Tretakoff Musings

An Interview With the Mars Lander

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:53:00 +0000

One of the more innovative uses of Twitter has been by NASA and JPL: they established a Twitter account for the Mars Lander, Phoenix. What was so revolutionary was the use of the first person perspective: Phoenix was "tweeting" as it made its discoveries. As a result, the Twitterati became enamored of it, and treated it like a friend. Thus, as Phoenix's mission ended and the Martian winter robbed it of it's necessary light, it tweeted it's quasi-final message, as seen in the picture to the left.

And today, we get a glimpse behind the curtain of the wonderful "voice" of Phoenix, and how she came to develop the character, as a combination of whimsy, timing, and the limitations of Twitter. An absolutely fascinating read.

Happily Railroaded

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:19:00 +0000

Gizmodo points out that, in all of the other high profile CA state issues that went down to defeat, one victory was lost in the shuffle: Proposition 1A, which lays the groundwork for a bullet train between Southern and Northern California. I am a huge fan of any rail transit, but this one simply makes sense.

Kudos to the supporters for making this excellent video which dramatically demonstrates the allure, the benefits, and the real expectations for what could be a monumental day of change for rail travel in this country.

Trained Adults

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:37:00 +0000

I traveled up to British Columbia this last weekend, to a real rarity: one of North America's last dedicated specialty model train stores. My friend Lloyd is an avid train builder, and particularly focuses on one specialized brand that is not easy to find. While he pored over the selection, I wandered the cramped and stuffed aisles to see the available options. The store owner came over and asked if I needed help; I responded, no, I was fine. He chuckled, and said, "I ask, as so many people get lost in the "adult" section." I had no idea what he referred to. With a point of the finger, he waved me to a display behind me.

I was, as they say, gobsmacked. I had a choice that seemed just so out of place in any train set, it seemed it belonged as part of the movie Fight Club. My choices consisted of:

A selection of nudists
A wide variety of "Ladies of the Night," in intricate detail
Various "sexy ladies" dancing

However, the ones that took the conductor's breath away were the "Sexy Scenes." Yes, you were given one piece of furniture, visible in the packaging, with a well-fitting couple in a Kama Sutra inspired pose on said furniture. That office desk? Whole other perspective when shown in silhouette with this lucky couple.

Where the heck were these when I was growing up? And what are they doing here now? The owner just shrugged, and pointed out that many people like to keep up with the times, and these figures, when positioned in a hotel or office diorama, add to the salacious intrigue of moments stolen when viewing the world by train. I get his point, and admire the extension and the lack of prudity.

Then I saw the motorized versions...but that's a post for another day.

Twin Titans of CE Have Fallen

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:56:00 +0000

Alas, the world of Consumer Electronics suffered yet more bad news this week. First, Circuit City surrendered to the inevitable in the first of what is sure to be a long series of death throes by closing 155 stores. This was long overdue, and is a direct response to the increasing dominance of Best Buy and Amazon. I'm amazed it took so long; I actually think they would be best served by closing these monster stores and go for the old Circuit City Express formats in suburban malls. As it is, the real estate costs will kill them in no time.

The second is more sinister, and sad: Tweeter Etc. was purchased by a liquidator. Why this is sinister: they told all the company employees last week that they were shutting the distribution center, and arranging to have all shipments sent directly to the stores, saving them $12 million. This was received with, to say it nicely, some skepticism. Sure enough, they made a backroom deal to liquidate the stores, and got out of town before the pitchforks could come out, or the torches lit. Sleazy.

Why this is sad: Tweeter was based in Canton, MA. I bought my first real stereo from them, a sexy, sleek 1980's black Mitsubishi all in one. It also started my lifelong love of the deal: the stereo sold for months as $1,099, but I was able to get a floor model for under $300. I had that stereo for over 20 years, and it never failed to impress me. It was so far ahead of its time, it made Bang & Olufsen look like dinosaurs. At the time, growing up in MA, you had only places like Service Merchandise or Lechmere to satisfy your CE jonesing; when Tweeter emerged, it was like the rules of CE retail completely changed: instead of harsh lights and horrible salespeople, you had a studio-like atmosphere, with relaxed enthusiasts to guide you through the hi-fi decision. Such a sad way for it all to end.

