tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261236822024-03-06T01:32:37.188-05:00CONTENTedMy name is Ed, and I've always worked in Content companies -- hence the name: CONTENT ed.Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-20551884149582865962022-11-09T10:02:00.001-05:002024-01-18T15:41:09.460-05:00Cannabis Industry ResourcesIn 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<br />
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<b><u>Newsletters/Blogs</u></b> – This is a sampling, there are a lot out there.. <br />
<br /><b>General</b><br /><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.cannabiz.media/cannacurio ">Cannacurio</a></li><li><a href="https://www.highlyobjective.com/p/combs-enterprises-will-purchase-cresco">Highly Objective </a>- excellent analysis and reporting. Weekly with content I don't find elsewhere.</li><li>MJBiz Daily - <a href="https://mjbizdaily.com/">https://mjbizdaily.com/</a></li><li>Cannabiswire – long form journalism - <a href="https://cannabiswire.com/newsletter/">https://cannabiswire.com/newsletter/</a></li><li>Marijuana Moment -- <a href="https://www.marijuanamoment.net/category/newsletter/">https://www.marijuanamoment.net/category/newsletter/</a></li><li>GreenMarket Report – Debra Borchardt <a href="https://www.greenmarketreport.com/">https://www.greenmarketreport.com/</a></li><li><a href="http://www.gangapreneur.com">Gangapreneur</a></li><li><a href="https://harrisbricken.com/cannalawblog/">Cannalawblog</a> - from law firm of Harris Bricken. Excellent overviews and insights on many cannabis and psychedelic topics via another blog</li></ul><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Regional / International</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://grownin.bluelena.io/index.php?action=social&chash=a96b65a721e561e1e3de768ac819ffbb.411&s=5d2a681468d881528041ba88061022be">GrownIn</a> - very strong regional reporting. They speak with executives, regulators and licenseholders to get the story on the ground.</li><li><a href="https://prohibitionpartners.com/international-cannabis-weekly/?mc_cid=0acb4c77bf&mc_eid=d204acbaa8">Prohibition Partners </a>- the best international coverage I have found. Sister publications for psychedelics. They also publish some authoritative free reports.</li><li><a href="https://mailchi.mp/outlawreport/newsletter-9206937?e=7d944425be">The Outlaw Report </a>- covers the DC area (DC, MD, VA)</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Financial</b><br /><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://mailchi.mp/2061ce78c639/regulatory-chicken-at-canopy-12278640?e=4fc006217d">MJ Research Co </a>- some of the nerdiest, most financial coverage out there by Mike Regan.</li><li>Viridian Capital Advisors – Publishes the <a href="https://www.viridianca.com/cannabis-deal-tracker" target="_blank">Cannabis Deal Tracker</a></li><li>
Alan Brochstein - <a href="https://www.newcannabisventures.com/tag/alan-brochstein/" target="_blank">New Cannabis Ventures </a>- Alan has been covering the public cannabis company space longer than anyone</li><li><a href="http://www.benzinga.com">Benzinga</a> - news is mixed with lots of promotions for bitcoin and other distractions</li><li><a href="https://businessofcannabis.com/">Business of Cannabis</a></li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>
<b><u>Financial Organizations</u></b><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.cowen.com/profile/vivien-azer/">Cowen & Co</a></li><li><a href="https://www.phytopartners.com/">Phyto Partners</a> – They are a Florida based firm that has invested in many of our customers.</li><li><a href="http://www.arcviewgroup.com/">Arcview Group</a> -- Founded in 2010, The Arcview Group is the first and largest group of investors dedicated to the legal cannabis industry. Since inception, 1200+ dues-paying accredited investors have placed $160+ million behind 170+ companies that have come through the network. Very well-known group. John Downs is Director of Business Development.</li><li><a href="https://poseidonassetmanagement.com/our-crew/">Poseidon Asset Management</a> - Morgan Paxhia is a managing partner there – his firm has also invested in many of our clients. He and his sister are the principals in this firm.</li><li><a href="https://www.privateerholdings.com/">Privateer Holdings</a> – This firm was a pioneer in financing the industry. Founder and others from Yale School of Management.</li><li><a href="http://www.altitudein.com/">Altitude Investment Management</a></li></ul>
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<b><u>Recruiters </u></b><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://cannabizteam.com/" target="_blank">CannabizTeam</a></li><li><a href="https://www.vangst.com/">Vangst</a></li><li><a href="https://www.kdsgreen.com/">KDS Green</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bradsbygroup.com/bradsby-group-recruiting/">Bradsby Group</a></li></ul>
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<b><u>Trade Associations</u></b><br />
These groups play an interesting role in helping states enact programs. Sometimes they are hired by interested parties or local advocates to lobby, fund raise and use their national reach to help enact programs.<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://thecannabisindustry.org/">NCIA</a> – hold many industry events and hold annual lobbying days </li><li><a href="https://www.mpp.org/">Marijuana Policy Project</a> – Lobbying focus </li><li><a href="https://www.nacb.com/">National Association of Cannabis Businesses</a> – credentialing and industry standards </li><li><a href="https://norml.org/">NORML</a> – longest standing organization? </li></ul>
<br /><b><u>Consultants </u></b><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://thinkcanna.com/">Canna Advisors</a> – principals in this firm opened some of the first stores in Boulder. They now consult nationwide</li><li><a href="https://sivallc.com/">SIVA Enterprises</a> – I’ve seen their founder speak – really knowledgeable..</li></ul>
</div></div></div>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-60670516094086864872016-05-31T11:13:00.001-04:002016-05-31T11:13:46.665-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #eeeeee;">You Should Never Say "What Customers Need to Understand is..."</span></h1>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee;">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 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/business/hearing-aid-business-feels-pressure-from-consumer-electronics.html" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">New York Times article</a> 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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee;">By assuming a status quo approach with forced bundles and captive customers, the industry is underestimating the strategic forces that are encroaching on their niche:</span></div>
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<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 32px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Active Government Intervention</strong>: An October 2015 report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/10/26/%E2%80%8Bpcast-recommends-changes-promote-innovation-hearing-technologies" rel="nofollow" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">recommended federal actions</a> to “simultaneously decrease the cost of hearing aids, spur technology innovation and increase consumer choice options” including the ability to buy a basic hearing aid over the counter.</span></li>
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<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 32px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Underserved Market Invites Competition: </strong>The opportunity in hearing aids appears particularly striking. Nearly 30 million Americans, including two-thirds of those over 70, are said to have hearing loss. But only 15 to 30 percent of those who could benefit from hearing aids use them.</span></li>
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<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 32px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">High Industry Concentration Invites Scrutiny:</strong> More than 90 percent of the business is controlled by six large manufacturers: Sonova, Sivantos, William Demant, GN Store Nord, Widex and the lone American company, Starkey Hearing Technologies.</span></li>
