The Death of Physical Storage

It wasn’t long ago that we stored files on floppy disks and CDs. After that came USB flash drives and portable hard drives.

The next wave of computer storage and file backup is the cloud – and it will mean the death of physical storage, including our cherished DVD collection.

The Cloud

The cloud – or cloud computing – is really just a metaphor for the Internet and personal storage on a network. So it’s not exactly new. But increased bandwidth has made cloud storage more practical for both personal and business applications.

The cloud is like a hard drive in the sky, allowing users to store files on a computer network, accessible on-demand from any device with an Internet connection.

Users can upload documents in addition to music, photos, and video as well as use the cloud as a backup service. Files can be stored on the cloud rather than saving documents on a local computer – or physical forms of storage – and thus only accessible from that device and susceptible to crashes, accidental deletion or file corruption.

An Internet connection is required to access the cloud; though files can be saved from the cloud to a local device (computer, smartphone, tablet, etc) for offline access.

Services like Dropbox, Google Drive and Carbonite Online Backup save files automatically from a local computer by syncing when files have changed. Multiple users can have access – with permission – to the same cloud drive for easy collaboration on projects.

Cloud Choices

There are public clouds – also known as shared clouds – and private clouds – also called internal clouds, which feature added security and control – as well as hybrid clouds that combine the two. However, most small businesses would be fine with public clouds like Google Drive or Dropbox.

Subscription cloud services are being offered by the Internet’s biggest players including Amazon, Google and Apple. Most companies are offering a free amount of storage space to start, with premium-priced storage upgrades. Amazon and Apple cloud users can purchase music online and save it directly to the cloud or upload their own music collection. Google Drive also touts music storage with its Google Play Music Manager, a branch of the new Google Drive.

How big is the Cloud?

Want to know how big of a player it already is? How many of the digital photos you own are already stored on Facebook, Flickr or Instagram? These services are holding your photos free of charge on their servers – on their cloud. Last year, Facebook was storing a reported 140 billion user photos, at the time representing 4 percent of all photos ever taken.

Today, more than 300 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day by its more than 900 million users.

I predict that Facebook will introduce personal cloud storage this year, a space to store files, as well as share and collaborate on projects with team members or friends. This would go head-to-head with Google’s new Google Drive, which replaced Google Docs when it launched in April. A Facebook cloud would also go hand-in-hand with the rumored Facebook phone. Facebook did not respond to my request for comment on cloud storage.

How you can benefit from the cloud

You can sign up for free cloud storage today. Whether you want to save files directly to the cloud for safety or collaboration, or use it as a back-up service, you can get started in minutes.

The cloud isn’t limited to just documents, photos and music. Walmart has been pushing a disc-to-digital service called UltraViolet which converts DVDs to digital copies. UltraViolet, which launched eight months ago, has attracted three million users. For an extra $2 per DVD or Blu-ray title, users can purchase a separate cloud-based digital version as well as a digital copy in Walmart’s streaming-video service Vudu. The disc-to-digital conversion includes older DVDs that consumers have already purchased.

How I use the cloud: Google Drive and Dropbox allow me to work on documents from the cloud and save them directly, without downloading them to my computer. This allows me to access them at work, at home or anywhere I have an Internet connection. It also provides me with a higher level of security, in the event my laptop becomes damaged or stolen.

Since my files are on the cloud, they are everywhere I am.

The latest version of Microsoft Office is entirely cloud-based. Microsoft Office 365 combines email, calendars, documents, web conferencing and Microsoft’s full line of Office products in one web-connected cloud service for easy collaboration among team members.

Cloud storage services are in a heated battle to see who can store the most user-data. Photos and music are at the forefront. Movies are next.

What’s next for the cloud?

Say goodbye to DVDs. In the future we’ll store our home movie collection on the cloud. Similar in effect to the way we operate our Netflix library. Buy a movie from Amazon and it’s stored directly to our own personal cloud. Blu-ray discs already come with a digital copy. Soon they’ll come with a cloud copy.

Today’s products and services are geared toward mobility: laptops, smartphones, tablets and entertainment services like Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, Slacker and Spotify. Mobile is taking over.

The cloud is the next logical step in connecting our content to our devices for business and entertainment.

