Skip to main content
SIIA in Paris I
Early this summer I was invited to speak at GFII’s “Summer School “ program in Paris. The GFII is sort of the French equivalent of the SIIA. I was told I’d be the only English speaker so I thought it made sense to try out Rosetta Stone to pick up some language skills. I was impressed first by their pricing model as it had a perfect option for me – a three month software as a service model. For my $150 I could use all three levels of the product. This was a much better deal than buying the $495 version of CD-ROMS.

Although I did not make it as far as I would have liked in the program, it was impressive software that tracked my progress and presented the material in a pretty intuitive interface. But there were a few drawbacks and limitations that could have increased the utility of the product:

  • Profiling & Market Segmentation – Although I signed up as an individual, I think they should have asked if if my use was going to be primarily business or leisure. This approach could have them tweak the coursework based on my needs.

  • Scoring -- The product would have been enhanced if I could see how I'm doing compared to others that purchased the product when I did.

  • Social Networking -- Why not allow students to converse and discuss the product or have a way for students to get help from others?

All in all, a good product that could use a few tweaks.

Comments

Anonymous said…
The social networking would be very cool. Especially if you had to "network" in a specific language!
6:44 PM
Ed Keating said…
That would make it a lot like school!
2:31 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You Should Never Say "What Customers Need to Understand is..." I always cringe when product people utter the words “What customers need to understand is…”.  To me it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how to serve a market.  I saw this sentiment reported in a recent  New York Times article  on the hearing aid market which explained that the pricing model is essentially a forced bundle where two thirds of the price was for service, including hearing evaluation, counseling and adjustments over the life of the product.  This approach has put a pair of hearing aids at or about $5,000. The manufacturers believe, and perhaps rightly so, that diagnosing and treating hearing loss are too complex for consumers to do using consumer devices, without the aid of a professional and therefore justifies the forced bundle.  However, in this age of self-service people will search out their own solutions. By assuming a status quo approach with forced bundles and captive customer
26 comments
Read more

Cannabis Industry Resources

In May 2015 Cannabiz Media was formed.  As one of the co-founders, I've learned a lot about this fascinating industry.  In order to share what I've learned I have compiled the following list of resources to help you learn about key companies, recruiters, associations, newsletters and financial institutions Newsletters/Blogs  – This is a sampling, there are a lot out there.. General Cannacurio Highly Objective - excellent analysis and reporting.  Weekly with content I don't find elsewhere. MJBiz Daily -  https://mjbizdaily.com/ Cannabiswire – long form journalism -  https://cannabiswire.com/newsletter/ Marijuana Moment --  https://www.marijuanamoment.net/category/newsletter/ GreenMarket Report – Debra Borchardt   https://www.greenmarketreport.com/ Gangapreneur Cannalawblog  - from law firm of Harris Bricken.  Excellent overviews and insights on many cannabis and psychedelic topics via another blog Regional / International GrownIn - very strong regional reporting.  They s
Post a Comment
Read more
Publishing Industry Contacts (Updated December 2019) As I've moved through the information industry I've collected contacts about associations, financial firms, companies, recruiters and consultants.  I've maintained it as a word document and am finally moving it online so that I can refer job seekers and industry researchers there.  I'm hoping it will be easier to update and more permanent.  Please send any additions, deletions or corrections to ed.keating@gmail.com or use the comment feature below. 1) Associations a) SIIA – Software & Information Industry Association. They cover the content and software area quite well. . i) FISD.net – Financial division of SIIA b) SIPA – Specialized Information Publishers Association (merged with SIIA) c) American Business Media – Founded in 1906, American Business Media is the association for business-to-business information providers, including producers of print publications, websites, trade shows and other medi
Post a Comment
Read more