Exitlog | Leaving Impressions

With recent news that the struggling smartphone maker Palm is reportedly looking for buyers the end of a pioneering journey looms. Where the Apple Newton failed Palm succeeded in bringing the personal digital assistant to the masses.

My own Newton gave way to a black Handspring Deluxe – created by the original inventors of the Palm Pilot who ultimately returned to the fold, merging with Palm in 1998. My next PDA was the Palm Tungsten T3. Sadly it died and was replaced by a Dell Axim x51v, for its WiFi and mixed storage capabilities. I realised my error and went for the Sony Ericsson K550i and finally settled with Apple’s iPhone. Still, my handheld journey has been dominated by my early experiences with Palm.

Many hoped that the much lauded webOS and phones such as the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi would reinvigorate what had once been a successful brand. But it didn’t happen and as a result Palm has seen quarter after quarter of losses.

U2′s Bono is the unlikeliest winner in the Palm story. His investment vehicle, Elevation Partners with 30 percent of the stock, will turn a profit even with last Friday’s, April 9, $5.16 share price. In September 20009 Palm stock had reached its highest point, $17.39, before sliding steeply.

Palm has a rich history but most will agree having a good or great product never guarantees success. The Treo was ahead of its time but the Pre, while it has some amazing features, got the market(ing) wrong. There is no tightly connected, Apple-style, user ecosystem or the critical mass of Google’s strength.

The history of innovative products are littered with losers, just ask Sony about the Betamax. Disappointing as it may be, Palm may well only be viable as a patent stable; to be consigned to history as an also ran.

Originally published on the STAN website, 13 April 2010

On-demand and services like the BBC’s iPlayer are doing a lot to erode our traditional, broadcast interaction with video. We are increasingly choosing when and what to watch. Being held to a specific time and date, huddled with our families around the big, power-hungry set, is soon to be consigned to history. But this isn’t bad. It is time video meant something and contributed to online content.

Previously, video online was something seedy or illegal. For most of the public video was more often links to recently released movies tucked away on peer-to-peer networks – looking for audience far away from the Hollywood machine of blocked regional content and America-centric releases. Not so these days; and probably more for advances in technology than for any other reason.

As the decade closes so does appointment TV. This change is a call to rethink the way video is used to reach the public (customers and prospects). It is a transformation. With big names like Sky launching a TV app for the iPhone that allows people to watch live streaming TV, the way content is produced suddenly has a lot more possibilities.

Set free from moment of broadcast, content can be reused; reshaped for other audiences and other platforms. After the match is over, the winners decided, or the news has been publically broken the content of the broadcast doesn’t have to end there. It can be edited, expanded or even foreshortened.

Digital publishing throughout this decade has largely been concerned with text and images as the central content for websites. Even the media darling Twitter primarily focuses on text, though it does allow the micro-blogging of photos. With better access and speed through broadband video, online is garnering more attention and interest. As standards have developed and the web has improved we can experience a much higher level of quality content. Some online video looks good; even at full-screen.

Add slick operating systems like Mac OS X and Windows 7 or the latest smartphones from the new Palm Pre to the fan favourite iPhone, and our expectations rise still further. We have come to expect a higher production value, even online. Just in time too. Websites today are more than just click and scroll experiences. Alongside our changing expectations we have the technology to present and the desire to explore content more initmately. This is where video, the moving and talking image, is gaining ground.

Visit the Guardian website, now one of the biggest commissioners of video specifically for use online, and you get a idea of today’s future. Good content pitched specifically for the audience and the platform they’re using. Good digital publishing is about understanding the form and function of content. Something traditional TV has lost as audiences have started to drift.

Brands are beginning to realise they need to be represented more dynamically than simple editorial (no matter how well written) and a few carefully chosen photographs. You only have to look at Manchester United or Sony Twilight Football as examples – these websites wouldn’t have looked as they do now, even a few years ago. Some might say neither of these brands need video to be more appealing, their fans and customers are often loyal enough. Nevertheless, technology is driving change.

But simply producing video for use online is not enough. Brands need reach. In seeking positive attention they cannot solely focus on just one outlet. Allowing online video to roam, with placements ranging from Facebook to YouTube, is often the best way to find audiences. The web is an ever-evolving platform and catching up is not going to see the transformation through. Unlike appointment TV we can bookmark good content and share links with our friends, family and co-workers. This is where online video works best: by sharing. This interaction is what makes online video really compelling.

Originally published on Creative Boom Manchester, 16 November 2009