Corporate Takeovers

Microsoft’s attempted takeover of Yahoo has been all over the news recently with the most current development being reported by the New York Times that Microsoft’s newest plan involve on attempting to nominate a new board of directors that would vote in favor of a Microsoft take over. This seems like an expensive move but, when compared to the billions it would cost to buy Yahoo out it doesn’t seem nearly as bad of a strategy. Until you factor in, you know, business ethics which Microsoft doesn’t seem to be concerned with at the moment.

In other corporate take overs the video game publisher Electronic Arts recently put in their 2 billion dollar bid to buyout Take Two Interactive, a rival publisher who publishes triple A games such as Grand Theft Auto, and The 2K sports games. 2K sports being the only rival of EA Sports games. In the proposal EA sited that they could help Take Two with their soon to be released Grand Theft Auto IV which is slated to come out this summer.

Take Two was quick to reply with a firm no thank you. Stating their main reason for refusal being that they will not consider any offers until after GTA4 is released which they feel will increase their market value.

Color

Color is a designers best and worst friend; it is so easy to think that adding color makes something all the better but if done improperly can really ruin the aesthetics. Many times even talented artists will decide to leave their works in plain black and white or Gray scale. Some artists may simply prefer the appearance of a Black and White image while others might be baffled on how to approach that particular project by adding color. However, if executed properly color can add a dynamic and practical element to almost any design or piece of art.

When adding color to a website it is important to have a general color pallet and theme in mind. Too many times designers pick colors that do not go well together, and or do not convey the message that their website is trying to get across. You will notice many sites use a very soft blue theme, this is because blue is both calming and is considered rather inviting at the same time. Facebook, Myspace, digg and even, yes Wordpres by default uses a blue theme many of which are very similar. While using a blue theme may not be the most creative it is usable and appropriate for the material being presented.

The Three Most Important Elements of Web Design

There are three things that I believe essential to good web design. The most important thing to consider while designing a website is aesthetics. To be taken seriously a website needs to present a professional and appropriate tone. A websites appearance will often dictate whether an individual sticks around the website or leaves after only a few seconds, and more importantly, whether the individual will make a return to the website at a latter date. Obviously this is an aspect of a site that grows and evolves overtime as more resources become allocated.

The second most important factor to consider while designing a website is layout and functionality. If a user finds a website or webservice cumbersome or unintuitive they may deal with it for awhile but ultimately they will leave the service for a better offering. This can be directly observed with the recent success of Facebook comparative to the recent failures of Myspace. Myspace failed innovate and suffered from a cumbersome and slow network that, at many times, crawled on even a good day.

Finally a site must be minimal—that is a website should not be any heavier then it has to be. Having superfluous content or over utilizing a particular medium (such as Flash) can ultimately harm the usability and navigation of a website.

Clearcast Digital Media Podcast and How to Make Old Media New Again

Clearcast Digital Media brought up a multitude of topics in their podcast on ‘new media’ and how the online model is changing the game for many companies. The podcast began with a good explanation of how the old model incorporates an interruption business model, effectively disengaging the user by interjecting commercials for several minutes at a time in both television and radio. The internet has taken a radically different strategy; making advertising unobtrusive and yet, ubiquitous. At the same time, solid advertising campaigns can be achieved on a relatively tight budget, and presented in a fashion perceivably less forceful. The model is clearly lucrative; giants such as Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and others are fighting for control of the online marketplace as we speak. The question that I ask is why can’t old media adapt? Why am I paying a premium for cable and simultaneously watching fifteen minutes of commercials for every hour of television I watch? Understandably these companies need to turn a profit however, it seems the charges are excessive.

So why is the cost of cable television so high if commercials are so lucrative? My first inclination is that in many areas the consumer has only one option, creating a local monopoly on markets. The rationale for allowing such monopolies is that the cost of having multiple cable providers laying down infrastructure is wasteful and consequently should be barred from existence as this would lead to higher costs for both companies and consumers; Cato Institute has an in depth article on the subject. Let me first interject by saying the philosophy behind this model is completely flawed. Moreover, why is cable not treated like the phone system? Why can’t I subscribe to any service I want? Is it not effectively one network? The problem lies in that cable providers are still regulated by the government and need to be deregulated much like the phone companies were years ago.

Another logic that baffles, cable providers such as Comcast and Cox have to pay the networks to receive content. That makes sense, so consumers do not have to be inundated with commercials constantly. Oh, wait thats right we are anyway, shouldn’t the networks be paying the service providers to distribute their content for them? Maybe that is why NBC Universal and others are so opposed to distributing their content through the web. Why allow consumers to only pay once when they can make consumers pay twice and then stuff their content with sporadic three minute spats of commercials? Touché NBC—Touché.

Net Neutrailty Continued

Network Neutrality is an issue that is particularly important to me, which is why I decided to do a follow up on my previous post starting with a leaked memo and accompanying story that can be found over at ArsTechnica. The basics of the story is that Time Warner under a new proposed system would have artificial bandwidth caps which have been discovered in an internal memo. This is not a new idea, Comcast has been accused several times of putting artificial bandwidth caps on users—limiting the amount of downloads the user can download in a month.

So whats the issue? The telecoms have not made it clear to users that bandwidth could be limited to any number. Besides being a shady business practice, it takes us down a slippery slope that could ultimately lead to a system much like telecoms have with cell phones; which notoriously bend over the consumer. You know, how you have to pay for the number of minutes you want and then pay for every feature you want on top of your initial monthly fee and then they have the audacity to charge heavy fees for going over on your minutes. Which can easily lead to a monthly cell phone bill of 100 dollars or more for just one person. But people have become apathetic about cell phone bills and consequently allow the telecoms to overcharge them. If things do not begin to change soon or consumers do not speak up do not be surprised to have to subscribe to the ‘Ultimate plan’ for the low price of $99.99.