Looks like a sad CE Xmas ahead, but a good one for deal-finders and Best Buy stockholders.

Slowing Dash

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:39:00 +0000

The economy, she is a fickle beast. My favorite GPS company, Dash, has taken the hit, as well: they've laid off 1/3 of the staff, and decided to exit the hardware business. However, there are some fascinating points about their move, as GigaOM points out:

It’s changing its business model from consumer-focused to business-to-business.
As part of this change, it will stop making and selling its hardware.
Instead it will license its platform to makers of automobile on-board navigation systems, smartphones, netbook-style mobile Internet devices and other consumer electronics.
COO Rob Currie will replace current CEO and founder, Paul Lego.
It will cut 50 jobs, or roughly two-thirds of its workforce. After the cuts, Dash will employ 30, mostly in engineering and support. Current Dash owners will continue to get their software updates and the Dash Driver Network will stay up.

What I find fascinating is that the CEO essentially fired himself: he realized there was no need for a CEO and a COO if they were going to go into a more B2B model. I also love that they are focused on keeping the Dash Network going (if only because of my own investment), and they look like they will be expanding to cell phones.

Again, GigaOM say it best:

Bottom line: The economy might have forced their hand, but Dash had to come to this realization sooner or later. If they succeed, they will become a case study for Harvard Business School on the art of rebooting. If they fail, they will join a long list of Silicon Valley’s failed attempts at consumer electronics success.

I'm cheering for you, guys.

The Ultimate Connected Device...through Sneakernet?

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:44:00 +0000

Let me start by saying that I love my Dash GPS. Billed as the world's first 2-way connected GPS, it offers me all I hoped for and more: real-time traffic, including crowdsourced data from other Dash users; the ability to send an address to the GPS from the web, so it's waiting for me...list goes on.

Got an e-mail update from them yesterday. Hidden in it was this tidbit:

GET READY: New maps & software coming soon

We're putting the finishing touches on our Winter08 software release featuring updated maps of the United States and Canada plus a number of enhancements. Since this one is chock full of data, it will be sent to you on DVD. To request your free upgrade DVD, please enter your shipping address in the MyAccount area at MyDash.

Um, let me make sure I understand. You make a GPS who's primary selling point is that it's always connected online, via WiFi or GPRS. It's called the "connected GPS." And the method you are using to send the Winter update...is the U.S. Mail??? Worse, on a DVD, so I have to connect the Dash to the computer, rather than just over the air?

I'm sure they'll say that the update would be too dense for over the air, but you live by the sword; you die by it. C'mon, Dash: put some damage control in place ASAP by sending a note that the update will primarily be available over the air, but the DVD will be sent as a backup, "just in case."

Full of Hot Air

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:13:00 +0000

Sightseeing by Zeppelin comes to the Bay Area. And CNet's Tom Merritt shows us what it's like.

Sharing is NOT Social Networking

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:35:00 +0000

An article in today's Boston Globe caught my eye: Barnes & Noble announced they would launch a site for customers to track their interests and favorite authors, and "share information with Facebook and other social networks." The headline of said article? "Barnes & Noble goes social networking."

Intrigued, as the article was picked up by a few retail-centric newsletters I read, I signed up. The results were disappointing, to say the least: it's not much more than a "build my library" feature. The "social networking?" It consists of a "Share" button that allows you to post an article to Digg or Facebook. You're kidding, right? That's not social networking; that's ShareThis, the same type of widget I put on the end of my posts to allow you to share my thoughts with others.

To be fair, I don't put the blame on this embarrassment on B&N; I put this squarely at the feet of the AP reporter, who's lead in the article started with "Barnes & Noble is playing the social network game." That's just poor reporting; my guess is the reporter simply read the press release, and rather than check out the site and report on it, they simply went with a hot lead. Of course, I could be completely wrong: the "social networking" features of My BN may be so hard to find that they were not apparent to me after 10 minutes, in which case they deserve the blame.

