Netflix vs. Hulu: Who dominates the video-on-demand empire?

Once predicted a major threat to the Netflix empire, Hulu’s subscription business has failed to take off the way it has for its rivals. Netflix acquired over 27 million streaming subscribers as of last year versus Hulu’s three million.

While both companies have had their struggles, an increasing amount of video-on-demand services continue to crop up, making the fight for rights to content and subscribers more competitive, especially in the last two years.

Interestingly, the Federal Communications Commission once balked at the idea of video streaming becoming popular enough to supersede cable and satellite. The FCC now recognizes streaming video as a legitimate threat and has added an entire section to its commission reports, detailing the regulations made to video-on-demand.

Netflix launched its unlimited Internet video streaming service, Watch Instantly, in 2008 while Hulu’s paid subscription, Hulu Plus, launched in 2011. Each video streaming service operates differently. Netflix provides unlimited content, commercial free for a set fee of $7.99 per month. On the other hand, Hulu offers a free version along with an expanded Hulu Plus subscription service (also $7.99 per month), with both versions interrupting viewers with advertisements.

Once the lone video streaming service available, Netflix faces the threat of losing its once loyal customers to shiny, new services such as Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime.

“The only thing that’s noticeably changed in the last 12 months is Hulu and Amazon bidding more aggressively, and that that’s made content owners much happier and has made the prices to us higher than they would otherwise be,” Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO, said.

Hastings agreed to spend $5.63 billion over the next several years on exclusive content and original programs. He hopes subscriber gains will ultimately pay for these hefty deals.

Comparatively, Hulu announced that it intended to ramp up its spending on creating and acquiring content to $500 million in April 2012, a 67 percent increase from 2011, according to Jason Kilar, chief executive officer of Hulu.

Both companies continue to make forays into original programming in hopes to attract more subscribers. At this year’s TV Upfronts, Hulu announced two new shows (Quick Draw and East Los High), joining the nine previously announced for debut this summer. Meanwhile, Netflix has enjoyed success with original programs such as House of Cards and will profit from the re-launch of cult-favorite comedy Arrested Development, which will debut May 26.

While Hulu does not break down its financial results for the public, Acting CEO Andy Forsell announced that users streamed over one billion videos in the first quarter of 2013, marking the first time Hulu has broken that number within a single quarter.

“Hulu reached four million new subscribers this quarter, showing steady growth. The number of paying Hulu subscribers doubled in 2012 and have only increased since,” Forssell said.

Meanwhile, Netflix added three million new subscribers this quarter and notched $2.69 million in net profits on $1.02 billion in revenue for the quarter, according to the company’s Q1 2013 summary results.

As Hulu makes small, but significant strides toward improvement, Netflix remains king of the video-on-demand universe for now.

“Sure, Hulu gets TV shows the day after they’ve aired, but you have to watch commercials. Why would you pay for a service that makes you watch commercials when you can get Netflix instead?” Mariam Khan, a public relations major, said.

Ridesharing apps rubs Austin the wrong way

Ridesharing, another term for carpooling, seems pretty harmless at first glance with its environmentally friendly and cost-effective benefits. But now that Austin has implemented it, ridesharing has sparked controversy.

SideCar, a ride-sharing cell phone app developed in San Francisco in 2012, has come under fire since February in Austin.

SideCar matches willing drivers to people in need of a ride in the area. The service gathers a community of local drivers who choose when, where and how often they want to drive. Those who benefit from the service can provide whatever compensation they deem fit.

The app provides the user with the average amount a driver gets paid in the area to give an idea of an appropriate payment. Then, SideCar receives a 20 percent cut of the driver’s revenue. While there are no current figures on how much SideCar is profiting from its service, the app boasts that it has given over 100,000 matched rides nationally.

What sounded like a great solution to big city transportation woes has incited fear and doubt as to whether ridesharing services such as SideCar meet safety and legal requirements.

As one of the start-ups appearing at South by Southwest’s Interactive conference, SideCar hoped to grab the tech-savvy festival attendees’ attention by providing the service during the busy week, showcasing ridesharing as a viable transportation option for the influx of visitors descending the city.

