PBT Consulting

THE DEVICE AND MEDIA VIEWING HABITS OF TEENS, THE ADOLESCENTS OF TODAY, AND ADULTS OF TOMORROW

According to the PEW Internet Survey, teens would rather giveup their TV's than their mobile devices (Click Image To Enlarge) 

Young adults are a crucial segment for businesses and advertisers. As the 18-24-year-old demographic expands faster than any other young age group, so does its viewing and purchasing power. Today’s 17-year-olds will play a significant role in the young adult segment of the future, which is why it’s crucial to get to know them now in order to better understand who they’ll be tomorrow.

WHO ARE TODAY’S TEENS?

Today’s teens and young adults are quite the multicultural bunch—with purchasing power to boot. In fact, the 12-17, 18-24 and 25-34 groups are almost identically multicultural, as 42 percent of each comprises Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans. This is only the tip of the iceberg—U.S. Census data shows that African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Hispanics will generate the vast majority of the U.S. population growth over the next few decades.

Teens have serious purchase potential. In 2012, 29 percent of U.S. teens lived in high-income homes ($100k+), while only 25 percent of young adults lived in households within this same income bracket. There were also more teen households with middle incomes ($30k-$100k) than those of young adults. Finally, fewer teens lived in lower-income homes ($30k) than their slightly older counterparts.

DEVICE OWNERSHIP DETERMINES VIEWING

Within teen households, smartphones and tablets are growing faster than any other device. From Q4 2011 to Q4 2012, smartphone penetration increased by 45 percent among teens, 32 percent among adults 18-24 and 22 percent among adults 25-34.

Laptop penetration increases as teens age into young adulthood, but begins to decline when young adults enter their late 20s. Laptop penetration is highest among young adults, but all three age groups (12-17, 18-24, 25-34) have increased their laptop ownership over the past year.

Consumer Electronic Device Penetration - Teens, Millennials and Gen-Y's - Q4 2012 - Nielsen (Click Image To Enlarge)

Though young adults view most content on television, they are increasing their video watching on other devices. According to Nielsen’s Fourth-Quarter 2012 Cross-Platform Report, all consumers under the age of 34 increased their video consumption via mobile and the Internet from Q4 2011 to Q4 2012.

How We Are Watching Video - Hours and Minutes Spent Per Month - TV, Internet and Mobile Devices - By Age Group - Teens, Millennials and Gen-Ys - Q4 2012 - Nielsen (Click Image To Enlarge)

While everyone under 34 is spending less time in front of the TV, viewing preferences aren’t consistent across the 12-17, 18-24 and 25-34 year old groups. For example, teens like to watch on mobile more than anyone else. In fact, they watched 18 percent more video on their mobile phones than persons 18-24 and 46 percent more than persons 25-34, in Q4 2012. While teens are watching more content on mobile devices, they watch less video online than young adults. In fact, persons 18-24 spent almost 3 times more time watching video on the Internet than teens 12-17 in Q4 2012.

So, do young consumers change their viewing habits as they age? While consumers may watch less mobile video after the age of 17, young adults 18-24 and 25-34 have increased their mobile video consumption over the course of the past year. The same can be said for internet video viewership among young adults past the age of 24.

Notably, adults 25-34 spent the most total combined time watching content on TV, online, and mobile in Q4 2012, viewing 19 hours and 30 minutes more content per month than ages 18-24 and 40 hours and 54 minutes more than ages 12-17 across all three devices. These combined trends suggest that teens will continue to view content on mobile and the internet as they age.

Peter Katsingris, Vice President Industry Insights says.

“Given their changing lifestyles, the resulting dynamic nature of teens affects their device ownership and usage.  As teens’ situations change and they leave the home or become more independent adults, they’ll likely go from using shared family devices to carrying personal devices with them, such as smartphones or laptops. As platforms become more pervasive, increased access and connectivity will surely affect the consumption behaviors of both teens and young adults in years to come.”

COMMENTARY:    The folks of the PEW Internet Survey prepared this very interesting infographic describing the online video consumption habits of teenagers.  I hope you find it interesting.

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Courtesy of an article dated April 16, 2013 appearing in Nielsen Blog

FACEBOOK UNVEILS "HOME," A SKIN APP WHICH LOADS WHEN YOU START YOUR PHONE, A BOLD NEW VISION FOR SOCIAL PHONES

The Facebook Home skin for your Android will be available for dwnloading on April 12, 2013 or you can buy the HTC First smartphone and get it now (Click Image To View The Facebook Home page)

The Facebook Phone is finally here.  It’s not a phone at all, but a free, downloadable skin called "Home" that gives existing Android phones a total Facebook makeover, transforming both lock and home screens into immersive, edge-to-edge slideshows of photos and status updates.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's co-founder and chief executive speaks at the launch of Facebook Home at the unveiling at Facebook's HQ in Menlo Park, California on April 4, 2013 (Click Image To Enlarge)

Home will also come pre-loaded on the HTC First, which will be $99 from AT&T.  It is, of course, a huge power play by Facebook. But it’s also a genuinely exciting new vision for mobile design. Here are three places where it’s charting new territory.

CONNECTING, ABOVE ALL ELSE

Home isn’t about apps. It’s about people. That was the refrain for the day, and it’s something that’s very much evident in its design. The most immediate transformation comes in the form of a new lock and home screen that continually rotate through Facebook updates, presenting them as flashy, full-screen slides. Weather forecast? Stock quotes? Those old stand-bys are nowhere to be found, getting the boot in favor of one thing: your friends.

 

The other big feature is a new messaging system called Chat Heads, which keeps conversations on top of your screen, no matter what app you’re using, in the form of small circular avatars. It’s a new way of thinking about messaging--not as an app but as a layer on top of everything you do.

The Home lock screen shows incoming messages and e-mails against a backdrop of full-screen status updates. On the right is the built-in app launcher. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Connecting, be it passively through the new lock screen or actively through the new messaging system, is what Home is about. Connecting with your friends--and with Facebook. The new experience reduces the friction involved in using Facebook to a fantastic degree. What’s easier than tapping an app icon to open Facebook? Not having to tap anything at all. With Home, you no longer have to make the decision to use Facebook. You’re already using it.

A new messaging system puts texts and FB messages as a layer on top of everything you do.  Chat Head avatar (left) hangs out on top of Instagram.  The UI (right) for quickly managing conversation threads.  Avatars can be rearranged or hidden with a swipe. (Click Image To Enlarge)

IT’S NOT "FACEBOOK"

But it might not feel like you’re using it, and that’s key. One noteworthy thing about Home is the name. When Zuckerberg talked about it today, he didn’t call it Facebook Home. It was just "Home." And that signals something that’s evident throughout the design: Facebook, as a platform, taking a backseat to the content it carries. As another presenter today boasted, there’s "no chrome, no logo." The home screen doesn’t show your Facebook feed, as some predicted. That’s too Facebook-y. It blows status updates up and shows them one at a time. It looks nothing like any other version of Facebook we’ve ever seen. The words "Facebook" are nowhere in sight.

Friends fill the screen.  As soon as you turn on your phone or press the home button, you see a stream of posts from News Feed.  Cover feed puts the spotlight on whatever your friends are sharing now -- photos, status updates, links and more. (Click Image To Enlarge)

And that’s smart.

Facebook’s certainly facing some challenges--for older users, it’s becoming a guilty pleasure; for teens, it’s quickly becoming passé--and that’s got to be worrisome to the company. Facebook isn’t cool. Tumblr’s cool. Snapchat’s cool. But with Home, instead of trying to rebrand itself, Facebook wisely let the platform step into the background and pushed the content to center stage. It doesn’t need to be loved; just to be used. And even if people don’t want to use Facebook, they’ll always be game for flipping through pictures of their friends.

Get notifications where you need them.  Notifications about calls, events, Facebook updates and other apps appear on your home screen and stick around until you need them.¹ Profile pictures and app icons make it easy to see what’s what. Tap the stuff you’re into, swipe away the stuff you’re not.  (Click Image To Enlarge)

THINKING BEYOND THE APP

But from a user experience standpoint, perhaps the most significant thing about Home is simply the way it thinks beyond the "app" in a broader sense. It’s something Zuckerberg harped on continually: moving beyond apps. And that’s a big departure.

Keep chatting, even when you’re using other apps.   All your conversations from one spot.  Chat from anywhere on your phone. (Click Image To Enlarge)

With Home, you can still get to all your old apps through a built-in launcher, sure, but they’re put in a little drawer like so many toys. Apps made smartphones like Swiss army knives. The whole idea of Home is to remake the smartphone user experience around its most important function: connecting us with other people. As Zuckerberg said, Home turns your smartphone into a "a great, simple social device."

The App Launcher accesses your Facebook account, Instagram and other apps and other essentials from one place. Choose what goes where.  Drag your picture wherever you want to go. (Click Image To Enlarge)

The idea of mobile apps as discrete, cordoned-off experiences is something Apple entrenched with the iPhone very early on. Build whatever you want on your own rectangular plots, Apple told developers, but this phone is ours, and we’re the ones responsible for how it looks, feels, and functions.

