Archive for the ‘Ad Tech’ Category

Monday, May 28th, 2012

More on Facebook

More on Facebook.

Or should I say more on friends and friendship.

A week after the IPO – maybe one of the more contentious – not just biggest in the history of Wall Street – fingers are being pointed – every which way; lawsuits are being filed; the second guessers are second guessing and other than those who got rich no one seems particularly happy. Read more on this here.

One of the most ironic centers of blame – if you will – is the computer system at Nasdaq…which was inundated with orders and cancellations – and that some at Facebook blame for its lackluster performance – however Nasdaq swears it had no impact on the trading price of the shares – but imagine that – a computer system being blamed in the age of digital….do wonders never cease!

So what can we learn? Not just about the way markets work – but about ourselves and our world…

Number one – it seems to me – Facebook didn’t really know who their friends were. They assumed that having a billion people on their platform created one big like and that one big like would have an exponential effect on their stock price…HMMMMM

As people; as marketers; as friends – we should all know better by now. A mili-second click on a thumbs up does not a friend make – remember my question from last week – one thousand friends and who will pick you up at the airport.

So Facebook learned you can claim friendship of all or too all but in the end…listen:

“A friend to all is a friend to none.”
Aristotle

Old wisdom – but true and note to self – understanding that is what makes relationships real.

Beyond that lesson I’d say there was at least one more and when I saw the following quote I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or cry at its simple truth – particularly as applied to Facebook…listen:

“Friendship and money: oil and water.”
Mario Puzo

LOL!!!! If nothing else describes the entire story around this epic IPO – Puzo of Godfather fame – nailed it right on the head!!!!!

If you don’t share…are you really my friend? THUMBS UP!!!!

What do you think?

 

Posted by David on 05/28 at 01:43 PM
Monday, April 30th, 2012

Making Money from Scoops

Here is an ethical question.

Can a news source make money from its scoops – beyond the obvious – and will I keep reading the source if they continue to scoop?

The question is raised by Felix Salmon, the finance blogger on Reuters – somewhat facetiously I thought…until I thought about it and read the comments posted around his own posting.

Read on:
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2012/04/24/could-the-nyt-make-money-from-its-scoops/

Bottom line – companies pay for access to information. In today’s world they pay for access to ever more relevant and ever more instant sources. If I hired a research company to unearth that same information few would argue that I don’t have the right to benefit from it. But a news source? A storied institution like the New York Times? Don’t they have a compact with the public? Don’t all credible news institutions have that same sense of accountability?

Yet already I can pay the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and others to get digital access to their news and thus get it faster and before the print edition is even composed. And, if I go back in time – isn’t buying a daily subscription the same thing? I get it early in the morning – read it with my coffee and muffin and get a jump on the guy who picks it up on the way in. In fact I remember stories of people who would wait outside the printing plants to get the first copy of a given newspaper in the old days.

So – it would seem, at first glance, that in our digital world there is no additional ethical or moral issue – like most things it’s just an evolution and adaptation of understood and accepted behavior.

Or is it? HMMMMMMM….

Read the posts and tell me what you think.

My going in view was much the same as one of the contributors – a trusted news source has to be held to a different standard than a scandal rag – and I might be tempted to add that in a world where credibility, relevance and trust are becoming blurred subjects, I might feel even more strongly about that point and hope that they hew to a more rigorous interpretation of their charter.

In fact I might argue that if they fall prey to the temptation it actually lowers their future competitive advantage.

Last point – notice all the anonymity in the postings – my position on that has never changed – unless you are in a country where you fear for your life the opportunity to misuse hiding behind a curtain is too tempting for too many…and adds to the danger of having no credible sources left for benchmarking information and, yes, even behavior.

Listen:

“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.”
Samuel Johnson

I think this about sums it up. Interestingly, many weighed in on this, from the Greek and Roman philosophers to Benjamin Franklin to many of today’s most famous pundits.

Not a problem created by our age but one still very relevant and very much on people’s minds.

What do you think?

Posted by David on 04/30 at 06:43 PM
  • It is interesting how many sites are now making the move from freeview into pay for content models - most recently was the Times UK. I guess most people expect that the publications online should be free, whilst paper copies should not - however a business is a business and any profit made off the back of covering operating costs ...
    Read more >
    Posted by Suzanne Donovan on 2012-05-07 04:36:56
Monday, April 16th, 2012

Have You Tried Instagram?

Have you tried Instagram?

I was a fan from day one…everything about it was smart – it enhanced human need to share photos; platformed off the mobile phone camera – already accepted and used by consumers; was easy to use; had a simple name – all in all it was what I call a “white space “product – it filled in white/empty space around the user as opposed to being just another app of many…and their success is already legend. And well deserved.

However, this Ramble is not about their technology and what you can learn from it – it’s about learning from the founders and their understanding of how critical the human factor is to success; how critical face to face is to success; how networking to them is not about thousands of “friends” on Facebook but rather a strongly and well cultivated group of real people whom they could call on and did.

I was inspired by the following post and gratified that it amplifies so much of what I believe to be true.

Behind Instagram’s Success, Networking the Old Way (New York Times)

And here is the payoff – the lesson – the money shot if you will…listen:

“Make sure to spend some time after the talk getting to know the people around you.”
Kevin Systrom

Kevin is one of the founders – he got to KNOW the people around him – now look where he is.

Time to make sure we all know the people around us…really know them – you never know….

What do you think?

 

Posted by David on 04/16 at 07:05 PM
  • Hear you -- but dont agree -- his comments were made at a seminar -- of the people....
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    Posted by david sable on 2012-04-17 18:50:45
  • Actually, David, I look at Kevin Systrom's comments in a different light to you. What he was really referring to is the very closed loop of contacts that exists in Silicon Valley that benefits only those who can penetrate the wall that surrounds Sand Hill Road and keeps ninety nine percent of qualified people out. Instagram's founding, its ...
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    Posted by Tony Lee on 2012-04-16 20:32:00