Backup Strategy to the Rescue (after hard drive failure)

There is nothing more catastrophic to a computer than a hard drive failure. Hard drives are the one component where failure can mean a complete loss of data. This is a cautionary tale from a real experience about the importance of having a backup strategy for your data.

Over the past few weeks one of my computers has been acting erratically - locking up at random every couple of days. I used my support.com subscription to get some advice and as I suspected my hard drive was on the verge of failing.

The computer in question is my media hub (that I wrote about previously) - the central store for all of our family's music, photos and home videos. 200+ gigabytes of memories and online purchases about to crumble into digital dust. Sounds like a tragedy - but it wasn't. It was a minor inconvenience in the end.

Learning from earlier mistakes, I protect this critical personal computer with a comprehensive (but not expensive) backup strategy. First I'll summarize what I did proactively:

Automatic backup to a USB-connected hard drive - using SyncToy (freely available from Microsoft's website) and the built-in scheduling capabilities in Windows Vista my computer automatically backs up personal folders nightly. That provides me with a fast way to restore files but was only part of my backup strategy.

Automatic online backup - there are multiple providers of online backup and I use one of the more popular options.

Why do both a USB drive backup and online backup? A few reasons:

• Redundancy - my data is in multiple places - on the PC, the USB drive and in the "cloud" or online backup provider (who also backup your backup in their network storage facility)
• Offsite (survives a fire or water damage)
• More comprehensive (online backup solutions backup items I haven't configured SyncToy to grab)
• Flexible recovery - it is faster to backup and store 200 GB from a USB drive than uploading / downloading 200 GB from the web

I didn't use to be so proactive about backup... the last time a hard drive failed I had to re-rip hundreds of CDs to build back my MP3 collection. Lesson learned.

With every failed hard drive there is an opportunity to rebuild a bit better - which I've done. I installed a new, larger, quieter and greener (less power) hard drive to replace the failed drive. I re-installed Windows Vista but upgraded to the 64-bit version to take advantage of a memory upgrade.

I then restored the bulk of my files from the USB backup drive and then restored the rest (the odds and ends you never remember to backup) from the online backup provider.

A bit of a nuisance - yes - but a crisis? No. Because everything that mattered was backed up - not once, but multiple times (and in multiple places). I was protected.

If you'd like help doing the same online technology service companies like support.com (where I work) can help get you there. With all memories now going digital it is important that families - not just corporations - proactively backup data now (to avoid tears later).

Interview with Ortiva Wireless, VP Craig Lee

Ortiva Wireless's Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, Craig Lee responds to our interview questions...

What is your company's/division's newest initiative?
Ortiva Wireless will soon announce the development of a new, groundbreaking technology that will allow operators to deliver Internet video over existing and future mobile data networks using TCP. Ortiva’s approach reduces bandwidth consumption while ensuring a high quality video subscriber experience.

What is your company's biggest challenge? 

Ortiva Wireless has demonstrated that the two biggest challenges in delivering video content over wireless networks today are scalability (by reducing bandwidth consumption) and ensuring quality (reducing playback stalls). Through numerous trials and real-world deployments, Ortiva is raising awareness among operators on the techniques that improve the perceived quality of mobile video – a critical factor for ensuring its commercial success. The company is also dispelling the notion that video quality is tied to the underlying network (video in 3G can still fail), but rather related to the techniques and technology that optimize the subscriber experience.

What are your company's long-term goals? 

Deployed by tier one European mobile operator Vodafone Portugal and a tier one North American operator, Ortiva Wireless plans to grow its market share with operators across the globe, enhancing their ability to compete in the mobile video market, an opportunity that has been projected to exceed $15 billion in worldwide revenue by 2012.

What is your company's most successful product/service? 

Ortiva’s patent-pending mobile Video Optimization Gateway (mVOG™) platform extends an operator’s service reach, increases network efficiency, and improves video coverage density and quality by shaping content to each subscriber’s unique network conditions. With Ortiva, operators can ensure that subscribers experience the smoothest video and clearest audio possible.

What do you perceive as your company's greatest strength?
Ortiva Wireless enables mobile operators to deliver superior quality video into the hands of more mobile viewers. The company provides the industry's only commercial solution for proactive management of mobile video, enabling mobile operators to dramatically improve quality, control, and the efficient delivery of rich media content in their current and future networks.

Craig Lee will be speaking on the Multimedia on Mobile Devices panel at 11:15 AM on Thursday, June 4th.

Other confirmed speakers for this panel include:
Brian Johnson, Senior VP, Americas & Asia Pacific, mBlox, Inc.
Scot Zarkiewicz, CEO, SingleClick Systems
Rick Schwartz, Product Manager, TwonkyMedia Manager, PacketVideo
Jackson Gates, Director of Business Development, Pandora

CONNECTIONS™ speakers address challenges and opportunities that come with converging products and services

Digital Living Conference features executives from controls, networking, entertainment, and CE companies --

Parks Associates has announced the speakers for CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase, including keynotes from Austin Energy, AT&T, Sony Pictures, and Verizon.

The 13th annual CONNECTIONS™, June 2-4 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, features interactive panels with over 80 speakers and consumer and industry research presented by Parks Associates’ expert analysts. This event attracts senior executives from industries associated with the digital home, new media and content distribution, and mobile applications and services.

“CONNECTIONS™ speakers offer an array of expertise covering CE, digital media, content and access services, home controls, and energy management,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president, principal analyst, Parks Associates. “The number of broadband households worldwide will reach 650 million by 2013. These connections will have a ripple effect throughout multiple industries, impacting communications, entertainment, and home management.

CONNECTIONS™ features an excellent lineup of speakers covering both the visionary and practical challenges in forging new business models for this changing consumer culture.”Parks Associates reports the number of mobile TV subscribers worldwide exceeded 30 million in 2008, while more than 26 million U.S. consumers use the Internet at least monthly to catch up on TV programming. Both findings show the growing appeal of place- and time-shifting features and are early indicators of the future directions of the mobile and video markets.