Google never put those restrictions on Android, and now Facebook is moving in to exploit that in a big way. The result is something entirely different from the apps we’ve come to know--something that reaches far wider and is integrated far deeper. We don’t even really have a word for it. It’s not an OS. It’s not an app. For most users, it will just become what their phone is. And while that is in many ways a scary prospect, it does offer some interesting possibilities.

When you move beyond the app, you can do things apps can’t do. Home shows us messaging and communicating in ways we haven’t seen before--and, frankly, in ways that are much more relevant. Mobile messaging is no longer an asynchronous thing, as it was back in the days of 160-character texting. It’s more like chat, and Chat Heads, which doesn’t get knocked to the background when you’re using another app, reflects that reality. And it works in a way a simple text message appnever could.

During the event, Zuckerberg mentioned Android’s wide reach and how, for many people around the world, the smartphone represented their first real computing experience. And in a sense, Home is a bid to transform that experience--to move it away from the app paradigm that Google and Apple have put forward in recent years to something based on connecting and communicating, with Facebook conveniently facilitating it all.

But from one perspective, today’s event not only offered a peek beyond apps, but beyond smartphones too. It showed how the app model might not make sense on devices like Google Glass, where we won’t have the luxury of screens to tap at.

To succeed, that next generation of devices will have to be far more fluid and flexible, in terms of bringing in data and content from a variety of sources and giving us simple tools for digesting and sharing it. That may very well require a more holistic approach to design--a single driving vision that assimilates functions and features into one cohesive experience. Facebook Home is a glimpse of what that next step might look like.

COMMENTARY:   In 2012, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg eliminated any rumors that the social network would introduce its own smartphone.  This is obviously a smart and bold move, because if enough phone set manufacturer's sign-on to permit preloading of the Home skin app, this essentially gives Facebook a form of "ownership" of that phone. Apps are all fighting for the attention of the consumer, and having an app that loads up first, before any other app, is a distinct advantage.   So what does Facebook Home offer brand marketer's?    

1. More Time On Facebook - Facebook introduced the "home" concept to its desktop version in 2006 with News Feed, a way to make the home page "feel like home." Rather than clicking to see updates and photos, it came to us. According to Zuckerberg, frequency and time spent skyrocketed. Fans started consuming almost twice as much content overnight.  If Facebook Home has a similar impact then marketers will have more ways to get the attention of their target market. Cover feed will eventually allow ads but for now the focus will be on building the audience.
2. Tap Users In Developing Countries - Facebook has one billion users today. The next billion will come from developing countries, but they aren't spending $500 on a new smartphone. Facebook's free download and introductory $99 handset (through its partnership with HTC) opens this market up. For marketers this means access to more people in more countries.
3. More Personal Data Captured - With this move, Facebook aims to join the data capture ranks of Apple and Google with their iPhone and Android devices. With more data flowing through Facebook's app -- including SMS texts, GPS-tracked location, and possibly even phone usage -- marketers will be able to target mobile users with greater precision and accuracy. A featured item may be displayed as a user walks through a given store, for example.
4. Privacy and Permission Marketing - Facebook will never sell personally identifiable information. If they did, users would leave and marketers would follow. But Facebook Home does open up the opportunity for brands to reach anonymous fans in their target market with greater accuracy. And in all forms of marketing, on all platforms, that means the global creepy trigger gets more sensitive.  To hedge against this, marketers are increasingly moving toward permission marketing. Asking fans for permission to access their data and using it in transparent ways to serve personalized, relevant, anticipated messages -- as opposed to paid ads -- is a clear path toward increased sales, loyalty and retention. For more on Facebook Home and permission marketing, see this television interview with the author by the Business News Network (BNN), filmed hours after the Facebook Home launch.
   

Many phone carriers are pre-rolling ads before the home screen displays.  I can clearly see a similar opportunity for pre-rolled ads appearing before Home loads up.  Users are normally paying attention to their phone screen to make sure that apps load.  A pre-rolled ad could easily become part of the loading process and accepted as normal.  The number of daily ad impressions just from booting up your phone will be at least 1 billion. 

Courtesy of an artile dated April 4, 2013 appearing in Fast Company Design and an article dated April 5, 2013 appearing in The Huffington Post   

MICROSOFT'S ENVISIONING CENTER PROVIDES A VISION OF THE FUTURE USING A GIANT 80-INCH TABLET DISPLAY

This is Microsoft’s vision of the next 10 years of interface. It’s a giant iPad next to a giant Surface (Click Image To Enlarge)

UNLESS YOU WANT TO LIVE YOUR LIFE IN A SPORTS BAR, IT’S TIME THAT OUR BEST TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES BEGIN TO THINK BEYOND THE SCREEN.

There are shots of this film that reek of parody. But it’s all completely real. This is Microsoft’s earnest vision of the next decade. Sadly, it’s at least a decade dated.

 

You can’t miss the single motif of innovation: touch screens!!!!!! They’re televisions, projectors, and picture frames. Microsoft proposes a giant, glowing rectangle for every room, surrounded by an army of more glowing rectangles. They pull tiny rectangles from their pockets to interact with the big rectangles. And then they pass information from the big rectangles back to the small rectangles. In Microsoft’s future, there’s a rectangle for every job. If you were to put all these rectangles on a giant keyring, you’d have Microsoft’s vision of a Swiss Army Knife.

I mean, just look at this giant touch screen. Who can even touch the buttons at the top? (Click Image To Enlarge)

What Microsoft imagines as a naturalistic action is banging one screen against another screen (Click Imge To Enlarge)

It would be funny if it weren’t so gut-wrenchingly sad to watch. You can almost feel some suit at Microsoft reasoning that if a nine-inch iPad sells 100 million units, then a 90-inch iPad will sell a billion. So they just lean a giant iPad against the wall, right next to some giant Surface table. After all, consumers fell in love with touch-screen tablets after touch-screen phones. It’s time for some supersizing! But just making something bigger isn’t innovation.

And then they put the exact same interface that was on a Windows phone onto a giant display. The content isn’t richer or more meaningful. You just won’t need glasses. (Click Image To Enlarge)

One legitimately wonderful moment in the video is when a cook holds a pepper up in the air, and asks the computer to figure out how to cook with it (from sight alone)

Here’s Microsoft’s problem in a nutshell: There’s a scene in this video where a little girl is looking at a lion on a screen in her bedroom. Beside her, ever so subtly, you see that a real, stuffed lion is lying beside her.

One lion is soft, touchable, and has the distinction of being just hers. The other is flat, pixelated, and generic, thanks to algorithms. Which lion evokes an emotional response? Which lion will that little girl want to snuggle up with tonight? Better still, which lion was she touching in the first place?

But then Microsoft visionaries have to complete the interaction, so they have him smear his capsaicin-coated hands all over the kitchen display. Who thinks touch screens are a good idea for anywhere as messy as kitchens? (Click Image To Enlarge)

And here we see the saddest moment. A little girl supposedly ignores her adorable, plush lion for a poor facsimile on a gigantic TV, surrounded by a dozen digital picture frames. Digital picture frames?? Is anyone still making those? (Click Image To Enlarge)

Microsoft, this video is not the future, and if anyone outside your marketing department thinks it is, I hope they’re at least smart enough to short sell their own stock options. Even Apple, the company that owes most of its success to these magic, touchable rectangles, is already moving on from the paradigm, easing the consumer into a world where hardware enables naturalistic gestures that keep us in tune with our surroundings.

Look at what Disney Research--doing what’s essentially theme-park R&D--is creating with tangible interface. They’ve built a universal system that allows you to touch any object, even living plants, with multitouch sensitivity. You know what one of their head researchers, Ivan Poupyrev, told me this week?

“If a remote control can grow, and in nature it can become responsive, that’s interesting to us. Plus, plants are everywhere. Instead of trying to build and replace existing infrastructure, can we use what we have already intelligently? Maybe remote controls are more efficient, but in living spaces, it’s about more than efficiency. It’s about quality of life.”

Microsoft, very little you’ve shown here isn’t technically possible today. So what you’ve really tried to sell us on here was the future of interaction. But design is, at its core, about crafting things for human use. That’s why the future of interface isn’t about digitizing the analog world, it’s about analoging the digital world. We don’t need 80-inch big screens filled with 2-D interfaces around every corner. In fact, that’s a sickening proposition. We need the world we’ve already got, full of all the wonderful things we’ve already built, to understand and respond to our touch with all of the knowledge of the Internet.

Break free from Windows, Microsoft. There’s a whole world waiting for you through the glass.

See the film here.

COMMENTARY:   I totally agree.  There isn't an ounce f innovation in an 80-in digital screen that acts like an iPad.  First, it's not practical for most consumer households.  Just too big, and it is going to set you back $30 to $40,000 at least.   I see more innovation and more potential in an invention like Google's Project Glass, the augmented reality glasses that combines social networks with real-time, real world images.  

I do have to admit that if you could afford an 80-inch iPad, it would be very, very cool.  With an 80-in Retina display, of course.  Otherwise, you can forget about it.  Think the 49ers in the next Super Bowl.   Now that would be so very cool.   Envision that if you can.  LOL

Courtesy of an article dated March 4, 2013 appearing in Fast Company Design 

THE 85TH ACADEMY AWARDS HOSTED BY SETH MACFARLANE, THE FULL VIDEO AND WHO WON

If you missed the telecast of the 85th Academy Awards hosted by Seth MacFarlane, here's the complete show thanks to the folks at HULU.com.

