I got a brief view of all the capabilities of Active Video and was impressed. Sure my company, VoyageTV has an Active Video channel on Cablevision (channel 608), but I had never met Active’s CEO Jeff Miller nor had I seen what the capabilities could be.

And I have Boxee running on my laptop and have distribution deals with several over-the-top solutions, but Active Video has a couple big advantages that could help them win. While Active Video can run off a cable box, it doesn’t really need to. It can run with a Web connection. And it doesn’t require “box” which is a mistake that Boxee is making (in my opinion). I doubt I would buy a box — even an Apple TV box. Why would you? The TV is itself a box. Connected to the Internet it just needs to “tune” to an IP address that can deliver a user experience given the aspect ratio and size of most sets.

And Active Video delivers on the Interface. Big Plus. Finally, partnering with the cable companies seems like perhaps anchoring to a sinking ship, but I wouldn’t bet against cable just yet. There is simply too much ad money there and people watch a lot of TV and will be doing so for quite some time. So trying to capitalize a start-up waiting for the cable companies to run out of steam seems like a painful ordeal. Better join ‘em. For now. Like Active Video.

Google giveth and Google crusheth.  One of our VC’s at VoyageTV sent me a note during the week about Google’s changing algorithm. I tend to not always respond to emailed articles during the day, but I tend to always respond to our VC. Google’s move was welcome and search results were shuffled immediately.

My point of view at the time was something along the lines of Hallelujah. After reading more my POV remains the same. There is no shortage of coverage on the topic and here is one that’s more General Interest at CNET if you hadn’t seen/followed the announcement. Coming from the magazine business where getting a good story assigned, edited, and fact checked – I mean a GOOD story – was always a challenge, and I’m always amazed by the amount of dreck being tossed up on the Web.

So maybe there’s hope for writers who approach the task as a craft as opposed to a search optimized, trend predicted, word counted endeavor. Good writing, like a good film, good food or anything that takes talent is still a scarce commodity. Ranking sites based on who could simply post the most sentences tipped the balance toward the Demand Media’s of the world (still does apparently – sell below). But good to see the pendulum swing. Let’s see if Google can create a ranking for a good story as opposed to good web story.

Now there have been reports of blogs and others being “hit” by the new algorithm – for me traffic is up, but here are some interesting articles on the topic:

Google Kills eHow Competitors

Google Farmer: Quest for Quality

And as much as I disagree with Demand Media’s version of content, it seems like Google’s recent adjustment was more about duplicate content than less-than-stellar content. Let’s see where the pendulum ends up.

Having spent well over a decade in print I revert to it as a reference though the application of design in print is very different from interactive. Magazine covers are designed to engage a casual newsstand peruser enough to get them to take a closer look while websites are inviting (or not) for a host of other reasons and generally have more lifting to do.

At VoyageTV we’re still quite young so we need to communicate what we do, what a user can do with us, and who we are built for demographically within a few seconds. While I think it’s clear that we’re in the travel business we’re beginning to undertake reworking how we present the “who we are built for” aspect which calls into play nearly everything.

At Oneworld, as the founder and publisher, design was my responsibility as was the business overall, but my aim has always been to find the right team. For the cover above the editor, photo-editor, photographer and designer had to come to a presentation that satisfied each. My role was to have input into those delicate conversations, but more so building a sustainable business meant finding the right people.

At Voyage we have the right person in our Creative Director, Battista Remati, and now for the “team” part. We’re just beginning to talk to talent who take what we need to do as a business and present it in a way where all the pieces come together; the user experience, the typography, the colors, the functionality, and creative choices in images AND in the creation and presentation of the video the content.

We’re at the lead end of a new direction in what is a never-ending conversation about how we’re presenting the business. The thing is I always like to get as much feedback as possible — when I twittered that POV, got some very informed insights from designers and thank you for that…..but more is better…very much appreciate your perspective.

Just getting to Utah. And then to Sundance which is in Park City (airport is Salt Lake City). We tried to submit the short Asylum in 2007. That was the last time I was here. No film this time, though no shortage of ideas. Little time for film with Voyage.tv which has been a whirlwind of production both on the web and in terms of the programming we’ve shot over the past year.

