After several years of high-definition video format wars it appears Sony and company’s Blu-ray has officialy K.O.’ed Toshiba’s HD DVD format.  According to articles all over the web Toshiba, the manufacturer of the HD DVD format is waiving the white flag and will no longer make or market HD DVD products.   Toshiba quits HD DVD ‘format war’  It’s Official:  Toshiba announces HD DVD surrender

I would personally like to thank the retailers, movie studios and video rental companies for stepping in and taking sides relatively quickly to bring this format war to a close.  While Sony comes out the biggest winner I think the retailers and movie studios got a huge victory here.  The two formats confused the hell out of consumers, split the movie studios, and ultimately made it more difficult for the adoption of next generation high definition video to take off.  Now that the war is over many people that held off on purchaseing either will likely feel more comfortable about taking the leap forward into hi-def movies.  All of this means quicker adoption of the new technology and increased high definition movie sales.

When I got my plasma TV in August I wasn’t even tempted to buy either format because A.) ordinary DVDs still look pretty damn good on a brand new tv  B.) the new formats were too expensive and  C.) it just didn’t makes sense to invest in either format knowing one would eventually flop.  Does this mean I’ll go out and buy a Blu-Ray player?  No.  I’ll wait till the prices come down more.  Maybe around Christmas I’ll be asking for one ; ) 

Last thoughts on this topic.  Since both formats performed essentially the same I’m thinking this battle was won partly because of branding.  Blu-ray doesn’t really mean anything, but it sure sounds cool.  “HD DVD” is simple and intuitive, but I’m guessing the two letters “HD” in front of “DVD” just didn’t give consumers the feeling they were purchasing something better or different than what they currently have.  Finally, Blu-ray is made by Sony which automatically gives it more cache’ than Toshiba.  Now Sony will have to get to work convincing consumers of the benefits of Blu-ray over standard DVD’s.  Both formats use the same size discs, come in the same size boxes and play in players that are the same size.  This won’t be as easy as convincing people to switch from VHS cassettes to DVD discs…         

This is a great concept that could be turned into a phenomenal promotional stunt.  Get a corporate sponsor and slap some branded apparel on these people and you have yourself a great marketing opportunity that is sure to be spread by word of mouth and other viral means.

It’s Friday night, I just got finished with a busy week at work and instead of going out I’m relaxing in front of my laptop blogging. Here’s what’s on my mind…

Super Bowl Ads: That’s right, I’m completely skipping the game because it was a complete embarrassment and moving straight to the ads. While the advertising industry feels they didn’t have such a great showing, I think they did a pretty good job. The problem is there weren’t any major stand outs everyone is talking about. Check out the USA Today Ad Meter to see national results, watch all the commercials and rank them.

My Top Picks:

• FedEx- Pigeon carriers can’t compete with FedEx
• Bridgestone- Critters scream before a near-miss
• Bud Light- Hidden Bud Light bottles at a wine-tasting party
• E-Trade- Baby commercials
• Cars.com- Plan B commercials
• Audi- Godfather spoof
• Victoria’s Secret- Let the real games begin

Thinking back there are a lot of other great ones that deserve honorable mention: Doritos mouse, Tide talking stain, Vitamin Water Shaq horse race, Sobe thriller dance, Budweiser clydesdales, Coca-Cola balloons, Toyota badgers, AMP jump start, etc.

GM & Ford: The two biggest American auto makers have been struggling to make a come back for several years. They are both making some smart moves along with some terrible ones. On the good side I think GM did a great job with the redesigned Malibu. I actually like the styling of the higher end model. I would say they have a winner on their hands but it’s gonna take a lot to win back buyers that have moved on to imports. On the Ford front I’m wondering what they were thinking promoting the an electronics system called “Sync, Powered by Microsoft.” Are they not aware that Microsoft software is not exactly known to be user friendly?

Hot Fuzz: I watched it last night and thought it was great. The middle was a bit slow and it didn’t have as much blunt humor as I expected, but the ludicrous sarcasm of the plot, especially the ending was impressively hilarious.

Bank Deposits From Home/Work: I read this article and thought, it’s about time! This is such a simple solution it’s brilliant. CheckFree has created the missing link that will help complete the vision of absolute remote banking. While this won’t save me all that much time this is big for small businesses.

That’s all for now. Enjoy the weekend.

While scanning the pages of CNNMoney.com I came across a great article that essentially proves the ubiquitous practice of multitasking which many associate with increased productivity in actuality decreases it.

