The blogosphere is spinning from Netflix’s mea culpa and rebranding of the DVD business as Qwikster about 24 hours ago. So far, it’s the best new drama of the fall season.
So many things struck me as wrong about the latest Netflix communication in which CEO Reed Hastings apologized and then announced the DVD business will be spun off into a separate brand, Qwikster.
 Dear Netflix,
I thought we would be together forever, but things have changed. You know it, I know it, and I don't think this letter will be a big surprise.
Interactive TV and mobile apps have to make do with limited screen space. One workaround is to just automatically truncate headlines until they’re short enough. If the headline is 50 characters and you only have room for 30, let the computer cut it off at 30. What could go wrong?
I would encourage product teams to resist the temptation to take the easy way out. Why? Because stuff happens. Sometimes important words and letters are left out. It’s like playing Russian roulette with the alphabet.
 The HBO GO service is a game changer. HBO has made a significant investment in steering customers to its new streaming video service with the idea that HBO is available almost anywhere.
 The Masters Tournament offered two versions of video-rich apps to go with this year's golf tournament. Which scored the best value for users? Read on.
 TiVo and several other companies had a busy weekend after a large third-party e-mail vendor announced customer data had been exposed.
Unfortunately, Epsilon’s April 1 press release was no joke. The data included “email addresses and/or customer names only.” The release does not provide any detail about why they’re saying “and/or.”
 IntoNow has fixed a flaw that revealed user e-mail addresses in data sent between their servers and iPhone app.
If you want to know what a company is planning, check their job postings.
Experian Marketing Services has two U.S. openings with its Digital Advertising Services (DAS) team. According to their site, "This team is an internal startup made up of talent from Marketing Services, Interactive and Technology in pre-launch phase, poised to go to market. This team is positioned well to become the 'go to' resource for advertisers in all things digital (online, mobile and interactive TV.)"
Is Jersey Shore the future of interactive TV? Snooki could be the face of the TV of tomorrow and The Situation its abs, but narrow contest rules will keep tagging from replacing tanning in their gym and laundry routine for now.
NBC had Milton Berle in 1948.
CNN had Baghdad in 1991.
FOX had the NFC in 1994.
Ustream has Charlie Sheen in 2011.
Each broadcast event was a tipping point. It made people pay attention. It helped make the network.
Love it, hate it or just can't help but stare at it, Charlie Sheen and his "Sheen's Korner" online show is "winning" it for Ustream, helping it bounce to a new level of mainstream consumer awareness.
 NBC's "Today" show used a live backstage streaming stunt to showcase the new Today.com Web page Tuesday. Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb hosted the one-hour "stream-living" event, as they decided to name it, starting at 7:30 a.m. EST.
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