September 2006 Archives

According an article in PC Magazine, RealNetworks is launching a beta news reader. The service includes a web-based news and RSS reader at www.RealTime.com and an optional downloadable desktop toolbar.

My good friend Kevin Saito has been working on RealTime as a product manager. Kevin has a very broad set of business experiences at Real to draw on and he is a first-rate product manager. You can read Kevin's blog about RealTime at http://blog.realtime.com

As of this posting, the RealTime service has not yet been formally announced by Real - I suspect PC Magazine mistakenly published this article during a traditional PR news embargo. (A news embargo is when journalists are given advance information about new products, with the understanding that articles shouldn't be written until day of announcement.)

Since I read about it in the news and the product is now live, I checked out the RealTime service today, and here are my quick first impressions:

The Wall Street Journal has a good article, "How to Be a Smart Innovator".

In this Q&A, Nicholas Carr talks about "bridging technologies". An excerpt:

For a lot of companies, the people who are in charge of innovation, whether it's the R&D folks or product developers or entrepreneurs in small companies, are the people who are the most passionate about the particular new technologies. They tend to be the early adopters, and that can give them a distorted view of the market. Because most normal people are actually quite conservative: They'll adopt a new technology, but they tend to do it quite slowly. That opens up a big opportunity for companies that are smart in figuring out how to help normal, everyday customers create a bridge between an old, established technology or way of doing things and a new one.

New technologies tend to be difficult to use. They tend to be buggy and not work perfectly. They tend to be expensive. All of those things mean that they tend to be limited to a small, early-adopter customer base for quite a long time. If you can figure out a way to move with the market toward the new technology, I think you can do a lot better than jumping ahead.

Back in the dot-com era in the late 1990s, you had all sorts of new-media companies being organized to try to deliver video online. And almost all of them went bust for a very simple reason: Very few U.S. consumers actually had broadband access. The companies were way out ahead of the market in innovation. Even today, fewer than half of American households have broadband Internet access.

In contrast, you have a company like Netflix that was able to bridge between the new technology -- the Internet -- and the old technology, which is the delivery of video in physical form, by using the U.S. mail to deliver DVDs, yet having a very sophisticated ordering system online that didn't require broadband access to use.

Recently stayed at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville. As a LoewsFirst Platinum member, the hotel took very good care of me. I stayed at this hotel last February and I was particularly impressed that hotel staff knew me by name upon my return visit. At the time of reservation, I was upgraded to an Executive Suite. The adjoining rooms that made up the suite, while somewhat dated and far from botique, were perfectly fine. The hotel concierge was helpful in securing hard to get same-day Saturday night dinner reservations at Zola (fabulous!). Sunday brunch at the hotel was quite good. Also especially helpful: The hotel valet parking staff; and Heather Sanborn, Assistant Front Office Manager, who handled the few problems I experienced at the hotel with professionalism and speed. Extra points for celebrity sighting in the hotel lobby: Lindsey Buckingham, guitarist for Fleetwood Mac was in town for a concert and stayed at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel Nashville.

"David's keynote at our event was simply extraordinary. He captured the minds, imaginations and hearts of the audience in ways few speakers can... David's keynote will entertain you, educate you and bring new life to the concepts of invention and innovation!"
- Thomas Koulopoulos, Author Smartsourcing, Founder Delphi Group

I have spoken at numerous events, as a keynote speaker and panel speaker. I'm very comfortable with large audiences having spent years as a professional instructor for the Dale Carnegie Course.

My favorite topics include innovation, technology & media, entrepreneurship, transforming customers into promoters, and how to sell online content to consumers.

Please contact me to arrange for me to speak for your group.

Upcoming:

Innovation + Thought Leadership Festival
Keynote Speaker
Sydney, Australia

Here are just some of the events that I've spoken at:

Atlanta Creativity Exchange
Presenter: "Innovation in Technology, Business and Entrepreneurship"
Kennesaw, GA
2008

Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
Keynote Speaker: "Innovation in Media & Technology"
Atlanta, GA
2008

Kennesaw State University
Guest lecturer in Communications, for Leonard Witt, Robert D. Fowler Distinguished Chair in Communication
Kennesaw, GA
2008

Streaming Media West
Panel Speaker: "Consumer Generated Video Sites: Can They Be Monetized?"
San Jose, CA
2007

"Think About It" speaker series at Turner Broadcasting
Moderator and Host: 1:1 interview with Marissa Mayer, VP Google "Getting Good Ideas to Bubble Up"
Atlanta, GA
2007

Video on the Net
Panel Speaker: "Innovations in Internet TV - Designing an experience around the Internet's Promise"
Boston, MA
2007

Folio: Show - The Premier National Event for Magazine Profesionals
"Building a Business Out of Web Video"
New York, NY
2007

Charles River Ventures: 2007 Leadership Summit
Panel Speaker: "Media"
Phoenix, Arizona
2007