However, SideCar received a cease-and-desist order from the city Feb. 28. Furthermore, the City Council enabled police officers to impound the cars of unlicensed drivers found giving out rides for pay.

The Austin City Council met March 7, the week before SXSW began and passed a resolution that would allow the city to examine how other cities regulate ridesharing and make recommendations as to how ridesharing could be implemented.

“The reality is ridesharing is currently being promoted nationally through a variety of new apps and websites,” Chris Riley, Austin City Council member, said. “It could serve a particular niche in the spectrum of transportation services, if regulated, so as not to overlap with existing transportation options.”

The city worries about the potential dangers of ridesharing, including a lack of professionally licensed drivers and the possibility that passengers’ insurance may not cover accidents that occur in transport, according to Mayor Lee Leffingwell.

“These have to be considered commercial vehicles in order for their insurance to cover what they’re doing,” Leffingwell said. “Then, they would in fact be cabs wouldn’t they? And that involves a whole new process that’s scary to contemplate.

SideCar boasts a list of ten safety steps on their website, which includes assurances that all drivers undergo a criminal background check and the company verifies and keeps on file every driver’s insurance, registration and driver’s license.

Sunil Paul, the CEO of SideCar, believes that since SideCar’s drivers are paid a flat fee and SideCar does not own or operate vehicles, dispatch drivers or moderate shifts, comparisons to taxi services are unfair. He doesn’t think that his drivers violate the local taxi ordinance because the city code regulates “chauffeured vehicles” for a fee while SideCar users voluntarily pay what they want. Paul insists that SideCar is protected under federal law.

“Sharing should not be a crime,” Paul said “It’s a solution for a better and more sustainable way of life.”

However, taxi services, concerned about the safety level and a potential dip in their business, cite the faults of SideCar. While SideCar has been fined for its services, taxi drivers have sued the ridesharing app Umber, showcasing their disdain for the enterprise.

“They’re engaging in and promoting criminal activity that threatens public safety,” Edward Kargbo, president of Yellow Cab Austin, said. “They’re trying to pull the wool over people’s eyes across the nation from Philadelphia to San Francisco.”

SideCar considered the drivers participating in SXSW “brand ambassadors,” because of their being paid a flat rate instead of per ride and a lack of enforced working hours.

But, “it is unfair to drivers and companies in compliance [with the city taxi ordinance] and puts citizens and visitors to Austin in danger,” Kargbo said. “[SideCar’s] proposed ‘ambassadors program’ puts drivers who haven’t been vetted and uninsured or underinsured drivers on the road, providing transportation to unassuming passengers.”

On March 8, SideCar CEO Paul announced he was suing the city of Austin for misinterpreting SideCar as illegal. As the first lawsuit SideCar has taken against a city with a negative reaction to the service, the company revealed that it chose to take action in Austin due to the city’s reputation for being progressive and innovative.

The app –available in Seattle, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Chicago as of this month – elicited negative reactions from San Francisco with the city issuing a cease-and-desist order and in Philadelphia where a city park authority sting operation took place, according to SideCar. However, the service remains dedicated to staying put in the cities it has launched in so far.

Prezi: http://prezi.com/18ebxy4y7zyb/ridesharing/

Austin Independent School District ranks second nationally for its use of renewable energy

Austin Independent School District ranks greener than most school districts, coming in second place nationwide, according to the federal government. Chicago Public Schools ranked first, while other local districts rounded out the EPA’s list with Round Rock ISD in third, Lake Travis ISD in 10^th and Pflugerville ISD in 20^th.

AISD is one of the largest subscribers to the Austin Energy GreenChoice program since 2003, when it made a commitment to purchase 30 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, Ester Matthews, former director of the City of Austin Climate Protection Program, said. In comparison, the City of Austin ranks third nationally in renewable energy purchase.

“Austin ISD has been driven to the use of renewable energy sources as a result of changes in our environment that require us to be responsible stewards of our Earth and to be part of a leading effort,” Irene Krill, Environmental Stewardship Committee project facilitator, said. “Our district impacts about 80,000 students across our city, which has a trickle down effect that impacts parents and families of all students. We want to set an example in our community demonstrating environmental responsibility.”

