ImaginativePRO Blog

PROVIEW TAIWAN SUES APPLE OVER "IPAD" TRADEMARK IN CHINA AND HOW APPLE SNOOKERED PROVIEW TO ACQUIRE THE IPAD TRADEMARK

 

Here's how Apple (AAPL) allegedly got Proview International Holdings to sell them the iPad trademark 35 days before Steve Jobs unveiled the device at a San Francisco press conference.

• Apple hired a British firm called Farncombe International and its managing director, Graham Robinson, to be its secret agent.
• Robinson created a British shell company called IP Application Development Limited ("IPAD Ltd.").
• Using the alias Jonathan Hargreaves, Robinson opened talks in Taiwan with Proview, concealing the fact that he was negotiating on Apple's behalf.
• Asked why he wanted the trademark, Robinson said it was an acronym for IP Application Development.
• Asked what business IPAD Ltd. was in, Robinson was evasive:  He said.  "I'm sure you can understand that we are not ready to publicize what the company's business is, since we have not yet made any public announcements."
• He further stated, apparently in an e-mail, that "the company will not compete with Proview."

These details -- some familiar, some fresh -- come from a Proview press release issued Monday. It describes an amended complaint filed in a California federal court that is charging Apple with "fraud by intentional misrepresentation, fraud by concealment, fraudulent inducement, and unfair competition."

Reached for comment, Apple denied none of the details in the complaint. Rather, it issued the same statement it's been giving out for nearly a week:

"We bought Proview's worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago. Proview refuses to honor their agreement with Apple in China and a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple in this matter. Our case is still pending in mainland China."

The irony is that Proview is trying to get a U.S. court to nullify an agreement that it claims in Chinese courts never existed -- namely the one that Apple says sold them the rights to the iPad trademark in mainland China.

Proview's press release has answer for that:

"The legal questions and remedies in the China and U.S. lawsuits are separate and distinct and have no bearing on one another."

COMMENTARY:   That's what I call "cutting it close," and very sneaky on Apple's part to acquire the iPad trademark through a third-party.  

Apple unveiled the iPad tablet on January 27, 2010, which would put iPad, Ltd's negotiations to acquire the iPad trademark from Proview right around December 22, 2009.  If Apple had been unsuccessful in acquiring the "iPad" tradename from Proview, what would Apple have named its new "magical" tablet?   

However, I am still a bit confused, because on January 20, 2010, The Jesus Tablet blog reported that Fujitsu owned the trademark "iPad" and that would either prohibit or discourage Apple from using the mark.  What has not been reported is that Apple filed requests with the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) several times in late 2009 to extend the time given to oppose Fujitsu's trademark with the USPTO.  The USPTO granted the request and extended the time to oppose to 2/28/2010 "on behalf of potential opposer Apple Inc."

Apple's 60-Day Request For Extension of Time to Oppost Upon Concent with USPTO of December 23, 2009 (Click Image To Enlarge)

Letter from USPTO dated December 23, 2009 granting Apple a 60-Day Extension of Time to Oppost Upon Consent (Click Image To Enlarge)

As you can clearly see from the above United States Patent and Trademark Office 60-day extention request filing and the letter granting the 60-day extension, Fujitsu owned the "iPad" trademark, not Proview.  

Maybe Fujitsu owned the iPad trademark only in the U.S., not China.  Proview apparently ownes the iPad trademark in China, which is the subject of the lawsuit.  

I assume that Fujitsu granted Apple the iPad trademark.  I have not found proof of this yet.  If Proview wins its lawsuit, then the iPad name could not be used in China, unless it is licensed from Proview, and this could be very costly for Apple.   This is going to get interesting.  Stay tuned for further developments. 

Courtesy of an article dated February 27, 2012 appearing in Fortune Technology

HOW TO DEVELOP A KILLER MARKETING PLAN, METHODS USED, GENERAL RULES, SIX KEY STEPS, BUSINESS MODELS AND SAMPLES

If you are the founder of a new startup or an existing business it's highly recommended that you develop a roadmap that will get you from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow, six months from now, or a year or longer down the road.   The roadmap is a guide to help you overcome roadblocks, prevent costly mistakes and eliminate time-consuming detours that can prevent you from attaining your goals, and reaching your ultimate destination.  We typically refer to this roadmap as a marketing plan.

A marketing plan should be a formal written document, not recalled from memory or something scribbled on a napkin.  To take your business to the next level requires preparing a written marketing action plan.  There are 12 recognized marketing planning models in use today.  The Top 5 most popular marketing planning models include:

• 7 P's Marketing Matrix - The seven elements of the marketing mix: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process and Physical evidence, form the core tactical components (see below) of the marketing plan.
• Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning - This three stage process involves analysing which distinct customer groups exist and which segment the product best suits before implementing the communications strategy tailored for the chosen target group.
• SOSTAC® - This acronym stands for Situation, Objectives, Strategy, Tactics, Actions and Control and is a very popular classic marketing planning framework for creating marketing plans. SOSTAC is more comprehensive and borrows elements of several of the other popular marketing planning models.
• Ansoff's Growth Strategy Matrix - Ansoff’s Growth Strategy Matrix identifies alternative growth strategies by looking at present and potential products in current and future markets. The four growth strategies include: market penetration, market development, product development and diversification.   
• Porter's Five Forces - In a blog post dated November 21, 2011, I covered Michael E. Porter's Five Forces marketing planning model.  The Five Forces are Rivalry, Supplier Power, Threat of Substitutes, Buyer Power and Barriers to Entry and are used to analyse the industry context in which the organisation operates.  Porter's Five Forces are required reading in any graduate course on Marketing or Strategic Planning.

       

For my money, the SOSTAC® marketing planning model is the model I use the most when developing marketing plans.  First, let's begin by defining what SOSTAC is:

What is SOSTAC®?

SOSTAC® is a marketing planning model, originally developed in the 1990s to help with marketing planning by PR Smith, who together with Dave Chaffey co-authored Emarketing Excellence.

SOSTAC® stands for:

• Situation – where are we now?
• Objectives – where do we want to be?
• Strategy – how do we get there?
• Tactics – how exactly do we get there?
• Action – what is our plan?
• Control – did we get there?

SOSTAC has been used to develop marketing plans for a broad range of industries.  Here’s how SOSTAC is used to summarise the main issues to consider within a digital marketing strategy:

You can see it gives a logical order for tackling your plan (with iterations) and a great way to summarise the main elements of each.

Why is SOSTAC® useful?

SOSTAC® has become very popular since it’s simple, easy to remember and covers all the main issues which you need in a marketing plan or business plan.  

Tips for using SOSTAC®

Here are some tips on how to use SOSTAC® based on Chaffey's experience applying the model in companies and in academia.

1. Use SOSTAC® to review your process - Before looking at how you apply SOSTAC® at each step to create a marketing plan, use it to review your planning process and how you manage your marketing.  Ask yourself what you and your organisation are good at.  Maybe you spend too much or too little time reviewing the situation. Perhaps you’re not so good at setting SMART objectives, or developing strategies to support them or the control stage of assessing how effective your strategies and tactics are and adjusting them?
2. Get the balance right across SOSTAC® - Oftentimes, there is too much time spent on analysis within a plan and not enough on setting the strategies. So as a rule of thumb, this is how your balance of content could look:  Situation Analysis (20%), Objectives (5%), Strategy (45%) and Tactics (30%) = 100%
3. Summarise your Situation in a SWOT Analysis - To give focus to your situation analysis it is recommended that you utilize this form of SWOT analysis. This helps integrate SWOT with strategy.  I also recommend that you read my blog post dated November 29, 2011 on how to prepare a SWOT analysis to plan for the future of your company.
4. Make your goals SMART and link them to your analytics/control process - Since digital marketing is so measurable, it makes sense to be specific as possible about your goals by developing a funnel  conversion model. You should also setup specific goals in Google Analytics.  But it’s worth thinking about the full range of goals indicated by the 5Ss.
5. Integrate the different elements of your SWOT Analysis -  Oftentimes in a plan or report there isn’t good flow relating sections. To help this I recommend summarising your entire SOSTAC® plan within a table.

