Tom Altman’s Wedia Conversation

I was very disappointed that Google didn’t try a little harder when it came to going after the 700Mhz by the FCC.  (It turns out that Verizon won the opportunity)

Then this story pops up on the New York Times and talks about Google going an alternative way:

Google, the Internet search engine company, released plans on Monday for a new generation of wireless devices to operate on soon-to-be-vacant television airwaves and sought to ease fears that this might interfere with TV broadcasts or wireless microphones.

In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, Google outlined plans for low-power devices that use local wireless airwaves to access the “white space” between television channels. A Google executive called the plan “Wi-Fi 2.0 or Wi-Fi on steroids.”

This could be interesting…so they didn’t spend the $9.6 Billion Verizon did, but did they gain a foothold in an area anyone could play?

The Web giant has announced the launch of a new website, dubbed Yahoo! Real Estate, which, if one cannot divine is purpose from its title, is where big-name realtors and independent, for-sale-by-owner types alike can go to display their A-frames and McMansions to be considered as new homes for those with better credit and way less debt than their previous occupants.

Interesting post at arstechnica “Study: Ads in online shows work better than ads on TV“:

Good news for TV networks: online ads work. As TV shows continue their lengthy migration onto the web, new research finds that the people watching those shows actually pay more attention to both advertising and content when they watch online.

I know it’s true for me…when I watch internet TV it seems like the ads are made specifically for that application.

ReadWriteWeb has a great post about internet video in 2007:

From YouTube’s continued dominance, the television networks’ newfound willingness to experiment online, the rise of the desktop Internet TV application, and a number of new PC-to-TV devices and set-top boxes — it’s been a big year for Internet TV in all shapes and forms. In this post we look back at 2007 through the lens of last100’s coverage, highlighting some of the important stories and trends, and how they point to what we might expect for Internet TV in 2008.

The New Your Times posted an article today called “Google Gets Ready to Rumble With Microsoft“

The growing confrontation between Google and Microsoft promises to be an epic business battle. It is likely to shape the prosperity and progress of both companies, and also inform how consumers and corporations work, shop, communicate and go about their digital lives.

It is an interesting discussion.  I think the tipping point will be when the digital generations get to late college and early career.  They will insist on more and more cloud computing which is which Google lives - at this point Microsoft had better have a solution which seamlessly integrates the office experience with the desktop and mobile via the internet - or be gone.

Gizmodo has a good post called “The Ultimate 700MHz Auction Guide: What It Is, Who’ll Win and Why You Should Care” - I’ve been keeping an eye on this auction, because it really seems to have a big impact on the internet and the future of all electronics for the next few years.

Interesting Gizmodo comments:

Why Would Someone Pay BILLIONS for It?
Every frequency band has slightly different physical attributes. The 700MHz band penetrates walls fairly easily and travels well, making it perfect for either cellular or long-range wireless broadband

Google’s statements of late haven’t been very enthusiastic about the prospect of winning; the ol’ college reading between the lines says it’s not planning to. But, it did get the open access provisions it pushed for, so there’s really no need to finance the network on top of it.

Verizon winning the C block pretty much kills previous utopian notions of a mythical third pipe, outside the grasp of the vested telcos, bringing glorious open internets to us all.

Not sure what all this means yet - but it will definetly be interesting to keep an eye on and see what comes of it all.

Is quarterlife’s Heat Cooling Off? is a post from NewTeeVee and sort of plays off quarterlife as an internet flop.

It’s easy to blame the promotion your show receives, but when your playcount drops from nearly 650,000 on YouTube for the first episode to just a little over 19,000 for the second episode, your problems go beyond marketing. People just aren’t coming back.

While I agree - the numbers are not what I thought they may be…but I would also call attention to a similar video project called “lonelygirl15“.  Check out these stats:

Videos Watched: 9,239
Subscribers: 99,886
Channel Views: 13,424,198

And these are only the YouTube numbers…at the lg15 website - it is probably more.

If I remember it correctly - the videos were out a while before they caught on…so who knows.  Maybe it just takes some time for the momentum.

Are you serious! What’s next - take out the computers because they’re the devil’s work?

Banning, though, is very much alive, and Wikipedia knows about it too, but for different reasons. The online encyclopedia has been on the receiving end of many a ban hammer;

My favorite part is the why…

The basic problem, according to officials, is that Wikipedia’s unverified accuracy and ease of use are making it too tempting for students to use as a primary source.

So they go and check the reliability and creditability of each book - BALONEY! This is where things go so far the wrong way. We have t embrace this “new” technology. The stuff is not going away!

I blogged about the IPTV show quarterlife earlier this month and it starts on Sunday.  I’m not sure when I will get to see it - but I am very excited about the community.

I’ve been really interested in how communities form and grow on the web.   They have done a great job on the site and it seems like there will be some very cool an innovative ideas started.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

The auction is heating up for the 700MHz band. This could be the future of wireless internet in the US.

The battle for the 700 MHz wireless spectrum has begun. It is both a business and political battle, while the issues are very technical. The US government is holding an auction in January to sell off the most valuable wireless spectrum ever available, raising as much as $10 Billion dollars.

Here is a post from Don Dodge’s blog talking about it.