The Digital Entertainment industry can be characterized by the creation, distribution and monetization of digital content and devices intended to entertain end users through media consumption. Examples of players in
the industry are device manufacturers (Apple, Nokia), distribution networks (CBS, XM Satellite), network access providers (Comcast, AT&T), content producers (Electronic Arts, NBC Universal), web based content aggregators (Yahoo, Google, MySpace) & multi-business tech/media conglomerates (Sony, Microsoft).

Given the rapid pace of innovation and shifting power dynamics to date, what are the major trends that will shape the industry over the next 3-7 years? How would you respond to these trends if you were the CEO of any of the above firms? Specifically discuss the economic impact of each trend and show how it would affect the market valuations of the relevant companies.

A start-up digital content portal for publishers is interested in expanding its services beyond text (and images with metadata). To improve its offerings, this content distributor is looking for more robust indexing tools for audio, video, as well as images and text files, to provide search and recommendation capabilities.

So, specifically, we're looking for a succinct survey of the landscape for commercial (including open source) Digital Asset Management (DAM) tools that can handle indexing multimedia files. We are particularly interested in customizable tools that can be used along with home-grown development projects. We would like to know about tools in the same vein as ClearForest, Factiva, etc. -- but for applications beyond text.

Additionally, if you know of any firms that specialize in integrating DAM solutions, our client is interested in your recommendations.

Telephony service provider JAJAH has launched a new application called JAJAH Buttons which allows users to integrate the ability to make a phone call into emails, websites, blogs or social network profiles.


1) Suggest creative viral ways to promote this service. How can JAJAH Buttons be made most appealing and spread to its worldwide audience in a viral manner? JAJAH is looking for more than just "Target young users on Facebook" -- but for truly effective ways to increase the adoption of JAJAH Buttons and JAJAH's service in general, and maintain a steady flow of new users.

2) More long term, what else can JAJAH offer users to produce useful telephony tools and help users to use JAJAH frequently? JAJAH already offers conference call services, scheduled call meetings, and SMS messages from PCs to mobile phones. What are some strategic offerings that JAJAH can provide to users that might expand the scope of online telephony use?

In order to test the service, JAJAH will pre-fund your account with free credits. To do this you must first sign up as a JAJAH user at www.jajah.com. Then, to request funding for a trial account, please email Techdirt(-at-)jajahbuttons.com, and provide them with the email address that you used to create your JAJAH account.

This is how it works from a JAJAH Button owner's perspective:

Register or log on to your JAJAH account. Create your own JAJAH Button. Paste a snippet of HTML code or a URL onto your website, blog or email signature -- and your friends, colleagues or clients can call you without any cost or registration steps on their end.

This is how Buttons work from a caller's perspective:

Initiating a call through a JAJAH Button is as easy as entering your own phone number and clicking "Call." All at absolutely no cost to the caller, JAJAH Buttons link people globally phone-to-phone, without any download, headset or contract.

LetsTalk's PhoneTalk blog wants to add new voices to its website, and they're posting regular issues here for the Techdirt Insight Community to add interesting new content to their site. The winning submissions for each challenge issue will be posted (perhaps with some editing) on the PhoneTalk blog -- with credits to the author. The following is LetsTalk's next assignment:

As mobile phone use in the US grows, so does consumer dissatisfaction with mobile operators and their business practices. Complaints about things like handset locking, long-term contracts with early termination fees (ETFs), poor customer service and billing practices abound. Some states have investigated trying to deal with this by enacting "Cell Phone User Bills of Rights" -- which attempt to enshrine certain consumer protections into law, while various pieces of federal legislation have also been proposed. Many of these proposals -- covering things like disclosing taxes and fees and listing clear contact information -- don't have a large overall impact on consumers, and the "Bills of Rights" are generally left looking like little more than attempts by politicians to curry favor with their constituents by appearing to tackle a problem, rather than making any meaningful changes. Meanwhile, other governmental actions -- such as the Librarian of Congress exempting handset unlocking from the DMCA, and the FCC's statement that it may re-investigate ETFs -- crack away at some of these practices.

Are these sorts of laws necessary, and why or why not? Are there more fundamental problems that these "Bills of Rights" don't, won't or can't address? What would be most beneficial for consumers here -- these sorts of laws, other rules from lawmakers and regulators, or some other type of action?

LetsTalk's PhoneTalk blog wants to add new voices to its website, and they're posting regular issues here for the Techdirt Insight Community to add interesting new content to their site. The winning submissions for each challenge issue will be posted (perhaps with some editing) on the PhoneTalk blog -- with credits to the author. The following is LetsTalk's next assignment:

More and more handsets are being released that include Wi-Fi functionality as well as cellular connectivity. In general, Wi-Fi offers faster data speeds than cellular networks, while it also lets users connect to free hotspots instead of paying their operator for data service -- which, of course, is part of the reason some operators have resisted launching it. Is Wi-Fi something consumers should be seeking in their next handset? Is it a useful feature for non-techie, non-enterprise, "normal" users? What are the benefits it offers, and what, if any, are the drawbacks? Please explain Wi-Fi enabled handsets to a general, consumer audience, and why or why not it's something that audience should care about, and what it can be used for.

