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by: Lynette Webb
Hindsight is an amazing thing. :-)
I like this quote a lot, it’s a nice companion to the classic William Gibson quote “The future is already here, it’s just unevenly distributed” (which is still on my ToDo list to turn into a slide).
Continue reading "fan sites are like dungeons and dragons 30 years ago" »
by: Guy Kawasaki
Here’s a compilation of silly and stupid ways companies are hindering adoption of their products and services. I must admit, some of the companies that I’ve invested in have made these mistakes—in fact, that’s why I know these mistakes are (a) silly; (b) stupid; and (c) hinder adoption.
Continue reading "The Top Ten Stupid Ways to Hinder Market Adoption" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
A number of interesting Second Life developments happening all at once:
by: Iqbal Mohammed
Was looking through my notes recently and came across the Phoenix Checklist - a set of questions developed by the CIA to enable their agents and operatives to think about a problem thoroughly. It should come in handy for us planners and strategists.
By: David Armano
A funny thing happened on the way to the World Economic Forum. OK, actually it didn’t happen until the end.
by: Lynette Webb
I'd imagine this is obvious to anyone who is actively engaged in blogs, but there are still an awful lot of people who aren't.
Continue reading "Blogs Are Not Important Individually but in Aggregate Are Powerful" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
This is part 2 of 3 of the keynote address on the future of television delivered by Gary Carter of FreemantleMedia at the National Association of Television Program Executives in Las Vegas in January 2007. (See part 1 and background.) All emphasis mine.
by: David Wigder
An interview with Pete Blackshaw, CMO, Nielsen BuzzMetrics
The creation and distribution of consumer-generated media (CGM) online is rapidly changing the marketing landscape. Consumers are actively participating online, providing opinions, perspective and feedback on the products and brands they like and dislike through a variety of channels including message boards, social networking sites, corporate sites, online communities and blogs.
Continue reading "Consumer Generated Media as Driver of Green Marketing" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
Gary Carter, president of creative networks at FremantleMedia that brought us American Idol and other blockbuster shows, delivered a very inspiring keynote at NATPE (more notes: part 1, part 2).
by: Karl Long
The decision Nintendo made to innovate around the control of video games and bow out of the 3d arms race continues to pay dividend, generating interest, and encouraging creativity.
Continue reading "Wiibot - Controlling a Robot Arm With A Wiimote" »
Why do we hold on to things long after they have 'expired'?
This question is the central theme in an art project called Best Before, which explores the relationship that people have with objects they no longer use.
NOW UPDATED FOR2007 - Click here
A few months ago the guys at Interbrand compiled their list of the 100 most valuable brands, and now 2007 has come we're turning it upside down again, by looking at the online relevance of the brands listed. As last year, the methodology is - in our own opinion - still open for improvement, yet while we wait for decent and reliable metrics, the results remain interesting to say the least.
by: John Caddell
In the Wall Street Journal, columnist David Wessel highlights the role prizes have played, and continue to play, in fostering innovation.
Continue reading "Want answers to a tough problem? Offer a prize" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
Retailers, beware. The Big Customer is watching you! And takes pictures. And blogs.
By: David Armano
I keep thinking about the "blogging killing planning" discussion.
Continue reading "Does Social Media Participation Affect What You Do?" »
by: Nancy Baym
The New York Times has an interesting article today about being a black fan of indie rock (they do have the cultural memory to point out that the whole darn genre of rock was invented by black people), that includes this interesting paragraph:
by: David Wigder
Joel Makower’s recent blog entitled “Is ‘Carbon Neutral’ Good Enough?” speaks to the growing trend to offset carbon emissions generated from personal or business activities.
Continue reading "Green Consumer Behavior - Part II: Evolving Social Norms toward the Environment" »
Ever wondered what are the best techniques or visualization tools you can use to help solve your design and business problems?
Continue reading "What to Use to Visualise Your Work and Data?" »
by: Alain Thys
Today I had a lunch meeting in which the topics of conversation included Net Promoter Score, delighting customers and making sure consumers care enough to carry your brand's message into the world. Yet when you put all the buzzwords aside, I think this video of an Apple fan and her dream says it all.
Continue reading "One for the weekend: Apple ... You're Beautiful" »
by: Karl Long
The simplest way to describe the Robin Hood Fund is it’s kind of like Digg for wishes. You post a wish, and estimate how much it would cost to fulfill your wish, post it, and let the community vote on it and even contribute money toward the wish fund.