Keynote Speakers:
Joseph Ambeault, Director, Product Development and Management, Video Services, Verizon
Andres E. Carvallo, Chief Information Officer, Austin Energy
Glenn Lurie, President of Emerging Devices and Resale, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets
Mitch Singer, CTO, EVP of New Media & Technology, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc.; President, Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE)

Panelists:
Sanket Amberkar, Marketing Manager, Network Systems Solutions, Cisco
Bruce Anderson, General Manager, Global Electronics Industry, IBM
Sean Besser, VP, Business Development, Macrovision
Stephen Blum, President, Tellus Venture Associates
Jeff Bonin, Vice President & GM, Alticast
Brandon Brown, CEO, Zodiac Interactive
Geoff Burke, Senior Director, Corporate Marketing, Calix
Jon Burr, VP, Customer Experience and Operations, CrossLoop, Inc.
Duane Carvalho, Sales Director, North America, Jungo
Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
Chenyi Chiu, Strategic Program Manager, HD-PLC Alliance
Paul Dawes, CEO, iControl Networks
Rolf De Vegt, Director, Technical Standards Qualcomm
Jim Denney, VP, Product Marketing, TiVo Inc.
Vijay Desai, Founder, CEO, Aceurity, Inc.
Christopher Deutschen, Senior Manager, Product & Business Development, Direct Energy
Chris Dobrec, Sr. Director Strategy & Business Development, Cisco Systems
Brian Donnelly, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Icron
Ajay Dugar, Executive Director, Paramount Digital Entertainment
Mike Ehlenberger, Vice President of Channel Sales, Actiontec Electronics, Inc.
Jaime Fink, Vice President of Technology and Strategy, 2Wire
Meir Friedlander, CEO, Eyecon Technologies, Inc.
Jonathan Gaines, Senior Vice President - Sales, Xeriton Corporation/BluePhone
Jackson Gates, Director of Business Development, Pandora
Ben Geller, Senior Director of Marketing, Motive Product Group, Alcatel-Lucent
Noam Geri, Co-founder, Vice President Marketing & Business Development, AMIMON
Andrea Goldsmith, Co-Founder and CTO, Quantenna Communications
Pankaj Gupta, Manager, Market Management - Service Providers, Cisco Systems
Mike Harris, CEO, AnySource
David Henry, Sr. Director of Product Marketing, Home Products, NETGEAR
Chris Hock, Senior VP, Product Management, BlackArrow
Jim Hunter, CTO and Chief Architect, 4Home
Brent Hurley, Strategic Partner Development Manager, YouTube
Richard Irving, Managing Partner, Pond Venture Partners
Vipin Jain, President and CEO, Retrevo
Braxton Jarratt, CEO, Clearleap
Brian Johnson, Senior Vice President, Americas and Asia Pacific, mBlox, Inc.
Jim Johnson, President & CEO, uControl
Scott Kelliher, Category Director, Telecommunications & Technology, Platform A/AOL
Fred King, VP, Sales & Marketing, PlumChoice, Inc.
Kazuhiro Kitagawa, Vice-Chairman, PUCC
Art Lancaster, CTO, Affinegy
Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo Broadband
Craig Lee, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, Ortiva Wireless
Michelle Leyden Li, General Manager, Home Control Business Unit, Zilog
Alex Limberis, COO, Syabas Technology, Inc.
Ellis Lindsay, Director, North American Strategy, Alcatel-Lucent
Ken Lowe, Vice President, Strategic Marketing, Sigma Designs
Robert Malnati, Director, Business Development, Broadband Solutions Group, Home and Networks Mobility, Motorola, Inc.
John Marshall, VP of Sales and Marketing, SiBEAM; Chairman, WirelessHD
Wilfred Martis, Director of Platform Strategy and Planning, Digital Home Group, Intel
Theodore May, VP, Content & Value-added Services, Synacor
Steve McKay, CEO, Entone Inc.
Travis Misterek, Technical Analyst, Best Buy
Seale Moorer, CEO, Exceptional Innovation
Mike Noonen, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, NXP Semiconductors
Bogdan Odulinski, Director - Product Management, Enterprise Services Group, SupportSoft, Inc.
Ravi Raj, VP of Product Development, Kosmix
Len Rand, Managing Director, Granite Ventures
Mostafa Reza, Product Line Manager, IP Video Solutions Group, Motorola
Micha Risling, VP of Marketing, Valens Semiconductor
Anthony Rodio, Chief Operating Officer, support.com
Avner Ronen, CEO & Co-Founder, BoxeeVibha Rustagi, CEO & President, itaas, Inc.
Russ Schafer, Senior Director, Product Marketing, Connected TV, Yahoo!
Rick Schwartz, Product Manager, TwonkyMedia Manager, PacketVideo
Loren Shade, VP Marketing, Allegro Software Development Corporation
Parag Sheth, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, Hillcrest Labs
Eric Smith, CTO, Control4
Jason Spero, VP & Managing Director NA, AdMob
Kevin Spier, Director of Business Development, Bunchball
Singu Srinivas, VP, Sales and Marketing, Radialpoint
Bill Stanley, Director, Operations Solutions, Telcordia
Jan Steenkamp, Founder Member, Head Market Development America, Irdeto
David Sykes, CEO, ProVision Communications
Rob Tobias, Director, Market Development, Silicon Image
Steve Tranter, VP Interactive and Broadband, NDS
Derek Turner, Senior Product Manager, TV, Video & Music Business, Microsoft
Edgar Villalpando, SVP, Marketing, ActiveVideo Networks
Dr. Kenneth Wacks, Member, GridWise Architecture Council, U.S. Department of Energy
Fred Wang, General Partner, Trinity Ventures
Lior Weiss, VP Marketing, Celeno
Stephen White, Director, Business Development, VIZIO
Ken Wirt, Vice President Consumer Marketing, Cisco Systems
Daniel Wong, Director of Product Management, D-Link
Steve Yum, Sr. Director of Marketing, Synerchip
Scot Zarkiewicz, CEO, SingleClick Systems

Icron Demonstrates Complete PC-on-TV Connectivity Solution over 802.11n at CONNECTIONS

Unique home connectivity solutions powered by Icron’s ExtremeUSB® will be demonstrated on Connections’ show floor --

Icron Technologies will be demonstrating new and innovative PC-on-TV connectivity solutions based on its patented ExtremeUSB technology, at CONNECTIONS 2009, the Digital Living Conference and Showcase. Demonstrations of Icron’s PC-on-TV solution will take place at the Icron Booth (Booth# 315), at the Santa Clara Convention Center on June 2 – 4th.

