Hey buddy. It’s still Matt, I’m just trying to move a voice wanna see how good it is so I guess issue. Momo’s will start some stuff and seeing nowhere because and but over all things are going well. Talk to you sooner. Goodbye.

The actual message:

Hey buddy it’s Stu, I’m just trying out Google Voice, wanted to see how good it is.  Um, I guess I should mumble as well as some stuff and see you know what it does with that.  But overall things are going well, talk to you soon, Goodbye!  Hahahahahahahahaa.

What’s interesting (and brilliant) is a little option I noticed in the lower right-hand corner of the message on the Google Voice website:

This way they can collect information about voicemails that cause their text conversion system to fail.  In my mind this is one of the main competencies of Google: consistent collection of user feedback.

Now if only I could port my current number over to Google Voice…

The decision to put the controls on the headphones means that unless Apple opens up the controls to third parties, you can’t even play music on the iPod without using Apple’s own earbuds. What happens if, as is also not unheard of, Apple’s stock earbuds break? Your iPod is completely useless until you get another pair of approved headphones. (full article)

Like many people, the regular Apple headphones don’t stay in my ears if I’m doing anything other than sitting down, so I have a different pair for when I work out.  This makes the new generation of Shuffles worthless to me (and many others).  Needless to say I will be buying the previous generation.

I bet that Apple: a) opens up the design specs so other companies can make compliant headphones, and/or b) has buttons on the actual unit in the next generation of Shuffles.

My favorite part:  “We had a patron who came in to give the staff some cookies, and after he was told that the cookies couldn’t be accepted, he left the plate and literally ran out the door because he wanted the staff to have the cookies.”

You can’t make this stuff up.

—–

Understanding the Financial Crisis

The Mortgage Banking Meltdown

Definitely not congruent with the powerful brand Best Buy has spent millions building.  It makes sense to me that Best Buy would sell laundry machines and refrigerators, because Sears and the like have gone out of business and no one else has stepped into that market.

But hostestly, I thought that email was spam at first or a joke of some kind.

I just watched a video (skip to 42:45) with Seth Godin from 2006. He gave a talk to some Google employees, and at the end opened it up for questions. Someone who worked on Google Maps asked why they hadn’t been more successful in taking market share from Mapquest. Seth’s answer: “We didn’t have a maps problem.” Just a refresher: Google Maps was revolutionary in that it was the first service to let you drag the map around with your cursor and see satellite footage overlayed with streets). Google Maps was tough to print out, which is what most of us do when we look up directions online. So while people were impressed with the snazzy features, they ultimately used other services like Mapquest once the novelty wore off. Simply put, we didn’t a big enough maps problem.

Now it’s 2008, and I don’t think Google Maps has changed much. I will say that even though Mapquest has its own draggable map with satellite footage, Google Maps has a better interface. I use Google Maps when I want to see the area where my destination is, and Mapquest when I need directions. Of course, with GPS, Mapquest’s days may be numbered.

The old “new” logo:

The old logo:

Apparently you can now get pasta at Pizza Hut. This is very confusing for a company that previously marketed itself as the place for best pizza. Check out this commercial:

I’m guessing Pizza Hut is looking to diversify and capture a new market. While there may indeed be an opportunity in delivery Italian-style food (pizza, pasta, calzone, etc.), a brand with the name pizza in it won’t be very successful. The name “Pizza Hut” clearly communicates that they sell pizza (not rocket science here).

It’s further confusing to the customer with the spin-off of the pizza hut logo:

The problem is this only appears in commercials, and isn’t actually a brand that they are building. Mixed messages will only hurt the Pizza Hut brand.

A few great points from his speech and my two cents:

1. It’s ok to not have a goal of making billions.

We constantly hold up the creators of great companies (like Bill Gates) in the highest regard and laud them for making billions of dollars (and they deserve it). But they are a very small fraction of entrepreneurs and businesses, and statistically you have a much better chance at making a million than a billion. Making a million is a fantastic success, even though it’s not as sexy as a billion.

2. You don’t need to be the next Google, Facebook, or Craigslist.

Don’t obsess about being the “next big thing.” There are tons of successful, profitable companies out there that come about simply from solving problems. In fact, David Heinemeier Hansson became successful because he ran into a problem that many other people had, and created a solution for that problem. Sometimes we’re married to the idea about being the “next big thing” when really we just need to step back, take a look at the world around us, and develop a solution to a problem that a bunch of other people have too.

