Telling the Whole Story

Overwhelmed with information from all outlets, content needs to fit into soundbites and short, focused stories to keep the short attention span of today’s viewer and/or reader. Broadcast television has always been that way and this point was proven to me again over the weekend. Still, for those viewers who want an unedited conversation, broadcast television, particularly the local news, just doesn’t work. One of the advantages of online video is that, for better or worse, the entire story can be told and the people being interviewed can give their entire viewpoint on a topic. Click here to read what I wanted on TV, but which ended up on the cutting room floor.

Big Data Central to Smart Energy

Big Data was a recurring theme of the ViodiTV interviews at the 2013 Smart Energy Summit.  It is becoming a given that there will be low-cost connectivity between devices both within the home between the home and the cloud(s). Big Data from smart energy results from the collection of information from sensors and exogenous sources (e.g. weather information) which, when mixed together, results in actions that result in great efficiency or increased consumer control, convenience and comfort. Click here for a video overview provides a glimpse of the 25 some interviews that will be released on the Parks Associates and ViodiTV web sites over the coming months.

2013 IDC Directions-Part I: 3rd Platform, Cloud Spending & Apps, Global Economic Trends by Alan Weissberger

In this first of two articles on the 2013 IDC Directions conference (March 5th in Santa Clara, CA), Alan Weissberger reports on the very impressive opening and closing keynote presentations.  IDC Chief Analyst Frank Gens’ opening keynote presentation stressed the importance of the “3rd Platform,” examined public vs private cloud adoption, and the most likely corporate apps that would be moving to the cloud. Professor Robert Reich’s closing keynote speech provided insight and perspective about the U.S. and global economy. Click here to read more.

Tele-Psychiatry – Better Outcomes While Saving Money

$18 million in Medicaid savings and over 80% reduction in per patient, per day costs ($2,500 to $400) is the windfall realized by the Palmetto State Providers Network (PSPN) due to the implementation of a statewide network that facilitates telemedicine to rural areas, according to a recent report issued from the Federal Communications Commission. PSPN is one of only 50 active programs that are part of the FCC’s Rural Health Care Pilot, which is about identifying ways to use the communications infrastructure to improve the quality of health care for rural Americans. Click here to read more.

Roku – The MSO Set-Top

Jim Funk discusses one of Roku’s newest set-tops – which is really a set-stick – that uses MHL as the interface between the TV and the set-top. Funk also explains how service providers, such as Time-Warner, are using Roku via authentication to allow people to stream to their televisions without need for a traditional set-top box. He also discusses Roku’s content strategy and how it complements both operators and consumer electronic device makers. Click here to view.

Some Tweets and Short Thoughts:

• Looking forward to filming interviews at Amercian Cable Association’s 20th Anniversary Summit over the next few days. Please email me any burning questions you would like me to pose to the elected officials I hope to be interviewing.
• Didn’t realize that former GTE/Verizon content expert, Dick Jones, is now consulting for the NextGen Marketing Group. They provide marketing consulting services to telecom operators and others on a variable rate basis. Seems like a great gig for Dick, as he definitely has lots of knowledge to share (here is an example of his work from a presentation he gave when FiOS had just been announced).
• Pre-cooling home as part of Demand Response program=fewer Demand Response opt outs and is a form of energy storage #ses2013 #ecofactor

The Korner – The Body Mind Connection – Part 1

The Bodywave device from Freer Logic is a wristband that detects and reads brainwaves. The technology has already been deployed in various professional applications and now consumers will soon see this amazing technology.

Gwen Sorely explains some of the applications, including sensors in a steering wheel that would detect drowsiness or games to help relieve stress and improve concentration. As can be seen at the end of the video, this author had the opportunity to try it at and came away impressed.

This is part 1 of a three-part video interview series with companies on the leading edge of bringing of brain wave technology to the consumer. Click here to view.