The Teardown Show

Tear Down #25: Booth Babes are Bad, Google Goes Nuts & Facebook Unravels (Its Apps)

Wed, 22 Jan 2014 19:31:00 -0500

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Episode number 25!!!

In this episode we debate whether booth babes work, why Google bought Nest, and Facebook’s mobile unbundling strategy.

Guests are:

Spencer Chen (@spencerchen), Marketing and Growth for Frontback.
Steve Hoffman (@captainhoff), Co-Founder of LavaMind and Co-Founder of Founders Space

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Trend/opportunity of the week:

Out with the old, killed by the new - Nintendo is dying and is finally considering phones. Best Buy looks to be on the same trajectory as Circuit City.
Net Neutrality argument is over. Proponents lose. Providers can discriminate against content. So they can charge Netflix, a huge hog of bandwidth, more than other content providers. - How will this affect journalism?

Disruptors of the week:

The Internet of Things has given rise to pervasive connectivity. These devices have become victim to cyberattacks.
Paramount is the first studio to stop distributing celluloid film. Eight percent of theaters, mostly small independent houses, aren’t equipped to handle digital. They’ll have to come up with $70K for a digital projector for each screen.

And the roundtable topics:

Booth Babes Don’t Work - Our guest Spencer Chen wrote a piece for TechCrunch about how he discovered that booth babes don’t deliver any benefit. In fact, they’re a detriment to the success of your booth. Here’s a video David Spark shot at ad:tech of booth babes who didn’t have a clue what company they were representing.
Google Goes Nuts - They purchased NEST and they’re now developing contact lenses.
Facebook’s 2014 strategy is to unbundle the all-in-one app. How do other developers react to this?

Plugs for all:

Check out Steve Hoffman’s Zapitalism, the game Spell Gems, and Founders Space Fusion
Spencer Chen (and team’s) latest project with Frontback
Download David Spark’s ebook, "58 Annoying Communications That Must End."

Image courtesy of Nvidia

Tear Down Show #24: The All CES Show

Wed, 15 Jan 2014 19:05:00 -0500

CES!!!

It’s all CES, all the time! If you want to know what happened at CES, how the media covered it and whether CES is still relevant, we got it all for you in this episode.

Our guests:

Harry McCracken (@HarryMcCracken), Editor-at-Large for TIME.
Tim Street (@1TimStreet), CEO of Ape Digital.

And your beloved hosts:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Our media disruptors of the week (you guessed it):

CES! That’s the media disruptor. No other media happened this past week than CES. Except for maybe the news that a few key speakers at RSA have bowed out to protest RSA’s involvement with the NSA.

Today’s topics:

CES!

We talked about our favorite technology at the show, how the media coverage of the show differed this year vs the past, some of the flops of the show (and reminisce about flops from years past) and how we think CES is holding up as the Tech Show To Meet All Tech Shows.

Here are a few links to check out:

Tech we’re looking forward to in 2014: A realist’s guide to CES - Wirecutter
We Pick the 10 Best Gadgets at CES - Wired
CES 2014: What we saw, what we loved, and what we’ll remember - Ars Technica
In Praise - Yes, Praise! - of CES - TIME - Harry McCracken
Why CES 2014 Lacked a Big Bang (and Why That’s OK) - AdAge
Stop Trying to Judge CES - Wired

And of course, some plugs:

Download, read, and watch Tim’s book Vids.

Read all of TIME’s CES coverage.

Download David’s new ebook for free, "58 Annoying Communications That Must End"

Creative Commons photo credit to LGE.

Tear Down #23: The 2014 Predictions Episode

Wed, 08 Jan 2014 09:37:00 -0500

Last week, in episode 22, we discussed the year in review. This week we’re making our predictions for 2014. You may or may not want to put your money down on our predictions. Depends on how much you trust us, and how much you think we actually know. Enjoy and let us know what you predict.

