Crowd sourcing is where a platform gathers from a crowd or crowds of people, enabled virtually most of the time. The product is the result of the crowd.
Kickstarter is one example. Crowds of people have the ability to "support" a project that can then go to production and release an actual product.
Streaming video is being crowd-sourced in a suddenly pervasive way without the knowledge or explicit permission of those capturing the video.
If you install a "Ring" door camera and system you may be providing your video stream to local law enforcement without being aware of it.
Read more here:
https://xconomy.com/seattle/2019/08/28/ring-confirms-report-revealing-firm-works-with-400-police-agencies/
Should this alarm you?
I don't care for anything I pay for being used without my permission.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Showing posts with label Startup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Startup. Show all posts
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Friday, August 16, 2019
B2B Startup Growth Strategy
Great read over on TechCrunch.
The startup world has been very heavy with B2C or Business to the Customer companies such as UBER. The B2B world is heating up as I've written about.
Similarities are easy to find but are there differences?
This article addresses the question of growth. Well worth the read:
https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/16/how-should-b2b-startups-think-about-growth-not-like-b2c/
Here is a snippet from the piece:
The best growth strategy for your company ultimately depends on whether you’re in an incubation, iteration, or scale stage. One of the most common mistakes we see is a company acting like they’re in the scale phase when they’re actually in the iteration phase. As a result, many of them end up developing inefficient growth strategies that lead to exorbitant monthly ad spends, extraneous acquisition channels, hiring (and later firing) ineffective team members, and de-emphasizing critical customer feedback. There is often an intense pressure to grow, but believing your own hype before it’s real can kill early-stage ventures.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
The startup world has been very heavy with B2C or Business to the Customer companies such as UBER. The B2B world is heating up as I've written about.
Similarities are easy to find but are there differences?
This article addresses the question of growth. Well worth the read:
https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/16/how-should-b2b-startups-think-about-growth-not-like-b2c/
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
How Amazon Competes and How to Compete With Amazon
This will be a short article that may lead to a deeper investigation and white paper.
What is Amazon doing besides just selling stuff online that competes with other players?
How are other players competing with Amazon in ways that may or may not include selling online?
Let's take a look at a few examples.
First Amazon.
They are masters at taking something they already do and monetize it in a new way. They had massive data centers providing web service to Amazon.com that was mostly not in use. They needed the massive power for their busy times. Why not sell it as a service?
Amazon Web Services was born and now you too can host anything you can dream of in "the cloud".
This was quickly followed by others. Microsoft Azure has found its place and there are countless players in the space now.
Here is one way Amazon is vertically integrating, taking some upstream or downstream product or service and creating a way to do it themselves. Package delivery.
Amazon Orders Vans for Prime Delivery
Next are a couple of players that took Amazon eCommerce ideas and started providing the same solution for others.
This company is called Mirakl, a Paris based company, that has created a platform for other eCommerce sites to add resellers, just like Amazon.com does. They're the only player in the space and are big already, especially in B2B, and will be growing dramatically in the years ahead. I promise you.
https://www.mirakl.com/
Next is a similar concept. The product reviews that worked so well on Amazon.com became something you can add to your own eCommerce site. Now there are multiple other players in this space but the original may still be the best.
https://www.bazaarvoice.com/
I think these responses are the correct path for all but the largest retailers. I used to refer to retailers in a Tier level segmentation, Tiers 1 to 5. Tier 1 was Walmart while Tier 5 was the local YMCA Christmas Tree sellers. I think there is now a super-tier reserved for those who do brick & mortar well, digital well, and eCommerce well. How can smaller and regional players compete? Third party providers.
Here is a great example:
https://www.retaildive.com/news/perfect-corp-rolls-out-makeup-ar-tool-for-small-businesses/559242/
Hope this gave you some food for thought.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
What is Amazon doing besides just selling stuff online that competes with other players?
How are other players competing with Amazon in ways that may or may not include selling online?
Let's take a look at a few examples.
First Amazon.
They are masters at taking something they already do and monetize it in a new way. They had massive data centers providing web service to Amazon.com that was mostly not in use. They needed the massive power for their busy times. Why not sell it as a service?
Amazon Web Services was born and now you too can host anything you can dream of in "the cloud".
This was quickly followed by others. Microsoft Azure has found its place and there are countless players in the space now.
Here is one way Amazon is vertically integrating, taking some upstream or downstream product or service and creating a way to do it themselves. Package delivery.
Amazon Orders Vans for Prime Delivery
Next are a couple of players that took Amazon eCommerce ideas and started providing the same solution for others.
This company is called Mirakl, a Paris based company, that has created a platform for other eCommerce sites to add resellers, just like Amazon.com does. They're the only player in the space and are big already, especially in B2B, and will be growing dramatically in the years ahead. I promise you.
https://www.mirakl.com/
Next is a similar concept. The product reviews that worked so well on Amazon.com became something you can add to your own eCommerce site. Now there are multiple other players in this space but the original may still be the best.
https://www.bazaarvoice.com/
I think these responses are the correct path for all but the largest retailers. I used to refer to retailers in a Tier level segmentation, Tiers 1 to 5. Tier 1 was Walmart while Tier 5 was the local YMCA Christmas Tree sellers. I think there is now a super-tier reserved for those who do brick & mortar well, digital well, and eCommerce well. How can smaller and regional players compete? Third party providers.
