Yesterday, I was on the campus of the University of Kentucky in Lexington to speak with students as part of The Cable Center's Cable Mavericks program. I was joined by Geraldine Laybourne, a cable pioneer who lead the team that created Nickelodeon and later founded Oxygen Media. Gerry and I were hosted by UK's School of Journalism and Telecommunications.
Our morning started with an introductory class in telecommunications. Topics included cable programming and distribution, past and present and then we discussed the future of video delivery. We had a great time asking the students in the class about what they thought the "next big thing" in telecommunications technology would be. Gerry regaled the class with a story about how she is preparing for her first meeting as a member of the board of Electronic Arts. She hired a 10 year-old, a 13 year-old and a 16 year-old to tutor her on playing video games. I joked that since she's having a hard time getting the knack of the games, the board is considering inviting the 10 year-old onto the board.
After the first class, we headed off to UK's student center for a box lunch discussion with upperclassmen in communications and telecommunications majors. The discussion was lively. We had a group of former "Nick Kids" that asked Gerry several questions about her leadership at Nickelodeon. Gerry described how she wanted to make Nickelodeon a network that didn't make kids grow up too fast. The students enjoyed hearing the story about the day that Gerry instituted "recess" at Nickelodeon. Every day at 3pm, all the Nickelodeon employees had to take a break from meetings and work and step away from their desk for a few minutes of recess. Not a bad idea.
At the lunch, I answered questions about regulatory issues in our industry and why we manage our broadband network. One student asked me about why he had gotten "the call" from Insight about the quantity of his broadband usage. As it turns out, he had three roommates, one of whom was using an unusually large share of bandwidth.
Later in the day we spoke with a research class about the importance of good research to cable programming and to cable distribution. Gerry talked about how programmers use research to determine the potential success of a show, and she emphasized how important it is to do your own research -- making sure that the results square with what you know to be true. I talked about how Insight uses research to determine how our customers view us, and how we can improve how our customers perceive Insight. I also talked about technology that will allow us to tailor our message to specific demographics and even specific customers, based on their interest. Of course, first we have to debate whether or not that type of advertising should be permitted at all.
Finally, we ended our day with a discussion at UK's Young Library Auditorium with a large group of students. Gerry and I both noticed several students that had attended two or three of the different events during the day. I thought it was because we were so interesting. She thought we might want to open a door or two for these graduating seniors.
It was great to spend the day with the next generation of innovators in cable and telecommunications, and I appreciate the opportunity that UK and the Cable Center provided for Gerry and me to share some of our experiences with students. Special thanks to Beth Barnes for taking such good care of us all day.
By the way, Gerry and I are scheduled for a similar appearance at the University of Louisville early next year.
By the way, Gerry and I are scheduled for a similar appearance at the University of Louisville early next year.
One final note -- It's election day today, and a historic one at that. One of the things I spoke about yesterday at UK is the historic new role that the Internet has played in this year's campaigning. There won't be another election after this one in which the campaigners don't heavily leverage the power of the Internet. Remember to go vote. And as the election results start to come in this evening, remember that many of the earliest reports are going to be posted to the Internet.
Hello Mr. Willner,
I just wanted to say thank you for coming to the University of Kentucky and spending you time talking to our students about the Cable Industry. I was very inspired to take a look at the new innovation that will develop in the next couple of years in cable. Thankfully, I had a chance to ask you a question during the last event about the future of interactive television. You expressed to me the importance of this development. When we spoke after the event you had mention the Tru2Way platform and its significance. I was very encouraged after a talk to look up Tru2Way and explore the different type of achievements that can develop from such a system. I will be attending the Universities career fair on November 6th, and will be very anxious to speak more about the development in Insight Communications and the new platform.
Thank you again,
Todd Ulery
[email protected]
502-356-0615
Posted by: Todd Ulery | Thursday, November 06, 2008 at 12:32 AM