 

You can also view The Oscars on the Oscars website.

List of the 85th annual Academy Award winners announced Sunday in Los Angeles:

• Best Picture: "Argo."
• Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln."
• Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook."
• Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained."
• Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables."
• Directing: Ang Lee, "Life of Pi."
• Foreign Language Film: "Amour."
• Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, "Argo."
• Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, "Django Unchained."
• Animated Feature Film: "Brave."
• Production Design: "Lincoln."
• Cinematography: "Life of Pi."
• Sound Mixing: "Les Miserables."
• Sound Editing (tie): "Skyfall," ''Zero Dark Thirty."
• Original Score: "Life of Pi," Mychael Danna.
• Original Song: "Skyfall" from "Skyfall," Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth.
• Costume: "Anna Karenina."
• Documentary Feature: "Searching for Sugar Man."
• Documentary (short subject): "Inocente."
• Film Editing: "Argo."
• Makeup and Hairstyling: "Les Miserables."
• Animated Short Film: "Paperman."
• Live Action Short Film: "Curfew."
• Visual Effects: "Life of Pi."

Courtesy of Fox News, The Oscars.com and Hollywood Life

A MAPPING OF FACEBOOK DATA SHOWS WHICH NFL TEAM WINS THIS YEAR'S SUPER BOWL XLVII BASED ON POPULARITY

Drawing on millions NFL team page “likes,” Facebook reveals every county’s favorite Super Bowl team

Thirty-five million U.S. Facebook users have “liked” the page of at least one of the NFL’s 32 teams. Combine that with location data and you’ve got, as Facebook says, “one of the most comprehensive samples of sports fanship ever collected.”

Facebook used the data to determine which team was the most popular in every county in the country. Here’s how it looks, mapped:

Facebook Map of NFL Team Popularity By Geographic Location (Click Image To Enlarge)

Unsurprisingly, most counties devoted to given team are concentrated in that team’s region of the country. The fanbases of few teams, though, are apparently not as bound by geography. The Dallas Cowboys are often referred to “America’s team,” and the data do indicate that the team’s fanbase covers an impressively large area of the country, stretching from Virginia to California, and pro-Cowboy counties appear in nearly every region. The Pittsburgh Steelers fan footprint is also fairly large and dispersed. Tim Tebow’s New York Jets, meanwhile, are the most popular team in only one county on Long Island. 

Facebook went further in its analysis, removing teams from the mix as they were eliminated from Super Bowl contention, either when they failed to make the playoffs or lost a playoff game. You can check out each of the resulting maps here.

So who wins the Facebook likes-per-county Super Bowl? The San Franscisco 49ers defeat the Baltimore Ravens in a landslide:

Click Image To Enlarge

COMMENTARY:    Very interesting that America's Facebook users predict that the San Francisco 49ers will win Super Bowl XLVII.  However, Jimmy Fallon used a complete different way for predicting who will win this year's Super Bowl:  PUPPIES.

 

If you haven't already done so, please read my blog post dated January 31 2013 about this year's Super Bowl XLVII teams, the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, and find out which team the pro football experts think will win the Super Bowl, and my own prediction.  

  Courtesy of an article dated February 1, 2013 appearing in MIT Technology Review

THE ROAD TO SUPER BOWL XLVII: HOW THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AND BALTIMORE RAVENS MATCH UP

Super Bowl XLVII, between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, has the potential to be one of the greatest Super Bowls in recent years — not just because of the level of play these teams have demonstrated in the playoffs, but mostly because of the story lines all over the field.

Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens linebacker, will play his final NFL game (Click Image To Enlarge)

Ray Lewis, one of the greatest linebackers in history, will play his final NFL game, retiring after 17 seasons, hoping to win his second Super Bowl ring, making a return to the big stage after 12 years. The 49ers’ head coach, Jim Harbaugh, was Lewis’ teammate in the late 90′s, not to mention the brother of the head coach on the opposite side, John Harbaugh.

Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers quarterback, runs for a 30-yard touchdown versus the Green Bay Packers during the NFC Playoffs (Click Image To Enlarge)

There’s the obvious quarterbacks angle: Colin Kaepernick, beginning the season as the backup to Alex Smith and emerging as an explosive runner and very patient and accurate passer in the playoffs, and Joe Flacco possibly proving he’s part of the elite group of QBs in the NFL after years of criticism. One of the two — Randy Moss (49ers) and Ed Reed (Ravens) — will finally win a Super Bowl ring.

The 49ers enter the Super Bowl as the favorites, but as you can see by the roads both teams have taken to the big game (see the infographic below), there isn’t that much of a difference between them in quality.

This is probably the best ingredient to make sure Super Bowl 47 will be among the most exciting we’ve seen in recent years.

Click Image To Enlarge

Harbaugh Bowl, Harbowl, Harbaughl, Brobowl, SuperBaugh or my own personal favorite, Super Bowl XLVII. Whatever you want to call it, come Sunday the only thing that will matter will be what happens on the field between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens in New Orleans. With that in mind, here's how the teams will match up against each other this Sunday.

The Harbaugh Brothers - San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh (Click Image To Enlarge)

Baltimore Ravens offense vs San Francisco 49ers defense

The Baltimore Ravens' expectations have changed on offense since the beginning of this playoff journey. The Ravens were the 10th-best scoring offense in the regular season, but their production from week-to-week fluctuated dramatically throughout. But those regular season statistics mean next to nothing for the Ravens after sweeping through the AFC playoff bracket scoring 90 points in three games.

 

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (Click Image To Enlarge)

Much of that is due to quarterback Joe Flacco once again bringing a greater level of consistency, composure and focus to the field in the post-season. Flacco's individual performances have improved significantly for multiple reasons, but maybe the most publicized is the impact of Jim Caldwell. Caldwell took over the offensive co-ordinator role from Cam Cameron at the beginning of December. He has improved the offense in almost every conceivable way. The Ravens' play-calling is less predictable, the execution is sharper than it was under Cameron and Caldwell has an understanding of how to best utilize his weapons, something Cameron consistently failed to do.

Flacco's statistical production has sky-rocketed in the playoffs. He has completed just 54.8% of his passes, but thrown for 853 yards with eight touchdowns and zero interceptions.

However, the Ravens' three playoff victories so far have come against less than stellar defensive opposition. The Indianapolis Colts' defense ranked 21st in points allowed during the regular season. A soft regular season schedule juked the statistics for the Denver Broncos defense, while on the day they played the Ravens, Champ Bailey had maybe the worst game of his career and Rahim Moore failed to make a routine play that would have ended the Ravens' season. A poor Patriots defense awaited in the Championship game, and a very limited Chandler Jones and injured Aqib Talib turned that poor unit into a downright awful one.

In the Super Bowl, the Ravens will face a much stiffer challenge.

For the past two seasons the San Francisco 49ers have ranked second in the NFL in points allowed. They are the most physically intimidating group in the league and the most consistent from week-to-week. The unit combines a rare mixture of superstars leading the way, with high quality depth throughout the whole defensive depth chart and the type of coaching that keeps every player clued into their responsibilities on every single play. Unlike the Colts, rarely does this unit need to be bailed out by their offense. Unlike the Broncos, this defense doesn't need a soft schedule to rank amongst the very best in the league. Unlike the Patriots, one or two injuries to key players won't stop them from being competitive.

Chicago Bears quarterback Jason Campbell (2) is sacked by San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith (99) as defensive tackle Justin Smith (94).  These two have terrorized opposing quarterbacks during the 2012 regular season (Click Image To Enlarge)

For the first time this post-season, the Ravens offense will face a defense of equal or arguably greater talent and depth. The Ravens may have Joe Flacco, Ray Rice and Dennis Pitta, but the 49ers have Justin Smith, Aldon Smith, NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis. The Ravens can add Torrey Smith, Anquan Boldin and Jacoby Jones, but the 49ers can counter with Carlos Rogers, Dashon Goldson and Tarell Brown. This balance of superstars and depth is going to force the Ravens offense to be creative. With two weeks to prepare, the responsibility falls on Caldwell to introduce that creativity.

San Francisco 49ers defense ranked No 2 in the NFL in points allowed during the regular season (Click Image To Enlarge)

Flacco's production for the Ravens has primarily come on throwing the ball downfield. He is averaging over nine yards per completion, while Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones are averaging over 22 yards per reception in the playoffs. Even Anquan Boldin and Ray Rice are averaging over 17 yards per catch. According to Pro Football Focus, Flacco throws over 25% of his attempts further than 20 yards downfield and has completed over 50% of those during the playoffs. That won't intimidate the 49ers. Through a combination of an excellent pass rush and quality coverage, the 49ers only gave up 38 passes of more than 20 yards during the regular season, good enough for third fewest in the league. Of course, during the regular season you don't see a player like Torrey Smith every week. Smith has the speed to beat any defensive back in the NFL on any given play. However, that speed is only valuable when teams leave him in one-on-one situations like the Denver Broncos did in the Divisional round. The 49ers don't typically expose themselves like that, nor are they under pressure to inadvertently do so by focusing elsewhere.

