Turnbulled

Fitbit’s Motivator: A Virtual Flower

The secret behind the popularity of the Fitbit, a new fitness device, may lie in the health of a pixelated flower blossom.

NYT article well worth reading.

http://s.nyt.com/u/iye

I'll check back later…

The new privacy settings on Facebook are out.  For me, a big part of the value of Facebook is that it is kept private (it's the place where I will share family photos).  I'm wondering how many people will modify the new default privacy settings (I'm guessing most won't).  Here's a screenshot from my account with the recommended privacy settings (e.g., status updates are public by default). 

I think that it was a strange move by Facebook to default such a broad range of privacy settings as public (although I can understand, from a business perspective why the decision was made).  Given that so many setting were changed to public, it feels like a bit of a privacy bait-and-switch move. 

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/12/04/06

How Kisha clubs impact the news media in Japan. This is a must listen.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=118538

While a few select newspaper publishers may succeed with a strategy of erecting pay walls around their online content, most of these attempts will fail, according to the new 2010 Media Outlook report from Fitch Ratings.

Newspapers should find a way to cooperate and build a single pay wall.  A paid version of "Hulu for newspapers" just might work.  One off pay wall efforts will, in large part, fail. 

Off topic (newspaper ad revenue declines):

The newspaper business has indeed suffered an unprecedented collapse over the last couple of years. According to the Newspaper Association of America, total ad revenues in the first three quarters of 2009 came to just under $19.9 billion, down 44% from $35.3 billion in the first three quarters of 2006.

I've been giving my mixed martial arts fan friends a bad time about the sport ("dog fighting for people", etc.)  Apparently, the fan base isn't quite what I thought it was.  http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=117972

Data from Scarborough Sports Marketing shows that 8% of U.S. adults are mixed martial arts (MMA) fans — those who watched the sport on broadcast or cable in the past year.

That group is 15% more likely than the average adult to have a household income of $75,000-plus, and 10% more likely to own a second home.

Furthermore, MMA fans account for 15% of adults planning to buy a luxury vehicle within the next year, and represent 10% of the potential market for new SUV purchases.

I still don't get it…

BoomTown’s Kara Swisher wrote a great piece discussing the Murdoch vs. Google showdown.  She makes the observation that:

There is a lot more money to be made in searching for content than in making it.

If that’s true (is it really?) Murdoch shouldn’t be playing Google and Bing off each other.  He should work to build the search engine for the newspaper industry.  If he really wants to play this out, he shouldn’t run to Bing.  He (rather, the industry) should build his (its) own.

The search property (perhaps called http://NewsAllOver.com) would be jointly owned by the largest news providers (AP, Gannett, Tribune, New York Times, etc.).  Hulu, from the television world, could be the model (in terms of ownership).

All participating news organizations would block other search engines from indexing them.  Consumers would quickly come to realize that NewsAllOver.com is the place to search for news.

Of course, the news industry has tried similar things in the past that have not played out well (e.g., Classified Ventures).  Perhaps, at this point in the decline of the Western Print Empire, there might be more motivation to try.

The rules for participation, ownership structure, etc. would all need to be worked out.

Why not?  Seems more rational than banking on Bing.

Update 11/25: Belo and Dean Singleton (MediaNews) might join in on the Google blocking thing.