I mean are you totally kidding me? Microsoft profits sank over 4 billion dollars. And in this same time frame Google’s profits are up as are Apple’s profits. I hate to say I told you so.
I also hate to say Jim Kramer is a total moron. I remember watching Kramer blabber on and on about how MSFT had the cash flow of a small country and why they were such a solid investment. He is a such a moron.
You don’t need a TV show, or a finance degree to know what works, and what is stagnating in 1996. Microsoft is stagnating my friends. They are doomed by their own failure to adapt, to grow beyond their own success. I still look at some programs and wonder why they looks so remarkably like a dos based Windows 3.1. Why do I still have a hyperterminal icon under accessories and communication. I don’t even have a modem built in to this computer, much less would I use this program to dial up a bulliten board like 1996. The icons have never changed. It’s sad.
Business, Marketing, Society
Emergence Marketing posted a thought about how marketing is not a conversation.
I couldn’t disagree more. If you are getting positive feedback, and responding to that feedback appropriately; you have just created a conversation.
Run with what gets you affirmation in volume. It will always be more profitable in the long term. There are to many other choices on the table for a marketing manager to dictate a one way narrative.
Marketing
It’s funny to look back at old cell phones and how cool we thought the prior models were. As time has gone on they have become more advanced, faster, more versatile, and most importantly have more memory.
One thing really stands out to me about this equation though. Why hasn’t anyone taken cell phone memory virtual? Its a real pain to pour a drink on your phone and lose all of your contact information. Without my cell phone directory I would have virtually no one to call. Most people do not back up this information in any form.
If one company allows for a hosted virtual database of contact lists and other cell phone functions it would be a great leap in cellular technology. So many phones allow bolt on applications now that this would not be hard to accomplish at all. Imagine never worrying about losing all of your contact information, or being able to access it at any time. Transferring numbers to new phones would never be an issue. In fact, it would be accessible from any phone with an internet connection.
I bet google could handle this task easily, but so could any small start up.
Business, Marketing, Society
If you thought the last post about Growing Local Profits was a little far fetched, I suggest reading this article from Foreign Policy. The article discusses a “global food crises”. I wouldn’t promote any attempts to profit from fear, but it is certainly always good to provide people with useful information. Consolidating information on local food resources could be a well utilized tool in the near future. (might want to think about stocking up).
Society
There has been a growing trend among web savvy entrepreneurs of marketing toward localized markets. Considering the growing costs of foods there are many reasons why now may be the time for outlets relating to local food markets. People can certainly utilize a forum pointing them toward local resources for multiple reasons. Food produced locally:
- Almost ensures freshness
- Competitively priced
- Negates (rising) transportation costs
- Stimulates the local economy
There certainly are local ad dollars to be had.
Business, Marketing, Society
Here is another little ramble for my Oil-Doom-and-Gloom.
I stumbled across a great presentation given just recently (April 16) by Mathew Simmons. Simmons is a former adviser to President Bush, and has for some time been trying to warn people off early about a pending energy crises.
Some things to think about for a pending crises:
- Prices are going even higher still
- It affects everything from computers to clothes, and most importantly food
- The knowledgeable energy workers are aging
- Energy infrastructure is aging equally as badly
- Blue collar jobs abound
- We need to think local, grow local, and buy local.
Business, Society
As oil begins to near $120.00, it may be appropriate to pass on a link to a study which I found interesting. Hubberts Peak, or Peak Oil has essentially proven itself to be correct. The Olduvai theory presented in the study above basically reviews those previous assertions, and extrapolates further into the future.
Written in 2005, author Richard C. Duncan predict the cataclysmic decline in oil production in 2008. He follows with a projected end of industrial civilization around 2030, the worlds population declining to about 2 billion within the same time frame. It would appear that all of these things are just about on target. From 1950 onward we have understood the pending oil crises, and now must consider its further effects.
I hate to be so negative, but it all just seems true to me. Its happening. Watch the markets.
Business, Society