The State of Local TV News

We seem to have one of the local news shows on during or just before dinner at our house; mostly just to catch the weather...even though as we all know there are about 10,000 other ways to get your local forecast.

Anyway, while I was waiting for the weather to come on, I caught a segment about 'push mowers.' The nut of the story was that with the rise in gas prices, homeowners are looking for an environmentally friendly alternative. Now that premise is a bit hard to swallow. I mean, how much do you think you're going to save by not putting gas in a lawn mower?

But what really got me going was the term 'push mower.' To this reporter, that simply meant a push reel mower like the ones our grandfathers might have used. The reporter completely forgot or simply didn't know that there are push gas mowers, and more importantly, corded and cordless electric push mowers that are green and are a lot more practical on any lawn larger than a postage stamp, especially if you have some weeds instead of fine fescue.

The inherent laziness of just going to a local hardware store and being led around by the owner is not what I'd call good journalism. Now, we're not talking about hard news here, but all I ask for is a bit of research before you turn the camera on.

Full disclosure: Axiom represents The Toro Company, makers of both gas and cordless mowers.

Video Post: Is Beta Better for Google?

Yesterday I briefly mentioned Google announcing their Google Music Beta streaming music player at the Google I/O developer conference. And although I wasn't able to give it much attention, Ashley dives into more of the details and speculates on its impact in today's Daily Axioms video post.

Google's I/O Announcements Dominate Headlines

Google held their annual Google I/O developer conference on Tuesday, opening the floodgates for a wave of Google and Android news and announcements.

Considering I could easily fill at least a week if I did a full post on each announcement, here's a quick rundown of what all went down on Tuesday for Google:

• Google made a point out that 100 million Android devices around the world have been activated, with that number increasing by 400,000 devices each day. Obviously, the Android platform is still going strong.
• While Honeycomb is getting upgraded to version 3.1, the major O/S news was the unveiling of the next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich. Expected to be released towards the end of this year, Ice Cream Sandwich will be a combination of Froyo's smartphone and Honeycomb's tablet capabilities.
• The Google TV haven't faired extremely well since their launch, but Google's hoping to give the device a boost with Android Market access and app support. Google TV's have already supported onboard apps like Pandora and Netflix, but more apps should provide a different experience that might give Google TV a leg up on competing devices like the Roku and Boxee Box.
• Speaking of Netflix, Google updated Monday's story of YouTube offering move rentals by announcing partnerships with Sony Pictures, NBC Universal and Warner Brothers. They also elaborated that the movie rentals will be start at $1.99 each and will be supported on Android devices.
• Keeping with the multimedia theme, Google also gave everyone a first look at the new Google Music Beta for storing and streaming your music. It's nothing groundbreaking, and runs through your browser as opposed to a desktop client.
• Since this was a developer conference, Google of course had a special announcement for the tech-minded crowd, and an interesting one at that. Basically, it's an "ADK" developer tool allowing people to modify custom accessories to work with Android devices.

So there you have it. Google offered a slew of possible stories, so hopefully this will be a good starting point to catch up on a big day at the Google I/O conference.

Not Everyone Thinks the Sky(pe)'s the Limit for Microsoft

Microsoft made waves this morning with the announcement of their acquisition of video chat service Skype.

But the buzz wasn't just about the acquisition itself, and more about the $8.5 billion price tag will be worth it for Microsoft. Considering Google's second-place offer was $4.5 billion less, financially it's easy to say that Microsoft overpaid quite a bit.

Another knock against this deal is that Microsoft already has a pretty strong video chat service in Windows Live Messenger. In fact, Windows Live Messenger has more monthly users and a higher number of simultaneous users than Skype.

However, Skype's 124 million montly users is still a large chunk of the market, and no one is arguing that Micorsoft bettered themselves by acquiring them. The criticism revolves around how much they paid for Skype, and what the future holds for existing Skype users.

On the other hand, some people are hopeful that Microsoft's vast resources will mean big things for the popular video chat service. One example is potential integration of Skype and Kinect, Microsoft's innovative gesture recognition system that has sold over 10 million units in 6 months.

So the initial reactions to this move are mixed, and now it's up to Microsoft to prove to the tech world that they didn't break the bank to get Skype.

Facebook Friday: New Ad Incentive Program Misses the Point

Facebook introduced an interesting incentive program yesterday to get users to watch more of the site's ads.

Basically, Facebook is giving Facebook Credits to people to watch certain ads, most of which will be through some of the games on the site. Current partners with the incentive program include Zynga, CrowdStar and Digital Chocolate.

While having the Facebook gaming powerhouses backing the program is good, there are two glaring issues Facebook is overlooking.

First off, the incentive for users isn't all that much. Granted, Facebook Credits can be used for real-world purchases through the Facebook Deals platform. However, most ads reportedly only yield one credit, which is equivalent to about 10 cents. I just don't believe that will be enough reason for most users to try this program out.

Secondly, and more importantly, is how advertisers will (or should) feel about paying users to watch their ads. While I'm sure this will boost ad views, there will be little to no effect on the sales of the products in the ad. Users aren't going to care about what the ad is saying, they will only care about amassing Facebook Credits.

The bottom line is I don't think this is good for advertisers, and I don't think it's worth it for users. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if users just click play on the ads and go back to playing Farmville while they reap the benefits of this ill-conceived program.