Blog articles from 10/2012

The profile of the average PC gamer has changed substantially in the past few years. Parks Associates has identified six different segments of gamers, defined as consumers who play one or more hours per month gaming on any platform Power Gamers, with strong self motivation and intrinsic interest in games, spend significant amounts of time playing games on all gaming devices. Social Gamers, who are moderately motivated in playing games and rarely initiate gaming sessions,...

Google redefined community when it announced it would be bringing 1 Gigabit Internet and a new pay-TV service to parts of Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. Its campaign to sign up resident in “fiberhoods” was different than any other ISP before it. Google hosted community events, built an information center that showed how the service could be used, and it supplied neighborhood activists and schools with leaflets and yard signs urging neighbors to pre-register for the...

Developing a more cost-effective approach to executing demand response is one of keys to advancing the industry. One of the key technologies that will reduce overhead associated with demand response is the automation of energy transactions. Automating energy transactions will enable an energy marketplace, permitting smart appliances and thermostats to act on their owner's behalf and participate in the demand response market. Demand response programs at the wholesale level are already...

The Open Mobile Summit: Connecting Everything. November 7-9, San Francisco. New speakers just announced include: Rich Miner, co-founder Android and Investing Partner, Google Ventures; Anand Chandrasekher, CMO, Qualcomm; and Warren East, CEO, ARM. They join Facebook, Samsung, LG, ESPN, MLB, You Tube, BBC, eBay, and more. Less than 100 tickets are remaining for this VIP industry networking event. Register yours today with VIP code PARKSB and save $150. Here are some of...

Parks Associates is supporting the upcoming IEEE Standards Association Internet of Things Workshop , a unique opportunity to learn and explore the ways in which IEEE standards and programs have enabled the evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT). This free one-day workshop will be held on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 in Milan, Italy. It will feature keynote speakers and panel discussions, and it will showcase a variety of IoT-related products presented by industry leading companies...

By Brett L. Sappington, Director of Research A growing trend in online video, driven by YouTube and other online video sites, is a move towards channelization of Internet video. One of the most difficult aspects of using online video is discovery and scheduling. With online video, consumers have to search for interesting content whereas broadcast or cable TV gives us a tidy little (or not so little) schedule of programs, making it more predictable. Consumers really like easy and...