The Value of Advertising on the Kindle
Amazon recently announced they would sell a new Kindle with “Special Offers”version. Kindle with “Special Offers” has the same specs as their WiFi-only Kindle but will include advertisements as the screen saver and on the home screen bar. In exchange, Amazon will only change $114. In all likelihood Kindle hardware will one day be free (or close to free) because of cross subsidization […]
Decision Curbs: How the Miracle on the Hudson will Impact You
Over the weekend I read William Langewiesche’s recent book Fly by Wire: The Geese, the Glide, the Miracle on the Hudsonwhich chronicles the role electronic control systems play in avionic safety generally and US AIR flight 1549’s miraculous landing on the Hudson river specifically. A fly-by-wire approach is something we will begin to see with more frequency. In avionic application, […]
Using Events to Drive Retail Traffic
BestBuy is apparently holding iPad supply so they will presumably have enough supply on stock and in the stores for an “upcoming event.” This highlights the delicate nature of retailing today. Physical media is no longer the traffic driver it once was, but today’s traffic drivers aren’t providing the margin that retailers need so events have become the focus to drive […]
The Future of Data (and the Death of Surveys)
The demand for “metrics” is increasing. At the same time, data availability is accelerating. More, the availability of survey software like SurveyMonkey has driven down both the cost and accessibility to survey tools. In economic parlance, we’ve seen both supply and demand shift out. As the chart shows, the end result is a lower price […]
on Gov’t Shutdowns
Here are the last 11 government shutdowns. The average closing is just 5 days – and excluding in the December 1995 closing, the average is only 3.2 The Government will be open again next week. [table id=8 /]
On Privacy
I’ve written about Xobni for Outlook in the past, but a recent experience illustrated the role data will play in the future and ultimate implications for privacy. When it first launched I tried freecycle and several months ago I signed-up again to see how the service had evolved and was progressing. Because I knew this […]
The Future of Postal Service 2020
Last week I had an extended conversation on the future of postal service and wanted to share some of my thoughts on potential scenarios 10 years from today. These are clearly quick sketches. The future – as is often the case – will likely be an amalgamation of these scenarios. Scenario 1: Traditional Mail Ceases to Exist, Small […]
Making the Social Graph Linear
John Battelle writes about Color, a new social photo app. Color creates a visual (user-generated photos) public (anyone sharing photos through Color) timeline of any given location (using a proximity algorithm). (It is worth noting Dave Winer suggested the need of a “social camera” four years ago.) Battelle suggests color matters because of location (“colors has the opportunity to be the first breakout application […]
Why Excluding Drunk Driver Apps Might be a Bad Idea…
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and fellow Senators Chuck Schumer, Frank Lautenberg and Tom Udall recently wrote to Apple, Google, and RIMM asking them to exclude apps which allow users to identify, among other things, drunk driving checkpoints. In the request, the Senators write, “we appreciate the technology that has allowed millions of Americans to have information at […]
Super Bowl Commercials as a Leading Indicator?
Can super bowl commercials predict bubbles? I don’t know. Here are the commercials from the past 13 years: http://superbowl-ads.com if you want to find out. We did seem to have a myrid of dot.com related commercials prior to that implosion. Signs of bubbles from this year? Perhaps deal-of-the-day sites.