Icron’s interactive PC-on-TV connectivity solutions demonstrate the ability for consumers to interactively access all PC content and applications, including real-time Internet content, on TVs throughout the home. The solutions combine HD quality PC video along with full USB functionality, including mouse, keyboard, flash drive, webcam, and all other USB peripherals, and delivers them to other areas of the home over standard 802.11n wireless technologies, enabling a true PC experience on the TV.

Icron’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Brian Donnelly, will be speaking at the CONNECTIONS Conference on a Connected Consumer Electronics (CE) panel titled, “Extending the Reach of Wired Networks and Interfaces.” on Wednesday, June 3, 11:15 am.

For media and analyst meetings with Icron at the Connections Conference, please contact Susan Kirk to schedule, susan.kirk@icron.com or +1 604 315 9959.

Watch Icron’s Online TV 2.0 Demo at http://www.icron.com//tv2.0demo

Accedo Broadband's CEO, Michael Lantz speaking at CONNECTIONS

Michael Lantz, the CEO of Accedo Broadband will be speaking at the upcoming CONNECTIONS Conference on the Bringing “Cloud Media” to Consumer Electronics Devices panel at 2:30 PM on Wednesday, June 3rd.

Accedo has recently launched a set of interactive TV applications connecting to Web 2.0 services and social networks. Our new applications bring the best of internet services into the living room.

Our biggest challenge at the moment is to monetize the emerging Connected TV initiatives. Volumes are still low and technology is immature. There is currently not the scale to make money from the current market launches.


Accedo's long term goal is to be the leading provider of interactive applications for IPTV and Connected TV. We already have this position for casual gaming and are now expanding to other application areas.


Casual Gaming for IPTV is our most successful product. Consumers like playing casual games on the TV, and are prepared to pay for it. We make money either by creating a games "channel" or by selling a 24 hour access to a game service. We have deployments in more than 25 countries at the moment.

Accedo's greatest strength is our focus on Connected TV. By focusing on the TV paradigm and the consumer mindset in front of the TV, we can launch the best and most attractive services and applications for this market.

Interview with Eyecon Technologies

Eyecon Technologies' CEO, Meir Friedlander will be speaking on the Bringing “Cloud Media” to Consumer Electronics Devices panel on Wednesday, June 3rd at 2:30 PM.

Here is more insight into Eyecon Technologies...

What is your company's/division's newest initiative?

Launching a revolutionary mobile software application that allows consumers to use their smartphone, MID or netbook to browse, navigate, and play content on any connected media device. The application will also synchronize content between the portable screen and the primary viewing or listening device, say a connected television for example, allowing interactive and social features to easily run in parallel.

What is your company's biggest challenge?

Proving that a two screen parallel viewing, navigation and interactive experience is more practical and functional than viewing widgets and a ten foot GUI on the television screen with a remote control for navigation.

What are your company's long term goals?

Become the "go to" interface for how people find and interact with their digital media content.

What is your company's most successful product/service?
We're new and just starting out but expect great things from our initial product release in June and have already gained traction with content owners, CE vendors, and service providers.

What do you perceive as your company's greatest strength?

We've chosen to fight the right battle. Browsing content on the TV screen has failed in the past (see WebTV) and Media Center approaches lacked the portability and synchronization needed to engage consumers. Our approach not only benefits the consumer, enabling them to discover and navigate the overwhelming number of content choices that are now available, but also helps service and content providers monetize digital distribution.

CONNECTIONS welcomes Via Licensing & IEEE as sponsors

Parks Associates is proud to welcome Via Licensing & IEEE as the June 4th Breakfast Sponsors at CONNECTIONS.

Via Licensing Corporation is an independent subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories, a company with more than 35 years of experience licensing technology and administering licensing programs for third-party intellectual-property owners. Our expertise extends to intellectual-property law, technology standardization, strategic business development, and program administration.

Together, the IEEE-SA and Via Licensing are working to accelerate and broaden adoption of IEEE standards-based technologies with streamlined access to essential intellectual property. Licensees will find it easier to obtain licenses, and licensors can monetize their research investment in a market-enabling and cost-effective manner. With the accelerated pace of product development and the interdependence of obtaining the appropriate intellectual property rights, Via Licensing and the IEEE-SA are providing and innovative and cost-effective way to grow markets and spur innovation.

For more information, visit http://www.vialicensing.com/ and http://www.ieee.org/ .

PlumChoice brings expertise in business of remote tech support services to CONNECTIONS™

Premier Digital Living Conference & Showcase welcomes PlumChoice as Reception Sponsor --

Parks Associates announced PlumChoice as a Reception Sponsor for CONNECTIONS™, June 2-4, in Santa Clara, Calif. PlumChoice, which offers premium remote computer and technology services for homes, home offices, and small businesses, will welcome CONNECTIONS™ attendees and discuss their unique approach to the growing tech support market prior to their evening reception on June 2.

Most people currently buying PCs and networks do not have the time or expertise to resolve their myriad problems. Parks Associates Customer Support for the Digital Home survey found almost one-fourth of U.S. broadband households prefer to have someone show them how to use a new product or service, which will help push revenues for PC and home networking troubleshooting services over $2 billion by 2013.

PlumChoice is the largest independent provider of premium U.S.-based 24/7 technical support services for home, home office, and small business. The company’s remote services include support for PCs, Macs, MP3 players, smartphones and other mobile devices, networking and network devices, peripheral devices, and any software, connectivity, or operating system level issues.

Parks Associates reports that the number of consumers using professional technical support to solve computer or networking problems has tripled since 2006, indicating the demand for services such as PlumChoice’s will continue to grow.

For information about PlumChoice, visit www.plumchoice.com/partner.

For the full press release, click here.

Qualcomm Sponsors CONNECTIONS US

Parks Associates welcomes Qualcomm as a co-sponsor with NXP for the 2009 CONNECTIONS Conference.

Qualcomm Incorporated is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies.

Today, Qualcomm plays a central role in the rapid adoption and growth of 3G and next-generation wireless around the world. Qualcomm’s current intellectual property portfolio includes more than 7,200 United States patents for wireless technologies, with more than 145 telecommunications equipment manufacturers licensing them worldwide.