It's important to note that a marketing plan can be for a product (the iPhone), a series of similar products (e.g. mobile devices) or an all-encompasing plan for a company.  

General Rules For Creating A Killer Marketing Plan

There is no shortage of general rules for developing marketing plans, but if you want to create a killer marketing plan I have found that the following general rules work the best:

• Stay focused - Don't try to "boil the ocean" by going overboard or overstate the case with too many ideas, products or services.  Know what your core business is going to be.  Focus on one product or service at a time.  
• Where Are You Today - You must know where you are today in order to develop a roadmap to where you want to be in the future.     
• Keep Things Simple - Less is better.  Avoid long sentences.  Be brief.  Avoid geeky tech terminology and acronyms.  Use bullet points.  Embellish with graphs, charts and images.   
• Be Realistic - Set realistic and measurable goals.  Don't try to conquer the world.   Set goals that you can reasonably accomplish.
• Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses - Take an inventory of your individual and management teams strengths and weaknesses.       
• Do Your Homework - Before you do anything do your research.  Know your market, your ideal customers, market niches, your competitors, latest trends, barriers-to-entry, methods of opeation, distribution channels, pricing models, and promotions and advertising methods used in the industry.         

The Key Steps To Develop A Killer Marketing Plan Using SOSTAC®

For large corporations it is not too unusual to see 100 page marketing plans.  For a small startup, a marketing plan should be between 10-15 pages in length including graphs, charts and tables.  The Apple iPhone launch marketing strategy provided above is a great example.   Before you start preparing your marketing plan make sure that you have completed sufficient market research to determine if your idea, product or service is viable given all that you know about the marketplace you are entering.    

Situational Analysis – Where are we now? 

This is where you take inventory of where you are right now.  I recommend that you conduct your market research before you prepare your marketing plan.  The Situational Analysis should include the following: 

• Product or Service  - Describe the product or service in simple terms. Describe the market need filled or problem your product or service solves.  Identify the total value proposition your produce or service offers customers.
• Market and Competition - Describe the type, size and geographic location of the market in which your product or service will compete, competitive landscape including the number of competitors, major competitors, direct competitors, market shares, market niches, stage of development and market trends. 
• Target Customers -  Identify the individuals or organizations ("target market") and customer segments you are targeting.   In some cases, you may have more than one target market. Determine the following: 
  • Who needs your product or service and why? 
  • What is the profile of your ideal customer and what are their attributes?
  • How many potential customers are there?
  • How many different customer niches are there?
  • Is the target market or market niches underserved? 
  • Describe your customers by their shared characteristics for individuals and organizations.  
    • Individuals - Describe them by demographics: age, income, geographic location, and lifestyle.   
    • Organizations - Describe them by number of employees, sales, geographic location, and industry.
• SWOT Analysis - Identify your competitive strengths and weaknesses, business opportunities and potential threats.  Arrange your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats  into a four-quadrant grid like the one below:     
  The purpose of a SWOT Analysis is to help you build on your business' strengths, minimize and correct the weaknesses, and take the greatest possible advantage of potential opportunities while formulating a plan to deal with potential threats. Think of a SWOT Analysis as a checkup for your business.  Be honest with yourself, if you lack a strong marketing and sales team, list it as a weakness.  I also recommend that you read my blog post datedNovember 29, 2011 on how to prepare a SWOT analysis to plan for the future of your company.
• Management Team - List the key members of your present management team and very brief description of their business and industry experience and education.  If you believe you will need to add key individuals to the management team list their position, title and duties. 
• Milestones Accomplished - Elaborate on significant milestones that have accomplished to date. Include major new customers, revenues, no of unique visitors, downloads, new patents, major personnel additions and awards.      

Objectives – Where do you want to be?

• Goals and Objectives -  Set realistic goals and objectives. Make sure your goals and objectives are measureable and achievable.  Measure them against your own efforts and abilities, not your competitors.   There are two types of goals and objectives:
  • Quantitative – Those with specific, measurable results and numbers. 
  • Qualitative – Those that increase value, like improving image or visibility.

Strategy – How do we get there?

Your marketing strategies answer the big question:  HOW do you get from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow?  Be creative and brainstorm with your team. Don't think in terms of what other organizations or individuals have done, but how you are going to get it done.   Your marketing strategies should include the following:

• Core Marketing Message - Your core marketing message is a short description of your business, products and services, employees, core values, business philosophy, mission and value proposition you bring to the customer relationship.  Your core message should project what makes you unique and be conveyed in a manner that instantly connects with your ideal customers.
• Define Your Brand - Your brand isn’t just your corporate identity like your logo, tag line, motto or its visual associations such as unique design, colors or packaging, but the relationship you have with your customers.  Your brand's value proposition includes everything you have promised your customers: quality products, great prices, better selection, great service, more locations, moneyback guarantee, free delivery, etc.
• Positioning Statement - How you intend to position your company in the marketplace. Will you compete on the basis of differentiation (e.g. technology leader, quality, durability, broad selection, etc.), target a specific market niche (e.g. Affluent, professionals, SMB's, management, etc) or compete on the basis of price (e.g. luxury, premium, medium, bargain or low price).   Explain why you have chosen this particular market position.
• Business Model - According to Peter Drucker, the late Harvard management guru, "A business model is nothing else than a representation of how an organization makes (or intends to make) money."  But, a business model is far more than this. Mark W. Johnson, the Harvard professor and author of "Seizing The White Space," says that a business model consists of three components: 1) It identifies an important job a customer needs to get done and then proposing an offering that fulfills that job better than any alternative the customer can turn to--in short, the customer value proposition (CVP), 2) A pricing model and profit formula that shows quantitatively that you can make a profit delivering on the CVP, and 3) You can identify which company resources and which processes are essential to delivering the CVP.  To develop your business model I highly recommend that you read my blog post dated November 5, 2011, January 26, 2012, and February 26, 2012. 
• Pricing Model - Describe the methodology you will use to set prices for your products and services.  Prices should reflect competitive factors, economic conditions, nature of the market and how you intend to position yourself in the marketplace.  Pricing should take into account fixed and variable costs associated with each product or service, so that you can generate a sufficient gross profit.  Prices and profit margins should be determined by distribution channel. Describe if you will use different price levels depending on quantities ordered and type of customer.  
• Launch Strategy - Describe your go-to-market strategy for your product or service.  Describe when, the method used to announce your market entry, and how you will manage your market entry during the first 30-to-90 days. 
• Distribution Strategy - Describe the distribution channels you will utilize to get your product or service to your target market (e.g. direct-to-consumer, ecommerce, retail stores, dealers and distributors, infomercials, mail order catalog, direct mail, email, etc.) and specific reasons you are using each channel.     
• Sales Strategy - Describe who is actually going to sell your product or service. Will you be using inside sales personnel, inbound or outbound sales personnel, outside sales personnel, manufacturer's representatives, independent salespeople or network marketing personnel.
• Advertising and Promotions Strategy - Determine what media channels you will use to market and promote your products and services to your target market (e.g. print ads, television, radio, direct marketing, ecommerce, social media and events).  The types of media channels you will use will depend on your unique requirements, budget constraints, and practices within your industry.  
• Public Relations Strategy - Describe the methods you will utilize to inform, communicate and educate your public (e.g. customers, media, vendors, academia) about your company and its products and services.    
• Strategic Alliances - Describe the nature and type of third-party alliances you anticipated will be needed in order to compete effectively in the marketplace.   
• Word-of-Mouth -  Describe how and the methods you will utilize to create word-of-mouth.

