by Joyce Schwarz blogging at Hollywood2020.net on the future of media and entertainment
Wanna see the future? Well, a good part of it may just have been introduced on the eve of E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles (www.E3expo.com at Microsoft's star spangled press conference and demo of it's newest tech called SmartGlass combo'd with Internet Explorer for the Xbox.
To cut to the chase or should I say the real scene -- here's how it looked on a screen of the video demo by Xbox execs:
ENHANCE TV or what FORRESTER RESEARCH CALLS ENGAGED TV -- or what we've called ITV (interactive TV) If you're watching HBO GO (Time Warner FINALLY intro'd the service on May 13, 2012 so this blogger hasn't seen it yet) but it's the interconnected version of HBO to watch on your tablet then you can watch GAME OF THRONES on your Xbox console now and connect your tablet via the new Microsoft SmartGlass tech and the IE browser to simultaneously see additional content ie maps, history etc (What we used to call a two-screen experience. SmartGlass Tech debuts in Fall, 2012 according to Microsoft execs speaking at E3 www.hollywood2020.net SMART DEVICES take on role of "intelligent companion" says Microsoft.(Some reporters compare this new tech to the Wii U from Nintendo Co. The upcoming high-definition console will feature a touchscreen controller,which Nintendo announced this past Sunday would be called the Wii U GamePad.
FUTURE OF ADVERTISING? SO HOW DO THEY MONETIZE ALL OF THIS CONNECTED CONTENT -- advertising of course-- the next generation of interactive advertising. And a quick check shows that next-gen multi-screen video ad platform provider Seattle-based Mixpo announced on June 6 see press releasetheir plans to support Microsoft Advertising's efforts to further scale compelling, interactive online video advertising across MSN, MSNBC and the broader Microsoft Advertising Video Network. Nixpo is using Vpaid standards put out by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) for the communication between video players and in-stream video advertising which is being acceptged as the next-gen standard for interactive video advertising.
BLOGGER UPDATE (June 7, 2011) we'll be looking at the Google/Doubleclick announcement of their newest play for the future of all online advertising announced today, June 7. so stay tuned Forbes on Google Ads
What does an interactive cross-platform ad really look like? Mixpo features this sample in their June 6 press release announcing their Microfost ad connections: see Nordstrom interactive vid Combined with the kinect ad tech already in action the Mixpo/Microsoft relationship is certainly one to watch. Plus the embeddign of the IE browser in Microsoft XBOX (announced at E3 2012 this wee opens them up for additoinal competiion with the next gen of Google's stronghold on online ads.
SEE THE FULL VIDEO HERE on HOW XBOX SMART GLASS MAKES MOVIES MORE IMMERSIVE, CDs more engaging and Games more thrilling according to Microsoft exec in this demo:
FORBES SAYS MICROSOFT XBOX WINNING THE LIVING ROOM: Forbesxboxwhy The best quote from that Forbes article is: “The living room is very important,” says Microsoft CEOSteve Ballmer in our interview in a conference room just outside his Redmond, Wash. office. Ballmer, in regulation button-down and khakis, spent 30 minutes just on the future of the Xbox. “It’s a place where there’s a high volume of consumption of digital goods and services. So Xbox is very important.”
WATCHING TV IS ALMOST A FULL-TIME JOB
The Forbes article reminds us that 98 percent of view time is still spent staring at a traditional TV set. Americans spend $91B a year on cable and satellite subscriptions, and advertisers spend another $72 billion in fact the Forbes article puns that watching TV is almost a full time job according to Nielsen who says: average American, who puts in nearly 35 hours a week, according to research firm Nielsen
EVEN COOKIE MONSTER WANTS TO BE INTO YOUR HOUSE: The Forbes article is valuable for another reason it explores the excitement of the XBOX kinect Sesame Street deal which empowers books to come alive (not unlike parts of the SONY WONDERBOOK deal with Harry Potter except not in AR (augmented reality--yet that is). That was intro'd at E3 2011 http://youtu.be/ec8j0ksgtU8 That one is from DOUBLEFINE PRODUCTIONS.
SO is it a game player or a TV or a PC -- which one wins out in the long run -- right now it looks like Microsoft EXPOX and the Kinect combo is indeed a movie, TV and game changer.
SWEAR AT CARTMAN? PLUS COMBINED WITH the voice tech (which is expanding it's reach around the globe now) you can and should YELL at your TV and of course maybe even swear at Cartman on SOUTH PARK (this article hints at more swearcartman
THE BEST QUOTE FOR XBOX SMARTGLASS tech has to go to South Park co-creator Max Parker who is quoted as saying " How many times have you been watching an episode of `South Park' and thought, `I'd like to watch this on my television, while hooked into my mobile device, which is being controlled by my tablet device, which is hooked into my oven -- all while sitting in the refrigerator," joked Parker. "Well, we're not doing that. We're just doing this game"
See the AP story which is the best one I found covering the Microsoft extravaganza press conference/demo which featured: celebrity appearances incluging Usher performing "Scream" with several backup dancers to promote his collaboration on the choreography game "Dance Central 3," FOOTBALL GREAT Joe Montana made calls for "Madden NFL 13" using the camera-based Kinect system's voice-recognition capabilities and "South Park" creators Matt Parker and Trey Stone introduced their game, "South Park: The Stick of Truth."AP E3 article
WHAT's it all mean -- the greatest impact I see is on what everyone is calling Transmedia AND EDUCATION -- with maybe the greatest potential of all for the attendees at a different convention thousands of miles East at the BookExpo America BEA especially at the IDPF conference where Seth Godin Keynoted BOOKEXPOdigital FOLLOW the results of the first day for that conference via twitter at: IDPFtwitter
EDUCATION -- the South Kent school in Connecticut is one of the first in the world to go all ebook -- they were featured at the IDPFevent yesterday-- just tweeted them and the IDPF peeps to see if anyone is even talking about cross-platform or Sony or Xbox and books : ) more later. IDPFprogram
ABOUT HOLLYWOOD2020 and Joyce Schwarz, Schwarz was one of the female pioneers in digital media (multimedia, Internet, digital content, next-gen advertising) when she began working with major publishers,producers and content leaders like AOL, Philips Interactive Media etc. She combines 20 years of mainstream advertising and film and video production experience with her Masters in Professional Writing from USC and her top agency exec background (FCB/Ogilvy etc) Schwarz heads JCOM Marketing and Business Development in Del Rey, www.jcombusinessdevelopment.com and has served as an advisor for more than 75 early stage venture funded startups including Primesense (the guts for Xbox kinect) and ranging to emusic.com and several next-gen ad technology firms. You can reach her in somewhat real tima at joyceschswarz(at)gmail.com and via twitter @joyccom @visionboard @heartofsuccess @startup50plus Schwarz is also a bestselling author (7 books by major publishers), morethan 200 articles on digital media and emerging tech and more than 100 video and film productions.
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