Google stock

I was one of those who poured all the money into Google (very unimaginative).

I made a total of $292.96 - a 0.3% profit. Miserable but hey, at least I did not lose money and in this market, that's quite a feat to accomplish!

Has anyone seen this?

Pretty cool...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE

What we watch and how we watch it?

Last Sunday's NYT features the new reality of the way we watch now.

Research Outline

Research Question:
As video sits are uniquely expensive to maintain and operate:
a) ...how many sites can the market sustain at the same time? (As of now, it is looking like one video site per market)
b)...what is the revenue needed to be able to generate a profit? (Cost minus revenue = profit)

Background on YouTube
YouTube is the world’s fourth-largest site measured by uniques and the seventh largest measured by page views. Google jumped at the opportunity to purchase YouTube after only a year in the market for a total of $1.65 billion. However, was the purchase a leap before looking? As of the end of 2008, YouTube still has not generated profit for Google. In fact it is costing more and more money to keep YouTube’s site up and they are having issues with copyright and also struggling to learn how to turn a profit in YouTube while trying to stay as a free video hosting site. Currently YouTube is trying out a number of avenues to turn a profit. YouTube recently unveiled a screening room for indie films. It has allowed a special long form video for “content partners” and plans to sell music, movies, books, electronic games and concert tickets online while developing new advertising formats to boost revenue.
CBS is a prime example of how the old news networks can progress along with the new media format. Since CBS started to offer clips of its shows on YouTube two years ago, the network has registered more than 4.3 million views of its clips. Recently CBS announced it will offer full length episodes in exchange for the right to sell its own ad inventory. In the past two years, in addition to signing on CBS, YouTube has attracted some 900 content partners. YouTube CEO Chad Hurley is currently trying to attract more content partners as he expects the online ad market to grow to about $5 billion.

Methodology
-Conduct a historical track of YouTube's revenue growth from 2005 (first started) to 2008
What is YouTube's current cost of operation and what is the magic number needed to turn a profit to justify its pricetag?

-Compile a list of everything that YouTube has publicly announced that it is going to do to make a profit (Screening Room, AdSense, etc.) and predict which one will be the most profitable hence to best focus efforts and expansion on.

-Interview representatives from YouTube to gauge current concerns and future plans


Suggestions?

Netflix and Maghound

I am going to speculate if Maghound will be successful or not based on observing Netflix's success. I will identify successful components of Netflix and compare it to Maghound to see if those elements are available in Maghound. This outline is not finalized form and it surely needs more organization, but here's what I have so far.

1. History of Netflix
A. Brief description of Netflix
- It is the world’s largest online movie rental service, with more than eight milion subscribers.
- For low monthly price, members can watch movies and television episodes online, and they can also get DVDs delivered to their house.
- There are no due dates or late fees.
- Growth history for past years.
B. From beginning to present: how Netflix was developed and gained popularity

2. Success of Netflix
A. Q3 2008 Financial Results show that Netflix has been doing well despite a challenging economic environment.
B. Subscribers: Subscribers rose 23 percent from last year.
C. Revenues: revenue grew 16 percent compared to last year.
D. More data will be added.

3. Why is Netflix successful?
A. Number of collections available: more than 100,000 DVD titles and more than 12,000 choices that can be watched instantly
B. quickness: 95% of Netflix members live in areas that generally receive shipments in one business day.
C. user-friendly interface: very easy to surf the web and order DVDs.

4. Future of Netflix
A. Next week, Netflix will launch movie services on XBOX 360
B. There is no direct competitor for this business.

5. Is the successful components of Netflix also available in Maghound?
- This part will probably be the most important part of my paper. Also, it should be the most insightful. I have to do more research to figure this part out.

6. Possible Scenarios of what could happen.

My major concerns

- After the individual conference, I received a very intriguing idea, which is to consider itune as well. However, after researching, I realized that itune is not too similar to Netflix and Maghound. For now, I’ve decided not to include analysis of itune for my paper. Do you think Itune is relevent to my research topic?

