Bloomberg reports that GoPro bought two mobile video editing companies, Stupeflix and Vemory, for a combined $105 million. What I found most interesting is what CEO Nick Woodman wrote about how users edit video. Namely: We recognize that the future is not hunkering out at your desktop for four to five hours on a Sunday … Continue reading GoPro’s Mobile Investment
OK GO’s most recent music video, “Upside Down & Inside Out” is pretty stunning. Seriously, watch it now: What makes the video particularly interesting is the fact that it premiered on Facebook, not on YouTube. In fact, a visit to the band’s YouTube channel yields only a snarky prompt to watch the video on Facebook. Devoted … Continue reading The Stars Aligned with Facebook
Canon launched their “Bring It” campaign a few months ago, as part of the larger goal of, well, bringing SLRs to the consumer market, but for the purpose of shooting serious video, not just pictures. Based on the content featured in the ad, it seems as though Canon is trying to go nose-to-nose with GoPro on … Continue reading Bringing It
Yesterday, Instagram released Hyperlapse, a video recording app that shoots at a lower frame rate than standard video apps, yielding smoother, more cinematic looking video that resembles Hollywood tracking shots. I tried it out – very briefly! – on a run earlier today, and indeed, the app does what it says. Now, I just need to find … Continue reading Hyperlapse
Facebook has decided to shorten Warhol’s “Fifteen Minutes of Fame” to “Fifteen Seconds,” thanks to the new video functionality added to Instagram, which allows the user to take up to fifteen seconds of video – a full nine seconds longer than Twitter’s Vine app, and certainly one giant leap for mankind. That said, we would … Continue reading Fifteen Seconds
Netflix’s new series House of Cards is a clear attempt to craft a show to rival broadcast favorites like AMC’s Mad Men or HBO’s Game of Thrones – or anything HBO has produced, for that matter. While many broadcast networks seek to produce reality television, talent contests, or chipper comedies, cable networks – most especially the aforementioned three-letter networks – have hollowed out a niche in high quality programming that focuses on character development and period set-design, achieving a result closer to film than traditional television. And in most ways, House of Cards is a fitting entrant to the ranks.
Some of you may remember our post about Netflix from earlier today. And some of you may notice the current stock price. So yes, we’re starting a hedge fund. Continue reading We Said So
There is a great metric by which companies’ success can be measured. Effectively, if the name of a corporation’s good or service becomes interchangeable with the product category as a whole, the company’s product – or at least its marketing – is probably pretty successful. Older examples would be the use of the word “Xerox” as a verb, or “Kleenex” as a catchall for tissues. In our generation, the use of “Google” as a verb is likely the best example.
I received an Amazon giftcard the other day. As I perused the site and compared prices with other e-tailers such as Target, Best Buy and Wal-Mart, I found that, as always, Amazon undercuts its competition, especially with tax and shipping factored in. Since I spend much of my pocket change at Amazon, this discovery came as no surprise.
But what was surprising was an interesting metric; Amazon, nearly earth’s largest bookseller, books a net profit of only 1.34%. Granted, they rely on volume, not margin, for profits, but this incredibly low number was compelling, and seems indicative of Amazon’s corporate philosophy of using loss leaders – like the Kindle Fire – and microscopic margins to catch and keep customers within its simple and increasingly expanding product and entertainment ecosystem. The thinking is, as long as one buys a book at Amazon – giving them, say 28 cents on every $25 hardcover sold – one may as well purchase digital content from Amazon’s burgeoning music, video, and e-book selections. And while you’re at it, why not everything else?
Silicon Spatula 