You know I've got to say. This whole Akimbo thing is antithetical to the whole point of videoblogging.
I'd never by an akimbo box because I can't subscribe to my friends videoblogs on it. Vlogs are not shows. No random akimbo user is going to just say, "oh I want to see the mike meiser show." There going to say "I want to watch my friend bob's and jane, and jill's vlogs on my akimbo"... and the answer is... nope sorry. It's bankrupt, pointless, and it completely need not be. I'd never by one and I'm willing to bet no one on this group has ever bought them with the idea of watching vlogs... since there's what a half dozen options. This is the same dilema that faces cell phone carriers. They all want to be cable operators and broker exclusive deals for every piece of content that comes across this platform, but this isn't the cable paradigm, it's the internet paradigm. It makes about as much sense buying an Akimbo that plays only vlogs they approve as it would make to buy an iPod that didn't play mp3's but only music from the apple music store. I realize that cable is f'd up backwards, but why oh why can't people get this. They make hardware for craps sake! They need to sell hardware! You make your hardware relevent by making it play as much crap as possible... even if you think it's crap... it's what your users want. Heh, Akimbo, my friend bob has 3 viewers, and I'm one of them, I want to watch it on the Akimbo, what's the deal yo! Anyway, I'm preaching to the choir. Perhaps I should talk to them. Anyone got a contact there? I've talked to a half dozen set top box managers, they all ask the same question. Who's going to be the editor, who's going to keep the porn out, who's going, to approve the content. How do the content makers get paid. Look your a damn freaking media player, you're not a cable network, your a commodity hardware player. You're behaving like Sony did with their A-trac player.... oh never heard of that!? Well that's because it was sony's attempt at an iPod but it didn't play anything sony didn't approve for it. Sony offers Britney Spears... I want the Dropkick murphy's guess I'm SOL... No, noone in their right mind would buy such a device to listen to music, and noone would buy and akimbo to watch akimbo's approved selection of vlogs. It sounds exactly like Gootube's deal with Verizon to deliver a "selection" of youtube to cell phone. Except atleast gootube has a huge market. Who's going to pay $15 a month to NOT watch any of their friends youtube videos, but whatever google and verizon decide to make available. How may people will pa $15 a month to watch viral crap... there's only so many videos one can watch of people getting kicked in the balls before they'll get bored. So, no offense to steve garfield, beach walks with rocks and rocketboom, but who the hell is going to buy akimbo to watch them. And you could say it's just 'added value" not akimbo's main point of business. But WTF, it makes about as much business sense to offer a half dozen vlogs, or even four dozen vlogs. Was it really worth their time and effort in overhead to make these exclusive partnerships with vlogs? I HIGHLY doubt it. It's been over a year, maybe two since akimbo first played a vlog. The honeymoon period is over. It's time for Akimbo to shit or get off the pot. It's got to be everything or it mine as well be nothing. I'm not being mean, I'm being pragmatic and honest. I say the idea of akimbo is bankrupt, because it is, they're wasting everyone's time and money with this approach and I can't even understand why blip is bothering to waste anytime at all in partnering with Akimbo untill they support everyone's vlog. I mean, raise your hand if you love blip and are an uber blip fan? Mine is raised, Anyone else? Now raise you're hand if you'll EVER buy an Akimbo to watch "select blip vlogs". Akimbo needs to support EVERY blip user's vlog, and it needs to support EVERY vlog... or as many as it technically can. But if I'm correct these road blocks are not technical, they're beuracratic and editorial. Of the set top manufacturers I've talked to they're starting to get the idea that in order for their platforms to be valueable their USERS will need to be able to choose what they want to watch, and the new expectation is that will be anything on the net. So, does Akimbo they still just support mpeg1? They just need to get a minimal of mp4 support like the N Series nokias, the iPod, and the PSP to get a start. If they can do MOV, and WMV all the better, but unecissary. Speaking of which. Does the Akimbo support mp3? The Akimbo could make a GREAT podcatcher, Which is to say it could make a GREAT aggregator/ player of audio podcasts. There's absolutely no theoretical reason why I can't walk into my house hit the power button on the TV and scroll through a list of the absolute latest podcasts from my favorite subscriptions and just hit play. But there are over 100 thousand podcasts... is Akimbo going to broker deals with all of them? Are they going to presume they know what the ten, or 20, or 100, or even 1000 best are for their customers. Am I going to get a sanitized list of Akimbo approved podcasts, or are they just going to get a clue and open up their box so the people can listen to what THEY want to listen to. This is not cable TV... the value isn't in the top 10% of TV shows, it's been said time and time again, the value is in the mother fu'in tail! Well, I've gone this far, so I mine as well go all the way. I've been talking about this infinitely over at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mobilemediaworkgroup/ There's a very simple solution 1) support RSS2.0 w/enclosures and mediaRSS on the device 2) build either a simple web based API, or if you got the skills put a basic web browser with the capability to idenitfy and subscribe to RSS feeds There's no need for a directory... there are plenty from odeo, to mefeedia, to a hundred others. A hardware maker should NOT be trying to make their own guide to the web... it's way out of their core competency... this is exactly