Stephen Gates - Interactive Creative Director - Web Design, Online Advertising & Marketing Blog

Pizza the Hut isn't just in Spaceballs anymore

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:04:28 PDT

Pizza Hut has decided to follow KFC in the branding tactic that says people would buy more from you if they could just say your name faster. So as Kentucky Fried Chicken went to KFC, Pizza Hut has now become The Hut. You read that right - they have re branded their company to match the villain in Spaceballs! Not to mention there doesn't seem to be an accompanying plan on how they are going to effect that trend of people choosing to dine at home and avoid 'junk' foods to save money. This trend of thinking you can improve your business with a new logo instead of new ideas is getting really, really old.

Crispin Porter site re-design goes into beta

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:27:38 PDT

Crispin Porter + Bogusky has finally found some time to work on their agency web site which has been in dire need of an update for a long time. The new site has a visual design so simple it doesn't even play into the experience with tabbed main navigation that puts the focus squarely on the content displayed there. The main navigation is a series of tabs made up of the agency and their clients. As you move from tab to tab the content made up of associated work, news and chatter from Twitter and Blogs is shown. I think this is the most interesting under the client tabs as it exposes what the real world is saying about the brands and the work both good and bad. I think it could even better if they had a way to participate in the conversation that is going about them so it was more than a one way dialogue but it is a good start. I wish clients would open themselves up to this type of social media conversation and admit that it is going on, good and bad, wether they want to be a part of it or not.

Avid's identity goes up, down, frame advance and finally forward

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:22:03 PDT

AVID has been around as long as their has been non-linear digital editing. They recently bought up 5 other companies like Digidesign and Pinnacle so applications like Pro Tools, Media Composer, Oxygen 8, Sibelius and Pinnacle Studio now all fall under their flag. They took this opportunity to rebrand the company and launch their new logo pictured above. This design centric solution comes at a price because it is distinctive and a clever nod to their existing customers but that comes at the cost of it being marginally legible to new customers. I have spent the past 22 years with the old logo and in-spite of the trade offs I love the change.

Joshua Davis creates open source art with Reflect iPhone app

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:39:06 PDT

I have been a fan of Joshua Davis for a long time for several different reasons. It started with his work as an early Flash pioneer with Praystation and that he was a one of the first people to release their Flash code as open source so everyone could learn and grow from what he was doing. I have continued to be a fan as he has transitioned into speaker, artist and technologist. If you ever have a chance to see him speak it is worth not only to be able to hear about how he creates his artwork but because I think it is fantastic to watch the jet lag and Red Bull fight for control of his brain (you can see a good sample of what I mean here).

His artwork is created using a technique called generative art in Flash by inputting different design elements into computational systems that use them to create the final piece of art. I have been drawn to and collect his work because I not only love the look but because of play between the left brain/right brain intersection that happen when you bring art, technology and interactive together like this. This week he opened up his art and took it in a new direction with the launch of the Reflect iPhone application. You start in Designer mode where you can choose one of his six distinct visual systems and one of ten color palettes. Then it gets really interesting because you collaborate with the application to create the final work of art. You draw on the canvas to control where symbols are placed but the application uses dynamic abstraction to select the symbols and colors so each piece is always unique. This is the type of left brain/right brain intersection I was talking about and love. When you are happy with you creation you can save it to your photo gallery for various uses or put in into the Kaleidoscope view within the application.

I would love to see Apple celebrate and promote applications like this in the iTunes application store instead of things like the 'The Moron Test' that I think doesn't do anything but prove that if you buy the test you are a moron. I have found myself spending a disturbing amount of time with this application over the past 48 hours enjoying the experience, the artwork and the inspiration I find from this intersection of art and technology.

ColoRotate - rethinking the color picker

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:25:51 PDT

In terms of interface innovations I think it is safe to say that nothing has progressed less when it comes to application interfaces than the color picker. ColoRotate is a new site that looks to change that by replacing the traditional 2D circles or sliders with a 3D cone. The center of the cone is made up of the specrtum of colors and the saturation is controlled by height of the cone. Once have the colors you want you then modify the entire palette as a group which is a nice piece of functionality that would come in handy in some other programs. The other feature I had never seen before was the ability to look at your palette in the way some one who is color blind would see it through a red-green deficiencies. There is a lot of new and interesting thinking here and I hope the folks over at Adobe at paying attention because I would rather have something like this than yet another useless drop shadow filter that isn't good for anything but polluting the portfolios of art school students.

