All television episode consumption in our household is done via the Internet site Hulu.com , yet often hooked to the television’s bigger screen. Movie consumption done by us adults in the household is split approximately 50/50% between streaming and DVD (usually watched on a television even when streaming) and for the children is 100% DVD (95% watched on television and 5% on laptop, however both the 7 and 9 year old often stream small videos through YouTube).

Within the past months I have seen a couple write-ups by the KenRadio newsletter discussing the PC’s gain on television.

While TV’s place as the preeminent channel for Americans to watch video content remains safe for now, the PC is slowly encroaching on the TV’s dominance, capturing an increasing amount of screen time among those who download or stream video online, according to a new study by Ipsos Media. The percentage of video consumed on a TV among video downloaders and streamers declined from 75% in February 2007 to 70% in February 2008 – a small, yet significant drop in overall ’share of screen time’ with the growing contingent of digital video users. In addition, the percentage of total screen time captured by movie theaters also declined significantly in the past year. Streaming video online has become an activity many Americans aren’t just experimenting with, but enjoy on a regular basis. About half of all Internet users aged 12 and up have streamed a video file online in the past 30 days. The growing sophistication of home PCs, as well as the ubiquity of high-speed Internet connections in the home and outside, really facilitated the experimentation process with the digital video medium, and subsequently caused many to adopt the PC as a channel they rely on for video entertainment.

Coinciding with the drop in these more traditional channels’ share of screen time is an equally significant year-over-year gain in overall screen time for the PC, which nearly doubled its overall share (19%) with digital video consumers since early in 2007 (11%). Today, among the 52% of American’s age 12+ whom have ever streamed or downloaded a digital video file online, about one out of every five hours spent watching movies, TV shows and/or other types of videos is done so on a PC. Perhaps just as interesting as the PC’s ascent in video entertainment is the relative lack of growth in the overall share of screen time being allocated to other, more portable video devices such as portable DVD players, digital media players and mobile phones. Wright goes on to explain why growth in share of screen time with portable devices may be limited. While the number of device options are growing for consumers to access and watch their favorite video content, what isn’t necessarily changing is the location where we enjoy this video content – our homes. This, combined with the growing demand for digital video content, is why we’re seeing the shift in share of screen time away from traditional video channels to the PC right now.

Interesting write up as I fall into this category of users. In accordance with the article, most of my video and episode consumption is done in my home and even when Rob and I do decide to take a movie with us to watch while camping, it is a laptop we take rather than my portable DVD player.

It seems that a big reason for the shift to PC from television is the want for on-demand without the need of cable (and Tivo). Prior to the NBC loading its Office episodes to their network site, I gladly paid the $1.99 weekly charge through Apple to download each weekly episode. The want of on-demand and the ability to re-watch each episode was worth the minimal $1.99 charge. When NBC pulled the shows from Apple and put them on the network site, I gladly transitioned as the episodes were free, though rudely interrupted by completely annoying commercial breaks. However, the viewing on Hulu is the best of all worlds with the free episodes and seamlessly integrated advertisements. From my consumer viewpoint Hulu is:

• substantially easier to navigate than the network sites, definitely easier to find full episodes versus clips
• the ad placements are better integrated, not as intrusive and actually quite interesting (a point discussed below)
• consumer friendly due to its aggregation of partner content on one site, allowing the user to jump from different episodes and movies, simply enjoying the content rather than worrying what network produces what content.

Looking at the users who do shift to online viewing, Hulu has been able to capture a significant amount of viewers in comparison to the network landing page. Hulu (according to the numbers below) is able to hold the interest twice as long (in comparison to the network landing pages) for users seeking comedies, while users seeking drama usually revert to the network sites.

Plus, the commercials on Hulu are definitely not as intrusive and actually quite interesting, lately integrating a cyber ethics theme. For instance, one of the last advertisements I viewed showed a teenage girl highly criticizing another teenager girl in a face-to-face confrontation. The commercial then flashed to text stating if you wouldn’t criticize a person in a face-to-face scenario what makes it alright online. Another commercial focused on the idea of piracy being theft and how a user wouldn’t steal a purse or a car, so why would it then be ok to pirate music online.

The most amazing takeaway for me is I have noticed that now that Hulu has launched I watch substantially more television episodes than when I owned cable television. It just seems so easy to quickly watch an episode after a long day at work. =)

What is the feedback from you readers? What is your watching behavior? Have you checked out the network sites or Hulu?

This simple campaign made me ponder how a good sum of money could be raised over such a short period of time and if it was a model that could be used in the non-profit realm. Looking back on the Chip In Widget, it seemed to be have such an impact for four main reasons.

