Yet Another Friendster Wannabe

Good Grief! Found posters plastered everywhere in NUS today advertising yet another Social Networking Website. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm pretty pleased to see folks who want to make a difference and start something to call their own but hey, notice I used the word "difference"? Don't think I've managed to spot a viable competitive edge from them yet (or I'm not trying hard enough but hey, neither will potential users!)

Apparently this new kid on the block (CampusJoint) lets you register, join groups, keep in touch with friends, upload photos ... etc. Thing is I'm sure that these are more than amply covered by my e-mail, instant messaging and handphone. Perhaps if they looked a little closer and did their due diligence, they would have noticed their path ahead littered with the deaths of dozens of similar sites which tried to offer the exact same stuff.

Generally, I feel that finding a niche segment to target is a good idea but when you restrict your user base to just folks from Singapore Universities, network value of the system is going down a gazillion times. And in the Internet age of demo-ing before using, forcing users to actually sign up first before even seeing a single screenshot of the interface just ain't going to cut it.

Think that more effort was put into the marketing than into the thought process behind this whole startup.

Guess its may be another case of "We do because we can". Yippeeeeee.

Play at work!

Just managed to squeeze some time off for this book named "FISH! - A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results". Actually I managed to read the sequel "FISH Tales" before this so this tiny book was a great short read to recap.

Basically, it tells of a tale of a company's operations department (boring workplace) and Seattle's World Famous Pike Place Fishmarket (fun workplace). I actually was fortunate enough to visit the Fishmarket and the energy and fun they have there is incredible! Through the transformation of the dreading "toxic energy waste" department, it relates the story of how injecting fun and play as way to improve the morale in any workplace.

Here are the takeaway points :

1. Choose your Attitude - You can't change the external factors, but you can determine how you want to face them, positively or negatively.
   
2. Play - Inject fun and love what you do and you'll find yourself rushing to work each morning!
   
3. Be Present - Don't multitask your personal interactions, be 100% there for everyone you work or play with.
   
4. Make Their Day - Don't just have fun internally, play with your customers and interact with them too. Make a difference to them!
   

As I always say -- "Life's short enough as it is; if it ain't fun to you, don't do it!"

Simplicity in Branding

When it comes to branding and marketing, you don't want to tell your users when, what, how, where and who to use your products. If you do, congratulations on cutting down your user base on those factors.

Nothing beats the power of simplicity. 'nuff said

[via romph on youTube ]

2005 Technology Brand Scorecard

This report just in from Forrester Research - 2005 Technology Brand Scorecard.

The survey was done on 2 scales of "Brand Potential" and "Brand Trust amongst regular users". And boy are the results interesting.

Bose, Dell and Apple seem to widely recognised as winners in the combination of these factors and their individual branding efforts have paid off in their beoming well-known and trusted brands. In terms of potential, seems like the gold medal goes to Bose and Dell. Personally, I think Bose managed to build some scarcity around it and niched it as a high-end audio device maker. Dell may rank highly also due to the unique scalability of their business model as well as the recently announced takeover of Alienware, signalling their break into the high-end computer gaming market.

On the other end of the spectrum lies big-boy Microsoft. Their marketing executives should be feeling the heat now with popular distrust amongst their users. Their brand potential also scored on the low end, proving the theory that "whatever goes up must come down". Seems like the repeated delays for Vista and the annoucement of their new OS subscription model are not sitting too well with us end users.

[via: arstechnica ]

Marketing with Influence

A big part of marketing includes not only the presentation of a product of service but also being able to influence the end consumer to make that final step to purchase it. Influence is at work here and here's a way to learn more about it and its effects on our daily lives.

Extracted from Robert Cialdini's book, Influence - Science and Practice , here are the 6 principles (in a teaser list) :

1. Consistency - Eco-Friendly Packaging will attract the environmentally inclined
   
2. Liking - Having friendly salespeople who build rapport and relationships.
   
3. Authority - "Recommended by Doctors worldwide"
   
4. Social Proof - "9 out of 10 cat lovers can't be wrong"
   
5. Scarcity - "While stocks last"
   
6. Reciprocity - Giving out free samples at the supermarket before asking you to buy