If there is one e-commerce rumor that never seems to die, it is Amazon buying Netflix. I just do not see it happening, yet shares jumped again on the persistent rumors.
From my July 2009 post:
First, a deal with Netflix has been speculated for many years. The overlaps are obvious. I am sure the smart people at Amazon have investigated Netflix and determined if the addition would be a fit. To be sure, there were some synergies a few years ago. Netflix had a solid customer base and fulfillment. The advent of digital video and applications like Amazon Unbox and iTunes have shown that the digital video is for real. Netflix is nice, but likely not a growth segment. Today, Amazon would have interest in the fulfillment but knows the Netflix customer base is likely to get smaller not bigger. Plus the fulfillment model is great for envelopes not for packages.
In the nearly last 12 months, Netflix has done very well in the market by more than doubling in share price. I still hold the opinion that window of opportunities for synergies is past. Amazon won’t do this deal.
The 4 P’s (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) are the standard Marketing Mix. This is not just “marketing fluff” the P’s are where the rubber meets the road in CRM, namely quote generation. The 5th P (Problems) still exist with quote generation today.
Product and pricing data are integrated with ERP systems. Promotions live with CRM and for the enterprise are often customer specific. Place in the CRM parlance is the here and now. Sales is looking to book revenue today. The revenue pipeline needs to flow so that the company can grow. It is amazing to me that 5th P (problems) still exist with product and pricing. These problems are identical to problems faced by CRM over a decade ago. Customer-specific pricing is everywhere and is not going away, yet the complexities of this pricing makes quote generation in CRMs nearly impossible. Too many companies have this problem and no one really solves it. Why? Likely the P (price) to fix the P (problem) is way to high and no P (product) or P (promotion) have incentives to fix it in the P (place).
One thing I know about myself is that I am better when I have a full plate. To stay busy, I enrolled in the Evening MBA program at University of Washington’s Foster School of Business last fall. I have been impressed with the curriculum and faculty.
The Blue Ocean Strategy was a recent assignment. The concept is about value innovation. “Red” oceans are known industries and markets. The competition is constantly trying to outperform rivals and the waters bloody. “Blue” oceans are industries and markets that are unknown today. Demand is created rather than fought over with ample opportunity for growth and profit. Blue oceans are often created from red oceans. A competitor finds an opening to create value and finds their blue ocean. Several examples are cited.
The authors, Kim and Mauborgne, are too dismissive of red ocean companies. They state that corporate strategy is heavily influenced by its roots in military strategy. Competition, confronting the opponent and driving him from the battlefield are listed; however this is not military strategy. It is the goal of a direct attack. It made me think how the blue ocean strategy would compare to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy.
Here are some select passages from The Art of War that conflict with the red ocean view of corporate/military strategy:
1) All warfare is based on deception.
2) In all history, there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.
3) Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.
Clearly, Sun Tzu would not advocate a red ocean. In contrast, The Art of War is blue ocean:
You can only be sure of succeeding in your attacks is you only attack places that are undefended.
Pretty clear talk of finding uncontested market space, capturing new demand and making the competition irrelevant. In contrast, red oceans are prolonged fights exploiting differentiation or cost. These are commodity markets, not drivers of innovation. Blue oceans are value innovators and clearly have roots in military strategy from the 6th century BC.
In the past week, I have been hit up twice for this information, so the time is right for the blog post.
Almost 2 years ago, I realized that I needed glasses. The 20/10′s of my youth were done. I got a very nice pair at one of the cool places in Seattle. They fit great and looked really good, but they were not me 24/7. I came across the sites below and thought it would be interesting to try. At the same time, a friend who really needs glasses had his last pair broken for him (that is another story). I sent him these links and he ended up getting a couple of pairs. They looked great. Worked great, even bifocals. Encouraged I took the plunge and have been very satisfied. To date, I have ordered from Zenni, Coastal Contacts and EyeBuyDirect.
What you need
You need your prescription and pupillary distance. Also you need to know the frame dimensions that work on your face. For the first couple of pairs, I mirrored my expensive, very nice, cool store pair. After that I learned what would work and branched out from there. I have about 4 pairs that I rotate and 2 $8 pairs for backup and glassblowing.