what AOL did... and it got it's aarse kicked trying to compete with 100,000 other webs and search services like yahoo and google that sprung up. Microsoft is making the same mistake with their portal. Netscape made it with their search and directory. And these are major players, not independant or OEM harware companies. As an alternative to point #2 if you don't even have a browser on your hardware that's not a problem. Just tie the harware to a webservice, and build a web API. It's actually much more intelligent to give your users a web based interface for managing the subscriptions on their Akimbo. Why? Because it's MUCH easier to update and improve a webservice then it is the firmware on piece of hardware in someone's living room. Simply put the web based API should have a sinlge click button API and maybe a browser bookmarklet like every web based subscription management service from bloglines to itunes, to Democracy, to mefeedia. Let the web and all it's various services do all the work. There's pleny of search engines and directories who's core competency is making sense out podcasts and video blogs. Anyway, I'm harsh, but hopefully people can appreciate that I'm just trying to keep it real. I don't dislike Akimbo... what I dislike is huge missed opportunities. I want a freaking press release that says "Akimbo brings 100% of video blogs and podcasts to your TV"... Now THAT might might sell some freaking Akimbo's... or at the very least show up on the top ten list of things you can do with your Akimbo.... not "akimbo allows you to view *select* videoblogs". Anyway, I want to see it happen... so I offer my services Akimbo and anyone with hardware to see it happen. Growing the platform for videoblogging and podcasting *beyond the desktop* is a tremendously important next step for the vlogging and podcasting space. It will explode the value of such things, change the whole dynamic of the media world. As vlogs and podcasts and photocasts become a ubiquitous part of our everyday lives it will literally change the world media scape. It will enhance the COMMUNICATIONS value of videoblogging and podcasting, which is what this is all about, not merely news and entertainment and viral video. But it is ALL or nothing. Every videoblog and audio podcast or nothing. Not because I say so... because I'm just some average schmo (or was that shmoo ;), but because without every podcast and videoblog having access to these new platforms like akimbo, they ARE nothing. The true test is simply, can I subscribe to my friend Bill Streeter, Jay Dedman, Chris Weagel, Ryanne, [insert your friend's name here] on this device. If the device is NO to ANY of the above then why would you buy this mother fucking device. Amen. Peace out mother fuckers. I love a good saturday rant. :) P.S. So Mike H. So my case has been said. I love blip. But why did you waste any time with Akimbo if Akimbo hasn't give any indication they're interested in supporting the entire vlogosphere... It would seem like me to be a misallocation of resources, no matter how easy to impliment. A mean, why waste your time on something that shouldn't even be on your top 20 list of bulleted features. Unless, is Akimbo paying you? -Mike mmeiser.com/blog mefeedia.com Disclaimer: You all know this is just my stage character right? :) Please feel free to forward this to Akimbo, or whomever your favorite hardware manufacturer is or blog it.. though I seriously doubt it's worthiness to blog. On 12/9/06, Mike Hudack <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I don't personally have an Akimbo set-top box, but I did play with one > extensively at the Akimbo offices in the valley. I found the experience > to be incredibly fantastic. > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: videoblogging@yahoogroups.com > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of awarner20 > > Sent: Saturday, December 09, 2006 2:19 PM > > To: videoblogging@yahoogroups.com > > Subject: [videoblogging] Re: Akimbo...does anyone use this? > > Can you offer a review? > > > > Oh, that's cool with me. I wasn't really interested in making > > my vlog available on Akimbo, but it would be nice for them to > > offer all vlog subscriptions in the future....I suppose there > > has to be some kind of approval though...I'm sure Blip and > > Akimbo wouldn't want every joker with an RSS feed to made > > available automatically. Of course, what if I wanted to > > subscribe to an RSS feed of my choice and then have those > > downloaded through Akimbo? > > > > Anyway, my original question had to do with the Akimbo > > end-user expierence. I wondered if anyone here had it, and if > > so, do they like it? > > > > > > > > --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, "Mike Hudack" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > wrote: > > > > > > Hey Adam, > > > > > > There's a double-gateway thing going on there. You don't > > actually end > > > up on Akimbo until both bilp and Akimbo go ahead and do it. We're > > > just rolling out the first half dozen shows or so right now. > > > > > > We don't like the idea of there being gatekeepers for these > > kinds of > > > things, but it was the only way Akimbo would do the deal. > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: videoblogging@yahoogroups.com > > > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of awarner20 > > > > Sent: Saturday, December 09, 2006 1:45 PM > > > > To: videoblogging@yahoogroups.com > > > > Subject: [videoblogging] Akimbo...does anyone use this? Can you > > > > offer a review? > > > > > > > > Hello all, > > > > > > > > I just ran across the Akimbo option on my Blip.tv > > account. I checked > > > > it out and it seems that I'm interested in the Akimbo Player (Mac > > > > guy, no deal on the Windows Media Center.) > > > > > > > > Does anyone here use this? Review? If you do use this, has it > > > > increased your viewership? > > > > > > > > Thanks! > > > > > > > > Adam > > > > > > > > http://oneeyedview.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > >
