Facebook vs Twitter series 14/800 : Friendfeed is fun and news too!

Here is a conversation I had with myself today morning on Friendfeed..If you follow the thread, I refuse to see how even a Friendfeed could fail, but there is a limit to the dicing and slicing you can do, and ‘let the public decide’ is not necessarily the way forward unless there is support and discussion on social media..

zyakaira zyaada

Friendfeed has that magical air that it is elegant even after Twitter has redesigned its home page

I wonder why Friendfeed isn’t on more apps like hoot and tweetdeck?

Guy Kawasaki (Louis Gray liked this)
This is literally the first time I’ve used FF

Wednesday 235 other people liked this 160 more comments

no way!!!! – sean andersen

I’m with ya…. just started this afternoon. So far, so good. :)Ben Daugherty

Jorge Escobar (Louis Gray liked this) is gonna make my social app extra-special-invitation-only. If you read this, you’ll probably get an invite. :)

zyakaira zyaada

So, even now I can probably set up a new social network in say a week!

How does differentiate each of the Friendfeeds and Twitter and Facebook!! Esp in six months from now?

One is going to have social apps in the office though, not just unarchived yahoos!

Though I still wonder why women should have a site of their own! ( I’m a guy, all male.)

There would be these special niches within each of Facebook and Twitter and we can create a discussion on them at Friendfeed

0 seconds agoCommentShareHideEdit

Apple, labels work on plan to boost album sales: report| Deals| Reuters

zyakaira notes: Apple continues to ride on its current successes and hopefully would be able to get itself out of the DRM snare for customers as also improve its payments portal to accept international payments as Music Labels would earn the most out of that with an ipod than any other platform.

Apple Inc and four record labels are working on a plan to increase digital sales of albums, while the computer maker is also separately developing a tablet-sized device, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.Apple is working with EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Vivendis Universal Music Group on the project, “Cocktail,” with the sides hoping for a launch in September, the paper reported, citing unnamed sources.

The project with the record companies aims to offer interactive features with music downloads, the paper said.Apple also hopes to offer the tablet-sized computer in time for Christmas shopping, the FT reported.The computer will connect to the Internet like Apples iPod Touch and its screen may be up to 10 inches diagonally, the paper reported.The paper said book publishers have also been in talks with the computer maker about offering their services on the new device, which could compete with Amazon’s Kindle.Apple and the music companies were not immediately available for comment.

How do you identify and research new business opportunities?

Asked by Francois Andlau

There are a few mandatory steps and some optional to-dos in researching a new business opportunity:

1. Read the current research in all allied fields and collect data on entry points around your defined entry point – new product, business model innovation, new geographical market etc.

2. Size the opportunity based on the available universe of listed and unlisted companies with due sensitivity analysis of each environmental factor – policy, competition, innovation, industry CAGR, and others

3. Identify chunks that deliver a market size beyond a cut off mark based on your preferred strategy or if you are creating a new industry then cut off based on dominant player strengths in the sector/market

4. Verify your results with those of other allied industry research hawks ( some of them are here on linked in)

5. Throw your first draft at market practitioners and rebuild the report based on their feedback. otherwise it would be of fat use to anyone!

The Pepsi logo story was here..

You already heard, and it wasn’t shaking twitter and facebook..but the Tropicana Orange juice logo just got withdrawn and back to the traditional one with the orange. And the ‘Marketrazzi’ like zyaada used email and (my thought waves) to push the envelope and tell YUM and PEP that the new brand designs were flawed. 

There has been a lot of similar talk of the new smiling face of Pepsi (see below) and not so much of their social strategy ( remember sobe diet , it was a big twitter on superbowl time with gator) They are obviously under fire for the social web has empowered voices that were killed by the health revolution ( I am told, it is still on at Pepsi, because of my compatriot CEO Ms. Indra Nooyi ) 

here is an extract directly from the <a href=’http://brandinsightblog.com/2009/06/05/a-new-spin-on-the-pepsi-logo/’> bnbranding.com team </a>:

pepsi-happy-faces

Great design speaks for itself. You don’t need a physics thesis to explain it. It just works.

My 11 year-old daughter likes the new Pepsi logo. (Says it makes her happy.)  And now that I’ve read the exhaustive brief, I know why…

It’s a smiley face! An overanalyzed, underwhelming, million dollar smiley face. It even comes in a variety of grin sizes. (Apparently regular ol’ Pepsi gets a smaller grin than the newer versions of Pepsi, like Pepsi Max. Whatever that is.)

