Posted by admin on March 25, 2009
While most every western based online service company, blogger and social media outlets fight it out for a share of the domestic market you should be thinking global!
That’s right think global is not a unfamiliar term and we hear it all the time however the new spin is that we don’t necessarily think global with English based content and new media. For instance Chinese and Koreans between the age of 18-35 are well trained with English curriculum as part of their traditional schooling. They can read and write English probably better than some cultural groups here in North America. What they lack however is the immerse cultural experiences. For instance Chinese consumers spend billions per year on North American brands with a very large proportion of that spending on new media…
According to a 2006 UPS Consumer Preference Study on China…
“More than three-quarters of Chinese consumers who plan to purchase books, music or video intend to buy an American DVD this year…”
This is where I see the opportunity. Individuals and organizations who are able to see an opportunity with their English only products and services that both meet the demand for immersive western culture while making it fun and interactive will take advantage of this new market.
McGraw Hill’s BusinessWeek Magazine was one of the first to see this opportunity while I worked with a Canadian company who developed an online edutainment platform. What we developed for BusinessWeek was a online experience using their English only content assets to bring global news and opinion to a non-English audience who wanted to enhance their existing English skills while having fun and learning at the same time. The product launched as BusinessWeek Business as a Second Language (www.businessweekbsl.com).
While others are fighting it out over the same limited set of users savvy individuals and companies should look to international markets especially if they have something that falls into the edutainment space. There is gold in them there hills only the gold is across “the pond”.
Posted by admin on March 12, 2009
I recently discovered Ping.fm which is a service that allows you to update more than 30 (and growing) social networks in just a few clicks. I’ve tested the service using LinkedIn, facebook and Twitter. Once you’ve added your networks to Ping.fm the updating process is really simple. You simply enter the title of the posting add your message and select one or more of your networks. Once you hit update it takes care of the rest.
You can check out the social networking update service here. Ping.fm
Here is a list of what social networks are currently supported.
Posted by admin on March 10, 2009
Here is what Telefilm Canada has to say…
“The Department of Canadian Heritage has allocated $14.5 million dollars per year to the Canada New Media Fund for a period of two years. Administered by Telefilm Canada, the Fund is a national program which supports the creation and the distribution of interactive digital cultural content products. The Fund will strive to achieve its objectives through its two main Program components: Product Assistance and Sectoral Assistance components, which are both application driven. The third program component of the Fund, the Sectoral Development, will allow Telefilm Canada to tailor its support for Canadian interactive digital companies at national and international markets.”
More information on Telefilm Canada’s website http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/03/311.asp?fond_id=3.
Posted by admin on March 10, 2009
And yes it is a mouthful however just like the name I expect to come away from this event with new friends and a new appreciation for the work Adobe has put into its next generation flash communication server platform.
Here are the details in case you are interested in attending:
OFUG – Flash Catalyst, FXG and AS3 To Objective-C
Date:
Wednesday, April 01, 2009 from 6:45 PM – 9:00 PM (ET)
** Register Here **
Location:
Adobe Systems Canada
343 Preston Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 1N4
Canada
Posted by admin on March 9, 2009
Posted by admin on March 9, 2009
The next generation of social interaction on the web will be driven entirely by the need to monetize your network. We are already seeing this happen with such business networking platforms as LinkedIn and facebook (e.g. American Express facebook groups). If you are a user of these services you may have already noticed how premium services are now being introduced so that you can expand your network or keep abreast of what others are saying about you.
We are becoming addicted to such services and I am the first one to admit that I am one of those people.