Vodafone #UKhols Travel Map

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:06:22 PDT

Vodafone has launched an interesting Twitter and Google Maps mash-up where U.K. residents can plot their vacation destination on the map by tweeting the hashtag #ukhols with their age, sex, postcode and summer vacation destination. The tie in to Vodafone is that it is promoting their decision to cancel roaming charges for select countries this summer. Top destinations are tallied in the right hand column which is also interesting to watch travel trends abroad and see how the global recession is effecting their travel plans. This is one of the first interesting uses of the ability to geo code Tweets and think we will see more of this in the near future.

City of Champions Redux

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 05:41:40 PDT

If you have every spent any time around with me you know that I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, which I am very proud of, and I am a die hard Steelers and Penguins fan. So the blog will be taking a few days off to celebrate the return of the City of Champions thanks to our Steelers and now the Penguins!

Why is client-side creativity too often a self-defeating process?

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:40:04 PDT

I came across something really interesting this week that was near and dear to my heart for two reasons. It was a site called 'Dear American Airlines' that was created by Dustin Curtis who wanted to show American Airlines what an updated design could look like for their brand. He didn't take the subtle route with comments like "If I was running a company with the distinction and history of American Airlines, I would be embarrassed--no ashamed--to have a Web site with a customer experience as terrible as the one you have now...Your Web site is abusive to your customers, it is limiting your revenue possibilities, and it is permanently destroying the brand and image of your company in the mind of every visitor." Shortly after posting it Dustin received a response from a user experience architect who works on AA.com titled “ You’re right. You’re so very right. And yet...”. It goes into a long description of the reasoning behind why their corporate culture has blunted and paralyzed the design of the site to the point where the site and customer experience suffers greatly.

This problem, this brand and this trend are all very near and and dear to my heart because I worked on American Airlines's advertising for 4 years and I spent all of that time begging to get my hands on their site. Those attempts were greeted with the list of excuses that are chronicled in the letter Dustin received. It's a problem that I have seen too many times over the years with my clients and even in my current client side position. So why does it keep happening? What goes wrong inside the creative process of a corporate structure that creates this dysfunction?

Short term memory loss in the ivory tower
I think the first part of the problem is a mater of perspective and being able to look at a project with fresh eyes. When a team starts working on a project they forget that when it is released the site the customer experiences is completely blind to the logic, compromises and excuses that have been built up on the by the internal team over the course of the project. The consumer doesn't know or care about why something was de-scoped to awkward solution or that you will fix it when you get around to version 2.0. You have to have the ability to develop short term memory loss and be able to see the work with fresh eyes or else those problems will be glossed over by the meaningless internal reasoning for why they it wasn't right. You have to look at it from the customers point of view because that is the only true reality and that will determine the success or failure of the site.

I think this happens the most inside of a corporate structure because you live with the brands, their problems, their work and their excuses so you become desensitized to them. The symptoms of this are usually expressed as eye rolling and under the breath jokes in meetings when you try to propose solutions to fix long standing problems that are en-snared with internal politics and problems. It is a hard place to be in when you have to be the person who needs to stand up against the apathy and frustration that lives around these issues and try to effect change. You constantly have to work to keep a fresh view of what the outside world is seeing. The only advice I would have would to try and start with small problems that can really be solved to get momentum and then try to work up to the larger ones building on the smaller successes.

