Tag: advertising

Experience and Attention

Matt Gemmell writes about the complaints about the iPhone NDA, DRM and requirements for certificates. You’re talking about Linux, for christ’s sake. What the hell is wrong with you? If that’s your bag, sod off and install SUSE on your brick and have fun writing your own GPL’d Bluetooth stack. We’ll all still be here, … Continue reading “Experience and Attention”

Matt Gemmell writes about the complaints about the iPhone NDA, DRM and requirements for certificates.

You’re talking about Linux, for christ’s sake. What the hell is wrong with you?

If that’s your bag, sod off and install SUSE on your brick and have fun writing your own GPL’d Bluetooth stack. We’ll all still be here, using our teeny-tiny touchscreen motherfucking sex-phone which is actually going to still be around and commercially viable in 2 year’s time. With AppleCare

This is definitely how I feel about the iPhone when related to OpenMoko and the LiMo linux-based phones though I’m somewhat more confident about the Android efforts. While I think Android will have it’s own job cut out for it by entering a marketplace already hard-fought with Nokia’s Symbian, Windows Mobile and Apple’s iPhone (I suppose we can add Palm in there? Maybe?).

Android brings with it a glut of software. Some will be good, some will be bad. What’s missing from the Android solution seems to be a viable ‘business plan’ other than making money from advertising. I’ve said before and I’ll say it again – I’m the only altruist I trust and Google, with their massive advertising network, is not going to be giving an operating system away free. They care about making sure that as the web goes mobile, they own the sidewalk.

The fact remains, however, if you want handset ‘freedom’ then develop for Android or Symbian. But you take your risks when you do that, like anyone else. We don’t know how that market will play out, whether there will be a market for non-free software at all. And being paid in ‘eyeballs’ doesn’t ring right to me.

By ‘market, of course, I mean ‘money’.

The market for web apps seems to be all about ‘attention’. It’s whether you can keep someone’s eyeballs focussed on the screen long enough to provide them with some advertising to look at. Looking at web based applications, I have to still wonder about the business plans and I fear the lonegvity of any business plan that relies on advertising. On the other hand, I can see people paying to avoid advertising, whether that’s to a service/software provider (a la Twitterific) or to a company which will block advertising using proxy/blacklist/DNS hacks.

In contrast, I would hope the market for mobile software (exemplified by the iPhone) seems to be in ‘experience’. I chose my Twitter client for the iPhone based on experience: Twitterific and Twittelator just didn’t cut it for me and Twinkle provides the right amount of access to my tweets with the added advantage of seeing everyone ‘nearby’.

I’ll for the experience and it takes hard work to create an app that provides experience rather than one that just demands attention.

Related posts:

  1. Nokia open sourcing Symbian?
  2. iPhone vs Android: software lock-in and halo effect
  3. Google: I don’t trust them.
  4. Ruminating on Android Engagement

Really cool – MagCloud

“Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.” — A.J. Liebling For any of us who have seriously thought about running a magazine, there is now MagCloud. Using print-on-demand (POD) technology, it allows you to create the magazine and then let them take care of printing and subscriptions. Any margin you … Continue reading “Really cool – MagCloud”

“Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.”

— A.J. Liebling

For any of us who have seriously thought about running a magazine, there is now MagCloud. Using print-on-demand (POD) technology, it allows you to create the magazine and then let them take care of printing and subscriptions. Any margin you add goes straight into your Paypal account.

I seriously considered this a few years ago using traditional magazine models for a technology.lifestyle magazine which was being set up by a local journalist. It didn’t go anywhere at the time (even though I offered to write for free) and then I started blogging (and to be honest, my ‘free’ writing output just seems to go up and up).

There’s something to be said for dead-tree editions. With POD, they’re much less likely to be out of date and there’s something nice about dead-tree. I even considered writing some of my short games for LateGaming in a magazine format because of the costs and size of book you have to justify for the standard hardback.

Even just as a promotional vehicle, it lends itself well as it may not be as cheap as a 2000-copy print run, but just being able to order five of them (albeit at an incrementally higher unit cost) has serious advantages to the small operator.

So whether you want to launch your own magazine or whether you just want a single copy of “Northern Ireland Executive Business Professionals Journal” with a dynamic photo of yourself on the cover for the coffee table in order to impress visitors, MagCloud would seem to be a winner.