Here is a great example:
https://www.retaildive.com/news/perfect-corp-rolls-out-makeup-ar-tool-for-small-businesses/559242/
Hope this gave you some food for thought.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Monday, June 17, 2019
Another Platform Player gets an IPO
I have written about this before, though I had previously focused on the B2B space, but platform players are continuing to make big waves in the market.
This is a consignment store online where people can sell their goods. The IPO is expected to be valued at about $1.3 Billion. With a "B".
Some people have things they want to sell on consignment. Some people wish to purchase things from consignment and buy with confidence. This platform brings them together. Easy.
Here is the full article:
https://www.chainstoreage.com/finance-0/another-fast-growing-digital-native-going-public/
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
This is a consignment store online where people can sell their goods. The IPO is expected to be valued at about $1.3 Billion. With a "B".
Some people have things they want to sell on consignment. Some people wish to purchase things from consignment and buy with confidence. This platform brings them together. Easy.
Here is the full article:
https://www.chainstoreage.com/finance-0/another-fast-growing-digital-native-going-public/
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Uber and Lyft Drivers Gaming the Business
I loved this story so much I captured it weeks ago and held on to it until I could get it written up here.
To level-set for the audience, UBER and Lyft are essentially taxi replacement services that enable mobile devices to be the call center for service. The fees for transportation vary dependent on availability of supply versus demand (drivers and cars for passengers). Simple right?
Economists love the idea because finite resources fit naturally in to a supply & demand scenario for pricing. Long articles have been written about price-fixing in the New York City housing scene, with good reason. Passengers don't really care for it because they don't know what they are paying for the service from moment to moment. A ride home from the airport might cost $50 or $100 depending. Meanwhile traditional taxi drivers hate it and the new drivers are complaining they don't make enough money from the gig economy. Who wins in all this? Uber and Lyft certainly.
Well the drivers have figured out how to game the system.
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Here is the whole story:
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/uber-lyft-drivers-are-using-companies-algorithms-against-them-ncna1009026
Welcome to the 21st Century Union of Workers. :-)
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
To level-set for the audience, UBER and Lyft are essentially taxi replacement services that enable mobile devices to be the call center for service. The fees for transportation vary dependent on availability of supply versus demand (drivers and cars for passengers). Simple right?
Economists love the idea because finite resources fit naturally in to a supply & demand scenario for pricing. Long articles have been written about price-fixing in the New York City housing scene, with good reason. Passengers don't really care for it because they don't know what they are paying for the service from moment to moment. A ride home from the airport might cost $50 or $100 depending. Meanwhile traditional taxi drivers hate it and the new drivers are complaining they don't make enough money from the gig economy. Who wins in all this? Uber and Lyft certainly.
Well the drivers have figured out how to game the system.
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Though much of the modern internet is premised on the idea that it brings people together, capitalism — not humanity or even a recognizable morality — powers technology companies.
But since technology now powers so many aspects of civic life, we must infuse human rights principles and accountability into how these platforms operate. In the absence of clear pathways of accountability in which workers concerns are addressed, we can expect to see continuous uprisings and actions organized through loosely connected networks of solidarity — and some of them will even use the power of the platforms against their owners.
But since technology now powers so many aspects of civic life, we must infuse human rights principles and accountability into how these platforms operate. In the absence of clear pathways of accountability in which workers concerns are addressed, we can expect to see continuous uprisings and actions organized through loosely connected networks of solidarity — and some of them will even use the power of the platforms against their owners.
Here is the whole story:
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/uber-lyft-drivers-are-using-companies-algorithms-against-them-ncna1009026
Welcome to the 21st Century Union of Workers. :-)
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
BRotD - Entry 0260 Product Development Hubris
Best Reading of the Day
The following read is about video games, one specifically, and the design & development process it has been going through. However, it is really a story of project scope creep, hubris, arrogance, and the problems of unlimited resources.
This is not a new story and is applicable to any project you encounter (that link I provided leads to one of the best stories of this kind you'll ever find).
The game in question is titled Star Citizen and its development efforts launched with great fanfare to a Kickstarter campaign that quickly became the most successful of its kind ever.
Years later the "game" has received over $300 million in funding and ... still hasn't launched anything out of alpha stage development.
I was initially intrigued having enjoyed founder Chris Robert's other efforts so I watched and waited. What I kept seeing alarmed me. Usually a Kickstarter campaign includes a goal that will result in "full funding" so a project will result in a product in your hands, and includes stretch goals that will get included if enough people pony up money. This campaign, however, had no limit. As the funding increased the scope increased, seemingly endlessly. I saw scope creep beyond belief and concluded I would have no part in the project until scope, and release dates, became solid. 7 years later I am still waiting.
Read more in this snippet:
The following read is about video games, one specifically, and the design & development process it has been going through. However, it is really a story of project scope creep, hubris, arrogance, and the problems of unlimited resources.
This is not a new story and is applicable to any project you encounter (that link I provided leads to one of the best stories of this kind you'll ever find).
The game in question is titled Star Citizen and its development efforts launched with great fanfare to a Kickstarter campaign that quickly became the most successful of its kind ever.
Years later the "game" has received over $300 million in funding and ... still hasn't launched anything out of alpha stage development.
