Coolness Reality Check

I'd like to think I'm cool and hip. Like today, I was driving in to work, enjoying the music on the radio, checking stocks on my iPhone and feeling pretty damn good about myself.

And then this happened: I was about to get out of the car, when I hear the host on the radio say, "You Won!! You just got two tickets to the Kelly Clarkson concert!" This was immediately followed by ear-piercing screaming... from the winning caller. From me... came a whooshing sound of deflation, a sigh which carried with it the last remnants of my taken for granted youth-attached coolness. The realization, as welcomed as a hug with a cactus, came quickly: I was rocking out to this radio station only a few seconds ago and they just gave away Kelly Clarkson tickets. I am a total dweeb.

Photos In Post Production

Here's a photo from my trip that's gone through post production. The rest are still in the works and will probably not be ready till I get a solid weekend behind me.

The image was taken at Wong Tai Sin, arguably the most popular temple in Hong Kong.

One pic before I fly

Waiting for my flight to board and sending one more pic before I head home. Will then post more.

Your Postcard

Hi all. I'm currently in a Gloria Jean's coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. What a fantastic place. Going to have to tell you all about it later. In the meantime, enjoy two random photos. I'll upload more photos to Flickr at a later time.

Treehugger!

I get my power from the LA DWP. Today, I found out you could sign up to get 100% green power from them. Now I'm pretty sure that doesn't mean my power comes straight from wind mills or solar panels but it probably means they buy more of that kind of power from the extra costs I pay. It'll come out to about $200 a year for me to go 100% green power. That's not too bad if you think about it. I mean, if a lot more of us do this, we'll probably make a significant impact on coal consumption in the US.

Here's the problem. I found the sign up form here. It took me literally 5 minutes to find it and it was buried about 5 clicks deep from the main site. You would almost think they don't want you to find it. That kinda ticks me off. I mean, if they priced the green power correctly, then why would it matter to them if more of us went green? Now I do have to admit that they have a little promo line on the back flap of my paper bill, something to the effect of "Buy Green Power Now". The problem is, they don't actually tell you how to do that. Cheeky monkeys!

Anyways, I don't want to get all treehugger on you guys but if you should explore around your own power company's site and see if there's a green option for you too. It doesn't cost that much more and you'll really be doing the world a favor.

Irony tastes better on ice

As part of a promotion for Halo 3's release overseas, they did a PR stunt where tokens were frozen inside a giant block of ice. Participants shot water guns at the ice, melting it to get to the tokens and use them to redeem for gamer tech prizes like TVs and, of course, Halo 3.

Hmm, big block of unmovable ice sponsored by Microsoft. Consumers "pissing" on it until finally it yields and delivers the goods. Sounds like Microsoft's been on a roll lately with their PR efforts, remind you of anything?.

via AdRants

Underestimate of the moment

According to a new study, online game revenue will account for a third of all game industry revenue by 2011. Now, I'm not sure if they mean only games that live online like Wow or if they include all games that touch online, including digital distribution and console games that can be played online (Warhawk). If the latter, then I believe this estimate to be way off.

Four years is an eternity online. Think back to 2003 and the offerings we had at that time and think of the breadth of online gaming now. The fall of traditional console and hardware distribution will happen quick and fierce and my own gut feeling is that it'll happen in two years. It would be more realistic to think that online game revenue will be over 50%. This will include pure offerings like Wow but also downloaded content. Folks, the Wii isn't offering classic games just for the nostalgia or the minor revenue, they're testing a digital distribution model. The Xbox360 and PS3 are already offering full titles online. It won't take long before all titles move online.

By the way, this isn't only for the obvious reasons. Sure, you'll save money on getting rid of the pesky middle man (retailers) but think about the iTunes model. Offering a full suite of titles online will make more games available and tap into the long tail revenue potential of titles that never got a chance at retail.

Over 50%, mark it.

Longtime listener...

So I know, I haven't been around lately. So the fact that I'm coming back now to post something shamelessly about myself is probably the wrong thing to do. In fact, it's downright the worse of self-promotion. But, I know you'll forgive me because that's the wonderful, forgiving, "let's not fight, want to watch a movie on the couch with some ice cream?" kind of reader you are. Have I mentioned how much you mean to me lately?

And now on to the post:

I was on NPR today! It was for Marketplace, the show about business and things. The article was about the huge hype behind Halo 3 and how the game industry's becoming so much like Hollywood. Anyways, you can listen or read the transcript here: My Marketplace moment.

It was a cool experience and Lisa Napoli, the writer, was very nice. What's funny is that the whole time there, I was thinking, "Wow, I really should sign up to be a member of KPCC (the local public radio station)" Anyways, it was funny how I basically just regurgitated what I've written before in this blog and somehow it was interesting enough to include in the segment. Go figure.

