Target sent a shot across the bow in early January focused on the concept of showrooming — where customers walk into stores, price compare the store’s products with online vendors and buy what’s best for them. Target is using the personalized paradox, explained on Salesforce, to give the customer all the authority to compare and […]
Continue Reading...Internet User Defined: A User by Any Other Name…
Internet User Defined In their press call last week, Google obfuscated the various definitions of a user in online terms. The WSJ takes a small swing at the debate. Billions of dollars swirl around these definitions. Here is a deeper look at the various definitions of an Internet user. Visitor Definition — visitors are users […]
Continue Reading...Many Consumers Want To Eliminate Catalogs – Catalog Companies Don’t Get It
Rather than help switch me to a more efficient and better user experience online, catalog companies like Chefs want to using negative reinforcement systems to make me respond. Why Would I Want This Offer? We received this catalog over Christmas and it is typical of how disconnected catalog companies are from a changing customer base. […]
Continue Reading...Amazon Price Check App, Showrooming & World War II
Amazon Price Check App and Showrooming The furor over the Amazon price check app is palpable and speaks to the growing trend of showrooming consumer behavior. No sooner did I download the app but I bought 3 products from Amazon through the app because the product costs were 30% less than the big box store […]
Continue Reading...The Future of Daily Deal Sites and Groupon
The Future of Daily Deal Sites: IPO and Bust? The IPO of Groupon has raised serious questions about the future of daily deal sites. The doomsayers say the model does not work. The optimists say that there is lots of headroom left — lots of businesses yet to try the model. But in reality both […]
Continue Reading...Is Your Word Your Bond?
I was surprised to see the following tweet from Fred Wilson “Replace the words “job offer” with “term sheet” in @spolsky’s post and the advice is still spot on http://t.co/2MNZUIKZ” Out of curiosity, I took a look at the Spolsky post and I was surprised by the advice he gave regarding exploding offers. For those […]
Continue Reading...Weiner Episode — Forward to the Past
Many have suggested that the Rep Weiner scandal points to the famous Lord Acton saying — “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” — Lord Acton. But there is another lesson to be drawn from his embarrassments. Technology has brought the Town Square back in a virtual, but very real way. In the days of […]
Continue Reading...5 Learnings from the Shutdown of Hangout Industries
I have had this post ready for months, but never sent it off. I am bummed to have to admit that I am shutting down Hangout – the first 3D experience on Facebook. The original vision of Hangout started in 2006 around the notion of media sharing with your friends and leveraging api’s on Facebook […]
Continue Reading...Technology Sabbaths
There is an interesting piece in the Times today (http://nyti.ms/h8mNVf) regarding personal decoupling from the digital world. Its pretty well understood that too much of any one thing can be bad for you or your relationships, etc., and the immersive and all-consuming influence of technology in our lives is no different. Not to sound religious, […]
Continue Reading...Flat is the new Round — Thank You Apple
Old favorites die hard. The stink around Apple’s change to the Itunes logo is typical of the “what was wrong with the old one” attitude that can be so pervasive even amongst the earliest of adopters — technology junkies. We are seeing this already in a number of web design layouts (see www.weather.com) and written […]
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