I was initially intrigued having enjoyed founder Chris Robert's other efforts so I watched and waited. What I kept seeing alarmed me. Usually a Kickstarter campaign includes a goal that will result in "full funding" so a project will result in a product in your hands, and includes stretch goals that will get included if enough people pony up money. This campaign, however, had no limit. As the funding increased the scope increased, seemingly endlessly. I saw scope creep beyond belief and concluded I would have no part in the project until scope, and release dates, became solid. 7 years later I am still waiting.
Read more in this snippet:
Rough playable modes—alphas, not betas—are used to raise hopes and illustrate work being done. And Roberts has enticed gamers with a steady stream of hype, including promising a vast, playable universe with “100 star systems.” But most of the money is gone, and the game is still far from finished. At the end of 2017, for example, Roberts was down to just $14 million in the bank. He has since raised more money. Those 100 star systems? He has not completed a single one. So far he has two mostly finished planets, nine moons and an asteroid.
This is not fraud—Roberts really is working on a game—but it is incompetence and mismanagement on a galactic scale.
Here is the full story:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2019/05/01/exclusive-the-saga-of-star-citizen-a-video-game-that-raised-300-millionbut-may-never-be-ready-to-play/#3e2d26c75ac9
Let this serve as a warning. Managers, always provide resource constraints beyond what you actually have. Developers, always listen to marketing to identify need. Leaders, get out of the weeds to provide vision and let your people work.
And on
and on
...
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
This is not fraud—Roberts really is working on a game—but it is incompetence and mismanagement on a galactic scale.
Here is the full story:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2019/05/01/exclusive-the-saga-of-star-citizen-a-video-game-that-raised-300-millionbut-may-never-be-ready-to-play/#3e2d26c75ac9
Let this serve as a warning. Managers, always provide resource constraints beyond what you actually have. Developers, always listen to marketing to identify need. Leaders, get out of the weeds to provide vision and let your people work.
And on
and on
...
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Friday, January 11, 2019
Digital Product Management - Modern Definitions
What is Product Management as it relates to software development, digital?
This is a question with quite a few answers so I've decided to lay out some of my thoughts. This will be a sketch of what may become a White Paper.
For those readers who look to me for retail, digital interactions for businesses, future technology ideas, etc., this post may not be for you unless you are curious what the process is behind the work that drives those items.
What does the title mean?
Product Manager - Product Owner - Product Team Lead
Most shops run some form of agile development method in today's world. There are many flavors of that some looking more like traditional waterfall SDLCs, some running in a Lean Startup way, etc. Most software development is attempting to create value for some user who may be a customers The Product world bridges the gap between the users/customers and the engineers who build them. I like to say, a Product Manager is most focused on everything leading up to the point where a team of engineers has to build something.
Product Manager
A manager should be managing something. Some process. Adding value in some way. The Product Manager role is about as diversely defined as anything I've ever heard of. Some are "Strategic" product managers focusing solely on understanding the market, crafting the product vision and managing the product roadmap. Some then handoff to a Product Owner who manages the SDLC process writing user stories to ensure the software gets written. Some do the user stories themselves. Some have more senior Product Managers owning the roadmap and only contribute ideas in to it, maybe a Director. Some even own the P&L though that is rarer. Most have some ownership and often a bonus structure emphasizing the profit their product brings to the company.
Product Owner
This is the one that creates the most controversy outside looking in. A shop decides what the role is and often can't imagine anything else. However, outside of that shop you can find many flavors of Product Owner. I'm going to split it in to two definitions.
Product Owner - Senior Product Manager
This flavor is most often a Product Manager who writes user stories. However it may also indicate a very senior Product Manager, more of a General Manager who owns the P&L.
Product Owner - Agile
Epics, Themes, user stories, the backlog are all the items this Product Owner focuses on. Often this flavor does not have direct ownership of the roadmap and is not concerned with P&L or profitability of the product. This Product Owner focuses on managing the SDLC from the perspective of product. In many ways this person is the modern Business Analyst.
Product Team Lead
This is another one that might have radically different flavors. The "Team Lead" indicates someone who may be a group manager, maybe managing other Product Managers. However some shops place this role as the literal SCRUM master focused on managing the SDLC from the perspective of product.
Where do the opportunities lie with these definitions?
A complete vision of Product Management for software must be end-to-end, from the customer to the engineers. Along the way there are opportunities for better or worse fits. Here are a few:
Lean Product Management
If you need quick, iterative, product development this should be your focus. It is an extension of the more familiar Lean Startup methods that focus on bringing value to market quickly. This is a mindset that marries with agile product development and should result in increased throughput from the engineering team. Where it varies slightly from Lean Startup is mostly on the focus of the Product Team and how to best utilize an agile development shop. Otherwise, it is the same mindset you'll find throughout Lean Startup thinking. You the Product Manager only has a hypothesis of what the customers in the market will find valuable. Working with customers you should be able to scratch out an idea that may have value. Create a simple mockup and get it in front of some customers for feedback. Put together your best informed guess, make it as small as possible to add value, and write the user story to get the engineers to build it. Then get it in the hands of those customers who most wanted the new product/feature. Then iterate based on how they actually use it and don't be afraid to scrap it all together.
Here's one I got from a CTO recently. Take the typical agile user story, now recognize you really want to get a MVP to market as quickly as possible to begin the iterative process of identifying value for your customers. Do you, as the Product Manager, really need 5-10 acceptance criteria or is there actually 1 or 2 that most likely result in a minimally viable product (I'm looking at you InsightSquared)?