The next five years will lay the foundation for cloud storage. As broadband speeds increase and high-speed Internet becomes ubiquitous, the cloud will play host to all of our digital lives and make physical storage obsolete.

5 tech predictions for 2012

5. Content producers skipping the middle man

I called it on May 8, 2011. In a post titled My predictions for Internet TV and the future of Cable.

"I’d watch for more studios and content owners to explore options for skipping the middle man and becoming the means of distribution for their content." (See story May 8, 2011)

Louis CK did it seven months later -- this December -- for his special Live at the Beacon Theatre. Instead of distributing the video through Netflix or HBO, Louis CK put it exclusively on his website. All fans had to do was visit his site, pay the $5 price and download the special. So how'd it turn out? Well, in 12 days, Lois CK's DRM-free video download made a cool $1 million. And it's still going...

Louis CK's special is only the beginning. In 2012, more will follow his model. Entertainers, content providers, even premium cable channels.

4. Customized Ads... Tailored to your purchases, browsing habits, check-ins and interests

Ads customized to your interests. Google does it best. Hulu's already doing it with in-show ads and its Ad Swap feature. You can select what you like instead of watching what Hulu thinks you'll like. Facebook does it. Facebook displays ads based on what fan pages you like. Foursquare does it too, by offering suggestions based on where you check in. Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley discussed the company's Explore/Recommendation engine at LeWeb 2011 in early December 2011.

"We went through about two years of Foursquare where people thought that they were checking in for mayorships and points and badges. The check-ins weren't just for the badges," Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley said on stage at LeWeb 2011. Every time you tell us that you like to go to this sushi place, we get better about recommending you another place to go to. Every time you tell us that...you know a lot about this area of Paris or this are of New York, we know that you're really familiar with that neighborhood. And we can suggest other things that you may not know about. Or we know when you're in areas that you're not so familiar about we can start offering things that help you out."

Ads based on what you "like," tweet, check-in, watch. Information you provide both voluntarily and data acquired based on your actions. Get ready to not hate the ads that interrupt your programming...at least not quite as much.

In 2012, Customized Advertising will be king. Whether you're aware of it or not.

3. Video-game consoles becoming complete entertainment hubs

We called it an entire year ago, on Dec. 27, 2010. In a post titled When will PS3, Xbox, Wii incorporate Internet TV.

"...When will Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo enter the [streaming content] game themselves? Doing so would offer another bit of differentiation, another perk for owners of each console.
"Who will be the first to fully embrace streaming content or Internet apps?
"Because it’s going to happen, and whichever is the first to act will only begin the next trend in video games and possibly home entertainment as we know it." (See story Dec. 27, 2010)

Xbox 360 introduced its revamped dashboard one year later, in early December of 2011. The new dashboard featured Internet apps including Netflix, Epix, SyFy, ESPN, Daily Motion, NBC News, Zune, YouTube and Live TV integration if you have the accompanying cable subscription.

In 2012, Xbox will roll out more apps and the rest will follow. It's only the beginning. The future video-game console will be a complete media hub with dozens, possibly hundreds of channels and apps.

2. Entertainment on the Cloud

I hate the term "cloud storage." Makes me think the cloud is only for backing up files. In 2012, the Cloud will become more than a backup service. Cloud for movies...music...pictures... and our movie libraries.

(I'm looking at my collection of DVDs and Blu-rays right now.) In 2012, our movie collection will extend to the cloud. Blu-rays already come with digital copies. How about a specially formatted "cloud copy"?

1. A BIG Netflix competitor

Through a few missteps in 2011, Netflix has enjoyed practically zero competition (or at least serious competition). Its maintained the largest number of video subscribers anywhere and built up its library of streaming content. Plus exclusive content on the way.

Eric's Ad Blog predicts in 2012, one new company (or a service from a partnership of companies) will emerge as the biggest competitor Netflix has seen to date.

Tech companies battling for customers

This is a great time to be a consumer. Companies are battling to release the next greatest advancement in technology -- whether it's NFC, Cloud Storage, Streaming Video or even Social Networking -- and the consumers are ready and waiting. The instant a company releases a new product or service, the competition follows suit.

And that makes today's consumer more connected than ever.

