Week of April 14, 2008

Free Phone Calls!

Friday, April 18, 2008

One of the major sea changes we are seeing in the mobile carrier space is a move from phone calls as a profit center to data as the future profit center. The recent announcements of unlimited voice plans is just the first example. Not getting as much press but even more relevant is the fact that Internet voice programs are starting to work on cell phones, allowing free calls with no minute usage. Even the iPhone has a Internet phone solution out now (if you have your phone hacked to include external programs, of course). But such services are already available for Nokia and other phones.

The result is that per minute charges on phone plans are soon going to be a thing of the past. The key will be maximizing users to add services to the base calling plan, primarily unlimited data and text plans. One side effect is that mobile content and Internet experiences will be pushed out even faster, spurred on by mobile carriers.

Alexa Updates Its Ranking System

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Alexa is one of the older web ranking systems and one of the most derided. It depends on a sample of users with the Alexa toolbar to gather its data on website usage. While a panel of users is pretty much what all the other companies use, Alexa's openness to anyone using its toolbar skews the results. For example, it is widely accepted that tech users install the toolbar and thus tech sites do better.

That has changed, and now Alexa has announced it is using data from a number of sources. The result is a much more realistic ranking system, although how close it is to the "legit" services like Comscore remains to be seen. For a free service, however, the move is welcome news to those without access to paid site ranking services like Comscore.

Pluggedin: Hulu for Music Videos

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Let's face it, you can find practically any music video you want on Youtube. However, you have to wade through all the home versions of videos, and even if you find an actual band video, the quality of Youtube isn't exactly the best. Enter Pluggedin (www.pluggedin.com), which much like the TV Network video site Hulu, is aiming for a higher quality video experience, only for music videos.

This is a trend we will see heading forward into the future: Sites attacking Youtube's ubiquity by aiming at higher quality. It should be noted, however, that Youtube's commitment to higher quality will be a big deterrent in the long run. Still, right now, sites like Hulu and PluggedIn, will be a welcome addition for people looking for a viewing experience that is closer to television than pixellated web video.

Do we need another TV box?

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Blockbuster is allegedly preparing production of a television set-top box that will allow the company to stream movies directly to the television via its recently acquired Movielink service. The question is how many boxes is too many? With the DVR now a staple in many houses, we're talking about a cable or satellite box, a DVR box, a DVD player, and now... a Blockbuster player?

Blockbuster also faces stiff competition from Tivo, which is starting to aggressively market it's movie downloading service via Amazon's unbox program. Still, Blockbuster could create some real value in its service by combining it with its Total Access program, currently its weapon against Netflix, which allows rentals via email and limited free rentals at Blockbuster stores.

Buzznet Aiming to Own the Music Blog Space?

Monday, April 14, 2008

Buzznet, fresh off of $25 million in funding, has continued its music blog buying spree, picking up music blog Idolator from Gawker Media for $25 million. Buzznet had already purchased leading music blog Stereogum and social net music service Qloud.

Buzznet's strategy is interesting and compelling. Tying together a group of leading music blogs with social networks and the Qloud service could conceivably put the company on the same playing field as Pandora and Last.fm.