Better design doesn't just come from better designers
I wrote the previous paragraph knowing full well that even if you develop the ability to rise above the internal excuse blindness you still have to overcome a massive problem. Let's look at the problem by creating a comparison between a web site that is produced by an agency and one produced by an internal creative team. What is the difference in the process and structure between the two where you generally see more cutting edge and powerful solutions out of the agency than what you see out of internal creative teams? The divergence isn't in the process of how the work is created but in how it gets feedback, gets approved and the hierarchy is has to travel through. At an agency the creatives are in a structure that puts them at the center of the universe and empowers them to be leaders and the voice in guiding the vision with supporting teams to help delivery of their vision. In a typical corporate hierarchy creatives aren't the center of the universe and they have they aren't empowered to be able to influence the final deliverable because their work has to go up a decentralized corporate approval system. This breaks the idea in to multiple directions by multiple stakeholders who dilutes it in to smaller and safer ideas a large group can take credit for and will satisfy the internal approval audience. This is a crime because the internal creative teams have the best view into the problems that need to be solved for the company and can bring solutions to market faster than those created by an external agency who aren't as familiar with all the nuances.

If you ask any company they will always say how they want to be like Apple or BMW and produce these breakthrough ideas and designs but they don't understand that better designs and ideas aren't going to come from hiring better designers. They come from a fundamental structural shift where the people with the best ideas are given the most power and best ability to execute on their ideas without having to put them through a mouse trap like system that robs them of their power. Hopefully more and more people will come to understand this problem so more good ideas see the light of day.

What does public transportation and a one legged man have to do with GM's reinvention?

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:44:45 PDT

So we all knew that GM was going to have to put out some kind of advertising to address their recent bankruptcy filing but I expected more than the stock video rip-o-matic we got. The voice over is what I expected but let's take a minute and examine some of the imagery they have chosen represent their reinvention.

:15 - A Subway. So cheap public transportation is the plan to reinvent GM's cars?

:16 - One legged man running. One of the most amazing people I have know in my life was a physically challenged athlete who shot archery with one arm. He was a real inspiration and those athletes deserve more than becoming the standby heavy handed visual for determination.

:25 - Injured hockey player. Not only is a disturbing visual but if you have ever watched any amount of hockey you know you will only see a player in this position after they have been hit by a puck or stick in the face.

:29 - Pittsburgh Steeler's quarterback Ben Rothlisberger. I am a die-hard, bleed black and gold Steelers fan and this doesn't make any sense to me. Ben is hardly the sports figure I would pick to represent reinvention.

:30 - A shredded American flag. There is no context as why the flag is so damaged or if it was from a storm or war. Like the hockey player player I don't understand what such a dark image has to do with their reinvention.

:40 - Overused 'green' imagery. Can someone please find a way to show 'green' technology without the windmills and the solar panels?

Am I alone on this? Am I missing something here besides the heavy handed use of tired stereotypes? Let's hope their business plan has more innovation and vision than their advertising.

USPS Augmented reality

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:43:14 PDT

I thought this was the first practical and useful augmented reality execution I have seen so far. It is for the United States Post Office and lets you determine which USPS box size is right for the package you have to ship. Simple but effective use of the technology.

2 Conferences worth your time and money

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:27:21 PDT

This year I decided to finally swear off conferences for all the reasons I listed here. Like everything you swear off it means that as soon as you do it something comes along to pull you back in.

The first one came in April with the 99% Conference that was put on Behance. The conference concentrated less on inspiration, and more on how idea generation and organization come together to make ideas happen. I have previously posted two different video from two of the speakers that highlighted some of what they had to say and gave you a good flavor for the conference.

The second came yesterday with the Creativity and Technology Conference (CAT) which I think was the best conference I have been to in a long, long time. Not only for the fact that you could hear from and talk with the creators of some of the best online creative from the past year but because it is the first conference that was also attended by a lot of really top tier creative talents. The mix of the two made for a great atmosphere, great conversation and the first conference that I have actually taken notes at in a long, long time.

So mark your calendar next year for these two because they are both well worth the money.

Great outdoor campaign for Lost Children

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:48:13 PDT

I don't see really great outdoor campaigns that often but this one got my attention. It is running right now in Melbourne for the Australian Childhood Foundation for their ongoing campaign Stop Child Abuse Now. They used a child size mannequins to represent children suffering neglect and then a billposter was pasted over the top of the figure so only the feet and legs could be seen. It is simple, it is attention getting and it's a powerful visual that gets the message across in a way you will remember.