Perot Innovation Lab: Innovation Insights 2007
Keynote Speaker: "Lessons from the Consumer Web"
Phoenix, Arizona
2007

Video on the Net conference
"A New Look at Content"
San Jose, CA
2007

Perot Innovation Lab: Business Process & Innovation Summit 2006
Keynote Speaker: "Innovation at the Intersection of Media & Technology
San Diego, CA
2006

Sports Media & Technology conference
"Broadband's Extended Reach and the Impact on Streaming Video"
New York, NY
2004

Jupiter Online Media Conference & Expo
"Paid Content Success Stories"
New York, NY
2003

DV Expo West
Seminar: "Selling Subscriptions to Online Content"
2002

Streaming Media East
Seminar: "Selling Subscriptions to Online Content"
2002

National Association of Directors of College Athletics conference
Panel Speaker for CSTV: "Streaming Sports Events Online"
Orlando, FL
2002

"David Eckoff is a cannonball of energy, delivering passion and engagement through his presentations. He moves through a deep knowledge of his subject material but delivers his message conversationally, with a professionalism that borders on Zen. But most of all, and this is where David Eckoff earns my highest marks, David Eckoff is the kind of speaker who stays embedded in the community and interacts with the crowd. Mr. Eckoff is a boon to any conference that values itself as speaking truth, not fantasy.
- Chris Brogan, Show Director, VideoOnTheNet.com

"David Eckoff was a blast of high energy, high concept on the "Building a Business out of Web Video" panel at the 2007 Folio: Show. His presentation was a refreshing and inspiring take on the range of possibilities for online content publishers."
- Bill Mickey, panel moderator and senior editor, Folio: Magazine

"David's keynote at our event was simply extraordinary. He captured the minds, imaginations and hearts of the audience in ways few speakers can. David has that uncommon ability to be perfectly at ease and unassuming in his delivery, yet powerful and memorable in his content. His insights offer an insider's view into how living at the cutting edge of the media industry can be funny, engaging and daunting - anything but boring. David's keynote will entertain you, educate you and bring new life to the concepts of invention and innovation!"
- Thomas Koulopoulos, Author Smartsourcing, Founder Delphi Group

"I thoroughly enjoyed David's keynote. He was engaging and informative. He got the audience involved, responded to their questions and made for a very enjoyable end to the day. He used his experience to provide great examples without dropping into corporate promotion and was amusing without losing focus on his topic. Excellent."
- James Taylor, Vice President, Fair Isaac Corporation

David's keynote was the highlight of the Business Process & Innovation Summit. I was captivated, informed, educated and entertained by his presentation - as were all attendees. David prompted us to think outside the box as it relates to our organizations. Clearly, David is an innovator with an impressive visionary skillset.
- Cynthia Phillips, Optio Software

"David's presentation at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Technology Marketing Council was an excellent overview of key lessons for innovation. There were great takeaways supported by creative and memorable graphics. Well done in both content and form."
- Patrick J D Taylor, CEO, Oversight Systems

"Using great examples from his experiences, David took the audience through the rules for successful innovation in a session that kept everyone engaged and willing to stay to hear more well after the session was over. I really enjoyed his keynote and the way he was able to interact with the audience."
- Susy Martins, Delphi Group

Taking questions from the audience.

(Photos: stevegarfield)

The Seattle PI has an article about Jim Heckman, previously founder and CEO of online sports network Rivals.com and currently chief strategy officer of Fox Interactive Media.

According to the article, Heckman negotiated the blockbuster three-year $900 million advertising deal between FIM and Google. That's a major win for Heckman if the article is fully accurate, or at the worst some good PR.

Jim recruited me from IBM to be VP of Rivals.com in 1999 and I had the opportunity to work with him for a year.

Jim Heckman is one of the best sales people I've ever met - maybe the best I'll ever meet. He's especially good at selling the vision of to-be products.

Heckman does have some detractors, though, especially in the Seattle area where he has a long history.

According to the Seattle PI, during the early 1990s Heckman was named in a PAC-10 and University of Washington investigation of illegal recruiting efforts involving star players. Heckman was banned from the UW for three years as a result of the investigation.

Heckman bounced back and by 1998 founded startup Rivals.com, where he attracted $90 million of funding from top VCs such as Hummer Winblad, Intel and Softbank.

When Heckman abruptly resigned from Rivals.com as Chairman and CEO in 2000 "to pursue other opportunities" (some would say he was pushed out) he fell far and fell hard. Many believed he was down for the count.

One of the traits that you have to admire in Jim is his ability to pick himself up when he falls, brush himself off, and get back on track.

By 2001 he rallied to launch theInsiders.com (later to be re-named Scout.com) - similar to Rivals.com.

By 2005 Heckman successfully sold the business to Fox Interactive Media.

Now he's chief strategy officer at FIM and doing some of the biggest deals in the industry.

It goes to show: in this great country, nearly everyone can get a second (and sometimes even a third) chance.