Diary Of A Madman

{Follow Up} Why Entertainment Industry still has Digital all wrong - Midem 2012

2012-01-12T19:15:00Z

Thanks to all of you that have emailed me regarding my post, I do enjoy the emails that I receive from around the world - and there were a number of questions posed that I decided to add as a supplement Blog post to the original post from yesterday... First off, questions around the iTunes image that was posted... I used to live in the UK and probably spent a fair amount of UK ££££ on the iTunes store over there - I had a different email address and as such used to flip back and forth between my...(read more)

Why Entertainment Industry still has Digital all wrong - Midem 2012

2012-01-11T16:41:00Z

With Midem only two weeks away, the South of France will again, be a stage for the music industry to work itself into a frenzy to figure out the best route forward into discovering how to rescue itself from the brink of its own self-importance/ destruction. I’ve attended, spoke & networked through many of these events in the past, and looking at the list of attendees I’m not sure that there will be much success in pushing forward any new ideas or initiatives. So while, I have been asked to attend...(read more)

2012 Search: Who will find you & how?

2012-01-04T15:59:00Z

In 2011 Google did the unthinkable or for a lot of people, the “about time” by dropping their all new Panda algorithm that would change the old school way that it had spidered and indexed sites previously. This in part was a pre-cursor for Google+ and more social results, but more importantly to weed out and drop the spam and poor content that seemed to endlessly end up in your search results. For the traditional Google end user, business as usual really, apart from some small inclusions from social...(read more)

2011 Review & 2012 Road Ahead

2012-01-02T00:54:00Z

2011 ended pretty much as it began, and at the same lightening speed... seems to be true what your parents and grand parents tell you, that the older you get the quicker the time passes, and this year seemed to go particularly fast, well in this bloggers opinion at least! 2011 saw a number of key events, and one of those was the inevitable passing of Steve Jobs. While we all hoped for a different outcome and for Steve and his vision to remain with us for a good few years more, it was not to be the...(read more)

Innovate..Evolve..or become irrelevant (Baby Boomers vs Gen X)

2011-11-04T15:47:00Z

The world is a very different place than what it was 20 years ago! Nice opening statement from the ‘school of the bloody obvious’ isn’t it? Well you would think so, 20 years ago back in 1991 we were a very different breed, we had a taster of technology that would eventually help revolutionize our way of life, supported through wire-free networks and blistering fast connection speeds that we could only ever say “wouldn’t it be awesome if we could….{insert your own wow factor comment from ‘91}” Funnily...(read more)

RIM's "fruity" battle for survival - BlackBerry or Mango

2011-10-14T01:57:00Z

** UPDATE - While writing this post RIM & BlackBerry were in the midst of a 3 day blackout due to some connectivity errors at the mothership & users are about to fall off the party wagon (at last!!) *** I’ll be totally honest, I have NEVER liked BlackBerry. I hated their devices, hated their OS and just generally watching some of the “business elite” glued to their teeny tiny 2” screen and frantically scrolling their tiny rollerball, was simply a lip curling experience. These were the types...(read more)

Losing patience with patent trolls...

2011-09-22T16:10:00Z

I like to think that I/ we innovate and instigate new thinking and evolution on the present, the here and now, the what is already there. Only by doing this, by pushing yourself and your thinking forward will we ever evolve. Compare this first mobile phones vs iPhone 5 - without pushing ourselves time and time again would we ever be where we are today! For others, however, an idea or "bathroom idea" that they have a lightbulb moment while in quiet contemplation (come on admit it, we all have them!)...(read more)

The Cloud in 2008 (including iCloud ?)

2011-06-27T12:28:00Z

What is great about running a blog for almost 5 years, is you can look back and see if you were accurate in your thinking and future strategy planning, or not.

Back in August 2008, I wrote a couple of pieces around the emerging Cloud trend. Fast forward to 2011, you can't go anywhere without hearing anyone's thoughts, views or own service in the omnipresent CLOUD - everyone has some kind of cloud offering, you can read about EMC's Cloud strategy here.

