There are two types of companies: those that work hard to charge customers more, and those that work hard to charge customers less. Both approaches can work. We are firmly in the second camp.
Both Amazon and Dell work very hard to lower prices whenever they can.
The difference is that Amazon does this without compromising the quality of their products or service. And Dell gives you absolute crap.
I’m sure I’m not alone in saying (or rather, SCREAMING) that my email inbox has gotten out of hand. Over the past few years, every day I'm getting more and more email. Some good. Some worthless.
But I deal with it. Why? Because email is how I get shit done. And because I keep getting more emails, I keep sending more emails. The more emails I send, the more I've accomplished that day.
Email is getting a seriously bad rap these days. This is especially true here in Silicon Valley, where people are cutting their email off cold turkey. Everybody from Facebook to Twitter is working around the clock to replace email, convinced that today’s youth have no interest at all in email. If they are replacing email, why do they email me?
But the plain truth is, email is not the problem. Email is where real work gets done, from your first day in college to the day you retire. And it works. It doesn’t interrupt you while you work. It’s open, free, expandable, works on all devices, lets you form groups, and lets you stay private.
The real problem is spam. Spam is what’s polluting your inbox and turning you against email. The simple fact is, all you really need is a better spam filter. And to unsubscribe from those increasingly worthless Groupon emails.
For me, every legitimate email I get deserves a response. I start at the top, working my way down the line until my inbox hits zero. My inbox is a queue for things I need to do, and yours should be too.
If you’re too busy to get a better spam filter, and respond to your real email, get an assistant. Or call The Geek Squad. Stop making excuses and just figure it out.
What else you can do to keep your inbox lean and mean?
There are no real alternatives to email. What people are looking for is just a fresh start, where none of their old junk mail gets through. So there’s another solution – just dump your old address and get a new one. It’s not as radical an idea as you think, and it just might let you fall in love with email all over again.
What are your thoughts on email? Do you think it's going away? Leave your thoughts here, or email me.
Moskovitz says that if he had to fix Google+, he would add more symmetry to the relationships. There’s value in both one-way connections and two-way connections, he said, referring to the following model that Google+ uses, versus the friending model on Facebook. But Facebook does have a one-way model with its Pages, he added. And apparently, he believes that’s the model to beat.
With today’s explosion in social media, everyone is talking about sharing. This discussion includes private sharing (and different friend models), as well as different ways to control who sees what you post online.
So far, at least from the industry “heavyweights,” there hasn’t been a whole lot positive to talk about (at least in my humble opinion). Case in point: Twitter. It’s clearly a one-way "follow" model. You can follow anyone you want without permission, meaning that anything you post is decidedly "public".
Facebook, on the other hand, began with a two-way "friend" model where you had to approve friends. This resulted in a very private form of sharing, but it broke down as you friended more people. Also worth noting is that who you consider to be your friends is always changing, and this isn't reflected in their model.
Google+ is built around a bizarre hybrid. On closer examination it's a one-way follow model, cleverly disguised as a two-way model. They call it Circles – which makes you think it's symmetric sharing. But it's actually just dividing people into lists. Lists are thus-far a failed solution, which Facebook tried but abandoned when they weren't successful with it. I have to believe that Google's model is the worst of both worlds, as everyone has to ask, "what is a circle?" Even I don't know. Do you?
Now, Facebook is trying to add a one-way "subscribe" layer on top of their social network. You can subscribe to Guy Kawasaki and see everything he posts publicly. You can also be his "friend" and see what he posts privately. But not really, since he can easily create different lists and control who sees what. There are just too many layers of complexity.
Not to fret though, at Posterous Spaces we set our sights on solving this very problem. One of the fundamental product decisions we made early on was that you follow Spaces, not people. If a Space is public, you can follow it. That's one-way communication. If a Space is private, the owner can add you as a member. Then you’re free to post to it. That's true two-way communication. Problem solved.
We realize that who your friends are changes over time. Thus, Spaces lets your sharing be more fluid and more dynamic. You simply join and leave Spaces as your interests change.