- I am writing this paper on the assumption that Netflix and Maghound have similar business models. However, movie business and magazine business certainly have different aspects needed for success. Is it safe to speculate Maghound's success based on Netflix's successful elements?

Digital Footprints

People are constantly tethered to technology - technology that helps them communicate with each other. This constant ability to interact, ensures that they are able to maintain, or build social capital. Tools like cell phones and digital cameras, and the means of distribution – the Internet – has enabled them to instantly capture and share the world for posterity. This has caused the loss of privacy, which has given rise to several online privacy and/or identity management companies.

Potential sources:
Online policy makers/analysts
Random people on social networking sites
People from online privacy management companies

Comparing content interest across different markets for online newspapers

You'll find my outline in PDF form here.

I look forward to your feedback!

disabled consumers online

My disclaimer:
This is more or less what the story will contain. However, I don't really decide how to structure things until I finish interviews and sit down to write. Also, my story/paper won't be a story/paper but a small web site because my master's report will be in web site format...

Focus of the story:
How do online businesses (or businesses online) ignore or accommodate disabled consumers?

Structure and/or topics:
Example of specific problem
Define accessibility
Disabled consumers and spending power
Other economic details
Examples of what makes sites accessible
Why people ignore accessibility
Real examples of accessible and inaccessible sites
What inaccessible sites aren't doing and how they could change

Potential sources
Experts
Advocates
Developers
Online business representatives
Economists
Disabled student office

Research in media economics

I liked Picard's overview on the history and trends of research in media economics. I did some searching to look for similar big-picture reviews of the field (and related works). Here are two that caught my attention:

Media Economics: Research Paradigms, Issues, and Contributions to Mass Communication Theory.

Authors:

Albarran, Alan B.

Source:

Mass Communication & Society; Summer/Fall98, Vol. 1 Issue 3/4, p117, 13p

The field of media economics has mushroomed recently, highlighted by the introduction of the Journal of Media Economics, an expanding literature base, and wider interest among academicians. In this article, I examine the main research paradigms, issues facing the field, and contributions to the larger body of mass communication theory. I also argue that media economics has made at least 4 major contributions to the communication literature. It (a) provides a means to understand media as economic institutions; (b) helps further understanding of continual globalization of media industries; (c) provides a diverse alternative to mainstream mass media; and (d) offers an interdisciplinary focus to contemporary mass communications research.

A Content Analysis Guide for Media Economics Scholars.

Authors:

Fico, Frederick G.¹
Lacy, Stephen² slacy@msu.edu
Riffe, Daniel³

Source:

Journal of Media Economics; 2008, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p114-130, 17p

Abstract:

The study of demand for media products requires an understanding of audience members' preferences, which are shaped by their taste for content. Despite the central role of content in understanding some aspects of media economics, media economics scholars sometimes apply content analysis in ways that are inconsistent with the generally accepted practices of the method. This article deals with some basic concepts underlying the method of content analysis to familiarize media economics scholars with the method. The adoption of accepted content analysis practices will yield better data and, in the long-run, help advance the understanding of media economics.

Hi, I'm Sam and I am an addict

Never thought you'd say it? Well, Chinese doctors have offered the country's first diagnostic definition of Internet addiction.

According to the AFP report, China has the world's largest online population at 253 million people, a figure that is growing rapidly as more people get tethered to computers.

So, are you an addict? If you're online more than six hours a day, you are.

Google Signs a Deal to e-Publish Out-of-Print Books

Google's attempting to publish digital books. A quote here,

Almost overnight, not only has the largest publishing deal been struck, but the largest bookshop in the world has been built, even if it is not quite open for business yet.

We've seen companies wish to work on e-books, such as Amazon's Kindle, etc. It is interesting that no matter in which article, you never see Kindle's sales number. It is hard to read on the screen and I do not think technology would be advanced enough within five years for people to be willing to read on screens. Maybe for convenience purpose I would by e-books (I actually did twice), but books, for practical purpose, I am still an ink-on-the-paper person (at least for now).

