Monthly Archives: December 2011
Join KIT digital at CES 2012
2011 is winding down, but as the Western world is heading into the holiday season, KIT digital is already getting geared up for 2012 in a big way. Our first stop? The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 10 – 13th, 2012. CES is the world’s largest gathering of professionals from the consumer electronics industry, and we’ll be there showing off a demo center stocked with our latest innovative projects. 2011 was a great year for us, and we’re excited to share some of the video and social experiences we’ve developed for a wide range of devices including Samsung Smart TVs, Xboxes, Rokus, PS3s, iPads and Galaxy Tabs to name a few. We’re also looking forward to learning more about the next wave of innovative devices that will be hitting stores next year – they’re the future of our business. Interested in a stopping by our suite at the Venetian for a demo, or just to say hi … Continue reading
Changing Behaviors Around TV: What’s Next?
As the convergence of the TV and Interwebs moves ahead, there are still a number of behaviors the industry must figure out how to change, solve for or live with. To wit: TV Is Not A Solitary Activity: whether it’s a group of college roommates or the more traditional family unit, few people have their own personal TVs. That makes recommendation engines a bigger challenge than the kool-aid drinkers let on. Figuring out an easy way for the system to understand who is in the room is going to be one of the biggest UX challenges of our time. Because it’s not just knowing that Dad is in the room and showing him shows he might want to watch. It’s knowing that dad and 8-year old Betty are in the room and figuring out which shows the two of them might want to watch. Or knowing that Betty is the one actually watching TV and Dad is just there keeping … Continue reading
Why A Suggestion Engine Is Different Than A Recommendation Engine
While the terms “Suggestion Engine” and “Recommendation Engine” are used interchangeably, they actually refer to two very different behaviors and desired outcomes.A “suggestion engine” is for those times when we have a fairly specific idea of what we want and are in active search mode. A “recommendation engine” is for those times when we are already doing something (shopping, watching, listening, reading) and basically says “here are some things you might enjoy the next time you decide to shop/watch/listen/read.” That distinction shows that the suggestion engine is far more valuable, because it comes into play in response to an active request on the part of the user. A recommendation engine is far more passive: the user is not actively looking for any additional input: if the engine shows them something that they wind up being interested in, that’s just a lucky strike extra. To put a real world face on these terms, Jinni is a good example of a suggestion engine: … Continue reading
Where 2012′s Virtual MSOs Are Likely To Come From
There’s been a lot of noise this week around an article (registration required) by noted analyst Rich Greenfield claiming that 2012 will see the launch of an internet-based MSO (multi-system operator, e.g. a large pay TV provider like Comcast or Time-Warner.) It’s an interesting argument, one that all but guarantees a lot of buzz since so many would like to see it happen, but I’m just not seeing it, at least from the sources he’s predicting. Greenfield’s argument is that virtual MSOs will be considerably cheaper and more user friendly: (V)irtual MSO pricing to the consumer will be substantially lower, subscribers will receive a significantly better user-interface/navigation across a wide-array of IP-enabled devices in the home and service will be accessible anywhere in the US, rather than being stuck in a certain region. I’ll buy the user interface argument… maybe– existing pay TV operators are putting a lot of time and effort into improving that experience precisely because they know it’s an area they … Continue reading
2011: The Year That Was (Part 1)
The ersatz Chinese proverb “May you live in interesting times” comes to mind when trying to find a way to sum up the wild ride that social media and social television have taken us on this year. The entire industry seemed to be in constant motion and keeping up with the multitude of peaks and valleys has become a full time job– mine. So after eleven plus months of watching all this very very closely, here’s my take on where we are, early December 2011. Twitter: What’s The Next Act? Twitter seems to be in the least secure position of any of the major platforms. On a macro level, it’s never been able to move beyond being a 140 character broadcast medium. It’s incredibly polarizing: people seem to either love it or hate it in a way you don’t see with other social networks. Twitter’s popularity also creates problems: the more people tweeting, the less likely it is that you’ll see … Continue reading