Sixteen:Nine - All Digital Signage, Some Snark
00:24:53 · Dave Haynes, Antonia Hamberger
[00:24:53] S0: I didn't say it [00:24:55] S2: but I saw you thinking it. [00:24:57] S0: Yes, It's just like think about what the business application is, what you're going to do with it and get past whether you think it's amazing looking because as I've said for years and years, iCandy and Wow factor have very short shelf lives. Know they're exciting the first time you see it, time, time you just walk right on by it and that's a lot of money to spend on something that people aren't really paying attention to. Some of the best digital signage out there, I started using the term boring signage a few years ago, some of the best digital signage is like crushingly boring but incredibly relevant to the people who are looking at it like how how busy is this washroom? Do I turn left or right? Is this line up faster if I go this way or that way? It's just data, but it's immediately relevant to the people who want to know this. They don't need to see a hologram of somebody dancing or whatever or pretending they're a security control agent. They just need something saying this line over here because we're using AI to measure or computer vision to measure the density of lineups that this one's going to take five minutes, the [00:26:17] S2: one you're right in front of right now
00:26:17 · Antonia Hamberger, Dave Haynes, Balthasar Mayer
[00:26:17] S2: one you're right in front of right now [00:26:18] S0: is going take you twelve minutes so they're going to go to the left down to the other one and that's going to load balance the venue which is awesome. It just makes operations better but it's for people who are all about the eye candy it's like oh it's not very exciting. Yeah. But it works, it beautifully serves its purpose. [00:26:39] S2: So learn about the industry. Take your time learning everything you can. Learn about new emerging technologies and don't get wowed too easily by flashy stuff. [00:26:50] S0: And and view everything with a degree of skepticism and a business mind set of, okay, even if this is super cool, would anybody use it or does this scale? Like, you know, some of this stuff that's amazing, but given the cost of it, there's there's never gonna be a whole bunch of them. [00:27:08] S2: Yeah. So Balthasar, do you wanna throw some rapid fire? [00:27:12] S0: Yeah. Know. Yes. [00:27:14] S2: Take that, Dave. [00:27:15] S1: So so Dave, you you run Sixteen:Nine now, almost for twenty years. You gave great insights for the industry. And yeah, you're giving over to us, to Invidis. I really, really hope that we can keep up the spirit of Sixteen:Nine. We will try our best. Yeah, we talk Big [00:27:35] S0: smelly shoes to fill. [00:27:38] S1: Well, the smelly part we can Yeah. So we have I think it's a pretty nine question now. Okay. And now we have 16 rapid fire questions for you. Sounds like [00:27:49] S0: a game show. It's a fabulous part
00:27:49 · Dave Haynes, Balthasar Mayer, Antonia Hamberger
[00:27:49] S0: a game show. It's a fabulous part [00:27:51] S1: of a celebration for your part. I have 16 questions. You try to answer them as rapidly as possible. Since this is your exit interview and your celebration, you're allowed to put one sentence into it. [00:28:04] S0: Okay. [00:28:05] S1: We are not that strict with the rules. [00:28:07] S2: We're little flexible today. [00:28:08] S1: We are little flexible today, yeah. [00:28:09] S2: Today on our very first podcast. [00:28:11] S1: Oh, on our very first Yes, that's all. You need another sip of beer? Are you ready? I'm good. Okay, okay, then let's begin. What is your first big thing you do in retirement? [00:28:24] S0: Oh, it's boring yard work. [00:28:27] S1: Boring yard work. Okay. After the show, wine or beer? [00:28:32] S0: After what show? Ibiza. Well, that's Spain, so that's wine. And in Phuket? That'd be beer because it's hot. [00:28:41] S2: What do [00:28:42] S1: you like more? Conferences or trade shows? Conferences. In conference, on stage or in the audience? [00:28:48] S0: I like both. Blog or newspaper? Well, I'm a newspaper guy, but I I... You know, the... Unfortunately, I I love the tactile side of newspapers, but they're hard to find. So if I'm in New York, I'll I'll pick up the times. Okay. Hardware or software? Hardware. Hologram or micro LED? Micro LED. [00:29:11] S1: What was the coolest story you covered in '69? Oh, boy. That's that's hard to [00:29:18] S0: give a snappy answer to. [00:29:20] S1: You can have top three because it's the exit interview. We we...