Since 1985, Qualcomm’s visionary technology leadership has been carrying the world forward, changing it by improving the way people communicate, work and live. And with that same pioneering spirit, Qualcomm is still innovating, still chipping away at the boundaries of what’s possible, still changing the world, one idea at a time.

For more information, please visit www.qualcomm.com .

SupportSoft Releases Download Manager to Automate Installation and Upgrade of Value-Added Services

New Software Solution Makes It Simple and Efficient for Service Providers to Deliver the Latest PC and Digital Home Enhancements--

SupportSoft, Inc., a provider of software and services that make technology work, announced the availability of SupportSoft Download Manager. This latest solution is designed to enable digital and managed service providers to automatically present value-added services based on their users’ context; then download, install and update these new services behind the scenes via the Internet. As a result, service fulfillment can be more efficient for the provider and hassle-free for customers.

Getting new and innovative service offerings up and running—whether it’s the latest music or video download; storage or security enhancement; or file and print sharing capability—can be disruptive for users. Issues such as saturated bandwidth, a never-ending software download process, and worry about whether the service is working correctly are enough to make customers delay an important upgrade.

Based on SupportSoft’s scalable ‘sync’, authoring and targeting technology, Download Manager is a proactive delivery and support platform that ensures providers can distribute their latest software service in a personalized fashion, then successfully activate and manage the new service to suit the customer’s needs. The solution helps service providers to optimize download performance, simplify software downloads, and assess end-user download behavior. Because of the faster, more seamless installation process, subscribers are likely to be more satisfied with the use of their new service, and providers can make additional offers and generate new revenue.

For customers ordering a new service, Download Manager quickly and quietly downloads and installs the components – with accuracy and without interruption. The solution does everything from start to finish, all without dominating bandwidth or forcing customers to stop what they’re doing. And once the service is installed, it’s easy for the service provider to monitor and determine when an upgrade or additional capability is appropriate. They can continuously deliver tools and applications that enhance the subscriber’s service experience and mitigate expensive and unnecessary calls to the support center.

For the full press release, click here.

Smart Grid, Home Monitoring, and Wireless Home Controls

Key Focus of CONNECTIONS™ Conference --

Parks Associates announced the speakers for the Home Controls and Energy Management track at CONNECTIONS™, which includes an opening keynote from Austin Energy’s CIO. Multiple sessions at CONNECTIONS™ will feature executives from energy-focused companies discussing new innovations in home monitoring and controls, Smart Grid initiatives, and wireless home controls.

Andres E. Carvallo, CIO, Austin Energy, will present the Keynote “Building the Smart Grid” on Thursday, June 4. Mr. Carvallo will discuss Austin Energy’s efforts to build its Smart Grid, which will be live by August 2009. This initiative encompasses 440 square miles, 500,000 devices, 100 terabytes of data, one million consumers, and 43,000 businesses.

The panel “New Applications and Services in Home Monitoring & Controls,” June 3 at 1:30 p.m., analyzes consumer demand and revenue opportunities for home systems. Speakers include:

Steve Cashman, Chief Strategy Officer, Exceptional Innovation
Jim Hunter, CTO & Chief Architect, 4Home
Jim Johnson, President & CEO, uControl

Mr. Ablondi will present findings from Parks Associates’ new research project Residential Energy Management: Opportunities for Digital Systems and Services on June 4, 8:30 a.m., followed by “Bringing the Smart Grid to the Smart Home,” which features panelists leading Smart Grid initiatives in the public and private sectors:

Sanket Amberkar, Marketing Manager, Network Systems Solutions, Cisco
Christopher Deutschen, Senior Manager, Product & Business Development, Direct Energy
Dr. Kenneth Wacks, Member, GridWise Architecture Council, U.S. Department of Energy

“Wireless Home Controls: New Roles and Functionality,” June 4 at 11:15 a.m., examines the trends, market opportunities, and design challenges in embedding wireless capabilities into traditional products. Speakers include:

Michelle Leyden Li, GM, Home Control Business Unit, Zilog
Ken Lowe, VP, Strategic Marketing, Sigma Designs
Mostafa Reza, Product Line Manager, IP Video Solutions Group, Motorola
Parag Sheth, VP, Corporate Marketing, Hillcrest Labs
Eric Smith, CTO, Control4

For the full press release, click here.

Alcatel-Lucent sponsors CONNECTIONS

Parks Associates welcomes Alcatel-Lucent as the 2009 CONNECTIONS(TM) Registration Sponsor for the upcoming U.S. event in Santa Clara, Califorina from June 2-4, 2009.

Alcatel-Lucent is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 16.98 billion in 2008 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris.

For more information, visit: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/

New services, experiences, options for advanced TV, video, and multimedia a key focus at CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase

Parks Associates has announced the speakers in the Content and Services track at CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase, which features a keynote from Verizon and sessions focused on the future of the set-top box, Web TV, advertising, and interactive services.

Parks Associates research shows the number of broadband households worldwide now exceeds 400 million. In addition, more than 200 million households have a data network, and 73 million have a residential gateway.

Joseph Ambeault, Director, Product Development and Management, Video Services, Verizon, will deliver the opening keynote, FiOS TV: Changing TV for Good, on June 3 at 10:00 a.m.

TV 2.0 – The Future of the Set-Top Box, June 3 at 11:15 a.m., discusses changes in the set-top and its impact on other CE and networking devices. Speakers include:

Seale Moorer, CEO, Exceptional Innovation
Mike Noonen, SVP, Sales and Marketing, NXP Semiconductors
Jan Steenkamp, Founder Member, Head Market Development, Irdeto
Steve Tranter, VP Interactive and Broadband, NDS
Derek Turner, Senior Product Mgr, TV, Video & Music Business, Microsoft

WebTV: Extreme TV Makeover?, June 3 at 1:30 p.m., examines the online video space and its impact on traditional TV services as well as opportunities to distribute Web content throughout the home. Speakers include:

Ajay Dugar, Executive Director, Paramount Digital Entertainment
Pankaj Gupta, Manager, Market Management - Service Providers, Cisco
Wilfred Martis, Dir., Platform Strategy & Planning, Digital Home Grp, Intel
Avner Ronen, CEO & Co-Founder, Boxee
Edgar Villalpando, SVP, Marketing, ActiveVideo Networks

Interactive Services: Engaging the Consumer, June 3 at 2:30 p.m., examines the worldwide pay television market and consumer adoption of broadband video, including willingness to pay for advanced television features. Speakers include:

Sean Besser, VP, Business Development, Macrovision
Jeff Bonin, VP, GM, Alticast
Brandon Brown, CEO, Zodiac Interactive
Vibha Rustagi, CEO & President, itaas, Inc.