Brand extensions are to blame for much of the competition in technology today. Foursquare brings about Facebook Places. Skype leads to Google Hangouts. Square brings mobile payment to the forefront, with PayPal and Google following closely behind. Facebook (and MySpace before that) brought the rise of the social network; Google is now employing a brand extension with Google+.

A Brand Extension is when a company known for a particular good/service attempts to extend its services to another business category beyond its initial range.

Now, the current landscape:

Social Networking

Facebook vs. Google+

Facebook has been king of the social networking world since it overtook MySpace in 2008. MySpace was recently sold to Specific Media and entertainment artist Justin Timberlake. It's future is still uncertain.

In the limited beta release of Google+, Google goes head to head with Facebook. A similar scenario to its battle with MySpace, only Google+ seems better equipped.

Google+ invites are on the streets as the company seems to be opening up its social network to more users. It's limited beta at first offered only short windows for invites from current users. The service already is reported to have users in the millions, after a little more than one week on the market. Facebook, meanwhile, recently confirmed it has acquired 750 million users.

Mobile Payment

Square vs. Google vs. Paypal

Mobile payments are a hot topic, and the most popular service is likely Square, which hit $1 million in processed payments after less than a year in business. Square was launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in May of 2010.

Square allows users -- whether it's for personal or businesses use -- to accept credit card payments using a smartphone and Square's free mobile payment device, through which users swipe their actual plastic cards. (Square does not use NFC technology.)

Google unveiled its Google Wallet offering, a partnership with Citi, MasterCard, First Data, and Sprint. Google Wallet is an Android app that makes your phone your wallet. It accomplishes this by storing virtual versions of your plastic cards on your smartphone.

Using Near-Field Technology (NFC), users will be able to pay via their Google-Wallet equipped smartphones simply by tapping the phone on a checkout reader, available at many merchant locations.

And most recently, PayPal bolstered its mobile offering on July 7 with the $240 million acquisition of mobile-payment service Zong.

Zong partners with hundreds of mobile phone carriers around the world and allows users to enter their mobile phone number to make purchases. The charges are then applied to the user's monthly mobile-phone bill.

Zong was eBay's second mobile acquisition. The first was Fig Card, a Square-like device that allows users to accept payments with credit cards by swiping them through Fig's USB-powered reader.

Check-ins

Foursquare vs. Facebook

Location-based applications allow users to ‘check-in’ via smartphone and share their location with other users of the service or other social networks. Users are able to see who else is checked in at a given location (from all users) or friends in nearby locations. By checking in, users receive points and/or badges and can unlock certain specials determined by the retailer.

The most publicized of these location-based apps is Foursquare. Today, there are a reported 8 million Foursquare users, up from just one million a year ago.

With the introduction of Facebook Places and other location-based services like Whrrl, which was acquired by daily deals service Groupon in mid-April, companies are copying Foursquare’s model. And vice versa, as evidenced by Foursquare’s recent inclusion and emphasis on its Yelp-like service directory Explore. Brand extensions are on display everywhere we look.

In June, Fast Company took a closer look at Foursquare vs. Facebook Places.

Video Inside Social Networking

Google vs. Facebook

With Google+, the company introduced Hangouts, a video-calling service. One week later, Facebook announced a partnership with Skype, allowing users to make video calls over the social network.

Facebook Video Calling will feature one-on-one video calls to your friends, a stripped-down version of Skype from what I understand. (Note: that's not me in the screenshot; it's a Facebook promo screen.)

The biggest advantage with Facebook Video Calling has when compared to Skype is that users don't have to sign-up and login to Skype to chat; they simply do so through Facebook.

Google+ Hangouts allows group video chats with up to 10 participants, a sort of live chat room among your friends.

When Google+ Hangouts feature is launched, you can choose whom to invite in the video chat or simply alert all friends (or any other Circle) that you're hanging out. And then wait for someone, among the Circle you've selected, to respond. (Note: that is me in the screenshot below, chatting with no one.)

As you can see at the bottom of the chat window (above), YouTube is also accessible via Hangouts.

I haven't really discovered how YouTube can be used inside Hangouts. But I did watch Cake's The Distance. I guess if my friends were on there we could have all watched it together...and then checked all of our reactions?

Google+ Hangouts and YouTube might be useful for work-related presentations. This service encroaches on GoToMeeting's territory. Now I've just got to find some people who want to have a meeting about Cake.

