Archive for the ‘Required Reading’ Category

It’s real and it is here to stay. Good overview here.

I love reading stories about Entrepreneurs. I’ve been one for parts of my life and have loved it. 

This story reminded me of one of the critical advantages Entrepreneurs have over the employee inside a big business – they are willing to sacrafice things close to them – their car in this case – to pursue the dream. Not something the average project owner of middle manager could or would do.

At the core of this is something I’ve seen in many Entrepreneurs – they totally grok the idea that for something to happen, something must stop. And that is what is missing from so many businesses. Most want to do more, with more. But not more by doing less of something.

Read the story till the end – you will see the other thing that makes so many Entrepreneurs great – they are passionate about their purpose as much as their product.

How do you respond to people who ask, “What’s the big deal? It’s just a drink”?

It is just a drink, but I think at the core of everything that is generic there can be something amazing. So you could take something like lasagna—why would I order a lasagna? But there is definitely a place to go where the lasagna will blow you away. It’s the same for ice cream, same for stout, same for whiskey. I think that engaging people with something as common as a cup of coffee, but making it amazing—how incredible that can be.

Some interesting insights… all reinforce that the channels are adding to and broadening traditional distribution and reach.

Nielsen, OzTAM and Regional TAM reported that 95% of households have at least one digital TV set, up from 90% in the first quarter of 2011. Some 70% receive digital stations on all of the sets they used.

• During a typical month, the typical person watched 113 hours and 38 minutes of television, rising by six hours 31 minutes on an annual basis.
• 44% of Australian households possessed PVRs or other time-shifting technology, and the average amount of time dedicated to playing back content has grown by four hours and 31 minutes, to 12 hours, since Q4 2010.
• 77% of homes are connected to the internet, and Australians normally spend 43 hours 54 minutes using this medium on a PC per month.
• Watching any form of online video, from broadcast content to user-generated clips, contributed three hours and 27 minutes to this total.
• 49% of Australians aged over 14 years old now own a smartphone. This total has grown from 35% at the start of 2011.
• Smartphone subscribers spent 1 hour 20 minutes watching all forms of video through this route by the end of last year, measured against 35 minutes in the first quarter.
• 10% of metropolitan households now own one or more tablets, with 5% of the online population viewing video content in this way by the close of last year, up from 2% at the end of 2010.

Interesting read on Bloomberg about retailers shuttering their Facebook stores. What’s surprising is that they didn’t try new concepts all together. Why would you shop the same experience in Facebook that you could have on the web? If the alternate store is one bookmarked click away, then there is hardly stickiness.

We’ve had an alternate experience at CBA – the Facebook community is vibrant and its an exciting channel. We don’t want another branch in Facebook, we want Facebook to be an extension of our branches. For the two together, to create a better and differentiated experience. Ok, it’s early days. And that’s why shuttering stores seems remarkably shortsighted. 

It also seems to miss one of the killer elements that Facebook offers us all – a compelling and low-cost platform on which to experience and play. Play is the key factor. It is what people do when they get there. I wonder how many of these retailers tried to reinvent retailing as a game in facebook? 

We’d give Facebook an “F” for fun, and and “A” for marketing impact.

I hope so…

The Future of the Book. from IDEO on Vimeo.