Multimedia on Mobile Devices, June 4 at 11:15 a.m., discusses emerging mobile multimedia applications and future business strategies. Speakers include:

Jackson Gates, Director, Business Development, Pandora
Brian Johnson, SVP, Americas and Asia Pacific, mBlox, Inc.
Craig Lee, VP Marketing, Ortiva Wireless
Rick Schwartz, Product Manager, DLNA, PacketVideo
Scot Zarkiewicz, CEO, SingleClick Systems

To view the full press release, click here.

Cisco Sponsors CONNECTIONS

Parks Associates and the CONNECTIONS(TM) Conference welcomes Cisco Systems as a 2009 US Gold Sponsor.

Cisco Systems, Inc. is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Today, networks are an essential part of business, education, government and home communications, and Cisco Internet Protocol-based (IP) networking solutions are the foundation of these networks.

Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create Internet solutions that allow individuals, companies, and countries to increase productivity, improve customer satisfaction and strengthen competitive advantage. The Cisco name has become synonymous with the Internet, as well as with the productivity improvements that Internet business solutions provide. At Cisco, our vision is to change the way people work, live, play and learn.

For more information, visit http://www.cisco.com/ .

CrossLoop Now Provides Support for Mac Users

CrossLoop, Inc., an Internet company that enables consumers and small businesses to receive help through independent service providers and technology, today announced Mac users can now gain easy access to immediate and qualified technical support. Through a Mac-specific beta version of CrossLoop's award-winning, free desktop sharing software, CrossLoop enables Mac users across the globe to find immediate help and training for virtually any tech issue - anytime, anywhere.

CrossLoop Mac compatibility enables a more seamless experience while providing application training and support across platforms, whether users enlist tech-savvy family and friends for free or access CrossLoop's network of tech Helpers for professional support. Users can now transfer files seamlessly, from Mac to Mac, Mac to Windows, or Windows to Mac. This is especially valuable to consumers switching from a PC to a Mac. Consumers can now receive tech support from CrossLoops network of trusted, qualified service providers, regardless of their computing platform preference.

CrossLoop's easy-to-use, free desktop sharing technology simplifies working securely with others in different physical locations across diverse network environments. Combined with the community of more than 10,000 technology experts, CrossLoop brings personal relationships back to tech support. Technology experts in the CrossLoop Marketplace have a wide range of expertise, including hardware support, software and applications support and training. Users have logged over 100 million help minutes to date, which translates to more than 190 years of connectivity in less than three years.

CrossLoop continues to grow its platform and service to help solve customers’ tech support issues. Over the last year, the number of Helpers in the Marketplace has increased more than 430 percent. The total number of help sessions has grown 380 percent to over five million sessions.

The CrossLoop Help Marketplace and CrossLoop's free desktop sharing software are available at http://www.crossloop.com/. For more information, please visit http://www.crossloop.com/.

For the full press release, click here.

In addition, CrossLoop's Jon Burr, VP of Customer Experience and Operations, will be speaking on the Remote Technical Support panel at the June CONNECTIONS Conference in Santa Clara.

SupportSoft Launches Performance Manager for Targeted, Automatic PC Optimization and Repairs

Software easily speeds up computers by quickly fixing problems, including defragmenting disks, removing unwanted software and repairing registries --

SupportSoft, Inc., a provider of software and services that make technology work, announced the release of Performance Manager, its newest proactive support and “do-it-yourself” tool that automates and simplifies routine computer maintenance, so end-users’ PCs can keep running like new—even as they age.

Over time, all desktop and laptop computers naturally accumulate clutter that slows them down; exposes them to viruses, spyware and malware; and can even cause application freezes or system crashes. Like automobiles or any frequently used machine, maintenance is just as important for computers, which need regular tune-ups to run smoothly and stay in top performance.

Performance Manager leverages SupportSoft’s innovative ‘sync’, authoring, and targeting technology for computer troubleshooting and repair—allowing digital and managed service providers to personalize the solution to their customers’ unique needs. The software is built especially to work behind the scenes, carrying out periodic, non-intrusive clean-up jobs that keep a hard drive spotless. Further, it provides easy-to-follow access to routine PC fixes and updates that can enable system applications to work more efficiently.

Performance Manager effectively scans a user’s system looking for ways to improve maintenance, policy, performance, and security functions. It examines the operating system, memory and disk space, software, programs and settings, and enhances them when appropriate. Key to its ease is an intuitive wizard that recommends changes and guides end-users through update procedures. With step-by-step instructions, users can defragment a disk, add or remove programs, upgrade security settings, or schedule ongoing maintenance—all from one interface.

The self-help approach behind SupportSoft Performance Manager puts users in control of their computer settings and software applications without taking significant time or technical know-how. Users can enjoy optimized system performance that does not diminish as their computers age. Significant benefits include accelerated startups, downloads and web surfing, as well as savings on repair costs and time making service-related phone calls.

Performance Manager is now generally available as a standalone client and can be integrated with both SupportSoft Dynamic Agent and Subscriber Agent™ platforms.

For more information about the SupportSoft, visit http://www.supportsoft.com/.

To view the full press release, click here.

Posted on behalf of SupportSoft.

CONNECTIONS™ features Connected CE track and Keynote from DECE and Sony Pictures

Expanding Connectivity to devices creating new markets for home systems & CE --

Parks Associates has announced the speakers, including the Keynote from Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) and Sony Pictures Entertainment, as part of the connected CE focus at CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference & Showcase. The event will be held June 2-4 at the Santa Clara Convention Center and features a track of sessions that examines the impact and business opportunities from adding Internet connectivity to devices such as TVs, mobile phones, and portable devices.

Mitch Singer, CTO and Executive Vice President of New Media and Technology for Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc., and President of DECE, will present the closing keynote Entertainment 2.0: The Future of Entertainment on Wednesday, June 3. Mr. Singer’s presentation focuses on DECE’s efforts to reshape digital distribution, from enhancing the consumer experience to lowering barriers of entry for service providers. Mr. Singer also focuses on the requirements of the “Millennial” generation (consumers ages 13-32) and how they are driving the need to develop more portable and mobile content access solutions.