Take the pledge for all of us

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:36:13 PDT

Thought this was funny if you know someone in your studio use one of these typefaces to the pain of the rest of us. If so you can help with this poster to make your colleague take this pledge and sign it. Preferably in their own blood.

Greenpeace Greentube

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:54:08 PDT

I have always been a huge fan of great ideas that are executed in a really smart way and the two videos above for Greenpeace may be the best ones I've seen so far this year. You have to watch the videos in full screen it really be able to see what is going on but using the actual YouTube interface as part of the ad like this is one of those things that has been in front of all of us but none of us thought of it. Really good stuff.

Tweeting for your job - The results

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:33:38 PDT

Just a quick follow up on my earlier 'Tweeting for your job' article that it did indeed work and Alex Bogusky has announced that he has been hired by Crispin Porter.

Apple surrounds NYTimes.com

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:28:25 PDT

Continuing their tradition of great online advertising running in only one big placement, Apple has taken over the home page of the New York Times web site with another great ad. Head over there now to see it before it is gone.

Creative is all about R-E-S-P-E-C-T

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:55:21 PDT

As of today I have been writing this blog for four years and I am not sure why I feel like this is more of a milestone than the previous three years but it caused me to go back and take a long look at what I have had to say over that span of time. There is a very clear focus in my writing on trying to analyze, detail and document what I think goes into making great ideas, great creative and great creative teams. In looking back at what I have written I did see that I have neglected what is probably the most important part of have great ideas, running a successful creative group and keeping great creative talent - respect.

Wikipedia defines it as esteem for, or a sense of the worth or excellence of, a person, a personal quality, ability, or a manifestation of a personal quality or ability. That is a great textbook definition but what does it really mean in real life? For me it means that if you work with me you not only say what you mean but then you follow through on it. It's that action that is critical for me because lack of follow through, lack of inclusion or just flat out ignoring what I am trying to contribute shows me huge lack or respect to my work and my talent. I have gravitated towards that attitude because for me actions are clear and generally free of the bullshit , partial truth and spin that can color what people say.

When it comes to leading a group of creatives the problem is that respect is probably the most important thing you and your team need to have success but it also the hardest to control and develop. It is a multi-dimensional problem as it exists and is needed in several places throughout your process and an idea life cycle.

Respect thy fellow designer
I have written a lot about how I think that techniques like constant failure and even fighting can be used as essential parts of creating great ideas and running a successful creative group. The asterisk that should have appeared at the end of those statements is that those two techniques are only possible if the group has enough respect for each other that they are able to make those exercises work. If you don't have that respect then those exercises won't work because you don't respect the talent of the designer next to you enough that you think they can come up with the right or better solution.

Leadership is more than a job title
During my career I have found that the two most common reasons why creative people change jobs are for money or because they feel like their talent or work is no longer respected. I have sadly seen a lot of designers who leave only for money rarely find success or long life in their new role. I think this is because they are usually blinded by that one dimension of the new position and aren't taking the time to look at the whole picture to be sure it is the best fit for them. The issue of feeling like your work or contribution isn't respected can come either as one big gesture here you see it quickly and clearly or it can come in a long series of small gestures that slowly add up over time but in either case it comes to the same end.

Even if you have the greatest idea...
Probably the biggest and most important area you have to have respect to be successful is with your clients. It isn't hard to get a read on your client to know if it is going to be a relationship where they value your opinion or if they are going to just treat you like a commodity who needs to do what they say. I think this is the most important aspect of respect in the creative process because you could have he best idea in the world that would totally change your clients business but if they don't respect and trust you enough to listen to it and then go through with it it won't go anywhere.

So knowing where the problems come from only lets you know where to watch to see if you or your team is at risk but what should do to make sure you don't have these problems? I try and do the following...

Talk and walk your talk
I have always believed that the biggest thing you have to to have people respect you is to always be honest people, tell them what you think and then actually do what you say. The biggest mistake I encountered time and time again in my career are boss's who say what you want to hear and then they never follow through with it. As I said before people will judge you by your actions and showing them lack of respect can could be a small thing like a comment on a piece of creative all the way up to much larger things like no doing what you said when it comes to your career.