1. It Hit A Pain Point – many of us probably know someone who has been diagnosed with cancer. But the pain point in Serenity’s case is that she is young, being diagnosed at the age of 22 months. An age that shouldn’t have to endure pain or a terrible disease.
2. It was Personal – often with non-profits you see a picture of a child or a family but you don’t personally know that family. I don’t know the exact distribution of the widget, but it seemed that many of us personally knew Phil.
3. It was Targeted – The widget was distributed through the technology community with which Phil is a member.
4. There was a Deadline – It is human nature (or at least in my case) to procrastinate. The creation of a deadline made people respond.

Would this be able to work in a non-profit scenario if they had an online presence and following? Seems like the targeted and deadline points could easily be achieved, but hitting a main pain point and making It personal are the tricky aspects. What do you readers think?

For the past 2.5 years I have been using the Utah-based start-up mVelopes for my financial management needs. I have really enjoyed the product, finding the user interface intuitive and complementary of my financial management strategy of budgeting first and spending only the allocated capital. Because mVelopes allowed me to support a local company, I truly tried to be an outstanding customer answering every survey sent my way and suggesting the product to numerous friends, a handful of which joined the service. However, in the last couple months the service has become patchy, ridden with connectivity and transaction issues. I am hoping that this is due to an increase in the user base, resulting in business growing pains. Yet, at the same time I can only wait so long for the engineers to resolve these problems as I am a paying customer .

The worst part about the mVelopes issues is the naïve attitude of the customer service. I have had to contact customer service at least 6 times in the past two months, resulting in the customer service agents tip-toe-ing around a real solution to the problem. It seems that they offer a temporary fix, but never offer me an end date for the actual solution nor compensate me for my loss of time and troubles. The connectivity issue is just a pain, but the missing transactions is disconcerting. For instance, once I noticed that I was missing a transaction and so contacted customer support to learn that in reality I was missing 28 transactions over the past 2 months that had hit their servers but weren’t being pushed through to my user interface. No apology, just a simple "we don’t do refunds due to our terms and services."

I would really like to continue using this product; however, I also need a solution that will consistently work.

As I contemplate switching offerings I noticed that the product characteristics that are a necessity for me, include:

• User Interface - I want an user interface that is intuitive. Sure there is a learning curve with any new tool, but I am hoping for something I can figure out relatively quickly that allows me to slice and dice my data (for example I really like being able to see spending over custom time ranges, not just month-to-month).
• Bank Access - When I first checked out Mint last year I couldn’t get access to a regional bank I use. That has now changed, but was obviously a major no when I first looked at the company.
• Security – Many companies in this realm are start-ups, which makes me nervous for two reason. First, have they accurately approached security, encryption and storage? Second, will they still be in business in a year or two and if not, where will my data end up?
• Reliability – These companies are dealing with my financials and must be reliable. What is the point of using a PFM solution if it doesn’t pull all my transactions?
• Live-Chat Customer Service - Customer service is a necessity and live chat is just my personal preference. I personally like "on-demand" help, if needed.

Product characteristics I don’t care about:

• Community - Does the whole web experience need to be social? Many of these companies tout the community aspect and I can see why this might be a draw to some people, but it just isn’t a priority for me to talk to strangers concerning my finances. Aggregation of articles and sites, sure. Random strangers giving me advice, not so important.

Players in this space include the following:

Company: Mint
Software / Online: Online
User Interface: Very good
Bank Access: 6,500 banks
Budget Capabilities: Yes, but as a goal section rather than priority
Reporting: Yes
Investment Monitoring: Yes, but still in private beta
Community: No
Security: Verisign, HackerSafe, Truste, plus they do not record the user’s actual name, only email address. Mint provides a whole video of their CEO speaking solely to security plus a scroll down page with each point thoroughly discussed.
Reliabilty: Unkown as I have had limited use
Customer Service: Email only.
Comments: This company has been hyped, but for some reason has never quite worked for me the four times I have given it a shot. Today was the first time I could successful add accounts, only having problems with one regional bank that has image verification security. I figured I would try contacting customer support with the issue. No live chat, but an email function that automatically responded back to me with a “help is on the way” kind of thing (nice). The email said they would contact me concerning the issue within 24 – 48 hours, yet over-promised and under-delivered as I have yet to hear back after 72 hours. One interesting feature is the user can input in his/her zipcode and get a benchmark of what others in the area spend in each category.
Price: Free

