)