Respect yourself and your creativity
I think this goes hand in hand with that I had to say above because you have to respect yourself and your creativity enough to have the confidence to tell people the truth and to stick to what you say. If you don't believe in yourself and your opinions then you tend to want to take the easy road and tell people what they want to hear. This is really the only part of all of this that you can have a real and immediate effect but your team can and will pick up on it and ti will effect all aspects of their confidence, focus and their willingness to go that extra mile for you.

I am sure this is a subject I will revisit in the coming months as I give it more thought and concentrate on other ways you can increase it in your creative group. If you have any good techniques feel free to post them in the comments.

CP+B + Interns + eBay = Keeping your word

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:27:28 PDT

I saw a note from Alex Boguky over at CP+B today that this summer they are auctioning off their interns talents. The winning bidder will receive a creative presentation developed the interns over a three month period, consisting of strategies, recommended brand positioning and concepts but no production services or finished advertising materials will be provided. The winning bidder will be provided the type of advertising services that they seek, but CP+B reserves the right to decline services in the event of a conflict with any of their existing clients or for any other reason (like if you sell cigarettes). Right now the bidding is at $1500 but it has 9 days to go so I will be curious to see where to lands and who wins. I would also love to see the final results or the process if the winner would allow them to make it public.

This is a complete guess on my part but IF this idea was a result of a situation where they would either have to cancel the internships because of the economy or do something creative like this then I want to applaud their actions. This business have far too few people who care enough about people, let alone the little people, in their organizations to go to this kind of length to be sure they would keep their word and deliver the interns the experience of being able to work at their agency.

Ji Lee and the Bubble Project

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Sun, 17 May 2009 12:37:09 PDT

A second video from the very interesting 99% conference I attended earlier this year has been released. The first video focused on Scott Thomas who ran the digital design and media for Obama during his run to the White House. This new video are highlights from the speech of Google Creative Labs' Creative Director Ji Lee who talks about how his personal and professional work relate as well as his famed Bubble Project. I thought the bubble project was a fascinating experiment in the convergence of advertising and public expression. Check out the video and you can learn more about the bubble project here.

Tweeting for your job

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:44:27 PDT

You have to love seeing someone who wants to work somewhere so passionately that they not only come up with a great idea but are willing to put what little money they have where their mouth is. Enter Chris Kahle trying to get a job at Crispin Porter and his idea to have anyone who is willing to Tweet either Alex Bogusky co-founder of the agency or Jeff Benjamin their Interactive Creative Director and for each tweek Chris will donate $1 up to $200 (all he has in the bank) to The James Lee Foundation. The instant debate is if it would work or if it was just harassment. The good news for Chris is that it worked and it has had Alex Bogusky and agency talking about what he did. No idea if ti will translate into a job but good to see that good ideas and unique approaches still get you stand out from the crowd.

A Heavy 404

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:55:33 PDT

I have written before about how I think a great 404 message is overlooked far, far too often and I found another great one this week when I was going through some old bookmarks and landed on an out of date page at Heavy.com.

The battle between Data vs. Design

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:20:27 PDT

I read an interesting article in the New York Times yesterday called 'Data, Not Design, Is King in the Age of Google' about the recent career of Douglas Bowman. The debate in the article is if a company will lose it's innovative edge if it listens to its customers and the data their behaviors generate too closely in creating new designs and functionality. After reading the article I wanted to add my 2 cents to the debate over data vs. design.

My position is that the data documents the road behind you and that 20/20 hindsight can teach you a lot about what works, what people respond to and what just isn't doing it for them. That being said when you it comes time to move forward and create something that innovates I think you have to use the data as a base to ground the new work in something they will respond to but then rise above it to grow those previous behaviors into something new and better.

As a creative director or designer in the interactive creative process you have to be a evangelist and filter.You will be challenged at several points in the process to steer your client through the temptations of the previous user data when you pitch your concept, or the focus group results after you have visual designs, or the user testing data when you have your prototype because that is the safer and more comfortable path.

You have to be an evangelist because when you boil it down as a creative a large part of what you are selling is confidence in you, your team and most of all your idea. Not all clients can see the final results of how the idea will turn out as easily as you can so you need to put in the work to maintain that confidence throughout the project.