Here are some of the issues we discussed on this episode:

Business trends and market opportunities for 2014

First, read Michael’s article, 14 Companies That Will Hit the Tech Zeitgeist in 2014.
Publishing - Evolving attitude towards micropayments
Wearables market - Smartwatches to succeed with the general public while Google Glass and its competitors will remain toys of the tech elite.
Investors will pull back from throwing money at over-the-top and social TV.
Major maturity with content networks - They’ll develop radio and video channels.
Using social networks to extend fictional stories that appear in other medium, or social may just the medium of choice.
We’ll see lots and lots more advertising models focused on enjoyment of content and participation.
Increase in privacy education and hopefully application because it’s sorely needed. More organizations will begin instituting two-factor authentication (most financial services use it), plus a simpler and wider use of encryption.
Rise in project managers that have around-the-world relations and can build and manage a virtual team in an instant.
A major sports league will make their content solely available live online. We already see this through the NBA and MLB. This will help as we watch more people dumping their cable subscription services which will cause prices to go up which will cause more people to quit.
Like Amazon had success with people using credit cards with the Harry Potter book, there will be another watershed moment for using a digital wallet to buy a highly sought after yet low price/low risk item.

New technologies or technologies that will finally have a market viable product in 2014

Do it yourself smart home will be significant with many consumers investing in one-off products such as Nest which just received a $150 million investment to get them started on the road to building a smart home. This combined with wearables will greatly increase their benefit and usage.
3D printing will see its greatest growth in design and manufacturing. Same with robotics.
Increase in “Minority Report”-style gesture-based controllers. Plus we’ll see an increased use of voice technology by consumers.
Will see flexible interactive screens in phones and other devices
Consumers next notebook purchases will include SSDs.

Who will win, who will lose in 2014

In tech media, seeing a bubble mentality around events. Too expensive and too many of them. We’ll see a pullback
In old to new media, we will continue to see some moves. Think Re/Code will replicate (Re/Plicate could be the new name) what it did at AllThingsD such as high priced events.
The Fremont Project could be a home run or return to earth for Kilar
Apple will completely reshuffle its projects, and launch a moonshot or two. Don’t think we’ll see a TV, but pretty confident we’ll see multiple wearables and a smart home effort.
Neflix and Amazon will scare the crap out of the cable providers, by landing bigger and bigger content deals.
4K won’t take off in 2014 because there simply won’t be any content, but we’ll see content for 2015 and later.
Facebook will add a true Snapchat-like feature through Instagram which will hook in a lot of reticent teens who were avoiding Facebook. They will come in droves and Snapchat’s $2 billion offer will dwindle to less than $1 million.

And for your amusement, for those attending CES, please read "Pepcom: We’d Like to Invite You to a Party We Don’t Want You to Attend."

And if you’re going to CES, make sure to ping Michael at @michaelwolf.

Creative Commons photo attribution to JeepersMedia.

Tear Down #22: The 2013 Tear Down Show

Thu, 02 Jan 2014 14:01:00 -0500

Here it is, our 22nd episode of the Tear Down Show, and it’s our year-end wrap up and review.

Michael and David discuss the biggest tech and media stories of 2013 the trends, and which ones were the biggest disruptors.

Here’s a quick list of the topics:

Trends/Opportunities of the Year

Mobility matured - the rapid hunt for new platform opportunities
Online video/connected TV become a mature industry
Evolution of the smart home
The increased recognition of the value of the share economy and how that plays into the future of work
Wearable computing - First generation of usable products on the market with Google Glass and smart watches
Evolving model of software releases gains greater acceptance/requirement
Update of iOS7, Adobe Creative Cloud, and cloud computing applications with monthly license fees.

Media Disruptors of the Year

Consolidation of blog networks
Closer integration of media with ad networks and no the continued struggle to find the best solution for paid media.
Big social media matured and the kids moved out.
Dangerous Media Mistakes - Hysteria catching Boston Marathon bombers - NY Daily Post and Reddit - Breaking News embarrassments such as KTVU’s reading the “names” of the pilots of the Korean Asiana flight that crashed. The endless hoaxes. See a nice long list of them.
Patreon and Kickstarter - New ways to build a business, a media company, gain investment.
Buzzfeed and Upworthy - Gaming social media with an intense focus on click and link bait, plus constant rewriting of headlines and testing.
Beyonce’s surprise album

Disruptive businesses and stories of the year

Privacy - NSA and Snowden
Lyft and Uber - Great disruptive businesses, but taking full advantage of the sharing economy.
Bitcoin - Shutdown of black market drug site, Silk Road. Can Bitcoin become a legitimate financial marketplace?
Snapchat rejection of a $2 billion offer from Facebook. Teenagers shunning Facebook.
Twitter IPO - Twitter eagerly looking at revenue models.