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<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 32px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Availability of Substitutes:</strong> The consumer electronics industry is encroaching on the hearing aid business, offering products that are far less expensive and available without the involvement of audiologists or other professionals. That is forcing a re-examination of the entire system for providing hearing aids, which critics say is too costly and cumbersome, hindering access to devices vital for the growing legions of older Americans.</span></li>
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<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 32px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Price Pressure: </strong>The Veterans’ Administration has been able to purchase hearing aids at the price of $400. This suggests some willingness to negotiate pricing.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee;">There are a lot of dollars at stake here. About 3.1 million hearing aids were sold in the United States in 2014, with a wholesale value of $1.7 billion and a retail value of $5.2 billion, according to estimates by Lisa Bedell Clive, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee;">As product managers we need to be thoughtful in how we manipulate the levers of product, price, promotion and placement. It seems this industry has left price and placement on autopilot by relying on a bundle and a network of sales agents. It is also incumbent on anyone in this role to be mindful of what is happening in the business environment. This industry is facing new competition, price pressure and government intervention. Fortunately there seems to be lots of market share available for those clever enough to seek it out and not tell customers what they need to understand. </span></div>
Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-34327629986600512972015-10-13T16:13:00.002-04:002015-10-13T16:13:36.941-04:00<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Social Local Mobile Running Info</h2>
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I've been running road races with some consistency for the last ten years. I'm perhaps a bit faster now than when I started so I am glad for that. What has been interesting for me has been the evolution of how sign-ups and data sharing work. Many race organizers rely on multiple vendors for these tasks. They'll use <a href="http://www.imathlete.com/" target="_blank">Imathlete </a>or <a href="http://active.com/">Active.com</a> or some ticket website to gather sign-ups. Usually a local firm handles the timing and chips because onsite work is required. Finally the starting gun goes off and the racers cross the timing mat and head out on the course.<br />
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If it is a 5-K race the speedy finishers cross the line in 16+ minutes and look to see what the big time clock says. As more racers come in the computer dutifully logs in their time until everyone finishes. Meanwhile the timing company starts printing out result sheets and taping them to tables or walls so people can see how they did - and some will take pictures of the sheet with their mobile phone. These results need to be compiled in almost real time so that ribbons, medals, or blueberry pies can be doled out to the winner in each age group.<br />
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After a recent 4 mile race in our hometown, my son and I were surprised when our phones received the following text:<br />
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It contained our respective race results! This was much better than elbowing our way up to the taped up copies or even the kiosks that some organizers have. We now had an artifact of sorts sent right to our phones. In the context of SOLOMO (Social, Local, Mobile) - this text kind of hit all three. <br />
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In the grand scheme of things, this communication is just one more way in which our phones are becoming a little bit more indispensable as collectors of our digital detritus. Although many of the runners undoubtedly use <a href="http://www.strava.com/" target="_blank">Strava</a>, <a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/" target="_blank">MapMyRun </a>or some other trackers - this text provides another artifact to validate those providers.<br />
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So far we've not been spammed by the provider for other services or races, but I wonder if they'll reach out next year to remind us to sign-up? It also raises the question of whether the race organizer gets access to all those mobile numbers.<br />
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Is there a lesson here for information companies? Perhaps - it reinforces the way our mobile devices deliver timely alerts for our weekend activities and it raises the question as to what information providers can push through to your phone Monday through Friday that you can't wait to receive.<br />
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What content does your team create that customers need right now and can you provide it to a mobile device? <br />
<br />Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-83483101783254105482015-07-20T12:36:00.003-04:002015-07-20T12:36:23.980-04:00Public Speaking - Are you practicing?<div>
A few years ago I had the chance to speak at a panel at the <a href="http://www.toccon.com/toc2010/public/schedule/detail/13138">O’Reilly Tool’s of Change</a> conference. As part of the attendee registration package I was given a copy of the book <i>Confessions of a Public Speaker</i>, by <a href="http://scottberkun.com/" target="_blank">Scott Berkun</a>. It was a great read packed with humorous insights as well as useful tips that the author has honed over the years. I enjoyed it so much that I took it as one of my vacation books and have bought copies for colleagues. Here are a couple of highlights:<br />
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1. <b>Good Discussion of the Practicalities of Public Speaking</b> – Berkun has been on his own making a living by speaking and writing. As a result he’s compiled a lot of best practices and tips that come from his extensive experience. Some are obvious like showing up early while others are clever like wiring the microphone through your shirt so the cords are not swinging while you are speaking.<br />
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2. <b>Tools of the Trade</b> – Berkun writes about what kind of equipment to have, what kind of back-ups to use and shares an extensive bibliography for further study. He also gives valuable advice on slide design – very appropriate given the recent article in the NY Times about use of PowerPoint in the military.<br />
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3. <b>Exhortation to Practice</b> – This was the biggest reminder for me. Too often I wait until the last minute to finish up my slides. Sometimes that means writing them on the plane enroute to your destination. Since Berkun charges to speak and is taking up a lot of people’s time, he makes sure to practice over and over until he has the presentation right. His encouragement is for all public speakers to do the same.<br />
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4. <b>Tips for when things go poorly</b> – Let’s face it, we can’t always hit the ball out of the park when we speak and sometimes you have to just get through the presentation. He shares some of his experiences and how to cope with them if they happen to you.<br />
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5. <b>Confessions</b> – one of the most memorable sections of the book was the end where he compiled confessions of other public speakers. Most were humorous examples of where presentations went off track or did not go as planned. It was a nice ending and helped put the rest of the book in perspective.<br />
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It’s a quick and valuable read so get your hands on a copy – it will make your next presentation go much more smoothly.</div>
Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-6979542531569272912012-05-30T13:08:00.000-04:002019-12-31T11:18:00.116-05:00<strong><u>Publishing Industry Contacts (Updated December 2019)</u></strong><br />