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I have always tried to see it from the end consumers viewpoint, a consumer champion if you will - "what does this mean for the everyday average consumer" So to me, 4 years on, we have had Microsoft try to educate the masses with their "to the cloud" Apple reveal their iCloud, and a whole slew of other companies adding cloud to their marketware and marketecture -

I've written a few posts about the future of consumers media storage and consumption in the cloud, and feel that there will be a few more to come... but until then I thought it would be fun to replay my 2008 Blog "Cloudbusting & The Web Platform - The Next Level" to show that not only does EMC have cloud offerings for your business, but our consultants think and strategize about these concepts - years before companies come round to the this type of thinking... So lets time-warp back to Summer 2008.... enjoy!

Cloudbusting & The Web Platform - The Next Level

Following up quickly from my last blog - where do I see some of the key highlights and what Conchango are talking about with our clients and potential clients is how you structure "your cloud" in order to make it accessible, visible and indexed correctly.

Gone are the days where you can just pump content and data up to a virtual storage solution - that has been going on for years. SaaS starts to create the cloud with substance, purpose and dynamics.

If we are to truly see the desktop as the event horizon for SaaS and how we explore these ideas further - then the data that is stored has to be able to link itself to other materials and data within the cloud. This in return can then be displayed and delivered to the user's desktop (I use the term desktop here as a metaphor for their access point, or their entry point into services and software - but this could as easily be shown on a mobile device as well as a handheld converged device such as the iTouch - as long as there is a valid connection to the cloud)

I have also read with some interest over the weekend that Apple's patent application published this week suggests that they will start to bridge this gap with their iPods and iPhones via something like Orb Networks or Sling

This is not getting to the root of the issue - and where my thinking is slightly different - using what Apple suggest, or Orb or even Simplify Media - there needs to be a resident PC live and active in order to have network access to the library - again this is nothing new or revolutionary - yes perhaps connecting to your iTunes library from your iPhone over 3G or Wi-Fi seems great as now you can access your content - but you need to leave the house in the morning with your PC, Mac or whatever on and active. This may well be fine for us that have media servers at home that stores and manages all our media content - but this is too much for the mass market to adopt. They will happily leave on their SKY box or Freeview box, just as they did with their video players - but to expect someone to not close down the lid of their laptop or walk out the room while their desktop whirrs and humms in the background will not happen.

Take all the content into the cloud - the media can be discovered, downloaded, ripped shared in all kinds of ways - but this is the slave - let the cloud take the content and store this up there.

Then when synchronizing your devices - or when registering your devices; this will be the stage where you can decide that you want specific data on to it or not. That way if you need to share some holiday snaps of the family with another colleague - then your cloud understand the constraints of your smartphone in that it has a tiny screen and your accessing via 3G - so no real point in downloading the full HD resolution of the photos - but instead smart delivery of the photos that is resized and delivered to your phone.

Back to the media - MobileMe - totally missed out iTunes on it's first deployment (probably due to the DRM issue) and Live Mesh also missed out Windows Media Player (again probably down to WMDRM - or lack of any new Windows Media Player announcements) There are hundreds of companies out there that state that they "can access your media to you anywhere" - yes but only because it has access to the resident PC/Mac and then it must be left on! The access and delivery methods that are around now and some of the patents pending with Apple are not new nor are they going to push the boundaries of data access.

I recently spoke with a new start up in Silicon Valley that was going to head down the path like Orb, Simplify Media, etc.. and talked them out of it in the nick of time - and saved the VC a whole load of money and wasted investment - they are now looking at developing a cloud storage and synchronization infrastructure

The next installment will look at the creation of the cloud, the synchronization and the ultimate prize - the syndication and monetization of YOUR content!

Think of this that as part of your cloud structure you have the syndication element enabled to sell you details to price comparison engines that know (because you allowed it to know) when your car and house insurance is up for renewal - they have the detail that is required - this is only the start - as you control your data and decide on what you want - the guarantee to the price comparison engines for example is that now they have access to a network of people that they can in effect go out en-mass and start to buy bulk orders of insurance and get the best possible prices for their users - a win - win - win for all really.

That is what is exciting about the cloud and data indexing sorting - not just being able to access my photo or email on the go, and not just by leaving my Mac running at home heating up in off chance that I decide to access an album at work!