Company: mVelopes
Software / Online: Online
User Interface: Very good. The layout structure works really well for me but the company could make it look a little more professional.
Bank Access: 14,459 banks
Budget Capabilities: Yes, with a focus on the user sticking to a budget. The user sets asides the money in envelopes and when it is gone it is gone, unless the user pulls money from other envelopes.
Reporting: Yes, but I wish it had more features.
Investment Monitoring: No
Community: Yes, but quite separate from the main user face, which is nice
Security: Verisign, BBBOnline Reliability Program, Security Metrics Certified. The company provides a whole page discussing SSL, Session Management, Firewall Protection, etc.
Reliability: For the first couple years the product was fantastic. Within the past 3 – 4 months it has been have some issues.
Customer Service: A user can call, email or use live chat.
Comments: The company has been having some technical difficulties, specifically with connectivity (as mentioned earlier in my post). I really like the structure of the user interface as it makes the user think in terms of budgeting and staying within that budget. I wish their reporting capabilities where a little bit better and offered custom time frames. I do like supporting a local team, but their customer service has been hard to work with and would be the breaking point on why I switched services.
Price: ~$5 – 10 depending on the years of commitment.

Company: Wesabe
Software / Online: Online
User Interface: Ok. A downloadable toolbar or software is necessary to add banks. I have given this company a try on two occasions and this step has temporarily stalled me from continuing to the next phases both times.
Bank Access: Unsure on exact number, but both my regional banks were listed.
Budget Capabilities: Yes, in a goal tab. I wish they had budgeting set up as a priority rather than an afterthought.
Reporting: Yes
Investment Monitoring: No
Community: Yes, but too much. The community is mixed in with the interface and I want my financials to seem private.
Security: The company implements “industry-standard encryption” and strips each user account of personal identifiers.
Reliability: I have not used enough to comment in this area
Customer Service: Email only.
Comments: When adding a bank account it re-directs to the bank page and then back to the Wesabe site. I think I read this had something to do with keeping the passwords straight between the banks and community. I don’t thoroughly understand the technicalities of why they do this, but I don’t like that I feel as if I am leaving the main Wesabe site.
Price: Free

Company: Buxfer
Software / Online: Online
User Interface: Very Good
Bank Access: Unsure on number of banks, but both my regional banks were listed.
Budget Capabilities: Yes, but once again an after thought, not a priority
Reporting: Yes
Investment Monitoring: No
Security: A little hard to track down on the site. They state that they follow “industry standard encryption techniques and practices”, plus comment that passwords are encrypted prior to storage, transferred through SSL and decrypted only during authentication.
Reliability: I have not used enough to comment.
Customer Service: Email only.
Community: Unsure. It says you can add groups, but it appears that it adds people you know through email.
Comments: None.
Price: Free

Company: Yodlee Money Center
No demo was available and I didn’t want to just cough up my information. No review.

Company: Intuit Quiken for Mac (I am a Mac user so this would be the one of interest to me)
Software / Online: Both
User Interface: Very good but perhaps a little too technical that it isn’t completely user friendly
Budget Capabilities: Yes
Reporting: Yes, plus allowing custom date ranges
Investment Monitoring: Yes
Community: Yes
Bank Access: Unsure on actual number, but both my regional banks were listed.
Customer Service: A user can call, request a call back, email, chat, or check out their social media sites of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
Comments: This is definitely the most professional option for personal finance that also includes reminders for bills and a tax tracking area. I am unsure if it autosyncs transactions or if the user must actually download into the software.
Price: $69 for software ($53 with very accessible coupons) plus $2.99 for online version

After looking at this breakdown, it seems that many of the web players focus on limited functionality but with a free price tag. When it comes to my finances, I would happily pay if I felt the solution was helping me to save money, assisted in thoroughly tracking my finances and still allowed me access to customer service when needed. Looking at the competitors I still lean towards mVelopes, of which my subscription expires in January and at which time I will re-assess. I am truly hoping that their technical issues are resolved at that point, otherwise, I might have to make the move towards Intuit.

The whole layout felt different and amazingly better. Easier to navigate, so far everything just worked, etc. I was so psyched with the fresh version, I figured I might as well look into all the side ideas that I had been meaning to get around to, i.e. google analytics, google webmasters and some SEO. (Thanks Jansen and Rob for your help)

I am really starting to enjoy this blogging / living hooked to my computer lifestyle. =)

Numerous posts and tweets have been hitting the Utah scene lately concerning Phil Burn’s daughter, Serenity, being diagnosed with Leukemia. I blogged a couple days ago about the new Chip In Widget, created by Jesse Stay, that thankfully has been distributed amongst a handful of bloggers and is seeing a good up-tick in donations.

However, there is another way to help out.

I truly try to volunteer on a weekly basis (often posting about my experiences on the Cragbaby here, here and here), with my very favorite volunteer activity being donating platelets at ARUP. I have been donating platelets since last summer, trying to give every other week, health permitting. I find it to be the easiest form of service because by sitting and watching a movie (albeit with a needle in my arm) I can directly impact a life.