Atlanta Falcons' superstar wide receiver Julio Jones was able to expose the 49ers' deep coverage in the NFC Championship game. Jones finished the game with 11 receptions for 182 yards and two touchdowns. However in the second half he only had three receptions for 23 yards before catching a 24 yard pass on the final play against prevent coverage. It took a monumental effort from Jones to take over the first half of that game, but once the 49ers adjusted their coverage his way in the second half, he was limited to short gains. With two weeks to prepare, they should take the same approach towards Smith. When teams do that, they expose themselves to Dennis Pitta, Jacoby Jones and Anquan Boldin. Boldin and Pitta are able to overpower most defensive backs/linebackers in single coverage, while Jones is always a threat to go deep with his speed. However, Boldin and Pitta won't be able to bully the 49ers' defenders the way they have most this post-season. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman are two of the most physically intimidating coverage linebackers in the league, not to mention the two best all-around inside linebackers in the NFL. Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner are big-bodied safeties who can run and hit in space, while cornerbacks Tarell Brown and Carlos Rogers play consistently physical football. Jones was able to expose the 49ers' physical approach in the NFC Championship game, but outside of Smith, who the defense can focus their coverage on, none of the receivers present the same matchup nightmare that Jones' athleticism and straight line speed did.

San Francisco 49ers linebackers  Patrick Willis #52 and NaVorro Bowman #53 are two of the most intimidating linebackers in the NFL (Click Image To Enlarge)

The receivers should be able to get some success – they are still a talented group - but will it be enough? An obvious solution would be to run the ball, but that will be playing into a 49ers strength. Jim Caldwell must get creative with his receivers to free them from the 49ers' secondary. Maybe more importantly, he must also be creative in how he approaches running the ball.

Baltimore Ravens runing back Ray Rice #27 runs for a touchdown in the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots (Click Image To Enlarge)

Ray Rice, arguably the best all-around running-back in the NFL, and explosive rookie Bernard Pierce have combined to create a very productive rushing attack in the playoffs so far. Pierce is a home-run hitter who has longs of 78 and 43 yards in this season's playoffs. Although he is averaging more per carry in the playoffs than Rice, Rice's ability to make defenders miss in space and his receiving talents could see him become the focal point of the whole offense. Rice has been featured prominently in the offense since Caldwell became the offensive co-ordinator, but hasn't produced to his potential. Excluding the final week of the regular season when he was rested for most of the game, Rice has averaged 22.6 touches (receptions + rushes) for 94 yards per game since Caldwell was promoted. The last time he faced the 49ers, he had similarly ordinary-looking numbers, finishing the game with 24 combined touches for 83 yards, although that game was called by former co-ordinator Cam Cameron. On the biggest of stages however, teams typically look towards their biggest performers to carry them to glory. While it doesn't always work out that way, Caldwell should still gameplan to ride Rice as much as possible.

San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Justin Smith #94 celebrates after making a quarterback sack during in a game versus the New Orleans Saints (Click Image To Enlarge)

The 49ers' front seven is a special group, led by all-pro defensive end Justin Smith. Smith is the kind of interior defensive lineman that plays so fast it often appears he knows what play the offense is running before the ball is even snapped. He has the ability to stack blockers at the line of scrimmage while still stopping running-backs up the middle and his ability to chase down plays designed to run away from his area of the field. Smith has been dealing with a serious triceps injury, but it hasn't affected his ability to stop the run in recent weeks. In New Orleans he will have a very favourable matchup against the inexperienced Kelechi Osemele. Osemele is a rookie right tackle who recently became the Ravens' starting left guard. His ability to contain Smith, even with double team help, will play a major role in deciding the outcome. As a tackle, Osemele is better in space rather than fighting off bigger defenders at the point of attack. Therefore, it makes sense that the Ravens will look to put Rice in space with short passes taking the play away from Smith. Rice consistently turns short passes into big gains, not just that famous fourth down in San Diego.

San Francisco 49ers offense vs Baltimore Ravens defense

Just like the Ravens offense, not a huge can be learned from the 49ers' regular season statistics. With Alex Smith starting the first 10 games of the year, the 49ers not only had a different quarterback under center, but also a less aggressive offense as a whole and a completely different schematic approach. Having replaced Smith with second year professional Colin Kaepernick, the 49ers offense went from a conservative unit working hard to adequately complement a dominant defense, to an offense that has all the capabilities of blowing out an opponent.

Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers runs the ball against the New England Patriots in the second quarter at Gillette Stadium on December 16, 2012 in Foxboro, Mass (Click Image To Enlarge)

Kaepernick barely played as a rookie and has only started nine games this season. In fact, outside of two quarterbacks forced to start because of injury, Jeff Hostetler and Vince Ferragamo, Kaepernick has the fewest starts of any quarterback to start in Super Bowl history. Theoretically, Kaepernick's inexperience should work against him in this game. However, his track record says otherwise. Kaepernick made his debut in Week 11 of the regular season in a convincing victory over one of the best defenses in the league, the Chicago Bears, on Monday Night Football. A few weeks later, he made his Sunday Night Football debut against the New England Patriots in Foxboro. Kaepernick threw for four touchdowns and had the game wrapped up by the end of the third quarter. He did make a nervous start to his playoff debut, throwing an interception on his first drive against the Green Bay Packers, but after that he led his offense to a 45 point day with four total touchdowns and over 400 total yards. In the NFC Championship game, the Atlanta Falcons sold out to stop Kaepernick from running and keep him in the pocket. By doing that they allowed the rest of the 49ers offense to produce, before Kaepernick threw the offense to a comeback victory in the second half.

Frank Gore #21 of the San Francisco 49ers scores a 5-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter against the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game (Click Image To Enlarge)

The 49ers' young quarterback has the ability to beat the Ravens with his arm or his legs, or a combination of the two. However, when it comes to stopping the 49ers' offense, the Ravens must remain disciplined and not focus too much on Kaepernick. That was the downfall of the Atlanta Falcons, as they allowed Frank Gore and LaMichael James to combine for three easy rushing touchdowns at the cost of containing Kaepernick. Considering the Packers did the opposite, allowing Kaepernick to run for 181 yards with only six coming after contact, the Ravens must find a balance between the approaches.

LaMichael James #23 for the San Francisco 49ers runs for a touchdown versus the Atlanta Falcons during the third quarter of the NFC Championship game in Atlanta, Ga (Click Image To Enlarge)

Stopping the 49ers offense begins with stopping the run. Gore, Kaepernick, James and Anthony Dixon have have combined for 472 yards and seven touchdowns on just 72 carries in the playoffs. If the 49ers were any ordinary rushing team, the fact the Ravens are giving up 128.3 yards per game in the playoffs would be key, but the 49ers run the ball unlike any other team in the NFL. Kaepernick has the option to take the ball and run with it himself on many of the 49ers' running plays. The 49ers also have the most dominant offensive line in the league. No other team in the league combines that level of talent in the trenches and at the quarterback position when it comes to running the ball.

Baltimore Ravens DTs Ma'ake Kemoeatu and Terrence Cody (Click Image To Enlarge)

Much of the 49ers' running success comes from the option offense: the key aspects of this are that the offensive line deliberately doesn't block the last defender to one side of the field. Instead of blocking that defender, the quarterback reads and reacts to what he does after the snap. If the defender moves inside, the quarterback takes the ball away from the running-back and sprints outside. If the defender stays outside, the quarterback gives it to the running-back who runs up the middle against less defenders. This offense puts a huge amount of pressure on the defensive linemen and outside linebackers. The Ravens tend to flip between a 4-3 and 3-4 formation, but should primarily play 3-4 in this game to counter the 49ers' running game. The 3-4 will allow the Ravens to keep three of 340 lb defensive end Haloti Ngata, 340 lb nose tackle Terrence Cody, 315 lb defensive end Arthur Jones and 345 lb nose tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu on the field as often as their fitness allows, while Terrell Suggs and Paul Kruger primarily start as outside linebackers. On any given option play, one outside linebacker will be left unblocked and it will be that player's responsibility to contain Kaepernick. Presuming he contains Kaepernick, the Ravens' big bodies inside must then swallow Gore by beating the 49ers' excellent offensive linemen. That is the best way to stop the option, but it requires discipline. The Atlanta Falcons attempted the same approach in the NFC Championship game, but they didn't have the talent or size on their defensive line to stop Gore and the team's other backs. The Ravens will feel comfortable asking their defensive linemen to make plays consistently enough to contain the 49ers offense in those situations.

Baltimore Ravens DT Arthur Jones (Click Image To Enlarge)

What makes the 49ers offense so dangerous, is that even if the Ravens successfully stop the run, Kaepernick has proven capable of connecting with his receivers consistently from the pocket. During the regular season, Kaepernick completed over 62% of his passes for 1,814 yards, with 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions. In the last two playoff games, he has further improved to 63.5%, 496 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The 49ers may have lost explosive wide receiver Mario Manningham to injury earlier in the season, but Michael Crabtree emerged into a star receiver when Kaepernick came into the offense, a 35-year-old Randy Moss has made a number of receptions in the playoffs and tight end Vernon Davis awoke in the playoffs after slumbering through the regular season.