3. It’s possible to treat your customers well AND charge them a price.

Many developers passionate about democratizing content online, and that’s great. But if you want a successful company that is financially viable, you should probably charge a price. In the age of open-source, it’s important to remember that businesses do charge for their products and services. Seems like a no-brainer, but I think a lot of entrepreneurs think that they can just build a great product and maybe get some VC funding for it. The bottom line is there needs to be financial viability for the long run (something Facebook and Youtube are having problems with).

4. Having a limited amount of time every day to work on something really focuses your energy.

I’ve always got a bunch of projects going on at the same time, and invariably one doesn’t progress as fast as I want. By sitting down and blocking out specific times to work on specific projects, I’ve had more luck ensuring all my projects keep moving forward.

Some universities are worried about this and avoiding third-party solutions altogether, while others seem to be adopting a “it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission” strategy, both of which are bad. In fact, the latter is just plain dumb – it opens up universities to serious legal problems when a lawsuit inevitably happens.

Where data can be hosted, and who owns it, is a huge unresolved issue in cyber law.

I’m guessing Disney wants to show us that Disney vacations are reachable for those of us who aren’t millionaires, but this ad does the opposite. By telling us Disney World is “more affordable than I might think,” it actually perpetuates the idea that a vacation with Disney is very expensive and out of my reach. Disney is a premium brand, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to market the Disney magic as a budget brand.

An industry once characterized by brain-numbing acronyms and droning discussions about enterprise security is now defined by buzz around handset design, video games and mobile social networks.

At the end of last year, BlackBerry had a 40 percent share of the United States smartphone market, down from 45 percent at the end of 2006, thanks largely to the 17.4 percent share the iPhone grabbed in its first six months.

Later this year, phone manufacturers have promised to start selling smartphones running Android, Google software based on the open-source operating system Linux and backed by a coalition of 34 wireless-industry companies. Google’s idea is that Android can be a more open and a less expensive alternative to the proprietary mobile technologies of Apple, Microsoft, R.I.M. and Nokia in Europe.

Analysts say that R.I.M.’s greatest challenge in a consumer-driven smartphone industry may simply be creating devices that people admire and covet as much as the iPhone. Despite the faithfulness of its flock, R.I.M. is not there yet.

In a survey this year of 3,600 professionals by ChangeWave, a research company, 54 percent of BlackBerry users said they were very satisfied with their devices. Even so, the BlackBerry was a distant second in the survey: the comparable figure for the iPhone was 79 percent.

I’m not sure I would talk about the downfall of RIM so quickly. The BlackBerry is primarily an email device, and has its strength from being the best in its market. The BlackBerry is also aimed at corporations and professionals who want tight integration between their e-mail, calendar, address book, and their laptop.

The iPhone, however, is a mobile device geared to the consumer who wants rich-media functionality like music, movies, and web browsing. It’s clear from the lack of a physical keyboard that e-mail is not the primary function of the iPhone (and the inital lack of “push” functionality).

RIM should take development of their mobile devices in two directions: one for businesses (BlackBerry) and one for consumers (a new product which should not be called a BlackBerry). According to the article, RIM is in development of a touch-screen device (which they call the “apple killer”). It’s very important, however, that they continue to innovate on the BlackBerry as a business device independent of competing with Apple in the consumer market: make typing easier and faster, the screen larger, and integration of address book and calendar cheaper/faster.

True, Apple is adding the “push” functionality for the iPhone, which will allow it to receive email just like the BlackBerry. But the fact remains that having a physical keyboard is a huge advantage if your primary use is email.

I used to have a BlackBerry for Verizon, and according to the customer service people you have to have a data plan in order to use a BlackBerry on the Verizon network ($25-$45 per month in addition to what you’re already paying). I’m not sure how it works on other carriers, or if it’s true that RIM requires a data package and not Verizon, but it doesn’t seem in RIM’s best interest. I would gladly buy a Pearl so I could have my calendar, contacts, and phone all in one device, but right now I don’t need the email functionality. This makes me think it’s actually a Verizon requirement, unless RIM earns revenue from the data package as well.

