All posts in English

  • March 5, 2010

    The Word is Getting Out – Latin America is Full of Digital Innovators

    Compra3I’ve been so busy contributing to other publications that I’ve been falling behind in posting to my own blog.  Lately, I’ve been writing articles about companies such as Vivareal in Colombia and Compra3 in Brazil each with excellent prospects for the future. I’ve been psyched to see these articles published in the NYTimes and in Venturebeat.  There is such a tremendous opportunity in this region for setting up dev centers, targeting the region for products and services or both.

    I just got back from a night of Salsa and Sushi with the Mrs. and, after waking up at 2:30am this morning should be hitting the sack.  Nevertheless, as if the day hasn’t been good enough, I just read Chris Brogan’s post on Colombia.  By now, I’m used to seeing fellow “Gringos” wowed by the life down here, but it’s so great to see someone who appreciates that aspect, but, more importantly, objectively, sees the tremendous potential down here.

    That was just the cap to a truly amazing day where, aside from happy family times, I had some great meetings with top executives at two major multinationals down here, a financial services company and a friend who works at Twitter that I finally met in person (she’s down here).  Aside from all of this, Compra3 (amazing founders) had their production launch of their social commerce site, which I was able to write about to get the word out.

    I should really back all of this up with more numbers and statistics, but I’m too tired tonight.  I’ll leave that for another post.

    Conclusion:  there’s no doubt in my mind that Latin America is going through a transformation and that, within the next 5 years, the number of US VC/angel backed digital innovators with either dev centers or target market (or both) down here will explode.

    No Comments / Case Studies, English /

  • February 16, 2010

    Nostalgia and Microsoft Event

    State CollegeMan, what an amazing day.  A few hours ago, I got off the phone with a colleague from my first job out of college.  A guy I had last spoken with more than 20 years ago!  We were both Advanced Design engineers for a defense contractor called HRB-Singer straight out of college and were not at all into our jobs.  Incredibly enough, we both ended up focusing on online marketing.

    Man, my life is so different right now than what it was then.  I was this young whipper snapper on the prowl and without any ties.  Who woulda thunk it.  Back then, working was a hobby since I wasn’t really putting so much effort into my tasks (I’m ashamed to say) and was just soaking up a ton of life experiences.  Gary (that’s his name) and I ended up getting a gig in California (we were based out of State College, PA) and we were loving life out there.  The company set us up with great cars and amazing apartments and we really enjoyed our time out there.  The only thing we weren’t too crazy about was the work we were doing (or not doing).

    It seems that Gary, got into graphic design and become Creative Director for a number of interactive agencies and has been working as a consultant for some time and has made a nice home in Denver.  It really took me back today talking with him and remembering those times.  It really made me think about the journey I’ve had during the past 20 years when I lived for 5 years out there in California and then have spent the last 15 years here in Colombia.  Pretty wild.

    Also, today I just got back from Cali where I gave a presentation on Cloud Computing at an event sponsored by Microsoft. It was interesting, but expect the events in Medellin (next week) and Bogota to be a bit more active.  Well, time to do some work and hit the hay.  I also had a great conversation this evening with an amazing online marketer who’s based here in Colombia, but who’s done amazing things in the US market. There’s some real talent down here.

    1 Comment / English, General /

  • January 29, 2010

    CEO Guide: Steve Jobs & The Future of the Media Industry

    steve-jobsThe launch of the Apple iPad was tad underwhelming for a lot of analysts.  Nevertheless, for anyone who’s interested in the continuing saga of the disruption of the media industry, this was an important chapter in the evolution of what the new media industry will look like.  Nobody is better fit to be the principle protagonist of this new chapter than Steve Jobs, successful CEO of a digital electronics (aka, computer) firm and former CEO of a media firm (Pixar).

    Apple has all the freedom it wants in creating interesting new devices and software.  Nevertheless, when it comes to dealing with book publishers, studios and the like, things can seem a bit, shall we say, confining.  These companies are scared to death of a further squeeze on margins and having their valuable content swimming around on the Internet for free.

    With the iPad, Jobs has launched yet another device for viewing all types of content including, now, books.  As more and more millions of users consume media on one or more of these devices, Jobs is creating a gated distribution system where he can experiment with different pricing schemes.  As more and more publishers, studios and music companies come on board and accept this state of affairs, it becomes harder for the remaining companies to hold out.