Thanks everyone for listening to the Tear Down Show. Tune in next week for our predictions episode.

And hello 2014!

Tear Down #21: Twitter TV, Six Californias & Podcasting Goes Patreon

Tue, 24 Dec 2013 11:52:00 -0500

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Welcome to the 21st episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

Brian Zisk (@brianzisk), Founder of the SF MusicTech Summit and Future of Money and Technology Summit
Michael Bourret (@michaelbourret), literary agent with Dystel & Goderich

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Trend/opportunity of the week:

Future of work and freelance platforms are maturing.

Wearable tech, it’s the cover of Wired this month and it will probably be the rage at CES, which brings me to the second trend which is asking people, “Are you going to CES?”

Media disruptors of the week:

Tom Merritt, previous guest on Tear Down Show and former Editorial Director at TWiT.tv is taking to Patreon to fund his next media venture.
Bittorrent’s serverless chat

Today’s topics:

Plugs for all:

Follow our guests on Twitter and visit their business sites.
Watch David’s video from Dreamforce, "The Best Time to Start Swearing at Your Customers"
If you’re going to CES and want to connect with Michael Wolf, reach out to him on Twitter @michaelwolf

Tear Down Show #20: BJ Mendelson & Tonya Hall

Thu, 19 Dec 2013 16:52:00 -0500

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Welcome to the twentieth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

B.J. Mendelson (@BJMendelson), viral marketer, speaker, and author of "Social Media is Bullshit" and "Stop Following Me" coming out in April, 2014
Tonya Hall (@TonyaHallRadio, @Barzhini), host of the Tonya Hall Show (on Facebook) and Marketing Consultant at Barzhini. Follow on Facebook.

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Trend opportunity of the week:

Social media as an investment is winding down - There are opportunities in other areas such as digital to physical, education, and currency.
Snapchat is in trouble with Instagram DMing images. Calling this the beginning of the slow demise of Snapchat and they should have taken Facebook’s offer.

Disruptors of the week:

The Beyonce album - no advance marketing campaign, radio airplay, or TV appearance. Weeklong album only exclusive on iTunes. Video of Beyonce announcing it on her Facebook page. 14 Songs and 17 videos all at once. (Hollywood Reporter on Beyonce album release, NYTimes on Beyonce album release)
Kids are our future, and we should all be put out to pasture - Michael was impressed with what his daughter and other fourth grade girls were doing with robotics.

Today’s topics:

Social media prevails over high-priced lawyers - Bike manufacturer Specialized sends its lawyers to attack small bike shop owner in Canada.
Hoax is the new virus and the new story - Fiction is a key factor in successful virality.
Realtime Reversal: Twitter uses itself to respond to its own self-created crisis

Creative Commons attribution to Jeremy Jenum.

Tear Down #19: Drones, Demand Media & 3D Printed Records

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 10:23:00 -0500

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Welcome to the nineteenth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

C.C. Chapman (@cc_chapman), author of "Amazing Things Will Happen" and "Content Rules" and Chief Marketing Officer of YSN
Jason Miller (@JasonMillerCA), Senior Manager of Content and Social at LinkedIn and rock ‘n roll photographer at Rock and Roll Cocktail.

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights and the NextMarket Podcast.
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Entrepreneur pro tip of the week:

Take advantage of future of work services such as fiverr, oDesk, and Elance.
Go paperless this year. Advice on How to Create a Paperless Office.

Media disruptors of the week:

3D printing a record
Twitter based Internet hoax caught the country's attention, including David's. Is it just obnoxious or a new form of storytelling?

Today’s topics:

Another tech news site that will cost $400 per year. While most are skeptical of Jessica Lessin’s ability to make it work, Business Insider is actually bullish.
The rise and fall of Demand Media
Jeff Bezos’ true intention releasing the Amazon Drone story.