Next, you have to be a filter to go through the data, focus groups results and user testing behaviors to be able to sort out what are results that need to be acted on versus something that the new concept will address or a behavior that can re-shaped for the better. I also think that it is essential to define what will be considered a successful outcome before each of these exercises so the results are put in context. For example if you are testing an new experiential site and you know only 15% of your audience engages in that type of content then you need to set the expectation for user testing that 7 out of the 10 participants may not like that new functionality but the resulting 30% engagement is a 100% improvement over the audiences current behavior. Since you studied the previous data you can serve as a filter to set that expectation so your client will not see a 70% failure rate and kill the concept and design direction instead of seeing that it is doing it's job.

So in the end I think that if you just follow the data without the benefit of your knowledge and filtering then you will have your consumers and even your clients defining the direction of your work and I don't think you can consistently find great ideas and innovative interactive experiences that way.

The Konami Code bedazzles ESPN.com and flares on to Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:48:50 PDT

Those of us old enough to remember playing early video games on the Nintendo Entertainment System will probably also remember the Konami cheat code that was used in a lot of those early games. Hitting Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Enter would trigger the code. That sequence took on new meaning last week when entering the code into either ESPN.com or Facebook would trigger two different Easter eggs to appear on those sites. On ESPN.com after entering the code each click on the site would would spawn an array of colorful unicorns but once it was widely known it was quickly removed from the site. It was then discovered that Facebook also had a Konami code Easter egg where if you entered the code and clicked on the site it would generate a Babylon 5-esque lens flair. From there it has been found n 25 more sites including ESPN.com, Facebook, Digg, Google Reader and more. You can see the complete list on this sites but , of course, you have to enter the Konami code to unlock the content. At this point it isn't clear if this is the work of hackers, mischievous web designers or a marketing campaign for Konami for something at the upcoming E3 video game conference. The fact that a web site and Twitter feed were up and running when the outbreak happened has me leaning towards the later two options but only time till tell.

Following the Monster.com career path may get you lost

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:09:56 PDT

A friend of mine sent me an email about the new Career Path functionality that Monster.com recently launched. He thought it was interesting and worth checking out so I headed over to see what I would predict for my future. The concept is kind of like a virtual guidance counselor with two different options to get advice. First you can put in your current job and it will tell you what would be a good next move or you give it an ending point and it will try and build a career path for you. Let's just say that I am glad the functionality is still in beta because it wants me to become a Web developer or producer. I will be curious to check back in on it in a few months to see if it gets smarter as more people use it and it gets smarter.

Adobe pulls the plug on Media Player

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Gates) — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:54:47 PDT

It should really come as no surprise but Adobe has pulled the plug on yet another well conceived but terribly supported concept with the death of their Adobe Media Player. The idea landed in the right timing window before sites like Hulu.com caught on but the service rarely had any content beyond short clips or shows no one wants to watch. After watching it stagger around for far too long I kept waiting for Adobe to do something with it and try to put an advertising or content model in place that would give it a chance. They are now putting their efforts into their new Flash based Strobe media framework which is supposed to enable the creation and delivery of high-quality, monetized video experiences. In plain English it means they are trying to develop an open framework where you can do things like advertising insertion, content delivery and syndication, micropayments, viewer authentication, transaction handling, and business model controls. They have coupled this delivery solution with the formation of the Open Screen Project where they have partnered with more than 20 content and technology partners to try to create a more standardized content delivery system across televisions, personal computers, mobile devices, and consumer electronics.

The reality is that Microsoft has been able to conquest a large amount of real estate in the browser video player market thanks to their deals with Netflix and NBC for the Olympics where they put this sought after content in their player they have been able to drive significant install penetration. Strobe is obviously trying to fight the avenues that Microsoft can use to spread Silverlight through their computer and mobile operating systems as well as gaming and consumer electronics channels. Also while you would recognize the names of their partners like the BBC, Intel, LG, NBC and Verizon but the missing names of companies are what worries that might just be Media Player 2.0. As with everything Adobe does outside of their core software offering only time will tell if they are really willing to invest the time and money it will take to get to a standardized Flash based system where you could easily deliver and monetize content across multiple technology touch points.