PEARLS OF WISDOM
Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo! Opened the CES show on Monday, detailing his vision for a world view of everything Yahoo!. With the fortunes of Yahoo! hitting the skids lately, the banter sounded very much like that which the world already has, or will shortly have, with Google as a portal to the world’s riches.
According to Yang, “from the newest to the most experienced user, Yahoo!’s goal is to be the simple starting point for a much richer and more complex world so you can get more out of it. Whether you’re looking for fun, information, entertainment or social connections, you want to experience everything to the fullest – this is living life with an exclamation point.”
And how does Yang expect to get there? By abandoning the desktop and being “committed to creating the best and richest mobile experience for all consumers – making it extremely personalized to their individual style and needs while opening up the Yahoo! mobile platform to allow anyone to participate.”
Today’s beta launch of the Yahoo! Home Mobile page, based on Yahoo! Go 2.0 (http://beta.m.yahoo.com) is nothing short of an embarrassing disgrace. And the simultaneous launch of the all-in-one flagship mobile offering of Yahoo! Go 3.0 has already tripped with a “we’ll let you know when it’s ready” notice. So much for making deadlines.
Betting the ranch on a mobile app, viewed on a postage stamp screen, is not my vision of an app that will “delight hundreds of millions of users worldwide.” It will not turn this company around, but merely serve to accelerate its downward spiral.
If u cn rred ths, u cn gt a hgh schl dyplma
From time to time I run across a really bad ad that I cannot help but to comment upon. The following banner ad appeared on MySpace. At first blush, it’s readable. Look again and it’s filled with spelling errors, spacing problems and more! Chances are high that you did not notice the errors at first.
Click on the ad for a larger view
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Sometimes it misses words entirely …
Count the number of “F”s in the following text:
FINISHED FILES ARE THE
RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC
STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS
How many did you count? The answer is at the bottom of this blog post.
Finally, here’s a clever ad on a Guiness coaster that you might need to be a bit drunk to read. It will be reflected in the glass when it’s full.
The answer is six.
IS THE BUBBLE BACK??
There is no question that ad money is now chasing consumers who have turned to the Net over traditional media. This past year has seen a spate of acquisitions by Google, AOL, Microsoft as well as agency holding companies. WPP, for example, appears to be gobbling up interactive/digital shops at a fast pace. The independent digital shop is fast going the way of the dinosaur.
Add to this mini-frenzy the desperation of old-line media companies worried that their businesses are losing traction, moving quickly forward to absorb high traffic content sites …. blogs, social networks, wireless and niche initiatives, often without a roadmap, and you have the ingredients for runaway valuations in these subcategory companies.
Some of the valuations are running away with themselves. Facebook valued at $16 Billion having yet to find a business model that works!? Google with a “conservative” market cap ($224 Billion) almost seven times that of Yahoo!
It appears many of these subcategory valuations have been ramping up to the late 90’s levels. Underperformance by companies like Facebook or MySpace will likely happen. When it does, history will repeat with a significant correction.
A GIFT OF KNOWLEDGE
As a holiday gift to our readers, I am providing free and complete access to over 1800 Massachusetts Institute of Technology course offerings.
In reality, MIT, committed to advancing education and discovery through knowledge open to everyone, allows open access to its course curriculums under an initiative they are calling OPENCOURSEWARE (OCW).
There are no requirements and the courses, over 1800 of them spanning MIT’s entire curriculum along with thousands of course notes and assignments, are free to all.
Of particular interest to my readers are the offerings under the Sloan School of Management.
This dream and amazing gift has been in the works since 2001, launched with just 50 courses and accessed by over 35 million individuals worldwide. MIT expects to add 200 additional courses in 2008. Materials are published under an open license that encourages reuse, redistribution and modification for non-commercial purposes.
As for me, I’m off to the Global Entreprenuership Lab.
In reality, MIT, committed to advancing education and discovery through knowledge open to everyone, allows open access to its course curriculums under an initiative they are calling OPENCOURSEWARE (OCW).
There are no requirements and the courses, over 1800 of them spanning MIT’s entire curriculum along with thousands of course notes and assignments, are free to all.
Of particular interest to my readers are the offerings under the Sloan School of Management.
This dream and amazing gift has been in the works since 2001, launched with just 50 courses and accessed by over 35 million individuals worldwide. MIT expects to add 200 additional courses in 2008. Materials are published under an open license that encourages reuse, redistribution and modification for non-commercial purposes.
As for me, I’m off to the Global Entreprenuership Lab.
FEDUPS
Tis the season for shopping and the industry expects internet shopping to hit almost $30 billion this year, up twenty percent over last season. This compares to a projected overall increase of only two percent for the retail business this year.
