Google Gmail adds a task list…finally!

I came across this post this morning and remembered you asking me if Google Calendar had a task list.  Apparently Google has integrated the task list into Gmail and it is easily accessible via the iPhone.  The article below explains how to enable it in gMail and how to access it via an iPhone/iPod Touch.

Google’s Gmail is one of the company’s most popular services, and the service has been enhanced with an add-on feature, a Task list, which is now ready and waiting for iPhone users.

However, to use this new feature you must first log into Gmail and enable Tasks. Once you log into your Gmail account, locate Settings, and then go to the Labs tab and enable Tasks. That’s it and you’re ready to use this feature on your iPhone. Gaining access to the task list is easy: just launch Safari, surf to http://www.gmail.com/tasks, and you will see the new iPhone compatible mobile web interface for tasks in Gmail.

Just like any other task manager, you can add new tasks, check off your completed tasks and delete tasks. You can also add notes to any task. You can also manage multiple tasks lists, and separate tasks onto one list for work tasks and one list for personal tasks. Task lists are immediately synced with the Tasks list in Gmail whenever you make changes.

Unfortunately, there is currently no offline access to Task list(s), so you must have an active cellular data or Wi-Fi connection to use Tasks. Tasks also does not allow you to prioritize your tasks as this can only be done in the desktop computer version of Gmail’s website.

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Sources:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10155864-233.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=iPhoneAtlas

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Creative Destruction & Recessionary Marketing

Creative Destruction is always widely talked about during recessionary times.  Creative Destruction is the killing off of existing products, services, technologies, or business models by radical change or by achieving desired results by more efficient means.  For example, Wal-Mart’s business model driving mom-and-pop stores out of business, or music CD’s being replaced by mp3s, etc. The internet in general has caused a tremendous amount of creative destruction by providing the means for continual intellectual and process driven innovation.  Here is a cool chart below that I found.

Anyway, we know that recessions are painful but we also know that they provide opportunity.  The point of this post is not to just point this out, but to remind us that marketing efforts must also change during a time like this.  Instead of marketing with the mantra of “make your life better by buying things you don’t need” (a little bit of sarcasm inserted here), the more appropriate mantra is “improve your life by purchasing a needed product that solves a specific problem or need”.  We are working with products (book and other muse ideas) that potentially can address specific problems for people in our current economic climate, we must just make sure we cater to our market appropriately in our product development and marketing efforts.

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Sources:
http://tmccune.blogspot.com/2008/04/creative-destruction-in-action.html

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The MMA market

I have been following the MMA since it’s roots in the US in the early 1990’s when it was unheard of; so to me it has slowly become a lifelong big hobby.  I guess as a big MMA and boxing fan, I just kind of assume that people understand how fast the sport of MMA is growing (it is nearing or already in the exponential growth stage of an S-Curve in my opinion), but there are still many people that don’t know what the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is for example.  There is still a ways to go before MMA is mainstream.  There are a few reasons why I like the potential in the MMA market.  To give you my quick analysis why MMA is a great marketplace to be in:

1. It’s growing into a fad market right now, we are not even close to the peak yet.  Remember how it used to be “cool” to be a skateboarder in Middle School – High School, well MMA is creating a cult following in this demographic as they are growing up with it.   Many kids are electing to become fighters when they turn 18 just because of the sense of pride they get saying “I’m a MMA fighter”.  It’s kind of like the whole “I’m in a band” thing…
2. There is something “genetic” in males that makes them feel cool to be part of fighting and being a fight fan.  Me personally, it gives me an adrenaline rush similar to the rush I get from a motorcycle.  The primary demographic for an MMA customer is between 16-30, and more specifically 18-25.  At this point in my life, it is easy to relate to this demographic, because I am (or recently was–I’m getting old!) part of it.
3. MMA will continue to gain market share against other mainstream sports, and although it isn’t considered mainstream yet, it is getting closer.  There is a great example I heard of why MMA has so much potential–imagine this scenario.  You are standing at a 4 way intersection with an open field in each corner of the intersection.  At each corner, imagine there is a different sporting event taking place.  We will use for example, an NFL football game, an NBA basketball game, and a MLB baseball game.  On the last corner, there is a fight breaking out.  Where will your attention be drawn to?  And everyone else’s attention around you for that matter?  Exactly.  There is something about fighting that appeals to human beings at a very fundamental and primitive level, especially men.