Hypertext and the Future

Hypertext is vital to how the average user interacts with the web today; it creates connections, which as we all know is what the internet is about. But I have to admit, hypertext seems pretty archaic as to the potential of what hypertext could be. What if hypertext didn’t merely link you to one particular page or item but rather linked to multiple items. Or further yet, was dynamic and changed depending on the user that clicked on the particular link. This surely would not replace hypertext because I believe hypertext will always carry its role on the internet, but the possibilities are potentially limitless not just in terms of helping the individual find content, but also to help corporate and advertising agencies find their consumers without being obtrusive to the consumer much like Google does now on their popular search engine.

A Synopsis Net Neutrality

The issue of Net Neutrality has recently become heated among the tech savvy and the telecoms. At current the internet is considered open and free ;there are no limits on the websites one can access nor are there any restrictions on the speed that one is able to access sites. This current state is called network neutrality and is promoted by such major players as Google and Yahoo.

The thought behind Network Neutrality is that bandwidth nor content will not be limited to any individual or party artificially. This works to the advantage of the users and small business by allowing them access to all the communication, and tools they need without forcing them to pay exorbitant amounts of money. It also protects the individuals freedom of speech on the internet by allowing everyone access to the tools to distribute and also consume other individuals works. The flip side for the consumer is it allows access to content that many people would rather not be subjected to such as pornography, and other obscene content. It is also hard to filter content in anyway not allowing any possibility for parents to prohibit their children’s internet behavior beyond direct observation.

What the telecoms propose is a tiered internet system where they are allowed to manage which content consumers receive much like cable television packages. With the basic package you might receive access to a few hundred of the most popular websites for a nice low price with full speed access; but the less popular websites would have a artificially restricted bandwidth to users who don’t pay for the ‘premium’ package. While this concept could add some safety and filtration features it would also seamlessly take away the subjective voice of the internet—ultimately harming the individual.

What is New Media?

The first thing I think of when I hear the term “new media” is blogs, podcasts and videogames. Blogs are basically writing for the individual it takes one of the earliest forms of communication and makes it accessible and free for everyone giving the individual a voice. Podcasts are another interesting business model-delivering video for free over the internet and again allowing individuals to produce content at an affordable price.

But I want to take the time to focus on videogames in particular because I feel videogames are the only medium which is truly new and not just an evolution or extension of older mediums. Understandably there is a lot of controversy surrounding the medium with cynics denouncing it as an unacceptable artform. Much of the stereotypes surrounding videogames comes from the name itself. Game implys that the medium is simply a distraction and not real art, and certainly not something to be taken seriously. The industry also suffers from, at times, not taking itself seriously; but the industry is changing, and evolving. Recent games are demonstrating that the industry is finally showing a willing to change. Games such as Bioshock, Mass Effect and the future release Fable 2, demonstrate new directions for the industry. Bioshock allows the user to make moral choices throughout the game that actually impact the story and events occurring. This new ability, to make meaningful decisions throughout the story telling process, is something that no other medium can claim. Mass Effect employs a similar strategy allowing the player to make desicions that impact the pace and progression of the story in a meaningful way. Instead of having scripted, linear storytelling games are beginning to have stories that can branch in a multitude of directions depending on what moral decisions you make as the gamer. The concept that Fable 2 employs is more ambitious; They hope to have gamers develop realistic relationships with everyone from family, villagers and even your pet dog. And further, this complex interaction will have a meaningful impact on the game.

While I will be the first to argue that the stories in videogames have a tendancy to be on the side of shallow; I also see the full potential of videogames as an interactive medium that could eventually show self expression for not only the creators of the game but also for the players themselves.

Blogging and Web 2.0

Blogs rose in popularity out of nowhere a few years ago and changed how people interact with each other on the internet. Before blogs you had instant messaging and email; great for communication and chatting among individuals, but it really did not allow the individual to express themselves. Blogs changed all that, individuals were suddenly able to express their views in entertainment, communication, politics, art—suddenly a tool was available where before there was none, filling an otherwise empty void. And with this new tool came a new era of the internet commonly referred to as web 2.0.

Web 2.0 brought a new business model to the internet; the idea became allow the users to generate the content and allow the individual to personalize their own web experience. Blogs paved the way for popular social networking sites Myspace, Facebook, and Youtube as well as many others. The concept is still growing with newer sites trying more and more interesting models that allow the user to provide the content while the company provides the infrastructure backing said content. User created content allows web start ups to be minimally staffed saving many of these relatively young startups untold amounts of money.

The issue arises however, that much if not all of the content on these sites are generally unmonitored. Since users can post at their own discretion posts can often be offensive, and despite best efforts, the level of consistency among writing could only be described as schizophrenic. Some sites implement monitoring systems where content is deleted if the admin(s) deem it offensive, or in violation of copyright . Other sites—such as the social news site Digg have a slightly different model where users submit stories from other parts of the web and then the users can either digg them up or down depending on how they feel about that particular story. If a story gets dugg up it may make it to the front page or if dugg down, could end up being completely removed from the site. This system allows content to be filtered by the users themselves creating an equilibrium of appropriateness that is deemed by the user and not an admin. This particular site has been a favorite of mine for years and is just recently been rising into a more mainstream acceptance. Digg’s formula has even been copied by several other sites such as Reddit and even Netscape has a site called Propeller that emulates the same system.

I believe this is a further evolution of the social networking and blogging experiences entrusting not only users to create their own content, but further to edit and censor their own content as well in a very democratic fashion.

WordPress now has 3 GB of storage Free!

WordPress now offers 3 GB of online storage for free they rolled it out earlier today, and rather sneakily might I add! Downloadsquad has the full scoop here.