Random Culture

Amazon Fishbowl with Bill Maher

You thought I was done talking about online-only TV? Not even close... It seems that Amazon is also jumping into the game. One June 1st, they are launching an original program called "Amazon Fishbowl", hosted by Bill Maher.

According to the official site for the program, Amazon Fishbowl will be a weekly show with "live musical performances; interviews with authors, directors, and actors; and a UPS Special Delivery to an Amazon customer." You can view some sneak preview clips for the show by visiting the official site at: Amazon.com/entertainment.

Amazon doesn't have the greatest track record with this kind of stuff. You may remember the BMW films-esque effort they launched not too long ago. The short films were bad and over-commercialized with product placement.

It seems Amazon already has a couple problems with this new online-only show:

1. Bill Maher just isn't that exciting. Plus, he already has a show!
2. Streaming? Amazon is going to distribute the show in streaming format. Are they going to distribute it as a podcast? I hope so, but at this point, it doesn't look like it.

I will say that I really like one of the segments in the show, where they make a "special delivery" to an Amazon customer with a celebrity. In a smart move, they've worked in UPS as a sponsor of this section. We'll see how this one shakes out.

Link via CommandN.

Amazon Fishbowl with Bill Maher

You thought I was done talking about online-only TV? Not even close... It seems that Amazon is also jumping into the game. One June 1st, they are launching an original program called "Amazon Fishbowl", hosted by Bill Maher.

According to the official site for the program, Amazon Fishbowl will be a weekly show with "live musical performances; interviews with authors, directors, and actors; and a UPS Special Delivery to an Amazon customer." You can view some sneak preview clips for the show by visiting the official site at: Amazon.com/entertainment.

Amazon doesn't have the greatest track record with this kind of stuff. You may remember the BMW films-esque effort they launched not too long ago. The short films were bad and over-commercialized with product placement.

It seems Amazon already has a couple problems with this new online-only show:

1. Bill Maher just isn't that exciting. Plus, he already has a show!

Streaming? Amazon is going to distribute the show in streaming format. Are they going to distribute it as a podcast? I hope so, but at this point, it doesn't look like it.

I will say that I really like one of the segments in the show, where they make a "special delivery" to an Amazon customer with a celebrity. In a smart move, they've worked in UPS as a sponsor of this section. We'll see how this one shakes out.

Link via CommandN.

Quick Links: Jan. 31, 2006

Directory of Ads that copy Ads
The Coloribus Admirror is great... Whoever said originality is dead has obviously been to this site.

Rocketboom selling ads on eBay
One of the oldest, and still most popular video blogs is finally selling ad space, on eBay! [via fimoculous]

ESPN not charging for ads on iTunes anymore
I didn't know they were charging! Maybe they stopped because no one was buying them.

The New Boom in Silicon Valley
Chris Anderson, of Long-Tail fame, writes about the new boom in Silicon Valley. [via SiliconBeat]

Heavy.com Raises $10 Million?
Wow... they've been around for a while, but this is proof broadband content is finally coming into it's own. [via Jason Calacanis]

Quick Links: Jan. 31, 2006

Directory of Ads that copy Ads
The Coloribus Admirror is great... Whoever said originality is dead has obviously been to this site.

Rocketboom selling ads on eBay
One of the oldest, and still most popular video blogs is finally selling ad space, on eBay! [via fimoculous]

ESPN not charging for ads on iTunes anymore
I didn't know they were charging! Maybe they stopped because no one was buying them.

The New Boom in Silicon Valley
Chris Anderson, of Long-Tail fame, writes about the new boom in Silicon Valley. [via SiliconBeat]

Heavy.com Raises $10 Million?
Wow... they've been around for a while, but this is proof broadband content is finally coming into it's own. [via Jason Calacanis]

Mini Dominatrix

Crispin Port... who? Mini Canada launches on their homepage a showcase of how the car "dominates" winter conditions. Created by Taxi.

Link via Adverblog.

The Rise of Online-Only TV

I've posted before about some of the interesting web-only TV projects happening. The rise of video podcasting means a larger distribution channel for these shows. And it looks like at least some people are paying attention.

Clickz posts an article about Mark Burnett, of Survivor fame, creating a web-only TV show called "Gold Rush." The show is about contestants scouring the US for hidden "treasures", and will be available only on the web, in conjunction with AOL. Sounds like it's the same old stuff. The episodes are less than 5 minutes, and rampant with product placement and advertising. It will be interesting to see how well "Gold Rush" does.

It would be nice if Mark Burnett and everyone else realized they don't need someone like AOL to make this succeed. Oh well... someone else will have to innovate.

Check out the Reuters article as well.

The Mysterious iTunes User

Nielsen/Netratings has released a report (pdf) about the mysterious iTunes user. According to the report, about 14% of the active Internet population used iTunes in December. In addition, Nielsen/Netratings says that iTunes traffic increased 241% over the last year.

The study also reveals some interesting demographic and behavioral details about iTunes users. iTunes users are fairly even in the gender split, at 54% male, 46% female. They like Volkswagen, Audi and Subaru, and have a preference for hard cider? What the heck, hard cider?

I'd say we should take these numbers with a grain of salt. Nielsen/Netratings didn't reveal their methodology for this report, and it's likely that it has about the same credibility as their DVR panel, which was based on 60 DVRs. You can read more about that fiasco here.

Link via AdFreak.

Mini Dominatrix

Crispin Port... who? Mini Canada launches on their homepage a showcase of how the car "dominates" winter conditions. Created by Taxi.

Link via Adverblog.

The Rise of Online-Only TV

I've posted before about some of the interesting web-only TV projects happening. The rise of video podcasting means a larger distribution channel for these shows. And it looks like at least some people are paying attention.

Clickz posts an article about Mark Burnett, of Survivor fame, creating a web-only TV show called "Gold Rush." The show is about contestants scouring the US for hidden "treasures", and will be available only on the web, in conjunction with AOL. Sounds like it's the same old stuff. The episodes are less than 5
minutes, and rampant with product placement and advertising. It will be
interesting to see how well "Gold Rush" does.

It would be nice if Mark Burnett and everyone else realized they don't need someone like AOL to make this succeed. Oh well... someone else will have to innovate.

Check out the Reuters article as well.

The Mysterious iTunes User

Nielsen/Netratings has released a report (pdf) about the mysterious iTunes user. According to the report, about 14% of the active Internet population used iTunes in December. In addition, Nielsen/Netratings says that iTunes traffic increased 241% over the last year.

The study also reveals some interesting demographic and behavioral details about iTunes users. iTunes users are fairly even in the gender split, at 54% male, 46% female. They like Volkswagen, Audi and Subaru, and have a preference for hard cider? What the heck, hard cider?

I'd say we should take these numbers with a grain of salt. Nielsen/Netratings didn't reveal their methodology for this report, and it's likely that it has about the same credibility as their DVR panel, which was based on 60 DVRs. You can read more about that fiasco here.

Link via AdFreak.