SRG released a study that reveals a growing trend amongst Canadians to watch TV online as broadcasters are making more of their content available. In fact, according to the study, 41% of online Canadians have said they have watched a TV show via the internet at some point, and half of those are regular online viewers. Interestingly but not suprisingly, 70% are viewing short video clips on a regular basis. 

Looking for specific items on Craigslist? Rather than visiting daily or sitting on your lunch break hitting refresh over and over again, why not try using Google Alerts to find what you're looking for. [Apartment Therapy]

"The customer is always right." This may always have been true but you wouldn't know it from the experience most have had before the days of social networking. Rest assure, that in this connected age we as consumers are much more empowered.

The trend of social shopping has been growing now for several years but the timing for this community is perfect. With smart phones gaining popularity, the masses are arming themselves with portable knowledge, equipped with several means of communication, high quality cameras, and social networking apps, retailers need to be aware that the consumer has evolved. Beware the multi-tasking consumer.

Here are a list of some social shopping sites:

Stylehive http://www.stylehive.com/

Jelly Fish http://www.jellyfish.com/

Crowdstorm http://www.crowdstorm.com/

This Next http://www.thisnext.com/

Wist http://wists.com/

Shop Wiki http://www.shopwiki.com/

Kaboodle http://www.kaboodle.com/

The trend towards "connected tv's" and devices is a sign that people more and more want to enjoy the convenience of being connected without being chained to a desk. Laptops are becoming the norm as prices fall, next-gen kids are growing up not even having used a desktop computer, and smartphones are becoming more accessible and user friendly. So what does all this mean? Well, I hope it means that we've reached the stage where technology is finally adapting to us and not only facilitating but simplifying our connected lifestyle.

ABI Research released a study which included over 1,000 households, and found that the younger consumers want to interact with their friends online and watch tv simultaneously. Yahoo! is on top of this movement with their tv widgets, and have partnered with some of the larger electronics company to stream flikr, news, and weather to your livingroom via the internet.  So can we expect channels/widgets for Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter in the near future? I don't know about you but I already use my TV for online content, listening to Last.fm and Twittering. So I welcome a more user friendly interface so I can continue to do these things but on the comfort of my couch and a remote control. [via cnet news]

There is no doubt that modern day advances in computing has enabled hollywood to not only bring to life some amazing characters in the superhero, comic book, and sci-fi genre, but also cash in on them too. The blockbuster success of X-MEN, Batman and the Spiderman franchises have really opened the floodgates in this genre. Look out for huge budget, big action, mind blowing effects on the big screen in 2009.

Star Trek

Here are some good links to see the 2009 Super Bowl ads:

My pick for best place to watch the ads. The interface is easy to navigate and the ads are broken up by quarters making it easy to find a specific ad. Video quality is good and it offers fullscreen capability.

Best quality videos w/fullscreen, but usability isn't the greatest if you want to quickly go through all the ads without accidentally clicking on an unrelated one.
http://www.spike.com/superbowl

This is the official Super Bowl site has some commercials I didn't find on the other sites, although you have to endure an NFL commercial before previewing the commercials...oh and there is no fullscreen capability
http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/43/videos/commercials

Hmmm, leaving security for a huge event like the Super Bowl in the hands of Microsoft software...is that such a good idea? Let's just cross our fingers and hope there isn't any emergency and they've updated all the necessary security updates, because this just looks like  a hackers dream come true.

And can someone explain to me why the camera person shooting this video is only shooting the other camera person and not the actual screen?? 

Documentary filmmaker Gary Hustwit whose last film about a font face, Helvetica, got rave reviews and a ton of media attention in the 2007 festival circuit. His latest project explores the world of industrial design and the people who create the  objects that we surround ourselves with daily. Objectified is scheduled to premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in the springtime. You can view the trailer for Objectified here.

I came across this Wired blog posting about video search alternatives to Youtube. Seems to have generated some interest in the community which is resulting in a growing user-generated list of video search site. Check it out!

One of my biggest pet peeves has to be "Geo-Targeting", according to Wikipedia this method is used to determine your geo-location so that a website visitor is delivered content most relevant to them. In practice, they are road blocks to stop you from viewing content based on your region, in my case Canada. So if you are outside of the U.S, and want access to sites like Hulu.com, MTV.com, TheWB.com, etc...download Hotspot Shield. Hotspot Shield hides your IP address so geo-targeting sites don't know where you are coming from. You should now be able to enjoy all the content you want without encountering road blocks!

After reading an article about Boxee in The New York Times this past weekend, I decided to download the software and try it out for myself. Wow, was I ever pleasantly surprised, in fact I spent the majority of the weekend streaming videos and music on my TV. I've had my Mac mini  connected to my 40" LCD TV for a while now but using a wireless mouse and keyboard just doesn't allow for a smooth experience. Boxee does away with browsers and makes accessing media from the internet seamless.Boxee is a startup trying to break new ground in the way you will consume digital media. I think they are definitely on the right path. Once you install the software (50mb download), currently only available for Mac, Linux, and Apple TV (though a PC version is being tested), it allows you to access, as well as stream media from multiple sources, such as your computer, LAN, and the internet (Hulu, Youtube, Netflix, CBS, Last.FM, Flikr, etc).

I recently read a book called  "Grown Up Digital" written by author Don Tapscott. He is the bestselling author of "Growing Up Digital" and "Wikinomics". I found this book to be refreshingly optimistic, insightful a great read whether you are a new media professional, or a parent raising "Net Gen" children.

Welcome to my blog!

So, I'm a bit late on the whole blogging movement but I figured better late then never. The purpose of my blog is really to keep a record of relevant digital trends and innovations as well as to explore my own interests and ideas over time. I have no specific vision with this project, it will be random at times and will cover many areas of digital media, technology, lifestyle, and personal interests. I hope you enjoy and visit often.

I welcome all comments/feedback, and if you have anything interesting related to what I've mentioned above then please forward on to me.

Regards,

Steve Park