In any case, someone deserves to be called out for this, so consider yourself called out. Don't dress an elephant in pink chiffon and call it a ballerina; many retailers are using social networking in an interesting and creative way. This is hardly worthy of the title.

Gluttons for Punishment?

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:15:00 +0000

I was pretty excited about a new mashup of Google Maps, called Route You. In their own words:

We produce and translate raw route-information towards digital structured data.
We also create route-networks for GPS navigation systems. Our focus is mainly outdoor navigation for tourists, hikers, cyclists and motorbikers. During the outdoor activity, the user wants to be navigated via the most suitable and relaxing route, rather than the shortest or fastest.

We produce these kind of routes and route-networks which allow route-planning and turn-by-turn navigation for cyclists, hikers, citytrippers, motorbikers...

Ok, so the cool aspect of the site is that it would give routes that were custom catered to non-automobiles: walking, bikes, and scooters. Great! Just what I was looking for to avoid those freeway-addicted Google Maps. Easy enough: signed up, headed over, indicated I was looking for the fastest route via bike, plotted my start point and my finish point, and voila: a perfect, bike-friendly route. Right? RIGHT?

Um, No.

While the route they produced did have a big plus, in that it showed an elevation chart for the ride, it completely failed on the core competency of navigating: it directed me to a freeway. Now, I know: the site is free, and you get what you pay for, but this is utter foolishness: you specifically set yourself up as a site that is providing non-auto related directions, and you include freeway navigation? Fail.

To be fair, if I wanted to plot the whole route out, waypoint by waypoint, I could have, and it would have been very accuate. For that, however, there is another option: MapMyRide, formerly RouteSlip. Although the site has more advertising on it than a NASCAR entry, it offers a ton more in the way of calculation and automatic work. Want to figure out how many calories you burn on your ride? Done. Need to see the local bike shops on your route, in case you need supplies. Boom. Want your iPhone to automatically log your rides and send the stats to the website? Got it. They even offer training programs, and suggested rides, based on your workouts. Now THAT is a bike-friendly site.

Blogging from the iPhone?

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:09:00 +0000

Trying out a dedicated Blogger iPhone app. I'm hopeful, as it looks useful and yet another way to kill my laptop usage for day to day things. Of course, with a decided lack of copy and paste, it's already a handicap.

One nice note: with this app, they released a version with reduced functionality for free, so that you can, in essence, try before you buy. This lack of trial capability for the vast majority of the iPhone apps is yet one more problem plaguing Apple's App Store. Hopefully, with the release of the Android-powered G1 this week, competition will spur improvement.

Pete: Electric Bike Test Pilot

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:01:00 +0000

My friend Pete, who writes the popular Treough blog, has a post up on his exclusive opportunity to test ride the new Pi Electric Bike. As a cycling commuter who hates hills, I am thrilled about the possibilities of this transportation option. Not to mention how damned cool it looks.

Pete, congrats on being a breaking transportation reporter!

Drive Through Shopping?

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:10:00 +0000

I'm not sure what to make of this one. At my local Best Buy, I was greeted with a dedicated parking space and this sign to the left of the doors. I've seen similar signs at places like The Cheesecake Factory and Chili's, but not for a retail store before.

What intrigues me is the smaller sign that asks you to call upon your arrival; this implies that there will be some special response in doing so. I can only imagine it will be them bringing your purchase to your car, sparing you from the elements, so you don't have to sully yourself in picking up that iPod.

Anyone have any light to shed on this program?

Facebook Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:07:00 +0000

Word today of one of the potentially most momentous occasions of the evolution of the top social media platform. Yes, not only has it been proving more popular than porn, but you can now finally free yourself from the frustration of having to leave the walled garden of Facebook to order your cheese pie, as Pizza Hut has debuted a Facebook app that allows you to order your pizza directly from the Facebook environment.

No word yet if you have to add the delivery driver as a friend first.