Pepsi’s going to spend more than a billion dollars redoing all their packaging, vending machines, trucks, POP materials and everything else. The new logo’s going to be EVERYWHERE!

So I’m kinda glad Arnell changed the old wavy logo into a smiley face. I’m just not sure about their methods.

 

Actually, it was Pepsi and it still looks like a very soft target out on the web but this brand insight has changed my moind, though i still remain all things coke at heart. 

more from the blokes at <a href=’brandinsightblog.com’> brandinsightblog.com </a>

The 27-page design brief entitled “Breathtaking” reads like a scientific white paper loaded with marketingese and unprecedented levels of highly creative BS. In fact, Fast Company Magazine called it branding lunacy…  

“Every page of this document is more ridiculous than the last ending with a pseudo-scientific explanation of how Pepsi’s new branding identity will manifest it’s own gravitational pull.”

The L.A. Times was equally critical:

“Behold, then, the scattered and burning debris field of one of corporate America’s most misbegotten image makeovers… According to the brief, the new Pepsi logo lies along a trajectory of human consciousness that includes in its arc the Vastu Shastra, a 3,000-year-old Hindu architectural guide; Pythagoras (the Golden Section); the Roman architect Vitruvius; the Fibonacci series; Descartes; and Corbusier.”

Oooookay.    

Get a load of  it at:  http://drop.io/pepsipdf/asset/pepsi-gravitational-field-pdf  

Well, i can guess the criticism directed at me as well, because i don’t like to muddy waters when someone else is equally bright and so there is less of authorship in my blogs than elsewhere, ( it also helps me concentrate on zyaada ‘s social strategy and branding exercises and attend to my work..but i believe that even if they do change the logo back it wouldn’t hurt to love this logo.  

Posted via web from social networking and new markets

TweetBeep – Reputation Management Twitters | Jesse

If your job has you tasked with monitoring your company’s online presence, you’re probably dealing with Twitter in some way. Running occasional manual searches for your company’s name is one way to go, but a better way would be to sign up with a service like TweetBeep.

TweetBeep is a free service that will email you as frequently as once per hour with any Twitter mentions of the search terms of your choice. The service is ad-supported, but if you find that you need it, TweetBeep also offers a premium option for $20US/month that allows you to receive updates as frequently as every 15 minutes, up to 200 different alert searches, and no advertising.

While TweetBeep allows you to set a number of criteria for your alerts, one of the most interesting is the ability to set an “Attitude” criteria. You can choose from three:

Positive attitude

Negative attitude

Asking a question

This appears to be a fantastic way to stay on top of how people are perceiving your company or brand, and gives you the ability to very quickly react to your customers or users. It can also be useful for heavy Twitter users to ensure they don’t miss any mentions. I should note that as of the time of this writing I had some difficulty with the email confirmation process – it took multiple requests and over an hour before my email confirmation arrived in my inbox.

[via Stay N' Alive]

BankAm – Bank of Opportunity?

New Imagezyakaira notes: BofA earlier in Feb launched this campaign to reestablish its unique Trust along with a campaign from its wealth unit at US Trust. However, BofA needs to refocus based on market realities ( see BofA: We need a plan ) and needs to increase visibility of this campaign. The first videos of the ad campaign included an African American family enjoying shopping for winter gear in a retail sore, not so boring – you have to see it to believe it. It’s large online campaign at Yahoo was also featured in Yahoo’s results but that is obviously not working!

Pen_ad.JPG-1There is a small start for the rebranding of the combined corporate business of Bank of America Merrill Lynch designed by The Brand Union(WPP). And the bull may not be out of sight for long. BofA officials, shortly after the merger,announced the bull will still be used in marketing efforts for the domestic wealth management and brokerage business, to be called Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

Bank of America today announced “Bank of Opportunity,” the theme of its new brand positioning. Supported by the bank’s largest advertising campaign to date, which will debut during ABC’s telecast of the 79th Academy Awards(R), the new brand positioning reflects Bank of America’s unique role in helping individuals, businesses and communities around the world realize opportunities to achieve their goals.

“We see the opportunities that our customers see, and our ability to help them realize those opportunities defines our success,” said Kenneth D. Lewis, chairman and chief executive officer, Bank of America. “Bank of Opportunity articulates a powerful value proposition that acknowledges our unique ability to understand and anticipate customer needs, to develop products and services that meet those needs and then to deliver for the customer better than any other financial institution in the country.”

Providing Opportunity to All Customers

The new brand positioning reflects Bank of America’s business strengths and global presence, highlighting the company’s unmatched ability for enabling all its customers to achieve their goals – from buying a first home to planning for retirement, from starting a business to expanding into new markets.

