I Can’t Wait to Get FiOS

It has gone on long enough. For as long as I can remember, Time Warner has held the city of New York by their proverbial cable/internet balls with their mediocre customer service, minimal HD selection and their late-to-the-game DVR technology. It isn’t bad enough that cable television prices have risen 77% (double inflationary rates) since 1996, but we hardly even use their full offerings!  According to a recent NYTimes article, on average the cable customer only use a mere 13% of all channels available.

Today marks a step in the right direction. According to Alley Insider, the New York City’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee voted unanimously to allow Verizon to wire all five boroughs. This is awesome for multiple reasons:

1. FiOS is a better product.
2. You now have the opportunity to bundle in your mobile bill (assuming you are a Verizon customer) with your cable bill, eliminating yet another layer of taxes.
3. Competition will spawn both Time Warner and FiOS to improve product offerings at a faster rate
4. Price jockeying

In the meantime. I am still going to buy the Roku Netflix box and wing it with basic cable. But, it is good to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

This Book Pulls Punches

A new one for your summer reading list: Seagalology: A Study of the Ass-Kicking Films of Steven Seagal, a detailed study of your favorite pony-tailed, slightly portly 1990’s action hero’s oeuvre. While you may have to wait until June 10th for the release of this future New York Times best seller, you can fill up your Netflix queue with one of his many martial arts masterpieces.

Weezer Understands the Internets

While Radiohead “pay what you want to pay” release of In Rainbows late last year called into question the relevance of online music distribution services and the true value of music copyright and intellectual property, Weezer’s new video for “Pork and Beans” off their upcoming release “The Red Album” is breaking the mold of big budget music videos produced solely for the MTV audience.  The new Weezer video encapsulates the best (and sometimes worst) aspects of self expression online, speaking directly to our YouTube generation.  Check it out:

Friday Fun

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, a lot going on at work.  But, here is something great from Boing Boing to keep you entertained:

Amazing Graffiti Art

Although calling it graffiti doesn’t really do it justice.  Something of value from Gawker this morning… one of the coolest animations I have seen in a very long time.  BLU is an animation mural artist who has done some really interesting work in major cities across the world.  Here is a taste of his work:

SmartCar Getting Plenty of Buzz

Candidly I will admit that I don’t have a driver’s license. In my defense, I really haven’t ever needed one. I grew up in a city, went to college in a city and now work and live in a city. And yes, I do realize that I need to get my act together and get a license in the near future, which perhaps is why I have been paying more attention to car news.

That being said, I have been hearing a lot about SmartCar. I find them appealing for two reasons: 1) I like trendy things and 2) I live in a city so if I were to get a car it would have to be a compact. Recently, SmartCar’s Fortwo model was tested by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to rave reviews. BUT, I was immediately turned off when I found out that SmartCar was charging $99 to just get on a waiting list for purchase. I am sorry, but that is ridiculous.

So there you go SmartCar, you have lost one potential customer. I will have to spend my trendy dollars elsewhere… perhaps on a Prius or Mini Cooper.

CBS Continues to Impress Me

Once thought of as a network destination for the geriatric, CBS has, in my opinion, proven itself time and time again to be a true innovator in the media space. Today, CBS announced the acquisition of CNET has only confirmed to me that Quincy Smith has not only has an opportune eye on the tech/media M&A market, but also understands that digital acquisitions are about more than just banner advertisements and could/should be integrated into a media companies overall content strategy across all channels.

Without a product like Hulu in market, CBS has attracted relatively little press about their content distribution and syndication strategy; however, they have been by far one of the most prolific in the marketplace to date. At the same time, Quincy Smith has verbally acknowledged the importance of online communities for brand building, but stayed relatively clear of unnecessary social network purchases that they wouldn’t be able to efficiently monetize. Why purchase a Bebo that would get at best a .30 cent CPM on remnant inventory when you can sell premium CNET inventory? Moreover, CNET is a bit of a fixer-upper. Their sell through needs help and their dynamic pricing engine seems to have limited applications.

As a youngster in the digital space, Quincy is a guy I definitely look up to. Too bad he doesn’t have more influence over all of Viacom.