The changing access to technology and media consumption

Picard pointed out that the changing technology and access to technology would be one issue that drives the research in media economics today. To investigate the technology access with the patterns of consumption, new research hypotheses can be generated:

In a world that a very small number of users account for a disproportionate amount of the bandwidth consumption, wouldn’t it be reasonable for broadband Internet providers to charge consumer based on the amount of data use? We have already discussed this in earlier classes. When the unlimited broadband changes to be a limited service package, what types of content on the web would consumers first abandon to save the cost? What kind of strategy should content providers such as Youtube apply to cope with the problem?

Is it really the end of news?

Are newspapers really on their way out? What does this mean when a historic event happens and people revert back to the print copy?

Demand for Wednesday's post-election editions of the Chicago Tribune heralding Sen. Barack Obama's victory was so great, the newspaper has decided to re-start its presses this morning.

The initial run was approximately 690,000 copies, according to Becky Brubaker, the Chicago Tribune's vice president of operations. The presses wound up running off 410,000 extra copies.

Market failures and journalism

From the Carnegie Reporter, 2005:

... in some situations the market mechanism--pressured by cultural, social and political changes--may not always be adequate, and some thoughtful people are suggesting that this is the case with respect to the profit-oriented media that dominate the American news landscape. The traditional postwar mainstays of American news--the big three television networks and the many daily newspapers that provide most local coverage--seem to be caught in a dispiriting cycle of cutbacks and declining audiences that they lack the ability to break. At the same time, consolidation and the decline of family ownership have left media organizations subject to the same profit pressures as other publicly traded companies--despite the special mission media companies have always claimed for themselves. Under the circumstances, it's fair to ask whether the news organizations of today--and tomorrow--are up to the task of sustaining the informed citizenry on which democracy depends. 


Victory for the world!

OK, this is really off-topic, but I just liked this picture of people celebrating Obama's win in Sydney, Australia:

(from the HuffingtonPost )

divergent

So I'm a bit off topic mentally because of everything that's going on in my personal life and the world at large this week. But I still wanted to share a couple things:

From Boing Boing, about our former guests: Egyptian bloggers who were harassed and detained in Egypt are harassed and detained in the US

And from the Statesman today: ONLINE INNOVATION: Social media help Austin agents sell homes; Tools like Facebook and Twitter are great fits for real estate industry, some observers say

Externalities

If we’re still having the newspapers vs. online news content debate, then obviously there is no happiness utile. Technically speaking, the utile of the consumer will decide the demand of newspapers or online news content. But we also have to look at the externalities that this war causes.

Externalities, in my opinion, are caused by levels of dependency. If someone relies on newspapers more than online news, then it causes a negative externality for online news content. And vice versa. To reduce the negative externality, tax is the economic solution and to increase the positive externality, subsidizing is usually the norm. But in the case of newspapers and online news content, you can’t do either, because those who own newspapers also own online news content.

While we’re figuring out how online news can out-price newspapers, there are others like Bill Densmore, who think there is a peaceful way to co-exist, while still making money – both online and offline. Densmore thinks that Newspapers must become information valets and gateways, not silos.

2008 Nobel Prize Winner in Economic Sciences: Paul Krugman

His page on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krugman

His column on NYTIMES.com
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/paul-krugman-wins-economics-nobel/?hp

Interview on CNBC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byu_0VqaIXY&feature=related

newspaper's comparative advantage?

Since we talked about collaboration on Monday that how audiences are becoming producers and the possibility of collaborative scholarly work, Nan and Jacie decided to work on this post together. They started a google doc and wrote up this response on their own computers at the same time within one document (without seeing each other cause they've got enough of that in the past 4.5 years).