Your embrace of Lean Product Management should be a natural fit to the company's culture, maturity of product line, and SDLC processes.
Roadmap
If your product line is young you should have a flexible roadmap under most circumstances. In some cases the clients and the capabilities of the industry map out the roadmap to great detail even for young products (I'm looking at you TRUX). In others there is no defined idea of where the value is and flexibility is a must. Finally, if your product is mature and well-established you may want to introduce a quantitative approach to product roadmapping where a variety of data inputs might result in a top 10 list of product features to focus on.
Customer Interactions
The definition of a customer and what constitutes "sales" can vary greatly but basically these are the people paying money that keeps your company around and the sales team is focused on growing that area. If its a platform for social connections you may have a "growth" team instead of traditional sales (I'm looking at your Alignable). The Product Team that has incentive to see their product profitability rise will likely have interactions with Sales and Sales Engineering to help close deals and make the customers happy. They may be out at trade shows as the voice of the product and bringing back their interactions to be the voice of the customer. Maybe thought leadership can be displayed in the space by blog posts, white papers, or a CAB - Customer Advisory Board.
UX
The User Experience a customer has with a product can make or break a product depending on a variety of factors. Generally business power users are more forgiving of lesser quality UX design. They just want the results afterall. However, UX is important in this area as well as you may inadvertently hide features in a poor UI and lose customers over the poor experience. Further, as the product matures it is likely features will be added and a lack of UX vision can result in some kind of Frankenstein product with a poor UX that results in lost customers. Generally, the more mature a market space the more important UX is to differentiate a product and the more consumer-facing a product is the more important UX is. Product comes in to play as owners of the roadmap and the overall product vision. Have knowledge of UX and have a plan, but be flexible in achieving your goals and remain focused on the customer. A company that isn't growing is probably declining. A product who's sales are not climbing is probably seeing diminishing sales.
There are a thousand more points that could be made on this subject but this outline is my start at defining a modern Product Management shop and helping folks understand the varying definitions for the titles out there and the varying processes available to them.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
This is a question with quite a few answers so I've decided to lay out some of my thoughts. This will be a sketch of what may become a White Paper.
For those readers who look to me for retail, digital interactions for businesses, future technology ideas, etc., this post may not be for you unless you are curious what the process is behind the work that drives those items.
What does the title mean?
Product Manager - Product Owner - Product Team Lead
Most shops run some form of agile development method in today's world. There are many flavors of that some looking more like traditional waterfall SDLCs, some running in a Lean Startup way, etc. Most software development is attempting to create value for some user who may be a customers The Product world bridges the gap between the users/customers and the engineers who build them. I like to say, a Product Manager is most focused on everything leading up to the point where a team of engineers has to build something.
Product Manager
A manager should be managing something. Some process. Adding value in some way. The Product Manager role is about as diversely defined as anything I've ever heard of. Some are "Strategic" product managers focusing solely on understanding the market, crafting the product vision and managing the product roadmap. Some then handoff to a Product Owner who manages the SDLC process writing user stories to ensure the software gets written. Some do the user stories themselves. Some have more senior Product Managers owning the roadmap and only contribute ideas in to it, maybe a Director. Some even own the P&L though that is rarer. Most have some ownership and often a bonus structure emphasizing the profit their product brings to the company.
Product Owner
This is the one that creates the most controversy outside looking in. A shop decides what the role is and often can't imagine anything else. However, outside of that shop you can find many flavors of Product Owner. I'm going to split it in to two definitions.
Product Owner - Senior Product Manager
This flavor is most often a Product Manager who writes user stories. However it may also indicate a very senior Product Manager, more of a General Manager who owns the P&L.
Product Owner - Agile
Epics, Themes, user stories, the backlog are all the items this Product Owner focuses on. Often this flavor does not have direct ownership of the roadmap and is not concerned with P&L or profitability of the product. This Product Owner focuses on managing the SDLC from the perspective of product. In many ways this person is the modern Business Analyst.
Product Team Lead
This is another one that might have radically different flavors. The "Team Lead" indicates someone who may be a group manager, maybe managing other Product Managers. However some shops place this role as the literal SCRUM master focused on managing the SDLC from the perspective of product.
Where do the opportunities lie with these definitions?
A complete vision of Product Management for software must be end-to-end, from the customer to the engineers. Along the way there are opportunities for better or worse fits. Here are a few:
Lean Product Management
If you need quick, iterative, product development this should be your focus. It is an extension of the more familiar Lean Startup methods that focus on bringing value to market quickly. This is a mindset that marries with agile product development and should result in increased throughput from the engineering team. Where it varies slightly from Lean Startup is mostly on the focus of the Product Team and how to best utilize an agile development shop. Otherwise, it is the same mindset you'll find throughout Lean Startup thinking. You the Product Manager only has a hypothesis of what the customers in the market will find valuable. Working with customers you should be able to scratch out an idea that may have value. Create a simple mockup and get it in front of some customers for feedback. Put together your best informed guess, make it as small as possible to add value, and write the user story to get the engineers to build it. Then get it in the hands of those customers who most wanted the new product/feature. Then iterate based on how they actually use it and don't be afraid to scrap it all together.
Here's one I got from a CTO recently. Take the typical agile user story, now recognize you really want to get a MVP to market as quickly as possible to begin the iterative process of identifying value for your customers. Do you, as the Product Manager, really need 5-10 acceptance criteria or is there actually 1 or 2 that most likely result in a minimally viable product (I'm looking at you InsightSquared)?