An Embarrassment Of Riches

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:12:00 +0000

Yesterday, as I sat in the House Of Blues in Las Vegas, I almost choked on my sandwich. The TV above the bar reported that my beloved Dallas Cowboys had two major developments: Adam "Pacman" Jones was suspended again by the NFL for a recent altercation in a men's room. That one, I had no issues with; Pacman, despite his once great talent, is a trouble magnet, and he simply should have known better than to get in any altercation, misunderstood or otherwise. Sure, it's unfortunate that the secondary lost a proven talent, and, combined with the injury to Terrence Newman, will be a tough loss. No, it was the second headline that got me: Roy Williams, one of Detroit's famous three straight top WR draft picks, was coming to the Cowboys, in return for multiple draft picks, including a first round pick next year.

How does this make any sense? The Cowboys already have T.O., who is clearly one of the NFL's top receivers. He has recently been starting to pull his frustrated routine, which wore out his welcome at two other teams. They also have a bona fide emerging star in Miles Austin, who benefitted from the increased reps earlier in the season as Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd went down with injuries. And Crayton is a solid receiver who doesn't make mistakes. Add to that they have the top receiving tight end in football, Jason Witten; a project speedster in Isaiah Stanback; a guy who they drafter to catch passes AND run in Felix Jones; and Marion Barber, their star running back, who showed what happens when he gets in the passing game last week.

My question is, with all of this catching talent, how, even with a healthy Tony Romo, are there enough balls to throw? This is a team that is built to win the Superbowl, this year; yes, their high powered offense has struggled a bit in the last few games, but adding another WR? Folks, the problems are not on the offensive side of the field; it's the defense and special teams! Where is the star defensive tackle to put pressure in the middle? Where is the stellar CB to defend those deep balls that Pacman wasn't even up to, and Newman will struggle to get back to form on?

Now, I know some will say that this a great opportunity to get a squandered talent to insure against the aging T.O., but this cannot look like anything but a high price to pay for a puzzler that may (may!) pay off, 1-2 years from now. Jerry Jones, you have always been a gambler, but this is an Al Davis move, not one of your savvy ones. If a trade was to be had, it should have been for a top CB, in my opinion, to shut down that deep pass option that other offenses are throwing so often, or an enforcer to lay serious hits like the other Roy Williams used to do, stopping teams from running those slants.

Jerry, remember: offense gets people in the seats, and I know you have a lot to fill with the new stadium next season, but defense wins championships. Ask the New England Patriots last year how they feel about having one of the top offenses of all times...and an 18-1 record. Remember, in the Superbowl, the Pats offense had done everything they were supposed to, but they were on the sidelines as the Giants tore through their defense to ruin the undefeated season.

Let's start the betting pool now on how soon before T.O. starts doing pushups in his Dallas driveway.

Fleet Week's Parade Of Scraps?

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:46:00 +0000

Maybe it's just me, but when I head over to learn about San Francisco's Fleet Week, and I see a feature is a Parade of military Ships, I kinda expected to see Navy craft. Instead, I check out the history of one of the 4 ships, the Bonhomme Richard, and find this tidbit:

Bon Homme Richard was ordered inactivated at the end of her 1970 deployment. She decommissioned in July 1971, becoming part of the Reserve Fleet at Bremerton, Washington. The ship was stricken from the Navy List in 1989 and was sold for scrapping February 4, 1992.

Did I miss something here? The ship was decommissioned 37 years ago, removed from the reserve fleet 19 years ago, and supposed to be torn into little pieces 16 years ago...and she is proudly headlining the ocean part of the strangely named "Fleet Week?" Um...am I missing something? Not the least of which is, how the hell is this ship still sailing, since it was supposed to be a proud example of military recycling by now?

Hey, can we change the marketing a bit to reflect this? Call it "Blue Angels Week" and be done.

Bacon Lovers, Unite!

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:01:00 +0000

With my well-publicized fascination for the smoky goodness of pork pleasure, I just had to pass this latest bacon-related e-mail from the great folks at Yelp.com. Mmm...bacon...

Sometimes there's just nothing better than a thick, smoky, dee-licious piece o' bacon to quell your carnivorous cravings. But in a city with so many options, pan fried and smoky, served up gourmet-style or fresh from the Bacon Dog Cart, opinions vary as to which strips reign supreme.