A few final pointers about developing marketing strategies:

• Think strategic first - Too many individuals believe that the marketing tactics  -- the newsletters, press kits, trade shows, banners, 800-numbers, display advertisements, logos and giveaways -- comes before the marketing strategies.   Those promotional, publicity and advertising tactics should be contained within a well-orchestrated marketing action plan. But first create your marketing strategy items that will generate leads, build awareness and enhance credibility.
• Make the first the last. The executive summary consists of a one-page, top-level summary of the entire marketing plan.  It's placed at the front of the document, but it's the last thing you'll write. Its purpose is to convey the gist of the plan to stakeholders, investors and anyone else who needs to know these facts in a hurry:
  • The scope of the plan in an outlined paragraph.
  • The product or service being marketed.
  • For whom the plan is being prepared.
  • The time period the plan covers.
  • The geographic area where the implementation occurs.
  • The strategic messages and the tactics to get them to the target markets.

Tactics – How exactly do we get there

This is where you list the specific action steps or programs to achieve each marketing strategy (see above).  If you are going to use billboards to advertise your product, indicate the name of the outdoor advertising company, the number of billboards, their geographic locations, cost per billboard and total amount.  If you will be conducting focus groups to conduct market research and get feedback about your product, indicate the name of the research firm, dates focus groups will be conducted, cost per focus group and total amount.  You should include deadlines and key dates for executing all of your marketing activities.   

• Media Tactics - If you will invest in different types of media to communicate your core marketing message and product or service offering divide your media into paid, non-paid and non-traditional media. 
  • Paid media: direct mail, newspaper, radio, TV, billboards, direct sales. 
  • Non-paid media – Referred to as public relations because it is exposure through traditional media without paying for advertising in that media. 
  • Non-traditional media: includes everything else — sponsorships, ad specialties,shows/events, electronic media and the Internet.

Action – What is our plan?

Your business model is the one piece of the marketing plan that puts it all together for you. In a blog post dated February 6. 2012, Floodgate Fund co-founder Ann Muira-Ko says,  

"Its the business model that matters the most, rather than the business plan."  

According to Miura-Ko, business models do a better job of unearthing assumptions about a company's users, customers, pricing, demand creation, sales channels, supply chain, and overall logistics - all critical components to building a successful business.  

A business model answers all the 4 W's (Who, What, Where and Why) and the all important How you are going to do it as it relates to the following: 

• Core marketing message.
• Components of your brand identity.
• Customer value proposition (CVP).
• Industry or market.
• Target customers.
• Competitive landscape.
• Industry life cycles.
• Pricing model.
• Value chain.
• Operations.   

According to Peter Drucker, the late Harvard management guru said.  

"A business model is nothing else than a representation of how an organization makes (or intends to make) money."  

But, a business model is far more than this. Mark W. Johnson, the Harvard professor and author of "Seizing The White Space,"  says that a business model consists of three components:

1. It identifies an important job a customer needs to get done and then proposes an offering that fulfills that job better than any alternative the customer can turn to--in short, the customer value proposition (CVP). 
2. A pricing model and profit formula that shows quantitatively that you can make a profit delivering on the CVP. 
3. identifying which company resources and which processes are essential to delivering the CVP.  

Use the Business Model Canvas (see below) to guide you in the preparation of your business model provides the answers to the four W's and the How.  The business model canvas is divided into nine grids:

• Strategic partners.
• Key activities.
• Value proposition.
• Customer relationship.
• Customer segment.
• Key resources.
• Distribution channels.
• Costs.
• Revenues. 

The Business Model Canvas (Click Image To Enlarge)

To develop your business model I highly recommend that you read my previous blog posts dated November 5, 2011, January 26, 2012, and February 26, 2012.    

Control – Did we get there?

Establishing a  marketing budget allows you to establish quantitative goal and measure actual performance against those goals.  Here's how a marketing budget can help assist you manage, control and measure the return-on-investment (ROI) from the execution of your marketing plan:

• Marketing budgets allow you to put a quantitative value to every strategy, tactic or program built into your marketing plan.  
• Marketing budgets allow you to establish specific budget line items, including sales and related marketing expenses. 
• Marketing budgets allow you to evaluate and make the best marketing decisions.  
• Marketing budgets place a cap on every budget line item forcing you to work within those budget constraints.  

Having a marketing budget in place allows you to evaluate marketing decisions such as advertising in the yellow pages, hiring sales reps or conducting a PR program based on the amount of business a particular initiative generates. Track each initiative and evaluate what worked, what didn’t.

Marketing budgets should be established by month, quarter and year so that you can gauge your performance and make adjustments to insure you are within budget.  This allows you to determine if you are meeting your stated quantitative goals monthly, quarterly and yearly.

Sample Marketing Plan Budget

Here's an excellent of an annual marketing plan budget for a software business:

Click Image To Enlarge

Apple's iPhone Launch Marketing Strategy Analysis Example

Here's a great example of the Apple iPhone launch marketing strategy by Borislav Kilprin: 

Apple's iPhone Launch Marketing Strategy Analysis

View more documents from Borislav Kiprin

I often use Steve Jobs' "Digital Hub Strategy" (see my blog posts dated August 31, 2011 and January 20, 2012)  for inspiration and as a great example of a grand vision and all-encompasing marketing strategy for a company.    

On January 9, 2001, Steve Jobs gave a great presentation at MacWorld where he introduced the public to the concept of the Digital Hub, when he said that the PC was not dead, but was evolving. Steve Jobs declared that the Mac would become  “the digital hub for the digital lifestyle,” an emerging digital trend driven by the internet and an explosion in digital devices: digital camera's, videocam's, portable music players, PDA's and DVD video players. Steve's idea was to use the Mac as a way to add value to those devices by making them more useful by allowing users to share digital files and be able to combine text, images, video and sound to heighten the overal digital experience.

Steve Jobs' 7 Success Principles

When you stop and analyze the Digital Hub Strategy you will discover that Steve Jobs' 7 Success Principles are evident everywhere:

• Do what you love. Steve Jobs once told a group of employees, “People with passion can change the world for the better.”  Jobs has followed his heart his entire life and that passion, he says, has made all the difference.  It’s very difficult to come up with new, creative, and novel ideas unless you are passionate about moving society forward.
• Put a dent in the universe. Passion fuels the rocket, but vision directs the rocket to its ultimate destination. In 1976, when Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple, Jobs’ vision was to put a computer in the hands of everyday people.  In 1979, Jobs saw an early and crude graphical user interface being demonstrated at the Xerox research facility in Palo Alto, California.  He knew immediately that the technology would make computers appealing to “everyday people.”  That technology eventually became The Macintosh, which changed everything about the way we interact with computers.  Xerox scientists didn’t realize its potential because their “vision” was limited to making new copiers.  Two people can see the exactly the same thing, but perceive it differently based on their vision.
• Kick start your brain. Steve Jobs once said “Creativity is connecting things.”  Connecting things means seeking inspiration from other industries.  At various times, Jobs has found inspiration in a phone book, Zen meditation, visiting India, a food processor at Macy’s, or The Four Seasons hotel chain.  Jobs doesn’t “steal” ideas as much as he uses ideas from other industries to inspire his own creativity.
• Sell dreams, not products. To Steve Jobs, people who buy Apple products are not “consumers.”  They are people with hopes, dreams and ambitions.  He builds products to help people achieve their dreams.  He once said, “some people think you’ve got to be crazy to buy a Mac, but in that craziness we see genius.”  How do you see your customers?  Help them unleash their inner genius and you’ll win over their hearts and minds.
• Say no to 1,000 things. Steve Jobs once said, “I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.”  He is committed to building products with simple, uncluttered design.  And that commitment extends beyond products. From the design of the iPod to the iPad, from the packaging of Apple’s products, to the functionality of the Web site, in Apple’s world, innovation means eliminating the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
• Create insanely great experiences. The Apple store has become the world’s best retailer by introducing simple innovations any business can adopt to create deeper, more emotional connections with their customers.  For example, there are no cashiers in an Apple store. There are experts, consultants, even geniuses, but no cashiers.  Why?  Because Apple is not in the business of moving boxes; they are in the business of enriching lives.  Big difference.
• Master the message. Steve Jobs is the world’s greatest corporate storyteller, turning product launches into an art form.  You can have the most innovative idea in the world, but if you can’t get people excited about it, it doesn’t matter.