And if traffic on the web is an indication of growth of a sport in popularity, then MMA is growing very rapidly.  These charts from compete.com, they are from a few years ago, but still show an interesting trend.

The point of this post is not to sell you on getting involved in MMA, but you mentioned you didn’t know a whole lot about it, so I thought I would try to fill you in on my thoughts.  It is an intriguing market, especially if the opportunity would arise to parlay another product offering of a different nature to this demographic.  Typically speaking, the 18-25 year old male demographic is somewhat challenging to capture and market to effectively.  MMA seems to be a great way to accomplish this.

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Sources:
http://blog.compete.com/2007/04/20/ufc-ultimate-fighting-championship-popularity-growth/

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Wal-Mart and the $99 iPhone…Myth

Well, I have heard so much about a rumored iPhone being sold at Wal-Mart during the holiday season for under $100.  My mom sent me an email asking me about this, and that was the boiling point.  Everyone and there mom, literally, is talking about it.  Great publicity for Apple I guess.  So, finally after getting really tired of hearing about, I decided to look it up today, and according to Wired, it is a myth.

Myth: According to the entire internet, Apple will, just after Christmas, sell a 4GB, $100 iPhone through Walmart. The usual excuse is made: Apple needs to sell cheaper hardware in “these troubled times.”

Fact: Apple will in fact sell iPhones through Walmart, but they will be the same ones you can get elsewhere, and at the same price. What every one of these analysts fails to understand is the Apple business model. The company just doesn’t do cheap.

Look at it this way: Apple’s PC market share continues to grow. The iPhone seems unstoppable. The new “expensive” unibody MacBooks are doing just fine. Why on earth would Apple undercut its own successful iPhone line with a cheap version? If it can sell as many $200 or even $300 iPhones as it likes, why sell a $100 one?

The 4GB part of this rumor irks, also. Name one other product line from Apple which has seen a memory decrease. You can’t. The fact that Apple already discontinued the 4GB iPhone because the sales were slow compared to the 8GB model should tell us something. Yes, there might be a 4GB, $100 iPhone. It will be announced at the exact same time as a 5GB, HDD iPod. With a physical clickwheel.

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Sources:
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/12/why-apple-wont.html

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Playboy is downsizing

It’s never a good sign for the economy when the porn industry is downsizing.

Playboy Enterprises says Christie Hefner, the daughter of founder Hugh Hefner, is stepping down as chairman and chief executive.

Playboy Enterprises Inc. has named Director Jerome Kern to serve as interim non-executive chairman while it looks for a replacement.

Hefner joined Playboy in 1975 and was named chairman and CEO in 1988. She will stay on as CEO until Jan. 31, 2009, and remain on the board until a new CEO joins the company.

In a statement, Hefner said the leadership change was her decision, but it follows signs of trouble for the Chicago-based publishing and entertainment company. In October, Playboy said it planned to cut 55 employees and eliminate 25 vacant positions due to the troubled economy.

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Sources:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Christie-Hefner-to-resign-apf-13769386.html

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The growing significance of FREE software

The word “free” holds more significance than ever in today’s market conditions.  Users want free software and entertainment, businesses want free solutions to tech related issues.  I just read an article about how free (as well as cheap) software is becoming more and more of a consideration to businesses, large and small.  Here is an excerpt:

As the U.S. enters what appears likely to be a painful recession, a major shift is taking place in how businesses assess technology products. They’re under terrific pressure to cut costs. According to a newly revised forecast from market researcher IDC, growth in U.S. tech spending will decline to 0.9% in 2009, down from a previous forecast of 4.9% growth. But rather than just slice budgets across the board, many companies are switching to a handful of new technologies that save them money.

These technologies existed during the last recession, but they were immature. Now they’re established, and the downturn seems likely to hasten their adoption. Chief among them are software delivered over the Internet, known as cloud computing, such as Google Apps; so-called virtualization software, which allows companies to run multiple applications on a single server computer; and open-source software, which is created collaboratively by multiple companies and is typically less expensive than the traditional kind. “These are tools that management can use to get through a crisis,” says Michael Hickey, president of the Business Insight Div. of Pitney Bowes in Stamford, Conn., who just bought software from on-demand supplier Salesforce.com.