By: Ilya Vedrashko
For the record: Blogs today are widely broadcasting a rumor "from an academic who heard through the PhD grapevine" and passed on by a VC that Google is putting together pieces to create a SL-like virtual world based on Google Earth.
by: Guy Kawasaki
Donald J. Trump is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance and started his business career in an office he shared with his father. In August of 2006, Mr. Trump was voted by BusinessWeek magazine as “the world’s most competitive businessperson.”
by: John Caddell
Wal-Mart recently announced a marketing push to encourage consumers to install energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs ("CFs") to replace old-fashioned incandescents. Wal-Mart's sales target for 2007 is 100 million bulbs, compared to 40 million sold in the twelve months through August 2006. And we're gonna need the help, because the profit incentive for the lighting companies is to keep CFs a niche product and continue to sell large volumes of incandescents.
Continue reading "Lighting companies have a negative incentive to sell compact fluorescents" »
by: Roger Dooley
Duke neuroscientist Scott Huettel, whose neuroeconomics work we described in Decision Making, Risk, and Ambiguity, is back in the news with some interesting work on the neuroscience of altruism.
Continue reading "Social Perceptions and Altruism Research" »
by: David Wigder
An Interview with Dave Morgan, Founder and Chairman of Tacoda
With diverse demographics and evolving attitudes toward eco-friendly products, green consumers are an elusive segment to characterize, let alone target.
Continue reading "Green Marketing through Behavioral Targeting" »
by: Lynette Webb
I recently had to do some research into the status of IPTV in Western Europe. One of the more credible estimates for IPTV penetration I came across was provided by Dittberner, a specialist telecoms research house.
Continue reading "one third of IPTV global subs are in France" »
by: Joel Makower
The bar on climate change keeps rising, at least among a handful of companies seeking to be leaders in this arena. The announcements have been steady of late, with more and more companies claiming some kind of carbon neutrality.
By: John Caddell
Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge site has just republished a fascinating piece from 2004 in which HBS marketing professor John Gourville tells us something we should already know, but don't:
Continue reading "The sneaky price increase - should you use it for business purposes?" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
Someone who figures out how to spray stores with this thing will move a lot of merchandise:
by: Dick Stroud
Newsweek has an article about the way the 50-plus have miraculously discovered the joys of social networking.
By: John Caddell
The Wall Street Journal yesterday published an article by Alessandra Galloni featuring a fascinating interview with Miuccia Prada, head of the fashion company bearing her name.
Continue reading "Why do people love fashion but hate to admit it?" »
By: Ilya Vedrashko
Welcome Social Retailing (TM) - a technology developed and trademarked by IconNicholson and demoed at the National Retail Federation conference's Store of the Future exhibition.
by: David Polinchock
Had some quick thoughts this morning while in the shower and I thought that I would share them with you.
by: Jon Miller
I recently received this email from a colleague who runs marketing for a security software company:
I’m getting some pushback from my CFO on the size of my proposed total marketing budget as % of forecasted revenue… Do you have any sources with basic credibility with this info that I can cite?
Continue reading "How To Sell Your Marketing Budget To Your CFO" »
by: David Wigder
Understanding consumer behavior is critical for any marketer, and is especially important in regard to environmental products and services.
Continue reading "Green Consumer Behavior– Part I: Information Paradox" »
by: Gary Hayes
OK yet another post on Virtual Worlds, I know, but I will get round to Joost and YouTube TV channels and so on soon. Being involved as designer/developer in several Australian launches into Second Life in the next couple of months I am sensitized to entertainment or service brands entering virtual spaces and in the last couple of days MTV and NBC have shown more faith in MUVE and their inherent social network by launching some phase two type initiatives. Then there is Sears and Phillips design who are going a completely different route. First though:
Continue reading "Phase Two - TV & Design Brands and Virtual Worlds " »
by: George Silverman
Either you’re supporting the customer’s decision making, or you’re creating clutter and obstructing it.
Prospects make dozens of little decisions as they move through the decision process:
Continue reading "Are You Making Decisions Easier for Your Customers?" »
by: Joseph Mann
Does your business have a mobile version of its client-facing web site? If not, are you ready to go mobile in 2007? You'd better be, if a survey and article by Information Week late last year is any measure:
by: Guy Kawasaki
Here’s a collection of podcasts about marketing from Marketing Voices, a weekly podcast that discusses how social media is affecting marketing strategy and practices, by my buddy Jennifer Jones. There’s lots of great information for entrepreneurs and small-business owners in these podcasts.
I was amazed to find out, how extensive the Cult of Mac’s influences over the many products they cover. Even though the Apple Newton PDA was killed by Steve Jobs shortly after he re-joined Apple in 1998, the Newton community continues to defy all odds by keeping this product alive and current by updating it with technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth, memory cards and even an MP3 Player!
Continue reading "Forget the Apple Phone, Give Me a Newton Anytime!" »
