Stymied: Technology

Bandwagoning to the future!

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:26:34 GMT

It seems like everyone these days is trying to come up with the next myspace or youtube. Sites like Panjea and GoTuIt have superior stream times (using flash players) and use advertising dollars to give back to the uploaders on a per-view basis. They also offer more original content (from established record labels and such). So why aren't they having success? Because in this glorious Web 2.0 world we're living in, beauty is not a factor. Myspace and youtube are both hideous, from a design perspective. But nobody really cares. It's all about the user and how much they can do. Take Wikipedia for example: not a beautiful site, either; no design team; still just the two guys running it who started it. But users feel involved and feel like they gain something from using the site. Web 2.0 is about community. Uers are drawn to myspace and youtube because they can interact with other users.

So here comes the next big thing: Viddler. It takes all the things that people like about youtube and adds functionality and more opportunity to interact. With Viddler, you'll be able to tag certain segments of videos (whether you're the original uploader or not), search those internal tags, and post comments to those tags. Not only that, but there won't be internal advertising (WHAT?! I thought everything on the web was ad supported!). Instead, Viddler takes a page from Google Programs' success book and offers free and ready access to anyone and everyone, while offering even MORE features to premium subscribers.

So what's today's lesson, kids? Worry first about giving your users a ton of options (well organized, naturally), a sense of community, and stay out of their way. Once you get their trust and interest in using your site on a regular basis, then you can worry about making money off of it. The fact of the matter is, if you're out simply to make a buck on the web these days, you're going to fail. Just as the customer is always right, the user always comes first.

coming up next: the microsoft ipod with sirius radio and napster!

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 21:05:17 GMT

There's a good bit of buzz these days going on around the Microsoft iPod killer: Zune. Frankly, it looks a lot like an iPod. Which might be a good thing, as long as they improve upon the iPod more than the next generation of iPod will. (And maybe make it cheaper? pretty please?)

So here's my idea for an iPod killer. And I'm clearly just throwing this out there so I can say "I told you so.":

So you know how on a lot of radios (even non-sattelite) display song titles and artists and whatnot these days? Well that information is bundled with this signal and is called an ID3 tag. It's the same information that you see in iTunes or whatever you use to listen to music on your computer. Anyway, my iPod killer, which i'll call QT for now (because of course, it'll be beautiful), will capture those ID3 tags (from the options of the low-end FM tuner version or the high-end sattelite radio version) and allow the user to mark those songs for download. From there, the user has the option of downloading the songs immediately (if they're on a WiFi connection), tag the songs for download once they are on a WiFi connection, or create a running list of songs to be downloaded the next time they plug their QT into the computer. The songs may either be downloaded as part of a subscription service (say, $15/month or whatever is competetive with napster, etc) or on a song-by-song basis (the standard 99 cents/song). Naturally the QT will have a good bit of storage and will be able to connect (via WiFi) to a searchable iTunes-store-esque service directly. Bluetooth will also be integrated, so you don't have to fumble with any wires (including the wireless earbuds that come standard and clip conveniently to the QT when not in use). The video version of the QT (QTV, if you will) will follow shortly, allowing you to rent movies through the store (much like iTunes will begin offering towards the end of summer).

So all I need is some of the top engineers in the world, a few million in R&D money, and some partnerships with sattelite radio providers and record companies. Any takers?

photo courtesy: Orbicast

it's not apple season, but a gremlin picked one and is trying to take a bite

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 18:16:18 GMT

Those of you who have spent any time with iTunes on a local network have more than likely fallen in love with the feature that allows you to play songs off other computers with iTunes on the same network. The feature is right up the alley of college students, one of Apple's key markets. Apple clearly recognizes this market, because right now they're offering a free iPod nano to any college kid buying a mac.