In the Fortune article from 2006 titled “Be smarter at work, slack off” psychologists found in a five year study that “so-called multitasking can actually make people less effective at their jobs.” The reason? “The ‘time cost’ of refocusing your attention (from one task to another) may be only a few seconds with each switch, but the researchers found that, over time, it reduced people’s total efficiency by 20% to 40%.”

If this is correct and most business people multi-task for large chunks of their day it’s no wonder professionals have become accustomed to working far longer than the fabled 40 hour work week. They have to spend extra hours making up for those precious inefficient minutes squandered away each and every day. All of this leaves the work force overtired and overworked and companies left with declining performance.

Read this article and you might just think again about how you work.

That’s the headline of a recent article published by the International Herald Tribune and also run in the New York Times. The article discusses the growth of the domain industry and it’s maturity as venture capitalists and Wall Street investors have thrown their hats into the ring. It also captures that fact that domains are selling for large sums of money which makes the uneducated folk downright mad.

That’s because they missed the boat to the new world where there were millions of acres of land to be claimed and they are now watching that land be sold for tremendous profits. Some people also don’t understand that the internet is just like the real world and domains are like real estate. Most of the the good ones aren’t cheap anymore and people aren’t entitled to the free piece of land of their choice. Those who got in early and those that are well funded are now sitting on large high quality portfolios and making millions.

Read the article to understand what I’m talking about. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/31/technology/domain.php

Most of you know I work for a major player in the domain industry and you will see the company mentioned in this article. Hint, it’s the one based in Waltham, MA that filed to go public on the NASDAQ last year. More on domains and my involvement to come.

Over the past few weeks mainstream media has been tossing around the word “recession” with utter carelessness and it’s driving me crazy.  I’m not an economist, but I can tell you that we are not in a recession and will not know until at-least June if we are in a true recession.  That’s right, it takes at-least SIX CONSECUTIVE MONTHS of declining GDP or negative economic growth before it can truly be said we are in a recession.

Most smart people know that the sky is not falling and even in a down market plenty of money will be made and things won’t be as bleak as the media is making it out to be.  But the problem is the rest of the population is starting to freak out and run for cover because everywhere they turn people are telling them we are headed for a recession.  It may be true, but I wish the media would stop fueling the fire and causing this to be a self fulfilling prophecy.  Markets go up and down, it happens.  But do we really need to talk about this like it’s doomsday?  I just looked at the cover of Newsweek and the headline reads “Road to Recession.”  It’s important to prepare for the future and always consider the worst possible scenario, but I wish the media would discuss the matter in a less apocalyptic tone.  If the media convinces enough people we are doomed to be in a bad recession we just might just end up there sooner rather than later.

2007 was a good year, but I expect 2008 to be even better.  There is a lot going on in all different areas of my life.  At work there is constant change, new challenges and rapid growth.  Big things happened in 2007 and I expect 2008 will be even bigger.  In my personal life 2008 is poised to be an amazing year of growth and accomplishment.  I’m looking forward to marrying my amazing girl Karen and turning a quarter century old.  The big TWO FIVE. 

While I’m not really a fan of cliche New Years resolutions I think it is important to look at the past and formulate a plan for the future.  For the coming year I have many broad goals but only one specific resolution.  Exercise regularly!

 I hope everyone had a very happy holiday season and is looking forward to what 2008 has in store as much as me.

Recycle dammit and laugh while you’re at it. 

 ”Just because it’s a hybrid doesn’t mean it doesn’t burn gas”

Green Team on FunnyOrDie.com

Note:  You might want headphones for this one…

It’s no secret Henry Kravis a founder of the Private Equity firm KKR and other Wall Street ballersare making some serious bank.  In fact Kravis makes approximately $51,000 per hour, per day.  While the $450 Million he took home last year doesn’t put him at the top of the heap it’s enough to make him and the practices of some private equity firms prime targets in what is being called “The War on Greed.”  Check out this short film to put it all in perspective.

 ***DP***  Kravis and KKR might not be the best role models, but they certainly show the power of capitalism and make me want to work harder at growing my income.

Here is a shining example of how the power of the internet and advertising can be leveraged for good.  The folks behind Poverty.com have launched an amazing site called FreeRice where everyone both young and old can help donate food to the hungry for free while also improving vocabulary skills.

Here’s how it works: 

• Go to FreeRice.com  and play the vocabulary game
• For every correct answer 10 grains of rice are donated to the United Nations World Food Program thanks to advertisers supporting the site

Check it out and feel good about yourself going into Thanksgiving week.