Cloud Storage

Amazon vs. Apple

On the Cloud, users can store music, videos, photos, and documents, which are then accessible from any computer or device with an internet connection and access to the cloud.

Amazon starts users off with a free 5GB of storage space. The 5GB of free space is about enough space, Amazon says, to store 1,000 songs. This first tier is free and you’ll never be charged for it. If a user purchases a digital album from Amazon’s mp3 store (amazon.com), it’ll upgrade your 5GB of free storage to 20GB. Other pricing/storage options for the Amazon Cloud range from 20GB to 1,000GB of space.

Apple iCloud operates in the same way as the Amazon Cloud Player, with iTunes integrated into iCloud. Everything purchased on iTunes is automatically accessible on the iCloud, in addition to other apps, photos, books and documents.

Streaming Music

Some companies like Amazon and Apple have tied their digital music services directly to Cloud Storage. Others like Slacker and Pandora are offering a more entertainment-centered approach.

Pandora makes things easy for listeners: subscription free and on nearly every device you own.

Pandora got its start on the computer. But the company is making even bigger leaps away from its traditional home on the PC; Pandora is now available on smartphones, tablets, televisions and a select number of automobiles.

According to a published report from Advertising Age, more than 50 percent of Pandora listening accomplished on devices other than the PC.

Slacker, however, is beginning to outshine Pandora in both integration and subscription options. Slacker offers three ways to listen. The first tier, like Pandora, is free of charge (but with ads) and allows users to create a custom station based on a particular band or song. The second is a paid subscription plan that provides unlimited song skips and is ad-free; Slacker Radio Plus is $3.99 per month.

Slacker also has a partnership with ABC News, with news breaks at the top of each hour for subscribers of either Slacker Plus or Slacker Premium Radio.

Slacker's newest subscription is called Slacker Premium Radio. At $9.99 per month, this service includes everything available in Slacker Radio Plus as well as on-demand music, allowing listeners to search for and play songs on-demand, or songs from a particular artist. Slacker Premium Radio encroaches on MOG's and Rdio's territory -- a brand-extension of sorts -- by offering on-demand music.

It's an exciting time for both consumers and businesses. Each service is experiencing tremendous competition -- which only fuels innovation -- as companies vie for the consumers' time, interest and money.

The customers ultimately decide which products succeed and which ones flop. Therefore the success of these businesses relies much on us, the consumers, and in our experiences with these products and brands and how seamlessly we can integrate them into our lives.

The best technology becomes second-nature, like a brand extension of ourselves.

My head is in the clouds

Just when I understood the difference between Cumulus, Stratus and Cirrus, everyone's talking about this new Internet Cloud.

The Cloud

The Cloud has been receiving a lot of buzz lately. But in fact, the Cloud (or cloud computing) is really just a metaphor for the Internet -- and personal storage on a network. So it's not exactly new. In a sense, our email operates on a Cloud. If you've ever logged into your email from more than one location, or stored email messages in a folder for viewing later, you've accomplished the same thing.

There's also a distinction between Public and a Private Clouds, as well as hybrids, which I have yet to wrap my head around. That's why we're sticking to Public Cloud talk in this post.
If anyone's an expert in this Cloud bu'ness (particularly public vs. private or hybrid clouds), feel free to shoot me an email at ericsadblog@gmail.com and set me straight.

Nevertheless, the press surrounding it has certainly exploded within the last year. As well as the number of companies developing their own cloud services for the public. Namely, Amazon, Google and most recently Apple.

The Cloud is like a hard drive in the sky, allowing users to store files on a computer network accessible on-demand from any device with an Internet connection. Versus storing documents on a local computer, and thus only accessible from that specific computer.

Users can upload their own music to the Cloud, in addition to documents, photos, videos, etc, in addition to use as a backup service. Or as with Amazon and soon Apple via iTunes, users can purchase music online and save it directly to the Cloud.

The only limitation with the Cloud is that an Internet Connection is required to access it; though files can be saved from the Cloud to a local device (computer, smartphone, tablet, etc) for offline access. But I suppose that's the same as saying you can only make calls on your cell phone where you have service. That hasn't exactly stopped adoption of mobile phones.