Your embrace of Lean Product Management should be a natural fit to the company's culture, maturity of product line, and SDLC processes.
Roadmap
If your product line is young you should have a flexible roadmap under most circumstances. In some cases the clients and the capabilities of the industry map out the roadmap to great detail even for young products (I'm looking at you TRUX). In others there is no defined idea of where the value is and flexibility is a must. Finally, if your product is mature and well-established you may want to introduce a quantitative approach to product roadmapping where a variety of data inputs might result in a top 10 list of product features to focus on.
Customer Interactions
The definition of a customer and what constitutes "sales" can vary greatly but basically these are the people paying money that keeps your company around and the sales team is focused on growing that area. If its a platform for social connections you may have a "growth" team instead of traditional sales (I'm looking at your Alignable). The Product Team that has incentive to see their product profitability rise will likely have interactions with Sales and Sales Engineering to help close deals and make the customers happy. They may be out at trade shows as the voice of the product and bringing back their interactions to be the voice of the customer. Maybe thought leadership can be displayed in the space by blog posts, white papers, or a CAB - Customer Advisory Board.
UX
The User Experience a customer has with a product can make or break a product depending on a variety of factors. Generally business power users are more forgiving of lesser quality UX design. They just want the results afterall. However, UX is important in this area as well as you may inadvertently hide features in a poor UI and lose customers over the poor experience. Further, as the product matures it is likely features will be added and a lack of UX vision can result in some kind of Frankenstein product with a poor UX that results in lost customers. Generally, the more mature a market space the more important UX is to differentiate a product and the more consumer-facing a product is the more important UX is. Product comes in to play as owners of the roadmap and the overall product vision. Have knowledge of UX and have a plan, but be flexible in achieving your goals and remain focused on the customer. A company that isn't growing is probably declining. A product who's sales are not climbing is probably seeing diminishing sales.
There are a thousand more points that could be made on this subject but this outline is my start at defining a modern Product Management shop and helping folks understand the varying definitions for the titles out there and the varying processes available to them.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Online eCommerce Grocery Sales to Grow Fast
The toughest nuts to crack are often the best.
Not sure that is the case here but I'm still convinced we will see quite a shift in our Supermarket shopping habits as the Information Age continues to change our daily lives.
These folks continue to think grocery will move to online.
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Online sales of groceries continue to grow much faster than the overall market and that web growth is expected to continue, according to recently released datafrom the United Kingdom-based Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD).
Yes, it references the UK but the data is U.S. focused.
Here is the full article:
https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2018/12/17/all-signs-point-to-continued-growth-in-online-grocery-sales/
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Not sure that is the case here but I'm still convinced we will see quite a shift in our Supermarket shopping habits as the Information Age continues to change our daily lives.
These folks continue to think grocery will move to online.
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Yes, it references the UK but the data is U.S. focused.
Here is the full article:
https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2018/12/17/all-signs-point-to-continued-growth-in-online-grocery-sales/
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
Virtual Reality Entertainment in Your Mall
We have all heard a bit about VR, virtual reality, or maybe even AR, augmented reality.
VR. You know? Those goofy looking people wearing some crazy futuristic headset and acting like they don't know what's happening in the real world?
Yes that.
Or "Ready Player One" as Steven Spielberg's film showed us (I do not recommend that movie, really a waste of time).
What I wasn't prepared for was a VR entertainment ride in the mall.
Here is a picture of me, on the right, taking the ride for a ... spin.
What I also was not prepared for was what the physical effect of the "ride" portion would have on me when married to the Virtual Reality headset. Wow! Complete immersion!
Now, I'm no fan of roller coasters as I've hardly ever ridden them and haven't built up a tolerance to their behavior. I'm up for the Goofy ride at Disney World but not much more. I figured, its VR, it isn't real, why not try a big roller coaster for my first ride.
No way! I immediately panicked! Had to take the head set off quickly and just move on.
Really? Yes, it had that much of an impact. I closed my eyes and chanted "It's not real. It's not real. It's not real." Then just gave up. My next attempt I parachuted in to Normandy on D-Day in 1944. That was much better for me as the physical ride didn't have the same impact.
Bottom line, as I've known for years, if you haven't tried VR you just have NO IDEA what it is like. This is going to be HUGE. Movies. Games. You name it.
Here is the website for a company like the one I experienced in Boston:
http://www.vr360adventures.com/about-us/
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
VR. You know? Those goofy looking people wearing some crazy futuristic headset and acting like they don't know what's happening in the real world?
Yes that.
Or "Ready Player One" as Steven Spielberg's film showed us (I do not recommend that movie, really a waste of time).
What I wasn't prepared for was a VR entertainment ride in the mall.
Here is a picture of me, on the right, taking the ride for a ... spin.
What I also was not prepared for was what the physical effect of the "ride" portion would have on me when married to the Virtual Reality headset. Wow! Complete immersion!
Now, I'm no fan of roller coasters as I've hardly ever ridden them and haven't built up a tolerance to their behavior. I'm up for the Goofy ride at Disney World but not much more. I figured, its VR, it isn't real, why not try a big roller coaster for my first ride.
No way! I immediately panicked! Had to take the head set off quickly and just move on.
Really? Yes, it had that much of an impact. I closed my eyes and chanted "It's not real. It's not real. It's not real." Then just gave up. My next attempt I parachuted in to Normandy on D-Day in 1944. That was much better for me as the physical ride didn't have the same impact.