Lunar Eclipse Photos

The lunar eclipse from my balcony:
1:34 AM













2:05AM













2:51AM













3:03AM

Some perspective

On Saturday morning, at 4AM, the Aurigid meteor shower will light up the skies on the West Coast. This, like many other meteor storms, are caused by dust left over from comets that pass Earth's orbit.

According to MSN, "this comet previously swept passed the sun sometime around the year 82 BC (when Julius Caesar was alive). Jenniskens and Vaubaillon calculated that a trail of dust released by the comet at that 82 B.C. visit will run smack into Earth's path when our planet passes by on September 1."

The fish were a sign

My fish died today. Both of them. I never named them because I couldn't tell them apart so they were just "the fish". I found them dead this morning, which brings up some interesting questions: Did they die at the same time? Did one of them die first, prompting the other say "O happy dagger" and end it? Was it a bowl-shattering domestic dispute that ended in a murder suicide?

Or was it just me, neglecting the fish?

I'm not suited for the whole responsibility thing. At first, I'm pretty good, taking care of the fish on a daily basis. Changing things up like the water on a weekly basis. And then for some reason, more often than not because I'm simply bored of it, I forget a feeding. A mossy coating soon lines the bowl, as if protecting the fish from suicidal tendencies.

I'm not heartless so I do occasionally come back and feed the fish, maybe not as neatly as I did before, maybe not counting out pinches and waiting around to watch them eat. Do fish choke?

Well, I completely blame myself. No fish deserves to die like this. Not through neglect. Maybe an unfortunate accident off the credenza or a predatory swipe by a visiting feline. That's the way to go.

Alas though, I am helpless against the dark cloaked one. The fish are gone.

I miss them.

Non-story of the week

Microsoft and EA develop a dynamic in-game advertising engine for Sports titles... story here.

And when they say "develop" they mean that Microsoft bought Massive Inc. the former independent industry leader in dynamic in-game advertising. Strange news item to try to regurgitate.

On a more personal note. I am still alive. =)

Checking In

Hey, how's everyone doing?

I'm still here. It's been a busy few months. There's so many things I wanted to write about but can't because I'm bound by the rusty shackles of multiple NDAs. What I can tell you is that I feel a disturbance in the Force, a gut reaction that the online advertising industry is about to make a significant shift. Money is getting tighter these days and accountability for performance is going up. Over and over, I'm seeing people wanting to see proof that things are working. This may mean that the trend towards fluffy online experiences like viral YouTube campaigns or pointless sites may be going away. Instead, we may start to see some more concrete initiatives that are relevant to consumers and that more directly hit the bottom line. In other words, your online experience may be a little less annoying soon. Since my job is basically Fluff Exterminator (think black jumpsuit with badge of pink poodle with big X on it... actually, don't.) work's been good lately.

Meanwhile, I've somehow turned into a workaholic. In doing so, I've also sapped whatever creative mojo I usually have for Branded Newb. Though it may seem like it, I haven't given up on this whole writing and blogging thing. Just wanted to let you know.

I'll see you when I come up for air. Probably this weekend after I read HP7.

If it ain't broke, promote that instead

Check out this banner for the Xbox360. The first image is the initial frame, the second is the final frame.

Notice anything missing? Right, no mention of games.

I'm not sure I buy an entire campaign to deliver the message of these secondary features. The iPhone has Google Maps built in but I wouldn't try to sell it as a competitor to a GPS unit (ignoring that it doesn't have GPS). Does this feel forced to anyone else?

Also, when the ad unit animates, the dude sitting on the... chair?... is rocking the controllers like he's playing a game. Umm... I don't know anyone that pivots back and forth while selecting music, scrolling through photos or pausing their home movie. Hey Microsoft, haven't you hurt yourself enough by giving the Xbox360 a half-ass effort? Couldn't find imagery or assets that actually worked with the concept eh? I guess someone said, "Just reuse the gaming dude, it won't matter". That's a shame.

The ad unit itself isn't too bad. The copy succinctly conveys the message that the console gives you more than games. The call to action at the end, "Learn More Today" is nice and large. Why "Today" vs. "Now" vs just "Learn More" baffles me but it's still a good call to action. A decent execution on a questionable marketing message. Try again.

Hard to reach places

Branded Newb Product of the Week: Infinity Razors

It's the razor that never needs sharpening! If you buy now, they'll even throw in a few bonuses. A "micro trimmer" for your unsightly nose hairs. An Infinity Chef Knife for umm...

