After suffering more than expected in the 2nd-3rd term of my Programme here in Instituto de Empresa, I would like to apologize for being absent so long. I will continue to give you my insights of what is happening in this crazy world.
See you!
lunes, 18 de mayo de 2009
domingo, 1 de marzo de 2009
US in a mild recession?
There are two ways of looking at the world.
If we take the first one, or the glass half-empty, we can see this global downturn as a horrible time to get a job, to save money, to launch yourself into a start-up becoming an entrepreneur...
In the second one, or seeing the glass half-full, we could be seeing the opportunities that arise, the possibility to offer or to enter into new fields, as every soul and company have stopped every new venture, trying to save themselves from this temporary hell.
But Mr. Obama just invented another one. He sees everything FULL. A GDP shrink of 1.2 percent are his estimates for 2009. I hope he realizes that, given the revision of the GDP that showed the REAL decline (6.2% from the previous 3.8) of the US economy, preparing a best-case scenario could be disastrous for its economy.
I agree he has the duty and objective of renewing US citizen's trust in the economy, but this is too much, Mr. President...
Japanese companies were buying enormous stakes in US counterparts at the end of 2008, as the government assured the crisis would not have a severe effect there. Now, a 12% decline in GDP may show that they were wrong... maybe...
Please, optimism is great, but REALISM is needed!!!!
(I completely refuse talking about Spain... what a mess :( )
If we take the first one, or the glass half-empty, we can see this global downturn as a horrible time to get a job, to save money, to launch yourself into a start-up becoming an entrepreneur...
In the second one, or seeing the glass half-full, we could be seeing the opportunities that arise, the possibility to offer or to enter into new fields, as every soul and company have stopped every new venture, trying to save themselves from this temporary hell.
But Mr. Obama just invented another one. He sees everything FULL. A GDP shrink of 1.2 percent are his estimates for 2009. I hope he realizes that, given the revision of the GDP that showed the REAL decline (6.2% from the previous 3.8) of the US economy, preparing a best-case scenario could be disastrous for its economy.
I agree he has the duty and objective of renewing US citizen's trust in the economy, but this is too much, Mr. President...
Japanese companies were buying enormous stakes in US counterparts at the end of 2008, as the government assured the crisis would not have a severe effect there. Now, a 12% decline in GDP may show that they were wrong... maybe...
Please, optimism is great, but REALISM is needed!!!!
(I completely refuse talking about Spain... what a mess :( )
lunes, 23 de febrero de 2009
The rise of Microblogging
"It's a blog... but it's an sms... kind of strange mix, actually"
BrightKite (where are you)
identi.ca (free software)
Jaiku (geographical microblogging)
Twingr (microblogging communities)
What an interesting thing, I said. It's going to be a complete failure, I thought. But, as you can see in Twitter, maybe micro-blogging and me just had a bad first impression.
But... what is really with it? A strong business model? A fantastic interface? Something revolutionary? Well... it's not more than redesigning the ancient concept of communication, actually... Just another perspective and another possibility that people have to keep in touch with their beloved ones (or the hated ones ;-) )
Professor Enrique Dans writes about Twitter it in its early stages (sorry, in Spanish; a good English introduction is in MediaShift). It is really a different thing, in which you can not only express you opinion about something, but keep in touch with someone that is far away (as I do with my girlfriend), let your mum what you are doing ;) or inform about something (BBC or NYT in journalism, Los Angeles Fire Department informs you in twitter: LAFD). So... what's all this buzz about?
The incredible thing is that, while laughing at their lack of business model, we have witnessed how it has grown more than anyone had expected. Communication in one way, asynchronous, primitive. But an easy way to communicate, an open door to express what you need when you need in less than 30 secs...
And... you know what? Tell me how many competitors are trying to copy you, and you will tell me how successful and how many possibilities (as well as threats, of course) are in front of you. And taking a look at:
The incredible thing is that, while laughing at their lack of business model, we have witnessed how it has grown more than anyone had expected. Communication in one way, asynchronous, primitive. But an easy way to communicate, an open door to express what you need when you need in less than 30 secs...