Bottom line, as I've known for years, if you haven't tried VR you just have NO IDEA what it is like. This is going to be HUGE. Movies. Games. You name it.
Here is the website for a company like the one I experienced in Boston:
http://www.vr360adventures.com/about-us/
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
BRotD - Entry 0262 Social Media's Growing Pains
Best Reading of the Day
This is a really fine article over on the New York Times.
What has Facebook, and other technologies, done to us? What has the impact been on humanity? How did we get here? What can be done?
Here is a snippet from the piece:
This is a really fine article over on the New York Times.
What has Facebook, and other technologies, done to us? What has the impact been on humanity? How did we get here? What can be done?
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Let me first state that I actually like Mark Zuckerberg and have since the day I met him more than a dozen years ago.
But let me also say that he and Facebook, the huge social network that he started in college, have been working humanity’s last nerve for far too long now.
Every week, it’s something, and that something is never good.
This week, it was the revelation that the Russians — or, more precisely, a group of geek thugs who are acting the exact same way that a group of Russians acted when they messed with the 2016 United States elections on Facebook — are still skulking around the platform and making trouble for the midterms.
Here is the full article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/opinion/the-expensive-education-of-mark-zuckerberg-and-silicon-valley.html
I use Facebook for one thing really. I have a couple small groups I'm in where we discuss particular topics. Movies mostly. I enjoy the folks there. We are quite collegial and regularly have respectful disagreements. We stay on topic and share our thoughts and experiences.
Beyond that the platform doesn't do hardly anything for me any more.
Twitter is a great place for instant news, though dangerous as the possibility of inaccurate news is very real.
Troubling times as we've seen our hopes and dreams for technology dashed by bad actors. As if we've never seen this before in history (oh, yes, we have says Mr. Nobel).
Happy Disturbing Reading,
J.W. Gant
But let me also say that he and Facebook, the huge social network that he started in college, have been working humanity’s last nerve for far too long now.
Every week, it’s something, and that something is never good.
This week, it was the revelation that the Russians — or, more precisely, a group of geek thugs who are acting the exact same way that a group of Russians acted when they messed with the 2016 United States elections on Facebook — are still skulking around the platform and making trouble for the midterms.
Here is the full article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/opinion/the-expensive-education-of-mark-zuckerberg-and-silicon-valley.html
I use Facebook for one thing really. I have a couple small groups I'm in where we discuss particular topics. Movies mostly. I enjoy the folks there. We are quite collegial and regularly have respectful disagreements. We stay on topic and share our thoughts and experiences.
Beyond that the platform doesn't do hardly anything for me any more.
Twitter is a great place for instant news, though dangerous as the possibility of inaccurate news is very real.
Troubling times as we've seen our hopes and dreams for technology dashed by bad actors. As if we've never seen this before in history (oh, yes, we have says Mr. Nobel).
Happy Disturbing Reading,
J.W. Gant
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Brands Blazing a Trail in AR or VR
Wait.
What in the world is AR?
For that matter, what is VR. Wait. Maybe I know that one.
Augmented Reality or AR and Virtual Reality or VR are becoming hot buzzwords for a reason. This stuff is really cool.
The folks over at ClickZ who just released a great article challenging brands to bump up their AR/VR game have released another excellent read. This time they're focusing on brands already doing it well.
Here is a snippet from the piece:
It’s hard to believe that it’s only been two years since Pokemon Go became a national obsession and made augmented reality (AR) not just a possibility, but a reality, for digital marketers. These days, it seems like everyone is trying to figure out how to make AR work for their brand, but the key to creating an AR experience that gets audiences engaging, according to Jason Yim, CEO of Trigger Global, is to focus on functionality rather than novelty.
Here is the full article:
https://www.clickz.com/ar-isnt-just-fun-and-games-here-are-the-brands-at-the-forefront-of-functional-ar/216076/
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
What in the world is AR?
For that matter, what is VR. Wait. Maybe I know that one.
Augmented Reality or AR and Virtual Reality or VR are becoming hot buzzwords for a reason. This stuff is really cool.
The folks over at ClickZ who just released a great article challenging brands to bump up their AR/VR game have released another excellent read. This time they're focusing on brands already doing it well.
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Here is the full article:
https://www.clickz.com/ar-isnt-just-fun-and-games-here-are-the-brands-at-the-forefront-of-functional-ar/216076/
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Friday, June 8, 2018
Technological Disruption and the City Taxi
I am fascinated by all things related to the ongoing entry in to the Information Age.
A bit more than 100 years ago the street lamps in major cities were powered by gas. Every evening a fleet of trained individuals would pan out across the city igniting the city's gas street lamps. Every morning they would extinguish them. Along came electricity and quickly those jobs were all eliminated. Great safety and cost savings improvement for the city and the inhabitants therein. Terrible for the people who lost their job and had no skills for anything else.
Technological advances always result in disruption of the status quo. Today is no different.
What do you know about how taxi services are regulated in our biggest cities? Nothing? Count me there too.
City managers long ago recognized the need to regulate the number of taxis in a city boundary so as to prevent overcrowding of taxis on the streets. These managers, however, also saw an opportunity to make money regulating that task. Enter the taxi medallion.