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 <a href="mailto:ed.keating@gmail.com">ed.keating@gmail.com</a> or use the comment feature below.<br />
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<u><strong>1) Associations </strong></u><br />
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a) <a href="http://www.siia.net/" target="_blank">SIIA</a> – Software & Information Industry Association. They cover the content and software area quite well. . <br />
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i) <a href="http://fisd.net/">FISD.net</a> – Financial division of SIIA<br />
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b) <a href="http://www.sipaonline.com/" target="_blank">SIPA</a>– Specialized Information Publishers Association (merged with SIIA)<br />
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c) <a href="http://www.americanbusinessmedia.com/" target="_blank">American Business Media</a> – 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 media. 200-plus member companies. (merged with SIIA)<br />
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d)<a href="http://www.online-publishers.org/" target="_blank"> Online Publishers Association</a> -- industry trade organization dedicated to representing high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Very expensive to join – meant for big media companies<br />
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e) ASIDIC – merged with NFAIS<br />
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f) <a href="http://www.nfais.org/" target="_blank">NFAIS</a> -- National Federation of Abstracting & Indexing Services<br />
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g) <a href="http://www.online-publishers.org/" target="_blank">STM</a> -- Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers. Focuses on Academic and Professional publishers.<br />
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<strong><u>2)</u></strong> <strong><u>Financial Firms</u></strong>– there are a couple of firms that cover the information industry. Some are heavier on advisory than banking:<br />
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a) <a href="http://www.jegi.com/" target="_blank">Jordan Edmiston </a>–NY<br />
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b) <a href="http://www.berkerynoyes.com/" target="_blank">Berkery Noyes</a> – NY<br />
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c) <a href="http://www.mediabankers.com/" target="_blank">DeSilva Phillips</a> - NY<br />
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d) <a href="http://www.warburgpincus.com/" target="_blank">Warburg Pincus</a><br />
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e) <a href="http://www.marlinllc.com/" target="_blank">Marlin & Co</a>. - Marlin & Associates is an independent boutique financial and strategic advisory firm and investment bank focused on advising owners and managers of U.S. and international companies that provide technology, digital information, and healthcare-related products and services.<br />
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f) <a href="http://www.whitestonecommunications.com/" target="_blank">Whitestone Communications</a> –national mergers and acquisitions advisory firm serving the publishing, information and training industries. Based in NY.<br />
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g) <a href="http://www.mediaadvisorypartners.com/" target="_blank">Media Advisory Partners</a> - serves media industry - broadly defined to include publishing, broadcast & cable, education & training, information content providers<br />
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<strong><u>4) Consulting Firms & Newsletters</u></strong><br />
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a) www.greenhousegrows.com – well connected firm based out of Chicago<br />
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b) www.outsellinc.com – CA based firm specializing in the end user community and industry executives.<br />
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c) <a href="http://www.infocommercegroup.com/" target="_blank">Infocommerce Group</a> -- boutique consulting firm focusing on directories and specialized information.<br />
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<strong><u>5) Recruiters</u></strong><br />
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a) http://www.bernikow.com/ -- Bob Bernikow focuses on sales type positions.<br />
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b) www.bertdavis.com<br />
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c) www.cheyennegroup.com <br />
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d) <a href="http://www.eksearch.com/" target="_blank">Ed Kaminski</a> <br />
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e) Ligature Partners<br />
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f) Chemistry Executive Search – Rick Linde<br />
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g) New Coordinates, Cara Erickson<br />
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h) The Howard Sloan Koller Group<br />
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i) InSearch – Millie Mashal<br />
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j) Korn Ferry<br />
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<br />Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-75174041260329713702011-09-07T11:36:00.001-04:002011-09-07T11:38:34.939-04:00<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Trading Print Dollars for Digital Dimes in the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" >Paperless Cockpit</span><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There was a fascinating article in the New York Times entitled the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/business/05pilots.html"><span>Paperless Cockpit</span></a>.<span> </span>It describes the trend of airlines and private pilots to trade off 40 pounds of paper for a 1.5 pound iPad.<span> </span>One interviewed pilot summed the benefit up succinctly: “<span style="mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">When you need to a make a decision in the cockpit, three to four minutes fumbling with paper is an eternity.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There were a couple of other noteworthy points that the information industry can relate to as pilots embrace the “electronic flight bag”:<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Form Factor</u></b> – The small, easy to carry tablet affords many benefits to pilots.<span> </span>As all professional publishers know, the shift to electronic offerings has been going on for decades.<span> </span>The Information Industry Association, the predecessor to the SIIA was founded over forty years ago for pioneering digital publishers.<span> </span>Early electronic products focused on news and financial data.<span> </span>However, accountants, consultants and lawyers soon got in on the revolution and they helped drive adoption of online, CD-ROM and later web offerings.<span> </span>These road warriors demanded lighter and more functional products.<span> </span>It is no surprise that pilots share those same concerns.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The interesting wrinkle is that the weight reduction offers benefits to both the pilots and the airlines.<span> </span>Saving sixty pounds of paper (pilot + co-pilot) creates a significant savings not only in paper and printing costs but also in fuel because planes are that much lighter.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The reduction in injuries was also cited as a weight-saving benefit.<span> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;line-height:115%">The switch to the iPad is expected to reduce health care costs and absenteeism from shoulder and back injuries associated with hoisting heavy flight bags, said David Clark, pilot and manager of the connected aircraft program at American Airlines. “Cockpits are small, and lifting that thing up and over your seat causes damage, particularly when you consider a lot of pilots are over 40.”</span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Change in Workflow</u> - </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">In a point that will resonate with librarians, pilots do not have to go through the tedium of updating the manuals by swapping out old pages with new ones because updates are downloaded automatically.