ZDTVME: Computers & The Cable TV Industry

Geege (Whetgrrl@aol.com)
Sat, 18 Jul 1998 17:59:27 EDT


Rohit et al,

So there I was, there I was, there I was . . . watching C-SPAN during a raging
thunderstorm which precluded me from doing anything BUT watch C-SPAN (stay
with me now) and the featured Wednesday rehash was the DC Doubletree
appearance/interview of none other than ZDTV CEO Larry "WaWa" Wangberg.

http://www.zdnet.com/zdtv/cda/index/0,2073,2100134-2100104,00.html

He said the biggest problem he faced was getting carriage for his channels,
both analog and digital. He expects ZDTV in 6,000,000 homes by August. The
programming is aimed toward the (usergraphics data-determined) 100,000,000 or
so users between newbie and "high end IT user" (which Wangberg defined as NT
system users). :)

Where I'm going with this: non-techie & aspiring marketing maven that I am,
"usergraphics" was the interest intercept for me and ZDTV. Do any of you know
of a study or paper that stratifies the user interface by proficiency? The
study would show how long users occupy different points on the learning curve.
For instance, Newbies generally don't stay newbies very long.

I'm developing an idea for an upcoming job interview.

******************************************************************
Incidental program notetaking:
Wangberg listed as the ZDTV benefit to cable marketers:
*Techies can position themselves as industry leaders
*Participation will help build high-speed Internet
*Local ad sales

This list seems deficient (read "duh") to me, but judging from the reporters'
questions maybe its simplicity (read "duh") was appropriate. When asked why
computer penetration was ahead of modem, Wangberg said "Cable is just so much
more satisfying." I didn't want to, but I went there.

At the interview's conclusion, Wangberg was presented with a very nice book on
the manor homes of Virginia.

Geege