But where's that wonderful music sharing feature on that tiny little nano? Well, thank goodness for Gremlins. The Gremlin has an 8 gb flash drive (eat dust, nano) and best of all, has a wi-fi connection that looks for any public access wi-fi around you and can be programmed to connect to any private network you have access to. What does that mean for you? It means you can buy songs directly from your Gremlin AND you can mooch off of anyone else on those networks, just like iTunes. The boys over at Gizmodo gave this puppy a great review, despite hating every other wi-fi-ipod-wannabe they've touched. That says something.

So how can this Gremlin take a bite out of Apple? The first key is to work fast. You know (or at least have to assume) that Apple is on your heels with a newer, shinier, more market-friendly product with (perhaps the biggest key) a big ol Apple sign on it.

They're already on top of the next step (at least in a Seth Godin type model, which I think is valid), which is to get the right people to talk. You're not going to get the big market right away (a mistake that countless companies make). First, you have to start a chatter. In the case of tech gizmos, the chatter starts with tech geeks writing for blogs and magazines. You have to present them with a truly superior product, and generally appease them with free products (both of which the folks behind the Gremlin have been doing).

The next step (which should really be ongoing) is to focus on the next generation of product. If you want to compete with the best in the tech world (or in almost any industry), you have to constantly be thinking ahead. Sure, you have a great product, but how great will that product look by comparison in a few months? Apple has made millions off of having a seemingly insurmountable tech lead on the rest of the world. Other companies are constantly playing catch-up. So if you have something like the Gremlin that finally steps ahead of the industry leader, do everything in your power to make sure that your company (not just this single product) stays ahead. Keep thinking of the future. If you want to compete, you can't play a reaction game. You have to take the initiative to create the latest and greatest, not try to beat someone else's latest and greatest.

To beat an apple, you have to create a whole new fruit.

whodathunkit?

Fri, 26 May 2006 19:05:12 GMT

Here are a couple crazy ideas expanding on existing technology that I bet you never thought of:

A lot of techies these days like to have multiple screen setups running off one machine so that they can multitask. Programmers write code on one and test on another. Bill Gates has his inbox on one, an active e-mail on another, and any other programs (calendar, etc) on a third. But what happens when you're stuck with a laptop and can't have your multiplex of multimedia? HIT IT! That's right, someone realized that iBooks have motion sensors that can be reprogrammed to shift between screens when you bump the computer. Almost makes me want to buy a mac.
Another Apple technology (perhaps released after they test the running waters with the Nike/Nano deal) is a version of the iPod that not only takes the data from the runner, but matches it to the music. The question is, do you really want a piece of technology to pick your music for you?
Finally, maybe it's not that crazy a technology, but the review is certainly a new way of looking at things. A C4 quadriplegic reviews a new tablet PC.

let's complicate things a little more

Thu, 25 May 2006 13:56:35 GMT

I hit on a couple points yesterday that have related stories in the news today.

First, the idea of big companies collaborating to grow bigger and bigger. Today, eBay and Yahoo! have teamed up. There has been some speculation for a while of some sort of merger to compete with Google for top company on the net; but for now, it's just cooperation. The deal is: Yahoo! gets exclusive rights to run the advertisements on eBay's site, while eBay's PayPay payment system will run Yahoo! Wallet throughout the Yahoo! site. This might not sound like a huge step on the surface level, but investors think they see where this is going, sending eBay and Yahoo! prices up and Google's stock down a bit.

Second, Vonage is taking the risk I encouraged yesterday- resisting selling out to a bigger company. In this case, I'm not so convinced it's a good idea. While their technology and idea is awesome, and they were one of the first to start this whole internet-phone service phenomenon, they're so relient on other companies' services (you need to have the internet before you can use an internet phone service) that it will be incredibly challenging for them to go it alone with any success. Not to mention, now that their idea is out there, the door is open for the bigger companies (with more R&D funds) to develop the same service and package it for cheaper with their other services. If Vonage can find a way to expand their service beyond their initial offering, they can grow beyond their current 1.6 million customers and maybe have a shot at longevity. At this point, however, I can't really say that I'm confident. Then again, I don't know if they have some sort of secret project to build a mobile phone based on some magically world-band wifi network. I think it may take something of that scope to make Vonage survive the attack of the giants.