LetsTalk's PhoneTalk blog wants to add new voices to its website, and they're going to start posting regular issues here for the Techdirt Insight Community to add interesting new content to their site. The winning submissions for each challenge issue will be posted (perhaps with some editing) on the PhoneTalk blog -- with credits to the author. The following is LetsTalk's first assignment:

RSS has become a mainstream application for web surfers of all levels, as they use it to keep up with their favorite sites and blogs. While mobile RSS is still a niche application, there are a wide range of standalone RSS applications and web services for mobile users. What's your favorite, and why? We're looking for a few reviews of your favorite mobile RSS application(s) or service(s) -- especially those that are particularly easy to use, or available on the widest range of handsets.

There are some eerie parallels to the dot com funding bubble of late 90's and the social networking funding bubble today. In the 90's it was about e-commerce. There were the Goliaths: eBay and Amazon who clearly dominated the market. However, there was a frenzy of investment in all kinds of vertical e-tailers, from Pets.com to eToys to completely niche-focused areas like "foreign foods." Then, there were companies that tried to piggyback on the success of the two big players with things like AuctionWatch and PayPal.

This time around, it's all about social networks, with MySpace and Facebook playing the role of the Goliaths. Recently, there's been tremendous investment in vertically focused social networks, for narrowly-defined demographics -- such as mothers or people who want to lose weight. There has also been tremendous interest in funding applications that piggyback on the success of MySpace and Facebook, with things like Slide, Photobucket and LendingClub.

Obviously, many of the bubble-era investments went bust, but there were some success stories, like PayPal and Zappos. What characteristics should an investor look for in figuring out which companies this time around will be the successes -- and how should we avoid the Pets.com of the social networking era? What criteria should we be focusing on and what hidden gems or opportunities are being ignored?

Techdirt is raising this issue ourselves, and depending on the results, we will promote the winners on Techdirt. (eg. TIC's Picks) As we've done before, we'll highlight your analysis as a guest post while providing links back to your own site. Here's the issue:

The FCC has imposed certain open-access requirements on some of the licenses in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction, scheduled for early 2008. While the Commission ignored suggestions from Google and a coalition of consumers to impose stronger open-access principles on the spectrum, winners of two 11-MHz licenses must allow consumers to attach any compatible device to their network, and allow them to freely access any service or site.

Google and consumer groups aren't fully satisfied with the decision, mainly because it won't compel license winners to sell wholesale access to their networks, a move the groups saw as key in creating meaningful competition for fixed broadband networks in the space. Some incumbent telcos, like Verizon and AT&T, came out in favor of the rules, perhaps because between the limited number of licenses to which they'll apply and their actual provisions, the open-access rules are pretty weak.

What impact will the new rules have, or will they even come into force? If the two licenses in question don't attract bids of at least $4.6 billion, the auction will be restarted and the open-access rules won't be applied. Will incumbent telcos dominate this auction, as they have others before, or will new entrants -- including, potentially, Google -- be able to grab licenses? What's a likely outcome from the auction? Not just in terms of license winners, but the overall effect on the American telecom market. Will the auction spawn new competitors for fixed broadband networks?

Google has received quite a bit of attention for the beginnings of its office productivity suite that can operate collaboratively online (as well as offline with Google Gears). But there are already several non-Microsoft office suites that are much more mature than Google's current office apps. However, by adding the weight of its brand to the Web2.0 productivity market, Google has apparently stolen the "thunder" of the upstarts who were pitching stones at Microsoft. As one of these alternative office suite developers,

1) What are the weaknesses of Google Docs & Spreadsheets?

2) How does a smaller office software firm promote itself with two giants in the same arena?

Mashups have been an integral aspect of web 2.0, since the concept started to emerge, but they've been somewhat limited. For one thing, mashups have typically required some technical knowledge, which cuts off most users. Also, many of them are formulaic, e.g. Craiglist + Flickr or Google Maps plus a list of Starbucks locations. The upshot is that for the typical user, there's been very little ability to develop mashups of one's own liking.

But now a number of companies, both startups and established internet vendors, are trying to expand this area. Yahoo has its Pipes service, and Microsoft has released a similar service, dubbed PopFly. Google is also testing its Google Mashup Editor. Then there are a number of startups focusing on this space specifically, such as Teqlo and Coghead. Former Microsoft exec Charles Simonyi is also working on something in this area, although so far it's been pretty quiet.

Looking down the road, how is this space likely to play out? What can we realistically expect a non-technical amateur to be capable of? What needs to happen, from a technological perspective, before non-technical users are able to create robust software? Or are non-technical users consigned to being only capable of simple, pre-designed mashups? At what point does the emergence of these DIY applications start to have an impact in both the enterprise and on traditional software vendors. If this is going to have an impact on software vendors, what can they do to facilitate and profit from this trend? Don't limit your responses to these questions. Support your predictions with quantitative data, if applicable.