If you’re a bacon traditionalist looking for the perfect accompaniment to your weekend brunch, join Matthew F in rhapsodizing about Abigail's, where the bacon is maple-glazed, "perfect, chewy and thick cut." Rachel A has come to realize that it really doesn't get much better than meat wrapped in meat, and for it all comes together with the bacon-wrapped fillet at Espetus Churrascaria. With "crispy bacon on the outside and a creamy, gooey burst of the sea inside," it's Anchor & Hope's bacon-wrapped oysters that are the decadent indulgence of choice for Brian J and other seafarers. Prefer cheap booze with that bacon? Then do like Kate K and hit up Pop's for happy hour on "Free Bacon Mondays."

Bacon lovers with a sweet tooth and a sense of adventure will appreciate the ice cream with honey bread and bacon brittle currently at NOPA, divinely crunchy and perfectly irresistible to Leahnora R. Bacon bars are today's haut chocolates, and Paul A hunts down these "bizarre but ridiculously delicious" treats at Chocolate Covered. Another victim of the craze, Erin M finds bliss in the applewood smoked bacon candy bar at the Bittersweet Cafe. The bacon cracker jacks at The Alembic are the perfect compliment to designer cocktails; Janney B finished off their "caramel-y, bacon-y, cashew-y goodness" like they were going out of style.

While chef Anthony Bourdain calls bacon the “gateway protein” for its mystical ability to tempt even the staunchest vegetarian back to the dark side, it is possible to love bacon and still remain meat-free. Millie M gives the faux BLT at Herbivore two greasy thumbs up, and Gabrielle C touts the veggie bacon-wrapped veggie dogs at Underdog. And no pigs were harmed in the process over at Therapy, known to have stocked bacon-scented air freshener, bacon mints and Kevin H's favorite, bacon-flavored gum, on occasion.

Taaasty. Now bring on the bacon!

Gettin' Social With It

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:47:00 +0000

Nice move by Virgin America to append the ways to reach them on common social media platforms on the base of their emails. I've seen this on the web, with the "Add This" functions (see this end of this post, for instance), but great move to include this type of alternative communication to e-mail. I'd love to see this trend expand, much like RSS with web pages, to allow automatic detection and aggregation of social network presences from an e-mail sender. Maybe an Outlook plugin?

That's today's million dollar idea.

Airline Conformity

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:09:00 +0000

How is it that we have been able to book flights online for over a decade, but there is still a telltale ironic misspelling? I'd like to receive a confirmation, not a conformation. Reminds me of George Carlin's old airline speech riff, when he points out that he prefers to get IN the plane, instead of "on the plane." As he says, "Let Evel Knievel ride on the goddamned wing; I'm going inside!"

Understanding The Customer

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:40:00 +0000

ChainLove, a "Woot for bicyclists," had a deal I could not pass up today. I got in on it, pressed the buy button, and I was good. Got an order confirmation in moments. Less than 1 hour later, got the e-mail you see on the right. Their opening line is perfect, and reflected exactly my feeling.

Nicely done, gentlemen. Holy crap indeed.

I Wanna See Starz...Oh, I Can?

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:36:00 +0000

Interesting news today, out of Netflix and Starz (courtesy of CrunchGear) that might actually make Netflix's streaming service more compelling. Netflix, as the name might imply, has always been focused on delivering content over the web. They launched their streaming service last year, which was greeted with a universal yawn, primarily because of the paucity of content. Earlier this year, they stepped up the game, announcing a $99 Roku box that allowed you to connect directly to your TV and watch streamed Netflix content on the big screen. Interesting, but same content issues.

Today, they announced a two pronged approach, courtesy of Starz. First, Starz premium movies will now be available to stream on Netflix. This means that titles like the Pirates of the Carribean series, and other recent blockbusters, will now be available to watch on your computer or TV, instantly, at no additional costs. Second, and here's where it gets very interesting, they now will stream Starz's live feed directly. Now, look at that move: premium movie content, streamed, included in your Netflix membership. Combine that with the Roku box, and you have a legitimate challenger to cable and satellite.