49ers pass receivers Vernon Davis #85 and Michael Crabtree #15 will be big targets for quarterback Colin Paeternick when the Niners play the Ravens (Click Image To Enlarge)

The 49ers' receiving options are horrible matchups for an injury-plagued Ravens' defense. Superstar cornerback Lardarius Webb would have been the perfect matchup for Crabtree. Webb is probably the best tackler in space in the whole league and Crabtree does most of his best work running after the catch, 626 of his 1,281 yards on the season came that way, but Webb tore his ACL earlier this year and hasn't played since the regular season. Cary Williams, a solid but not great cornerback, will likely take on the responsibility of stopping Crabtree depending on the health of Jimmy Smith. The Ravens are also without starting inside linebacker Jameel McClain because of injury. McClain is more consistent in coverage than his replacement Dannell Ellerbe, while being much more athletic than Ray Lewis at this point in their respective careers. Lewis is too slow to cover Vernon Davis, while the Ravens likely won't trust Ellerbe or Bernard Pollard to do it consistently. Those injuries will force the Ravens to play a lot of zone coverage because they simply can't match the athletic ability of the 49ers' weapons.

Ravens cornerback Cary Williams, center, celebrates his interception and touchdown with teammates cornerback Lardarius Webb, left, and defensive back James Ihedigbo during the second half against the Browns (Click Image To Enlarge)

Since Kaepernick became the starter, the 49ers have only been held under 24 points twice. Both times they faced off against talented defenses who played disciplined football on the day. However, even in those games, against the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks, Kaepernick only turned the ball over twice. One of those turnovers was a missed pitch that was recovered in the endzone by the Rams' Janoris Jenkins, but Kaepernick was also forced into a safety in that game. The Rams were able to pressure Kaepernick into making two game-changing plays because they were disciplined and aggressive. That is the style the Ravens need in order to win this game. Game-changing defensive plays do come from pressure more often than not, but the Ravens normally look to Ed Reed for their game-changing defensive plays. Reed has had a relatively quiet season - dealing with a torn labrum in his shoulder hasn't helped - but he has proven to be a big-game player.

San Francisco 49ers defensive back Perrish Cox, Michael Thomas and Darcel McBath answer questions during media day for the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, in New Orlean (Click Image To Enlarge)

There are two contrasting matchups within this game. The Ravens offense needs to get creative and knock the 49ers defense off balance. The 49ers offense knows exactly what it is going to do, as does the Ravens defense. One side should see plenty of creativity, while the other will simply come down to who can execute better on the day.

Special Teams

Baltimore Ravens field goal kicker Justin Tucker #6 scores a field goal in a game during the 2012 NFL season (Click Image To Enlarge)

After kicker Billy Cundiff prematurely ended the Ravens' 2011 season, he was promptly replaced by rookie Justin Tucker. For one so inexperienced, Tucker has consistently shown up when the Ravens needed him this year: in Week 3, he kicked the game-winning field goal against the New England Patriots as time ran out, he kicked all of the team's points in a 9-6 victory in Week 5 against the Kansas City Chiefs, he kicked a game-tying field goal with three minutes to go against the Chargers in Week 12 before kicking the game-winner in overtime. Most importantly, he kicked the game winning field goal in overtime against the Denver Broncos from 47 yards in the divisional round of the playoffs. Tucker only missed three kicks all season, none of which came when the Ravens were tied or behind, and also set franchise records.

49ers field goal kicker David Akers celebrates with teammates after making a 63-yard field goal and tying an NFL record (Click Image To Enlarge)

49ers' kicker David Akers is in a different place entirely. Akers has dealt with different injury issues throughout the season, which have led to him having his worst ever season. The 49ers have stuck with Akers, keeping faith that he would return to his record breaking form of 2012 in time for the Super Bowl. In 2012, Akers set the record for points and tied the record for the longest field goal ever kicked.

As NFL Network's Rich Eisen will tell you, punters are people too. Not only are they people, but they are very important players even if they are rarely appreciated by fans. Both of these teams understand the value of a quality punter. Andy Lee has been considered a valuable weapon in San Francisco for some time now. Sam Koch isn't on the same level as Lee in terms of leg power or accuracy, but he has been a consistently reliable performer.

Baltimore Ravens. Jacoby Jones #12 returns a kickoff for a touchdown in a game versus the Dallas Cowboys during the 2012 NFL season (Click Image To Enlarge)

Jacoby Jones vaulted the Ravens' special teams returns to the top of this year's rankings, as well as adding three touchdowns. Jones' ability to break free at any moment could make the difference in a tight game, but Ted Ginn and LaMichael James offer similar potential to the 49ers' special teams. James and Ginn have incredible straight line speed, while Jones has the elusiveness to make defenders miss in open space.

Head coach

Jim and John Harbaugh first faced off against each other back in November 2011, when John's Ravens came out on top in Baltimore. That was the first time in NFL history that two brothers competed against each other as head coaches. Obviously that means that this is the first time ever that two brothers will face off against each other in the Super Bowl. This being the Super Bowl, most of the focus will be on the Harbaugh family and the relationship between the siblings. Once the game begins little of that will matter.

Head Coach Jim Harbaugh of the San Francisco 49ers embraces his brother Head Coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens prior to the game at M&T Bank Stadium, Nov. 24, 2011, in Baltimore (Click Image To Enlarge)

The eldest of the brothers, John, has much more experience as a head coach at this level of football and at this time of the year. Since he was appointed head coach in 2008, John's Ravens have made the playoffs every season. The consistency of the team from season-to-season has been incredible, resulting in a 54-26 record in the regular season and an astonishing 8-4 record in the playoffs. It's difficult to fathom years later, but John was actually the Ravens' second choice to be their head coach after Jason Garrett initially turned the opportunity down. John was almost unknown to fans, who were disappointed not to sign the highly thought of Garrett. His career had been spent primarily coaching special teams, with little specialty as an offensive or defensive coach. Instead, Harbaugh brought accountability, discipline and an ability to unify a locker-room. It is that part of his coaching that Ravens players pointed to as the reason they made the Super Bowl this year.

What Jim Harbaugh lacks in coaching experience, he makes up for in expertise. Jim has only been an NFL head coach for two seasons, but he also started 140 games as an NFL quarterback, developed an extensive relationship with Bill Walsh (a coach who played a major role in developing the passing ideals that many teams live on in today's NFL) and a very successful four-year stint as head coach at Stanford. That expertise has allowed Harbaugh to turn the 49ers from a 6-10 team in 2010, into a team with a regular season record of 24-7 over the past two seasons, two NFC Championship games and now a Super Bowl.

Much like his brother, Jim is able to unite his players and get the very best out of them. Although he is known for his work developing quarterbacks, most notably Andrew Luck, and the rebirth of Alex Smith's career from 2011 onwards in the NFL, Jim has also elevated the 49ers' defense into arguably the best unit in the league. The 49ers ranked 16th in points allowed during the final season of Mike Singletary's reign, but since then they have finished second in both of Jim's seasons as head coach. He and his staff's ability to identify key free agents such as Donte Whitner and Carlos Rogers, while drafting/developing key contributors Aldon Smith, NaVorro Bowman and Chris Culliver allowed the defense to grow around superstars Justin Smith and Patrick Willis.

COMMENTARY:  The Super Bowl game between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens is going to be a historic defensive battle.  If this holds true, the game will turn into a low scoring affair, dominated by the defenses of both teams.  Special teams will be critical.  49ers field goal kicker David Akers must come through for the Niners to have a chance to win.  The team that can create scoring opportunities with their special teams and commits the least turnovers and mistakes will win.  I think the game will be decided by a field goal or touchdown.  My prediction: San Francisco 49ers 20, Baltimore Ravens 17 in double overtime.    

Super Bowl XLVII has been scheduled for Feb. 3 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The San Francisco 49ers will face the Baltimore Ravens, and the game is being nicknamed the Bro Bowl because of coaches John and Jim Harbaugh. The following is a complete TV schedule for the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLVII TV Schedule

• 6 a.m. EST, NFL Total Access (NFL Network)
• 7 a.m. EST, First on the Field (NFL Network)
• 9 a.m. EST, NFL GameDay Morning (NFL Network)
• 11 a.m. EST, Road to the Super Bowl (CBS)
• 12 p.m. EST, New Orleans: Let the Good Times Roll Sponsored by Pepsi (CBS)
• 1 p.m. EST, Phil Simms All-Iron Team: Super Bowl Edition (CBS)
• 2 p.m. EST, The Super Bowl Today (CBS)
• 5:30 p.m. EST, A Football Life: Ray Lewis (NFL Network)
• 6 p.m. EST, Super Bowl Kickoff Show (CBS)
• 6:30 p.m. EST, Super Bowl Kickoff, San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens (CBS)
• 10 p.m. EST, NFL GameDay Overtime (NFL Network)
• 10:30 p.m. EST, NFL GameDay Final (NFL Network)
• 10:30 p.m. EST, Toyota Super Bowl Today Post Game Show (CBS Sports Network)

Courtesy of an article dated January 30, 2013 appearing in Visual.ly and an article dated January 28, 2013 appearing in The Guardian

RESEARCHER SAYS SOCIAL TV IS A $151 BILLION BUSINESS IN 2012, $256 BILLION BY 2017, BUT ARE THESE NUMBERS REAL?

