July 22, 2013

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My ideal news service I get my daily news from a variety of sources. I have a Google News account configured with all the topics and keywords I'm interested in. I use other sites like Techmeme to keep a finger on the tech industry's pulse. I do my best to stay up with a bunch of RSS feeds (via Feedly) and several groups/keywords on Twitter. Then there's my local paper. I get it each morning and have digital access to it while I'm on the road. It's all quite exhausting...and inefficient. I'll bet you feel the same way. I'm amazed that with today's technologies our attention is spread across so many sites and services. You'd think someone would come up with a way to marry some of them together to create a more effective solution. Here's what I propose: Start with Google News. It's already trolling the web, is quite configurable and has many of the features I like. It's not enough though. Why can't Google News be like Zite and learn from my reading habits? Feed me more of what I tend to read without putting me completely in an echo chamber and eliminating serendipity. Google News just seems to mindlessly find pages with the right keywords and send them my way with no logic applied. Next, I want this service to let me pick certain times of the day where it uses the logic noted above to send me a custom document with all the news I care about. For example, I'd tell it to make this happen at 7:00 each morning and put the result both in my email inbox (as a PDF) and into a service that's better than Instapaper. What Instapaper enhancements do I need for this? Each time the news-gathering component feeds my email inbox with a PDF it would also send the same content to an Instapaper-like service that creates a new folder for it using that day/time in the folder's name. I'd also want that to automatically be sent to my mobile device(s) so that I don't have to retrieve it. IOW, if I've got an early flight one morning I'll know my customized news will automatically be on both my phone and tablet without having to retrieve it myself. Yes, I realize my devices will have to be connected (Wifi or 4G) and I'll have to manage their connections so I won't get hit with extra fees. That's fine. Just automate the delivery so I don't have to remember to download it myself. Lastly, this new, enhanched Instapaper-like element absolutely must have text-to-speech functionality built in. I'm not talking about some lousy robotic voice with no other capabilities. I want a very human-sounding service that also acts on my voice commands, so I can fast forward 10 seconds, skip an article, etc., just by telling it to do so. This is critical for listening while driving or working out. This combination of services is something I would gladly pay for, maybe as much as $10 or $15 per month. Does it already exist and I've somehow missed it?
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Let Chromecast spark your imagination Everyone is gaga over Chromecast, the new device from Google that connects your mobile device to your TV. I agree that it's cool but I think today's excitement is overlooking tomorrow's possibilities. Yes, Chromecast lets you wirelessly stream video from your phone or tablet onto your TV. By doing so, it also turns your mobile device into your TV's remote control. The most interesting aspect of Chromecast though, IMHO, is the fact that it opens the door for more interctive, engaging activities on the bigger screen. Today we generally sit back and watch as our TV entertains us through network broadcasts, movies, DVR playbacks and services like Netflix. But it's definitely a lean-back model. Our smaller devices are where more of the lean-forward activities take place, such as browsing the web, reading articles and creating content. There's been talk for years now about a hybrid model on the big screen, where both lean-forward and lean-back activities will take place but we haven't seen that materialize yet. Take a look at this side-by-side feature comparison of Google's Chromecast to Apple's Airplay. What's the most important line on that comparison table? Some would argue the battle is won by whoever supports the most third-party apps (e.g., Netflix, Hulu, etc.) If that's true, Apple has the advantage. I think that's short-term thinking. To me, the long-term winner is determined by the "third-party API" element. As you can see, both of these services support third-party APIs. The difference is that Apple's is all about their closed ecosystem, so forget about using Android devices, for example. Google's, on the other hand, supports all popular platforms, including Apple devices. Apple still has a phenomenal platform and they sell a lot of devices. But at $35 Google Chromecast is pretty much irresistible. So what happens when developers see huge sales of Chromecast devices? They become more interested in writing apps for the platform. In fact, they start coming up with apps that leverage the platform in ways Google probably never imagined, and that's where the real game-changing ideas are hatched. Here are the critical questions you need to ask: How can your content be enhanced on the big screen? What features, services and elements could be added to your products that don't make sense on the smaller screen? Chromecast is red hot and currently on backorder. I'm not convinced it, or Google's platform, is predestined to be the ultimate winner. Someone could easily come along with an even better mousetrap. What Chromecast is teaching us though, is that we need to put aside all our biases and open our minds to imagining (and inventing!) all the new ways content will be consumed in the future.

Joe Wikert

I'm Chief Operating Officer at OSV (www.osv.com)

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