Indie Telco Local Content Workshop advertisement
THE VIODI VIEW
by Ken Pyle
In this Issue: Bon Vonage, Cell Phone Video, High Def & More...
February 3rd, 2004 Issue
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Local Content Workshop: Local content is both a challenge and an opportunity for independent telephone companies. It is a challenge in that it is something that is entirely different than the business of dialtone and DSL. It presents a new opportunity as it represents content that has the potential to help differentiate the telco from cable, wireless and other emerging competitors. To help independent telcos learn how to source, create and distribute this content, Viodi, LLC has put together the Indie Telco Local Content Workshop. This workshop will look at all aspects of local content, including the marketing opportunity, how community ties can be leveraged to create content and some hands-on creation. As part of the exercises, we will be looking at telcos that have had success with content, as well as what motivates the content producer. Since this workshop is about content creation, it seems appropriate to create some original content. Hence, there will be several video interviews with various content producers, including the 2003 FRED teacher of the year, a producer who has created a show that has a greater market share than the David Letterman show and a producerdirector/writer/actor who is responsible for a video series that has shipped over 6 million videos. The first workshop city is Minneapolis and the date is February 25th. Click here to vote as to where else we should bring this conference. This will be a fun and informative day and I hope you can join me and your independent telco colleagues! |
Content, if you don’t like it go out and make some of your own. Besides paraphrasing the title of the article that I just penned for the current issue of OPASTCO’s Roundtable magazine, I have been living this phrase over the past few weeks, as my travels have taken me from the convention halls of Las Vegas to the Heartland of California.
At the NATPE show in Las Vegas, I had the chance to hear Michael Rosenblum, founder of Rosenblum Associates, suggest that we are at an inflection point that is as important as was the one that the monks faced with the introduction of the Guttenberg press five hundred years ago. Inspired by his comment, I spent the last week traveling from California’s central valley to Hollywood, talking to and interviewing various producers of content.
So, for those of you who did their homework, I trust you made the connection between the Trader Joe’s grocery chain and independent telephone companies. The relevance of that article is that Trader Joe has found a way to use superior customer service (e.g. employees who are so enthused, they often hang out at the grocery store on their day off), a knowledge of their market (e.g. they supply product not offered by their larger competitors) and direct connections to suppliers giving them a competitive cost structure. If you want to see what this has to do with my trip to NATPE, then please click here (available to club.viodi members only).
From Cell Phone Video to High Def and VOD, NATPE Has It All
Speaking of NATPE, I was very fortunate to have Brian Stevenson join me at this content industry tradeshow. He caught several of the sessions that I missed. Brian brings an interesting perspective, as he has been involved in all aspects of the content procurement business, working for both content producers and distributors. I think you will find his angle on content to be quite interesting, as he will be reporting on several of the shows that I won’t be able to make in the next few months. Click here to see Brian’s pearls of wisdom regarding what he saw at NATPE.
Bon Vonage – My Trip Into Local Number Portability Purgatory and Beyond
With all of my recent traveling, one would think the last thing I would have time for would be to try a new phone carrier. Vonage made it too easy. I guess it was the combination of one too many banner ads, the good things I heard from a colleague and the seemingly great value that overcame my usual inertia. Click here to read what a big mistake this decision was…..
By the way, for any of you that are having difficulties contacting me, it is probably fallout from my ill-fated attempt to save a few bucks with the VoIP service. Please try my cell phone.
The Korner:
| NATPE is one of those shows with some pretty creative booths. I am always impressed with booths that cost very little, use common materials and, yet, are very distinctive. I am even more impressed if I can somehow tie the booth theme to a previous Korner article and to my wife's first name. “Jane of All Trades”, which made its debut at NATPE, created a welcoming booth that tied into my earlier column about bathroom repair and the need for good on-demand content. |
Click to See More PhotosJane of All Trades is a television show/lifestyle that helps women meet all of the challenges associated with home improvement and repair projects. The television show, which launches in the fall of 2004, will be augmented by a full line of tools and promotional activities (e.g. “Jane Bootcamps”). What impressed me about their booth was its simplicity, its low cost and that the “Be Jane Team” designed and built it from scratch.
The Jane of All Trades approach is the same recipe that Michael Rosenblum gave to producers looking to launch a new show. Jane of All Trades is actively working with sponsors and using all means to create a product that is more than just a television show. Long-term, their content could be well suited to an on-demand environment, where a home-owner could learn exactly what they need at a time of their choosing. Those going to the Indie Telco Local Content Workshop will have a chance to see my video interview with the founders of this new television show, so stay tuned.
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In this on-line publication, we share our analysis, opinions and direction on the interactive television news and views that we believe will be of interest and use to our friends associated directly or indirectly with independent telephone companies. For more information on Viodi's efforts to unite the independent telephone company's interactive television efforts, please send an email to [email protected].
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