So I just read this article from the New York Times – http://nyti.ms/ancxqC – and there’s this line at the end: “the Library of Congress renewed its approval for cellphone owners to ‘unlock’ their phones or lift controls that restrict use to one particular wireless carrier” (emphasis mine).

Surely Steve Jobs & Co. can’t be happy that in one fell swoop the LOC has given the A-OK to jailbreaking your iPhone. But the second element, seemingly limiting Apple’s ability to offer exclusivity to select carriers, is even more interesting.

Certainly Apple would like to keep it’s negotiating leverage over the carriers – that’s why AT&T continued to provide an unlimited data package when they clearly preferred pay-for-what-you-use options.

Some will argue that more competition is better for the consumer. But were it not for Apple’s leverage, iPhone data would have been capped a long time ago. I think this still holds true even if more carriers were in the equation.

Apple may be a dictatorship, but contrary to a vocal minority, it’s mostly a benevolent dictatorship. When the dictator has leverage, that can result in a net positive for customers. But when the leverage is taken away, the competition may not make up the difference.

Apple – iPhone 4 – Learn about the high-resolution Retina display.

The Retina Display on the iPhone 4 is kind of like the first time you watched HDTV.

“This is all?  Really?”

Then a week later you went back and watched something in standard definition, and it was all fuzzy and hazy and you could even read the score of the game or make out anyone’s face.

That’s what it’s like.

New Blizzard Forum Policy Will Require Posters to Use Real Names | Electronic Frontier Foundation.

This is something I’ve had to think about a little bit since running Spartan-Football.com.  As much as running a website is about curating a creating content, it’s also about curating your audience.  And I don’t mean that in a Big Brother way where yout tell anyone who isn’t nice that they need to leave the premises.  But I think it’s really important to set the standard of expectation, and when people are out of line, it’s necessary to let them know.

I understand that annonymity generally means the furthest point away from “chilling” speech, but I think it’s important to acknowledge the importance of filtering out the noise from the signal as well.

Five years ago, I packed up my belongings, finished what few classes I had remaining at MSU, and moved to Chicago.  At the time, it wasn’t exactly an easy move.  I was starting a graduate program in the city, but I was leaving behind my family, my friends and my girlfriend for a place I hadn’t spent more that about a week and a half total in my previous 22 years.

In hindsight, it ended up being a pretty good call.  While in school, I started to get involved in online advertising.  Eventually I wound up doing agency work in the city, despite flirtations with a few opportunities in Colorado.  I was fortunate to get involved with a lot of interesting work, and I’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of great clients.

But last year, I got the feeling that there was something more I wanted to do.  I began to think about going to law school.  For those of you know have known me for a while, this isn’t entirely a surprise.  It’s something I had considered at various times throughout my life.  But this was the first time that the puzzle pieces really seemed to fall into place.

I’ve loved doing the internet marketing work.  I’ve been able to learn some of the more technical aspects of how the internet works, and it provided an analytical challenge in going through the data to find answers to the questions we were coming up with.  And, frankly, I’ve found it fun.

Along the way, I started to see that there are a lot of legal ramifications when we’re talking about doing business online.  And considering the rate that technology changes, these legal issues aren’t getting any simpler.  They’re only going to get more complex.  There’s going to be a need for sound advice when it comes to what you can and cannot do on the internet – that’s something I think I can provide.

Hence, law school.  Like I said, it’s something I’ve thought about for a very long time.  And last fall, when I started to think about it more seriously, I came to the realization that there was never going to be a better time for me to do this.  At some point I’m going to meet a girl, get married, have kids, have a house payment, a car payment…it’s tough to see law school fitting into that life.

I'll be starting law school at MSU this fall.

So on August 1^st I’ll be moving back to East Lansing to attend law school at Michigan State University College of Law.  It’s a move that makes sense a lot of different levels.  Obviously it’s a place that I’m very comfortable with.  I won’t have the issue of getting used to a new place in my first semester of law school – getting settled in will take days, not weeks.  Also, MSU has a very strong intellectual property law program that is led by a scholar who is well-versed in online legal issues.  I really felt like the extracurricular options MSU Law would give me a great opportunity to get involved in cyberlaw issues while I am in school.

No doubt, it’s tough to leave Chicago.  I don’t know if I ever would have imagined getting so accustomed to living the urban lifestyle.  I’ve met a lot of great people in my five years.  I’ve had a lot of fantastic experiences.  Still, there are things I’m looking forward to back in Michigan.  Seeing my family on a more frequent basis is on of them.  Places to run that isn’t the lake shore trail is another.  And of course, opening the next chapter of my life – new experiences, new people and new challenges.