================

Comparative advantage means that a nation (or a firm?) has advantage in producing a good with less opportunity cost.
But in the text, it is articulating the theory in the context of "international trade,"Examples?? If we want to apply that to journalism, we can either apply that to newspapers in different countries?
or within a country, newspapers in different locations/regions?

Ok, then in terms of making national news, does NY Times have comparative advantage than other local/national papers?
It should be the case. Also, local newspapers have comparative advantage in each individual market because they have the comparative advantage of localness. For example, the Statesman would have more Austin news/information than other newspapers in the U.S. (but who want to trade/cooperate with the Statesman?)

We have already seen that local and national TV network collaborated to serve the local market. For example, Kvue news runs the CBS's national evening news at 6 or 7 p.m.? And before or after that it shows the local news and wheather report.
So comparative advantage is applied to TV news already, but not so much for newspaper sites? Newspapers work more as "closed economies"? The New York Times actually does link to outside sites, but probably not local newspapers. For example, in NYT's technology section, it links to
top stories on other sites, such as rival sources online, gigaom.com, idg.com, etc.
NY Times does not really have So newspaper sites do this as well (at least to some degree?)
True, I think that is smart because NY Times does not have advantages in tech reporting especially in terms of personnel and resources.

Oh, and should we talk about the SOURCE of comparative advantage? I am always curious of who are really doing the tech works for online newspaper. If you check out today's NY Time home page there are beautiful multimedia things that they are doing. Are they outsourcing those works?
The infographic is pretty awesome. I guess they have their own staff working on that inforgraphic. Even with large view, there's no credits attributed to outsourcing.
umh...but would that be more efficient if they do so? those multimedia things need quite a learning curve....
Learning curve...... hopefully that is something learnable...... What I heard is that NYT just started hiring staff who just graduated because those newly graduates have more multimedia skills (but the infographic doesn't look like something made by a j school major).

Do newspapers have "abundantly endowed" factors as a nation might have? For exmple, on p.317, it says China has abundant cheap labor.
I like the idea "abundantly endowed" factors. The newspapers are really good at opinions and photos I think. TV are good at video. if they really work on those on their site, there should be gains.
MSNBC.com has something similar to NYT's infographic too on the homepage, but NYT's is better than MSNBC's.

OK, in sum, media firms should clearly identify their comparative advantage, make further investments in the "abundantly endowed" factors that make them competitive and work with others who have comparative advantages in complementary areas.

The Long Tail Wasted

The newspaper industry somehow has been reluctant acknowledge they have a long-distance audience outside the geographic market defined by their print edition. The long-distance audience is their long tail.

According to empirical research based on the U.S. data (Sylvie & Chyi, 2007), online traffic from outside the market accounts for about 50% of total page views and minutes a newspaper site gets. In terms of unique visitors, the outside-market share ranges from 27% to 35%. For some Asian newspapers, I believe the percentages are even higher.

Just like what Netflix did with Bollywood films, the Web provides a natural platform for newspapers to go beyond their geographic constraints and reach users worldwide (in big numbers). But newspapers did almost nothing for these users, who are probably the most loyal users among all.

Therefore, the long tail is wasted and you ask why the industry is dying?

Catch(in) the long tail

I doubt how many people buy something that was recommended by someone. I’ll stick with books here, but how long has it been since you went to a bookstore to buy a book?

When my friends recommended books to me, I just go to the bookstore and picked up the specific book. Without a car, I find it hard to get around, so I prefer just buying it online. I get deals and I also get it delivered to my doorstep. But the best thing about shopping online is that the sites also recommend similar books I might like; ‘might’ being the operative word. So far, I have liked the books that I was recommended. But what gets to me is that it feels like someone is watching me and that a random software decides what I should like or want.

Sure, this creates a market where the cost of production and distribution becomes practically zero. With this in mind, it won’t be long till there are more ways to sell obscure material online. But there is a catch. In the article, Anita Elberse says that sales of well-known material are blockbusters to marketing and obscure content could be bad for effective sales because cost per sale of every transaction actually goes up.