Apple's Five Key Pillars For Product Success 

When you dig down into the roots of the Digital Hub Strategy it is all about the product.  I have identified five key elements or pillars of strength that have been important in Apple's product successes:  

• Creating products that disrupt existing industry paradigms.
• Creating products that Apple engineers themselves would love to use.
• Creating products that customers don't know they need yet. 
• Creating elegant, simple and minimalist products that "people will lust for." 
• Controlling every aspect of the product, including the design, engineering, intellectual property, components, operating systems, applications software, manufacturing, distribution, customer service, advertising and pricing.

The Digital Hub Strategy has endured the test of time and every new product launched by Apple represents a "spoke" in the Digital Hub.   In essence, the Digital Hub Strategy has not only become Apple's core business strategy, but also its grand vision.  

 

Courtesy of an article dated March 21, 2011 appearing in Smart Insights, an article dated March 15, 2011 appearing in Smart Insights, an article dated February 23, 2012 appearing in CBS News and an article titled 10 Steps To An Effective Marketing Plan appearing in Scrib and an article dated September 8, 2011 appearing in PRLog

THE 84TH ACADEMY AWARDS SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS, THE ACTUAL WINNERS, ACADEMY AWARDS HIGHLIGHTS AND MOVIE TRAILERS

Social Media Predictions for the 84th Academy Awards

While you're filling out your Oscar ballots and reading blog predictions for Sunday night's Academy Awards, one site has already put together the list of winners. Sort of.

Flowtown, in partnership with Column Five, compiled this awesome infographic predicting the top Oscar winners for the night using 120,000 messages from social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Picasa, YouTube and more according to Content Strategist, Kelsey Cox at Column Five.

 Click Image To Enlarge

Categories covered include Best Picture, Best Actor,  Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress with winners denoted by an Oscar. 

The Winners

The three hour plus 84th annual Academy Awards telecast provided few surprises:

• Meryl Streep's the Best Actress award (her third) for her role in "Iron Lady."
• "The Artist" and "Hugo" both won five Oscars each. 
• Michael Hazanavicius won Best Director for "The Artist." 
• Jean Dujardin won Best Actor for "The Artist." 
• "The Artist" won Best Picture. The first silent film to win the award since the 1920's.

Below is Moviefone's full list of the 84th Academy Award Winners.

Best Picture: "The Artist"
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Best Actress: Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, "The Help"
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, "The Descendants"
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson, "Hugo"
Best Art Direction: Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schavo, "Hugo"
Best Costume Design: Mark Bridges, "The Artist"
Best Makeup: Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland, "The Iron Lady"
Best Foreign Language Film: "A Separation"
Best Editing: Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Best Sound Editing: Phillip Stockton and Eugene Gearty, "Hugo"
Best Sound Mixing: Tom Fleischman and John Midgley, "Hugo"
Best Documentary: "Undefeated"
Best Animated Feature: "Rango"
Best Visual Effects: "Hugo"
Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource, "The Artist"
Best Original Song: Bret McKenzie, "Man or Muppet"
Best Live Action Short: "The Shore"
Best Documentary Short: "Saving Face"
Best Animated Short: "The Fantastic Flying Books Of Mr. Morris Lessmore"

Official Movie Trailers

Below are the official movie trailers for the big winners at the 84th Academy Awards:

 

  

 

 

 

 

Slideshow: Highlights from the 84th annual Academy Awards

Click Image To View 84th Academy Awards Interactive Slideshow

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As predicted, "The Artist" won Best Picture at this year's Oscars.

COMMENTARY:   Looks like the social media movie fans got most of their Academy Award predictions wrong.  The only correct winning predictions were  "The Artist" for Best Picture and Meryl Streep for Best Actress.  The members of the Academy of Motion Pictures who actually voted for Best Picture, Best Actor and Actress, and Best Supporting Actor obviously had a mix of opinions.  

I did predict that "Hugo" would win five Oscars.  But, "The Artist" was a total surprise to me even though the social networks predicted it would win Best Picture.   I didn't see the movie, so I can't judge its merits, but the members of the Academy must've thought very highly of the film.  The official movie trailer was very entertaining.  The fact that it was a silent film apparently did not play any bearing on their voting decision.    

I was very disappointed in the performance of Academy Awards host Billy Crystal.  He wasn't funny.  His jokes missed the mark.  He was quite boring if you ask me.  He was not "marvelous."  I did love the performance by Cirque du Soleil very much.   Christopher Plummer, at 82 years of age, finally won an Oscar!!  Just love his body of work and surprised he had not won an Oscar before.   

When they ran the pictures and videos of  filmmakers, editors, music composers, entertainers, actors and actresses who past away last year, they included Steve Jobs.  Why?  The studios and networks never trusted him, and I doubt they trust new Apple CEO Tim Cook much either.  They think that Apple will try to do what it did to music.  

Overall, 84th Academy Awards lacked any excitement so I give it a C+.    

Courtesy of an article dated February 24, 2012 appearing in BusinessInsider, an article dated February 26, 2012 appearing in Moviefone.com, Flowtown and YouTube

TOP 15 KICKSTARTER CROWDFUNDING PROJECTS, VIDEO GAME "DOUBLE FINE ADVENTURE" RAISES $2,221,718

 

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding site to fund entrepreneurial projects in technology, design, film, art, and other creative fields. The video game project Double Fine Adventure has raised two million dollars from over sixty thousand backers, and the funding still has 19 days to go. Within the last two weeks, two other projects -- The Order of the Stick Reprint Drive and Elevation Dock -- have raised over one million dollars.

Kickstarter projects do not sell investment shares or offer financial incentives. Current U.S. law prohibits crowdfunding platforms from offering equity in the projects because of SEC securities registration requirements. Instead, project creators offer rewards to backers, such as pre-sale products and unique project experiences.

Here is a list of the top money-raising projects on Kickstarter. All of the projects, except Double Fine Adventure, have completed their funding. Most overshot their goal by a wide margin. Along with the amount each project raised is the project's original funding goal.

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NOTE:   To view the remainder of the Top 15 Kickstarter crowdfunding projects click HERE.

COMMENTARY:   I thought that the U.K. crowdfunding site Crowdcube had set the new record for crowdfunding when they annonced that the owner of London's Milk & Honey raised $1.5 million back on November 24, 2011, but it now appears that Kickstarter has regained the crown, as evidenced by the $2,071,778 raised to date by Double Fine Adventure with 19 days to go before that project officially closes.

In a blog post dated January 13, 2012, I reported that Kickstarter had set a new record for a crowdfunding site of $100 million in 2011.   Kickstarter also reported that in 2011, 12,000 projects or 46% of the total were funded.  That's quite impressive.  

In a blog post dated May 21, 2011, I reported that Scott Wilson had set the record for crowdfunding by raising $942,578 for the TikTok + LunaTik Multi-Touch Watch Kits through Kickstarter.   Well, a lot has happened since May 2011, three other entrepreneurs raised more than Scott Wilson.  

It has become obvious that crowdfunding should be taken seriously and can be very effective in raising capital for what would typically be considered angel projects at the seed stage.  I have often predicted that crowdfunding could eventually supplant angel investment.  However, I also believed that crowdfunding lacked SEC oversight and scrupulous individuals could se this method of raising capital and defraud investors.

In a blog post dated November 30, 2011, I reported that on November 4, the federal crowdfunding bill, Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act – H.R. 2930, was passed by a nearly unanimous House of Representatives (430-17) in one of the few non-partisan acts of the current Congress.  Referred to as ‘the most important financial reform of the decade.” the legislation promises great change.  If the bill becomes law, it will transform how businesses raise small dollars.

The concept of ‘crowdfunding’ was originally included within President Obama’s jobs bill.  While the job’s bill was encountering fierce opposition by the Republican Party, the concept of stripping the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of some of its regulatory oversight met with positive reactions.  Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry introduced the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act in the House.