You may ask, well how much can this save a company?  Here is a good example:

The outlook for retailing may be dicey, but Gothic Cabinet Craft, a furniture chain with 40 stores in New York and New Jersey, has one variable under tight control: tech spending. It just installed a new computer system equipped with Google (GOOG) Apps, a collection of software, including e-mail and word processing, that runs on a Google data center rather than on Gothic’s gear. The cost: just $32,000 for the new PCs and zero for Google Apps. The alternative was shelling out more than $100,000 for computers and Microsoft (MSFT) software. “We wouldn’t have been able to do anything if the Google service wasn’t available,” says Aristidis Zaharopoulos, the company’s vice-president.

The chain is among the more than 1 million companies using Google Apps. Large companies are on board, too, including Genentech (DNA), with 17,000 employees. Many customers pay nothing, while others spend $50 a year per user for advanced features. This strategic shift could alter the competitive landscape of the tech world. Among the vulnerable are leaders such as Microsoft and Germany’s SAP (SAP), a maker of software for corporations. Potential gainers include Google, Salesforce.com (CRM), and VMware (VMW), the top maker of virtualization software.

Cheap or free software solutions is becoming more and more appealing.  WordPress and Google Apps allowed me to initially set up this site for next to nothing besides my time.  The only cost to maintain this site is monthly hosting, which is negligible.  Business are taking a good look at cheap or free software alternatives, especially when the software can increase productivity.  This may be something we keep in mind as we are brainstorming new projects including the Podcast-on-Demand idea.  A free or low-cost solution for providing a new media source for consumers may appeal to existing business during this economic downturn.

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Sources:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_47/b4109036621833.htm?link_position=link4

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The Future of Monetizing Music

I read through a few articles on TechCrunch that stimulated some thought. There are several different models in play right now to replace the tradition Compact Disc media format.  Of course everything will go digital eventually, but the questions is: what is the best way to monetize it?  It looks like 5 competitors will be shaping the marketplace:

• Physical Media: slotMusic: microSD™ cards will soon be made available with pre-loaded, high quality, DRM-free MP3 music of top artists from EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group .

• Subscription Based: Rhapsody is a digital music service that lets you listen to whatever you want, wherever you are — without paying per track. And Rhapsody membership plans start at less than the cost of a CD a month, so you can listen to as much music as you want without limits.

• Advertising Based: MySpace Music is a joint music venture, with equity stakes from major labels, that allows users to stream music on demand, create playlists, and add widget music players to their profiles. The streaming will be advertising supported – at first via display ads (like Imeem), and later via in-stream audio ads. DRM-free downloads will also be available, either advertising supported or on a pay basis like Amazon’s Music Store.

• Digital Purchase: iTunes and Amazon provide music for purchase in the form of individual songs or full albums.  The major difference here is that Amazon provides DRM-free music, while iTunes does not.

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Sources:
http://www.slotmusic.org/
http://www.rhapsody.com/
http://music.myspace.com/
http://amazonmp3.com
http://www.itunes.com
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/22/music-on-microsd-i-cant-believe-the-labels-fell-for-this/

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The Future of Monetizing Music

I read through a few articles on TechCrunch that stimulated some thought. There are several different models in play right now to replace the tradition Compact Disc media format.  Of course everything will go digital eventually, but the questions is: what is the best way to monetize it?  It looks like 5 competitors will be shaping the marketplace:

• Physical Media: slotMusic: microSD™ cards will soon be made available with pre-loaded, high quality, DRM-free MP3 music of top artists from EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group .

• Subscription Based: Rhapsody is a digital music service that lets you listen to whatever you want, wherever you are — without paying per track. And Rhapsody membership plans start at less than the cost of a CD a month, so you can listen to as much music as you want without limits.

• Advertising Based: MySpace Music is a joint music venture, with equity stakes from major labels, that allows users to stream music on demand, create playlists, and add widget music players to their profiles. The streaming will be advertising supported – at first via display ads (like Imeem), and later via in-stream audio ads. DRM-free downloads will also be available, either advertising supported or on a pay basis like Amazon’s Music Store.

• Digital Purchase: iTunes and Amazon provide music for purchase in the form of individual songs or full albums.  The major difference here is that Amazon provides DRM-free music, while iTunes does not.

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Sources:
http://www.slotmusic.org/
http://www.rhapsody.com/
http://music.myspace.com/
http://amazonmp3.com
http://www.itunes.com
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/22/music-on-microsd-i-cant-believe-the-labels-fell-for-this/

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What is the most profitable company per employee?

