I have to admit somewhat sadly, I watch a lot of television. I use the DVR to capture a lot of it because it allows me to watch it on my time. The DVR i use is from Comcast, the software is not the best (I cant wait for the TIVO interface). In any case you setup shows to record and then you can get a season recording so it gets all the new shows. Great stuff, and works well until recently. It seems that they have started to schedule shows at odd times. Now i wont go so far as to say there is a conspiracy at work here. But, it certainly can cause one to think. Lets take a look at an example.
From 8-9 I record both CSI and Law and Order
From 9-10 i record Mythbusters and a special on the cosmos.
This works great for me, unless there is something else i want to record. Luckily it does not happen all that often. But now on occasion i am finding that some shows run from 8-901.
I would have expected that the shows i wanted to record from 9-10 would just start recording at 901 right? NOPE. They wont record at all since there was overlap. Very odd i know.
Do you think this is some messed up way to keep people watching the shows they want you to. Perhaps if you can’t DVR it, you will not record the other show, or perhaps you wont DVR it and you will watch it commercials and all? Maybe this will be a way the networks can get more people back to watching live TV?
I don't honestly know if the networks have any ulterior motives for this stuff or if Comcast just has a crappy DVR. But i think there is a good point/example to be made.
I see a fair number of companies out there who rather than trying to help the consumer enjoy their product/service more they are trying to prevent you, hinder you or make the other guys stuff less appealing. They are trying to make it harder to move from their stuff to the other guys stuff in totally the wrong way.
Rather than trying to put up barriers to exit, why not simply make your product/service that much better. Spend the time, money, resources on improving the product/service or getting out there to connect with your community. Build and awesome, product/service, build a strong community, grow a raving fan base, and connect with them. THAT will work better than trying to be sneaky about it.
Playing a sales role in different organizations has given me the opportunity to see other forms of this first hand. Constantly disparaging your competitors, starting rumors, good old FUD is always a tool in the belt. I could never participate in this, I think those methods stink. I would rather work to help the customer understand the product, what I feel its strengths are, help them map the strengths and features to their needs. I always encouraged them to evaluate all their options even if that meant other products. If they end up choosing my product/service. I have made not only a sale, but probably a loyal fan. If they chose the other guy, then I now have an opportunity to learn what we may need to improve but I probably also still made a fan them a fan of the company, and that can help in the long run.
Here is a great place to get you started in learning about social media. One of the best places i have seen to read about Social Media
And one of my new favorite sites
Just found a post that speaks to this as well. Find it here
http://mediatransparent.com/2009/01/01/10-leading-trends-in-social-media-for-2009/
"Business Week’s Steven Wildstrom notes that consumers can’t find many great old movies on DVD or online in this era of the long tail retailing.
The battle is between an industry that wants to tightly control who gets to see what when and customers who want to watch what they want wherever and whenever. This clash is slowly being resolved in favor of consumers. Movies are becoming available for download and on DVD more quickly after theatrical release. Director Steven Soderbergh has a deal with Mark Cuban’s Landmark Theatres and HDNet that allows some of his movies to be released on disk and online the same day they show up in theaters. I expect more movies to be launched this way.
The day you can choose to see a new movie in a theater, on your TV, on your laptop, or on your iPhone is still some time off, but it is coming.
Let me know what you think. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome here. You can find me on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. Or you can email me directly chris dot geier at Gmail.com
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