Ready for a Full Meal, or Just a Media Snack?

I’ve heard the term “media snacking” several times over the past month. So what is it? Media snacking is the act of grabbing quick “bites” of content. This can include things like short video clips, text messages, tunes, or even blogs like this one. If you're reading this right now, you're snacking!

Most would think that media snacking on mobile devices in particular is just for kids: after all, what working adult has time to engage in such activity? Think again. According to a survey conducted by Leger Marketing on behalf of Palm Canada, 60 per cent of adults are active in mobile entertainment, nibbling on bits of media more often than they even have time to do.

Ironically, the reason adults are raiding the mobile ‘fridge is because of lack of time, and being so overloaded. Most professionals do not work a typical 9-5 day (27 per cent say they work at least 10 hours!), and are finding themselves more often than not on-the-go. Snacking on media is a way to help unwind during the day.

What are mobile adults snacking on? Survey says: tunes and text messages (44 per cent); video clips (19 per cent); and radio (33 per cent). Social networking Websites like Facebook and MySpace are also being visited from portable devices, which is something I can personally attest to, having logged in many times during lunch or while on the road (only as a passenger, I swear!)
Once they’re at home, it appears that many people still can’t manage to put away the BlackBerry until the morning: the temptation to check and respond to e-mail is far too great for any road warrior to fend off. Almost a third of the people even admitted to responding to e-mails while eating dinner; and close to 40 per cent confess to working while attending social or family gatherings (remember Ari during Yom Kippur on the latest episode of Entourage?).

Media snacking is great. But it’s important to ensure all this techno-wizardry doesn’t consume our lives: 24/7 is too much, 9-to-5 is too limiting. I feel it all boils down to balance. If you know when to shut down your connection, you’ll value the nature of mobile technology much more.

Update: Wal-Mart Steps Up CE Presence

We've been told by spokesperson Christi Gallagher at Wal-Mart Canada that the announcement mentioned below is specific to U.S. Wal-Mart stores. However, Wal-Mart Canada has been remodeling its existing stores and opening new Super Centres over the past year, all of which employ a new format for the electronics department. In the case of new stores, this represents about 7,000 sq. ft. of space dedicated to consumer electronics: about double what was previously offered! All stores also feature a new, more open-concept design that allows customers to walk freely through the aisles instead of entering a dedicated CE area.

Gallagher says the changes were made based on research conducted with its Super Centre stores. Not surprisingly, she says iPods and HDTVs are two of Wal-Mart's "hottest selling items right now". The retailer has even added a Connection Centre kiosk in new stores that features things like mobile phones, satellite radio receivers, and GPS devices. Although Wal-Mart Canada hasn't taken on the Skype products like its counterpart in the U.S., the retail giant has been offering Vonage VoIP service since January of this year.

In a way, this is also good news for other CE retailers: if the biggest retailer in the world is ramping up its technology offerings, this means that interest in CE products is as healthy as ever.

Wal-Mart Steps Up CE Presence

According to several reports, U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart is stepping up its consumer electronics offerings, adding more flat-panel TVs from brands like Philips, Sony, and Samsung; and bringing on VoIP products from Skype, including calling cards. I was unable to confirm just yet if the additional SKUs will be available north of the border as well (stay tuned). Either way, this is big news for fellow CE giants, not to mention independents, both of which have been finding it hard to compete with Wal-Mart’s massive price cuts.

Let’s put things in perspective: right now at Future Shop, a brand-name 32-inch widescreen, high-definition LCD can be purchased for just shy of about $1,200. A no-name model is available for $700. A year ago, the same product would have been about double that!

Last month, Wal-Mart Canada added the Prive brand of LCD TVs to its roster: budget-conscious consumers can grab a 32-inch model for a measly $470. The CEO of Prive’s parent company, SOYO, commented at that time that the company was “happy” to be part of Wal-Mart’s “aggressive plan to build its consumer electronics division.” Aggressive is an understatement.

At this rate, we’re bound to see a “buy one, get one free” sale on HDTVs by Christmas. The mere thought deserves a chuckle, but this is a serious issue. A breaking point is going to be reached at some point in the near future. It’s already begun to happen: Circuit City announced a massive restructuring plan in February, closing a whole whack of stores in both the U.S. and Canada. And the retailer wasn’t shy about the reason, citing “intensified gross margin pressures” experienced with flat-panels TVs in the third quarter.

Of course it can be argued that customers won’t get the same level of product knowledge and customer service through Wal-Mart than they would a specialized, independent retailer; or even a CE-targeted big-box one. But it appears that Wal-Mart is ramping up its staff product knowledge as well: reports online claim that U.S. employees have been put through extensive product and customer service training within the consumer electronics department.

Wal-Mart obviously means business in this area. How will this bode for traditional CE retailers, not to mention the rapidly dropping prices of product like HDTVs? We’d love to hear your comments.