Cloud Choices - It's awfully overcast

Clouds come in different shapes and sizes (both real clouds and Internet Clouds). Most companies are offering a free amount of storage space to start (for example, Amazon offers 5GB free) with premium-priced storage upgrades.

Amazon, Google and Apple are entering a heated battle over Cloud services. All three of which are putting emphasis on music storage with the Amazon Cloud Player, Google Music Beta and Apple's iCloud, which will reportedly feature streaming music and integration with iTunes.

Apple Inc's CEO Steve Jobs is expected to introduce and fully explain its iCloud tomorrow, June 6, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco. (It's a cool $1,599 to attend WWDC. If you didn't buy your tickets, it's too late; the event's sold out. I had my credit card ready and everything. Maybe next year.)

Now, onto the Clouds. There are many Cloud services and companies offering Public or Private Clouds for Business. Here are Cloud offerings from three of the biggest players in media in Amazon, Google and Apple:

Amazon Cloud Drive

Amazon's cloud drive starts you off with 5GB of storage space for free with additional premium plans from $20 to $1,000 per year, billed annually. Users can store "music, videos, photos, and documents on Amazon's secure servers." The 5GB of free space is about enough space, Amazon says, to store 1,000 songs. This first tier is free and you'll never be charged for it.

If a user purchases a digital album from Amazon's mp3 store (amazon.com), it'll upgrade your 5GB of free storage to 20GB. Though after one year, if not renewed, users will be bumped down to the free 5GB. It's not an automatic renewal, so that's nice in my opinion. We've all taken advantage of free offers and forgotten about them, only to be charged for something we didn't really want.

Other pricing/storage options are as follows, from 20GB to 1,000GB of space:

Google Cloud Apps & Google Music Beta

Google has taken a slightly different approach to the Cloud, offering a sleek line of Cloud Apps for different purposes. And Google's been at this a while. I'm sure most of us are familiar with at a least a few of its Cloud Apps, whether or not we knew that's what they were called. Google's Cloud Apps include Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Chrome, Google Groups, among others.

"Because data in Google Apps is stored in the cloud instead of on employee computers, multiple users can access and contribute to projects simultaneously without worrying about using the same operating system, software, or browser. For example, instead of collaborating on a document by sending back and forth revision after revision as attachments, documents are stored in the cloud with Google Apps. Coworkers can access the web-based document simultaneously in their browsers, and even make changes that other authorized users can see in real-time. Eliminating attachment round-trips by storing data in the cloud saves time and reduces frustrations for teams who need to work together efficiently." - Google.com / Google Apps for Business

Google Music Beta 

In May, Google introduced Google Music Beta, a Cloud storage service for your music, similar to Amazon's Cloud Player. Google, however, provides quite an impressive amount of storage in the Beta version, enough for 20,000 songs according to ZDNet. Amazon's free 5GB allows around 1,000 songs.

Google Music Beta is available in the U.S. by invitation only and free for a limited time, according to the landing page in the Android Market.

Apple iCloud set to be unveiled June 6, 2011 at WWDC in San Francisco

The last of the three to introduce a Cloud music service, Apple may have been waiting for a reason. Reports have it that Apple has deals with Warner Music, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Group to stream songs directly to the iCloud, like Pandora, Slacker, Rdio and other streaming services.

It's rumored that the service will start with a free trial for iTunes customers, followed by a $25 per-year rate. ZDNet's Larry Dignan says Apple will also look to sell advertising around the cloud service.

Apple currently offers a Cloud service called MobileMe, a subscription-based collection of  Internet services for Mac OS X, Windows, iPad,iPhone, and iPod Touch.

Apple's iCloud all but ensures the next round of iPods will be able to connect to Wi-Fi or a 3G network.

Expect more on iCloud tomorrow after Apple's WWDC.

A Face-Off in the Cloud

If Apple's iCloud introduces what everyone is reporting -- streaming music -- this isn't just a battle between Amazon, Google and Apple but also Nicolas Cage Pandora, Slacker, Rdio and other music streaming services. According to San Francisco's International Business Times, Apple has also been in talks with the film industry, possibly adding movies and video to iCould. Could Apple be looking to face off against Netflix as well?

They've already invested in video streaming with Apple TV, though the service only includes a small line of Internet apps and pay-per-view titles, no content deals with film studios. If Apple reaches a deal with the film industry for iCloud, you can bet those titles are coming to Apple TV as well.