I think this time, I’ve tried to make a concerted effort to appreciate what it means to go through the academic process.  Studying for the LSAT, organizing the materials for applications, taking visits – I’ve really tried to enjoy these things.   I this time I have a much clearer picture of what I’m looking for on the other end.  When running the race, it helps to know where the finish line is.

I’ll be finishing my work by mid-July, and I’ll be moving out of Chicago and back to East Lansing at the end of the month.  Then I’m taking a trip to Colorado to decompress for a week before starting orientation the third week of August.  It’ll be here before I know it.

In case you weren’t paying attention (and most likely, you probably weren’t), Apple provided us with an expert lesson in PR 101 today.

You may have heard that Apple recently began selling the new iPhone 4.  It’s done fairly well.

And yet, it hasn’t.  A novel approach to the phone’s antenna was supposed to improve the reception.  Depending on who you ask, it has or it hasn’t, or both.

But this post isn’t about the reception issue.  It’s about an expert example from Apple’s PR team about how to respond to such a situation where as few people as possible will pay attention.

The iPhone 4 launched on June 24th, but some people got their pre-ordered phones a couple of days early.  Almost immediately, reports began to come in about the iPhone Death Grip causing the phone to mysteriously lose signal strength.

Naturally, frustrated iPhone buyers emailed Steve Jobs.  And (almost as naturally) Steve responded.

First, it was a simple response.

Just avoid holding it in that way.

Then, it was boilerplate from Apple PR, guised as a Steve response:

Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas. This is a fact of life for every wireless phone. If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.

Eventually, it returned to being a non-issue:

There is no reception issue. Stay tuned.

So basically, Steve says there’s an antenna issue.  Or not.  As Fake Steve Jobs puts it:

We call it “clouding.” Right now, for example, we’ve sent out the following messages about iPhone 4 and the antenna issues:

1. All mobile phones have this problem.

2. Our mobile phone does not have this problem.

You see how this works? These two statements cannot both be true.

Yet we’ve said both of them. And now you don’t know what to believe.

Finally, an official response from Apple.

Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong….Users observing a drop of several bars when they grip their iPhone in a certain way are most likely in an area with very weak signal strength, but they don’t know it because we are erroneously displaying 4 or 5 bars. Their big drop in bars is because their high bars were never real in the first place.

We have gone back to our labs and retested everything, and the results are the same— the iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped.

Let me see if I’m reading this right.  It’s not an antenna issue, instead it’s a matter of how the iPhone displays the strength of the reception.  Riiiiiiiiight.  So that means this video makes perfect sense:

It’s no surprise then that Apple released this dubious statement addressing the iPhone reception issue on a Friday, especially a Friday before a long holiday weekend.  Because when you send something like this out on a Friday, it has the entire weekend to die down, as opposed to releasing it on a Monday or Tuesday when it has the entire week to get legs.  Add to that the fact that it’s the 4th of July weekend, when many people are out of town and are paying more attention to their families, barbecues and travel plans than the latest Apple news, and this story should be sufficiently quiet by the time we’re all back to real life on Tuesday.

Can Apple's iAd platform really revolutionize mobile advertising?

Came across some required reading from Battelle today on the iAd platform.

iAd was announced at the iPhone 4.0 SDK event and managed to serve as the undercard for such features as multitasking!!! folders!!! unified email inbox!!! – while managing to solicit a collective “huh?” from the marketplace.

The announcement came with all of the requisite buzzwords – revolutionize, magical, emotion, engagement.  But it was difficult not to ask “how?”

Battelle offers the first explanation that surprised me:

Apple is controlling all the creative for iAds (clients will have approvals and submit materials, but Apple alone is doing the actual development – to ensure quality control – and most likely, to maintain the mystery of iAds in general. Classic Jobs).

I hate to state the obvious, but this doesn’t scale.  Or maybe it does.  Maybe that’s the plan to making such a great mobile advertising experience – Apple is going to control the development from start to finish.  Hmm…that’s an interesting thought.  Instead of clients telling their agencies what they want, or agencies telling their clients what they’re going to create (like that’s exciting – more of the same old interactive advertising execution), the baton will be handed off to Steve Jobs & Co. – the wizard who steps out from behind the curtain every six months or so and dazzles us with his latest treasures of desire – to tell other companies how to covey the magic of their brand in ways that only he can.

I’ll be the first to agree that the biggest reason advertising tends to fail is that there’s no editorial control.  Playing the role of curator, publishers create content that attract an audience.  But publishers only fulfill half the role, and fill remnant inventory with ads from anyone who’s willing to be a buyer.  It’s like organizing a museum full of fine art work, then letting the local businesses stop by to slap flyers up on the wall for next to nothing.

