Rumor has it that Hulu wants to squeeze more than just ad dollars out of its service. It just so happens that I love kicking these ideas around in my head. Put the two together and, well… here you have it.
If I ran Hulu, I’d charge $4.99 a month to subscribe to a show with ads, $7.99 a month without ads. You’d get the newest shows plus the entire back catalog. And, here’s a biggie – I’d let you watch it on your TV.
Short clips would stay as-is – the ones that go viral bring enormous amounts of attention to their respective shows.
I’d make a free iPhone app available so that you could watch the shows you’ve subscribed to on the go.
Now, it’s probably a longshot that you’ll see any of these moves made, at least not in the near future. These would put Hulu head-to-head with the same cable companies that pay to carry the networks. But if I ran Hulu, I’d worry less about maintaining the status quo. I’d worry more about the future and I’d make sure my business was ahead of the curve, not playing catch up.
I’m confused as to why startups flood into new areas with little, if anything, to add. A neat little app or web service comes out and, like clockwork, it’s immediately met by a bunch of “me too’s”.
What’s the point?
If you come to play with something that’s only a *little* better than what is already offered, you aren’t making a very compelling case for users to switch. Most will stay with what they’re already invested in.
That’s why you need to go for the grand slam. If it means taking some more time to get your app out there for the world to experience, take that time. Make it something that people *want* to try out and *want* to stick with.
It’s either that or waste your time building the next deadpooled project. The choice is yours.
With Abuzz development winding down (after a small delay), I’ve been wondering what project I’ll take on next. This isn’t to say that Abuzz won’t be improved upon and future releases won’t come out – the app will still own some of my life. But what will own it after that?
I could do another iPhone app. I have some ideas I’ve been kicking around and it doesn’t look like anyone else is doing them. Plus, after Abuzz, I feel confident that I could manage such a project and do so more smoothly. That route is open, but I’m currently looking in a different direction.
A terrible, terrible thing happened last night – my spacebar stopped working on my Dell Studio laptop.
Think about it for a second. The spacebar is one of the most crucial keys on the keyboard. Without it, yoursentenceslooklikethis. Bad news for someone who writes as much as I do. I was able to plug a USB keyboard in and continue working but I really don’t feel like carrying a spare keyboard with my laptop everywhere I go.
Here’s where Dell Support comes in. Earlier this morning I pinged a support specialist via their online chat service and explained my spacebar issue. He checked my Service Tag, confirmed that I was still under warranty and informed me that a replacement keyboard would arrive by Wednesday. He then linked me to a web page with instructions on how to replace my existing keyboard (a relatively easy process).
All of this in about ten minutes.
With any luck, I’ll only have to use this full-sized keyboard for another day or so. I’ll have a new one installed in my laptop by the middle of the week and, by the time Podcamp Pittsburgh 4 rolls around on Saturday, I’ll be ready to put the spacebar to work once again.
I’m seeing a need for Central Pennsylvania’s burgeoning tech community to be covered more in-depth. There don’t seem to be any dedicated blogs with that focus (correct me if I’m wrong) and traditional media seems to cover bits and pieces, if that.
So I thought – rather than lament about the absence of such coverage, why not just do it myself? :] So I will.
I don’t have to do it alone, of course – I’d be more than happy to take on partners and other contributors in this endeavour. You can have just as much say as me or anyone else as far as the blog is concerned, starting with the name. :] The goal is to make this the one stop shop for Central PA-related tech news – when such a place exists, the community will benefit as a result.
If you’re interested in teaming up, you can email me [shawn farner AT gmail DOT COM], contact me via Twitter or send me a message on AIM [shafa20].
