media

Facebook Infographic

Posted on May 13, 2010 in applications, media, online, social media, technology | 0 comments

Interesting infographic that was posted on Mashable.

[Source: Online PhD Programs for MashableMashable.com]

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amazing: popular science archives – free, online

Posted on Mar 4, 2010 in design, gadgets, media, miscellaneous, mobile, online, photography, technology, what?! | 0 comments

I had to pass this on. Popular Science just finished posting 137 years worth of their magazines online. Not only are they online – the archives are free and can easily be viewed via browser or mobile.

The gadget geek in me is jumping up and down, but so is the designer side of me. It’s very cool to read about and look at photos of past technology, crazy inventions, and (what were) futuristic ideas. At the same time, it is amazing to compare the designs from various dates such as 1874, 1940, 1972, and 2010. Design and the technology printing those designs was constantly changing as well. People were creating new ways to share ideas and information. Layouts changed from plain, standard column text to full page ads and articles with lots of photos and flexible regions of text.

Something that everyone should check out: Popular Science Archives

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media and generation m^2

Posted on Jan 22, 2010 in media, technology | 0 comments

The other day The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation released several reports regarding the media use of children and teens between the ages of 8 and 18. Although I am not surprised to see that media use has increased, I am a little surprised at the amount of time that is spent on media in general. The study found that on any typical day, the average 8-18 year-old packs 10.75 hours worth of media content into 7.5 hours.

The main areas that were highlighted in a summary of the report were:
Mobile media driving increased consumption
Parents and media rules
Media in the home
Heavy media users report getting lower grades
Black and Hispanic children spend far more time with media than White children do
Big changes in TV
Popular new activities like social networking also contribute to increased media use
Types of media kids consume
High levels of media multitasking

It’s interesting how much of an increase there is once children get to the tween, 11-14 year-old age group. This report didn’t even include texting, which would bring the amount of time up another hour or so for that age group. I also found the gap between gender pretty interesting. The report found that girls spend more time reading and networking than boys, while boys spend more time than girls on video game usage and visiting video websites. I find it rather disappointing that roughly 30% of children have any type of rules regarding the time they can spend with different types of media. One thing’s for sure, marketing departments should have a field day with this report.

Report: Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8 to 18 Year Olds, KFF
Daily Media Use Among Children and Teens Up Dramatically From 5 Years Ago, KFF
Generation M2: Understanding the Multimedia Teen, ReadWriteWeb
Media Consumption Way Up for 8-18 Year-Olds From 5 Years Ago, Game Informer

Also, if you’re interested in media consumption, WIRED came up with an interesting chart in the article, Balance Your Media Diet, as part of their How to Behave: New Rules for Highly Evolved Humans article, which I also featured here.

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bbc’s ‘virtual revolution’ series

Posted on Jan 22, 2010 in media, technology | 0 comments

This morning I came across a Gizmodo post, Sneak Peek of New BBC Documentary ‘The Virtual Revolution.’ The multi-part documentary airs on January 30th. It’s a look at the internet featuring interviews with Tim Berners-Lee (MIT engineer behind the web), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Al Gore, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, and Stephen Fry.

BBC has an ongoing website to capture the project in the making. You can also follow their updates on Twitter (@bbcdigrev). It looks like the series is divided into the following titles: 1. Power on the web, 2. The fate of nations, 3. The cost of free, 4. The web and us. I hadn’t heard of this series before, but it seems pretty interesting.
digital revolution is a four part series for BCC Two about how the web is changing the world. Due in 2010, it’s in production now, and we’re offereing a range of ways to interact with the programme team and the content we produce. get involved

Check it out at their official page BBC -- Digital Revolution.

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rumors of hulu’s subscription plan

Posted on Jan 22, 2010 in apps, media, online | 0 comments

When I last checked my Facebook feed, I noticed a lot of comments being tacked on to a post by Mashable, Hulu to Charge Monthly Fee for Access to Unlimited TV Episodes [RUMOR]. I’m surprised that the post is generating so many negative comments. Yes, Hulu is free. Yes, it’s probably one of the most popular outlets through which to access ‘cable’ TV shows online. Can they survive without charging anything? Probably not.

The thing I am most surprised at is that the majority of negative comments seem to be coming from people who already use Hulu regularly. According to several articles (below), Hulu is considering charging to access content beyond the current 5 most recent episodes… which people can’t see as of now anyways (at least for current TV shows). So they are charging for additional content. What’s the big deal? They have to make money somehow. This seems like a great idea to me. A majority of ‘free’ apps already have some sort of premium subscription to access additional content or to simply get rid of ads including Boxee, Pandora, Spotify, Grooveshark, so on and so forth.

Hulu to Charge Monthly Fee for Access to Unlimited TV Episodes, Mashable
Hulu Considering $5 Monthly Fee For Older Episodes, Gizmodo
Hulu’s subscription service might run $5 for access to select shows, Engadget

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netflix delay, a good thing?

Posted on Jan 7, 2010 in media, technology, television, what?! | 0 comments

I’m having mixed feelings about the recent Warner Brothers/Netflix agreement. The more articles I read, the more the opinions vary. In case you haven’t come across this news yet, Warner Brothers recently signed an agreement with Netflix which holds Netflix from releasing DVDs of Warner Brothers movies for rent until 28 days after the movie has been released. In return, Warner Brothers will be selling discs to Netflix at a discount and will allow Netflix to post a wider selection of older titles for its Watch Instantly section.

This could be good. It would be nice to have more mainstream titles added to the Watch Instantly catalog. I doubt however, that this will boost the sale of Warner Brothers DVDs at the time of release. People are turning to Netflix because they don’t want to have to buy DVDs either because they don’t want to own the DVD, don’t want to venture out to rental stores, or because they are trying to cut costs. There are a number of other methods that people can turn to in order to see the new releases, the biggest being the iTunes Store, RedBox, Blockbuster, XBox Live/Playstation Network, Amazon On Demand, video rental stores, and as Gizmodo suggests, peer-to-peer sharing via torrents. I’m guessing the latter of the list will gain some momentum, especially as other companies join in.

Elsewhere:

• Netflix, Warner Brothers End Dispute, Reach Deal on DVDs – Bloomberg on BusinessWeek
• Netflix Is Losing New Release Rentals – Gizmodo
• 28 Days Later: Say Goodbuy to the Netflix New Release Rental – Mashable
• Netflix, Hollywood Politics and the War for Streaming Movies – Gizmodo
• Netflix bends over, agrees to delay renting Warner DVDs – Engadget

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