I choose to donate at ARUP because all donations are used at the local hospitals, helping cancer, transplant and traumatic injury patients. Platelets only have a shelf life of a five days resulting in a continual need. To date I have only been at the ARUP lab on one occasion where I was told they were finally catching up with demand, though they expected to be behind within the next couple days.

The UtahBlood site shows where units of blood are being used. (I am not quite sure if this includes platelet distribution.)

If interested in the Serenity cause or are looking for a fantastic volunteer activity, consider platelet donation. An appointment with ARUP can be made by calling 801-524-5272.

The Women Bloggers
36.2 million women write and read blogs every week and approximately half consider blogs a “highly reliable’ or “very reliable” source of information and advice about everything from products to presidential candidates. 15.1 million publishing and 21.1 million reading and commenting. Fully 24% of women surveyed say they now watch less television because they are blogging instead. The new survey by BlogHer shows American women are drawn to participate in the blogosphere primarily because it provides access to the content they want, when they want it. Survey results also indicate that the blogging community’s fundamental trust in one another has contributed to its rapid growth. 68% of the female blogisphere community is concentrated in the 25 to 41 age group (the GenXr’s), compared to 42% for the general blogging population. Together, the Millienials and the Matures account for only about 10% of this community. Two thirds have completed college, and 46% earn over $75,000 compared to only 25% of the general community.

The blogging rates are highest among Millennials and GenX “digital natives” and Online media participation rates decline with increasing age.

Women are so passionate about blogging, that large percentages said they would give something up to keep the blogs they read and/or write:
* 55% would give up alcohol
* 50% would give up their PDAs
* 42% would give up their i-Pod
* 43% would give up reading the newspaper or magazines
* Only 20% would give up chocolate

Time shift from traditional media is accelerating in the general Internet population:
* 24% of women surveyed watch less television because of blogging
* 25% read fewer magazines because they are blogging
* 22% read fewer newspapers because they’re blogging

More than half of women surveyed consider blogs a reliable source of advice and information, half of women surveyed say blogs influence their purchase decisions.

Intriguing. In response to some of these questions (not all) concerning where I fit into this research:

• I live in a household of 4 people, 2 of which are here on a part time basis. This is a new living arrangement though as I previously lived alone for the past 2.5 years.
• I completed highschool, undergrad and have taken some computer science classes after completion of my business degree
• I read, write and comment on blogs
• I would willingly give up magazine and newspapers (as long as I could read the digital edition). In fact, I prefer to read online for environmental reasons.
• I definitely watch less television and read less magazines and newspapers due to blogging.
• And yes, blogs can influence my purchase decisions, especially when it comes to products of high interest (climbing gear, computers) or written by people who I trust / admire.

If you are a woman blogger, what are your responses to this survey?

I have gotten to know Phil through a handful of his startups and by following his online presence. He is a good guy willing to take the continual risk of being an entrepreneur in order to provide innovation to many. I would urge you to help him out in this time of need.

I bring up this story because on occasion I like to post an entry to let new readers know that I do run two distinctly different blogs. The Wasatch Girl is where I track thoughts on tech and venture capital. The other half of my life consists of climbing, running, traveling, etc and is tracked on a site named after my little dog at www.cragbaby.com.

Screenshot of the Cragbaby. Feel free to come over and read if interested.

This last addition is the only one that stumps me as these Google Ads (of course) point to competitive sites. I have heard that the markup on retail items can often dance to the 100% line, whereas ads bring in variable prices due to the site’s traffic. I would think that it would be more profitable to swap the web real estate of their comparison ads with the google ads, unless of course Steep And Cheap receives enough traffic and click throughs to outweigh their discounted inventory markup.

Google Adsense on the top right corner of the landing page.

Comparative Backcountry ads are seen when scrolled to the next page.

According to Alexa and Compete, the site sees approximate traffic of about 110k users per month creating visits totaling just over 1m, indicating that the same people are repeatedly visiting the site. (Please note that traffic numbers are extremely hard to quantify through the counting of IP Address visits.)

I mentioned my confusion to a friend who would be familiar with the details of the site. He told me some interesting facts and tidbits, but didn’t know the revenue comparison of the two ad types. I hear the advertising model pitched on a frequent basis but time and again see that it brings in substantial less revenues than expected, with many companies changing or augmenting their revenue model. If any of you readers have a better understanding of clickthroughs, revenue benchmarks that correlate to traffic (if such a thing actually exists, which I doubt), etc. I would be interested in chatting with you. I realize that the revenues will vary by site and the level of how targeted the ads are that are being used, but would welcome any comments or feedback.