I've often contemplated chucking cable, repurposing a PC into a tuner/DVR, hook it up to a digital tuner box to get HD network content free, over the air. The downside has been the hodgepodge of video sources I'd need to connect to to get my desired content: the tuner for the network shows; Hulu for some cable programming; Netflix for others. But if Netflix could expand this relationship to include the Big Three (Showtime, HBO, and Starz), and upgrade the Roku box to HD, we might have a seriosu contender for the battle for the living room. My bet is gonna be on Amazon to respond with a hardware and partnership announcement to do just that.

The NFL...Remixed.

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:50:00 +0000

Very savvy move by NFL.com: today, they promote a feature that lets football fans create their own highlight packages, complete with video, classic sound, and graphics. This type of loosening of the tightly controlled ties is what makes fans excited, and gets viral.

The only miss? An easy, visible way to share your videos as embeds on your site. Sure, it's free, so they want to drive traffic to NFL.com to view, but we already have YouTibe; do we not realize there is a market level of expectation?

That aside, I'm damn impressed. And kudos for the classic NFL Films soundtracks to boot!

Android...Maybe We're Still in Robot?

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:30:00 +0000

In case you missed the Apple-like hubbub today, Google, HTC and T-Mobile unveiled the first Google Android-powered cell phone, the G1. On first glance, it looks very good: it takes cues from the successful phones on the market today, but improves. For instance, it includes a slide out keyboard, so Blackberry users who might have coveted an iPhone, but could not adapt to the screen based keyboard, should be happy. And it smartly integrates with Amazon's music store, so you can finally be free of the Apple imposed iTunes ecosystem, if you want music on your phone.

There are definitely some warning, signs, though, as illustrated in the chart from Gizmodo. For one, the price is deceptive. Yes, it costs $179, $20 less than the iPhone, but it only comes with 1GB of storage. Yes, it expands with additional memory cards, but that's an additional cost. Are you seriously telling me that you are launching an "iPhone-killer," without enough capacity to handle even the smallest library? Ouch.

Second, it does not have Exchange support, or even a migration path towards Exchange. Now, the 1st gen iPhone lasted a whole year without that, so you could argue that the market is already proven for that. But remember: when the iPhone launched, there was no other dominant media player phone. Now, launching a phone in this space, the early adopters have already gone for the iPhone; the hardcore smartphone users only started to migrate when Exchange support came. That means you have two strikes on you before you enter the market.

Finally, and this one baffles me, no true syncing. Yes, you can sync your Google contacts and calendar with Gmail and Google Calendar in a push fashion (very cool, by the way), but you can't sync the phone to a desktop. Transferring media and applications will be restricted to other cloud services or nonexistent. I'm a big hater of iTunes, but it does answer the question of how to sync to the desktop. The right move here, in my opinion, is to have Google whip up a web-based app to sync to the Amazon S3 powered cloud, ASAP. One touch backup and management. Look, you have until late October to get this done; market it as a beta, and sell ads on the space to make some $!

I haven't touched upon the fact that it's T-Mobile only, as that's too easy to pick on. I do think that the open-source nature will be the killer for this phone: watching Apple arbitrarily choke applications in the App Store with no explanation or communication will absolutely drive customers crazy. If Android offers a "Switch" campaign, with an easy way to get ported over, in 6-12 months, I see this as a way to get the early adopters onboard.

In any case, it does look like they thought a lot through. The taskbar at the top of the screen is incredibly smart and intuitive, as is the sync to Google applications. Let's hope they innovate like hell now, and bring some true market pressure to Apple.

The Nation's #1 Retailer is The #1 Network

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 07:40:00 +0000

Walmart didn't get to be the nation's #1 retailer by accident: besides being brutal negotiators with suppliers and a carpet bomb approach to opening new stores, they also have always looked to embrace new technology. With the launch of their "Smart Network," they have take the game up a notch: multimedia displays in aisles carry custom Walmart programming via the Internet, allowing them to change media content on the fly. Why, you ask? Simple: the more relevant content, the more you buy.