I’m sure we’re coming up on 400 segments between the mini-doc’s we make in-destination and the hotel shoots. Learning has been kinda priceless. But following in footsteps on some of mentors, we press to create more, push to find new opportunity born out of what’s been established. Voyage still has lots of growing to do, and really looking forward to the new design we get up in February (see below), but for now happy to be in Utah. Again.

Did a quick Q/A with BlackWeb2.0 founder Angela Benton for my FastCompany Blog. I’ve always thought the site had an interesting and wide perspective of what’s going on, and has an interesting edit focus that’s a cross between tech and culture.

There are more interesting sites than can be mentioned in any story — so the site itself acts like a reference for what’s going on. The bigger question is which sites can become truly financial viable, can the successful sites already up stay up, and will we see some evolution out of content and more into applications. Certainly there are many Black app developers and interesting businesses such as Sheldon Gilbert’s Proclivity, but would be great to see more.

Black Enterprise gave me and my then partner Eddison Bramble some of our first press more than a decade ago when we had launched New Image Media, “A Hair Rasing Success.” Recently they came thru with piece on Voyage.tv.  It’s in the December issue, but errr don’t see it on their site. Here is a PDF.

Wow. What a turnout for a rainy Wednesday (12.2.2009). Hosted an event with my friends from LastExit.tv (Paul, Nuri and Willie) in an attempt to share connectivity all at once as opposed to one e-troduction at a time. Worked! Thanks to John McDonald at the Merc Bar for the perfect space down in Soho (my full attendee list below).

Willie Mack from LastExit and I have traded many, many contacts and what started out as an idea for a dinner turned into something much larger. Merc Bar has a bunch of memories — my first business in NYC Oneworld had an office at 73 Spring Street — was a fav haunt of then partner/ad director Bill Gibson.

LastExit’s list below is followed by mine (with live links where possible):

LAST EXIT‘S LIST:

Adam Bell, Branding Agent

Adam Shore, Owner the Daily Swarm

Amy Kolker, Owner Jane Street Projects

Ann Ogunsulire, LVMH/Belvedere Global Brand Manager

April Guidone, Senior Events/Projects Glamour Magazine

Catherine Lillie, Exec Producer McCann Erickson

Catherine Patterson, Exec Producer McCann Erickson

Chris Drago, Parter Neo @ Ogilvy Worldwide

Dan Barasch, Director of Partner Engagement/Media Start at Pop!Tech

Gil Linton, Partner at The Joneses

Guia Golden, Presence Marketing Director at Diesel

Mike Eastwood, Director/Producer

Nigel Marcenssem, Engineer/Architect

Rafa, Jewlery Designer Brazil

Ranfi Rivera, Exec Dir Business Dev & Institional Dev at WNET.org

Richard Coughlin

Shawn Gold, CEO Cocodot

Thomas Bunn, President Mission Media

Tommy Everett, Product Designer at Bureau

Warren Seubel, TV Producer/Hedge Fund

——————-

JOHN PASMORE’s LIST FOLLOWS (Voyage.tv):

Adam Bauman, co-founder, STI Management

Adriana Kaegi, president at dearaddy

Alexandra Akira, Cushman & Wakefield Real Estate

Alexis Stember, Producer at Berlin Cameron United

Ari Horowitz, CEO at BlackBook Media

Ariane Marder, Voyage.tv

Barney Monte, Vice President at Rodman & Renshaw, LCC

Bob Ennis, Managing Director at Petsky Prunier LLC

Brent Zachery, Model

Brett Barndt, New Product Development and Change Management

Charles Damato, Partner, Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP

Chioma Nnadi, Style Editor Fader Magazine

Chris Becker, CEO Filemobile.com,Twitter: beckercs

Chuck Baker, CEO Fileblaze.net

Darman Lopez, CEO, Axon Ventures LLC

David Blend, Editor at Thrillist,

David Gallimore, EVP of Sales & Marketing Encore Marketing

Dominique Debay, CEO Dominique Debay Hotel & Resort Marketing

Eddison Bramble, Real Estate Developer

Evan Schreiber, Sr. Director, Business Development 5min.com

Guy Alveraz, CEO, Premium Lifestyle Croup

Henry Watkins, Voyage.tv

J. Mathew Yohanon, Portfolio Manager: TMT at Balyasny Asset Management, L.P.

Jason King, Artistic Director at NYU’s Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, CEO of Superlatude Music Group, Inc.