MySpace Targets Canada; Again, Canadians Get the Short End of the Stick

Even if you haven’t visited MySpace before, you would have had to be living under a rock for the past few years to not know what it is. Now, the creators of this widely popular social networking Website have officially launched a dedicated Canadian MySpace site at ca.myspace.com.

The site, offered in both official languages, promotes Canadian music and artists, like Billy Talent. Advertising is also targeted to Canadians; and, according to the Globe & Mail, there are pending deals with Canadian mobile carriers to deliver MySpace to cell phones.

MySpace isn’t just targeting Canada: the company, which is owned by media behemoth News Corp., plans to roll out dedicated sites with local content all over the world, and has already made moves in China, Latin America, and South America.

This is a great idea, providing users in each country and region with a bit of local flavour while we communicate and surf. However, it also poses the same issues that arise with sites like iTunes, and major U.S. TV networks: when it comes to some really cool content, those outside of the U.S. end up getting the short end of the stick.

News Corp. and NBC are offering TV programming which can be viewed via MySpace. Great! But Canadian users can’t view it due to licensing rights. Not so great. This isn’t MySpace’s fault, but it really ticks me off. Why can’t Canada step up and realize that offering such content won’t damage our own culture?

I missed an episode of Ugly Betty a few months back, and stupidly forgot to PVR it, so I logged on to ABC.com and noticed a link that read “watch Ugly Betty online.” Alright! I clicked on it, and up came a notice: “Only viewers within the United States can watch these full-length episodes.” What?? Another fav show of mine is Showcase’s Dexter. Upon trying to access the Showcase Website, the following message popped up on-screen: SORRY! We at Showtime Online express our apologies; however, these pages are intended for access only from within the United States. Argh. So not only am I unable to view the TV episodes online, but now I can’t even see the Website! On the bright side, at least they were polite about it.

I can’t comprehend why I can watch an American TV show on my television via my Canadian cable or satellite provider; yet I am unable to watch this same show online? The same issue occurs across all types of technology. I am required to have access to special Canadian channels on my Sirius satellite radio that I never tune into at the expense of U.S. channels that I might have actually listened to?

And we wonder why the piracy rates are so high in Canada!

My point: we need to move ahead in the digital content arena, or offerings like MySpace’s dedicated Canadian site will continue to turn the meaning of “targeted” into “restrictive”.

High School Kid Says iPods Stop Heart

A high school student in Michigan conducted a study that claims the use of an iPod can interfere with pacemakers when held two inches, and in some cases even 18-inches, from the person’s chest. Whether this claim can be substantiated on a larger scale remains to be seen.

In the student’s test sample, which consisted of 100 patients with a pacemaker (mean age of 77), the iPod interfered with the electromagnetic equipment that monitors the heart 50 per cent of time when held two-inches from the subject’s chest for anywhere from five to 10 seconds. When held 18-inches away, the portable player caused it to misread the heart’s pacing, and apparently in one case, even caused the pacemaker to stop functioning! His conclusion? iPod interference can cause doctors to misdiagnose heart function.

This super-smart student isn’t just creating a cool science project for 9th grade biology - he means business: in addition to an assistant professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Michigan serving as the senior author of the study, the boy’s father is an electrophysiologist, and his mother a rheumatologist. (Talk about a brainy family!)

A Reuters report cites the professor posing the same question we’re all likely asking ourselves: how many 77 year olds do you know own an iPod? I’m no doctor, but I do know it’s possible for people who are much younger to require the medical device. It will be interesting to see if the kid continues his studies. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll see iPod packaging labeled with “do not use if you have a heart condition”.

Since the student only used iPods in his studies, it's not made clear whether it’s something in the internal mechanics of the iPod; or just portable gadgets in general, that could cause the malfunction. Either way, if you have a pacemaker, I’d stick to the radio until further notice.

Rogers Lets You Talk For Free

OK, not exactly, but the wireless carrier is running a promotion whereby you can choose five friends to put on a special calling list, then make unlimited, local calls and text messages to them for free. Well, not entirely for free: the plan, called MY5, will cost $25/mth, or can be added to select existing plans for another $10. Although MY5 is open to any Rogers Wireless subscriber, judging from the press release I received this morning, Rogers is targeting the promotion primarily to youths.

This is surely a great way to help parents save money, especially with Chatty Cathy kids that can’t go one hour without talking it up with their “BFF”. But this promotion poses a few questions. For one, do parents really want to encourage their kids to blab on the phone for hours on end? With per-minute plans, parents can easily argue that once the kid has reached his minutes for the month, he’s not allowed to use the phone until next month (unless he gets a j-o-b to pay for it!). With this particular plan, kids can pull the “but mom, it’s free!” card. The parent is, of course, the authority figure here either way, and has the final say. But if I were a kid, I’d be asking why you signed me up for this plan if you don’t let me use it?