<span> </span>As someone who flies, I like the idea of my crew having timely updates in the cockpit.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>The Apps</u> </b>- <span style="mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">This electronic flight bag, thanks to the iPad, supports hundreds of general aviation apps that simplify preflight planning and assist with in-flight operations.<span> </span>The article cites that there are now more than 250 aviation apps for the iPad, and one called <a href="http://www.foreflight.com">ForeFlight</a> is among the top grossing apps listed on iTunes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">“The iPad apps can provide additional information and are often easier to use than avionics technologies installed in airplanes,” said Mark Erickson, a corporate pilot who flies a Gulfstream G450 and Falcon 2000 for a company based in St. Louis.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="emhighlight"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.5pt;line-height:115%">In a point not lost on publishers who have taken their products through a media migration: his motivation was to save on subscriptions to paper maps and charts, which had cost him $1,414 a year.</span></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%"> He now gets the same maps and charts digitally delivered to his two iPads for $150 a year.<span> </span>This is a variation of the infamous ratio of trading print dollars for digital dimes.<span> </span>Mr. Brown concluded that “Anything that makes me more alert, responsible and allows me to stay more focused on actually flying the plane is a good thing”.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:11.5pt;line-height:115%">See the follow-on interview here on <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/"><span>www.nytimes.com</span></a> .</span><o:p></o:p></p>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-12256211659328331022010-08-23T14:17:00.003-04:002010-08-23T14:39:43.261-04:00WikiReader -- good enough technology?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4cSEe3lSdfvOM2VdINny5h0XMO740dVgEva_aTZbIZpsgGa8nrO5ctYBOu5dlTqkY0eIKcvk_ashBgYkVwslP9-dTobUMxYzvKePFl3reOCClmc8yxENW4Ix86KFfSX4jMgSTvQ/s1600/wikireader.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508671553143049026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4cSEe3lSdfvOM2VdINny5h0XMO740dVgEva_aTZbIZpsgGa8nrO5ctYBOu5dlTqkY0eIKcvk_ashBgYkVwslP9-dTobUMxYzvKePFl3reOCClmc8yxENW4Ix86KFfSX4jMgSTvQ/s200/wikireader.jpg" /></a> Last month I was in a big box store and came across this product -- the WikiReader. It offers offline access to 3 million plus articles from the english version of Wikipedia. It does this without a wifi or 3G connection. But rest assured, you can get updates via a computer that will let you update an SD card. The whole thing runs on a few batteries that last about a year.<br /><br />As I sit in my office surrounded by a laptop, iPhone and iPad - I think the product is kind of silly but maybe it has utility for some. For example, before the Apple/Gizmodo stolen phone brouhaha came up, the term "apphole" referred to one of those people who was always checking their phone to answer questions that came up in coversation. Maybe peoplie like that would buy it. In a similar vein, I read years ago that the Guinness Book of World Records was devised to resolve bar bets. Perhaps the WikiReader may serve the same purpose in watering holes without wifi or 3G.<br /><br />Perhaps this is the device version of the "just good enough" competition we sometimes see in the content space. Users will trade off cost for a cheap or free version because what they need is not mission critical. I don't think this business is all that scalable in that no one wants a slew of extra devices connected to their belt but maybe they can find enough of a market somewhere.<br /><br />If you are interested, you can buy one from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pandigital-Handheld-Electronic-Encyclopedia-WikiReader/dp/B0039NLVB2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1282588264&sr=8-1">Amazon for $73.58</a>. I'll be sticking with my iPad.Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-77500752022062450602010-06-28T11:59:00.004-04:002010-06-28T14:53:52.471-04:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3IubkrnDfczSbSXUaU4eRSDtcxQKwMPvgszXfIVWCVXr58NGauutQX9gl4sj8K3btJjiNF9STNwsnGQEcCAHIi9rdxkkG2bsnZrm0bc_lAhCxxmyOIqx2GLq9P3Nt4PSO6nZfg/s1600/Newsonomics+Logo.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 63px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487899422440389394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3IubkrnDfczSbSXUaU4eRSDtcxQKwMPvgszXfIVWCVXr58NGauutQX9gl4sj8K3btJjiNF9STNwsnGQEcCAHIi9rdxkkG2bsnZrm0bc_lAhCxxmyOIqx2GLq9P3Nt4PSO6nZfg/s200/Newsonomics+Logo.bmp" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Ken Doctor, in his book entitled <a href="http://newsonomics.com/">NEWSONOMICS: 12 New Trends That will Shape the News You Get</a>, adds some great points to the debate about the future of news. He weaves in interesting facts and figures and interviews many industry thought leaders. He’s been a frequent speaker and contributor to SIIA events so it was interesting to get his take on the topic. A few points that really jumped out at me include:<br /><br />How much influence will be exerted by whoever pays for the news in the years ahead? He reminds us that “Someone always pays for the news, and the support has always spawned debates about who news organizations favor or fear.” As news organizations experiment with hyperlocal coverage at <a href="http://www.newhavenindependent.org/">The New Haven Independent</a> or the non-profit business model of <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/">The Texas Tribune</a>, we get some perspectives on how that news will get paid for and delivered.<br /><br />Ken also points out that “News is unlike any other business. It balances profit-making and public service at it score. Citizens across the globe depend on the business of news to find out what’s going on. Who brings us the news matters.” This “follow the money” approach reminds the reader as to how this business works and Doctor does a nice job of providing examples with real numbers to illustrate these points.<br /><br />By interviewing lots of people I know and respect like Patrick Spain of Newser, Rafat Ali of PaidContent and Larry Schwartz at Newstex, Ken gives a balanced perspective on what we should expect in the future. At the end of the book he points out that “just as we pay for cable programming and broadband Internet and support all kinds of community and global organization, we can support news and information. As a representative of many paid content companies– I could not agree more.</div>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-29509754374702681562010-04-29T10:07:00.002-04:002010-04-29T10:14:25.149-04:00<strong>Do You Know How to Make Your Spoken Content Memorable?</strong><br /><br />A few months ago I had the chance to speak at a panel at the <a href="http://www.toccon.com/toc2010/public/schedule/detail/13138">O’Reilly Tool’s of Change</a> conference. As part of the attendee registration package I was given a copy of the book <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596801998?ie=UTF8&tag=scottberkunco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0596801998">Confessions of a Public Speaker</a></em>, by <a href="http://www.scottberkun.com/">Scott <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Berkun</span></a>. It was a great read packed with humorous insights as well as useful tips that the author has honed over the years. I enjoyed it so much that I took it as one of my vacation books back in March. Here are a couple of highlights:<br /><br />1. Good Discussion of the Practicalities of Public Speaking – <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Berkun</span> has been on his own making a living by speaking and writing. As a result he’s compiled a lot of best practices and tips that come from his extensive experience. Some are obvious like showing up early while others are clever like wiring the microphone through your shirt so the cords are not swinging while you are speaking.