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Why Twitter (or alike) should replace email

I get a lot of email. I also have quite a few people who talk to me via Instant Messenger. On top of that there are the blogs I read. And then there’s Twitter where you can have a conversation, albeit somewhat public for the most part (though private messages are supported). Twitter-like services are … Continue reading “Why Twitter (or alike) should replace email”

I get a lot of email. I also have quite a few people who talk to me via Instant Messenger. On top of that there are the blogs I read. And then there’s Twitter where you can have a conversation, albeit somewhat public for the most part (though private messages are supported).

Twitter-like services are a contender for replacing email as they provide a method of controlling spam. That’s my main message here considering how much email spam I get all day. I spend a lot of time identifying messages as junk or taking the risk and deleting junk messages from my junk mail folder without a second glance.

I set my instant messenger to only show my presence to friends. And modern IM services allow you to send messages to offline people so they pick them up when they log on next time. Spam is controlled.

I pay attention to the blogs I read because the people there have something to say. With the exception of news.bbc.co.uk I don’t visit any other sites for news. I dump blogs which contain too many ads or which just talk about themselves all the time.

I say all of this after half a dozen spambots just followed me on Twitter. I glanced at their profile names and didn’t follow them. They’re not even in my field of vision.

Why else could it work better then email?

  • Updates by RSS (over http rather than smtp/pop/imap which would work through proxies better)
  • You follow who you choose rather than just attempting to filter out the crap they send you for free.
  • RSS has support for attachments. Isn’t this the only reason to really use email anyway?

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  1. The Internet is not Outlook
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Simplicity and the Brand

I love this. It’s a very simple and concise way of showing how bad user interface design can be and it draws on our experiences with media darlings Apple and Google. While the implementation details may differ (entering a search term is very different to submitting taxes), there have to be ways that we can … Continue reading “Simplicity and the Brand”

I love this. It’s a very simple and concise way of showing how bad user interface design can be and it draws on our experiences with media darlings Apple and Google.

While the implementation details may differ (entering a search term is very different to submitting taxes), there have to be ways that we can streamline things. Cookies for example, reduce the need for me to keep entering usernames and passwords, as does Apple’s Keychain.

User Interface Design is something that is harder than it sounds and really involved removing assumptions. There’s been a lot of hubbub about how Google is the master of advertising and yet doesn’t get clicks on advertising from their front page. Their front page has a minimalist aesthetic but is arguably one of the most visited pages in the world. Or is it? Consider the deals they have struck with Apple? Firefox? Their front page is for them alone to advertise and it’s an incredibly potent branding message.

Is there any amount of money that could get you placement on their front page? I don’t think so.

So, really Google looks more like this.

and when you get past that, it’s advertising in your face, coating your eyeballs and dribbling off the front of your desk (which is one reason that I’m not really relishing Google’s Android). I think there’s a time and a place for advertising supported content and I’m not really wanting it in my face like that, on my mobile phone. We will have to wait and see how Android is positioned and exploited.

Related posts:

  1. Google: I don’t trust them.
  2. Ruminating on Android Engagement
  3. iPhone vs Android: software lock-in and halo effect
  4. Experience and Attention

Thirty percent of everything

Let’s say you’re a developer producing applications. Your livelihood depends on applications sold and you really want to get the best penetration for them. How much would you pay for: a) no need to set up a web shopping cart b) no need to pay for bandwidth and hosting c) greatly reduced need for marketing … Continue reading “Thirty percent of everything”

Let’s say you’re a developer producing applications. Your livelihood depends on applications sold and you really want to get the best penetration for them.

How much would you pay for:
a) no need to set up a web shopping cart
b) no need to pay for bandwidth and hosting
c) greatly reduced need for marketing
d) reduced need to ‘package’ an app
e) listing on a web store that will be in front of about 7 million customers at launch.

Apple wants thirty percent (though they’ll host your free app for free). For this thirty percent, they’ll approve, list, maintain a reviews database, process payments and send you the income monthly.

Some people think this smacks of greed but I’d counter that it smacks of reality. If you’ve spent a lot of time working in software but not in the retail side then you have probably very little experience of the costs. We are agreed that Apple is a publicly traded corporation and therefore needs to turn a profit. We’re going to have to agree that the App Store will be a hot trick for software distribution.

So let’s look at the competition. Who else hosts software for download like this?

The obvious candidate is Handango.

From Electronista:

Small developers who sell less than $250,000 in gross revenue will see exactly half of their income stripped from each sale — up from 40 percent, Handango reportedly says. More profitable firms will see even more money siphoned away, with all businesses selling between $250,000 and $1 million supplying 60 percent of their revenue and all larger outlets conceding 70 percent. The notice will be made public within a few days and should see the new distribution agreement take effect by March 15th, the alleged source indicates.

Handango makes Apple’s 30% seem like a bargain.