Jayson Jackson, Founder, Seven Days Entertainment

Jeff Kolton, Principal, Franchise Market Ventures, LLC

Jesse Kirshbaum, CEO/Talent Agent at NUE Agency & Co-Founder of SoundCtrl

Jessica Robinson, OWNER at JESSICA ROBINSON JEWELRY

Juan Carlos Anglero, Founder & CEO Evenagamba

Kobi Wu-Pasmore, Adjunct Professor at New York University

Madhu Puri, Journalist

Michael Green, CEO Brooklyn Surfer

Michael Scott, Partner/C.V.O

Mindy Wyatt, Owner, Rafikvideo.com

Mobolaji Dawodu, Stylist, Fader Magazine & Freelance

Moni Reyes, Model/Filmmaker

Nick Hetherington, Managing Director at NY Living Solutions

Nitro, Nightlife Entrepreneur

Norine Fishman, Premium Lifestyle Croup

Renita Bernard, Manager II at PricewaterhouseCoopers

Roy Edmondson,Partner/SVP Brand Practice/Global Account Director at Ketchum

Sheldon Gilbert, Founder & CEO of Proclivity Systems

Sil-lai Abrams, Owner at Sepia LLC

Sun Kang, Analyst at Merrill Lynch Private Banking & Investment Group

Terry Singh, Internet Entrepreneur

Valerie Idehan, Founder, ValStyle, Twitter: ValStyle

Willie Mack, Exec Dir of Engagement at Last Exit LLC

thanks again…look forward to the next one…! Apologies to anyone I forgot (drop me a note).

Perhaps I should watch the end of the movie before writing, but have loved Erik Enocksson’s soundtrack since I first heard it. The soundtrack led me to the movie (DVD) which is quite a challenge to get.  Farväl Falkenberg is a Swedish film that will take you back (maybe) or perhaps mirror where you’re at. Depending on your age. The film’s stars are in their twenties. And adrift.

In our society — most societies — being adrift is not a positive. There was a time maybe in the ’60s when that spirit characterized the Nation, at least in the media, if not the lives of most. But driftiness has never gone away really. Facebook, Twitter, and tethering gadgetry seem to run counter to being adrift, but can super-size one’s sense of being apart by holding up a relentless yardstick of connectivity, or lack of. Either way, sometimes you just want to turn it all off.

The other aspect of the movie that more than resonates are its ties to the central characters early childhoods — as flashed back in grainy home films.  My son is two and I miss his being two even before he’s three. In another reflection, we all get to have an intimate glimpse of who we once were through our children and that innocence seems a bit distant though the reminder is more than welcome.

More later — will adjust this post as I find time for the middle and end of Falkenberg…but watch it if you can…

Should everyone have their own magazine? Probably not. But if you want an easy way to prototype one check out MagCloud. I love magazines, and there is a certain honesty, if not finely honed execution in the early issues of magazines. I still have the first issue of Vibe, which is better than anything in years you’ve seen from them.

I have an 80’s issue of Details that will have you wax nostalgic for a bygone era where Rudolph manned the door at Danceteria. If nostalgia is your thing. If not, check out some of the talent at MagCloud, or better for them, load one up. I’m sure there’s a future errr…magazine we love….hmmm…future hipper Vanity Fair out there somewhere.

Pictured is a spread from W25 Magazine.

WIRED Magazine chose to push some green buttons. Their cover story provoked usually staid and scientific Real Climate to post a response, “Wired Magazine’s Incoherent Truths“.

Essentially the WIRED piece cuts to the chase of some long held beliefs that it feels will have to be sacrificed at the alter of reality. Doable change as opposed to things we should do (and never accomplish). They include heartstoppers like giving up on organic food, carbon trading doesn’t work and prepare to accept genetic engineering.

In looking at the two articles, one from the aggressively non-designed and mostly scientific website (Real Climate) and one from a publication which cuts down trees, takes money from auto manufactures and generally must earn a profit from the support of some of the countries biggest commercial enterprises I think I would go with the former, Real Climate, as a more trusted source of info to live by. Sorry Wired, but I really do like the gadget section! Always have.

There you have it, Wired is entertaining, and Real Climate has the truth.