CONNECTIONS™ sessions in the Connected CE track on June 3 will focus on the impact of new technology and user interfaces for connected consumer electronics.

Extending the Reach of Wired Networks and Interfaces examines the technologies connecting products to services in and outside of the home. Speakers include:

Chenyi Chiu, Strategic Program Manager, HD-PLC Alliance
Brian Donnelly, VP, Sales and Marketing, Icron
Micha Risling, VP, Marketing, Valens Semiconductor
Steve Yum, Sr. Director, Marketing, Synerchip

Bringing “Cloud Media” to Consumer Electronics Devices focuses on the core technology components and new business models in expanding connections between CE and the Internet. Speakers include:

Meir Friedlander, CEO, Eyecon Technologies
Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo Broadband
Alex Limberis, COO, Syabas Technology
Loren Shade, VP Marketing, Allegro Software Development Corporation

For more information on CONNECTIONS™, visit http://www.connectionsconference.com/ .

Bringing Interactive TV to Consumer Electronics Devices

In the last 15 years we have seen a rapid development of Internet services, first through the PC and then through the mobile phone. TV is probably the most ubiquitous media consumption device in the world, and it has always been a matter of time before the TV came online. Currently, development is driven by telecom operators launching IPTV services, but in 2009 we are seeing the first major initiatives consumer electronics companies.

Indeed, I’m sure you’ve seen the plethora of announcements relating to Connected TV services over the last few months. Accedo Broadband will officially announce this week the inclusion of its Funspot® casual games service in the Philips Net TV, which is being launched in several TV models across Europe right now. As well as this, Accedo Broadband’s games are included in Yahoo!® Widget TVs, Digeo’s Moxi DVRs and the Sharp AQUOS Net TV. We at Accedo will bring a range of new interactive TV services to Connected TV devices all over the world. The innovation possibilities are endless.

The new Connected TV market is by far the most exciting Internet trend since the emergence of the mobile Internet. Within 10 years virtually all TVs will be online in one way or the other, creating a huge new market. The convergence between the TV and the PC will continue, but in the foreseeable future the differences between the two media industries will be larger than the similarities. As always, when new markets arise, there will be plenty of failed attempts and false expectations but the fact is that our TV experience will be transformed into something completely different in the coming years.

Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo Broadband will be on a panel exploring how to bring “Cloud Media” to Consumer Electronics Devices at Connections next month. The session takes place on Wednesday June 3rd at 2:30pm.

CONNECTIONS welcomes Exceptional Innovation and Direct Energy as new sponsor

Parks Associates welcomes Exceptional Innovation (also known as LifeWare) and Direct Energy as a 2009 Silver Level Sponsor for the CONNECTIONS US event.

Based in the Columbus suburb of Westerville, Ohio, Exceptional Innovation produces Lifeware(TM), software and hardware automation and entertainmentsolutions for digital living. Lifeware creates a lifestyle experience thatallows consumers to enjoy their digital entertainment and manage theirlighting, multi-room audio, HVAC, security, appliances and other subsystems,as well as, energy monitoring and metering devices and home healthcare devicesthrough a single user interface. Led by software industry professionals withextensive experience in distributed computing based on open standards andarchitecture, Exceptional Innovation combines development expertise with yearsof control experience to deliver simple, seamless, life-enhancing solutions.

Direct Energy is one of North America's largest energy and energy-relatedservices providers with over 5 million residential and commercial customerrelationships. Direct Energy provides customers with choice and support inmanaging their energy costs through a portfolio of innovative products andservices. A subsidiary of Centrica plc (LSE: CNA), one of the world's leadingintegrated energy companies, Direct Energy operates in 21 states plus theDistrict of Columbia and 10 provinces in Canada.

For more information, please visit http://www.life-ware.com/ or http://www.directenergy.com/.

New Austin Energy Keynote Announced

Parks Associates & the CONNECTIONS Conference welcomes a new keynote speaker, Andres E. Carvallo, the Chief Information Officer of Austin Energy. Andres will deliver the opening keynote address "Building the Smart Grid" at 10 AM on Thursday, June 4th.

Andres is responsible for the technology vision, planning, development and operations across the enterprise. Since February of 2003, Andres has been driving a wireless and SOA transformation to deliver a fully-integrated and self-healing enterprise. The current direction for the company is to deliver the first smart grid in the US by 2009.

Andres is a requested speaker on CleanTech, Smart Grid, SOA, Wireless, and Running IT as a Business. He is co-author of Information Technology Leadership and CTO Best Practices Collection. And he is an honoree to many awards, including IT Executive of the Year by the Association of Information Technology Professionals in 2005, Premier 100 IT Leader by Computerworld in 2006, Best in Class of Premier 100 by Computerworld in 2006, CIO 100 Award by CIO Magazine in 2006, InformationWeek 500 by InformationWeek Magazine in 2007 and 2008, Computerworld’s Top 12 Green IT Companies in 2008 and 2009, and Computerworld Honors Laureate in 2009.

Andres has over 23 years of experience and great knowledge of the Energy, Software, Computer, and Wireless industries.

Opening sessions feature TiVo, YouTube, Cisco, IBM, Yahoo!, VIZIO, AnySource

CONNECTIONS™ to address business strategies for Premium Web Video Content and Connected TV --

Parks Associates announced the speakers for two key sessions, The Marriage of Online Video to CE and Connected TV Strategies, at CONNECTIONS™, June 2-4, at the Santa Clara Convention Center. These sessions address the impact of bringing Web video content to connected TVs and the new business models emerging from manufacturers and content providers as more CE gain enhanced Internet capabilities.

The Marriage of Online Video to CE takes place Tuesday, June 2, 5:15 p.m., following the opening keynote Embedding Wireless in Consumer Electronics, by Glenn Lurie, President of Emerging Devices and Resale, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets.

Speakers for this session:
>> Jim Denney, VP, Product Marketing, TiVo Inc.
>> Brent Hurley, Strategic Partner Development Manager, YouTube
>> Ken Wirt, VP, Consumer Marketing, Cisco Systems

Connected TV Strategies takes place Wednesday, June 3, 9 a.m. It addresses business plans, new revenues models, and marketing strategies for CE manufacturers selling advanced televisions. Following this session, Joseph Ambeault, Director, Product Development and Management, Video Services, Verizon, will present the morning keynote.