On the other hand, Mobihand gives developers 80%. What do we get for that extra 10%? I’m guessing we get placement on the device itself. Mobihand claims to have the lowest rates in the industry for application hosting.

MobiHand will pay to Content Provider 80% of Net Receipts occurring at www.mobihand.com and 60% of Net Receipts at all other channels.

So, Mobihand will charge you 20-40% of the cost of your software for hosting the sale depending on how and where they bought it.

Even at 30%, Apple’s deal is no strings, no nonsense and is going to have the advantage that every piece of software you see there will work on your iPhone.

And it’s shitloads better than Handango.

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22/100 If I Were an Advertiser Today

#21 was listed separately on Lategaming If I were an advertiser today, I’d be nervous. I’m talking from the point of view of being a producer or seller and that I have a product or service to advertise. There’s probably more choice in the methods of advertising now than there ever has been and to … Continue reading “22/100 If I Were an Advertiser Today”

#21 was listed separately on Lategaming

If I were an advertiser today, I’d be nervous.

I’m talking from the point of view of being a producer or seller and that I have a product or service to advertise. There’s probably more choice in the methods of advertising now than there ever has been and to my mind they are becoming increasingly less effective.

Dead Tree
I’ll tell you right now. Junk mail I receive goes in the recycler. I don’t look at adverts in magazines. I don’t look at billboards for product advice. I do look at billboards for event advice however, like a robot turning up at W5? My kids would love it. A Wedding Fayre? Her indoors will love it. A Tech conference? Yeah, sure, though my expectations will be low.

Zombie Hordes
Unsolicited commercial email, and much of the solicited commercial email just goes straight into the trash. Being spammed with ‘articles’ written by small-time CEOs doesn’t inspire either. If you’re emailing me something, make it content and make it something I want, not something I might be interested in. I’m not interested in offers of free laptops and phones, performance enhancing drugs or business opportunities where I get a commission on vast amounts of money being transferred from one place to another. Figure it out.

Jaded Eyeballs
Does anyone pay attention to commercials on TV? What about adverts on web pages? I don’t even process them these days. The only ads I watch on TV are Apple adverts because I’m a sucker for Apple. I don’t look at or click through on most adverts on web sites. Sponsors links are different however – so make your advertising targetted and relevant and make sure they’re relevant to the web site I’m on.

Conversational Media
Advertising via Blog seems to be just dishonest in some ways. Sure, I might rave about Rickshaw but that’s because I’m using it every day. It’s a product created by me and my friends (my input is solely advisory). But what about companies that give free product to bloggers? Or pay them? Or for journo-bloggers who get paid to write reviews? I think there’s a line to be drawn. If it were me I’d provide product to a group of bloggers and tell them to be honest. Because if you’re not in this to be honest in your business then why even bother. Mr Mulley has a recent post about fakeblogging which is being seized by PR houses who see it as a quick way to generate some buzz. Is this much different to the online viral campaigns being created by movie producers to support their releases (Cloverfield had one)?

Something new and exciting?
It’s not my job to think of new and exciting ways to advertise? Uh, yeah, it is. Ways that would appeal to me? The biggest issue of any business is awareness. The number of people who told Mac-Sys they were so happy to hear about a Mac Service Provider in Northern Ireland but they’d never heard of the company before. And the number who were referred from PC companies was startling as well.

You also have to consider the potential damage that unsubstantiated word of mouth can cause and you have to wonder why people have such negative things to say. That’s why it’s important for a business to engage with bloggers who have an opinion. Not so bloggers can get special treatment but so the company can show that the rumour is false and that the real performance of the company cannot be judged by mutterings from a couple of guys. I have no idea why Andy’s friends told him not to go to Mac-Sys but I would hope that Andy’s experience with us has shown him a little insight into how we work with every customer. As it happened, Apple and Mac-Sys worked together to provide a solution that was palatable to all. Not every situation will play out like that but engaging a company directly should always provide some sort of palatable result. Not everyone may be happy with the results but there’s been a miscommunication if people are badmouthing you – you’ve obviously not communicated the message correctly (or, in many cases, the individual is too angry to listen and in my experience the anger is usually at themselves but directed at others.)

If I were an advertiser I’d not waste money on TV or Radio. If I were hosting an event I’d put the event on billboards. I’d definitely start a blog and do detailed breakdowns of the products and services. I’d provide free samples to bloggers and ask, not bargain with, them to write honest reviews. Engage with bloggers, challenge their assumptions, respond to their blog posts and take on board their criticisms.

[Chris Brogan’s 100 topics]

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