This absolutely floored me when I saw it.  I never would have guessed that Nintendo generates the most profit per employee.  I would have guessed many other companies before I would have even though about Nintendo.  What a comeback they have made with the Wii.

According to calculations by the Financial Times, the average employee at Japanese video games maker Nintendo is on track to earn more for their company this year than the average Goldman Sachs employee did in 2007, the investment bank’s best ever year.  Nintendo also makes more per employee than internet group Google.

For an electronics company to make more per employee than a high-powered investment bank is exceptional, and the figures highlight how profitable Nintendo, a company with less than 3,000 permanent employees, has become after the success of its Wii and DS consoles. Before tax and before pay, the average Goldman employee generated $1.24m in profit last year, based on the company’s accounts.

But after Nintendo upgraded its earnings forecast recently, the FT estimates each staff member will produce more than $1.6m in profit this year.

$1.6 million in PROFIT per employee is phenominal. The next logical question is how do they do it?

Nintendo is able to make so much money with so few people because it relies on outsourcing.

All manufacturing of the Wii is outsourced, and even high-profile games such as Mario Party are developed externally, with oversight from Nintendo producers. In spite of their profitability, however, there is unlikely to be an outbreak of programmers driving Maseratis to work at Nintendo’s headquarters in the southern suburbs of Kyoto.

I’m sure there is more to it than this, but this is still a great lesson to keep in mind.  But wait, it gets even better.  How much would you expect an employee that generates $1.6M in profit to earn each year in salary?

Whereas at Goldman the mean employee walked away with compensation of $660,000 in 2007 – about half of the profit they generated – the average salary at Nintendo was just $90,900. The rest goes to share-holders.

Nintendo and its staff remain humble – another contrast to the ‘Masters of the Universe’ at big investment banks – in spite of the pressures of running a company that now has a market capitalisation of $64bn.

Absolutely incredible.

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Sources:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9d9624a4-8341-11dd-907e-000077b07658.html

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Smartphone Sales Stats

According to Gartner, smartphone sales grew by nearly 16% in Q2 2008.  And although in their article they state that the growth rate in this marketplace has slowed somewhat, it is still growing at a quick pace.  This is promising to mobile content providers.  Nokia continues to lead the way with BlackBerry making a big jump into second place.  Look for the iPhone to gain some ground in the coming quarters.

Worldwide smartphone sales totalled 32.2 million units in the second quarter of 2008, a 15.7 per cent increase from the second quarter of 2007, according to Gartner, Inc. In addition, of all mobile device sales, smartphones’ share remained stable at 11 per cent.

On a regional level, the North American market remained among the fastest-growing markets in the second quarter of 2008 with an increase of 78.7 per cent year over year. The region also accounted for almost 25 per cent of the global smartphone sales to end users. Europe, the Middle East and Africa exhibited 21 per cent growth year over year; Western Europe drove much of the growth in the region with a 29.3 per cent increase. Finally, the markets of Asia/Pacific and Japan declined 4.8 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively.

Smartphone sales to users by Vendor:

Company	2Q08 Sales	2Q08 Market Share (%)	2Q07 Sales	2Q07 Market Share (%)	2Q08- 2Q07 Growth (%)
Nokia	15,297,900	47.5	14,151,689	50.8	8.1
Research In Motion	5,594,159	17.4	2,471,200	8.9	126.4
HTC	1,330,825	4.1	605,900	2.2	119.6
Sharp	1,328,090	4.1	2,275,401	8.2	-41.6
Fujitsu	1,071,490	3.3	877,955	3.2	22.0
Others	7,598,711	23.6	7,472,441	26.8	1.7
Total	32,221,175	100.0	27,854,586	100.0	15.7

Mobile Operating Systems market share by Vendor:

Company	2Q08 Sales	2Q08 Market Share (%)	2Q07 Sales	2Q07 Market Share (%)	2Q08- 2Q07 Growth (%)
Symbian	18,405,057	57.1	18,273,255	65.6	0.7
Research In Motion	5,594,159	17.4	2,471,200	8.9	126.4
Microsoft Windows Mobile	3,873,622	12.0	3,212,222	11.5	20.6
Linux	2,359,245	7.3	2,816,490	10.1	-16.2
Mac OS X	892,503	2.8	270,000	1.0	230.6
Palm OS	743,910	2.3	461,918	1.7	61.0
Others	352,679	1.1	349,501	1.3	0.9
Total	32,221,175	100.0	27,854,586	100.0	15.7

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Sources:
http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=754112

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