A taxi is required to have a taxi medallion to do business within city limits. New York, Chicago, all of the big U.S. cities do this. A finite number are created. As you can imagine when demand outdraws supply the price goes up (ECON 101). Owning your own taxi medallion was the gold standard and a dream realized for generations of middle America. The price could go north of $1 USM. Yes, million, for a taxi medallion so you can drive a cab in city limits. People would save for years and take out a loan the size of, or larger than, most home mortgages.
With the advent of UBER and Lyft the value of these medallions is plummeting. No longer able to compete and dragged down by a massive loan now underwater we are seeing a dramatic rise in suicides among long-time city livery and taxi drivers.
Disruption comes with a cost.
Read more here:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/shadow-uber-s-rise-taxi-driver-suicides-leave-cabbies-shaken-n879281
Interesting Reading.
J.W. Gant
A bit more than 100 years ago the street lamps in major cities were powered by gas. Every evening a fleet of trained individuals would pan out across the city igniting the city's gas street lamps. Every morning they would extinguish them. Along came electricity and quickly those jobs were all eliminated. Great safety and cost savings improvement for the city and the inhabitants therein. Terrible for the people who lost their job and had no skills for anything else.
Technological advances always result in disruption of the status quo. Today is no different.
What do you know about how taxi services are regulated in our biggest cities? Nothing? Count me there too.
City managers long ago recognized the need to regulate the number of taxis in a city boundary so as to prevent overcrowding of taxis on the streets. These managers, however, also saw an opportunity to make money regulating that task. Enter the taxi medallion.
A taxi is required to have a taxi medallion to do business within city limits. New York, Chicago, all of the big U.S. cities do this. A finite number are created. As you can imagine when demand outdraws supply the price goes up (ECON 101). Owning your own taxi medallion was the gold standard and a dream realized for generations of middle America. The price could go north of $1 USM. Yes, million, for a taxi medallion so you can drive a cab in city limits. People would save for years and take out a loan the size of, or larger than, most home mortgages.
With the advent of UBER and Lyft the value of these medallions is plummeting. No longer able to compete and dragged down by a massive loan now underwater we are seeing a dramatic rise in suicides among long-time city livery and taxi drivers.
Disruption comes with a cost.
Read more here:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/shadow-uber-s-rise-taxi-driver-suicides-leave-cabbies-shaken-n879281
Interesting Reading.
J.W. Gant
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Virtual Store Obsession
First, let's get the notion of the so-called "retail apocalypse" out of the way.
The Unites States is over-saturated with physical retail and it is feeling gravity pull it back to earth. Also, a few brands that have failed to keep up with the times are going under (Sears won't last much longer as the CEO enriches himself with its brands).
However, there is a whole new opportunity for retail and there is a gold rush to get there.
Next up is the virtual online experience. Enter the Obsessed.
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Here is the full story:
http://www.businessinsider.com/neha-singh-obsess-google-amazon-experience-online-shopping-2018-6
I love stories like this for the multi-faceted aspect of it. This is retail, it is technology, it is innovation, it is the customer experience, it is all of that and more.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
The Unites States is over-saturated with physical retail and it is feeling gravity pull it back to earth. Also, a few brands that have failed to keep up with the times are going under (Sears won't last much longer as the CEO enriches himself with its brands).
However, there is a whole new opportunity for retail and there is a gold rush to get there.
Next up is the virtual online experience. Enter the Obsessed.
Here is a snippet from the piece:
"You can't sell fashion and art the same way you sell toothpaste," says Neha Singh. "But on the internet, that's exactly what we do: Toothpaste is sold the same way as beautiful clothes."
Singh is the founder of Obsess, a new online shopping platform that seeks to reinvigorate what she describes as the "boring and tedious" business of online shopping. Singh hopes to usher in a new era of online retail, where currently, items are almost always presented as two-dimensional thumbnails on a uniform scroll-through grid.
Singh is the founder of Obsess, a new online shopping platform that seeks to reinvigorate what she describes as the "boring and tedious" business of online shopping. Singh hopes to usher in a new era of online retail, where currently, items are almost always presented as two-dimensional thumbnails on a uniform scroll-through grid.
Here is the full story:
http://www.businessinsider.com/neha-singh-obsess-google-amazon-experience-online-shopping-2018-6
I love stories like this for the multi-faceted aspect of it. This is retail, it is technology, it is innovation, it is the customer experience, it is all of that and more.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
BRotD - Entry 0258 Retail and the Startup Competitors
Best Reading of the Day
The ultimate goal for the creators of goods, manufacturers and brand owners, is the direct to consumer relationship disinter-mediating the retailer that has gained so much power and leverage the last 40 odd years. I've been very interested in this for a few years now and new stories on the subject catch my eye.
Similarly you see pure digital retail companies starting up as well. Think Amazon.com as it started out, not the behemoth it has become.
Here is a great little write-up that intends to help retailers understand the "digital native" company and what can be learned from the approach.
https://www.mytotalretail.com/post/digital-native-brands-the-almost-new-face-of-modern-marketers/
Here is a snippet from the piece:
There's lots of buzz surrounding digital-native brands and what's making them so disruptive and relevant today. While the definition of digital native is evolving, they are companies that launch as web-only retailers with the belief that superior technology can be a differentiator. They often engender loyalty by projecting authenticity and effectively leveraging social media. More importantly, they believe in a few core operational traits that can serve as a template for larger companies to try to emulate.
