Yo, Amazon: Have you heard of the iPod?
Amazon starts a show with Bill Maher. Good idea. Amazon only streams it and doesn’t let us download it. Bad idea. Why the hell not, Amazon? If you put it out on iTunes and Bittorrent, you’d get many times more viewers and much more promotion for you and your sponsor. Streaming is to video as bookstores are to books.
Tags: distributed
January 19th, 2006 at 12:11 pm
It’s a safety protocol. They want to make sure people are sitting in a chair when they fall asleep after the first 58 seconds of Maher.
January 19th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Snarkalicious, MG…
January 19th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
Maybe because iTunes is the only real competitor they face?
January 19th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
Amazon only streams it and doesn’t let us download it … Why the hell not, Amazon?
because Amazon is operating under the false sense of security that things that stream cannot be downloaded and/or captured and then distributed.
good luck with that, fellas.
January 19th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Check THIS out: http://circus-minimus.blogspot.com/
Great commentary on the rise and demise of CNN.
Excerpts:
“The Most Trusted Name in News†has become the Most Mismanaged Name in News. The company now known as something like AOL/Time Warner Turner/CNN NewLine Pictures and Broadcasting Bros, Inc., should be called “AWOL Bros.†for short.
Sure, they no longer have a monopoly on instant news as they did during the first Gulf War. And, yes, they’ve lost some good people like Bernard Shaw and Judy Woodruff to attrition. So they needed to shake off the cobwebs and bring some talent – both management and on-air – and retool the network for the new millenium. And they blew it. Big Time. Cheney Time.
Say hello to the new CNN and say good-bye to cable news as we once knew it. By adding all these conservative commentators to their line-up, CNN now makes a dramatic and unnecessary dive downward and to the right. Perhaps they think they can outfox FOX. Perhaps they think that by eliminating any journalistic integrity, the NSA will stop eavesdropping on Christiane Amanpour’s phone calls. My guess is that the red hue you will soon see on CNN will be the color of embarrassment.
January 19th, 2006 at 5:58 pm
Jeff,
I think I know why Amazon doesn’t want to make their Fishbowl programs available as downloads. I talk about it more here on GumpRants.com.
Amazon figures that the Fishbowl program is an opportunity to increase visit lengths and more importantly ensure a CAPTIVE sales audience. You’ve got to be sitting there in front of an Amazon sales page while you’re listening to the program.
If it’s a podcast, they’ve lost that immediate sales conversion opportunity and immediate “call to action” that I am sure Mahr will make several times during the sales pitch - I mean, entertaining interview program.
But I agree with you - there should be SOMETHING - a teaser perhaps - that is available for download. It would drive a lot more traffic.
More on GumpRants.com.
-aB
January 19th, 2006 at 7:33 pm
Though streaming avoids ugly DRM issues. I don’t mind streams especially if I’m only planning on watching something once. The weirdness of having files moving between Apple’s servers, desktop PCs and Ipods could all be solved with wireless streaming.
January 19th, 2006 at 11:04 pm
Like others, Amaaon does not understand that it’s not a matter of stream versus download. It’s a combination. Streaming, downloading, progressive downloads, store and forward etc…. it’s about using the best combination of delivery mediums to reach as many users as possible.
January 19th, 2006 at 11:13 pm
I understand Maher is going to be demonstrating the amazing Ronco Vegan Food Dehydrator, endorsed by PETA and used by Pamela Anderson, his co-hostess.
I can’t wait.
Now if they can get Howard Stern to shill whoopee cushions, we’ll be all set.
January 22nd, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Streaming is to video as bookstores are to books.
okay, maybe i just need a cup of coffee, but can someone explain this analogy to me? there’s gotta be an easier way to say whatever you’re trying to say
btw, i agree with the rest of your points.
January 23rd, 2006 at 7:31 am
Maybe because iTunes is the only real competitor they face?
That might be the case. But if it is the case, it’s a really stupid thing to do all the same. It would be perfect guerilla marketing to promote themselves through competitors sites.
January 23rd, 2006 at 6:51 pm
Howard Stern doesn’t podcast, either. As pure as he is in his desire to escape the censors, he took the $500M escape, not iTunes. I think the relative attractiveness of podcasting is influenced as much by market / marketing considerations as it is by the creative need for freedom and reach and accessibility. Stern is the gold standard around here: as long as he’s hostage to the suits (business, not regs), it’s no surprise others are.
I think the analogy means that you have to be at the source to catch the product: the only way to get a book is to be at the bookstore and the only way to catch a stream is to be there when it flows — they are both location-and-time-specific events. But, maybe I need a cup of coffee, too.
February 17th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
I think that Amazon would definately get a wider audience if they were doing a better job with their media, like audio and video samples of their catalog.