Music, Technology, Art, Economy

“One of the most exciting things about the new music business is that artists have a wealth of options.”

(via Topspin » David Byrne and Brian Eno Release Everything That Happens Will Happen Today On The Topspin Platform)

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Business Model Design for Web Services Lesson #869579493: Data portability is something that’s important for “consumers” but vital for commercial users (musicians, Comcast, etc).

It’s also non-trivial to implement and gives most strategists the heebie jeebies (even though we all know that being an indispensable part of data flows is more strategically defensible than restricting access to data; collaborative advantage v. competitive advantage).

Everything doesn’t have to be free, you know. Why not charge people for data portability? It’s not in the Bill of Rights ;-)

Further clarification:

I suppose what I’m saying is: although I’m as big a techno-hippie as the next guy, and even though I believe strongly that it is strategically advantageous *not* to charge for data portability, it’s still a “feature” at this point that solves a problem (and that’s the only way to get people to pay you).

Open Social, DataPortability, et al, are the primordial soup of the singularity: stay tuned for more on the evolution of technology-mediated existence ;-)

(image via www.lukewalker.org)

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» Open Source as Business Strategy

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Limn This: Barcamp.mil Follow Up

Some people are probably wondering how it is possible to mix the barcamp ethos with the defense space. All I can say is, you should check it out.

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» Reverse auction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Worth reading…

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» Word War III - washingtonpost.com

Brilliant article about the editors who make Wikipedia happen. The process, the social norms, mediation, and more. Very in-depth; recommended Sunday reading ;-)

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“

This was at the core of the confusion over the definition of the Long Tail (absolute numbers are still meaningful in marketplaces where the number of products grows by orders of magnitude overnight, but percentages are not) and it continues to come up in conversation every day.

People want to generalize—“most Wikipedia pages are wrong”; “most YouTube videos are crap”—but the first rule of open systems is that you can’t generalize about open systems.

So here are five words that I would suggest are usually meaningless in a world where the populations we’re talking about are limitless in size and diversity and doubling overnight (just add the word “blogs” after any of them and you’ll see what I mean)…

—

The Long Tail: Thirteen words that lose their meaning when the denominator approaches infinity

So I have avoided linking to Chris Anderson for years because of this very reason…people don’t understand the actual underlying point that he made about power laws and his book was so popular that just uttering “long tail” makes you look like a blowhard (whether you use it correctly or not).

However, this post sets EVERYthing straight and I recommend it for marketing people and techies alike ;-)

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$Right now I want to tell you a story about two women who are doing Incredibly Smart Things with Fortune 50 marketing budgets and bleeding edge web software. One is a Harvard MBA and experienced exec who co-founded an online video service. This service has only been featured in TechCrunch once, mind you (and few digerati would like to be caught dead with an active account). It’s a REALLY smart and well-designed service with loads of active users and a clear path to profitability that doesn’t rely on interstitial advertising. This service was approached by Giant Multinational Consumer-Focused Corporation, which is familiar to everyone reading this (and which all ad agencies would love to do business with, because it’s marketing budget is Enormous). The service was approached because the Corporation wanted to collaborate and figure out a way to make more money. This Corporation has built a large internal cross-discplinary “Institute” to investigate, test, and experiment with new modes of marketing in a world of hyperconnectivity (i.e. present-day Earth). They starting building this over a year ago, from what I can discern. More importantly, the Corporation has charged the “Institute” with the task of listening to technology entrepreneurs and online community leaders. They know they have to listen because that’s the easiest way to find out what people want and why do what they do. You can’t know everything about everybody. And no matter how big your firm is there’s more smart people outside of it than in it. (The other woman in this story, from all appearances, is a significant contributor to the design and implemention of this Institute.) Here’s some detail on the relationship from the video service co-founder’s blog (very lightly edited by me to preserve the suspense I’m building up here ;-) [This Institute], I believe, helps broaden [the brand’s] perspective on how to harness the power of passionate consumers — beyond the simple, direct control of them. By exposing their brand managers to a broad range of robust community sites in a learning environment, their marketers are afforded the proper structure to evaluate and understand the strengths of this delicate, but powerful new source of consumer connectivity… The lab’s focus helps the conversation not slide into the predictable marketing mode of “what’s the CPM and how many eyeballs can I get”. I find that trodden line can singlehandedly stunt the emergence of new models and lead to unnatural, force-fit projects best suited for old media. Instead, our partnership discussions have been directed to define how engagement, influence, and dialogue can be measured (and priced) to ensure that the right consumers — the interested consumers — are reached. Our projects are focused on impacting the buying process, and on developing metrics which measure our members’ purchasing influence. [that’s some ambitious shit, even for me! -ethan] By being invited to help craft the right success metrics, social networks involved in the [Institute] are empowered to make sure that their ‘consumer conversation’ projects don’t go as astray as they have when demographic reach and frequency became the end goal. Because we are hyper-focused on our members’ expectations and needs, we think we can easily create something that will leave our community and [The Brand] better off than when we started. Can’t say that for most of the eyeball deals I’ve done. The future is yesterday, for some people. Thumbs up! (5,000 bonus points for anyone who can name the two parties I’m referring to.) (photo via /\/\ @ r 0 0 |\| 3 |))$