Amazon and Apple have a clear advantage in that users can purchase music from either Amazon.com or iTunes and have it saved directly to the respective Cloud. Apple's support from major record labels could push it to the front of the pack.

How I've been using the Cloud

For the past month, I've been enjoying my time in the Cloud. I signed up for the 5 free GB of Amazon Cloud back in April. I then bumped that up to 20 GB free with the purchase of the one-day special (then two-day special due to high demand and a server crash) on Lady Gaga's new album for only 99 cents. (If you're curious, I bought if for my wife. Well, plus the additional 15 GB of storage space.)

The increase to 20GB lasts for one year. But, once that free trial runs out, I'll probably be so used to using it that I'll have to renew. (After all, it's only $20 per year.) That is, unless I'm swayed by Apple's iCloud offering.

The Amazon Cloud allows you to store music, documents, pictures or video. I have a number of files saved for backup or if I need a document when I'm on the road. But I've mostly been using Amazon's Cloud for its Cloud Player.

Amazon Cloud Player - When I'm at the gym or in my car, the Cloud Player is great, with access to all of my songs and without taking up space on my phone.

I've also been taking advantage of Google Docs.

I reinstalled my operating system on my Dell XPS M1530 a while back, and haven't gotten around to installing Microsoft Office. But with Google Docs, I haven't really needed it.

What's next for the Cloud?

In our increasingly mobile lifestyles, the Cloud is just what we need. And at just the right time. We're all part of this mobile shift. A shift in the way we work, live, play, communicate and collaborate.

Laptops, Smartphones, Tablets, Netbooks, and entertainment services like Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, Slacker as well as mobile payments like Google Wallet, and NFC technology. Mobile is taking over the news and our lives.

The Cloud is the next logical step in connecting our mobile devices to all of our files, music and video.

Today, home is wherever we are. Office productivity and entertainment can happen anywhere. I suppose that's both good and bad. Luckily, if we choose to use it, there's an off switch.

An Amazonian Web

What started out as an online bookstore is now not only the largest online retailer but also the company to beat in the digital world. Amazon is building a river of digital services across the industry board including retail, music, entertainment, movies, mobile applications, storage and e-commerce.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has shown no hesitation to enter a new industry. That makes Amazon an exciting company to follow and, from a competitor's standpoint, one to be afraid of.

With the Amazon Kindle, Audible.com, Amazon mp3, the Amazon App Store, Amazon Instant Video with Amazon Prime, the recently announced Amazon Cloud Player, and, of course, Amazon.com itself, the company is becoming a go-to source for online shopping and entertainment.

Amazon Cloud

I've been testing out the Amazon Cloud since last week and, so far, I'm very impressed. A simple (and free) download is all that's required to get started. Then just upload your media files. I've found the music storage alone to be well worth the download. The Cloud lets you access your music on any computer or any android device. So I was able to delete music files from my Droid, freeing up much needed space.

With the free version of the Amazon Cloud Drive and Player, you'll get 5GB of free storage. For more, you'll have to pay. Though right now I have 299 songs on my Cloud and I'm using only 1.3 GB of storage, 26% of the alloted 5 GB.

By the way, what is a "Cloud"? A Cloud is basically a hard drive in the sky, a hard drive on the internet that users can access from any computer, or compatible mobile device, with an internet connection without hauling anything around. In a way, your email service is like a cloud. Gmail serves as a cloud for your email by storing your messages on the web and thus being accessible from many devices with an internet connection.

The Cloud lets you store Music, Documents, Pictures and Videos. Whether it was purchased from Amazon or not. Here's a breakdown of the additional storage plans, up to 1000 GB of space.

For more on the Amazon Cloud, click here.

Amazon Prime & Instant Video

 

Amazon Prime membership offers users on Amazon.com unlimited free two-day shipping for $79 per year, billed annually. That was until Amazon announced in February that Prime users would also have access to unlimited, commercial-free instant streaming of 5,000 movies and TV shows.

Amazon Instant Video offers little differentiation from Netflix with a smaller library but the bonus of free two-day shipping. Though Amazon claims 5,000 titles are available, I'm only able to see around 3,000 titles including TV and movies. I'll keep checking on this.