2012 Social TV Ecosystem by Tendrr TV for Advertising Age (Click Image To Enlarge)

Social media-related TV businesses will grow at a double-digit percent basis in the next five years.  One estimate from MarketsandMarkets says the entire business will rise to $256 billion by 2017 from its current $151 billion in 2012. The group says the business will expand every year by 11.2% during that five-week period.

These social TV numbers total interests from second-screen apps providers, smart TV manufacturers, content providers, middleware providers, advertising agencies and consumers.

Europe will take the biggest share -- $55 billion this year, rising to $78 billion in five years -- a compounded annual growth rate of 7%.

The research group says "the future for television is social interaction. Broadcasters are developing and enriching social TV integration; they are targeting the tune-in customer, engagement and their loyalty to boost the ratings."

Research says social TV business will be associated almost entirely with the device part of the market. The Hardware/Smart TV segment accounted for the largest share -- 97% of the overall social TV market, at $147 billion in 2012. This is expected to hit $244 billion by 2017, which is a compounded annual growth rate of 10.6% from 2012 to 2017.

COMMENTARY:    Where do they think the income is coming from to support their estimates? According to Strategy Analytics global advertising spend in 2012 is likely to be $465bn, with 40% ($188.5bn) of that spent on TV with a further $83.2 spent on online.

The clue is in the footnotes which state: The Hardware/Smart TV segment accounted for the largest share; i.e. 97.6% of the overall Social TV market at $147.58 billion in 2012.

So, is the Social TV market really worth $151.14 billion? No.

Flipping the figures around we see that the true value of the social tv market based on technology and platforms may be closer to $3.56bn. Yet, that is still only according to an analyst firm that has a very poor grip on what social tv is about.

Even amidst a staggering global economy, the television industry is poised to grow. IDATE’s DigiWorld Institute, a leading center for Europe’s market analysis in the telecomm, internet and media industries, forecasts that the global TV market will grow at an annual rate of 4.7% to €355 billion (US $435B) by 2020.

The emerging technologies that are pushing TV ahead from behind the scenes deserve due credit for some of this growth. Gilles Fontaine, IDATE’s Deputy CEO and Project Manager for the report, envisions new distribution models: “the digital store (an open platform that makes all content available to viewers) and self-supply (thanks to the destruction of the exclusive link between the access network and the TV set)”. These distribution models are underpinned by technology that allows the industry to meet the digital demands of tech savvy consumers.

The infographic below from Bluefin Labs details the most social days, moments, premieres, finales, series, broadcast networks and cable networks.

Conyers says.

“This was the first full TV season with social TV measurement, so this data serves as a benchmark for future seasons.  People will be interested in tracking the growth and adoption of social TV. Having this season’s data all in one place is a useful reference.”

Click Image To Enlarge

Another example of technology facilitating TV growth can be found in mobile and tablet devices. According to one of eMarketer’s ‘top digital trends for 2012 and beyond’, a majority of users will access the web via a tablet by 2015. Chris Horton, of Internet marketing company SyneCore Technologies, connects the dots; “many millions of users will be accessing TV shows through their tablets”. Device proliferation and better quality video, will drive up content consumption and the price of ad real estate.

The dollars at stake in the TV industry – and the tech sector’s ability to affect its growth – make it a lucrative and logical place for social media giants Twitter and Facebook to expand. Twitter is set to take in $1B a year in ad revenue by 2014.  All Things D columnist, Peter Kafka, claims this puts Twitter on the road towards becoming a media company of its own. Meanwhile, Facebook is signing network deals of epic proportions, notably partnering with NBC for the Olympics and CNN for the elections.

Listen to Mark Silva, SVP of emerging platforms at global strategic design firm, Anthem Worldwide, and you’ll realize Twitter and Facebook aren’t the only players to watch; “there’s money to be made. But the winners won’t necessarily be the companies that already have a major presence in digital and social media”.

If you haven't already done so, I recommend you read my very comprehensive blog post dated November 29, 2011 where I describe what social TV is, size of the market and how broadcasters and advertisers benefit.

Courtesy of an article dated October 15, 2012 appearing in MediaPost Publications Media Daily News and an article dated July 15, 2012 appearing in Social TV News and an article dated June 23, 2012 appearing in Mashable

FACEBOOK TO LIFT BAN ON KIDS UNDER-13, DATA COULD HELP TARGET PARENTS WITH ADS, WHY THIS IS A BAD IDEA

If Facebook opens its wildly popular network to kids under 13, it may not resist the urge to monetize the millions of new users it stands to gain by lowering the minimum age through advertising.

Marketers and agency executives are split as to whether the move will facilitate a new channel for brands to target and advertise to children, but most agree that Facebook could fulfill a largely unmet need by simply creating a popular and safe place for children online.

Access to a wider, younger audience on Facebook could open a vast untapped opportunity for brands, but if advertising is part of the mix it would also open another door for privacy advocates and regulators to chastise the site for putting advertising revenue above child privacy. Currently, Facebook only allows kids over 13 years old to join in the fun, but there are already untold millions of younger members who joined by providing a false age.

Facebook is developing technology that would allow pre-teens to use the site under adult supervision, according to a June 4 Wall Street Journal report, but following its messy initial public offering and years-long battle over privacy controls, some are wondering if this might be more trouble than it's worth.

Paul Kurnit, professor of marketing at Pace University and founder of KidShop, a marketing and communications firm specializing in targeting kids said. 

"I think Facebook is certainly willing to take that step.   They've certainly been brash and bold.  It's just too big an opportunity for them to get it wrong.  The opportunity for Facebook, the opportunity for marketers is just huge."

Facebook has an opportunity to enable kids as a community to promote a healthier lifestyle, said Kurnit.   Kurnit said.  

"The ante in the game will be to get parental permission. Once you have parental permission in the online space, the ability to relate to kids, market to kids and collect data on kids opens an entirely new frontier.  I fully expect within the next three years the face of marketing and advertising to kids will change dramatically." 

Josh Koster, managing partner at Chong + Koster, a firm that has handled online ads for children's brands suggests.

"Fundamentally, there is no Nickelodeon of the Internet.  There is no safe, all encompassing place where parents can be sure their kids will be okay and brands can ensure exposure in a reasonable way.   If you don't give kids a safe place to hang out online, it's worse for everyone involved. Even if Facebook never runs a single ad to kids, there's a need for somebody to create that space.  And honestly, they could monetize that platform just by using the data to help improve parental targeting."

In other words, kids' interactions on Facebook could inform targeting of ads aimed at their parents.

Koster believes Facebook can effectively leverage data on children under 13 years old without ever crossing the line into advertising or brand targeting. Parents are one of the most valuable targets to market to throughout the country, and Facebook could create tremendous value by effectively linking parents to their children online.   He said.  

"I'd be more surprised about the ad product than the social network for kids. I honestly don't think they need the ad product to monetize."

Besides, almost every kid will eventually turn 13 someday, and when they do Facebook could begin targeting and advertising to them immediately, Koster added. There is little to suggest that Facebook plans to make money off children through advertising and targeting, and as a result, none of the marketers ClickZ spoke with were willing to discuss how they might use Facebook to target kids directly.  In fact, most marketers, agency executives and brands don't even want to touch the subject.

Though there are very specific rules about how to market to children under 13 as a result of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, Facebook already has a reputation for pushing the envelope on privacy by frequently changing user controls and confusing them with unclear language.

Brands are going to be uncomfortable targeting children on Facebook anyway, said Adam Broitman, chief creative strategist at Something Massive. Broitman asked.

"From the agency perspective, what is my incentive to...recommend that one of my clients be at risk in this environment where someone might get upset?  Facebook ads have worked great for us in many ways, but I feel that it's not great enough that I would take a chance losing a client."

Broitman doesn't necessarily specialize in marketing to children under 13 years old, but he did target the age group during a campaign for Right Guard and he is gearing up for a campaign for another brand targeting pre-teens in the coming months.

Broitman said.  

"It is something that would be very valuable to brands to have this channel, this connection, but the more that I think about it, these channels do exist.   I think a lot of brands may not want to touch this."

Broitman continued by adding that there are safer means to target children online.

Kevin Ryan, founder and CEO of Motivity Marketing, takes a more positive view of the changes reportedly coming to Facebook. There are sophisticated means for protecting children online, Ryan said, and he's confident in law-enforcement agencies' ability to reduce the impact of predators to the extent where it won't be an issue for Facebook and kids.

Ryan said.

"Marketing to kids has always been the same way -- you get the kids hopped up on it and then the parents have to validate.  I think there's a really good opportunity to responsibly market to kids on Facebook, much in the same way kids are marketed to now."

Brands who want to market to children under 13 on Facebook, should do so in a largely positive manner, Ryan said. Interactive nutrition applications or other healthy-lifestyle campaigns that drive awareness about primarily indisputable issues will move the needle in Facebook's favor, he said.

COMMENTARY:   When I first heard that Facebook was planning on removing the restriction that prevents children under-13 from having a Facebook page, then advertise to them, I said to myself:   NO WAY.  