For the more than 55 million consumers and small businesses it serves, Bank of America continues to develop new customer-inspired solutions such as the Keep the Change(TM) savings program (http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=press_kit&item=16), the Business 24/7(TM) (http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=7442) portfolio for small businesses and the free ($0) online equity trade offering (http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=press_kit&item=62).

For corporate clients, Bank of America plays a leading role in many of the world’s largest transactions – including the two largest leveraged buyouts in history – reflecting world-class corporate banking resources and expertise that help businesses grow and prosper.

As a leading community partner, Bank of America’s 10-year $750 billion community lending and investment goal (here) and $1.5 billion philanthropic commitment inspire new economic opportunities that help communities nationwide grow stronger and more vibrant.

“‘Bank of Opportunity’ is the natural progression of our brand, and reflects how our heritage and our strong competitive position drive what we do today,” said Anne M. Finucane, chief marketing officer, Bank of America.

U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management today announced the launch of its national advertising campaign, which spotlights the changing profile of today’s wealthy individuals and families. The $25 million campaign marks the first major advertising initiative for U.S. Trust since its acquisition by Bank of America Corporation earlier this year.

The brand-building effort represents the most extensive private wealth management advertising campaign that either legacy organization has ever undertaken. National and local print and broadcast advertisements will debut across the nation beginning on October 8.

“As one of the leading private wealth management providers in the U.S., Bank of America recognizes that an increasing share of our nation’s wealth is self-made,” said Brian Moynihan, president of Bank of America Global Wealth & Investment Management. “In launching a brand visibility campaign of significant magnitude, U.S. Trust seeks to convey to clients, prospects and the broader marketplace that it understands – and is uniquely qualified to address — the needs, motivations and values associated with this new face of wealth.”

“The company’s research-driven campaign illustrates how U.S. Trust maximizes opportunities that its clients, the architects of their own success, create for themselves, their families, their businesses and their legacies,” said Anne Finucane, Bank of America chief marketing officer. Acknowledging the increasing number of high net worth clients who have earned their wealth through their own careers, Finucane added, “the advertising creates a connection with clients by demonstrating an understanding of their values.”

Supporting the company’s overall ‘Bank of Opportunity’ positioning, the U.S. Trust marketing campaign was developed after extensive discussions with clients and U.S. Trust wealth advisors, as well as external sources that shared a range of perspectives on today’s changing wealth landscape.

Launching the Campaign

U.S. Trust will support its brand positioning through an integrated marketing campaign, which includes a mix of national and local print, television, and radio advertising. The U.S. Trust campaign is expected to run in nearly 50 markets across the country. Boston-based Hill Holliday worked with Bank of America to develop the brand positioning and advertising campaign.

Facebook vs Twitter series 13/800: What about Digital Books? Can Kindle be about social collaboration?

I know what you all are thinking. Why suddenly a Kindle in Facebook vs Twitter wars? What about the Friendfeed and the dozen social networks to be branded me too! Where do they come in? Well, to me Kindle comes first because Amazon is a phenomenon on my personal list of Enterprise greats and the other start ups have still got something to prove in terms of viability. Not that the risk is any lesser for a Myspace or a Kindle but My space going down would be a turning point people would remember like AOL, eBay and the others who have had a not so easy time since they set up on the web and who have never graduated to the real Web 2.0 or near real time social collaboration. Amazon and Kindle however have that potential ( may be they will also drop out later like Starbucks) and they can handle innovation and complex consumer minds with a relative ease that would be critical.

Long back, during the days of Patricia Seybold’s customers.com and Guy Hagel’s ‘Net Worth’ we saw an expostulation of the success determining parameters of the new invisible continent by Kenichi Ohmae ( let’s face it, the guy was an other world icon but still made it as a strategist on the new web). What the Invisible Continent described in great detail was an Infomediary – An organization or ‘Trust agent’ that would broker all business transactions on the web because they would be entrusted with the Customers foibles and deep seated choices that would make the best buying decision and robust sales. Amazon and Kindle are the perfect intermediaries for such digital transactions like iPhone and iPod have been for music albeit non collaboratively till now.

I think the new web needs Kindle and amazon to ramp up the offering in tune with customers, learning the nuances along with the customer as they go along this adventure. For amazon to continue with its 50% market share of the World’s Book Sales has been relatively easy when compared with the others and a vital part of that has been the enriched customer experience which is really beautifully collaborative and store front’ish at the same time. It also highlights the other essential for social collaboration which Facebook and Twitter seem to make light of, ad that is the reading habit. For any transaction on the new web, one has to be a voracious reader to navigate the choices, discuss with friends, colleagues and competitors online and make instant decisions that are almost always right.

