Be Back in 10

Photo Credit: inky/Flickr

I never would have thought not blogging for 3-4 could have felt like an eternity. It’s a good problem to have. Life has been a little crazed of late and as I attempt to develop a new routine post TNT that ACTUALLY includes studying amongst various other activities, I’ll be back with more regularity.

Stay tuned! I’ll be back in a jiffy.

Mike’s Take: UCLA vs. Villanova

Photo Credit: AP

This was the best photo I could find that embodies how the game went: Josh Ship getting rocked by an immensely physical hard foul from Villanova early in the game.

What was our (UCLA’s) response: nothing. Timidity.  They never made anyone from Villanova pay for driving to the lane to show them that despite the home court for Nova, we weren’t intimidated and this was our house.

Another simple fact: Nova came ready to play.  They were hot (they hit more 3’s in the first half then they average in an entire game) and UCLA looked nervous, flustered, unsteady and not-ready for primetime.

The result speaks for itself: 89-69 Villanova.

One overlooked bright spot: Drew Gordon got tired of the ass whooping and late in the 2nd half showed the grit and aggressiveness that UCLA was lacking.  He made hard fouls and made sure Nova knew that UCLA, while clearly defeated, wasn’t going to go down lightly.

I salute our seniors – Alfred Aboya, Josh Shipp and Darren Collison, who have played their last games as Bruins.  They have embodied all that is great about UCLA and UCLA basketball.  They have shown what it takes to lead, to follow, to win and to work hard.

The world needs to keep a close eye on Aboya – he will be an incredibly positive influence on the continent of Africa.  He has plans to go back to Cameroon and eventually lead the nation.  Something tells me he will do just that.

iPhone OS 3.0

Better late than never: Apple finally went “gold master” with the iPhone’s operating system, which as of this summer will be at version 3.0.  Yes, technically the 1.0 and 2.0 “gold master” upon their final release.

For whatever reason, it seemed to take apple nearly 2.5 years to incorporate simple things like copy and paste into the OS and true push notification.

While all the zealots will clamor for the push, copy and paste, greater iCal integration, search, I think they will overlooked one of the more interesting and fascinating aspects to the new OS: peer-to-peer interactivity thru bluetooth.  In short: bonjour has come to the iPhone.

Why is this a big deal?  For one, games and applications now have a take on a whole new level of interactivity.  In a sense, each phone is now a network that other iPhones can tap into to play games.

In short: Apple has finally entered the mobile video game market while no one was looking.  Another important step for Apple: there is no longer a delineation between the iPhone and the iPod touch.   The Touch was always the ugly step-sister to the iPhone but no more.  Welcome to the big leagues Touch.

CBS’s NCAA MMOD

Neil Armstong said the now famous words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”  These words were never truer than today when you look at the state of online video and today’s case study: CBS’s March Madness on Demand.

I have had the absolute pleasure of watching this project grow over the last few years.  As any good college student, I was diligent with my studying (usually in or around finals) while watching every game on my laptop.

Every year, the product has made incremental and steady improvements.  But this years product isn’t a baby step, its a giant leap forward. Leveraging Microsoft’s Silverlight (my only gripe, since most computers don’t have the plugins installed making it difficult to use at work, the point of this!) and I believe Akamai, we are able to witness the tournament on-demand in INCREDIBLE HD.

The streaming quality, even when the internet connection is limited has been unparalleled.  I can’t say enough with how impressed I am this year’s product.

On a the marketing side, someone at CBS Interactive got smart and realized they can also make money off this: Comcast has sponsored the “Boss Button” (turning the video into a fake spreadsheet.  They took it to a whole nother level by highlighiting the product offering of Comcast.  See for yourself:

Smart branding, smart marketing and a brilliant service.  Keep pushing the envelope CBS.

It’s truly increidble the quality of product and service, streaming live in HD.

U-C-L-A, UCLA FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

Photo Credit: AP

Well I’m not gonna lie: that was too close to call.  UCLA – 65, VCU – 64.  It came down to the final play and for the first time all game, Maynor was held in check.

I would argue one of the overlooked aspects to that final play: He stepped onto the line and actually went backcourt but no one was looking, and thus, no call was made.  Interesting.

UCLA was up by as many as 14 but got cold midway thru the 2nd half and seemed content with sneaking by.  What also threw them off was the officiating: it was honestly a evenly called but very ticky tack.  I have never seen more hip check/block calls, reach in’s in my life!

But when you need a big play, need a big shot, Collison as he always does came thru.  Overshadowed perhaps is Shipp, who finished with a double double (16-10) and was always in the right place at the right time.