The cloud is busting...

The Social Revolution and The Social Evolution

2011-06-24T16:03:00Z

We live in a connected planet - one world, one voice? Perhaps not, but technology has enabled a wider reaching voice, a voice of the previously muted, gagged, censored... but no more. What has technology unleashed? A torrent of people round the world sharing images, stories, support, freedom and some heartfelt plea's, but not for money, but to help get their messages and struggles to the world - to open its eyes... and that the sharing vehicle is the same one that most use to show their own personal freedom... this is the Social Revolution that is being supported by the Social Evolution...

Previously oppressed counties, where the previous generation lived under a cloak of fear and reprisal by their reigning regime are moving towards a brighter different future. The previous generation(s) lived their lives as dictated to them due in part, to lack of visibility and awareness of their situation, as well as this was the only life they knew. They were fed propaganda that the West was an evil empire that would rape the land and kill their families – while travel, and international travel, was far beyond their means. The only form of communication out of their countries were written word (and probably vetted before it left – because who would these people be writing to outside their country) or the emerging telecommunications infrastructure and payphones – but again, international calling was restricted, expensive and monitored. They lived their ‘normal’ lives, not aware of what actual life is like outside their confined society.

The freedom that we felt in the Western world, and took for granted as we walked, talked, communicated and felt free to comment our own views and opinions was a generation away for these countries… that generation has arrived and have had enough of being told how to feel, what to think and how to act. The Social Evolution has help build the momentum of the Social Revolution – but at what cost.

The most important, and most heinous and vile cost is that of the lives of these innocent citizens looking to break free of oppression and retribution, protests, marches and ultimately the clashes with the scared regime has left an almighty impact and greater loss of life, that we can only hope that their efforts will not be in vein.

The hypocritical nature of some of the Western Governments, specifically the US, that condemned and vilified the countries such as Iran, Libya, Syria, Egypt that shot and killed their protesters, harked back to a darker period back in the 1970’s and specifically the Kent State Massacre, while 4 people were killed for protesting against the Vietnam war expanding into Cambodia – part of their 1^st Amendment rights.

Pic by John Filo (Mary Ann Vecchio & deceased Jeffery Miller)

This tragic and unnecessary killing is significant in Americas History, not only did it represent a failure of the constitution of its Citizens, it was a reaction by a cluster of 1920’s/1930’s born leaders that felt that the students were out of control, not respecting the country and values that they had fought for in WW2, Vietnam and the continual fear of Communism and the global world that was beginning to influence the US in such a way that FEAR struck a chord that led to the state not knowing how to react and control a volatile and riotous group of students. Their mistake was to open fire on the crowd.

But fast forward 40 years to 2010, there is similarities to the uprising that we see today, where the disconnected youth see, hear and understand that something is wrong, and take to the streets to voice their anger, concerns and call for change. The regimes, unable to control or contain retort to the only form they know – brutal force – as it has worked over the past 50+ years to keep the citizens in check – fear.

The internet and its ability to communicate to a global audience has been the lifeline to promote and show the world what is happening within their country. Old regimes that had previously saw the rise of the web, put locks, process and procedures in place that would in effect wrap a firewall around its country and only allow certain web traffic through that it deemed appropriate and right for its citizens – this was the next wave or controlling its citizens from the outside influences of the West. China vs Google is an ideal example of the fear factor and demands that Chinese controlling regime placed on Google to filter its search results, as well as monitor and report on its citizens usage patterns and communication – far too deep and complex to go into here – but rest assured, other companies would turn a blind eye to the regime in order to make their almighty $$$$.

When Facebook, Twitter and You Tube and the like were used by the Iranian protesters, this was a seismic shift in supporting the revolutions in these countries, as previously, these sites had gone under the radar, as it was not widely understood, it wasn’t a Google, Yahoo! Information pool, or email using SMTP, this was very different…

By adding the focus and attention from the citizens in these regimes from Social Communication tools, as we have seen, now that these dictators understand the threat that these are one of the first lines of defense – to silence it’s people (after they plunder their ill-gotten gains into offshore bank accounts) and shut down the web. However just as quickly as this is done other doors have opened for the people to let the world know what is happening in their country – and companies like Google, are supporting this by diverting or delivering ways of using some of the other network means to get the messages, images and video out to the world – hoping that the world is watching, listening and can support them!