As shoppers flock to the internet to avoid long lines, they must also navigate the shipping alternatives that can quickly eliminate any savings, especially with last minute delivery options.
Enter FedEx, UPS, DHL and USPS.
They are all vying for the retailer’s business while wooing shoppers …. Some spending in excess of $100 million on ad campaigns.
Kudos to the FedEx agency, BBDO / Germany, that created the print campaign that places two UPS delivery trucks on one of FedEx’s carriers.
FedEx had a history of creating memorable, edgy advertising that imbibes a sense of humor into every campaign. BBDO has been the FedEx lead agency for eighteen years and I suspect they will be around for another eighteen.
The design of the FedEx logo, by Lindon Leader back in 1994, as senior design director for Landon Associates, survives to this day as an example of award winning creativity using reverse optics in a very clever way.
Have you ever really looked at the logo? Look at the first version below. Do you see an arrow? Now look at the second version. You’ll never look at the logo again without focusing on the arrow!
As shoppers flock to the internet to avoid long lines, they must also navigate the shipping alternatives that can quickly eliminate any savings, especially with last minute delivery options.
Enter FedEx, UPS, DHL and USPS.
They are all vying for the retailer’s business while wooing shoppers …. Some spending in excess of $100 million on ad campaigns.
Kudos to the FedEx agency, BBDO / Germany, that created the print campaign that places two UPS delivery trucks on one of FedEx’s carriers.
FedEx had a history of creating memorable, edgy advertising that imbibes a sense of humor into every campaign. BBDO has been the FedEx lead agency for eighteen years and I suspect they will be around for another eighteen.
The design of the FedEx logo, by Lindon Leader back in 1994, as senior design director for Landon Associates, survives to this day as an example of award winning creativity using reverse optics in a very clever way.
Have you ever really looked at the logo? Look at the first version below. Do you see an arrow? Now look at the second version. You’ll never look at the logo again without focusing on the arrow!
REASONS TO GIVE THANKS
Read books that you enjoy
Play with simple things
Do whatever you want whenever you want
Look for affection when you need it
Get serious once in a while
Forget about diets
Show some affection
Get angry once in a while
Change your look
Be happy, above all, regardless what your challenges may be
HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING!
Live simply.
Love Generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Cheers,
Paul
Play with simple things
Do whatever you want whenever you want
Look for affection when you need it
Get serious once in a while
Forget about diets
Show some affection
Get angry once in a while
Change your look
Be happy, above all, regardless what your challenges may be
HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING!
Live simply.
Love Generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Cheers,
Paul
ADS WE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT
I believed our business hit the skids with … Head On! Apply directly to your forehead!... a commercial embarrassment for the ad biz, until one of my readers happened upon the following.
This is not a joke, and with all due respect for my female readers, you’ll get a laugh, I promise!
$$$$ DIALING FOR DOLLARS $$$$
On Monday, Google will have announced the coming of the Gphone, supported by a suite of software based on Linux. On the heels of that announcement, which includes a consortium of top tier companies in the mobile computing space, Google will not release details on the phone’s design or manufacturer which is rumored to be China’s e28.
Choosing e28 as the Gphone manufacturer and Linux software provider is an ingenious move that will certainly trump the popularity of the iPhone. Imagine a phone that makes calls using a low cost VOIP system on cellular networks and WIFI while seamlessly integrating data across diverse technology platforms. Add to that an open platform that will allow any programmer to develop add-on applications ala Facebook and you have the makings of a revolution in Mobile technology.
As the Gphone positions itself in a high-tech market that is now dominated by Apple, it will need to match, if not exceed, the Apple design team’s ability to pull together a sleek, sexy look for the product.
The strategy balance between business use (the Blackberry user) and personal use (primarily by young adults) must be carefully weighed if the market is to be successfully penetrated by Google. Initial pricing will be crucial.
DANCING WITH LAWYERS
The issue of click fraud seems to have reared its head as of late as reporting services signal an up-tick in the percentage or “misdirected” clicks. Search engines themselves naturally deny this trend as they police search traffic with increased diligence.
While click costs can run from a penny and up, the most diligent of advertisers are those who bid against competitors to appear at the top of a search query.
At the top of the list, lawyers appear to be shelling out significant sums for a single click. The ambulance chasers are targeting patients with mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos.
The high click payout is positioned against an average seven figure settlement.
Do I hear $70.00?!
While click costs can run from a penny and up, the most diligent of advertisers are those who bid against competitors to appear at the top of a search query.
At the top of the list, lawyers appear to be shelling out significant sums for a single click. The ambulance chasers are targeting patients with mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos.
The high click payout is positioned against an average seven figure settlement.
Do I hear $70.00?!
TOP 15 PAYOUTS
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