AISD students engage in environmental responsibility on campus by participating in recycling and compost programs and learn from a curriculum designed by the Science Department to teach students about environmental responsibility, according to Krill. Outdoor learning centers with solar installations teach students about solar energy and other renewable energy resources, Krill adds.

Renewable energy has not only been an environmentally friendly move; it has been cost-effective. AISD saved money over the years by being an early subscriber to the GreenChoice energy program. The school district saved $437, 283 in energy costs from 2003-2009 as a direct result of the renewable energy purchase due to an agreement plus incentive between the school district and GreenChoice, according to Paul Turner, executive director of the AISD advisory bodies.

“An attractive incentive is the cost-savings advantage which is necessary, as stewards of taxpayer dollars. It is our responsibility to manage tax dollars and save where possible,” Krill said.

Originally, AISD paid rates of $.0285/kWh for fuel charge compared to a regular fuel charge of $.02004/kWh – a small difference. GreenChoice fuel charge has risen over the years; however, the rate impact of rising renewable energy prices in Texas has been less than five percent, according to a review by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy national lab. Meanwhile, regular fuel charge has risen by less than two percent, according to Austin Energy.

Unfortunately, low prices now don’t necessarily mean low prices for the future, according to Krishan Malik, a professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Demands to comply with renewable energy targets may increase renewable energy costs and the price impact of renewable energy on bills is largely dependent on the unpredictable price of natural gas, according to the laboratory.

“At the moment, most sources of renewable energy are not cheaper than non-renewable sources,” Malik said. “Maybe in the future, renewable energy may become cheaper or conversely, non-renewable sources may become more expensive. We cannot predict that.”

For now, the difference between regular fuel charge and GreenChoice fuel charge, resting at roughly 2.5 cents, is not enough to cause concern. “I’m not aware of any complaints regarding our use of renewable energy,” Krill said. “But, who knows what the future will bring.”

Future costs of renewable energy remain undetermined, but signs indicate that costs will increase. “Naturally, AISD will continue to evaluate [its] use of renewable energy in all respects, including cost,” Turner said. AISD, like most public school districts, faces economic challenges, but is committed to using green power.

Textual harassment remains as private as a text message on UT campus

When the tone of a text message incites fear instead of joy, you may be the victim of “textual harassment, a phenomenon that remains discreet at UT-Austin despite the extensive proliferation of electronic communication devices that dominate the attention of the student population.

Only 29 cases of harassment were reported to the UT Police Department in 2012, making the number of cases reported on average two to three per month. Considering how many students engage in texting on campus, this relatively low amount reveals that countless cases of unwanted electronic communication go unreported, according to Officer Darrell Halstead, UTPD crime investigation specialist.

Cyber harassment encompasses any harassment made through technology such as phone calls, text messages, e-mail, Facebook, and other social networking websites. Another name for this phenomenon, textual harassment, gets its moniker from the most common electronic form of harassment, the text message, according to That’s Not Cool, a national public service campaign dedicated to the awareness of cyber harassment in relationships.

Reports of harassment occur only three or four times a month on campus, a relatively low number, Halstead said. However, people don’t want to report these types of incidences or don’t feel like they can, he said.

“People are afraid to come forward in these types of situations either because they are embarrassed or don’t think that what’s happening to them is big enough of an issue to seek professional help,” Linda Melnick, an Austin-based psychologist, said. “But, this type of behavior is obsessive, potentially sociopathic, and it is far more serious than people may think.”

According to Halstead, many students don’t realize that harassment is anything bothersome or repetitive. “Harassment is anything annoying, embarrassing or unwanted,” Halstead said. “If it initiates an emotional response when you receive it, that’s harassment.”

Cyber harassment becomes problematic for both the harasser and the victim, especially when the harasser doesn’t realize the consequences of their actions.

“It’s a relatively easy offense,” Officer Layne D. Brewster, UTPD crime investigation specialist, said. “A lot of the time, the victim doesn’t know who the harasser is meanwhile the person contacting them doesn’t understand how serious what they’re doing is.”