If Zuck has any decency left in him, he should resist advertising to kids under 13 years old.   I know there are a lot of parents out there that don't give a shit about the kind of content their young children watch on television, but I do.  I've read the studies about how constant exposure to television has affected a child's social development especially during their formative pre-school through pre-teen years.  It leads to violent and unruly behavior, lack of respect for others, poor health due to eating foods with too much sugar, salt and fat, and bad behaiors, including use of foul language.  

Kids live in a fantasy world often created by what they watch and hear on television.  This includes the TV commercials, many which are targeted to adults, but watched by young children.  A lot of parents simply do not have the time to properly supervise their children's television viewing, in fact, many of them have learned to rely on television as a sort of digital "baby-sitter," while take a rest or prepare dinner after a long and pressure-filled day at work.

There's really no way you are going to prevent a young child from clicking on an online display ad. Many of them are already tech savvy, often using their parents iPhones and iPads.  Children are too immature and have no sense of self-control.  Advertisers are going to take full advantage of that lack of self-control, temptation and curiosity by advertising to them.    

In 2011, Facebook (plus Twitter and Google) was placed on 20-year probation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for violating the privacy of its users.  That probation includes annual privacy audits to insure that it is in compliance with the privacy requirements imposed under the probation.  Facebook is definitely asking for problems if they allow advertisers to target children under-13 years of age.  

Some of the above advertising and marketing people make no bones that they consider children an "untapped market" which should be monetized.  I am not one of them, and I disagree vehemently with any advertiser, advertising agency or marketing company that its aiming its sights on children. It's a bad idea.  Please don't do it.

Courtesy of an article dated June 13, 2012 appearing in ClickZ 

BISCOTTI AND TELYHD SET-TOP BOXES PROVIDE AN EASY WAY TO USE YOUR HOME HDTV FOR VIDEO CHATTING AND A WHOLE LOT MORE

Combine geek-dad gadget lust with the promise of an easier way to stay in touch with faraway family, and you can see how the latest generation of standalone video chat boxes might have a good sales story to tell for this Father's Day weekend. While Cisco's discontinued ūmi never caught on in a big way with consumers (possibly the introductory $600 price and $25 monthly fee had something to do with it), the idea of a slim HD camera pack that fits atop the living room TV, instantly connecting with similar hardware or distributed software chat apps, still seems promising.

Front and rear of the biscotti set-top video box.  Comes with HDMI port and camera and costs $199 SRP, but you can only call other Biscotti devices. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Biscotti set-top box and remote controller showing video chat call on HDTV screen (Click Image To Enlarge)

The two Mac and iOS-friendly set-top chat products making a move in the market now are the $149 Biscotti and the $249 telyHD. Both systems work in a straightforward way -- they connect to your TV via HDMI, capture an HD image with an onboard camera and tie into your home network to call friends and family.

Front and rear of Tely Labs' TelyHD set-top video box and controller.  Includes Skype client, camera and microphones all-in-one device for $249 SRP (Click Image To Enlarge)

TelyHD remote control and HDTV screen showing how you can make peer-to-peer video chat calls using your contact list (Click Image To Enlarge)

Neither unit requires a monthly subscription plan, thereby avoiding the Cisco problem. Of course, neither plays along with Apple's wasn't-it-supposed-to-be-open FaceTime protocol, so if you're looking for a portable video chatting device that works with Skype, Google Talk and FaceTime you might consider the $199 iPod touch.

Both the telyHD and the Biscotti interoperate with a public video chat service (Google Talk for Biscotti, Skype for telyHD) so you aren't limited to chatting with the folks who have the same hardware. Both platforms also got software updates in the past few days, adding to their utility and (in the case of the telyHD) delivering tighter integration for iPhone and iPad users who want to share photos or control their chat settings from their mobile device.

The Biscotti TV Phone system, shown above, is simpler and more no-frills than the telyHD. Biscotti can chat video or audio to Mac or PC users via the Google Talk web client; to chat with iPhone or iPad users, the free (and unofficial) Vtok app fills the client slot. It also provides high-quality chats between Biscotti units.

The hardware is slim and graceful, about the size and shape of an Italian biscuit -- hence the name. A basic remote supports pan and zoom of the video camera, and the latest update gives you an automatic audio calibration routine to improve voice quality. The new software update also allows you to import your Google contacts for use on your Biscotti, but be warned that all your Google contacts will be loaded; the company's still working on a way to subset and manage those. The Biscotti may also try to auto-invite all those contacts to chat -- careful which button you click.

Networking on the Biscotti is Wi-Fi only (and if anyone invents a way to quickly enter WEP passwords using a four-way remote, they'd make a bundle), but the unit has a clever HDMI trick; it includes both input and output ports, so your cable or satellite box can plug right in and the signal will pass through. The Biscotti interface will stay out of the way until you get a call or use the remote. In fact, for some TVs, the Biscotti can turn them on directly so you can answer. Maybe that's not an ideal bedroom feature; likewise the auto-answer setting for key contacts, which lets you turn the Biscotti into a video room monitor by having it pick up immediately when you try to connect, could get weird in the wrong circumstances.

For Skype-centric families, the telyHD interoperates cleanly with the world's leading video and audio chat service, delivering 720p high definition video (note that Skype just updated its Mac client). Under the hood, the telyHD is an Android device; it's got more flexibility and possibilities than the Biscotti, with an app-centric development roadmap -- granted, you could get an iGoGo TV if you want to run Android apps on your HDTV, but that's some pretty scary stuff.

Already you can do things with pairs of telyHDs that you can't do with other systems: share photos (from an SD card) and leave video mail for watching later on. The telyHD sports an Ethernet port along with Wi-Fi networking, but it lacks the Biscotti's passthrough HDMI approach; you'll need to switch sources on your TV to see it.

This week's update to the telyHD platform, the Entertainment Suite, is unusual in that it's a paid (optional) add-on rather than a free version update; it's also targeted squarely at iPhone and iPad users. Entertainment Suite adds AirPlay mirroring for photos (TelyProjector), so iPhone users can simply mirror their images right into a video chat with Dad. The ES also includes access for remote-control apps (both iOS and Android), coming to the App Store and Google Play shortly; lastly, the upgrade includes a full web browser for the unit, giving owners access to websites and streaming video from all across the Internet. The Entertainment Suite pack can be trialed for 30 days before the one-time $49 licensing cost kicks in.

The long history of video calling might be filled with false starts and closed, proprietary systems, but if your gift list for Dad includes "more face to face time with the grandkids" then one of these systems may be just what you're looking for.

COMMENTARY:    I like the TelyHD video chat set-top box because it works with Skype's video chat, but at $249.00 costs $100 more than the Biscotti unit which works through Google Talk.   Plus, I like the fact that TelyHD can work with Android mobile devices which works for those who are totally mobile or don't watch or own a TV, but watch their TV content exclusively through their mobile device.  Another nice thing about the TelyHD is the optional Entertainment Suite which will target iPhone and iPad users. Entertainment Suite adds AirPlay mirroring for photos (TelyProjector), so iPhone users can simply mirror their images right into a video chat with Dad. The ES also includes access for remote-control apps (both iOS and Android), coming to the App Store and Google Play shortly; lastly, the upgrade includes a full web browser for the unit, giving owners access to websites and streaming video from all across the Internet. The Entertainment Suite pack can be trialed for 30 days before the one-time $49 licensing cost kicks in. In my opinion the TelyHD video chat set-top box is the clear winner because it offers so much more for another $49.

Courtesy of an article dated June 15, 2012 appearing in TUAW 

7 WAYS TO DISRUPT YOUR INDUSTRY, AND THE TECH WARS OF 2012: APPLE, GOOGLE, AMAZON AND FACEBOOK FACEOFF

The Players in the Tech War of 2012 - Apple (Steve Jobs/Tim Cook), Facebook (Zuck), Google (Larry Page) and Amazon.com (Jeff Bezos)

Massive disruption is coming, and the only question is whether your firm is going to cause it or fall victim to it. Disruption is not easy--either to create or to confront. We have no illusions about that.

But in the spirit of helping established firms best serve their customers, we offer seven ways your firm could disrupt its own industry, raising the standards of customer experience and creating new opportunities for growth:

1) Totally eliminate your industry’s persistent customer pain points.

Each industry has practices that drive customers crazy.

Technology providers drive customers crazy with technical support that often requires long waits on hold and hopelessly complex interactions (“Just find the serial number on the back of your device and type that into the space provided along with your IP address and the exact wording of the error message you encountered”).

Unsurprisingly, this is the exact type of practice that causes customers to believe a company is behaving stupidly.

What practices exist in your industry that drive customers crazy? How do all companies in your industry behave stupidly? Identify these types of practices, and wipe them out.

Think: can we turn our process or perspective around, to look through the customer’s eyes as though they were the company and we were the customers?

2) Dramatically reduce complexity.

As we write this in November 2011, a company we have been tracking for some time--Simple, formerly known as BankSimple--is trying to take a machete to the insanely complex and confusing world of consumer banking.

Recognizing that banks do a pretty good job of managing money but a poor job of managing customers, Simple has been designing vastly simpler customer interfaces and tools.