    I’m sure some of these hold outs correctly understand the incredible power that could potential be in the hands of one company (Apple) and shudder.  However, as Jobs continues to add more consumers and more devices, these companies will find it more and more difficult to stay away from his massive distribution system.  The Apple media consumption ecosystem will only become more compelling as it’s pace of digital innovation accelerates.

    It certainly is an amazing thing to watch.  While many executives understand from a theoretical level that things are changing (particularly in the media industry), Jobs understands what he needs to do to take advantage of what’s happening.  While many focus on specific nuances of each beautifully designed gadget that he launches, they risk losing the forest from the trees.

    A major transformation is taking place before our eyes.  Content creation in the form of books, newspapers, movies, and music as a business has been bound to specific distribution businesses for many years. Sometimes they reside in the same legal entity (e.g., newspapers) and sometimes have ties to well-established distribution partners and Jobs is accelerating the transformation of these distribution channels (in many cases physical channels) into one digital bit stream.

    In the process, the actual content will certainly be transformed.  Just as music companies are able to provide added content through iTunes; book publishers, newspapers and others will be able to provide added value through these new channels.  There will be many players vying for a role in this new ecosystem, but Steve Jobs, with a growing minion of subscribers to his media consumption platform (e.g., iTunes, iBook, Apps, etc.) will be a difficult force for the any media company to ignore.

    3 Comments / CEO Guide, English /

  • January 26, 2010

    Could Social Media Have Saved Coco?

    Conan O'BrienDuring the last couple of weeks, quite a public battle was playing out between NBC and, now, former The Tonight Show host, Conan O’Brien.   Moreover, as announced a few days ago, the embattled comedian and his staff will be leaving the network with an exit package worth approximately $45 million.

    Ironically, his ratings jumped substantially during the brouhaha as well as his online support.  Though NBC to some extent uses social media tools such as blogs and twitter, one wonders if the company could have employed such tools to engage more with audiences and come up with a different outcome?

    One example of the online support that Conan garnered during the impasse is that created by designer Mike Mitchell.  Mr. Mitchell created the “I’m with Coco” image along with a campaign in support of the late night television star on a Facebook fan page that already boasts more than 300,000 members and has engendered a number of rallies in support of the late night star.

    In contrast, Jay Leno’s Facebook fan page has less than 50,000 members and, incredibly, was hacked on Sunday evening to display an image of Conan. Finally, checking blog activity on Trendpedia shows a spike in activity for the keyword “Tonight Show,” among others during the last several days.

    Would it have been possible for NBC to translate this Internet and social media interest into a more profitable business result for the network?  One thing is for certain, achieving such a result would have required more than simply using social media tools.  It would have required an organization willing to listen, react and respond relatively quickly to new and interesting options that pop up from such “digital” conversations.  It would have required a mindset where mistakes, such as this particular programming mishap, could be admitted and where fan criticism or suggestions would be encouraged and not lamented.

    The actual form that such a strategy should take is debatable. Nevertheless, one company that seems to be embracing social media tools and, possibly, the ensuing organizational transformation that could result is MTV.  Recently, Carolyn Everson, EVP of strategy and operations for MTV Networks, stated that “digital learnings” are making their way into the linear business.  It’s interesting to note that within the list of Top Social Brands of 2009 recently released by Vitrue, MTV ranks as number 4 on the list while NBC is number 68 – CBS and ABC are at 32 and 33, respectively. This would seem to indicate that the network might have some work to do in terms of more fully embracing audience engagement through social media.

    Ironically, Comcast, the company due to acquire NBC Universal shortly, has been cited as an example of a company that embraced the use of social media (e.g.,Twitter) as a catalyst to improving their customer service.  This fact notwithstanding, Comcast is probably at the beginning of any transformational process and is actually ranked #100 on Vitrue’s list of Top Social Brands of 2009.

    Indeed, It’s possible that the current industry dynamics and prior decisions made by NBC Universal management have placed them in too difficult of a position regardless of their use of any social media tools.  As mentioned above, companies such asMTV proactively mines social media activity related to their brand and culls valuable insights that inform their business decisions.

    Conan certainly enjoyed much support through the Internet even mentioning as much in his farewell address.  Nevertheless, the question still remains.  Could NBC have produced a more positive business result by making better use of the increased social media “conversations” around this story?

    No Comments / English, Internet Marketing /
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