The Pope is urging Catholic priests to preach on social networks. Pope Benedict XVI is so adamant about the power of social networks he wants Priests all over the world to post sermons and services to online video networks, Facebook and Twitter, believing that a presence in the digital world "can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis." The church as responded positively so far, launching a YouTube channel, as well as a new iPhone app.
Apple is trying to get TV stations to drop the price for digital downloads of TV shows. Apple believes that not only will a reduction in price benefit consumers, but also the TV industry, by increasing demand for downloads of shows. While networks are resistant to the push, as more devices offer high quality viewing experiences and more viewers continue to watch time-shifted television, downloads will become a more integral part of the viewing experience.
After much speculation, the Palm Pre and Pixi Plus are now available on the Verizon network. The updated versions of the smart phones, which had previously only been available to T-Mobile subscribers, now feature more hard drive space on the Pre (16GB) and Wi-Fi connectivity on the Pixi Plus, which was not available prior. While the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus will retail for $149 and $99 respectively, with a two-year contract, the biggest feature may be a tethering feature that can turn a laptop into a 3G Wi-Fi spot for an additional $40 a month.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV. Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net For information about Get Digital Classes, visit www.shellypalmer.com/seminars