Human + machine = best search results

I love tools that give good recommendations! As both in “The Long Tail” and in “From Niches to Riches” when more products are available, it is hard for consumers to locate the product they are interested in. I wish I could find some other examples rather than books (cause they talked about amazon.com so much already), but I was playing with UT library site the other day and under a book I searched for, I saw tags (labels) showing up. It is supported by Library Thing.

I went to Library Thing website. It is a website that you can search for books. Each book is tagged by website members and you can see there are “members” of the book. I haven’t registered yet, but am guessing anyone can become a member of a book? You can see the list of members and each member has a profile and his/her own library. Pretty interesting site.

The problem is google is probably not enough (I like delicious.com, but it is still not enough). Googlezon in epic2014 is probably ideal for consumers. When you find a web page, there’s gonna be a recommendation says: people who like this page also like……

If someone can beat google on that part and use that search engine on every website, is google gonna die? (or become the second yahoo?)

one customer who buys can be better than 100,000 site visitor who doesn't

I thought this tied interestingly in with a point that I mentioned in my presentation Wednesday. With the advent of the web, people who launch web sites don't need to be seen my millions or billions of people. If their site is visited by just a handful of people (thousands, hundreds or maybe even dozens) who turn around and buy from them (or click the ads, or whatever), they can still be wildly successful.

The Washington Post reposted an article from the technology blog TechCrunch.com entitled "Blogger And Podcaster Media Network Looks To Turn Long Tail Blogging Into A Full-Time Job", which ties into the long tail concept as well as others we've been talking about this semester.

The founder of Blogger and Podcaster Magazine (who and which I personally had never heard of) has started the Blogger and Podcaster Media Network, which will help blogs with smaller audiences become financially lucrative. Enrolled blogs will get packages from communications and public relations service PR NewsWire. There will be an affiliate program and the group will help secure more advanced ads with combined purchasing power.

links from my presentation, as promised

From the Search Engines
Webmaster tips
Google Help › Webmasters/Site owners Help
Yahoo! Search Content Quality Guidelines
Live Search Webmaster Help Center
Ask Web Search
AOL Webmaster.Info

Site submission
Paid Inclusion from Yahoo! Search Marketing
Add your URL to Google

Other tools
Google AdWords > Keyword Tool

What are the hottest keywords?
For September, by category

SEO- What not to do
“Invisible” text
Internal search results on search engines

Interesting phenomena
Google bombing
“Google Hell”

YouTube Citizennews

Has anyone seen this? Citizen journalism on YouTube. Publishing the best "news" content on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/citizennews

Historical Trends and Patterns in Media Economics

Picard brought up an excellent observation when he stated that most in our field have backgrounds in psychology, sociology and other scholarly fields that comprise of very different understanding of research compared to the economics field. And before, according to Picard, it did not matter because the media was not the commercial giant it is today. Right under our noses, scholars in our field have suddenly (at least to it seems sudden to me) awoken to these giant conglomorates and are now scrambling to understand why the city's newspaper has shrunk to only one newspaper and even then is laying off staff that have worked there for decades.
Should our field revamp the structure and alter the thinking and teaching methods to include the new wave of our media field? And if so, how can we do that?

The Long Tail…

Besides the idea of targeting the “niche markets”, another important condition for a long tail business to survive is to effectively guide consumers in the sea of products by “following the contours of their likes and dislikes”. I think that is the key element for the success of Netflix and Amazon, which is to keep on providing information related to people’s purchasing interest and that keep people continue to stay on their site (even they may not be buying things instantly…). I don’t think the online news providers have done a good job in this area, just by looking at the time people spent on the news site.

And before we get too excited about the long tail theory, there are some critics to look at: There is an article published on Harvard Business Review analyzing market datasets to show that

First, the tail is long but extremely flat--and, as online retailers expand their assortments, increasingly so. Second, compared with heavy users, light users have a disproportionately strong preference for the more popular offerings, while both groups appreciate hit products more than they like those in the tail.