It's yet to be seen which model works best, but we think Posterous Spaces matches real-life sharing better than any other product out there. You can create a public blog or website that anyone can view. Or you can create an email list or group that anyone can post to. This is how the web has freed people share for the past 20 years, and it works. Now lets simply find a perfect way to make it hosted, archived and mobile.
Naturally that’s no small task, so I better get back to it...
From the ZURB event site:
Posterous Turns Into Spaces: Why and How They Did It
The simple sharing service Posterous recently announced that they are shedding their blog identity in favor of becoming a "controlled sharing platform". The startup's team went back to square one and has completely redesigned and overhauled it's website, user dashboard, and revamped their iPhone app with a new focus: private sharing. One can't help but ask:
1. Why did they do this?
2. What was the thinking behind a complete redesign and rebranding?
3. Why did they decide to go back to square one?
4. Is the new Posterous going to compete with Google+ and Facebook?For the first time since the announcement Sachin Agarwal the founder and CEO of Posterous will get on his soapbox to share the reasoning behind the complete overhaul, the process they employed for the redesign, as well as the strategy behind the decisions they have made.
RSVP now!
Found on http://oingemen.com.
The past 24 hours have focused on our new product launch. Yesterday we launched Posterous Spaces as an easier way to control who you share with, and to allow you to share different content with different people.
The new product is awesome. We launched a new web experience, iPhone app, and even revamped pages like user profiles.
But this launch went beyond just a product update. The marketing effort for this launch is unlike anything we've ever done before. Huge congrats to Rich and Ryan! And thanks to Jason for leading the design efforts.
Here's what we did:
Every single page on Posterous is new. We threw out ALL the old design. With this launch, we brought consistency in our products, brand, and messaging across the company in a way we've never had before.
This launch is the hardest thing I've ever done. It was a team effort that brought 15 people together in a way I've never seen. It's the new highlight of my Posterous experience. And it's just the beginning of so much more.
Like a proud new father, I’m thrilled to announce the arrival of Posterous Spaces. It’s the most all-embracing launch in company history – nothing short of a complete redesign of everything that’s Posterous.
Rather than baby-steps to slowly evolve Posterous to where we all knew it had to go, we bit the bullet, lost the excess baggage, and built Posterous Spaces from the ground up.
But we didn’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Behind Posterous Spaces is the same passion for unmatched sharing. In fact, it’s the product that I envisioned three years ago when starting Posterous.
I’ve always wanted to help normal people share online. With new features like amazing privacy control, a simpler user interface, and a full experience iPhone app, it’s the realization of my dream.
This is the first time I didn’t write any code myself, which is a testament to the incredible team of engineers, designers and marketing folks who made Spaces possible.
I can’t put into words the excitement I’m feeling right now.
A toast to all.
Steve's deep passion for Macintosh is what made "1984" possible.
As CEO, you need to be so passionate and believe so deeply in what you're building, that you are willing to push forward no matter who or what gets in your way.
Sometimes that even includes the board of directors. Apple's board said they didn't want to run "1984". Steve Jobs didn't let that stop him.
In this amazing clip, TBWA charman Lee Clow tells why "1984" was a breakthrough commercial, and how it almost never aired.
Source: Art and Copy
I've been pretty lucky in my life, but nothing compares to finding and marrying Kate.
One of the most colorful personalities in retailing, Sinegal is known for his integrity, his unwillingness to squeeze customers or employees to please Wall Street, and his abiding love of $1.50 hot dogs.
Sinegal steps down after seeing Costco through a recession in which other retailers slashed jobs, eliminated stores and went out of business.
Costco laid off no one, aside from its usual seasonal workers and extra people hired for new-store openings. It also refused to cut back on health benefits, despite rising costs and pressure from Wall Street — and Sinegal has steadfastly resisted marking up the company's prices on branded items any more than 14 percent.
Costco's sales and profits are rising, and its stock is near an all-time high.
Another one of my favorite companies is losing their visionary CEO.
Costco is an entirely different different beast than Apple. But I admire both for their exceptional quality and commitment to service.
Costco is 100 times less evil than Google. They just don't say it.
