Tretakoff Musings

AT&T is sponsoring a new web series, Daybreak (http://m.daybreak2012.com/). As you might expect, it's heavy with product placement, but truly no more than network shows like Hawaii Five-0, and the tech is clever, showcasing apps and augmented reality, but what really sets it apart from previous attempts at web based television shows is the writing, directing, and production quality. In other words, it's one of the first web series that is actually worth watching. It's brought to you from Tim Kring, the former television wunderkind who brought Heroes to the screen. Before you groan, think back to the first season of Heroes: tight writing, well woven plot elements, and a relentless drive to a final culmination. That's what Daybreak captures. The director is Jon Cassar, who was the primary director of 24, and his energy infused style is clearly evident. But the standout is the writing, from the always talented Raven Metzner (disclosure: I went to school with Raven an...

Trying the Google+ Hangout instead of my uStream webcam. Don't expect a lot of excitement or interactivity, however. :-)

Flash sales are an amazing phenomenon.Companies like Fab.com have been conducting these curated sales, with each item available for only a very limited time, to great success (Fab recently raised $40 million in new investment, and will generate over $100 million this year). And they are not alone: there are literally dozens of flash sale sites, ranging in specialties on sporting goods ( The Clymb ), furnishings ( Joss & Main , etc.), and every vertical under the sun. For the consumer, quite the win. Or is it? The interesting evolution of flash sale sites start with the same premise. Take, for instance, the come-hither for one of the flash sale granddaddies, Gilt Groupe : "Join Gilt to find the best brands at up to 60% off". Each of these sites promise unheard of savings on amazing brands, all for extremely limited times. And in the early days of their sites, it is so: many run staggeringly low prices for brands. Why and how? Simple: acquisition marketing. These sites...

As a cyclist in the city and suburbs, I took particular note of this story in today's SFGate of a cyclist who recorded being hit by a car, who seemingly veered into the two bikes, and then proceeded on, as if nothing had happened. Take a look below; the actual crash happens around 2:35: Now this is horrific, to say the least. But it brings up a series of observations and questions for me: As the comments in YouTube all point out, earlier in the video you can see the cyclists casually blowing through stop signs, without stopping. Am I guilty of this? Yes, at rare times, when there is no one around, and not in a busy area; still doesn't make it right. Do they deserve to be karmically punished for this by the actions of the car later? Of course not. But cyclists have to remember that we are vehicles, and, as this video shows, defenseless ones. We need to obey the rules of the road, period. What an amazing use of digital video! I never thought of this; brilliant. Now, if I...

I recently opined about an article that proclaimed the fax machine was now "obsolete." Much to my chagrin, I noted: I only wish! It astounds me that we still don't have mainstream digital signature technology for contracts and the like. Companies like RightSignature are trying hard, but we're not even close to getting rid of this 1970's behemoth until we do. Sure, we can use scanners and PDF attachments to e-mail, but that's above the heads of most of the folks who deal with these things daily. Conclusion: Nope. Well, Adobe, makers of the Acrobat PDF reader, finally updated the app this week, adding in signature support. Yes, you can now either let them make an ersatz version of our signature, as if you signed with your precious quill, or you can use your own scanned signature for more verisimilitude. Better yet, they also updated the mobile versions: that's right, you can now digitally scrawl your John Hancock from your iOS or Android device. I...

More great news from the killing paper front: another team in the NFL has decided to shift from paper-based playbooks to the tablet (in this case, like so many, the iPad). The Denver Broncos have decided to join the Baltimore Ravens and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in tossing out the massive, obsolete and frequently outdated complicated NFL playbooks in favor of an iPad. This is a trend that needs to continue. Now, maybe Denver feels the time is right, as they have a new quarterback who is known for calling his own plays at the line, but the fact that this is updateable, and can be enhanced with actual video of the team running the play, means this is a trend that's here to stay. And who knows? Much like videogames have trained an entire generation to be future Air Force drone aircraft operators, or have influenced cockpit display design , who's to say that the next Bill Parcells won't use their version of Madden on the iPad to parlay into an NFL head coaching job? It...

Great article today on the rise of Pinterest , that now seemingly viral service that has exploded onto the scene. The article focuses on a few aspects that I have marveled at: Unlike Facebook Like and Twitter, this time online marketers, specifically those with e-commerce capabilities, have embraced and integrated Pinterest into their offerings in absolute record time. While it took months/years for many etailers to figure out how to drop Facebook Like buttons onto product pages, Pinterest buttons popped up in mere weeks. There seems to be as much emphasis on mobile with Pinterest as web; that's a huge differentiator. In fact, as today's article points out, it's forcing changes to site designs to accommodate the mobile visitor automatically. Who's have predicted the catalyst to make sites ubiquitously mobile friendly would be a rehashed social bookmark service? Unlike other services, e-marketers are embracing Pinterest across the enterprise, not just in the ...