Welcome to the mediaquake newsletter — the almost December edition !
This past Spring, prodded by my good friend Sacha Declomesnil I started an infrequent newsletter (sign up here) to share links related to the mediaquake, a term I started using in 2009 and the theme of the first bi-continental TEDx event.
Here’s the fourth edition:
The mediaquake tremors are never ending and shift the media tectonic plates on a daily basis. In our hyperconnected world cadenced with notifications, auto-refreshing newsfeeds, FOMO sets in and we can get antsy. Selfless curators pick out some choice links for your enjoyment, here’s a selection, covering topics from OTT to Cognac-sponsored films to other newsletters :
1. Le cable bundle est mort, vive le OTT bundle !: “The discovery experience for viewers [is broken]. It doesn’t take a whole lot of surveys to realize that the blossoming of OTT services at $4.99/month is already irking consumers”, [and there’s a] “pent-up demand for simplicity and elegance, which are at the core of the coming soon OTT bundle”.
2. Amazon Said Planning to Add Other Online Networks to Prime Video: “a feast of mind blowing discussions, presentations and exchanges linking artists and creative industries. “
3. This is Facebook TV: “Content discovery on TV is broken, we all know that. Too many channels, terrible UI, antiquated remote, lots of mediocre content. The Internet also has too much content, and it is similarly too hard to search through it all. That’s why Facebook is so popular.”
4. A Cognac Brand Just Made a John Malkovich Film That No One Will See for 100 Years. It opens in 2115, when the Louis XIII bottled today is ready: “Robert Rodriguez and John Malkovich have made a movie that no one currently alive will ever see — and that’s just fine by them. The film is called 100 Years, and it was financed by French cognac maker Louis XIII (pronounced “Louie Trez”), whose marketers conceived this unusual, ingenious idea. Louis XIII, officially known as Louis XIII de Remy Martin, is a brand that prides itself on craftsmanship. Its cognac is made from wine grapes grown in the Grande Champagne territory of Cognac, France. It is blended from 1,200 eaux-de-vie (brandy) that takes 100 years to craft. Fred & Farid in New York produced the film under head of production Karim Naceur, in conjunction with Moonwalk Films and executive producer Gaspard Chevance. Ludovic du Plessis, the brand’s global executive director, noted at a press conference with Rodriguez and Malkovich on Wednesday that it takes a century for each bottle of Louis XIII to age. So, why not do the same with a film?”
5. A New Business Model for the Web? The Subscription Wars Are Here: “Soon you will be asking friends if they are part of the Google plan or perhaps the Amazon plan. In fact, in the very near future, we might all be part of the Google, Amazon, or possibly Netflix and Facebook plan. In fact, it is very possible that our choice of plan will be part of how the coming generation defines itself.
What is the second wave? The second wave is the idea that the internet goliaths of the world are now playing for the $150 or so we spend with the cable companies each month. In an effort to justify and grow the monthly price of their particular content bundle, these Goliaths will acquire, roll up, and merge anything and everything into the offering.
This is an all-out war, and it’s all about who you pay each month for all of your entertainment.”
6. The End of the Internet Dream — In 20 years, the Web might complete its shift from liberator to oppressor. It’s up to us to prevent that: “For better or for worse, we’ve prioritized things like security, online civility, user interface, and intellectual property interests above freedom and openness. The Internet is less open and more centralized. It’s more regulated. And increasingly it’s less global, and more divided. These trends: centralization, regulation, and globalization are accelerating. And they will define the future of our communications network, unless something dramatic changes.”
7. 3 other newsletters you should subscribe to:
Jason Hirschhorn’s MediaReDef
Scott Monty’s Week in Digital
Robert Scoble’s Life and Tech
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