As passed, the House version of the crowdfunding includes the following requirements and limitations on crowdfunding:

• "The [issuer] may only raise a maximum of $1 million, or $2 million if the [issuer] provides potential investors with audited financial statements.
• Each investor is limited to investing an amount equal to the lesser of (i) $10,000 or (ii) 10% of his or her annual income.
• The issuer or the intermediary, if applicable, must take a number of steps to limit the risk to investors, including (i) warning them of the speculative nature of the investment and the limitations on resale, (ii) requiring them to answer questions demonstrating their understanding of the risks, and (iii) providing notice to the SEC of the offering, including certain prescribed information.” 

This is going to drive angel investors and venture capital firms, which are at the forefront of seed stage and very early venture capital rounds, up the walls.  That limit of $10,000 is a deal killer for them.  

As of today, we have not passed any new crowdfunding legislation.  The U.S. Senate has written Senate Bill 1791, their own version of the crowdfunding bill, but it is still stuck in the finance committee.  The Senate bill has for far more controls than the House version (see comparison below), including an upper limit of $1 million on the amount of funds that can be raised through crowdfunding and caps on individual investors.  

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Courtesy of an article dated February 23, 2012 appearing in Practical Commerce

NIKE UNVEILS THE FLYKNIT SHOE, RUNNING SHOES THAT ARE KNIT LIKE A SOCK FOR MAXIMUM COMFORT AND ARE LIGHT AS A FEATHER

Nike CEO and designer Mark Parker unveils the new Flyknit shoe (Click Image To Enlarge)

THE NEW FLYKNIT SHOE WAS THE PRODUCT OF FOUR YEARS OF R&D, WHICH YIELDED NEW MACHINES FOR A FABRICATION TECHNIQUE THAT NEVER EXISTED BEFORE.

When most of us think about what we want in a shoe, a sock probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Sure it has comfort, but what about stability? And how about some support?

Nike is filling in those blanks with its newest line, Nike Flyknit, which will make its big splash in the Olympics. Four years in the making, Flyknit is the product of an entirely new shoe-making process that can produce a single, lightweight knit upper (tongue included). The resulting intricate patchwork of yarn, cables, and fabric boasts a heretofore unseen look and feel.

 

Flyknit was powered by athletes’ input, says Tony Bignell, director of footwear innovation at Nike’s Innovation Kitchen. And what they wanted, head-scratchingly enough, was a sock. Bignell explains. 

“A sock fits great, feels snug, goes unnoticed, and you get no irritation.  So the idea was, how do you engineer a sock into a high-performance shoe?”

A simple enough conceit, but one that proved harder to execute.  Ben Shaffer, studio director for Nike Innovation Kitchen says. 

“We had no interest in just creating a shoe that looked knit.  This is where we found our first biggest challenge: There was no technology in the world available to do this for footwear.”

The intricacies of the work--building static structures and support into a dynamic knit--demanded entirely new machinery and software, Shaffer tells Co.Design.

“We were challenging a fundamental way of making shoes.”

Nike gathered a team of programmers, engineers, and designers to build technologies capable of micro-level manipulation. With machines in place, designers could engineer exactly where they wanted to add structure and flexibility to the knit upper. The next step was figuring out what yarns and fabric variations to use, requiring what seemed like an “endless” amount of prototypes, Shaffer says. The team settled on a feather-light, high-quality polyester yarn of varying elasticity, durability, thickness and strength (and all softer than anything you’ll find at the bottom of your sock drawer).

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To provide structure, Nike Flywire supportive cables are weft into the knit. The cables loosen and contract with your foot, offering the comfort and ease athletes were looking for. A Lunarlon cushion sole completes the shoe.

Shaffer and co. have come a long way from the original prototype--a tube sock stitched to a sole. Shaffer tells Co.Design. 

“In one layer, you have only the essentials built into a fabric.”

That one layer has some spillover benefits:  Since the upper doesn’t require the usual cutting, stitching, and gluing of shoes past, it reduces waste. The Flyknit is also 19% lighter than the traditionally crafted Nike Zoom Streak 3 (worn by the gold, silver, and bronze winners at the 2011 World Championship’s men’s marathon).

The warp and weft of the shoe’s texturized knit also opens up the possibility for some interesting color combinations.  Nike CEO and designer Mark Parker says.  

“You have to almost think three dimensionally about the colors.” 

The Flyknit Racer (Click Image To Enlarge)

The Flyknit Racer will be worn at the Olympics by marathon racers from the United States, Kenya, Russia, and the U.K. Nike is also releasing a limited edition run of the line called HTM Flyknit, a collaboration between influential stylist Hiroshi Fujiwara, Nike Vice President of Creative Design Tinker Hatfield, and Nike CEO Parker that provides a streetwear-friendly application of the technology. The three-shoe line (see below) will be sold for a few weeks in New York City, Tokyo, and London. 

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COMMENTARY:   The Nike Flyknit running shoes are absolutely beautiful.  I like the fact that they are formfitting and very light.  If you are a runner, these shoes will turn eyeballs whether you are running on the street, on a trail, or just walking around in a shopping mall.   Sorry, no prices yet. If anybody knows, post a comment. 

Courtesy of an article dated February 23, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design 

eMARKETER: GOOGLE WILL PASS FACEBOOK IN US ONLINE DISPLAY AD REVENUES BY 2013, FACEBOOK FACES DECLINING AD GROWTH

Growing faster than some experts expected, Google’s display advertising business is on pace to surpass Facebook’s by next year, according to eMarketer.

In 2013, eMarketer anticipates that Google’s U.S. display revenues will grow 45.3% to $3.68 billion, while Facebook’s will grow 27.6% to $3.29 billion.

David Hallerman, principal analyst at eMarketer, attributes Google’s astonishing success to a thriving mobile display business, YouTube’s expanding role as a venue for premium display inventory, and strong growth from the company’s DoubleClick ad network.

According to Hallerman.    

“The strength of Google’s existing relationships with search advertisers has also been a tremendous help for the company’s display business.” 

At the same time, eMarketer revised its figures for Facebook downward slightly after the company’s S-1 filling revealed a slower-than-expected growth rate for 2011, particularly in the fourth quarter.

Last year, net U.S. display ad revenues at Google hit $1.71 billion, while Facebook raked in $1.73 billion -- helping the social network beat out Yahoo as the top seller of display advertising online.

This year, domestic display revenue growth at Facebook and Google will be nearly identical -- around 48% year-over-year -- with Facebook expected to earn $2.58 billion in revenue, compared to Google’s $2.54 billion, eMarketer predicts.

In 2011, the overall U.S. display ad market -- including Web video, sponsorships, rich media and banner ads -- grew 25.2% to $12.4 billion in 2011, eMarketer estimates -- and will increase to $15.39 billion in 2012.

Facebook’s share of U.S. display ad market revenues grew to 14% in 2011 -- up from 11.5% in 2010. This year, Facebook’s share is expected to grow to 16.8%. Google’s share of U.S. display ad revenues is expected to reach 16.5% in 2012 -- up from 13.8% in 2011, and 12.1% in 2010, when the company closed its deal to purchase mobile advertising company AdMob.

Sure to worry some marketers, Google and Facebook are pulling away from other contenders in the display advertising business. Representing immense power, Google and Facebook’s combined display ad revenues will account for 33.3% of total display ad spending in 2012, eMarketer predicts -- rising to 38.8% in 2014.

Conversely, Yahoo will see its share of the U.S. display market fall to 9.1% this year -- from 10.8% in 2011. That’s a far cry from 2008, when Yahoo’s share peaked at 18.4%, eMarketer notes. Also, Marketer expects Microsoft's share of display revenues to shrink to 4.4%, this year from 4.5% in 2011, while AOL’s share will fall to 4% in 2012 -- from 4.3% last year.

COMMENTARY:    If eMarketer's 2013 revenue forecasts for Facebook are correct, this signals the beginning of noticeable decline in revenue growth that I predicted would occur for two key reasons:

• Facebook's ad-supported revenue model is flawed.  The same applies to all other social networks regardless of flavor.   The ad-supported revenue model was a "quick-and-dirty" way to monetize Facebook's growing user base.  It was borrowed from MySpace and Friendster, and has remained relatively unchanged since that time.  
• Facebook reached a critical inflection point towards the end of 2010.  Facebook claims it now has 845 million users, but the social giant is quickly reaching maximum market penetration.  Forrester Research could not have said it any better, "Facebook is running out of eyeballs."  I pointed this out in a great detail in a blog post dated March 20, 2012.