Right now I want to tell you a story about two women who are doing Incredibly Smart Things with Fortune 50 marketing budgets and bleeding edge web software.

One is a Harvard MBA and experienced exec who co-founded an online video service. This service has only been featured in TechCrunch once, mind you (and few digerati would like to be caught dead with an active account). It’s a REALLY smart and well-designed service with loads of active users and a clear path to profitability that doesn’t rely on interstitial advertising.

This service was approached by Giant Multinational Consumer-Focused Corporation, which is familiar to everyone reading this (and which all ad agencies would love to do business with, because it’s marketing budget is Enormous). The service was approached because the Corporation wanted to collaborate and figure out a way to make more money.

This Corporation has built a large internal cross-discplinary “Institute” to investigate, test, and experiment with new modes of marketing in a world of hyperconnectivity (i.e. present-day Earth). They starting building this over a year ago, from what I can discern.

More importantly, the Corporation has charged the “Institute” with the task of listening to technology entrepreneurs and online community leaders. They know they have to listen because that’s the easiest way to find out what people want and why do what they do. You can’t know everything about everybody. And no matter how big your firm is there’s more smart people outside of it than in it.

(The other woman in this story, from all appearances, is a significant contributor to the design and implemention of this Institute.)

Here’s some detail on the relationship from the video service co-founder’s blog (very lightly edited by me to preserve the suspense I’m building up here ;-)

[This Institute], I believe, helps broaden [the brand’s] perspective on how to harness the power of passionate consumers — beyond the simple, direct control of them. By exposing their brand managers to a broad range of robust community sites in a learning environment, their marketers are afforded the proper structure to evaluate and understand the strengths of this delicate, but powerful new source of consumer connectivity…

The lab’s focus helps the conversation not slide into the predictable marketing mode of “what’s the CPM and how many eyeballs can I get”. I find that trodden line can singlehandedly stunt the emergence of new models and lead to unnatural, force-fit projects best suited for old media. Instead, our partnership discussions have been directed to define how engagement, influence, and dialogue can be measured (and priced) to ensure that the right consumers — the interested consumers — are reached. Our projects are focused on impacting the buying process, and on developing metrics which measure our members’ purchasing influence. [that’s some ambitious shit, even for me! -ethan]

By being invited to help craft the right success metrics, social networks involved in the [Institute] are empowered to make sure that their ‘consumer conversation’ projects don’t go as astray as they have when demographic reach and frequency became the end goal.

Because we are hyper-focused on our members’ expectations and needs, we think we can easily create something that will leave our community and [The Brand] better off than when we started. Can’t say that for most of the eyeball deals I’ve done.

The future is yesterday, for some people.