Kindle could easily include Video, Audio and twitter / friendfeed messaging on the device along with maps and the books to replace other devices you need to carry arund today for a complete mobile experience. I think that’s the way it’s going to go too.

Facebook vs Twitter series 12/800: Twitter is down from FB hunting?

Sitting inside a conference room at Twitter, BlackBerry in hand, Kevin Thau is all business.In his first interview since taking charge of the San Francisco technology companys mobile business development a month ago, Thau is confident that cellphones will play a crucial role in helping the messaging service make money.

The four-year-old company, which has raised more than $35 million from Benchmark Capital, Spark Capital and others, offers its service free of charge, and hasn’t yet figured out how to generate revenues.

Thau, 36, says thats about to change. He says the number of text messages passing through Twitters platform has grown 1,000% in the last year. Add to that the fact that users are texting more substantive observations and opinions in real time, and the company has a valuable information database it can sell to businesses.

Thau says Twitter is developing a range of analytics and metrics products and services built around the information contained in “tweets,” the e-mail and text messages that pass through its platform. “We can measure the tweets,” he says. “Were trying to figure out what are the appropriate metrics around engagement and how to convey those.”

Thau, however, didnt say when Twitter plans to sell these services or how much it will charge for them.

Its an interesting business model, but can Twitter survive selling analytics and other services? “When it comes to enterprises, absolutely,” says Jeremiah Owyang, a social computing analyst with Forrester Research ($FORR ) . “I just got off a call with a client thats asking about how to engage on Twitter. There’s definitely interest.”

via ‘Forbes’

Twitters Analytical Business Plan – Forbes.com

Sitting inside a conference room at Twitter, BlackBerry in hand, Kevin Thau is all business.In his first interview since taking charge of the San Francisco technology companys mobile business development a month ago, Thau is confident that cellphones will play a crucial role in helping the messaging service make money.

The four-year-old company, which has raised more than $35 million from Benchmark Capital, Spark Capital and others, offers its service free of charge, and hasn’t yet figured out how to generate revenues.

Thau, 36, says thats about to change. He says the number of text messages passing through Twitters platform has grown 1,000% in the last year. Add to that the fact that users are texting more substantive observations and opinions in real time, and the company has a valuable information database it can sell to businesses.

Thau says Twitter is developing a range of analytics and metrics products and services built around the information contained in “tweets,” the e-mail and text messages that pass through its platform. “We can measure the tweets,” he says. “Were trying to figure out what are the appropriate metrics around engagement and how to convey those.”

Thau, however, didnt say when Twitter plans to sell these services or how much it will charge for them.

Its an interesting business model, but can Twitter survive selling analytics and other services? “When it comes to enterprises, absolutely,” says Jeremiah Owyang, a social computing analyst with Forrester Research ($FORR ) . “I just got off a call with a client thats asking about how to engage on Twitter. There’s definitely interest.”

via ‘Forbes’

Sports Salaries Show What We Really Value: FiLife (a WSJ partner)

The issue of escalating compensation and rising ticket prices in professional sports has been around for years. But next month it could reach a boiling point when 21-year-old Stephen Strasburg, the No. 1 pick in this year's Major League Baseball draft, signs for at least $15 million. And that's just a bonus before salary is even discussed.

The blogosphere and radio call-in shows are already buzzing, with people saying things like “Man, the [Washington] Nationals” — or whatever team ends up signing Mr. Strasburg — “are sure going to have to raise prices to pay for this guy. You'll be lucky to afford a beer when you go out to the ballpark to see him pitch.”

Well, if you can't afford to buy a beer at the ballpark then it didn't do the team much good to sign the player, did it? Sportswriters and radio guys delight in reminding fans that every time a team acquires an expensive player the cost of everything goes up. But that's just not the way economics works.

It certainly seems as if the prices of peanuts and Cracker Jack go up after they sign that new guy or build that new ballpark (always with a large chunk of taxpayer money). But that isn't because the owners of sports team are greedy. They are greedy, but that's not the point.

The point is that prices go up because the owners think that's what you're willing to pay. If you are willing to pay, the price stays high. If you aren't — or at least if enough of you aren't — then the price will come back down. It's that simple.

via Sports Salaries Show What We Really Value: FiLife (a WSJ partner).

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.