Where I have bought Zenni Optical Dirt cheap prices and solid quality. Only $5 to ship, but can take up awhile to deliver. Coastal Contacts More designer frames than other sites and prices range accordingly. Super fast shipping. EyeBuyDirect Great turnaround. I had my owner within 7 days. My current favorite pair is from here.
Big news that Joel Spolsky is ending his Joel on Software blog as announced in Inc. The money quote:
To really work, Sierra observed, an entrepreneur’s blog has to be about something bigger than his or her company and his or her product. This sounds simple, but it isn’t. It takes real discipline to not talk about yourself and your company.
It is true. It has to be bigger than yourself and it does take a lot of time to blog. A lot of people are disappointed. He has a company to run. His choice. The audience will move elsewhere. The video below is a re-post but relevant on the power of blogging. I find myself talking about my tiny little blog more than I ever thought I would. It is true that my traffic is tiny and likely irrelevant. I blog to build my brand and make me better. The blog forces you to think and stay relevant. It is mental pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups all in one.
I am looking forward to digging into their new book Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. As part of the inevitable book launch, they have been producing articles and blog posts fast and furious. I came across this one on Van Halen from Heather Hamilton and her excellent One Louder blog. Turns out that the brown M&M’s were used as a signal to make sure their contracts were read and understood.
I never did get to see Van Halen in their prime (pre-Hagar). Since I grew up in Chicago, we will always have that summer of 1984, Jump and the Chicago Cubs. I did get a chance to catch DLR at the House of Blues in Hollywood for a New Year’s Eve bash a few years ago. No doubt DLR is a party. Great time and great show. I still truly think that “Panama” should be the national anthem of Panama.
Recently my trusty Creative MuVo mp3 player has been having a tough time with AAA battery life. I use this player for working out and long runs because I know that I will inevitably crush one of my iPods — and that just can’t happen. It is simple and holds an hour plus long playlist. The now constant battery changing is cumbersome. In service since at least 2002, if not earlier, it has had a good solid run.
About a week ago, I found myself in Staples with a large-ish reward coupon. Recycling ink cartridges there really does add up. So I took a chance on the Eclipse MP3 CL2, a 4 GB “old” iPod Shuffle knock-off. I have to say that I am pretty impressed with my impulse purchase. It is a nice little player for workouts. USB connection and a rechargeable battery. 4 GB memory put the old iPod Shuffle to shame. Worth checking out.
Lots of chatter about iPad as the Kindle killer. The chatter is bunk. Kindle has a specific target audience, a niche. That niche loves the Kindle. Niche is the new critical mass.
Look at some of the advantages Kindle has:
Battery Life. Kindle can last up to 7 days without a charge. Seriously.
Content delivery. Kindle has it included. No extra charges or higher price tag.
Readability. Do you want to read a backlit screen all day?
Opening an App Store that people will care about.
The iPad is a very slick device, but it will not be the only one to change the tablet game. Apple App Store developers will start to run into some of the issues that cross-platform mobile developers are dealing with. Namely screen size and incompatible devices. Apple has been very smart with their device hardware and software release cycles. This will become more difficult as different devices begin to proliferate. The iPad will face way more competition than the iPod. Repeating success is, in fact, harder than initial success. Other players and other platforms (HP, Asus, Dell, Everyone on Microsoft or Android) are ready this time. My take is that the biggest losers will be the publishers. Their pricing models will now be more fully exposed to the buying public. That new knowledge will suppress their margins.
With all the talk of an Apple tablet, it is worth taking the time to understand that this is far from a new idea. Jerry Kaplan’s
Startup
is not only a great read on the Silicon Valley start up life but on the origins and game of tablet computing. Notable characters in this tale include Jobs and Gates. Worth picking up a copy – to read on your Kindle!
by Chip and Dan Heath. It is engaging and practical and a worthwhile read. I have found myself recommending it lately. Great resources on 
. As part of the inevitable book launch, they have been producing articles and blog posts fast and furious. I came across this one on Van Halen from Heather Hamilton and her excellent 