Simple plans to partner with, not compete against, established banks. They’ll manage the customers while their banking partners manage the money.

The more complex the processes and practices in your industry, the greater your opportunity to gain competitive advantage by simplifying them. Yes, doing so will be very hard. But that’s the whole point; the first firm to do so gains tremendous advantages.

3) Cut prices 90 percent (or more).

Incremental change doesn’t disrupt an industry; radical change does. Radical price reductions require radical new processes and business models. Smartphones and tablets create numerous opportunities to identify these. Recently we replaced a $500 marine navigation unit with a $20 iPad app that works better.

You don’t cut prices by 90 percent through marginal improvements in existing products. You do it by asking,

“What problem are we trying to solve for the customer, and how do these disruptive forces create opportunities for us to solve it in a far more efficient manner?”

4) Make stupid objects smart.

We didn’t think this one up. The race is on to make everything smart, and the dumber your products were to begin with, the greater the opportunity to make them smart.

Think of a garbage dumpster that calls central dispatch when it is full, eliminating the need for the customer to do so or your office to send a driver out unnecessarily. That same dumpster could warn the customer when it is overweight, and point out that it would be cheaper to empty it now than to further overfill it.

No offense to dogs, but their collars could alert owners when the dog wanders away, barks excessively, or jumps on the furniture.

Light bulbs could flash before they burn out. Baseballs could announce how fast they were thrown. Plants could politely request water when they are too dry, or shout out when you try to overwater them.

Take every product you sell, and make it smart…or accept the fact that you must forever more compete on price and accept low margins.

5) Teach your company to talk.

Apple's Siri personal assistant on the iPhone allows you to have a conversation with your phone. Your iPhone can now access the Internet as well as the information it stores, both understanding and responding appropriately to your statements.

Flash-forward two to five years from now. What if your company could talk to customers? We don’t mean that your employees talk on behalf on the company. We mean that a digital, computerized persona speaks on behalf of your firm.

It takes orders. It provides support. It answers questions. It upsells. It issues refunds. All of this, and more, in response to verbal requests by customers.

The toughest part of this challenge is not technical, although a few problems still need to be solved.

The tough part is knocking down the walls that separate your databases and departments. It’s deciding whose product gets cross-sold, who gets “credit” for sales, and who “owns” the customer.

Our view is simple. No one owns the customer, and you either do what’s best for the customer or you will lose him. But the real question we want to put forward is this: what happens if your competitors’ companies talk, but yours doesn’t?

6) Be utterly transparent

Think: not just no secrets, but also no spin.

The concepts of social influence and pervasive memory will make it increasingly difficult for companies to hide from dissatisfied customers, negative reviews, and faulty products.

What if your company didn’t simply try to stop hiding, but instead radically embraced the truth? How might it impact your culture to decide that your firm would be the most powerful force in your industry making certain that every speck of the truth was obvious to every customer, analyst, and reviewer?

Would it change your reward systems? Would it impact employee motivation? Might it cause changes in the kind of employees you attract and retain?

We’re pretty opinionated in this regard. The truth is coming, and there’s nothing you can do about it. But most firms won’t recognize this until it happens. Better to get far out in front while confusion reigns.

7) Make loyalty dramatically easier than disloyalty.

According to Don Clark writing in his Wall Street Journal blog, Intel executive Mooly Eden once asked an audience how many had cellphones, and then how many were married.

Then, he asked if any of the married people would be willing to hand over their phone if their spouse lost his or hers. None would. “That is my point,” said Eden. “That is personalization.” By definition, when companies act smart they are personalizing the way they interact with and serve customers. Once you start delivering personalization, you create immense opportunities to make loyalty more convenient than disloyalty:

• You can store customer preferences, and act on them.
• You can save the customer time, money, or effort--especially by eliminating repetitive tasks.
• You can provide auto-replenishment of needed supplies.
• You can monitor products remotely, and service them before they break instead of afterwards.

Think about every major purchase decision your customers face in your industry. How can you make it easier for customers to remain with your firm? Now, think even bigger. Can it be five or ten times easier? Subtlety can be lost on today’s customers.

The challenge is to make loyalty so much more convenient, so radically easy, that customers won’t even consider switching to a competitor. Ever.

COMMENTARY:    When you talk about industry disruption you cannot help but mention four companies that in the throngs of industry disruption:   Apple, Google, Amazon.com and Facebook. To state this as clearly as possible: The four American companies that have come to define 21st-century information technology and entertainment are on the verge of war. Over the next two years, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google will increasingly collide in the markets for mobile phones and tablets, mobile apps, social networking, and more. This competition will be intense. Each of the four has shown competitive excellence, strategic genius, and superb execution that have left the rest of the world in the dust.

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google don't recognize any borders; they feel no qualms about marching beyond the walls of tech into retailing, advertising, publishing, movies, TV, communications, and even finance. Across the economy, these four companies are increasingly setting the agenda. Bezos, Jobs, Zuckerberg, and Page look at the business world and justifiably imagine all of it funneling through their servers. Why not go for everything? And in their competition, each combatant is getting stronger, separating the quartet further from the rest of the pack.

Everyone is a customer of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, or Google, and most probably count on all four.  This passion for the Fab Four of business is reflected in the blogosphere's panting coverage of their every move. ExxonMobil may sometimes be the world's most valuable company, but can you name its CEO? Do you scour the Internet for rumors about its next product? As the four companies encroach further and further into one another's space, consumers look forward to cooler and cooler products. The coming years will be fascinating to watch because this is a competition that might reinvent our daily lives even more than the four have changed our habits in the past decade. And that, dear reader, is why you need a program guide to the battle ahead.

Over the next few years, the Fab four will infiltrate, digitize, and revolutionize every corner of your life, taking a slice out of each transaction that results. This is a vision shared by all four, and it hinges on three interrelated ideas.

• First, each company has embraced what Steve Jobs, the late Apple CEO and co-founder, has branded the "post-PC world"--a vision of daily life that is enabled by, and comes to depend on, smartphones, tablets, and other small, mobile, easy-to-use computers. Each of these companies has already benefited more than others from this proliferation of mobile, a shift that underlies their extraordinary gains in revenue, cash reserves, and market cap.
• Second, is the fact that these post-PC devices encourage and facilitate consumption of digital content, in just about every form.  So each of these giants will deepen their efforts to serve up media--books, music, movies, TV shows, games, and anything else that might brighten your lonely hours (they're also socializing everything, so you can enjoy it with friends or meet new ones). 
• Third, all of our activity on these devices produces a wealth of data.  Data is like mother's milk for Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. Data not only fuels new and better advertising systems (which Google and Facebook depend on) but better insights into what you'd like to buy next (which Amazon and Apple want to know).  Data is also a key driver of new inventions.  For the Fab Four, this is a beautiful thing because it means that everything done on your phone, tablet, or e-reader can be associated with you.  Data about you:  your likes, dislikes, and preferences feed new products and creative ways to market them to you. 

The fierce competition between the Fab Four has resulted in many of them coming into direct competition with one another.  This is true in the following markets:

• Mobile phones (Apple iPhone vs Google Android and Motorola Mobility).  Facebook needs a mobile phone of its own, and intends to introduce one later in 2012, but its doubtful that it will introduce a mobile phone capable of disrupting mobile phones. 
• Mobile apps (Apple iPhone/iPad vs Google Android) has always been Apple's strength, but Google has began to catchup with Android.
• Online display advertising (Google vs Apple vs Facebook).   Facebook has taken a slight lead in online display ads, but its achilles heel is mobile display ads, which it just recently entered.
• Mobile display advertising (Google vs Apple) but Facebook just entered mobile ads with sponsored stories. 
• Social media (Facebook vs Google+).  Facebook has for all intents won the social media war with over 900 million active users.  Twitter comes in no 2 with about 450 million users, but only about a third are active.  
• Digital content including digital music, entertainment, games, films and books (Apple vs. Google vs. Amazon.com vs Facebook).   Apple is the clear winner when it comes to digital music and books.  Amazon.com has taken the lead in digital books, but Google and Apple are pecking away at its market share.  When it comes to TV settop boxes, Apple TV has a sizable lead over Google TV, but none of the Fab Four have yet to develop a home television set.  
• So far no one has challenged Apple in portable music players (iPod) or tablets (iPad) where it dominates both markets.  Sony, HP, RIM, Motorola, and Fujitsu have all tried, but failed miserably.  Only Amazon.com has managed to capture an impressive, albeit smallish share of the low-priced tablet market with the Kindle Fire, but so far has not introduced a full-size tablet that can compete against the iPad.  The following infographic provides a visual representation of the competition between the Fab Four.
• The race to lead in cloud (Amazon.com vs. Google vs Apple) technology is off.  Apple is the clear winner when it comes to digital music and its iCloud service provides a moat to protect its market leadership.   Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility and huge network of Android mobile phones will allow it to compete against iCloud, but when it comes to digital books, Amazon.com is the clear winner.   Amazon believes it can make a dent in the 7-inch low-end priced tablet segment, but Apple could derail its plans with plans to introduce a smaller tablet.

     Click Image To Enlarge

Courtesy of an article dated June 4, 2012 appearing in Fast Company and an article dated October 19, 2012 appearing in Fast Company