footnote

Wed, 24 May 2006 15:35:15 GMT

As a footnote to that last blog, an alternative to making peripherals for another company's product is to take the Red Hat approach: create a product, offer it for free, then make your profit off the services and support features surrounding the product. Red Hat is the second fastest growing tech company thanks to their open-source OS Linux, which they offer for free. People like it, they like it being free, and they support the company. The key is to make sure your product is high enough quality that people will want to use it before counting on making money off support for it. You still have to create the initial market (albeit free) before the secondary market can exist.

taking a byte of apple

Wed, 24 May 2006 15:25:30 GMT

Apple achieved the ultimate in product development and marketing when they created the iPod: they managed to create an entire market, nay industry of accessory products and peripherals surrounding a lone product. For such an industry to come to fruition and grow and thrive, the product that the industry surrounds must achieve clear dominance not just within their own market, but within the world market as a whole. There's no question iPod has done that. Who doesn't own an iPod (other than me)?

To focus more on the peripheral industry, it's a scary place to enter. Basing your whole product line on some other company's product is incredibly risky. It also requires incredibly quick design/production turnaround whenever the main product's company (in this case Apple) releases a new design (ie-nano). While now it seems a safe bet to make accessories for an iPod, the market already is flooded with accessories (from iPod boomboxes to JCrew iPod cases). The only way to get into such a market is to develop a new way to use the existing technology (in which case, it doesn't hurt to have Apple on your side). It also doesn't hurt to be a huge company with plenty of money for R&D: SHOW ME THE SWOOSH!

Nike, which in the past has stubbornly snubbed the thought of working with other companies, has now teamed with Apple develop a system that allows runners to see their stats on their iPod nano. Even before the product hits the marketplace, consumers responded positively, sending both companies' stocks higher. Why? Trust. If you have two big name, well established companies working together on a new product, people are going to trust it as a quality, useful product. While it's nice to have this sort of security, the trust consumers have already built in big companies makes it increasingly tough for smaller companies to break into markets, regardless of how quality their product is.

Unfortunately (in my mind), many companies have started recently with the mindset "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." New companies are just trying to get big enough for someone else (google if you're a tech company, pfizer if you're a biotech/drug company, etc) to want to buy you out. Our "global marketplace" is getting more and more centralized as our world turns into one big Wal-Mart.

I say fie on the selling out approach. If your product is truly worthy of being marketed by a someone well established, it's worthy of its own company. The reason big companies buy smaller companies is either they believe they can make a profit off selling the smaller company's product or they are scared of losing market share to the smaller company. Thus, if the big company wants your product, so will the consumers. You might not have the immediate power of the big companies, but you'll get there. Just treat your product like a seeing-eye dog: feed it, nurture it, love it, and it will take you where you want to go.

what were they thinking?

Tue, 23 May 2006 01:20:06 GMT

Okay so maybe they're not the first thing you'd think of when you think "innovative," but here are a couple new ideas that I thought were worth sharing (or at least ridiculous enough to be entertaining):

Download your own 35mm camera!That's right, you can download, print out, and fold up your own working 35mm camera. I reccomend using pretty sturdy paper, but give it a shot!
Pay 1 million Euro to see a model naked! Or at least contribute and buy one of the million Swarovski crystals off her body for 1 euro each (plus shipping, which I imagine is at least that much to the US). They're pitching the idea as a sales tactic for companies to be noticed by being on their "biggest buyers" list. Not to mention appealing to the common man: spend 1 euro to try to get a model naked (I mean, who hasn't tried that? This time it might work though).
I'll need a doggy bag! (Click "Rouge Sauvage") Does your dog not like those doggy cages you usually have to take them in when you travel? Do you really need a new plaid handbag? Well now these danes have come up with a solution to both problems! Just carry your dog like a purse! Simple concept, right? (check out some of the other stuff they have on there. just wild stuff)