Avatar in IMAX 3D

Well, we went out on a cold NYC Saturday to see AVATAR in Imax on D on 34th St. So we hopped in the E and of course the scanner didn't work and we had to go to the box office anyway. Then I noticed the down escalators weren't working. Then we had to wait in a long line to get the glasses and enter the theater. Luckily we got seats together and enjoyed some of the previews in 3D. Then the movie began. I thought the plot might be interesting at first, but quickly gave up on that hope.I was enjoying the visuals, as all the nature popped out (but of course so does the violence). About halfway through the movie I looked over at Mila--her glasses were off and she was dizzy and had her eyes closed while listening to the movie. This continued for her for the rest of the movie. Like a bad experience on a ride at an amusement park. It wasn't bothering me at the movie. But when I left the theater, walked down 3 flights of non moving escalator seats, and emerged onto 34th St, I started feeling light headed too. Like there was a buzz in the front of my head...got home fine on subway but we both felt drained, a little ill, and went to bed early...me just to close my eyes, Fell asleep very early.

Got up early today, and took some pics of Moonset over Manhattan and of course a glimpse of sunrise.

So, is the whole HD to 3D transition in film and now video/tv moving too quickly? What type of content works best? Does it have a physical impact on some people?

Leno, Late Night

There's been a huge amount of media covering NBC's late night fracas over their rescheduling of Jay Leno. His Tonight Show, which was #1 in the ratings, was given to Conan O'Brien in Sept of 09 and the ratings plummeted. Leno was moved to 10pm, normally a time spot for one hour dramas on network tv, and the ratings plummeted for both time slots. So NBC tries to compromise by putting Leno back in the tonight show slot and moving O'Brien after him--as it was before. O'Brian refused, and now has received a 30 million dollar severance from NBC.

This shows not only why NBC was sold to Comcast (cable nets have a much less expensive cost model than broadcast tv), but also the archaic state of broadcast. The local stations need a strong lead in at 10 for their profitable 11pm local news (tho I must admit I never watch any of these shows).

It's not that there isn't good content--look at 30 Rock, The Office, etc...it's just that it doesn't need to be scheduled in the same way as before. As I point out in my lecture "From 3 to 3 Million"-when there were only 3 networks, they could control what and when shows were watched. People built habits and had destinations to go to for viewing. This largely continued through cable's glory years as well--viewing against broadcast went down; but the model was essentially the same.

Then along came the DVR, best exemplified by Tivo, and then of course You Tube and Internet Video. Facebook, twittter, etc.

NBC's lessons are many--while broadcast tv is changing--don't make too many changes. It won't be like this much longer in a world which is increasingly "on-demand". Don't try to save money by going against the wind . And by all means keep focused on your content, cable channels, and web video.

And, as a final note--can late night ever be the same in the era of consumer choice, billions of hours of online video and easy to use time shifting devices? As late night changes, so will other time slots.

So much viewing throughout the day goes to You Tube, etc. Can topical humor be scheduled anymore, or is it, once again, on-demand and available 24-7?

Keep your talent focused on its targeted demos at the right time (Leno-older audience, etc).

Broadcast TV still draws the largest share of household viewing. Hold onto your slots!

Wired in - How Stephen Pagano connects with his 7,000 employees to help guide Time Warner Cable

Wired in - How Stephen Pagano connects with his 7,000 employees to help guide Time Warner Cable

Posted using ShareThis

As you can see from my comment below, Stephen represents a great example of an on-hands manager.

google again

upon opening one of my many gmail boxes (tho I only have one address it seems I have boxes and widgets and scrolls everywhere. well maybe not scrolls...) TODAY (back on point) the google boxes were surrounded by at least 3 or 4 test ads for Dish and DirecTV, which are companies on my resume and mentioned in various emails. I'm assuming I'm being targeted by Dish and DirecTV for a system given the frequency of use--not just of email addresses either--but and I admit to an "assumption" google "searches my email and the little crawlie things report back to the ad servers that I discuss Dish and DirectTV online and the servers serve me targeted ads..oh well, maybe I am making too much of this???

tech changes

snowy sunnyside yards
LIC, Queens, NYC











Switched to Fios; bundled all my verizon packages together; dropped a land line as I don't need a dedicated fax line anymore. Still have Blackberry; once verizon gets IPhone I might be able to sync up everything on Mac Platform. Still use PC for various web related projects. No more Flip video. Contemplating web cam.

the power of google

A picture of Long Island City Queens.












I continue to be amazed at how Google/You Tube grows and expands. Google's GMail and Calendar functions read my email and categorize it (for example anything that mentions NYU--where I teach-- and is received by gmail seems to automatically end up in an NYU folder--which I set up)

Today I received a suggestion from Google to add an appointment I had scheduled for this upcoming Friday to my Google Calendar --which, by the way, I have never used.

Each day applications appear, and attempt to grab a share of usage. Others just continue to improve and morph into easy to use functions. I think back to my Palm Pilot 10 or 12 years ago--very cool for the time. It's too bad more American companies aren't like Google...or Apple or even the behemoth Microsoft....we would have had a stronger economy had we focused on this type of R and D.

2010

Technology and content continue to blossom and interact at faster and faster rates. Whole house DVR's; thousands of apps everywhere; widgets rising....fiber to the home as in FIOS--the analog to digital transition continues to accelerate...fb with 100mm plus monthly users...facebook is the ultimate "scrapbooking tool". I am currently involved in an online high school reunion solely because of FB. A class member digitized yearbook photos and challenged facebook members to both sign up other class members as FB members and as people signed on they were challenged to identify all 400 odd classmembers WITHOUT consulting their yearbook. A collaborative and collective process which has encouraged hundreds of comments--on individuals primarily...I have encouraged 3 people to sign up and they all are now on Facebook and members of the reunion class fan group. Whereas before a reunion would be A DAY and a TIME; this pre reunion (the actual one will be in August) can be help any time...kind of like what I imagine 2nd life to be like...tho I have never played it. You can enter and re-enter at your discretion; some will spend more time than others--but whatever happens it certainly represents the power of fb media and I will continue to track it here.