In spite of its humongous lead in ad impressions, social media only represents 15% of total advertising spending.  Social networks are having real problems squeezing revenue out of their users.  According to whitepaper by Deloitte, there were 1 billion social network users worldwide in 2011.  The average revenue per user of social networks reached $4.00 in 2011, up from $3.50 in 2010 and $3.25 in 2009.  Social network advertising average revenue per user reached $3.50, up from $3.00 in 2010 and $2.50 in 2009.     

Facebook's average revenue per user was $4.10 at the end of 2011. By comparison, Google generated average revenues per user of $21.00.

Facebook believes that the solution to its anemic ad revenue growth is to throw more ads at users, so it is coming out with in-stream ads and more social premium display ads.  I am not convinced that advertisers are going to buying it.  

The data also shows that Facebook users consider their Facebook page a very private social space and the majority consider ads very invasive and interrupt the enjoyment of the Facebook experience.  Advertising represented nearly 89% of Facebook's revenues at the end of 2011. The other 11% are sales of virtual goods from social games, primarily from Zynga.  It is obvious that Facebook needs to reduce its reliance on advertising.  

In its recent IPO filing, Facebook claimed that 430 million users now access Facebook through a mobile device, but admitted that it has been left behind the competition when it comes to mobile advertising.  Facebook plans to enter the mobile ad market very soon, although it did not reveal any specific products or strategies on how it will do this.  

In a blog post dated December 5, 2011, I reported that Facebook had acquired Gowalla, a location-based social network check-in service.  It’s not clear how Facebook will integrate Gowalla’s technology.  Gowalla is similar to Foursquare, but Foursquare has a much larger user base — 15 million vs. Gowalla’s 2-3 million.   Facebook shutdown Facebook Places, its check-in service, in 2011, so the question arises: Why acquire such a small LBS check-in service like Gowalla? 

In order to justify its humongous post-IPO market valuation of $100 billion, Facebook must be able to squeeze $4.61 per user by the end of 2012, if not sooner.  It was thought by many social media analysts, that F-commerce would become a huge revenue generator, but in a blog post dated February 17, 2012, I revealed some very alarming trends that say otherwise.     

In March 2011, Google launched Google+, its own social network.  Google+ has quickly grown to an estimated 100 million users by the end of January 2012, and some social media experts believe it will grow to 300-400 millon by the end of 2012.  Although it may not be quickly evident, and Facebook would never admit it, Google+ presents a huge potential threat.  Google+ is already offering branded pages, and plans on selling ads in 2012, so it is moving quickly to monetize its new social network.  

Google is rapidly adopting the Apple business model, slowly transitioning towards hardware by acquiring Motorola Mobile to give it a foothold in mobile phones.  Google will also introduce an Android-based heads-up-display (HUD) glasses running Android latter in 2012.  The Motorola Mobile acquisition gives Google a stronger foothold in mobile advertising, and if you combine Google+ with those AR HUD glasses, this could become the hottest new technology to impact social media in a very long time.  So, watchout Facebook.  

So what is the solution for Facebook to increase revenues beyond advertising?  Facebook should concentrate on increasing added-value to its users through new products that increase the overall user experience.  In short, Facebook walks a fine line between increasing ad revenues and pissing off its users, and this could create an avalanche of exits to Google+.    

Courtesy of an article dated February 22, 2012 appearing in MediaPost Publications Online Media Daily and an article dated March 30, 2011 appearing in Online Marketing Trends

GOOGLE TO SELL CONTROVERSIAL AR HEADS-UP-DISPLAY (HUD) GLASSES BY YEAR-END, RAISES HUGE PRIVACY CONCERNS

People who constantly reach into a pocket to check a smartphone for bits of information will soon have another option: a pair of Google-made glasses that will be able to stream information to the wearer’s eyeballs in real time.

According to several Google employees familiar with the project who asked not to be named, the glasses will go on sale to the public by the end of the year. These people said they are expected “to cost around the price of current smartphones,” or $250 to $600.

The people familiar with the Google glasses said they would be Android-based, and will include a small screen that will sit a few inches from someone’s eye. They will also have a 3G or 4G data connection and a number of sensors including motion and GPS.

A Google spokesman declined to comment on the project.

Seth Weintraub, a blogger for 9 to 5 Google, who first wrote about the glasses project in December, and then discovered more information about them this month, also said the glasses would be Android-based and cited a source that described their look as that of a pair of Oakley Thumps.

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They will also have a unique navigation system. Mr. Weintraub wrote this month. 

“The navigation system currently used is a head tilting to scroll and click.  We are told it is very quick to learn and once the user is adept at navigation, it becomes second nature and almost indistinguishable to outside users.”

The glasses will have a low-resolution built-in camera that will be able to monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, surrounding buildings and friends who might be nearby, according to the Google employees. The glasses are not designed to be worn constantly — although Google expects some of the nerdiest users will wear them a lot — but will be more like smartphones, used when needed.

Internally, the Google X team has been actively discussing the privacy implications of the glasses and the company wants to ensure that people know if they are being recorded by someone wearing a pair of glasses with a built-in camera.

The project is currently being built in the Google X offices, a secretive laboratory near Google’s main campus that is charged with working on robots, space elevators and dozens of other futuristic projects.

One of the key people involved with the glasses is Steve Lee, a Google engineer and creator of the Google mapping software, Latitude. As a result of Mr. Lee’s involvement, location information will be paramount in the first version released to the public, several people who have seen the glasses said. The other key leader on the glasses project is Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, who is currently spending most of his time in the Google X labs.

One Google employee said the glasses would tap into a number of Google software products that are currently available and in use today, but will display the information in an augmented reality view, rather than as a Web browser page like those that people see on smartphones.

The glasses will send data to the cloud and then use things like Google Latitude to share location, Google Goggles to search images and figure out what is being looked at, and Google Maps to show other things nearby, the Google employee said.   They said.  

“You will be able to check in to locations with your friends through the glasses.”

Everyone I spoke with who was familiar with the project repeatedly said that Google was not thinking about potential business models with the new glasses. Instead, they said, Google sees the project as an experiment that anyone will be able to join. If consumers take to the glasses when they are released later this year, then Google will explore possible revenue streams.

As I noted in a Disruptions column last year, Apple engineers are also exploring wearable computing, but the company is taking a different route, focusing on computers that strap around someone’s wrist.

Last week The San Jose Mercury News discovered plans by Google to build a $120 million electronics testing facility that will be involved in testing “precision optical technology.”

COMMENTARY:    In a blog post dated February 8, 2012, I commented on the article by Seth Weintraub of 9to5Google.com, that revealed Google's development of "Terminator" style, Android-based head-up-display (HUD) glasses.   That was just a rumor, but it now appears that Google is rapidly moving towards launching their new HUD glasses by year-end.

I hate to say it, but these augmented reality HUD glasses are going to be very controversial and create many privacy concerns and liability issues.  Information about you is now readily available on the internet, especially from social networks, and Google will be able to tap into that information to display your name and possibly your contact information, and anything else you may have posted online.  

In an article February 22, 2012 by Thomas Claburn appearing in InformationWeek, there were 7 potential problems Google may encounter with their new augmented reality HUD glasses:

"Here are a few potential pitfalls:

"Privacy - The outcry over people beaming images back to Google's data centers will be deafening, far worse than complaints about Google's monitoring of Web browsing habits. Google engineers are said to be actively discussing the privacy implications of the glasses. But the company's history of repeated privacy blunders suggests controversy is inevitable."

"Google has the technology to enable facial recognition with its Google Goggles app, but has avoided doing so for fear of privacy problems. And that's the real shame here, because augmented reality glasses should be able to do things like present the name of the person you're looking at. That kind of technology will be available eventually, at least to police departments. But as a society, we're not ready for it."