Plugs for all:

C.C. Chapman - Subway Global Challenge game
Jason Miller - Frolic in the Snow with Those in the Know - free ebook from LinkedIn.
Michael Wolf - Speaking at the Wearable Tech Con - December 10-11, 2013
David Spark - Why Most Holiday Cards Suck and How Yours Can Stand Out

Tear Down #18: Beasties, Bubbles & Ron Burgundy

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 10:48:18 -0500

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Welcome to the eighteenth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

Aaron Cohen (@AaronCohen), an adjust professor of Internet and media culture at NYU, a serial entrepreneur and cofounder of GovLab. Check out Aaron’s NetSoFar project, an archive of Internet history with an emphasis on stories.
Hamish McKenzie (@HamishMcKenzie), a reporter for PandoDaily in Baltimore.

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights and the NextMarket Podcast
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Entrepreneur pro tip of the week:

Having an annual plan - Look at your business and adjust, tweak, or blow up.
Personalizing video holiday cards and sending personalized holiday gifts. For more, read, "I just sent 555 personalized video holiday greeting cards - How I did it," "I just sent 325 personal video holiday greetings-How I did it," "I just sent 325 personal video holiday greetings-The Response."

Media disruptors of the week:

Ron Burgundy shows up to co-host North Dakota local newscast
De Correspondent: Amazing $1.7 million kickstarter investment for a brand new media outlet.

Today’s topics:

The bubble returneth? Are startups discounting risk?
Fight for your right to parody - GoldieBlox parodies a Beastie Boys song, but uses that parody to sell a product which is not cool with the Beastie Boys.
NSFW closes doors, joins Pando Daily

And finally, a big thank you to today’s show sponsor, American Express!

Tear Down #17: Turntable.fm stops spinning, Twitter creates an FAQ, Couric goes Yahoo! & more

Tue, 26 Nov 2013 09:57:00 -0500

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Welcome to the seventeenth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

Laurel Touby (@LaurelTouby), founder of Mediabistro
Jon Fine (@jonfine), author, investor and media advisor

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Entrepreneur pro tip of the week:

Michael’s tip: Travel less, but when you do, make it hugely productive
David’s tip: Never ask if there’s available work and always be working even if you’ve got nothing.

Media disruptors of the week:

Katie Couric - Job-hopper and now Internet news anchor
Demise of TV, especially cable/phone service TV subscriptions

Today’s topics:

Twitter launches a new media hub - media.twitter.com
Future of publishing - one person will create your local edition
Can you make money from digital music? - Turntable.fm shuts down, Spotify gets huge investment, we’re no longer owners of media, we’re renters.

Plugs for all:

Jon will have a book coming out in 2015. Stay tuned for that.

Tear Down # 16: Publishing Jeter, Snapchat's Got Balls, and is Podcast Discovery Broken?

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 13:23:00 -0500

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Welcome to the sixteenth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

Ty Hildenbrandt (@tyhildenbrandt), sports broadcaster and host of the Solid Verbal podcast.
Caleb Bacon (@CalebEatsBacon), Host of the Man School Show podcast and writer for Sullivan and Son on TBS.

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Entrepreneur pro tip of the week:

Don’t crowdfund just because everyone else is crowdfunding. A poorly planned and executed crowdfunding effort can do major damage to your online brand.
Build influencer relations through content - For more, read Increase Visibility By Pulling a PR 180

Media disruptors of the week:

We both agreed it’s Batkid. How could it not be Batkid? It could possibly be the media disruptor of the year.

Today’s topics:

Jeter’s Readers - Derek Jeter is opening a publishing company
What do you mean $3 billion in cash isn’t enough? - Snapchat turns down a $3 billion cash offer from Facebook.
Does podcast discovery need a redo? - Mashable offers some solutions, and we offer some recommendations.

Plugs for all:

Creative Commons photo attribution to Rubenstein.