And... you know what? Tell me how many competitors are trying to copy you, and you will tell me how successful and how many possibilities (as well as threats, of course) are in front of you. And taking a look at:
BrightKite (where are you)
identi.ca (free software)
Jaiku (geographical microblogging)
Twingr (microblogging communities)
martes, 10 de febrero de 2009
Virgin Mobile & US Mobile Industry Data in 2008
Hi all! I have made a little research of the US mobile Industry market in 2008 for Advanced Marketing. I hope you enjoy it!
The penetration rate has grown up to 86.1%, what means that there were 261.5 million subscribers in total. For the sake of the explanation (and lack of time), data from US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are left out.
Virgin Mobile US, owned by Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel Corporation, has experienced a steady growth since it was created, reaching 5.38 million subscribers, or a 2.05% market share (December 2008). It has to be taken into account that Helio's clients are being counted (Helio is a $39M acquisition made in June 2008).
Virgin is still partnering with Kyocera offering its phones, although LG, Samsung and UTStarcom phones have been introduced. Another interesting breakthrough has been the addition of text messaging packs and an unlimited plan (between Virgin mobiles and to every mobile in non-peak hours).
Nowadays, Virgin is the 7th mobile operator by number of subscribers in the US. To fully understand its position, nevertheless, is essential to show data from the 6 biggest players in the US industry:
1. Verizon Wireless (including Alltell): 83.7 million subscribers. 32% market share.
2. AT&T Mobility (currently acquiring Centennial Communications): 77 million subscribers. 29.45% market share.
3. Sprint Nextel (includes Sprint Network, Nextel Network, Boost Mobile Prepaid): 50.7 million subscribers. 19.38% market share.
4. T-Mobile: 32.8 million subscribers. 12.54% market share.
5. TracFone Wireless (includes NET10): 11.2 million subscribers. 4.28% market share.
6. US Cellular: 6.17 million subscribers. 2.36% market share.
Apart from this 6 companies and Virgin Mobile, there are only two mobile operators that have more than a million subscribers: MetroPCS (similar numbers to those of Virgin) and Cricket (3.84 million subscribers).
Online resources used:
viernes, 6 de febrero de 2009
And the winner is... Spain!!!!
No more regrets, no more "what ifs". This time we were determined to win. We have taken all the steps to cross the line well ahead... and we got it.We are always used to see Americans as the best ones. When things go well, they outperform everyone, and when things go bad, they situation is even worse. Not this time. Not in this moment. Can you hear it, my friends? Can you smell it? SPAIN IS HERE!!!!!
We're not longer afraid of your "impressive" unemployment data. 598.000 jobs lost in January, 3.7 million jobs lost since December 2007,unemployment rate of 7.6% (the highest in 16 years). But... are we supposed to be amazed?
No way. 198.838 job lost in January, 1.28 million jobs lost in 2008 (Encuesta de Población Activa), unemployment rate of 14.4% and even better perspectives for the future make us worldwide leaders!!!
We worked (or not) so hard to get it... that don't even dare to think we are going to stop here, we are going to mantain the lead. European Comission says we are going to have an unemployment rate of 18.7% in 2010.
Don't be surprised, dear world. A country that doubles unemployment rate of the eurozone (especially "funny" is the rate in younger than 25: 29.5%), a country that adds up to 3.1 million unemployed to the total eurozone of 12.4 million is a complete champion.
Be prepared to surrender, World.
viernes, 23 de enero de 2009
Nanotechnology
I wrote about technology for the subject of Technological Foundations of the Convergence Process:
[...]Truth is that nanotechnology is the next step in the evolution of the technology.
Nanotechnology is the science that tries to control matter on an atomic or molecular scale (for a better definition, Wikipedia).
It is quite interesting, in the world of computers, the 2 parallel paths that are being investigated. On the one hand, Intel is defying the laws of semiconductors by reducing the size of the transistors. This means more computing power in less space, less energy consumption, faster operations... Although I'm a bit skeptic, because of the problem I'm going to explain you:
Microprocessors have problems with temperature (overheating) because the transistors emit heat when operating; the faster a microprocessor is, the more operations it makes, and the heat emitted is higher and higher. So well, there is a problem: at certain temperatures, the microprocessor melts, so we need a cooling device. Look what happens if it doesn't work (or we remove it). That same heat, joined with effects produced by an almost non-existent separation between transistors, could make this option's future disappear.