Free shipping and a library of videos to stream instantly to your computer or TV for about $7 per month is a solid deal, especially for frequent amazon.com shoppers. Price compares to Netflix, though Big Red is billed monthly. Netflix offers an unlimited streaming plan (though no discs by mail) for $7.99 per month.

Audible.com

Your favorite books. On audio. I've tested this out, too, though I haven't committed just yet. I enjoyed my free two-week trial period, downloaded a couple of audiobooks. The service also offers magazines, radio shows, podcasts, stand-up comedy and speeches.

How it works: Audible.com offers two plans: Gold and Platinum. With either subscription, you receive credits that can be used to purchase audiobooks or other audio content. Both plans have a monthly and annual option.

Audio files purchased from Audible.com can be accessed from your computer, burnt to a CD, played with the Audible.com app, as well as iPod and more than 500 other devices per Audible.com. For a list of compatible devices, click here (you may have to navigate to the "comaptible devices" window).

Living Social & Woot

In December of 2010, Amazon made a $175 million investment in local-deals site LivingSocial. The service operates much in the same way as Groupon, offering heavily discounted items and services.

"To be the biggest player in the local commerce space there is no one better to work with than Amazon," LivingSocial CEO Tim O'Shaughnessy said in a statement on the company's website, announcing the investment. "As the social shopping space continues to heat up, LivingSocial is committed to staying focused on providing the high level of quality that consumers and merchants have come to expect when working with us."

LivingSocial does things a little differently, however. Whereas Groupon requires a specific number of people to buy a deal for it to be valid, LivingSocial makes it easy. Buy the deal and it's yours.

But LivingSocial adds another layer to the daily deal. Once you buy a deal on LivingSocial, you'll receive a unique, sharable link. Your deal becomes free when three people buy the deal from your unique link, giving you extra incentive to share the deal. Both Groupon and LivingSocial offer mobile apps to get deals on the go.

Prior to its investment in LivingSocial, in June of 2010, Amazon acquired deal-a-day site Woot. Woot Services, LLC is actually a bunch of sites under one wootbrella. There's the main Woot.com, which operates like Groupon and LivingSocial, offering one deal a day from a variety of sources and services. But its sub-sites offer specific products, like T-Shirts on shirt.woot.com; or kids products on kids.woot.com; or wine on, you guessed it, wine.woot.com; and more.

Woot is a bit of an odd-ball deals site. Maybe Woot CEO Matt Rutledge give you a better idea of what Woot's about, in a letter to his employees:

"We think now is the right time to join with Amazon because, quite simply, every company that becomes a subsidiary gets two free downloads until the end of July, and we very much need that new thing with Trent Reznor’s wife on our iPods," Rutledge wrote in a letter to Woot employees on June 30, 2010.

"Other than that, we plan to continue to run Woot the way we have always run Woot – with a wall of ideas and a dartboard. From a practical point of view, it will be as if we are simply adding one person to the organizational hierarchy, except that one person will just happen to be a billion-dollar company that could buy and sell each and every one of you like you were office furniture."

So that's Woot for you, a site that's 50% humor and entertainment and 50% great deals. It's worth a look. If nothing else, you can buy a Woot Shirt.

LoveFilm

LoveFilm is a British subsidiary of Amazon.com offering movie and video-game rentals by mail (or should I say 'by post'?) and online streaming of movies in the UK, Germany and Scandinavia with a library of more than 70,000 titles. Founded in 2002, LoveFilm is essentially Britain's Netflix. (Netflix was founded in 1997 and serves the U.S. and Canada.) LoveFilm streams content through a computer, through the Playstation 3 video-game system, or Internet-connected Sony or Samsung TVs, much like Netflix. Build your queue, get your movies, return when you like with no late fees or watch instantly online. My free trial was denied because of the whole distance thing. Don't think I'd qualify for 'free first-class post.'

What LoveFilm offers:

• DVD and Blu-ray by mail
• Streaming instantly to your PC, PS3 or Internet-connected TV
• On-Demand content (pay-per-view)

Sound familiar? Besides the obvious Netflix similarities, it's essentially what Amazon just rolled out as a bonus to its Amazon Prime membership. Minus the discs by mail. But, hey, I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon started renting discs by mail. What better a way to make money from older movies nobody wants to buy from Amazon.com? Rent them through Amazon.com.

