• by Bob DeSena , January 12, 2011

Well everyone's back,  I presume, from Las Vegas. Is there a show in a more appropriate venue than CES?   Except that for this event, in this location, everything that happens doesn't stay in Vegas; it gets recorded, videotaped and released to the press.

We're less than two weeks into 2011.  We've had our mandatory flurry of predictions telling us that all is well again in the industry, or at least getting better.   And we've had CES, highlighting the newest, smarter smartphones,  more and better tablets to compete with the iPad (including Motorola's Best of Show Xoom),  more games, an auto executive as keynote,  3D,  and smart TVs connected to the cloud.  In short, we've now got it all -- until next year.

Every year I am amazed at the creativity and inventiveness of the new devices.  And every year I am disappointed at our lack of attention to what will sustain them. 

Last year, speaking about mobile, I made the observation that the industry continues to be dominated by brilliant technologists producing brilliant devices.  What was needed, I believed, was a more commercially viable attitude, a focus on understanding the value creation and proposition to the end user, and the business model, metrics and marketing to convert these devices into sustainable revenue. After this year's Media Mardi Gras, those observations may apply to the larger industry.

  I read last week that a French technology firm presented a smart car radio that will find me cheap fuel, free parking and speed traps.  My first thought was, will it bring me Howard Stern? 

For my money, one of the most important announcements at CES was the deal between Boxee and CBS in which full-length episodes of CBS shows would be made available.  I love what Google and Apple TV are trying to --- do but I want to see "The Good Wife" on them.  That's the value proposition.

My hope for this year is that we have our own ritual fasting after the celebration of devices, and then focus on testing and understanding the value they bring to the consumer, the viewer, the end user. I hope that this becomes the year of the business model, one that will take advantage of the opportunity to network device distribution, develop revenue streams beyond advertising -- and, because language matters, that we may begin to view advertising itself as relevant commercial content, in many forms. 

If you've recovered from Mardi Gras, please let me know what you think.