Here's an example: it's football season, and they want to promote Frito-Lay products. Walk down the snack aisle, and see the current scores from the games and headlines from the football news. Or, as Retail Wire points out:

For instance, the network can show promotions based on weather conditions. Soup may be promoted if it's raining outside the store, said Clint McClain, Walmart's senior director of emerging media. Ads may promote barbeque items if it's going to be eighty degrees on Saturday. Promotions might also be arranged around local events, such as a nearby college football game. The network also offers different items depending on the time of the day. For example, promoting frozen pizza at 5:00 p.m. has already proven to be a big winner with moms looking for an easy dinner for their kids. At 10:00 a.m., the ads showed no lift.

Mr. McClain likened this greater promotional flexibility to how "umbrella stores suddenly pop up" when it rains in New York City.

Don't confuse this with the new TV channels at the checkouts they feature; those are like comparing a pocket calculator to an iPhone. No, this is a serious tech assault. Want to be a little scared? Walmart was one of the largest companies to insist on RFID tags in all merchandise; these tags broadcast small coded radio signals to allow them to be scanned for inventory and checkout purposes. Now, imagine the Smart Network has an RFID reader and can scan what you have in your cart; it can actually change the programming of the screen nearest to you to reflect complimentary products or promote products from the same manufacturer in that aisle. Talk about personalized shopping!

Pulse...Yahoo Style?

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 07:21:00 +0000

I've bitched about how I don't really like Facebook here before, as well as embracing Twitter and Plaxo. The latter is really great to me, as I can see a consolidated view of my friends' updates, sparing me from having to log into separate sites. Although Plaxo has an iPhone-enabled web version, it has not been quite as easy to catch up on the road, though.

Yahoo, of all people, has actually taken a pretty good first step, with Yahoo oneConnect for the iPhone. Simple, actually: download the app from iTunes, and it scans your iPhone's address book. Then, enter your credentials on sites like Flickr, Twitter and Facebook, and it pulls all of the updates from those sites into a single consolidated view. Nice.

My only complaint? The consolidated view is called "Pulse." Um...this is clearly the trademark that Plaxo has claimed, so we are headed for some legal wrangling. Worse, this naming puts Yahoo in an adversarial position with Plaxo, so I won't see Plaxo Pulse updates on oneConnect anytime soon. C'mon, Yahoo: I know you've lost a ton of execs lately, but you couldn't come up with a new word? Flow? Stream? Even Lifeline? Sheesh. Glad the technology exceeds the poor imagination.

Harnessing Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Josh Tretakoff) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 06:52:00 +0000

I'm cautiously optimistic about the approach that businesses are taking with harnessing social media to extend their brands and connect with their customers. Unlike the ham handed ways they have used before (uh...pavilions in Second Life?), They seem to be showing a surprisingly open and organic approach to this new medium. Peter Kim has put together a fairly comprehensive list of what many companies are doing, and the various forms that has already, for me, yielded great results. For instance, here are some of the highlights for me:

- Comcast. Frank from Comcast is a one-man good PR campaign for this much maligned company. Got a problem with an installer? Twitter Frank. Bitching about your reception on Twitter? He's there to direct message you. Want proof? At my company, we recently received scattered reports that Comcast customers were unable to see the sites we host. I pinged Frank, and within minutes, he responded that he was unable to duplicate the problem, but offered to do more research if I sent him more specific info. WOW. Compare that to waiting endlessly on hold. Nice.

- OpenTable. Add their Facebook app, and you can make reservations right where you are usually thinking of them.

- Best Buy. Yep, even this increasingly resented behemoth has figured it out, as the CMO Twitters and blogs. Both were invaluable in the recent "Premier Black" e-mail disaster.

The list goes on, but more and more, I see the blending of the fluidity of social networking putting a face on the traditionally stolid and staid corporate visage. And I have to say, it immediately means more transparency. Hell, even the government is getting the idea: the TSA, one of the most challenging agencies, has been remarkably open in their blog, even to the point of changing policies because of comments made in the blog.

It's a brave new world, and I am thrilled to be livin' in it.