"Redundancy - Augmented reality is cool. But putting the technology into a pair of glasses isn't strictly necessary. Everything your Google glasses might be able to do, your Android phone will do better, particularly given the assumption that the glasses will be intended for periodic rather than constant use."

"Cost - For several hundred dollars, you'll get what? Services already available on your smartphone. Augmented reality makes a lot of sense if you're, say, a NASA astronaut who needs to see Space Shuttle schematics in your visor while you're on a space walk to make repairs. Augmented reality makes less sense for consumers. A more cost-effective solution might be a smartphone scaffold for mounting your phone on your baseball cap."

"Health - There's already enough FUD about mobile phones and brain cancer. But even the most scientifically-minded are likely to balk if Google's glasses rely on anything more powerful than Bluetooth to transmit and receive data. And that's to say nothing of the potential health effects of visual distraction and impairment. No one wants their last thought to be, 'Hey, Google Maps says I'm walking across Highway 101...'"

"Liability - And if there are health risks, there will be liability problems. People will wear Google's glasses while driving, despite explicit warnings not to do so. They will collide with elderly pedestrians and someone will get hurt. Someone will end up going cross-eyed. There will be lawsuits. And some politician will hold a hearing. Add the cost of an insurance policy to your Google Glasses bill."

"Battery Life - Battery life continues to hinder the utility of smartphones, tablets, and notebook computers. And in these devices, you can generally feel the weight of the battery. Glasses need to be light to be comfortable, so the battery will necessarily be small. As a consequence, the glasses are unlikely to be useful for very long, unless they require a separate tethered battery ... and that would ruin the experience. The ideal augmented reality glasses will be able to run perpetually on sunlight. We're probably several decades away from that kind of photovoltaic and processor efficiency."

"Control - Head-tiling will not be enough if the glasses are to offer services beyond navigation. The glasses will either have to convert hand gestures to commands or accept voice commands. So add a microphone, which adds another layer of privacy problems and engineering requirements."

"The glasses will also have to be extraordinarily responsive--when you turn your head you won't be happy with information related to where you were looking three seconds ago. That will mean either a very fast network connection--something many mobile carriers can't manage consistently--or displaying as little data as possible for the sake of speed and to appease mobile carriers, which already consider you a data hog."

Wow, it looks like Thomas Claburn covered all the possible pitfalls that Google could experience. Notice that privacy was No 1 on his list.  I wonder if Google's X-Labs team asked themselves, "What would Steve do?"   Better yet, did Google confer with their attorney's about liability and privacy issues and did they conduct field studies and get feedback from consumers?

This is a great time to mention that the Obama administration is working hard to legislate an online "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights" bill, and if the proposed bill passes in its present form without Congressional infighting, it could change the entire internet landscape with regard to privacy concerns.  Checkout my blog post dated February 23, 2012 about Obama's proposed Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights bill.   

I also envision a lot of ads appearing to the HUD whenever you look at a restaurant, movie theater, product whether a book or consumer electronics device, and a message telling you what it is, where you can get it, the price and if there is a deal on that item.  So unless you don't mind receiving these invasive ads appearing on your HUD, then its going to open up a whole new world for those individuals willing to forkup $250 to $650 and the software to use these new HUD glasses.    

I have always felt that technology would be heading this way, and it looks like it will be happening sooner, rather than later.   You can expect Microsoft, Apple and others to introduce similar devices, but they will probably wait to see just how much traction Google is making with their new HUD augmented reality glasses before launching their own.

Courtesy of an article dated February 21, 2012 appearing in The New York Times Bits

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES NEW ONLINE "CONSUMER PRIVACY BILL OF RIGHTS," BUT CAN IT GET THROUGH CONGRESS?

The Obama administration just rolled out something it’s calling a “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.” It’s a first draft at this point — think of it as a blueprint for legislation down the road, a statement of principles companies can voluntarily sign onto — but given what it’s meant to do, and how it could impact future law, it’s definitely worth canvassing the key points.

CNN has a copy of the full text of the bill, if you want to read the preamble. I’ll summarize: It applies to personal data, which the bill defines as

“any data…that is linkable to a specific individual.”

That’s an over-broad definition, of course — it’s semantically linkable to pretty much every kind of data — but given the sensitivity of the subject matter, better to err on the side of breadth at the outset. And as the White House notes,

“Even without legislation, [it] will convene multistakeholder processes that use these rights as a template for codes of conduct that are enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission.”

Here's a summary of the major provisions of the Obama Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights:

• “Individual Control: Consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal data companies collect from them and how they use it.”  This is the bill’s first point and arguably its most important. The White House says companies “should provide consumers appropriate control over the personal data that consumers share with others and over how companies collect, use, or disclose personal data.”  The bill says the choices should be easy to use and access, as should our ability “to withdraw or limit consent.” While that sounds like a no-brainer, think about how byzantine or cryptic today’s company privacy strictures tend to be, whether it’s your bank, your credit card company, or the “this today, that tomorrow” mercurialness of social networks like Facebook. Many companies require you opt-out instead of opt-in, as well — I’d like to see a requirement that all forms of personal data sharing be opt-in and never opt-out, and that we place the onus on companies to sell us on the benefits of opting-in instead of hoping we never bother to check. What’s more, personal data collection practices should be front and center, not buried in the fine print or tacked on like those laughable motormouth disclosures at the end of ebullient drug company TV ads.
• “Transparency: Consumers have a right to easily understandable and accessible information about privacy and security practices.” This is the “clear and accessible” clause. The White House says “companies should provide clear descriptions of what personal data they collect, why they need the data, how they will use it, when they will delete the data or de-identify it from consumers, and whether and for what purposes they may share personal data with third parties.” And they need to do it “[at] times and in places that are most useful to enabling consumers to gain a meaningful understanding of privacy risks and the ability to exercise Individual Control.”
• “Respect for Context: Consumers have a right to expect that companies will collect, use, and disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data.” Translation: A company like Ticketmaster shouldn’t (without explicit permission, anyway) use those Bruce Springsteen tickets I just bought as license to share my information with a merchandizer like Amazon, such that the latter starts emailing me every time one of Springsteen’s albums is on sale. If companies want to use personal data for inconsistent purposes, the bill, in so many words, say they have a right to ask, but “must provide heightened measures of Transparency and Individual Choice.” And there’s a rudimentary age clause in this one that definitely needs to be fleshed out, but crucially states that “Companies should fulfill the obligations under this principle in ways that are appropriate for the age and sophistication of consumers.”
• “Security: Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal data.” Simple and straightforward: Companies need to secure your data using “reasonable safeguards.” The question that’s not answered, of course, is what’s “reasonable.” For instance: Were Sony’s safeguards to the PlayStation Network “reasonable” before hacker group Anonymous broke in and absconded with millions of users’ personal information? What about the new ones Sony’s put in place since the breach? And how will this be decided legally speaking, say a data breach occurs and lawsuits ensue?
• “Access and Accuracy: Consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse consequences to consumers if the data is inaccurate.” This is the “how do we make sure what companies think they know about us is correct?” clause. It states that companies “should provide consumers with reasonable access to personal data that they collect or maintain about them, as well as the appropriate means and opportunity to correct inaccurate data or request its deletion or use limitation,” and that the principle should be construed “in a manner consistent with freedom of expression and freedom of the press.”
• “Focused Collection: Consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain.” Again, simple and obvious: Companies need to be able to justify why they’re collecting your personal data (and securely dispose of what they don’t or no longer use). The White House says that justification should be contingent on the “Respect for Context” clause (see above).
• “Accountability: Consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assure they adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.”  Last but not least, this is the “we should expect companies to adhere to these principles” clause. It also says companies should “hold employees responsible for adhering to these principles” and take measures to ensure the company as a whole is in compliance.

The takeaway in two words: transparency and consistency. I’m cautiously optimistic at this stage, given the bill’s language and scope. Granted some of the points seem over-broad and could do with clarification, but as a first step, with an eye toward FTC enforcement off the block, this is a significant document, and it’s already earning subscribers: AOL, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have already signed up.