Employees under the age of 29, also known as Generation Y, expect their employers to provide more benefits and other perks than their older counterparts, according to a new survey from CareerBuilder.com and Harris Interactive. Gen Y workers want better pay, a flexible work schedule and company-provided.

“Employers expect entry-level employees to have substantial work experience, be top of their class, dress professionally, et cetera,” Treichel says. “Personally, I worked hard at two year-round internships while still going to school my last two years. I don’t expect high pay and a BlackBerry, but I do expect to be compensated for the hard work I put in preparing for the position.”

Fifteen percent of employers reported modifying their policies in order to appease their Gen Y employees. Of those employers who made changes, 57 percent implemented more flexible work schedules and 33 percent created new recognition programs.

I think it’s true that we have a strong sense of entitlement when it comes to work. However, we back that entitlement up with hard work – between email and cell phones, we’re always on call and willing to travel.

While I acknowledge a shift in expectations of new workers is tough for companies, it also provides opportunities for early-acknowledgers to recruit the best talent by using instruments which speak to us: make us excited with YouTube videos, give us incentives like flexible work schedules, and reward us and our fellow employees based largely on merit. The companies that have started doing this really stand out.

The process was really easy: use the simple, visually appealing interface to find a movie, swipe your credit card, and out came your movie. The screen told you when your movie was due, and emailed your receipt. When you were done, all you had to do was stick the movie back in the slot, and it was automatically returned via barcode on the case (no receipt needed).

This is the first innovative way to rent movies I’ve seen since Netflix in the late 90s. Blockbuster tried to remake itself by developing its own online/in-store rental system, but it was too late, and the first in the market had the advantage.

Redbox has much more effectively targeted the gap in between the people who will wait for movies to arrive by mail (via Netflix or another service), and those who want instant-gratification (those who go to Blockbuster). By ubiquity of locations, Redbox has made it easier, faster, and (potentially) cheaper to rent a movie. I end up going to the grocery store one or two times a week, and on my way in I can just return the movie.

Best of all, if you’re on top of your game, you can return it the next day and only pay $1.

I don’t rent a lot of movies, but the only problem I had is when I wanted to return a movie. There was a couple browsing through the titles, so I had to stand there and wait until they were done. After a couple minutes, however, they saw I was just returning a movie, and nicely let me get in front.

Interesting tidbit: Redbox is a subsidiary of McDonald’s and Coinstar. This makes a lot of sense: McDonald’s has practical ubiquity across the US, and Coinstar has the technology to operate the machines.

The name Redbox is also good – I’m glad they didn’t go with something like “Micky D’s DVDs.”

[link here]

Opponents of allowing cloned food (or “BT Foods”) into the food supply have shifted their efforts from banning BT foods altogether to mandating labels on foods containing cloned ingredients. However there seems to be a serious roadblock.

From an article in January: “The FDA will not require mandatory labels for clone-derived food and will review “clone-free” labels individually.”

After the decision by the FDA, some states are considering stepping in to mandate labeling.

It seems smart to me for opponents of BT foods to lobby for food labels. This seems like an easier fight than banning BT Foods altogether (easier is definitely a relative term here since anti-labeling lobbyests are incredibly strong. For example, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) started to lobby against the use of trans fats in 1987, and only on January 1, 2008 did it become mandatory across the board in the US to disclose the amount of trans fats in foods).

If all foods that contained BT Foods had a label indicating “cloned foods” were inside, it would probably scare many consumers. At a minimum, consumers would start to ask questions, which would bring visibility to the issue.

Wouldn’t you think twice if the ground beef you’ve always bought suddenly had a label that said “cloned beef inside”?

Andrew

I’m skeptical about Dell’s move to sell in retail, which has been tried before and scratched due to low profit margins. One of Dell’s biggest advantages was using a just-in-time (JIT) inventory system, meaning it only ordered the parts to make your computer after you had paid. This allowed Dell to keep minimal inventory on hand at any point in time.

In the computer industry, this is a huge advantage. Because computer hardware is becoming faster and cheaper at an exponential rate, computer manufacturers have to keep offering the latest and greatest at competitive prices. If HP, for example, overestimates demand and produces too many desktop computers, they either become obsolete in a few months, or have to be sold at a reduced price (and for less profit or even a loss). Dell minimized this problem by only ordering what was needed.