Speakers for this session:
>> Bruce Anderson, GM, IBM
>> Mike Harris, CEO, AnySource
>> Matthew McRae, VP, GM, Advanced Platforms, VIZIO
>> Russ Schafer, Sr. Director, Product Marketing, Connected TV, Yahoo!

Parks Associates forecasts that by 2013, worldwide annual sales of connected CE will exceed 100 million units, while cable and IPTV VoD service revenues will reach $11 billion.

To view the full press release, click here.

NXP sponsors CONNECTIONS 2009

Parks Associates welcomes NXP as a 2009 CONNECTIONS sponsor.

NXP is a leading semiconductor company founded by Philips more than 50 years ago. Headquartered in Europe, the company has about 30,000 employees working in more than 30 countries and posted sales of USD 5.4 billion (including the Mobile & Personal business) in 2008.

NXP creates semiconductors, system solutions and software that deliver better sensory experiences in TVs, set-top boxes, identification applications, mobile phones, cars and a wide range of other electronic devices.

For more information about NXP, visit http://www.nxp.com/.

Icron OEM Customers Leverage the Convenience and Simplicity of USB 2.0 Core Modules for Embedded Applications

Icron’s ExtremeUSB® 2.0 Core 2100 Modules Enable True High Speed, Long Reach USB 2.0 Connectivity for KVM Extension, Industrial Automation, Medical, and Digital Home Applications

OEMs looking to enhance the functionality of their solutions have been leveraging the convenience and simplicity of Icron’s ExtremeUSB® 2.0 Core 2100 module daughter boards for wired USB 2.0 extension applications. These small form factor embedded modules enable Icron customers to locate any USB device remotely from a PC Host, from keyboards and mice, to web cameras, DVD players, printers, scanners and MP3 players. Standard implementations support USB 2.0 extension up to 328 ft (100m) over Cat 5 and up to 6 miles (10km) over fiber optics.

Icron’s ExtremeUSB Core 2100 provides a flexible solution in a compact form factor that is a simple and inexpensive way to embed USB extension technology into OEM applications. The Core 2100 modules provide all the ExtremeUSB functionality required to enable long reach USB 2.0 connectivity over Cat 5 or fiber optics, enabling the customer to design the interfaces and connector configurations required for their specific application. The Core 2100 modules are an ideal solution for providing a true USB 2.0 connection alongside remote video or audio extension solutions.

Icron’s USB 2.0 extension solutions are ideal for multiple applications including industrial automation/control, KVM extension and enterprise remote desktops, security, digital signage, medical imaging, security, and home network integration.

As with all ExtremeUSB products from Icron, the Core 2100 modules support all operating systems and offer true plug and play functionality with no new driver installations needed.

To learn more, visit Icron’s ExtremeUSB 2.0 Core 2100 Modules and Development Kits.

Want to Stay Ahead of The Tech Curve? BluePhone Personal Tech Experts Recommend Five Hot Products

This Tech Gear Menu Keeps it Real--

Most people these days have households full of digital gadgets and machines. From computers and laptops to mp3 players, televisions and gaming systems, Americans have a penchant for staying on the front edge of personal technology.

However, technology continues to move at a dizzying pace making products faster, smaller, more integrated and more efficient. To stay ahead of the curve, take a look at these product ideas from the Personal Tech Experts at BluePhone, the online computer support company:

Mini Laptops – With enough processing power for most any kind of everyday use, and a small enough form factor to fit into many purses, mini laptops, with screens from about seven to ten inches, are a great option for people on the go or looking for an ultra-sleek laptop computer.

Netflix / Blu-Ray Players – This January at the Consumer Electronics Show, there were several players introduced that will play Blu-Ray disks, as well as stream Netflix. This combination offers the latest and greatest of video technology with Blu-Ray, including full 1080p resolution and 7.1 surround sound.

WiFi Music Players – It used to be that people needed to download songs to their computers, connect their mp3 players, and upload the songs in order to listen to them. With one of these types of players, a song can be downloaded instantly to the device.

Extra External Storage – For people who have multiple computers or just want to be able to take their data with them, external storage is getting more compact and more powerful. Flash drives up to 64 gigabytes, also sometimes called thumb drives or key chain drives, can be easily found.

Better Printers – Recent Kodak commercials claim Americans wasted $5 billion on ink jet ink. For someone who feels they spend a lot of money on ink, they should take a look at Kodak’s modestly priced printers starting at about $100. A full ink replacement costs a slim $25 ($10 for black and $15 for a full color packet).

All of this new technology is great; that is unless there are problems getting them to work with your existing setup. Certified online technology support experts such as BluePhone will get your technologies working practically right out of the box.

Register for the BluePhone two-week free trial and enjoy full, unlimited access to BluePhone Personal Tech Experts. For additional information, visit www.bluephone.com or call 877-442-BLUE (877-442-2583).

Connected consumer electronics sales to exceed 100 million units annually by 2013

Consumer demand for digital media and online content will push worldwide annual sales of connected CE to more than 100 million units by 2013, according to the new Parks Associates report Home Networks for Consumer Electronics.

The market for connected CE includes networked TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, home media servers, and set-top boxes. Through network and Internet connections, these devices can access and display home network content such as photos and music and retrieve online content such as widgets, games, and video from Hulu and YouTube.

Diverse user scenarios create multiple challenges for technology developers, according to Scherf, including interface design as well as connectivity.

Home Networks for Consumer Electronics covers consumer and technology trends in the connected CE market and provides forecasts for multiple connected CE product categories. For more information, visit http://www.parksassociates.com/, or contact 972-490-1113, sales@parksassociates.com.

The CONNECTIONS™ conference, June 2-4, features a Connected CE track, including the panels Extending the Reach of Wired Networks and Interfaces and Bringing “Cloud Media” to Consumer Electronics Devices. For registration, or to request a press pass, visit http://www.connectionsconference.com/.

To view the full press release, click here.

Internet Paths to the Connected TV

There have been multiple attempts to connect the living room to the Internet - the CES buzz is around Internet-connected TVs is the latest. The consumer's struggle to connect personalized content to the living room flatscreen continues unresolved (we help with those challenges every day at support.com).

