Random Culture

Keeping Up Digitally: Starter Influences

As a part of my annual visit to the University of Colorado's Advertising A2B intensive this year, I spoke with the students about building a foundation of "influences" to help keep them up to date on the evolving digital landscape. As a part of our time together, I put together a list of "starter influences" across a variety of different categories. Here is that list:

Internet
http://www.kottke.org
http://www.twitter.com/scobleizer
http://www.twitter.com/chr1sa
http://www.twitter.com/brainpicker

Social
http://www.mashable.com
http://www.insidefacebook.com
http://www.allfacebook.com

Advertising
http://www.adage.com
http://www.twitter.com/adagestat
http://www.adverblog.com
http://www.bbh-labs.com
http://www.madebymany.com/blog
http://blogs.forrester.com/marketing
http://www.marketingcharts.com

Technology
http://www.wired.com/blogs
http://www.techcrunch.com
http://www.readwriteweb.com
http://www.twitter.com/techformedia

Mobile
http://www.pttrns.com
http://www.isource.com

Creative
http://www.thefwa.com
http://www.behance.net
http://www.bannerblog.com.au
http://www.inspiredm.com

Entrepreneurial
http://news.ycombinator.com
http://www.avc.com
http://www.twitter.com/guykawasaki
http://www.venturemaven.com

Cultural
http://www.psfk.com
http://www.springwise.com
http://www.monocle.com

Other
http://www.smartbrief.com
http://www.emarketer.com
http://www.ted.com
http://www.poptech.org

 

Gary Vee in Big D Next Week

I'll be speaking next week at the Lakewood Theater on May 25th at the "Gary Vee in Big D" event. It was organized locally by some smart folks who used the power of Twitter to bring Gary Vaynerchuck to Dallas as a part of his tour to promote his new book "The Thank You Economy." I think the event is a great way to showcase some of the great digital work being done locally in Dallas and you're sure to run into a diverse group of folks from startups, brands and agencies.

If you're interested in attending, you can get 50% off your tickets by using the Click Here agency discount code "clickhere." I hope to see you there!

Future of TV, One Subscription at a Time

Last week I downloaded the new HBO "Go" iPad app. I've long lamented the fact that while the rest of the world was allowing full episode streaming online, the paid premium networks hadn't found a solution. Now, however, HBO is making its entire catalog availble online and via iPhone and iPad if you're a subscriber.

The Good
HBO is making their ENTIRE catalog available. My current AT&T Uverse "On Demand" only offers a few of the latest episodes... that's it. I also can start watching entire HBO series without having to spend a ton of money on $1.99 episode downloads in the iTunes store.

While the HBO series are the quality programming that people care about, they also include movies, with a not-too-shabby selection.

The quality of the streaming is pretty good, and I've had little trouble with performance. There are also a few nifty features, like the ability to create a queue of shows or movies you want to watch.

The Bad
Internet connection is required. This means that if you do want to watch something on a plane, you can't download it to watch while you're offline. I really hope that HBO figures this one out soon.

Apparently, not all HBO subscribers can access the service, only those who are subscribing through premium providers like AT&T, Charter, Time Warner, etc...

Overall
It's clear to me that these apps will drive subscriptions for HBO. More than a few people have told me, after seeing it that they would subscribe to have access. The problem is that it's hard to see the role of the cable companies moving forward. We pay for hundreds of channels we don't watch, and there are only a few worth the money. I don't think I'm alone in the feeling that if HBO offered direct subscription through digital, I'd join the growing ranks of cord-cutters.