Seriously WTF? If you have body hair that needs the freak'n Chef Knife, you have bigger issues than buying a razor that never dulls. I mean, you gotta make Robin Williams look like a pre-pubescent boy-band blondie before this makes sense.

Oh well, buy now! Supplies are limited.

Measure twice

According to the Washington Post, Microsoft will spend $1.15 billion to fix problems with the Xbox 360. As a result of a lot of broken consoles, it's also extended the warranty to 3 years, adding what will eventually be more cost. But let's do some quick math.

$1.15 billion divided by the 11.6 million Xbox360s sold so far.

Comes out to about $99.14 per Xbox360 for the repairs.

According to Wikipedia, the top end Xbox360 was priced at $399 at launch. The cost to manufacture was $525... a loss of $126 per Xbox.

So as of today, for each Xbox sold, Microsoft loses $225.

If Microsoft didn't have cash coming out its ears, would it have a prayer of surviving? This console war stuff is crazy. They sell consoles at a loss because they make money on the software. But it takes a lot of people using the consoles to make money and a lot of software sales to make a lot of money. Unless the console breaks records, by the time these manufacturers recoup the loss on the hardware, it's probably time to make new hardware.

This entire business model is about throwing yourself down a hill at breakneck speed and hoping that you get enough momentum to clear the canyon in front of you. If you don't sell enough units to pass that critical threshold, you'll probably just keep losing money.

You know, I wonder if the gas companies ever thought of selling cars? Milk companies giving away cereal. Eye solution companies selling contacts. Sorry, I think this whole console nonsense is going away. Web-based device-agnostic games are going to take these guys to the cleaners.

Heads or Tails, You Lose

Branded Newb Shopping Network Proudly Presents!

The 100th Anniversary Corvette Coin:

This is a once in a lifetime product folks. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Corvette, GM has allowed the production of these limited edition coins. The best part? The freak'n coin lights up! That's right, the headlights actually glow. Buy one now!

Anniversary does not imply annual celebration: First Corvette manufactured in 1953. Product thickness above standard width, the term coin is used figuratively. GM sponsorship only represents a desperate attempt at additional income. Coin is not legal tender though you can probably trade for a six-pack of PBR. Feeling of shame after purchase not included and may require additional shipping and handling.

Window shopping

When I advise clients on how to optimize their banner ads, I sometimes talk about moving desirable actions upstream. What I mean is that instead of making people click from a banner to a site and then getting them to do something on the site, why not just put the action on the banner? You end up saving some steps in between where many people might just drop off.

What if a client (not mine) took this to the extreme? You might get something like this Radio Shack ad. The thing is a whole shopping site within a banner. It has some pretty amazing functionality built-in. You can browse categories, then products in those categories. Add products to a shopping list, then save the list or go take the list with you to the site. Within the banner you can also locate a store or sign up for email communications. Aside from checking out, you don't need to leave the banner.

The banner where I found it:


Shopping list in the banner


Store locator


Categories to browse


I'm not sure if I could advise a client to go to this extreme. It just seems to me that it'd be extremely challenging to take someone from their mindset of reading an article to a shopping mindset of buying electronics. Sure, you want to show your breadth of offerings but having a full catalog in the banner seems like overkill. Now if this was targeted to when I was reading reviews of electronics, that would be different.

Shouldn't you put up a fight?

I had a miraculous experience yesterday. My 1-year contract with T-Mobile ended a few weeks ago and so yesterday morning I succumbed to my weakness and picked up a new phone, that one powered by AT&T. Knowing I would have to call in to cancel my T-Mobile account, I braced myself for explaining why I was leaving T-Mobile. I imagined throwing off the customer service rep with that single word that would need no further explanation. (I'm trying to write this entire post without using the name of that product, let's see if I can do it.)

You don't need an entire transcript of the conversation; nothing happened. She didn't ask me why I was leaving. She didn't offer me some promo to keep me around. She didn't even sound very regretful. I was in shock.

We always see horror stories about customer service reps on YouTube and home-made vigilante sites. I'm usually the cynic but my experience yesterday was absolutely perfect. It was the best cancellation call I ever made and it ended too quickly (less than 90 seconds). It's time I redeemed for some of my prior transgressions, some of my earlier badmouthing. So to even up things up, here's a batch of words for search:

• T-Mobile great experience
• Best Customer Service T-Mobile
• Easy cancellation

Ok, enough of that. Back to your regularly scheduled sourness.

I see you!

Was watching HBO... ran into tv spot with url.

Went to site... watching it now...

Sweet online application of video technology...

Wooo, what did she just do?!

This is some cool stuff!

Oh damn, what!? I missed something.

Argh, gotta go, gotta keep up with the stories! TTYL!

HBOVoyeur.com