Contacting UTPD generally nips the harassment right in the bud, Halstead said. Police notification immediately stops the harassment 95 percent of the time.

Ultimately, saving the evidence remains Halstead’s number one tip. Halstead urges students and faculty to save the harassing communication and show it to the police, as it is one of the advantages of cyber harassment: instant and irrefutable proof.

Unfortunately, the privacy of electronic communication leads to cases going unreported. A victim has the evidence in the palm of their hand, but they have to be willing to share it. Cyber harassment attacks the victim from so many different devices, making it difficult to block without professional help, usually requiring the assistance of your phone and Internet service providers or the police, according to Safety Net, an offshoot project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

Cyber harassment has become such a major problem, particularly in concentrated areas such as schools that laws changed recently to incorporate electronic harassment, Halstead said. The Legislature added a specific law to the computer crimes section of the penal code in 2009, reflecting the seriousness of the issue.

“I wish I would’ve contacted UTPD when I was having trouble with an ex-roommate harassing me,” Jennifer Kim, a UT sociology major, said. “I got annoying and unwelcome text messages and phone calls long before she started dropping by unannounced and forcing herself inside the apartment. I didn’t want to get the police involved, but a simple warning from them might have saved me a lot of trouble.”

Providing education about the severity of cyber harassment consequences remains UTPD’s number one contribution, according to Halstead. “I tell these knuckleheads ‘no means no, stop means stop’,” Halstead said, referring to the harassers. “I ask them, do you really want to go to jail?”

Generation Y: Passionate, But Unlucky

Generation Y may be the boomerang generation despite their efforts to make it in the real world, but they’ll have you know it’s not for lack of passion or determination. It’s all the economy’s fault.

Eighty-nine percent of young adults feel that the economy has negatively impacted their day-to-day lives, revealed a survey conducted this year by an organization dedicated to the cause of the struggling Generation Y.

Generation Opportunity’s survey was conducted online nationwide in July 2012 among Americans between 18 and 29. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization advocates for more opportunities for Millennials through social media and encourages young people to register to vote in order to enact change for their future.

“Generation Y is accused of being spoiled and lazy. They don’t want to do the hard work. They just want to sleep on their parent’s couch and wait for a high-paying job to get handed to them,” Maria Davis, a professor of sociology, said.

However, the survey results showcase a more sympathetic view of Generation Y, one that acknowledges their unique struggles due to the economic recession.

“Young adults are having to rearrange their lives and put back major life plans. They are more focused on their work and education and less on buying a home, settling down, and having a family,” Davis said.

The Boston Globe reported that roughly 5.9 million Americans aged 25-34 lived with their parents in 2010, marriages among young adults was at 44.2 percent and homeownership was at 65.4 percent in general.

Generation Y, also referred to as Millennials, has gotten a bad rap over the years, but a panel held in Austin, Texas served to prove preconceptions of Millennials wrong, as the panelists displayed passion, drive and determination in their post-collegiate pursuits. Four recent graduates of UT-Austin’s journalism program spoke to current students on Jan. 17 about their experiences in the professional workforce.

The Pew Research Center found that many Americans viewed Millennials as eternally unsatisfied, constantly switching jobs due to dissatisfaction and a notion of always searching for something better, yet panelist David Muto insisted that trying different things wasn’t flighty, but important to making sure you end up where you belong.

“Finding out what you don’t want to do is just as important as finding out what you do want to do,” Muto, a writer/copy editor at the Texas Tribune, said.

The Credit Union Times reported that companies and organizations hiring Millennials are beginning to realize that they had the wrong idea about young adults entering the job market.

“Once you get your foot in the door, make sure the rest of your body follows,” Jackie Vega, fellow panelist and digital reporter/content producer at KXAN said, giving advice that highlighted her focus and resolve.

The Pew Research Center found that Millennials are passionate about their jobs and in many cases make work their sole purpose in life.

“Generation Y will become more valued as their technological expertise and extensive education become more valued,” Davis said.