00:29:20 · Balthasar Mayer, Dave Haynes, Antonia Hamberger
[00:29:20] S1: You can have top three because it's the exit interview. We we... [00:29:25] S0: I would say going to China, going to Taiwan, And, man, I always remember that I called it the LED billboard that ate Times Square. It was back in, like, ten years ago or something in front of the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. They lit up what at that time was the biggest LED board certainly in in The United States and probably among the biggest in the world. And I I saw the room where they have all the servers and everything else, and then I was there when they turned the thing on. That was pretty cool. True micro LED or OLED? They're so different. True micro LED is still in its infancy. OLED is getting a lot better than it used to be. But I still don't see it as a digital signage project... Product by and large. [00:30:15] S1: Okay. I messed up the numbers, but what was the silliest story you covered? [00:30:19] S0: The silliest story? Also talk three aloud. Well, most of those I just don't run. What is [00:30:30] S1: the silliest then? We changed the question. What was the absolute silliest press release you got? [00:30:36] S0: It's it's a tie between those that are Guinness World Records and those that are win Frost and Sullivan Awards, which you buy. You don't win an award, you buy a Frost and Sullivan Award. [00:30:49] S1: I I have to say I love the Guinness World Records stories, yeah, you're right. You're right. The coolest person in Digital Signage, interviewed. [00:30:57] S0: The coolest? Can I say the best interview? [00:31:00] S2: Yeah. Yeah.
00:31:00 · Antonia Hamberger, Dave Haynes, Balthasar Mayer
[00:31:00] S2: Yeah. Yeah. [00:31:00] S0: That's that's easier. Chris Riegel, CEO of StrataCash, founder of StrataCash, sole owner as far as I know. Insanely smart guy, very dry sense of humor, but so, so knowledgeable and so blunt. It's it's inevitably or very reliably a great interview. And and if he talks, people should listen. [00:31:25] S1: Yeah. We heard it before, your your past. So what was the best interview you ever had? [00:31:32] S2: Aside from Digital Signage. [00:31:34] S1: Aside from Digital Signage, yeah. [00:31:35] S0: Oh, boy. I I had a whole bunch of really great interviews when I was doing the entertainment industry. I think the... One of the ones that always sticks in my mind is Bryan Adams in his very early days when he was still playing in, like, local nightclubs and not in arenas or anything else. I had a chat with him at at our offices. He came up there, and he was playing in a local spot and said, you coming? I said, yeah, I'll come. Is your wife coming? Yeah. I go, she's gonna come with me. And I said, well, come and see me. And went up to see him after the first set and he said, did your wife come? Yeah. Well, let's go. So he sat down with Joy and I and friends of ours and shot the ship in between sets. Super nice guy. I've I've met some rock people who were idiots, but he was among the, you know, truly truly nice nice people and and that's always encouraging that fame doesn't get to them. [00:32:36] S1: Yeah. The most useless digital signage tech you ever saw.
00:32:36 · Balthasar Mayer, Dave Haynes, Antonia Hamberger
[00:32:36] S1: Yeah. The most useless digital signage tech you ever saw. [00:32:43] S0: I I know I rack on holograms, I do think they have a role, I just think they're overstated in terms of their applicability. Robots, screens on roving robots. [00:32:57] S2: That's a pretty good one. [00:32:59] S0: Those are almost universally pointless. [00:33:04] S1: A technology you didn't think would make it, but became successful. Oh, [00:33:09] S0: these are hard questions. [00:33:10] S1: Was there ever a thing [00:33:12] S2: you were wrong about? You You misjudged, oh never. [00:33:16] S0: Yeah. Well, you know what, the rotating LED rotors, when I first saw them, I thought, well, they're interesting, but those will disappear in a couple of years and to Hypervision's credit and Hypervision is the company that markets them more than anybody, they've done a great job of marketing their product and getting people excited about it. And I have seen instances of it where I think it's really applicable, but I've seen lots of other cases where I just don't get it. So I was wrong there that I thought that would just kind of disappear, but they've done a good job. [00:33:48] S1: Okay, so you had 15 questions, now question 16. Imagine you run a successful trade trade block for almost twenty years. Yeah. You are you were very successful and are are a guiding star in the industry. If you retire, what is best better? Simple goodbye or emotional farewell?