I’m gonna talk about three forces that are shaking the world and a company that embodies them all (wow I sound like a poet). Mi Gente, movies, and technology. Here’s a good example of a company that is paying close attention to Latinos. The company is called Jaman. Long are the days that you have to wait for Latin movies in the mail from Netflix (pleeeease that’s for THOSE unhip people). If you like instant gratification, and movies, I mean real good movies like Callejon de Los Milagros (staring Salma Hayek), your gonna have a kick with this. These cats did a great job not only on the site, the software but the caliber of movies (not just the Latin ones). And the quality of the movies… don’t think it’s like a little window like you see everywhere. I mean real Hi-def stuff. Once you download, which is fairly quick you can maximize it to fill your whole screen. I see it in my Mac and it looks better than my TV.

The one thing that is so great about this site is that you can network with people that have similar tastes in movies and can direct you to other great films you might not have ever heard of. I love to see films from other countries like Ethpania pero vale, no conothco a muchos de Ethpania (that’s my wack Spaniard accent) or films from Argentina (verda che?), but really, where are you going to find these in a Blockbuster? I once asked a counter guy about a Spanish movie and they looked at me like if I was an alien asking for their leader. They where like, ‘O-H M-Y G-O-D, did this little Mexican just ask me for a movie from his country? He’s like so lost, they don’t make movies in Mexico’. Anyways… sorry, reliving the moment. The point is that you see films that show the REAL Latin culture, I’m not talking about movies like “La Bamba”, I’m talkin about the real ****. The fun of seeing these films is learning the culture unadulterated by Hollywood. I just saw a short of an upcoming Hector Lavoe film. Y se ve, Chacho… por la maceta! (that’s my wack Puerto Rican accent) Oh and you have to see Los Pelegrinos, this is one of my favorites, fuuuuunny.

The best part is that If I’m watching a film that’s just not my taste, I can stop it, and right then and there get another one. You have to install the player but, common ‘no manches’, that’s nothing. It won’t clash with your cheesy wallpaper.

Tips when you use it (and you will use it, I command you):

1. Not all Latin movies are in the Latin American section. Look around because if the director is in the U.S. it is in North American (hhhhmmm, don’t know why Latin is not the priority). If the movie is from Spain it is also not in Latin American, its in “Spanish” or “European” category (ay si, we conquered you so we don’t share your category).
2. Don’t be afraid because there is a “Buy” button. A couple have told me that Jaman charges. That is true some films have a rental fee (like $1.99, less than a Starbucks), but most are free to rent. The buy is to, um well… buy (you download it).

OK, here’s my little/big tips for Jaman (anyone know him? Mr. Jaman?):

1. After you see a film and your still wiping your tears (ahem, soy macho… I don’t cry), you feel like telling a friend right then and there. If you don’t see it right in your face like on the screen, you probably won’t go through the effort of looking for a “email” button (I could be wrong). It would be nice to see a “you tube” type screen appear. Would be a little tricky because of the credits, but common think outside the bun. It would make the application a little more viral.
2. When you post a comment and someone replies there is no real way to reply back. Also, you can’t subscribe to your posts or to a movie thread via RSS. You have to log in to your account, go to ‘My Jaman’, then click on the ‘reviews’ tab and… ay ya yay I’m tired who cares if anyone replied. Thats the end of that thread, you dig? The forum lacks engagement. Next best thing is to get an email when someone replies to a post. Hey that’s a good idea! I’m goood (I have to tell myself that).
3. When you first go to the home page, you don’t see a prominent button to see the catalog. That right there will make anyone click away. Join Now is big (of course), but why should I join. There is a link that visually gets hidden, I’m afraid they are loosing customers they don’t know about.
4. Here’s the biggie! If Jaman could team up with a company like Tivo or any other set-top box company, I know there are some others out there, they would rule the world! You don’t get it, do you? I’m saying that we could see these movies on our TV!!! That’s all that is needed to really make me faint. Here’s my dream… Jaman says to Tivo, look at what this guy from Insomne said… Tivo (or another like) says “He’s brilliant”. They exchange wedding bands and come up with some great price (almost free) where if you buy a setbox you get 30 days of Jaman free or the other way around. Subscribe to Jaman and get to rent the box for blah blah blah. Why not cable company does it, and they suck. Now you might say how is that different than the cable companies or Netflix or Blockbuster. Well first they don’t have the technology or the great film libraries, and cable companies charge $100 a month for Oprah and MTV. The only ones that can maybe pull it off is Netflix so Jaman better hurry.

Jaman Links:
All Categories
Latin America
Spanish (where the Spaniards hang)

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