Villanova isn’t going to be a walk in the park but I think we will eek out another victory and go head to head with Texas or Duke…… I expect that to also be a deathmatch and hope Duke pulls it out since they are smaller and its a better matchup for UCLA.

Either way: GO BRUINS!

Pandora <3 Blackberrys now

Ladies and gentle-man, I present Pandora, for the Blackberry.  The time has come to enjoy your music, anytime, anywhere.  Here’s a couple of things that stand out immediately to me:

* The design is perfect for the blackberry device.  The UI is intuitive and feels natural

* Its everything you expect it to be

* Simple, simple, simple

Perhaps its fitting but tonight I was originally looking to put down a couple of thoughts on the iPhone 3.0 … no wait… its the OS 3.0 which has some great things that Apple FINALLY got right.  Better late than never.
The only other major application I’m now waiting for on my BB is Mint.  When will they realize that of their 1 million users (which they just announced), a significant portion probably have smartphones that ARENT the iPhone.  Purdy please!

Note to self – don’t Twitter during the game

Photo Credit: NBA

In case you haven’t heard, Charlie Villanueva of the Milwaukee Bucks tweeted during the half of Sunday nights game against the bulls, “In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.”

The team has verbally called him out – telling him he isn’t allowed to do that anymore.  Why?

Well its perceived that he isn’t focused and into the game.  So wait… you’re telling me that social media is a distraction, within the workplace?

Tell me if you haven’t heard this before?

Is this a distraction? Well if Charlie’s performance in the second half (19 points, etc) is any proof – the answer isn’t always yes.  Outside of the tech elite and early adopters, people are just starting to register that Twitter even exists.  Sports, athletes and organizations are going to be slow to adapt policies.

The bigger question is: do you restrict this type of engagement with fans or do you leverage it to bring them deeper into the locker room, into that world and develop unique programs (ala the Phoenix Suns) to harness this enthusiasm?

Go Bruins!

Well Selection Sunday has come and gone and my UCLA Bruins are the #6 seed in the East.  We have a pretty touch road ahead of us:

VCU

Villanova

Winner of: Texas/Minnesota vs. Duke/Binghamton.

I am pretty confident we can eek by Villanova to get to the sweet 16 but to get thru Duke or Texas (I’m a lot more worried about the latter than the former given how small and a jump shooting team Duke is now).

We have made it to 3 consecutive Final Fours.  Here’s to becoming the first team since Duke (1988-1992) when they went 5 straight!

Common Baby Bears.. showem what you’re made of!

Skittles – What is the gameplan?

Congratulations Skittles! As discussed yesterday, you guys rock! You sooooo took over the technology and online world with the redesign.  I mean look at your boost in traffic:

What I find interesting and am most curious to see – what is the long term plan and strategy with this redesign?  I salute the 1332% increase in traffic but what does it mean? I question the point the bump because its unsustainable.  A TechCrunch bump is great but its all about leveraging the bump towards an ultimate goal.  I am just baffled and confused as to what that is for Skittles.

Another interesting thing to note is that this social media experiment well, backfired.  Skittles gambled and lost when it came to Twitter. Initially, Twitter was set to the home page (now it rotates between wikipedia and Facebook).  As a result of showing people they could in real time say something about Skittles and have it make the page, the page was gamed – overun with people saying as many negative things they could muster.

What is the bigger picture here?  Social media is all about transparency – you have to be authentic and true.  People gamed Twitter because they could (given an opportunity) and because in my opinion, the over-the-top presentation of the website lended itself towards this ridiculous behavior.  The website doesn’t come off as credible and sincere – it comes off as an in your face “we get it.”  Here’s the thing – like the idiot guy at the bar with the sports jacket, popped collar saying the right thing to the prettiest girl at the bar – we see it for what it is – bullshit.

I would just end with this: do you want a short term bump or a long term gain?

Skittles Getting More than the Rainbow

As I’m sure you’ve heard, Skittles has gone social – social media that is.  They have taken the experiment that is brands embracing social media and taken it to the extreme:

Their website is a combination of a Facebook fan/group page, Wikipedia entry, Twitter, etc.  I honestly salute Skittles for embracing the next generation of the web and looking to communicate with their customers.  The only problem: their website does everything except embody the brand that is Skittles.

There are some website, like E-Consultancy, which succinctly integrate Twitter into their site.  They are able to view in real time, what people are saying about the brand.  Skittles looked to this thru Twitter which, well, didn’t quite pan out. (But more on that to come tomorrow).

It’s not very often we as customers get a glimpse into the board room.  With this site redesign, we now have a front row seat, watching a major brand dip their toes in the water.  Only time will tell if its too cold for them.