What an Old Time Movie Says About Modern Business
December 01, 2011 by Beth TempleLast week I saw The Artist – a mostly silent movie about what happened to one particular actor when “talkies” arrived (my review). Whether they meant to or not, this film tells a story that mirrors our modern times: with change – some will rise and others will fall. (Spoiler alert: reading the rest of this may spoil the plot – but it won’t spoil the movie because it is so unique and you should see it). Continue Reading →
I want my Applu
July 22, 2011 by Beth TempleIt’s just speculation – but let’s muse for a moment about what could happen should Apple buy Hulu.
For one thing Apple would become a media company rather than a technology company. They would have an array of content, available through several different monetization models (ad-supported, subscription, rent, or buy), and they would ‘own’ the distribution of it. Continue Reading →
Suffering from Fatigue
July 21, 2011 by Beth TempleMaybe it is the heat. Or it could just be boredom or tedium or both. Whatever the reason – social interaction is on a decline. Is this the beginning of the end?
A combination of what I call ‘the shiny new object syndrome’ (SNOS) and ADD is making it difficult to keep customers engaged. Continue Reading →
Wanted: TV – Dead or Alive
June 02, 2011 by Beth TempleSeems we can’t live with or without TV. Much of the confusion comes from a lack of clarity around what is TV? Is it the box or the programming? Is it broadcast or cable or both? Is it home theater or any screen that displays an image you want to view? It all comes down to – it depends who you are talking to. Continue Reading →
They’re News
April 25, 2011 by Beth TempleI don’t usually do product reviews but I’ve been experimenting with two new news readers and have had such different experiences it felt like a good time to start.
Both use Twitter to bring me news. One has a confounding filter for the data and a beautiful delivery experience. The other has a more relevant way to filter the data but has issues delivering the experience. Continue Reading →
Flipped and then Out
April 18, 2011 by Beth TempleI’ve noted before that there are increasing trends toward the shortening of cycles and the need to be small and nimble. Never was there a cautionary tale like two recent milestones to hammer this home. Continue Reading →
I/O the Record
March 16, 2011 by Beth TempleFor the last several days I’ve been at SXSW celebrating my inner-geek and getting some much needed sun. Overall I was impressed with the sessions I attended and I may follow-up this post with a summary of some of what I learned. But one thing I learned, I wish I hadn’t. Continue Reading →
THE Social Network: LinkedIn
February 11, 2011 by Beth TempleWith the news yesterday that both Google and Facebook have been in low-level talks about buying Twitter… I thought it might be an interesting time to talk about the more likely winner of social networks – LinkedIn.
I’ll say here and now that LinkedIn (gearing up for their IPO) has the potential to be the social network of choice. Here’s why:
1) Curated. It’s very clear whom I should be connecting to using LinkedIn – professionals. Everyone has their rules of engagement; in LinkedIn it is easier to control your lists than it is in Facebook.
2) CRM. From day one LinkedIn has been an evolving CRM (connection relationship management). As long as someone is connected to me, and they keep their profile updated, I always have the best email to contact them.
3) Integrated. LinkedIn allows you to pull several parts of your online life together from your Twitter feed to your personal blog to the events you and your network are attending via application-style widgets.
4) Search. Along with the ability to check out anyone you are about to meet – you can now search updates. This is more powerful than it sounds. For one, I can search for mentions of ‘digital media’ and immediately get a list of what is being said right now by my direct network as well as my network’s network. At the same time I can broadcast targeted updates in order to establish my expertise. Watch this feature grow in use and importance.
Curated. Integrated. Search. Sounds like a new category of it’s own. In the last couple of years LinkedIn has been on a tear making itself better and more relevant. I’ve never heard anyone say they’ve ‘wasted’ time on LinkedIn.
Healthy Thinking
January 24, 2011 by Beth TempleWith all the re-visiting of Obamacare, I’ve been thinking about healthcare and how it might be fixed (which requires the aid of an aspirin or two).
Why don’t we transition to individual policies vs corporate based centralization? I know this will take time (mostly for the consensus getting and voting on), but the sooner we start the better. It could be rolled-out over a course of 5-7 years – let’s get the younger generation (usually the more healthy age range) on board first.
Here’s why I think independent coverage is better for almost all of us:
1) Certainly better for small businesses and businesses of any size who will save money in admin and benefit costs – companies can always choose to subsidize a personal policy (yes, there will need to be income tax issues ironed out).
2) Allowing for mobility is the biggest reason to go individual. Healthcare tied to a company makes it harder to leave – this isn’t good for employee or employer.
3) Paying for our own healthcare might make us more responsible about the body we are insuring.
What would need to be in place:
1) National coverage by national companies in a national marketplace. (I’m still not clear on why we have state run insurers.)
2) Everyone insured or not gets a yearly physical (non-insured could trigger a tax break for servicing hospital/doctor) – the results of your physical directly affect your insurance costs (we need more health-based incentives).
I am pretty sure I am being totally naïve about this and I don’t care. We have to be willing to say something ridiculous if it gets us closer to not being as ridiculous as we are just accepting the status quo.
Here’s the Deal
December 31, 2010 by Beth TempleEnding the year with a ‘bubble’ watch. We’ve been hearing for months that there is a bubble growing in the start-up world – that valuations don’t match actual potential. It’s a rumored angel/VC repeat of the tech market bubble in 1999-2000. No company says bubble more than Groupon.
First there was the Google’s $6 billion offer. Now there is supposedly a high of $950 million coming in from big name financial companies (Fidelity, JPMorgan). Match this with the amazing news that Groupon JUST got a CFO as of last Monday (December 20). With a business so dependent on transactions and expenses I would have hired one of those about a year ago.
This is a business that depends on “a massive local-sales army.” I was at AOL’s Digital City (back in the day) and let me tell you local is a hard nut to crack. Granted that was before everyone was logging into Facebook every day (wait a minute back then they were logging onto AOL everyday). Bottom line it takes a LOT of educating, cajoling, and servicing to convert a deal into a deal.
Finally, the trend line of online companies is against them. I see them as the portal (eg, Yahoo) aggregating all these deals when ultimately daily deals and group buying will be better served, for both storefront and consumer, by the curation of niched sites/offerings.
Let’s just say I’m not sure that the new investors are getting the best deal.