Amazon has had ownership stake of LoveFilm since 2008, but it wasn't until January of this year that Amazon took full control of the company. And in February, Amazon announced its Amazon Prime members would have access to Instant Video content, streamed to their PC or a number of TV-connected devices.

Could LoveFilm set up shop in the U.S.? Former LoveFilm COO William Reeve thought it could compete with Netflix, but reportedly didn't receive the backing from LoveFilm venture capitalists. Reeve left LoveFilm in 2008, before Amazon was a part of the plan. Now that Amazon's in full control, would it bring LoveFilm over and risk competing with, well, itself?

What's next?

Amazon is claiming stake in every conceivable digital media category. Including rumors within the last two days of an NFC-based mobile payment service. (NFC stands for Near Field Communication, a short-rage wireless service that allows NFC-equipped cell phones to pay for items at brick-and-motor stores without a debit or credit card, just using a phone.) The NFC tech talk is just another way Amazon is moving with technology and moving in on competitors. Smart business strategy by CEO Jeff Bezos.

I'd watch for more acquisitions. Amazon's made a habit of acquiring companies and rolling them into Amazon's umbrella of services.

Amazon reported net sales of more than $34 billion in 2010 (up from 24.51 in 2009) and net income of $1.15 billion. International sales, representing Amazon's UK, German, Japanese, French, Chinese and Italian services were $5.74 billion, according to the company's financial statements, up 26% from fourth quarter 2009.

Two sectors where I predict growth for Amazon in 2011: Social Networking and Instant Video.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Just putting pieces of this Amazonian puzzle together: Amazon Prime members, Audible.com, Mobile, Instant Video and a growing list of services. Watch for Amazon to roll out a social network of sorts, not a Facebook competitor by any means maybe just a mobile or TV hub that connects all Amazon members (and its subsidiaries). You'd be able to see what your friends are watching instantly, or what items they've rated on Amazon.com, What they're listening to from Audible.com (opt-in, of course).

In 1998, Amazon acquired PlanetAll, which was one of the first online attempts at social networking. PlanetAll connected users with classmates and colleagues as well as providing calendars, address books and groups all in one service. Amazon shut it down in 2000, however, and absorbed part of the PlanetAll service into its Friends and Favorites area where customers can set up 'wish lists' and share them with friends. But Amazon got the social-networking fever again in 2008 and filed another patent for a "social networking service."

In June of 2010, The United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded Amazon with a patent for a social networking system, the one it filed for in 2008. I don't see them sticking with the PlanetAll title if it's re-introduced. I imagine they'll roll it into the Amazon name and connect it with all of Amazon's services and subsidiaries. The trademark office lists the Inventors of this patent as Brian Robertson and Warren Adams, the founders of PlanetAll.

The verbiage from The United States Patent and Trademark Office, Patent No. 7,739,139

Social networking system

A networked computer system provides various services for assisting users in locating, and establishing contact relationships with, other users. For example, in one embodiment, users can identify other users based on their affiliations with particular schools or other organizations. The system also provides a mechanism for a user to selectively establish contact relationships or connections with other users, and to grant permissions for such other users to view personal information of the user. The system may also include features for enabling users to identify contacts of their respective contacts. In addition, the system may automatically notify users of personal information updates made by their respective contacts.

Instant Video

I'd watch for Amazon Instant Video to bulk up its offerings. I'm going to keep an eye on LoveFilm. LoveFilm is similar to Netflix in operation, pricing and even layout and iconic red packaging. With one key difference. In LoveFilm's £14.99 plan (about $24), the service offers unlimited Movies, TV and Video Games by mail. A comparison here would be pairing Gamefly with Netflix. I'd love for Amazon to incorporate this into its Amazon Prime membership, as part of new tiered membership options.

One final prediction: How about Amazon acquiring a company that makes streaming devices? Amazon could then sell the box at a discount with an Amazon Prime membership or even give it away with an annual membership to Amazon Prime.

If Amazon's history is any indication of its future, watch for the company to continue expanding its services, moving into new industries and increasing its user base.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has shown no hesitation to enter a new industry. That makes Amazon an exciting company to follow and, from a competitor's standpoint, one to be afraid of.