Thumbs up!

(5,000 bonus points for anyone who can name the two parties I’m referring to.)

(photo via /\/\ @ r 0 0 |\| 3 |))

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» Stage Two Consulting » Can you deliver a pitch in just twelve seconds?

Here’s the comment I left.~~, “awaiting moderation” for now~~:

Check out this article from Venture Hacks:

http://venturehacks.com/articles/high-concept-pitch

I frame my composition strategy for short pitches in terms of “how do I inspire an inquiry for more information” instead of “how do I summarize this quickly”.

You’ve got to both a) work within to your target’s schema [i.e. prior knowledge] and b) show them you have something they don’t know about. I think that’s the trick ;-)

Go beyond the rational “is this worth my time” to the visceral “I am curious about this now”.

Hope this helps,

Ethan

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“Why not create a tool that checked the SEC database every night for changes on the companies I’m interested in?

”So I went to Rentacoder.com, got connected with m4k3r (a developer in Australia). A few days (and $200) later, I had a tool built that would check the SEC Database for me. Rather than keep this to myself, I’ve decided to open up the site to anyone.”

Any more questions about the utility/cost of simple web based software tools?

Redeye VC: Announcing FundingSleuth.com

FundingSleuth

(photo via Four Symbols)

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What are 4 soul-crushingly lame, unproductive, strategically bankrupt things about this picture?

(Hint: they all rhyme with “AdSense”)

(It’s also sad, if you’re a fan of Rick Rubin and the storied history of Columbia like I am).

(via Lefsetz, who I haven’t read in months but who was hilarious on this topic)

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“ At the heart of next-generation advantage is, paradoxically, being able to break yesterday’s maladaptive consumption addiction – not fuel it. It is firms who can shift past nihilistic, meaningless industrial-era corporate purpose – beyond acting as mere pushers of an addiction – who will power the next global financial system.

—

America’s Addiction and the New Economics of Strategy - Umair Haque

Here’s some more detail for your brain:

Let’s re-examine the house of cards that is the global financial system. Emerging markets seek export-led growth: they undervalue their currencies, so their exports are more competitive purely in terms of price. That’s essentially a subsidy to consumers on the other side of the table – those in the developed world. As emerging markets accumulate surpluses, they recycle them: they lend them back to the US and UK in the form of government and mortgage debt, stabilizing their economies, and amplifying the existing consumption subsidy through leverage.

Amplifying that artificial cheapness is the simple fact the true costs of production haven’t been factored in - until now: very real costs like pollution, community fragmentation, and abusive labour standards.

So we’ve been able to consume mercilessly and remorselessly – with no regard for the human, social, or environmental consequences, to us or to others.

It’s not just cheap oil we’re addicted to: it’s cheap everything.

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“ If you’re going to be effective, you have to speak with a voice of authority and trust,” Duffy said. “That doesn’t come from marketing; it comes from subject-matter experts.

—

Why Brands Need a New Kind of Leader

Yes; if you accept the idea that companies have all kinds of interesting/useful experts among their ranks, a WHOLE new way to communicate with customers/stakeholders opens up.

Great piece by Brian Morrissey at AdWeek.

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» What The Newspaper Industry Could Learn About Do Or Die Innovation From General Motors

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I had a very stimulating discussion with a group of grad students from USC Anneberg’s Online Communities program today here at M80.

The topics were wide-ranging but of course things came to a head when we started parsing the utility/meaning of Twitter.

(and it has enormous utility for companies and entrepreneurs of all sizes)

While trying to explain Twitter’s role in some marketing campaigns I’m working on, one thought really resonated with me:

Twitter is particularly useful as a marketing/customer service tool because every microchunk of communication is inherently on-topic (because 140 characters ain’t much).

That counts for a lot when you’re trying to listen to a lot of customers (e.g. the market for “shoes” or even “data centers”).

Drop a comment w/ some contact info if you were in the room at the time…I’ve got extra special goodies to share ;-)

(photo via mallix)

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