<br /><br />2. Tools of the Trade – <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Berkin</span> writes about what kind of equipment to have, what kind of back-ups to use and shares an extensive bibliography for further study. He also gives valuable advice on slide design – very appropriate given the recent article in the NY Times about use of PowerPoint in the military.<br /><br />3. Exhortation to Practice – This was the biggest reminder for me. Too often I wait until the last minute to finish up my slides. Sometimes that means writing them on the plane <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">enroute</span> to your destination. Since <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Berkun</span> charges to speak and is taking up a lot of people’s time, he makes sure to practice over and over until he has the presentation right. His encouragement is for all public speakers to do the same.<br /><br />4. Tips for when things go poorly – Let’s face it, we can’t always hit the ball out of the park when we speak and sometimes you have to just get through the presentation. He shares some of his experiences and how to cope with them if they happen to you.<br /><br />5. Confessions – one of the most memorable sections of the book was the end where he compiled confessions of other public speakers. Most were humorous examples of where presentations went off track or did not go as planned. It was a nice ending and helped put the rest of the book in perspective.<br /><br />It’s a quick and valuable read so get your hands on a copy – it will make your next presentation go much more smoothly.<br /><br />(This is a copy of my Amazon <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Review</span>)Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-80879010612267801832010-02-08T22:35:00.007-05:002010-02-08T23:03:43.409-05:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYU9c30-fG6os5kmKljyBCGmrEEswnjpbj08Qz-1kC3nu4sEkEFaVTCUfNfV5DbMgyaxYnww1qIfBMUO_6lhK-Nm0SDy_bTqisbd8p4-gz7F64hsVIE4Zc3pn1eWiO7OTO3CYSw/s1600-h/key_art_the_office.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 253px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 108px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436088462590973154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYU9c30-fG6os5kmKljyBCGmrEEswnjpbj08Qz-1kC3nu4sEkEFaVTCUfNfV5DbMgyaxYnww1qIfBMUO_6lhK-Nm0SDy_bTqisbd8p4-gz7F64hsVIE4Zc3pn1eWiO7OTO3CYSw/s200/key_art_the_office.jpg" /></a> <div><div><br /><div><strong>Paid Content on "the office"</strong></div><div><strong><em></em></strong></div><br /><div>I was catching up with some episodes that I had recorded and saw the entitled <u>The Office Murder</u>. Michael Scott, Regional Manager for Dunder Mifflin, hears some bad news about the company from his boss who cites an article in "The Journal" that talks about impending doom for the company. </div><div></div><br /><div>Michael and the staff rush a nearby computer and look up the article, only to be stopped by a pay wall! Michael shrugs it off with an "oh well". One of his staffers pulls out a credit card so they can access this important story that gives them details on the impending bankruptcy.</div><div></div><br /><div>As more news sites ponder the pay wall, pay ramp and pay ladder approaches -- these vignettes may play out in lots of offices. We will undoubtedly start to see more password sharing.</div></div></div>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-15071217730496770692009-11-10T11:46:00.000-05:002009-11-10T11:51:27.207-05:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6BxJFZY9ReViZoEAAteFTc8KEYYHsGNYhW8rB3glltDTKpCO0xTa6UVRMM-USaQW1c1tCYC8nBQE327whpejY0zp89o7vUpcUjX2AriPfbw5GlBlAzrvCT8gKj186kUAiZF35lg/s1600-h/world_wide_rave.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 148px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402518390152120658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6BxJFZY9ReViZoEAAteFTc8KEYYHsGNYhW8rB3glltDTKpCO0xTa6UVRMM-USaQW1c1tCYC8nBQE327whpejY0zp89o7vUpcUjX2AriPfbw5GlBlAzrvCT8gKj186kUAiZF35lg/s200/world_wide_rave.jpg" /></a><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;">You Should Crave the Rave!</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><br /><div>I recently finished reading <a href="http://www.webinknow.com/">David Meerman Scott’s</a> latest book <a href="http://www.worldwiderave.com/">World Wide Rave</a>. It is a great how-to book on creating “triggers that get millions of people to spread your ideas and share your stories”. With the same quick pace of his past books Scott introduces readers to his six Rules of the Rave:<br /><br />1) Nobody cares about your products (except you)<br />2) No coercion required<br />3) Lose control<br />4) Put down roots<br />5) Create triggers that encourage people to share<br />6) Point the word to your (virtual) doorstep<br /><br />In the following chapters he shares some powerful examples of how PR, marketing and product professionals took advantage of these ideas to raise awareness. My favorite story was how Cindy Gordon, VP of new media at Universal Orlando Resort, hyped the upcoming Harry Potter attraction by telling just seven people. These seven were so influential that eventually 350 million people heard about the attraction.<br /><br />He also weaves some best practices like creating buyer personas to understand who you are trying to reach and tactics like using negative titles (Do Not Read This Blog Post).<br /><br />I also appreciated his admonitions about what not to do like creating “lead bait” or tracking leads and press clippings as a measure of effectiveness.<br /><br />World Wide Rave is a great kick start for people who need to get their message out so people will beat a virtual path to your doorstep.</div>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-11244537816116624732009-11-09T14:52:00.001-05:002009-11-09T14:53:25.358-05:00<strong>Stephen King & Intertemporal Pricing</strong><br /><br />About 11 years ago, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled The Future of the Book. It was written by <a href="http://www.akst.com/">Daniel Akst</a> on December 18, 1998. It made a real impression on me because he made some prognostications about what would happen to the price of books when they became digital. Akst argued the following:<br /><br />The cost of books ought to plummet once they are distributed and consumed electronically. Consider that a hardcover book retails for $30 and wholesales for $16. Out of that sum, $6 goes into manufacturing (paper, printing, etc) to say nothing of shipping, inventory costs and publisher’s overhead. Editorial expenses are a mere $.67, and the author’s royalty is $4. Publisher’s pretax profits is $1.<br /><br />E-distribution could radically lower the cost of publishing – and the barriers to entry in the publishing business.<br /><br />I was reminded of this <a href="http://bit.ly/wxvgm">article</a> (subscription required) recently when I read about Scribner’s decision to delay the e-book release of Stephen King’s newest title “Under the Dome” for about six weeks. The cited rationale was to “preserve the value of the hardcover edition”. King supported this strategy as a way to help the independent bookstores and the national bookstore chains sell the hardcover edition. Adam Rothberg, a spokesman for Simon & Schuster rightly pointed out that “Publishers have long issued different formats of a book at different times… and that this is an opportunity to see what happens when we issue the e-book at a different time in the publication sequence”.<br /><br />In business school I learned that this was called inter-temporal pricing and it is market segmentation based on time of need. In the case of books the manufacturing costs for a paperback and a hardcover are about the same so the hard cover reader agrees to pay a premium for first access. Movie studios have also experimented with the timing of releases, although one of the drivers for that seems to be about piracy and most recently some have issued all formats at once. One of my favorite examples of this used to be how the New York Times would sell the paper at once price in the morning, and then drop it if you purchased a copy after 2 pm.<br /><br />In looking at the Stephen King example, the only people who might be miffed are Kindle owners that happen to be Stephen King fans. The WSJ shared that this same release strategy will be in place for Sarah Palin’s upcoming book as well as for Ted Kennedy’s memoir. However as e-reader adoption grows, we’ll undoubtedly see more experimentation here.Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-89218795018295683122009-08-18T09:15:00.001-04:002009-08-18T09:16:35.711-04:00<strong>Content Nation Review</strong><br /><br />I just concluded John Blossom's Content Nation. It was a great read that taught me alot. As promised, here's the reveiw I posted on Amazon.com: <br /><br />I have found Content Nation to be an informative read on several levels. I like how the author shared a variety of rules and guidelines including Seven Secrets of Social Media, Content Nation Marketing Rules, Content Nation Enterprise Rules etc. The benefit of these distillations is that they can help the practitioner evaluate their current and future social media strategies using these tools as guidelines. Moreover, each of these is illustrated by case studies and examples that help explain the concept. I learned about many new companies and brands as a result of reading Content Nation. I also found it useful that the author shared both the positive and negatives of this phenomenon and provided cautionary tales for people who might seek to deceive the marketplace. Blossom has created a very useful tome that puts scholarly rigor to a part of the publishing industry that is still considered the Wild, Wild West by some-- long live Content Nation!Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-60105050591645719762009-06-23T15:48:00.000-04:002009-06-23T16:22:10.330-04:00<strong>New York Times Automotive UGC</strong><a href="http://collectiblecars.nytimes.com/Contest/Vote.asp"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 247px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 178px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350613823216867826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVmafHemSoyxejMv-sEwTguzJr2wMQaSjY9d0ZYo0kfvQqzHYDqUp49FNq8Jc4IksO6wVY1naYvFa4j24Z6O7gfpQU04_KEd1inKo9ag-JEn6MiMUw64a3NWfYHDxzlN5xY9xSA/s200/NYTIMES+Cars.JPG" /></a><br /><div>In a recent NY Times "Wheels" email, I clicked on a curious link entitled 2008 Collectible Car of the Year Contest (I must have missed it during the last six months of emails). I was brought to a user generated photo gallery where readers had submitted photos and descriptions of their cars for the community to vote upon. The winner, in case you were wondering, was <a href="http://collectiblecars.nytimes.com/Contest/Contest/Vote.asp#COL8111523" hasbox="2">The Marquis de Soto</a>.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>The fact that users are submitting this kind of info to the web is not new. Rate My Space, which was constructed by SIIA Member Neighborhood America does this for living spaces, and I'm certain that Car & Driver, Road & Track, as well as Hemmings Motor News are doing this for cars. What impressed me was that the venerable NY Times was trying to build such a niche audience. </div><div></div><div>I dont' know how successful this venture has been, but I'm sure that many readers of the NYT have the disposable income to buy collectible cars. By creating a way to draw users together, bestow awards, and curate content, the NYT is employing some of the tactics they'll need to survive in an online world.</div>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-20691656869062392292009-04-28T23:30:00.000-04:002009-04-28T23:46:05.174-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://assets0.twitter.com/images/twitter.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 49px;" src="http://assets0.twitter.com/images/twitter.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><div><br /></div>= Panels?</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><div>In looking at some of the people I follow on Twitter, I'm impressed and intrigued by the number of followers they have accumulated. Then it dawned on me that perhaps there's a way to make some money by selling access to your twitterati. Suppose you wanted to gain some insight into what <a href="http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/">David Meerman Scott's</a> followers had on a PR or Marketing idea you had. For a price and maybe a $ on the hash tag you would be permissioned to survey his list. Same could go for someone who wants to know what <a href="http://www.davidpogue.com/">David Pogue's</a> followers have to say about a new gadget or device.</div><div><br /></div><div>Is anyone doing this now? Do you think it is similar to the panel business that market research firms have built?</div></div>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-20543334238469463482009-03-25T08:47:00.000-04:002009-03-25T09:09:01.730-04:00<strong>Substitutes & Complements</strong><br />If you've ever taken a marketing or economics course you've been introduced to the notion of substitutes and complements -- these are products or services that could either replace your offering or could make it better. I had a real life example of that concept this morning at Union Station in Washington DC. I had to catch a train to New York and had limited time before the train and headed toward the Starbucks and saw a line that had at least 20 people in it. Doing the quick calculus I figured I'd miss my train so I opted for a substitute -- <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Primo</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Cappucino</span> that had virtually no line.<br /><br />Big surprise that the espresso was lousy, the scone was stale, and the yogurt tasted like strawberry frosting. <br /><br />In the information industry we've talked about the phenomenon of "just good enough" replacing premium services. As in the breakfast example above, you get what you pay for and next time I'll get up earlier for the premium service. I also think that most of the professionals served by our industry that are making market moving, life saving and critical strategic decisions will continue to rely on the premium services that we have to offer.Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-79717139842703503742009-01-08T11:12:00.001-05:002009-01-08T11:38:12.465-05:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQtg10XTnjuhmMx0J2XurdVBR4trb9iUvr6zdXQCpGbg9nouglLP1AYMpUESWJ_CxHqOpmeblaljJmvJGahRIh2PM67MfsOsUHmaxYP_YEKvp1fWXM-PW-SKEFlOcUhyvxsbqoQ/s1600-h/Content+Nation.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288962813491650770" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 167px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQtg10XTnjuhmMx0J2XurdVBR4trb9iUvr6zdXQCpGbg9nouglLP1AYMpUESWJ_CxHqOpmeblaljJmvJGahRIh2PM67MfsOsUHmaxYP_YEKvp1fWXM-PW-SKEFlOcUhyvxsbqoQ/s200/Content+Nation.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Content Nation now available from John Blossom</strong></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>John Blossom, a friend and longtime member of the SIIA has recently published his first book. I've already ordered mine from Amazon and will post a review after I read it. Here's a description from John:</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><em><strong>Content Nation: Surviving and Thriving as Social Media Changes Our Work, Our Lives and Our Future</strong></em><br />How will you survive and thrive as social media changes our world?<br />What are the best ways to use social media to succeed in our work, our lives and our future?<br /><br />"Content Nation" is a wide-ranging look at what makes social media tick, offering case studies and practical tips as to how we can conduct our business, our politics and our personal lives using social media and a look at how a future shaped by social media will be very different in many ways than the civilizations of the past several thousand years.</div><br /><div><br />In the process of changing our world, social media will bring us back to our pre-historic roots and simultaneously thrust us into a magnificent future in which the very DNA of human society will change forever.</div><br /><div><br />Best of all, chances are you're a part of that future already as a publisher of social media - a citizen of Content Nation.<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Content-Nation-Surviving-Thriving-Technology/dp/0470379219">You can order the print edition of the book online now or write a review!