Tear Down # 15: Barry Cunningham & Michael Killi

Tue, 12 Nov 2013 08:58:17 -0500

Welcome to the fifteenth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

Barry Cunningham (@BarryCunningham), The Barry Cunningham Show and Director of Social Media Marketing & Activation at Zimmerman Advertising for Chairman & Founder Jordan Zimmerman
Michael Killi (@Killivt03), co-host of The Barry Cunningham Show and Social Media Command Center Manager for Wyndham Vacation Ownership

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Business frustration of the week:

Observing the rythms of content networks and picking the right time to hit publish
Trying to release an ebook - Copy done, design phase longer than expected

Media disruptors of the week:

Today’s topics:

TV executives being replaced by crowdsourcing? - Amazon’s new show measurement techniques (requires WSJ subscription)
Can something be done about Internet trolls? The trend of “hate reads” and a new type of commenting on Goodreads.
Blockbuster going bye-bye - On NPR and The Verge

Plugs for all:

Follow Barry Cunningham and Michael Killi on Twitter.
Listen to Michael Wolf’s interview with David Pogue, now of Yahoo!
Watch David Spark’s classic Comic Con video where he interviews booth babes dressed up as super heroes and asks, "The Power of Hotness: Is it a Blessing or a Curse?"

Creative Commons photo attribution to Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com.

Tear Down Show #14: Marsha Lederman

Thu, 07 Nov 2013 14:37:48 -0500

Welcome to the fourteenth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

You can find the Tear Down Show at iTunes or on the Podcast One podcast network.

This Week’s Guest is:

Marsha Lederman (@marshalederman) Western Arts Correspondent for The Globe and Mail

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Business frustration of the week:

Michael - Trying to determine the best business model for an analyst: generating products or consulting?
David - Trying to unsubscribe from Hilton Hotels’ email marketing program - Read "Hilton Offers Beautiful Hotels and Endless Emails."

Media disruptors of the week:

Today’s topics:

Traditional news says, “Let’s put on a show” - Big media companies reaping big profits from events and branded content.Story on NYTimes and Marketing Dive.
In today’s software-driven world, should big media have a “Siskel & Ebert” of software? Dave Winer argues that mainstream media doesn’t provide critical artistic reviews of software.
Arts Trend: Democratization of distribution and production - Article about the Arts Hackathon. How to Crowdsource the Production of a Feature Film.

Plugs for all:

Marsha - Read all the news on Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his alleged crack cocaine use. Not written by Marsha. To read her work, go here.
David - Watch "What Would Happen if You Left Your Mobile Phone at Home for the Entire Day?"
Michael - Douglas Rushkoff talks to Mike over at the NextMarket Podcast.

Creative Commons photo attribution to David Boldery.

Tear Down #13: Tom Merritt & Paul Farkas - Amazon & NY, Apple's software giveaway & more

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 08:34:00 -0400

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Welcome to the thirteenth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

Tom Merritt (@acedtect), Co-Host of "Tech News Today" on TWiT.tv
Paul Farkas (@AllSocialTV), CEO of Shoe Week and board member of the Second Screen Society

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Business frustrations of the week:

Michael - Reading recommendations: Tom Kreider’s Slaves of the Internet, Unite! and Douglas Rushkoff, Present Shock.
David - Fighting declining numbers (open rate and clickthrough) on newsletters - Is it the influx of email, or is it Google’s new tabbed feature that separates email marketing from personal email?

Media disruptors of the week:

PRX Remix - App and site that acts as a mix tape for great spoken word content.
Samsung fined $340K for posting bogus comments

Today’s topics:

The great traditional news exodus: Flurry of stories of editorial and managerial leaving traditional news for online news and tech companies. Rick Berke leaves NYTimes to go to Politico, Vivial Schiller leaves NBC News for Twitter. David Pogue leaves NYTimes for Yahoo.
Amazon can’t hack the NYC publishing scene
Apple’s announcement that they’re giving away their OS and iWork for free if you buy their hardware. Piece on TIME and TechCrunch

Plugs for all:

Tom - Tom Merritt’s Tech History series coming out once a month as Kindle singles
Paul - Accessory agency ULN launching “Accessory Week” where they’ll be sponsoring the wearable lounge
David - Silly video: The Most Obnoxious Things People Do on a Mobile Phone
Mike - Interview with his son about his purchase of the Pebble.

Creative Commons photo credit to sellamelie.

Tear Down #12: Joe Pulizzi - Podcast patent trolling, Snapchatting news & killing it w/comments

Tue, 22 Oct 2013 12:38:00 -0400

Please subscribe in iTunes or check us out at Podcast One. You can also download the show.