Let's break down what people really mean when they say they want an "Internet-connected TV" - here are things you can do today by connecting a TV to a PC (or Mac):

• Watch movies and TV on demand - while still only subscribing to basic cable. With Netflix and other sites (Hulu and Joost plus broadcaster websites to name just a few) offering up hours of video content via your PC for free or as part of a subscription offering you get a taste of true on demand programming that complements your DVR. (And TiVo has figured that out - now partnered with Netflix. And Disney has figured that out - leading the charge getting TV content on to the Internet and now bought into Hulu).
• Watch any baseball game from anywhere (excluding blackout restrictions) via MLB.TV. I'm a huge Blue Jays fan and moving to California in 2000 meant being cutoff from my team - not anymore. Getting a slimline PC connected to our living room flatscreen was justified by this application alone.
• Stay connected with the whole story - not just soundbites. The 2008 election cycle really brought politics into the 21st century. It is now possible to watch just about every major speech - in full and in high quality - via YouTube and other websites, plus leave your two cents behind as commentary.
• Watch and enjoy your personal media (music / movies / photographs) on the flatscreen in your living room. Remember all those media adapters? Applications like Orb.com turn PCs into Internet media servers.
• Webcam calls with family and friends - Skype and other applications make it easy turn a webcam into a personal videoconference tool (which is even cooler when connected to a living room flatscreen).
• And more... (didn't even mention gaming, for example)

The point is you can accomplish all of the above with a single device - the PC (or Mac) - or you can string together a combination of purpose-built devices.

Here's the catch - purpose-built devices, like a TiVo or cablebox or gaming console are very robust because they are purpose-built. They are not open and therefore tend to be less flexible. The latest addition to the purpose-built device realm is the Internet-connected TV (and this is round 2 - remember WebTV which morphed into MSN TV?)

Can you achieve both - flexibility and robustness? The evidence to-date is no. The cost of flexibility is more things break. The constraint of robustness is you better like what you get (because you can't easily change it) - or be prepared to have a bunch of purpose-built devices.

The debate over "is the Internet-connected TV useful?" is over. Internet-connected TVs are very useful. The only question is how to best connect the Internet to the TV - and that will be an interesting debate for years to come.

AnySource Media to Share Insights at Parks Associates' CONNECTIONS Conference

Mike Harris Addresses Connected TV Strategies--

AnySource Media, LLC will share technology insights at the upcoming CONNECTIONS™ Conference hosted by leading research firm Parks Associates with support from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®). This unique research-driven executive conference and showcase delivers insight and recommendations for new business models and opportunities in digital media/content, connected consumer electronics, broadband and value-added services, and home systems.

AnySource Media’s CEO, Mike Harris, will participate in a session entitled, “Connected TV Strategies” on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. PDT. Television’s role as a multimedia access platform will grow considerably once Internet connections link it to online content sources. This opportunity prompts questions on how consumer electronics manufacturers will build scale, create new revenue models, and market and sell advanced televisions. This panel addresses these issues as it looks at connected TVs and content services.

Parks Associates research indicates there are 1.9 million households subscribing to Telco/IPTV services in the U.S. Harris will address the consumer electronics space and the quest to quickly provide a capital efficient mechanism for delivering Internet content. Specifically, he will discuss the AnySource Media approach to Internet-connected TV which includes a turnkey Internet-enabled TV platform, embedded software in HDTVs and other CE devices as well as a data center back end to support easy TV navigation and eCommerce transactions.

WHAT: Connected TV Strategies
WHO: Mike Harris, CEO, AnySource Media
WHEN: Wednesday, June 3, 2009 9:00 a.m. PDT
WHERE: CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase
Santa Clara Convention Center
501 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, California 95054

For more information, please visit www.AnySource.com

DivX joins CONNECTIONS Sponsors

Parks Associates welcomes DivX as a 2009 CONNECTIONS(TM) Sponsor. DivX will be the Wednesday, June 3rd breakfast sponsor at the US event from June 2-4 in Santa Clara, California.


DivX, Inc. is a digital media company that enables consumers to enjoy a high-quality video experience across any kind of device. DivX creates, distributes and licenses digital video technologies that span the "three screens" comprising today's consumer media environment -- the PC, the television and mobile devices. Over 100 million DivX Certified devices have shipped into the market from leading consumer electronics manufacturers. DivX also offers content providers and publishers a complete solution for the distribution of secure, high-quality digital video content. Driven by a globally recognized brand and a passionate community of hundreds of millions of consumers, DivX is simplifying the video experience to enable the digital home.

For more information about DivX, visit http://www.divx.com/.

By listening closely to consumers, brands can transcend and transact

Show Some Respect...

Many are biding their time by tinkering with what didn't work last year. Case in point: If you think of advertising today, the "Shamwow," dancing cowboys and "You've Just Won" banner ads seem to dominate—very stupid sells, I would argue. The message to consumers has become increasingly disrespectful and is the ad businesses' equivalent to the current panic selling happening in the stock market. Fear makes us act, even if the action isn't logical.

The concept of "listening" has made it beyond conversations within ARF meetings. Case in point: our First Lady is taking a "Listening Tour" around America. Listening is finally getting the respect it deserves, for good reason. True listening allows marketers to adjust messages to make them relevant and, yes, respectful to the consumer. And listening to consumers has never been more important, since their needs and priorities change constantly. Last year's media plan might as well be 100 years old. Brand loyalty declines due to lack of relevance; a direct result of not listening.

So how do we achieve Respect Marketing when budgets and CPM are shrinking? Instead of letting these conditions turn consumer conversations into brash, unwanted, one-way pitches, we need to really stop and listen to our consumers today. Is the message or program that we're offering respectful and of value? Are we adjusting our actions and messages to tap into core human needs? Are we appealing to consumers' desires to do good, win, connect with others and express themselves? Or even more simply, would anyone like to see this?

In the end, it's not about the size of our ad budgets or CPM rates. And it's certainly not about repeating last year's mistakes again and again. It's about listening and respecting the changing consumer by participating in their conversation. In doing so, you create a customer for life who will continue to return to your site or buy your product.

By respecting consumers, you are instilling in them a desire to reward marketers and publishers with their loyalty and, ultimately, their dollars.

Written by Peter Daboll is CEO of Bunchball. Posted on behalf of Bunchball.