</a> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-54976889460809655212008-12-28T22:11:00.000-05:002008-12-28T22:19:39.539-05:00<strong>GOOD -- brought to you by Starbucks</strong><br />A few months ago I noticed a new newspaper available at Starbucks. It is quite small, free and is distributed right where one waits for coffee (at least in Madison, CT). The idea for this came from the Mystarbucksidea.com website. The paper takes advertising, covers one topic and helps disseminate useful information all while you wait for your double tall nonfat dry cappuccino. I remember reading years ago that the articles in <em>People Magazine </em>were short enough to be read during a visit to the restroom -- perhaps the Good sheet fills up the time while waiting for your coffee. More details here: <a href="http://www.good.is/">http://www.good.is/</a>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-58677572706992288582008-11-13T00:01:00.000-05:002008-11-13T00:10:36.646-05:00<span style="color:#000099;"><strong>F<span style="color:#ff0000;">l</span><span style="color:#ffff33;">o</span>o<span style="color:#33cc00;">g</span><span style="color:#ff0000;">l</span>e</strong></span><br /><p>I read with interest about the new service that came out of Google's philanthropic arm. By culling data from the last 5 year's of searches and running it against reports for the Centers for Disease Control Reports, Google found that they were two weeks to ten days ahead of the CDC in learning about the outbreaks. I hope they call it "Floogle".</p><p>What a great use of "data exhuast". I think it also shows how important it is for publishers to see and understand how their customers construct queries on their databases. It can be such a great data set to mine for new products or to improve existing ones. 20 years ago while working in Washington DC, I used to file Freedom of Information Act requests at the Securities & Exchange Commission for all the other FOIA requests that had been filed. We found some great product ideas and market insight in those letters. The Internet makes the process a whole lot easier!</p>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-12239847750982167152008-11-12T23:55:00.000-05:002008-11-13T00:01:54.305-05:00<strong>No Free Launch</strong><br /><p><br />I attended the <a href="http://www.infocommercegroup.com/conference/">InfoCommerce Conference </a>in Philadelphia this week and caught <a href="http://managetochange.typepad.com/">Ann Michael’s </a>interesting session on launching products. She was joined by Michael Balsam , VP Products & Services, <a href="http://www.onvia.com/">Onvia</a> and Adam Bernacki, VP Sales & Marketing <a href="http://www.leadershipdirectories.com/">Leadership Directories</a>.<br /><br />Ann started out by remarking how change has affected product launches. Back in the day of books you had to be perfect because if a mistake was made it would live forever. This is not true in the Internet world – you can no longer afford to be perfect as you'll never get the product out the door. The panel addressed this phenomenon by reviewing its impact at several places along the development process.<br /><br />Michael talked about how Onvia publishes 60+ million pages per year with all sorts of detail about government contracts. This information can help clients like Dell know a year ahead of time when and where a new school would be built. Dell can use information to help them size future markets<br /><br />Onvia’s development process includes Strategic Planning, Market Needs & Satisfaction, and User Experience. Onvia tries to drive toward the most profitable opportunities. They then try and understand the current and potential competitive landscape. They profile and segment markets based on unmet needs and finally benchmark and measure key performance indicators over time. They strive toward designing offers that are intuitive and workflow compatible. This informs their go to market planning.<br /><br />Mike also extolled the benefits of agile product development versus waterfall and making sure to work from the “market back”. Agile really fits the notion of not letting "perfect be the enemy of the good".<br /><br />Adam Bernacki provided some background on Leadership Directories, known to many as the “publishers of the Yellow Books”. The Leadership Directories product is a “handcrafted” database with 70 editors/reporters covering 500,000 people. There are 5000 changes made every day. </p><p><br />As with Onvia, their process is also strategy driven. Here are a few of the measures they use:<br /><br />1) Does the product support our strategic direction?</p><p><br />2) Does the product make money?<br />-Can you define success in absolute dollars and absolute time frame.</p><p><br />3)Is the product experimental enough?<br />-What does it teach us about our world, our market and our customers?<br /><br />He shared their requirements for a measuring stick:<br />· Measure of commercial success should be both time-bound and absolutely clear in terms of sales achievements floors and ceiling targets<br />· New product has to produce 1-2% of our annualized sales in the 1st 12 months<br /><br />Adam then walked us through a sales pipeline example with real numbers to show how truly ambitious this program really is. Net, net – 3200 sales hours or two people working full time for a year to achieve the goal!<br /><br />These processes have led them to some great successes and some learning experiences.<br /><br />The session finished with a lot of great questions as the publishers in the audience tried to gain insights on when to kill a product and how product use data is repurposed to create enhancements.</p>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-31232574002864006892008-11-03T07:58:00.000-05:002008-11-03T08:22:29.116-05:00<strong>Selling Cookbooks by Giving Away Recipes</strong><br /><br />I'm an avid cook and am the person responsible for the grocery shopping and cooking at our house. An article entitled "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/01/books/01cook.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink">A Plan to Sell Cookbooks: Give Away Recipes Online</a>" in the Saturday New York Times caught my eye. Reporter Motoko Rich writes about a site called <a href="http://www.cookstr.com/">Cookster</a> that draws on recipes from chefs like Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Mario Batali and a hundred or so others. Each recipe will appear on a page with a picture of the chef and links to places to buy the book. Users will be able to search the site using a multitude of criteria. Founder Will Schwalbe said the site will go live with 2,500 recipes and he hopes to expand it to 10,000.<br /><br />The aim of the site is to sell more cookbooks. It is hoped that by giving recipes away as samples, people will buy the books. This business model has worked very well for Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray, neither of whom are participating. Not surprisingly Cookstr will be suppored by advertising revenues. In another nod to the Web 2.0 world, publishers said they hoped the site would draw attention not only to new books but also to old ones ( no mention of the long tail in the article!).<br /><br />On the face of it, the idea shows some promise. If a cook likes a recipe they may come back and buy the book. It seems the real challenge is in getting attention on the web. The article mentions <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.epicurious.com">epicurious</a>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.foodnetwork.com">foodnetwork </a>and <a href="http://www.allrecipes.com/">allrecipes </a>as competing sites and I use them all. I wonder how Cookstr will break through the clutter. Just as with products for B2B professionals, you need to understand the workflow of your customer. When I go to cook something I'm looking for a recipe like pot roast. I don't start out thinking about how Bobby Flay or Emeril Lagasse make it. My guess is that Cookstr will have to spend heavily on recipe key words to break through and this may be a daunting task.Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-6193452493289808322008-09-29T21:23:00.000-04:002008-09-29T22:35:12.680-04:00<strong>Whining about Wine</strong><br />I was flipping through the Saturday New York Times and was intrigued by a full page ad from Wine Spectator that screamed FREE ACCESS in massive type. The pitch is to provide visitors to the website with free access until October 1st. The offer provides access to 200,000 wine ratings and tastings as well as access to newsletters and other content. In <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">mousetype</span> the limitations are barely visible to point out that "Free Access does not include use of site personalization tools or the ability to post comments on our Editors' Blogs". All in all a pretty standard online publishing offer of giving some content away for free in the hopes that you will become a subscriber.<br /><br />I clicked through on the <a href="http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Free/200k_Main?cmp_id=OTC-200K-Wine&attr=NYTimesAd">link</a> and not surprisingly was confronted with an email capture box with another bit of fine print. This one disclosed that "By entering your e-mail address in the field above, you give <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">WineSpectator</span>.com permission to send occasional e-mails regarding promotional items that we feel might be of interest to you." I'm sure by accumulating lots of email addresses they'll be able to pay for a Saturday page ad in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">NYT</span> but their method seems a bit heavy handed in this day and age. There was no opt out of this page and I needed to validate the email address.<br /><br />Interestingly when I ran a Google Search for "wine spectator" they came up first and second in the organic listing but their was no paid listing for them. The real surprise came when I looked at the third link from a site called </span><a href="http://www.drvino.com/2008/08/19/fictitious-restaurant-wins-wine-spectator-award-of-excellence/">Dr. Vino</span></a>. It highlighted a website</span> from author Robin <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Goldstein</span>. He created a restaurant that did not exist and managed to win a "<a href="http://osterialintrepido.wordpress.com/">Wine Spectator Award of Excellence</a>"! The only calls he got from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">WS</span> where a message was left was from the ad sales people trying to convince him to buy an ad for $3000 +. Based on the article it seems that the Wine Spectator may be more of a paid listing directory business rather than an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">aficionado</span> site. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">WS</span> could also use some help on their web 2.0 and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">SEO</span>/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">SEM</span> strategies.<br /><br />Wonder what would happen if someone created a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Wikipedia</span>/<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">UGC</span> site around wine? (If you know of one, pass it along).Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-12001671285955563882008-09-29T21:02:00.001-04:002008-09-29T21:22:22.172-04:00<strong>SIIA in Paris II</strong><br />While in Paris I was able to spend the better part of a Sunday wandering around the <a href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en">Louvre</a>. I paid for one of those dorky headsets with an oversized Palm Pilot-like device swinging around my neck. Some of the content on the device was quite good -- the <a href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/activite/detail_parcours.jsp?CURRENT_LLV_PARCOURS%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198674098115&CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198674098119&CURRENT_LLV_CHEMINEMENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198674098119&bmLocale=en">Masterpieces of the Louvre tour </a>took you around to three of the museums signature pieces like the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. That tour provided step by step instructions on how to maneuver around the museum and through the crowds. I was pretty impressed at this point and thought that <a href="http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news08/142-KoreanAir.shtml">Korean Air </a>had scored a great coup by locking up the sponsorship of these devices for 1 million euros.<br /><br /><br />Imagine my disappointment when I found that the other tours were lacking in that level of detail. They only provided crude maps to direct you to the next piece of art. In some cases the art had been moved! It seemed that the museum had put all their effort into their A-List products and had skimped on the other less popular offerings. I'll grant the Louvre that keeping those devices updated in a whole bunch of languages must take a lot of work, but they should be consistent in the quality of their offerings. No one wants to see a bunch of tourists walking around in circles wearing those dorky headsets.<br /><br />The other downside of the experience was realizing that the device offered no geospatial information. There was no "Where the hell am I" button which really comes in handy at a museum of this size. Moreover, most of the artwork had no information besides the little cards stuck to the wall - all written in French. BlueTooth enabled sets would be pretty handy that could broadcast when you get close or punch in a number on the screen.<br /><br />All in all, the Louvre was a fascinating museum, however as an information provider they could do a lot more. They should also be considerate of their sponsors who pay to have their name on these products.Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-28114407101224290352008-09-15T23:05:00.000-04:002008-09-15T23:12:50.033-04:00<strong>SIIA in Paris I</strong><br />Early this summer I was invited to speak at <a href="http://www.gfii.asso.fr/">GFII’s </a>“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 <a href="http://www.rosettastone.com/">Rosetta Stone </a>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.<br /><br />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:<br /><br /><ul><li><strong>Profiling & Market Segmentation </strong>– 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.</li></ul><p><strong></strong> </p><ul><li><strong>Scoring -- </strong>The product would have been enhanced if I could see how I'm doing compared to others that purchased the product when I did.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li><strong>Social Networking </strong>-- Why not allow students to converse and discuss the product or have a way for students to get help from others? </li></ul><p>All in all, a good product that could use a few tweaks.</p>Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26123682.post-88762446662623490402008-07-08T16:32:00.000-04:002008-07-08T16:46:08.612-04:00<strong>A Different Take on Orphaned Works -- Orphaned Brands!</strong><br /><br />I received a press release last week from the team at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.corebrand.com">CoreBrand</a>. They focus on brand power and strength and its impact on a company's value. They wrote to tout a new service call Brandvault that will allow marketers to purchase or license once popular but now defunct corporate and product names. Names include Shearson, Allied Signal, Breakfast Mate and Handi-Wrap.<br /><br />The company claims that "BrandVault offers marketers a turnkey collection of 120 out of use brand names that have been revived and newly trademarked in a wide range of consumer product categories, all ready for re-launch."<br /><br />“This is a rare opportunity to acquire a classic brand that has been pushed aside through a merger, or some other quirk of business, yet retains tremendous brand equity,” said James Gregory, CEO, CoreBrand “The astronomical cost of creating a name from scratch includes; research, name development, and legal research, just to get to the point of having a name without any value. Those steps can be eliminated. These names exist and they are already legally protected through the trademark office.”<br /><br />While I think this is a clever business that has been thoughtfully constructed, I'm not sure if I would use this if I were a brand manager. It has the same feel of company that went public via a shell corporation rather than going out in a traditional manner. I also think it could serve to confuse the public like when the Pets.com sock puppet went to work for someone else after the bubble burst.Ed Keatinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596625853015826743noreply@blogger.com0