Battelle sums it up:

What Apple is selling with iAds is – Apple itself. As well they should. But they are also selling into a marketplace that, for the most part, doesn’t really understand mobile marketing….They don’t realize that most of what Apple is pitching them can be done already.

Which leads me to ask – if they can do it already, what is it about iAd that is going to make them start doing it?  A handful of pretty examples from Apple?  Please.  We’ve seen this narrative before.  The iPhone has been in the market for nearly three years, and most of the marketplace has yet to come up with a product that can compete.  History, I dare say, shall likely repeat itself.

I picked up an iPad on Saturday, and I wanted to give some of my initial reactions after a few days of using the device. Of course, I’m writing this post from the iPad. Take that all you people who say that it’s not a creation device!

- So far, I really haven’t had many situations where not having Flash has been a significant issue. Maybe I’ve been sticking to sites that I know have video converted to HTML5, but seriously – YouTube, Vimeo, NY Times, ESPN are all optimized for iPad. And i really expect this will only get better.
- Typing is both easier and harder than I expected. Easier in that when in landscape mode, you really can pretty much type as though you were using a real keyboard. You don’t have to slow down, the iPad response time is really spot on. But it’s hard because it’s tough to get the iPad in a good position to type. Apple has the stand up case, but I refuse to use a case.
- Yes, iPhone apps work. No, they don’t look all that great. Very pixelated. iPad apps are where it’s at.
- Some people though the iPad would be the savior for traditional media. But it’s clear from the NY Times and WSJ apps – as well as the fact that magazine publishers are charging for apps AND for each individual issue with no annual subscription – that traditional media just doesn’t get it yet. They will, because eventually one company will come out with an app that changes the game, and everyone else will follow suit. But it’s not there yet.
- The eBook readers are very cool. As in, I bought the iPad thinking the iBook and Kindle apps were nice-to-haves, but now I would consider then must-haves. Primarily I’ve been using the Kindle app, simply because there is just a much larger selection of books for the Kindle app. Apple really needs to work on getting more books into their application.
- I still have not downloaded any of the iWork apps. I’d like to get Pages, because I’ve heard of people writing their blog posts on Pages and then copying over to WordPress. I’d like to give Pages a try on my MacBook too, because I’ve heard good things from many people.
- The battery life is very impressive. I’m on day two since charging, and with normal use I still have 32% battery left. Also, it really stays very cool – in contrast, about 10 minutes on my MacBook gets that thing up to fried egg temperatures.
- 250 MB of data really isn’t much. At my usage rate, I’m further ahead to get the unlimited data plan. But I’m glad I have the 3G. I can’t imagine not having always-on connectivity with this thing.
- Eventually, this thing is going to have to get a camera. I mean, why the heck not?
- How is there not a Facebook app for this thing? SERIOUSLY?!
- At first, I thought this could be a primary computer for many people who don’t need a full computer to create stuff. Now I’m not entirely sure of that notion. Not that it can’t be done, but i still need more time to come to a conclusion.

You can ignore this.

www.ghownsog.com

In the wake of the Apple iPhone 4th generation prototype leak and Gizmodo getting their hands on it, I came across the VP / Legal Guru for Gawker Media (parent company of Gizmodo), Gaby Darbyshire.

And I happened to run across this from an interview she did in 2008 about the future of media online:

Print won’t ever die completely, but it will shrink: there will have to be consolidation in news providers simply because print papers can’t afford to maintain large numbers of staff reporters to compete in chasing “commodity news.” Reporting of base facts will be produced centrally by agencies like Reuters, AP, etc., the brand papers will distinguish themselves by the insight they provide in analyzing the facts, and producing in the in-depth editorial pieces specific to their brand. And the best of the writers will be measured and become stars, and the workaday hacks who are interchangeable will be reduced to working anonymously for the big agencies, without the bylines and the perks. That’s why journalists are so afraid of change.

First, I agree with this completely.

Second, it underscores the importance of content, and it delineates this idea of commodity content vs. insightful content.

Commodity content struggles to drive revenues and profit (especially from a subscription standpoint) because you can find it anywhere for free.  There’s no incentive to pay for something so widely available.

Insightful content generates subscriptions because it’s not nearly as easy to find.  And if you can deliver insightful pieces on a regular  basis, that’s where you’re going to find the sweet spot.  That’s something people will pay for.

I have a lot of respect for Nike’s approach to the Tiger Woods situation.

They didn’t shy away from it. They embraced it.  They recognized it as an opportunity.

They realized that with every mistake, there is reconciliation.

I don’t condone what Tiger did.  But I respect him for facing it like a man.  And for having the chutzpah to do an ad like this.