She's being coy, but I can't help but think that she's six inches away from reality TV...

(via Huffington Post...)

I can't be the only one that hates this commercial.

What bothers me most is their talk about "brands" and "cost structure" etc.

GM is flailing because they've lost touch with their customers, not because of anything else. Talking about "brands" and "cost structures" with expensive commercials is not going to get them back in touch with their customers.

I don't blog anymore. Not here anyways.

But this thought has been rattling around long enough that I had to dump it out finally.

Palm is going to make some good headway against Apple with their Pre. A lot of people are going to buy the cheaper, more capable device, even with the iPhone now selling for $99. Its gonna look like Palm might just be able to pull it off and actually kill the iPhone, as some are predicting now. Having Verizon in their corner is going to be a big driver for a lot of this adoption. AT&T is not doing Apple any favors. In fact, some might say that AT&T is costing Apple in this fight.

And this is how Apple is going to absolutely slaughter Palm unless Palm gets their act together immediately.

Apple will not renew their exclusivity with AT&T. Apple is not going to renew their exclusivity with other carriers either. In fact, Apple is not going to renew with the other carriers at all, or even go with new carriers.

Apple will simply start selling the handsets like they sell everything else. Direct to consumers.

They will lose a little bit of money in subsidies and minutes, but this will be more than offset by increased adoption and App Store sales.

And Palm will get trampled in the process.

That's my prediction.

Updated:

As the scrappy upstart, I had expected Palm to sell a carrier free version of the Pre. This was their game with the Treo and their other devices and it worked well for them. Didn't hurt that those devices were pretty awesome for a long time (I still think the Treo 90 was one of the best phones I've ever owned). Strategically, I think they would be served well by getting their devices into as many retail outlets as possible as quickly as possible without any stupid carrier restrictions. I don't think it is a huge hurdle for a customer to call their phone company after buying a phone at Walmart and say "hey, I need a data plan" or better, to rely on Wifi connectivity and avoid the phone companies all together.

I don't see Palm succeeding if they try to out-Apple Apple. This is the game they are playing now. They are betting that their device is better than Apple's, than their phone partnership is better than Apple's, that their marketing is better than Apple's, etc. Too many bets. Going direct to retail with an unlocked device is one way to reduce the number of bets that they are making and put some serious pressure on Apple.

At best, I think the current strategy might be enough to get them a 4th or 5th place finish in this market. At worst, it might guarantee that the Pre is the last device we ever see out of Palm.

Bad POPrl, bad.

I ask that you never forget that much has been sacrificed to protect our right to vote. We must never forget those Americans who, with their courage, with their sacrifice, and with their lives, have protected our freedom. It is my great hope that you will exercise your right to vote as an American tomorrow.

(Via JohnMcCain.com - McCain-Palin 2008.)

In A Switch, Hulu Will Stream Remaining Presidential Debates Live; Premiere A Film | paidContent.org:

Hulu is premiering a film: documentary Crawford, about the effects of the George W. Bush presidency on his adopted hometown.

Hard to tell how much of a strategic evolution this is, although clearly Hulu and its partners are ambitious.

As a Canadian, I'm a bit late to the Hulu game. Nevermind that when I arrived at the game, I had to sneak in under the fence because Canadians (well all non-Americans) aren't welcome at the Hulu game.

After installing a workaround that makes Hulu think I'm a red-blooded American, I'm quickly becoming a regular Hulu user.

Last night, while lying in bed getting caught up with Fringe, a new series that I'm slowly getting interested in, I realized that Hulu is clearly on the right track with their service.

At first, I was kind of down on Hulu - after all, streaming kind of sucks, and I don't get to keep a copy of what I'm watching. I have an innate hostility towards Big Hollywood that stems from their irrational fear of their users. The iTunes store is a way better model - I get to *download* stuff and keep it!

But somewhere between the second and third commercial break last night I realized that Hulu really is where Big Hollywood should be going. The iTunes Store is a bit of a dead end for them. Not because its owned by Apple, but rather, because it is rooted in an old way of thinking.

If you look behind the scenes of both services, stripping away some of the shiny veneer, you quickly realize that there are only two material differences between these two services a) who pays for the content and b) where the bits are stored.

Apple requires me to pay for the content and I get to store the bits on my harddrive. Hulu gets advertisers to pay for the content and they get to store the bits on their harddrive.

Now I'm a big believer in innovation continuity - i.e. those services that provide innovation along a vector that is most consistent with existing user behavior are best positioned for success. In other words, if you want to win, don't ask users to do something that they aren't already doing.

The iTunes store fails in this regard. Users don't pay for individually wrapped television programming today, and they don't care where bits that they haven't created are stored (really, they don't. Anyone that tells you otherwise is making stuff up. Go ask your Dad if you don't believe me, unless your Dad is Doc Searls, then you can ask my Dad as a proxy) - so long as those bits are readily accessible.

Hulu, on the other hand, nails this perfectly. Users get to browse a deep selection of content interactively, select what they want to watch and within seconds, their chosen content is on the screen in front of them. It is one of the best examples of "on demand" media delivery that I have seen yet - sure it just rips off Youtube and the gang, but so what. There is a difference between user generated content and the stuff that professionals do. I'm looking forward to the day when those lines have been further blurred and we're well on the way.

But, in the meantime, I'm selfishly looking for a better way to digest my TV and Hulu currently provides me with the best experience, bar none. Long live the cloud!

I like reading Doc. Sometimes he writes stuff that just completely nails it. He's got a way of peering through the leaves and rooting out exactly what matters most. That's what happens when marketing guys get technology.

Today he wrote something completely awesome - its my favorite-est Doc piece ever.

Doc Searls Weblog: Dancing on fire:

...it's getting me high, just from the driving energy of the song. Beats thinking about death, which comes easy when you're 61 with a fever, a gut, and a history of exercise that consists mostly of getting dressed. But music helps. Music is the best evidence of immortality that we have.

See, music is my passion. I love it. Not necessarily the words, but what the music evokes. Sometimes its the words, sometimes its the melody, sometimes the beat. Sometimes, the best times, its the space between the notes - the anti-music - that means the most to me.

I really like Doc's post today because he takes us on a mental trip sparked by music. This is exactly what great music is supposed to do, and I'm thankful that Doc was able to share this with us.