But it won’t be just about getting companies onboard (the bill is voluntary), it’ll be about those companies figuring out how to comply. That’s not as straightforward as it sounds. There’s no standard Internet template for privacy mechanics (nor does the bill argue for one). One of the biggest implicit challenges here will thus be how companies structure their consumer privacy mechanics to meet the bill’s imperatives — call it the “feng shui of consumer privacy transparency.”

COMMENTARY:   Right off the top I don't like the fact that Obama's Online Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights is not mandatory across the board, but only VOLUNTARY.   That's a fucking joke. Excuse my French.   Do we honestly believe that companies who make their living off of our data, like credit bureaus, banks, credit card companies, direct marketing companies, employment and recruting firms, market research firms, social networks, and so forth, will actually volunteer to adhere to the provisions of the Online Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights?  Very doubtful.   That's the only reason social networks exist.  Like I have told you before, WE are the product.    

As far as I am concerned, my privacy should never, under any circumstances be compromised. All information about me should be strictly on a "need to know basis."   If you don't need to know, you don't get to know.  My private information should go into an impenetrable blackbox, where only a court subpoena could get access to it.  That's the only exception.  

Unfortunately, the genie got out of the magic bottle years ago, and the data about us is already out there "in the wild."  Information about us is everywhere, so the laws would only apply to new data. It gets rather complicated as you can see.

I knew that since early 2011, members of Congress had proposed a number of different bills on online privacy. Unfortunately not a single one of those bills has been voted on.  Most have been stalled or stuck in respective subcommittees on consumer privacy.  In the meantime, Google, Twitter, Facebook, lower tier social networks,  game sites and mobile app makers continue to invade our privacy with reckless abandon.   It is only because some individuals have filed private or class action lawsuits that Congress has taken notice and began to act.  

To give you an idea just how many bills have been stuck or not acted upon by our elected representatives, you will find a complete list courtesy of PrivacyWonk.net.  Warning, the list is unbelievably long.   Our Senators and Congressmen/women all have different ideas about online privacy.  Apparently tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, anti-marijuana, anti-gay marriage, Obamacare and foreign wars are more important.  Screw our privacy.  

Courtesy of an article dated February 23, 2011 appearing in Time's Techland and an article dated August 7, 2011 (with updates through February 7, 2012 appearing in PrivacyWonk.net

FIVE WAYS FACEBOOK'S NEW TIMELINE FEATURE CAN HELP YOUR BRAND TELL ITS STORY

Now that all Facebook users have to switch over to the new Facebook Timeline, questions are being raised about the possibility of Timeline for brand pages. It seems like it’s not a matter of if, but when. Sources say the new format will be rolled out for businesses this Feb. 29. Although Facebook hasn’t confirmed these rumors, companies should still start preparing to make the switch and figure out how they’re going to integrate the new format into their social marketing strategies. Here are a few changes brought by Timeline that brands can take advantage of:

1. The cover photo. The cover photo is a big, bannerlike photo that appears at the top of personal timelines, and we expect it will appear at the top of brand timelines, as well. At 840 x 310 pixels, this is a lot of free advertising space, and it allows brands to completely customize the top of their page. Its possible uses are endless, such as promoting sales and fan offers or importing an image from your business’ website.
2. Increased prominence of posted photos. Photos are getting a lot more space in timelines than they did on walls, causing them to stand out more and attract more attention. Businesses can take advantage of this by posting photos along with their status updates, giving that status update greater importance.
3. Apps for Timeline. Other tools businesses have recently started using are Facebook’s Apps for Timeline. When users add an app, it appears at the top of their page, and all of their interactions with the application are published to their timeline. Businesses are creating apps for their brands in order to integrate themselves into users’ timelines and increase their visibility.
4. Facebook actions. As a part of the new Apps for Timeline tool, Facebook is also giving users more options for how they interact with brands. Instead of being limited to “liking” something, users can express that they “love,” “want” or “own” a product, along with a selection of other verbs. This is a great way for brands to engage their fans and another form of free promotion.
5. Telling a story. One of the most noticeable aspects of the new Timeline is that now you can tell your personal story. Chances are this will be no different for brands. Brands will also be able to share their company story and to start thinking of their posts as part of the larger brand picture.

Timeline will inevitably be rolled out for brand pages and you want to be prepared for when it happens. The businesses that start thinking now about how they’re going to incorporate the new format into their social marketing strategies are the ones that will have the greatest success when it’s finally released.

COMMENTARY:    If you need a quick review of Facebook's Timeline feature, please read my blog post dated September 22, 2011, December 15, 2011 and February 6, 2012

Courtesy of an article dated February 13, 2012 appearing in SmartBlog On Social Media

THE CRYOSCOPE HAPTIC WEATHERVANE IS A THERMOMETER THAT LETS YOU ACTUALLY FEEL THE TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE

AFTER DECADES OF WEARING THE WRONG COAT, NEVER AGAIN, I SAY!

Thermometers are superb at measuring temperature but lousy at describing it. A bulb of mercury tells me it’s 55 degrees--but what’s 55 degrees? When was the last time I walked into a room and said,

“This place feels exactly 55 degrees.”

Cryoscope from Robb Godshaw on Vimeo.

The Cryoscope Haptic Weathervane, created by Robb Godshaw of Syyn Labs, conveys the temperature by allowing you to experience it. Syncing with Wi-Fi to online weather reports, you can touch this aluminum cube to actually feel the outside temperature rather than simply reading about it through numbers or whimsical sunshine icons.  Godshaw tells us.

“I sought to develop a device that conveyed the forecast in a manner which left nothing to the imagination.  It provides a thorough and instantaneous understanding of what awaits the user outside.”

Technically, the 4-inch milled aluminum cube is stuffed with quite a bit of hardware, including an Arduino that controls a Peltier element and a heat sink, which work in tandem to pump heat appropriately. After the first weather sync, it’s just a few minutes before the device comes to temperature.

Click Image To Enlarge

But the best trick of the Cryoscope isn’t its ability to hit a perfect temperature, but its ability to hit the perfect perceived temperature.  Godshaw writes.  

“Due to the ‘cold’ nature of metal, the temperature is adjusted to match human perceptions of hot and cold.”

For the cube to feel neutral on human skin, it’s set to an 85°F baseline. From there, the cube adjusts its temperature by the number of degrees the outside differs from 73°F room temperature. In other words, if it’s 60°F outside, the cube will technically cool to 72°F.

So the imperfect temperature ends up feeling perfect.

Currently, Godshaw is open to commercializing the proof of concept, but that hasn’t stopped him from considering improvements to the simplistic temperature-only design to include all aspects of weather.  Godshaw writes.  

“A version of the device that could communicate precipitation or wind would be beneficial.  The addition of water would present numerous technical challenges. An Internet commenter suggested that a lightning feature should be added, where it gives the user a small shock. I do not plan to implement that feature.”

And if I might add, the water mixed with lightning sounds especially dangerous.

COMMENTARY:    I never thought I would say this, but this is the worst design for a household temperature thermometer that I have seen in a long time.  Steve Jobs designed the Apple cube idea too, and it didn't work.  The ability to feel the perceived outside temperature by simply touching the cube is a novel idea, but I would like to know the actual temperature displayed on a digital display.  How many individuals can tell the difference between 85 and 90 degrees fahrenheit, do you suppose? See my point?  

If I want to feel the outside temperature, I go outside. I want to feel just how the temperature feels to the skin of my face.  If it's too hot, I will know.  I will instantly go into a sweat.  The Cryoscope Haptic Weathervane just does not shake my world.  I just don't think that this cube gives you the sensitivity of the outside temperature as it would feel on your face.  For a blind individual who can't see a temperature reading, this might work wonders, but for normal people, this is not very practical.  In my opinion the Cryoscope Haptic Weathervane is a dude.

Courtesy of an article dated February 13, 2012 appearingi n Fast Company Design