Returning to Intel's approach, they will experience overheating problems, as well as they might reach the physical barriers of semiconductor-based transistors.
On the other hand, the second path is the one I find really impressive and revolutionary. It uses atoms and molecular transistors not necessarily silicon-based (as Intel studies do). It will be... a life. It's the beginning of the real AI. It will reduce the power consumption, the size and the concept of computing.
The future is here, welcome, atomic and molecular (if not alive) computers.
Extra readings:
Nanotechnology is the science that tries to control matter on an atomic or molecular scale (for a better definition, Wikipedia).
It is quite interesting, in the world of computers, the 2 parallel paths that are being investigated. On the one hand, Intel is defying the laws of semiconductors by reducing the size of the transistors. This means more computing power in less space, less energy consumption, faster operations... Although I'm a bit skeptic, because of the problem I'm going to explain you:
Microprocessors have problems with temperature (overheating) because the transistors emit heat when operating; the faster a microprocessor is, the more operations it makes, and the heat emitted is higher and higher. So well, there is a problem: at certain temperatures, the microprocessor melts, so we need a cooling device. Look what happens if it doesn't work (or we remove it). That same heat, joined with effects produced by an almost non-existent separation between transistors, could make this option's future disappear.
Returning to Intel's approach, they will experience overheating problems, as well as they might reach the physical barriers of semiconductor-based transistors.
On the other hand, the second path is the one I find really impressive and revolutionary. It uses atoms and molecular transistors not necessarily silicon-based (as Intel studies do). It will be... a life. It's the beginning of the real AI. It will reduce the power consumption, the size and the concept of computing.
The future is here, welcome, atomic and molecular (if not alive) computers.
Extra readings:
Book Marketing!
Book promotions is something that is not very common. It is something reduced to some authors as Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell or Stephen King, really well-known best-sellers that assure big success with their new books. But with innovative and marketing-oriented writers as James Patterson, new ways of promoting a book have been searched. Some are really new and fascinating, as book trailers.
We talked about book trailers in the Business Models Analysis classes as a new way to develop book consumption. But some concerns were also spotted:
I would like to attract your attention at Sherrilyn Kenyon and her Dark Hunter series. It takes the concept to the limit:
What can it bring in terms of sales increases? Let me show you some of the comments:
New ways of using new channels... I think it is really innovative and useful. Will it be the future, or just another distraction? Place your bets!!!
- Wouldn't it spoil actual customers?
- Wouldn't it change the preferences of possible book buyers? Attracting customers by making them actually SEE something that takes place in the book... maybe is counter-productive, making them go to the cinema to see a film, to have a visual experience. Or not?
I would like to attract your attention at Sherrilyn Kenyon and her Dark Hunter series. It takes the concept to the limit:
What can it bring in terms of sales increases? Let me show you some of the comments:
I pictured Ash differently but he's still hot. No wonder Artemis is crazy about him. Hate her...It is more than a preview, more than a promotion. It is a new way of discovering the book for new readers AND a meeting point for the traditional readers where they can exchange opinions and act (maybe without knowing it) as evangelizers. Moreover, it sparks fan's creativity, making them come up with new videos (and viral customer-driven marketing) of their beloved saga:
omg the book made me cry
dear god, this book was amazing! the first part was awesommmmmee! the 2nd, woow!
New ways of using new channels... I think it is really innovative and useful. Will it be the future, or just another distraction? Place your bets!!!
jueves, 22 de enero de 2009
Meneame: introduction
Meneame has an enormous success: in fact, appearing in the front page of it can mean thousands of visits for that particular website, blog post...However, the fact that it is a successful site (with many visitors and active users) doesn't translate into a good revenue stream. Traditional advertisers have some problems (Pablo does a very good job in explaining it here) with some of the contents, which prevents them to invest in ads for meneame.
I came up with some ideas to develop new revenue sources. I will divide them in three posts, trying to monetize Meneame
Ciao!
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