Welcome to the twelfth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Our guest is:

Joe Pulizzi (@joepulizzi), Joe Pulizzi, Founder of the Content Marketing Institute and Content Marketing World

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Media disruptors of the week:

Great piece of brand journalism by The Onion, sponsored by White Castle.
Google Media Tools - Resources for journalists

Business frustrations of the week:

For both Michael and David, it’s trying to find the right balance between sales, building the company, and doing client work.

Today’s topics:

There are Trolls, and then there are TROLLS - Jim Logan’s attempt to sue everyone who has a podcast because he owns the patent to episodic content.
What do you do to inspire comments? - the best and the worst - Political blog posts deliver both.
SnapChatting the News - NowThis News tries out an experiment with disposable video programming

Plugs for all:

Joe Pulizzi - Author of "Epic Content Marketing." Also makes a great doorstop according to Joe.
Michael Wolf - Got his son to start setting up hardware for him. Smart home is so evolved that his 11 year old was able to set it up.
David Spark - Funny IBM video - Explaining the Private Cloud to Your Mom

Image courtesy of Flickr user Cali4Beach.

Tear Down Show #11: John Federico & Bob Knorpp

Thu, 17 Oct 2013 15:42:42 -0400

Make sure to subscribe to the Tear Down Show in iTunes.

Welcome to the eleventh episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

John Federico (@gadgetboy), cofounder of Qrious
Bob Knorpp (@BobKnorpp) Host of the BeanCast Marketing Podcast. Chief Analyst at Evol8tion.

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Media disruptors of the week:

Picobrew Zymatic disrupting the beer industry - Story on Medium by Michael Wolf
PunditFact - Fact checking the pundits

Good and bad pitches of the week:

PR firms not following through
Rise of content marketing has brought about more weaselly marketing tactics.

Today’s topics:

Plugs for all:

(some mentioned earlier)

Bob Knorpp - Appearance on Fox Business News
John Federico - Listen to the EventTech Podcast - Technology for events.
David Spark - Check out the Tear Down Show on PodcastOne, and remember to turn off all your alerts if you want to be a lot more productive. David will be on Bob’s show, The BeanCast, next week on 10/20.

Tear Down #10: Steve Farnsworth & Paul Gillin - Samsung cheats, social TV battle & Newsweek's revival

Tue, 08 Oct 2013 13:41:00 -0400

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Check it out at Podcast One.

Download this episode

Welcome to the tenth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

Steve Farnsworth (@steveology), Demand and Lead Generation Strategist for Jolt Digital Marketing
Paul Gillin (@pgillin), author of Attack of the Customers

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Media disruptors of the week:

AngelList Syndicates, and pulling off a fake fundraising round
The Daily Record brings commenting back for football fans, but for how long?

Good and bad pitches of the week:

One pitch to two different people, at competing firms (bad story turns good)
Companies should start copying faith-based marketing tactics

Today’s topics:

Battle to be social TV net of choice. (NYTimes article and WSJ article)
Can any general news magazine, such as Newsweek, be a “must read” online publication?
Samsung gets caught cheating on benchmarks. Does anyone care? Amazing reveal (and real reporting) by Ars Technica.

Plugs for all:

Please visit the guests’ sites above.
And big announcement, Tear Down Show is now available on PodcastOne. Please listen and subscribe.

Tear Down Show #9: Harry McCracken & Richard Nash

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 17:01:00 -0400

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Download this episode

Check it out on our podcast network, Podcast One

Welcome to the ninth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

Harry McCracken (@harrymccracken), Editor at Large for TIME
Richard Nash (@R_Nash), VP of Content and Community at Small Demons

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Media disruptors of the week:

Good and bad pitches of the week:

Bad: Typos in pitches and overpromising
Bad: Microsoft’s competitive iPad vs. Surface commercial

Today’s topics:

Reaction to Harry McCracken’s cover story on TIME, "Can Google Solve Death?"
Bringing paywalls back to news content. The Nation gives it a go again, and paying for news content vs. entertainment content.
The war against cable and à la carte programming: Netflix CFO suggests HBO follow its model and break away from cable bundling.
Are comments dying or just changing? Popular Science shuts off comments and YouTube revamps its commenting.