Best Buy is certainly the best retailer to choose, but now Dell is competing in-store with the likes of Apple, HP, Compaq, eMachines, Gateway, Acer, and others, who have much more marketing experience in the retail arena.

Apparently this practice actually has a name: Domain Name Tasting. When you initially purchase a domain, you have a 5-day grace period where you can “return” the domain for a full refund. This policy was originally intended to protect consumers from accidentally buying the wrong domain due to typos or other mistakes. Certain enterprising individuals have figured out a way make money through this loophole by automatically buying domains that are searched for or typed into browsers and earning advertising revenue from page visits.

Currently it’s a legal practice, but Google is fighting back by not including these sites in AdSense results. The idea is to prevent people from earning money off the practice, effectively eliminating the market. ICANN, the organization that oversees these kinds of things, is looking into the matter.

In order to minimize the chances of this happening to you, see if domains are available through sites like godaddy.com, and buy them immediately if they are. Nothing is worse than finally coming up with a good name and then having someone “steal” it from you.

I’m still amazed at how powerful the Cingular brand is (yes, present tense). Pretty much everyone I know who has AT&T still calls it Cingular. Stephen Colbert picked up on the absurdity of it all:

I’m guessing the marketing people have either seen their error and don’t want to admit fault, or have decided changing the name back to Cingular would confuse people even more and are sticking with AT&T for the time being. I find it hard to believe that the decision was the right one.

A great in-depth analysis from Laura Ries here if you’re curious.

When Windows XP came out, Microsoft offered it in two versions: Home and Professional. The Home version generally was viewed as less stable and efficient, and most people who had problems with XP had problems with Home, not Professional. I thought they had learned their lesson. You can imagine my surprise when I say the new lineup of options for Windows Vista:

Windows Vista Starter (”emerging” markets only)
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Enterprise
Windows Vista Ultimate

You read correctly: not two, not three, but six versions of Vista? I’ll have to dedicated at least an hour researching which one is “for me.”

Apple has done a great job of amplifying the confusion around these versions and giving users a simple alternative:

I suppose I could begin to understand Microsoft’s reasoning for two versions: people do different tasks on their work computers than home computers (or they should anyway; you know who you are…) I guess if one version was optimized for higher security and better performance of “work” applications like Excel, that could be beneficial.

Yet Apple has one version that does it all, so why not Microsoft?

It seems that, because we all have cell phones, people expect you to simply call back if you have a missed call. Ok, that makes sense. But when you have a missed call and a voicemail when you look at your phone, isn’t it common courtesy to listen to the voicemail before you call that person back?

I’ve just stopped leaving messages for any of my friends that are in college – they all seem to call back 10 minutes later and make me repeat what I just said on my message. Maybe we’re used to reading text messages instantly, and because it takes time to check your messages (you have to call a number and put in a password), voicemail is too much of a hassle.

I would guess that once we are out of school and have jobs, we will use voicemail more often since we can’t always expect someone to pick up their phone – we’ll be at the office or in a meeting, after all.

“The new Dunkin’ Donuts brand essence is about invigorating the hard-working people that keep America running day-to-day,” said Gilbert. “Dunkin’ Donuts as a brand appeals to a broad spectrum of customers demographically and is associated with high-quality products for a good value, a strong work ethic, and a grounded sense of our own identity. Because these are concepts that are also central to the American value system, we believe our customers will strongly identify with this campaign.”

Ok using American values is a bit cliche, but I think the slogan fits. According to its website, Dunkin Donuts “is the number one retailer of hot regular coffee-by-the-cup in America, selling 2.7 million cups a day, nearly one billion cups a year”. And let’s be serious – what more American of a way to keep yourself alert through the day than coffee and donuts.

Their strategy seems to target the more working class man as well as people who don’t like the strong, burnt flavor of Starbucks coffee. This seems smart to me since 1) Starbucks is very expensive (though I have to admit I end up there often), and 2) many of my friends like a less strong type of coffee.

At the moment, I don’t see Dunkin having the ubiquity that Starbucks has. This could be intentional, however, because the D.C. area has higher income individuals who may just prefer Starbucks.

And so it begins. Welcome to Inquisity.