Second: although the plan affords unlimited calling and texting to your five favourite friends, regardless of which carrier the friend is on, what happens if these five people aren’t on the same plan? Uh-oh. When it comes to kids, this means angry neighboring parents banging down your door insisting why your daughter told little Billy it was free to talk on the phone. If you are a parent signing your kid up for this promotion, make sure that the parents of the five friends chosen are aware of the details, so they can either sign their kid up for the same deal, or instruct them that their standard calling rules still apply. One good thing to note is that, according to the fine print, this promotion does include landline phone numbers as well, which might be the best route to take to save your friends money if they aren’t on the same MY5 plan.

Third: what happens if Suzy gets into a fight with Jenny and wants to remove her from the “five friends” list. Or maybe they got into a fight because Jenny wasn’t included in the first place! According to the FAQs on the promotion, numbers can be changed once a month. So feel free to threaten your buddies with removal from the fantastic five if they don’t wisen up!

Crafty customers should also note that you can’t choose your own number or special voice mail access number; nor any 1-800/1-900 numbers, within your five. Darn!

If you plan to sign up for MY5 (or any promotion for that matter), I advise you call the carrier, or visit in store, and go over every finite detail. It’s better to be safe than to receive an inflated phone bill!

Judging the Photo Contest: How Do We Pick the Winners?

This week, we convened like we do every two months to judge the latest photo contest in our consumer magazine, here’s how! Every issue, we offer fantastic prizes for the top four photos, which we require to be digital in some respect, either taken with a digital camera, and/or manipulated on the PC in a program like Photoshop. We get hundreds of entries; some gorgeous, and others, well, my three-year old niece could take a better pic! Editor Gordon Brockhouse weeds them down to about 100 of the best, at which point, we gather to duke it out and select the winners.

Here’s how it works: the panel includes myself, Gordon, John Thomson, Associate Publisher, Robert Franner, Editor of Marketnews, and Erik Devantier, Creative Director. As we scroll through a widescreen slideshow of the pics, the personality of each judge becomes very apparent. Robert and Gordon are self-professed photo geeks, having studied the art for 30-plus years. Needless to say, their comments are more often than not based on the technical aspects of the photo: exposure, difficulty of getting such a shot, etc. A close-up photo of a bug on a leaf appears on screen and I automatically think “b-o-r-i-n-g”. But then these guys point out that getting such a shot is extremely difficult. OK, now I understand its appeal, and I’ll give the entrant a little more credit.

John, who’s also a major photo buff, tends to look more at the composition of the photo. Why didn’t he remove this distracting pole in the background? He/she should have cropped the picture like so in order to make it more powerful.

Creativity is, no surprise, Erik’s main concern. "This photo tells a story, and it keeps me interested," he says while observing an entrant’s photo. Given Erik’s expertise in creative direction and photo editing software, he can often times look at an image and tell exactly what the person did to alter it. "There’s no way that picture could have been taken with those items in the boat,” he instructs. “It looks like he Photoshopped them in.” Knowing how a photo was created, and the story behind it, makes it much more interesting to all of us.

And me. Well, I like to think that I bring a different perspective in many ways, not only by being part of another generation, but also of another sex. My main concern is how the photo makes me feel? If it doesn’t evoke some sort of emotion, whether laughter or sadness, or even intrigue, it’s not a winner in my books. Is it too cluttered? Confusing? Boring? Of an overplayed subject (if I see another shot of a flower or bird, I’m going to puke!)

It’s obvious that subjectivity plays a big role in the decision-making process for everyone, no matter how much the technical aspects do come into play. If you’re an animal lover, you’ll likely find a cute puppy pic endearing; whereas someone with severe pet allergies might shrug it off. If you have young kids, you’ll likely see a bit of your own son or daughter in a cutesy shot, and gravitate toward it as a favourite. Nevertheless, having a panel of five people deciding on the winners allows for many different perspectives, and for every aspect of photography to be taken into consideration.

Once the majority agree on the top 25 or so pics (which typically takes an hour or two, and a few words of disagreement), we each rank them in our order of preference. The results are tabulated, and there arises the two grand prize winners, two runners-up, and a few honourable mentions.

And I bet you thought we just picked them from a hat!

To see the winning images from our latest photo contest, check out the upcoming June issue of here’s how! magazine. You can also browse through all past content winning photos on our Website (scroll to the bottom of the page).

[Photo: The photo depicted above was one of two winning photos from our April 2007 photo contest. Taken by Tony Seaward of Bonavista, Nfld., the image depicts Bonavista Harbour on a calm, March night. Seaward told Gordon that he used a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi and 50mm f/1.8 lens; and shot the scene with a 10-second exposure at f/6.3 and ISO 800. Once transferred to PC, he used Noiseware software to crop it, and Photoshop CS2 to make adjustments to the lighting.]