Plugs for all:

Harry McCracken - Follow Harry on Twitter and read his articles in the tech channel on TIME.
Richard Nash - Check out Small Demons for a whimsical dive into all culture.
Michael Wolf - Follow Michael on Twitter (@MichaelWolf)
David Spark - Worst Advice on Content Creation

This week’s challenge

Do you pay for news-based content online? If so, what? If not, why not?

Cover image of Popular Science from Paleo-Future.

Tear Down Show #8: David Schlosser & Warren Whitlock - Netflix, Jonathan Franzen's rant, All Things D & more

Wed, 25 Sep 2013 12:11:00 -0400

Welcome to the eighth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Please subscribe to the Tear Down show in iTunes or on Podcast One.

Guests are:

Warren Whitlock (@WarrenWhitlock), author and social media strategist
David Schlosser (@dbschlosser), a recovering PR flack, fiction writer, and publisher

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Media disruptors of the week:

Republicans use animated GIFs to add theater to a project they want finished. (TechCrunch story)
Editorial staff of Mental Floss writing branded content for advertisers.

Good and bad pitches of the week:

"Coaches" who miss basic facts searchable in three minutes on the Internet.
Pitched by PR rep to publish an article written by their client that pimps their clients business which is directly competitive to mine.

Today’s topics:

Netflix Snoops on Digital Pirates
AllThingsD is leaving Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal (On Fortune, Mossberg and Swisher’s response, their possible valuation)
Jonathan Franzen’s irritation with our tech coolness obsession (His rant and the New Yorker’s response)

Plugs for all:

Warren Whitlock - engage in conversation on Twitter, check out BillionsRising.com, and new search engine ISOOSI.
David Schlosser - Will be speaking at the Red Pencil in the Woods Conference on October 26th.
Michael Wolf - Our podcast and the NextMarket podcast are now on the Podcast One network. Will be moderating panels the at theWearable Expo in December.
David Spark - Session at Silicon Valley Code Camp on Oct. 5th at Los Altos - Hacking Media Production

Creative Commons photo credit to Antony_Mayfield.

Tear Down Show #7: Rob Greenlee & Barry Graubart

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 13:30:00 -0400

Welcome to the seventh episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

Rob Greenlee (@robgreenlee), Host of the New Media Show, Content Manager, Podcasts on Windows Phone at Microsoft
Barry Graubart (@graubart), Vice President, Product Strategy at Connotate

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Media disruptors of the week:

Using bad reviews as a means to promote
Unfulfilled promise of ebooks: A missed disruption opportunity

Good and bad pitches of the week:

Arcade Fire’s use of graffiti
A negative reaction to a pitch should not be ignored.

Today’s topics:

Plugs for all:

Rob Greenlee - Buy a Windows Phone and listen to New Media Show.
Barry Graubart - Connotate - Platform for harvesting web content - about to launch a new version.
David Spark - Tips for Producing B2B Video at Live Events (interview with Vidcaster)

Creative Commons photo attribution to fiskfisk.

Tear Down Show #6: Jeremy Toeman & Jim Louderback

Tue, 10 Sep 2013 15:23:00 -0400

Welcome to the sixth episode of the “Tear Down Show” where we break down markets, media and messaging from multiple perspectives and roles.

Guests are:

Jeremy Toeman (@jtoeman), CEO of Dijit, makers of NextGuide
Jim Louderback (@jlouderb), CEO of Discovery Digital Network (formerly Revision3)

Hosted by:

Michael Wolf (@michaelwolf), the analyst, of NextMarket Insights
David Spark (@dspark), the brand journalist, of Spark Media Solutions.

Media disruptors of the week:

Good and bad pitches of the week:

Jean Claude Van Damme as GoDaddy’s new pitchman (see below)

Great way to connect with press is to give them a ride

Today’s topics:

AdBlocker Plus’ new Acceptable Ad program - Is this online racketeering?
Oyster - The “Netflix for Books”
Is “The Onion” getting less funny because of the Internet?

Plugs for all:

Jim Louderback - Animalists on Discovery - Lil Bub interviews Whoopi Goldberg
Jeremy Toeman AND Michael Wolf plug NextGuide to find all your TV programming wherever it is.
David Spark - New article on IDG’s new site “Maximize Your IT.” 20 Things You Don’t Know About the Private Cloud that YouShould - Includes quotes from 32 cloud experts.