Banking & Credit Cards: how secure is your data?

2011-06-23T20:42:00Z

Banks, finance companies and the like are turning their back on the people that matter most - their customers! In a digitally connected and somewhat openly transparent world these companies are still relying on their antiquated networks and processes that were built in the 1980s and are NOT in a fit or practical state for the 21st Century.

The amount of fraud, cloning and with the latest round of hacking, where companies are failing to secure their customers data and information, the customer is the one that is being hit hardest.

Look at the way credit card companies still insist on spamming your mail box, in the last week alone I have had around 12 applications / invites to sign up for a credit card. These of course are sourced from marketing companies like Experian, and such like, that actually sell your credit score to the financial institutions where your credit score is good and therefore an invitation to debt. Did none of these companies learn anything from the recession where personal debt and people overreaching their financial limits in order to get the “latest and greatest” in order to make them feel….”better” ask the people who lost their houses, are being pursued by debt collectors how they feel now. The banks and financial houses don’t care about you, you are but a number to them and fall behind on your repayments they will sell your debt off and move on to the next customer.

Living beyond your means to get to the American Dream, or to keep up with the “Jones” originated in the 80’s, proliferated in the 90’s and was caught out in the 00’s

You think and trust that these companies look after and protect your data and information, because it contains a wealth of your own IP, this is your digital DNA that these companies have, use and lose. The only way that you will ever know is either a rather repugnant letter informing you that their systems had been “hacked” and your data was compromised - nothing to do with them, but those nasty hackers who broke through our “data vaults” and stole your information, or you will receive notification of failed payments on transactions that you never initiated - you’ve been cloned!

The idea and perception that your data is protected like the old bank vaults are but a laughable but deadly serious dream. Because as much as they have records, files and data about you, their systems and the way that these organizations work, is that they also rely on paper based elements as well. Anyone remember the HSBC debacle where thousands of their customer records were left in trash cans, HSBC said that it did not contain any specific information about accounts, and that all was well…. Really so if you are that way inclined, ie a fraud crew, that information is gold - because now they have your information that can lead them on a path to invoke the simplest of processes to get to you via phishing, scams or whatever other idealistic methods they are creating - because they have that base knowledge.

The recent hack at Sony allowed a simple script to penetrate the database where, again customer signed up to the Playstation Network, and gave their email, cell phone and passwords - with the amount of logins, sign ins that we have inn today’s digital world, most people use one or two passwords to keep it simple, now that this information is out there, and it doesn’t take long for these ruthless gangs to get on and get your data.

So, why financial companies and banks, these multi-billion dollar profit companies complain that they can’t keep up with the ever changing fast paced technology innovations and would cost hundreds of millions of $ to put in place new systems and processes, and that is not financially viable. Instead they will look at doing small incremental changes to terms and conditions of banking, to your credit card, and sell you additional services that may or may not protect you (just look in the small print about scenarios if you purchase online)

What is needed is a radical overhaul of the banking systems and industry as a whole. First off is how that data and information is shared, how is stored and managed and maintained. Ask anyone if access to their accounts, mean that transactions will take an extra 10seconds while your newly encrypted data is accessed from 3 locations that is helping to protect you and your data, I think you will find an overwhelming YES.

Ask if to help pay for this transformation, more physical branches need to close, as people move more to digital and less need to actually visit a branch? Again I would say that the majority of people would, again say yes. North American banking procedures and their customers have always been years behind Europe, and the grasp to hold onto physical banking locations are throwbacks to the babyboomer generation, that still trust and rely on checks, and visiting a local branch - these same boomers are running the financial banking institutions and the people in congress are similar where they just don’t seem to understand or want to know how to embrace a digital evolution and why the impact is not about the hackers or fraudsters - it’s how to store, protect and manage the customers data and information - and of course, the end to extortion of the customers data and it’s sale to anyone who wants to buy it!!

In the next blog post - I’ll discuss some revolution and how some different thinking can eradicate the fraud risk of credit card industry forever, they just need to embrace and adopt change!