The ultimate goal for the creators of goods, manufacturers and brand owners, is the direct to consumer relationship disinter-mediating the retailer that has gained so much power and leverage the last 40 odd years. I've been very interested in this for a few years now and new stories on the subject catch my eye.
Similarly you see pure digital retail companies starting up as well. Think Amazon.com as it started out, not the behemoth it has become.
Here is a great little write-up that intends to help retailers understand the "digital native" company and what can be learned from the approach.
https://www.mytotalretail.com/post/digital-native-brands-the-almost-new-face-of-modern-marketers/
Here is a snippet from the piece:
The modern retailer has a whole new series of competitors and threats to it. The savvy management group will be looking at all of these and determining the firewalls to place, the areas to compete directly, and the technology investments to make (once the best people are in place) to remain competitive and give customers what they want.
Call it 'Bricks & Mobile' or all it 'Omnicommerce' or anything else you want just be where the customer wants and needs you to be.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Call it 'Bricks & Mobile' or all it 'Omnicommerce' or anything else you want just be where the customer wants and needs you to be.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Monday, April 9, 2018
BRotD - Entry 0256 Smart Clothing
Best Reading of the Day
The cuff on the left arm is woven with a conductive fiber, as well as a special-grade polyester that allows it to act as a touch sensor; the rest of the jacket is traditional Levi’s cotton-based denim. You can feel a slight difference in material when you touch the denim part of the jacket, and then touch the cuff. It’s not easily noticeable, though, which is important to maintaining a traditional look.
This fine little write-up is well worth your time.
Smart Clothes.
Okay, okay, yes it sounds ridiculous and probably will be for a while yet but crazier things have happened.
What is the utility? That's the key. Do we find some in this article? Judge for yourself.
Here is the full article:
Here is a snippet from the piece:
I've seen a bit on smart clothing and when it comes to these, even the classic electric blanket, I have to admit I have visions of being enmeshed in electronic clothing that catches fire. Ugh. Not a pretty picture. People, well, most people, got over that for the electric blanket lines. If there's sufficient benefit to this line of connected clothing then people will buy them.
This prototype takes the same basic approach as the smart watch. It isn't a replacement for your smart phone, it complements it so you don't have to reach for your phone. Yes, that right there might be enough to sell units. Not bad.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
What to do About Smartphone Addicts?
Is there a smartphone addict in your life?
Is it you?
Your significant other?
Children?
Co-workers?
Students?
What can you do about it?
Plenty.
Read more here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/02/05/this-millennial-discovered-a-surprisingly-simple-solution-to-smartphone-addiction-schools-love-it/?utm_term=.7e4c900d9068
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Is it you?
Your significant other?
Children?
Co-workers?
Students?
What can you do about it?
Plenty.
Read more here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/02/05/this-millennial-discovered-a-surprisingly-simple-solution-to-smartphone-addiction-schools-love-it/?utm_term=.7e4c900d9068
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Ditch the phones.
He founded a company, Yondr, whose small, gray pouches swallow phones and lock them away from the fingers and eyes of their addicted owners. Since it started in 2014, hundreds of thousands of the neoprene pouches have been used across North America, Europe and Australia.
He founded a company, Yondr, whose small, gray pouches swallow phones and lock them away from the fingers and eyes of their addicted owners. Since it started in 2014, hundreds of thousands of the neoprene pouches have been used across North America, Europe and Australia.
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
J.W. Gant
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Mobile Payments in Chicago Mass Transit
Wow!
2 million downloads. That's moving along.
Great little piece on mobile payments in Chicago.
A pioneering mobile-payment wallet for mass transit has reached a milestone. Chicago’s Ventra app has been downloaded more than 2 million times since it became available in November 2015, according to an announcement Monday from Cubic Transportation Systems, the San Diego-based company that developed the app. Commuters have bought almost $250 million in fares on the app in that time, Cubic added.
Here is the full story:
http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/At-2-Million-Downloads_-Chicago_s-Transit-System-Sees-an-Appetite-for-Mobile-Payment
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
2 million downloads. That's moving along.
Great little piece on mobile payments in Chicago.
Here is the full story:
http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/At-2-Million-Downloads_-Chicago_s-Transit-System-Sees-an-Appetite-for-Mobile-Payment
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Small Towns and Walmart
The story of this little Massachusetts town really caught my eye. Not only for the urban planning aspect but for the small business savvy and differentiating strategy.
Well worth the read.
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Well worth the read.
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Downtown Hudson was quiet when Michael Kasseris stepped out into the late night air in 2012.
Behind him was a Main Street space that had once housed a printing shop, a bagel shop and a gifting shop.
His uncle owned the building. Kasseris and his two business partners had just opened Rail Trail Flatbread Co. -- a trendy new restaurant featuring wood-fired pizza and craft beer.
He looked around. The downtown stores, tucked inside historic brick buildings, were empty. The parking spaces were empty. There was no foot traffic.
He and his friends were investing everything they had into this place.
In a moment of panic, Kasseris thought, "What are we doing building a restaurant?"
Here is the full story:
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/08/hudson_how_this_small_massachu.html
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Behind him was a Main Street space that had once housed a printing shop, a bagel shop and a gifting shop.
His uncle owned the building. Kasseris and his two business partners had just opened Rail Trail Flatbread Co. -- a trendy new restaurant featuring wood-fired pizza and craft beer.
He looked around. The downtown stores, tucked inside historic brick buildings, were empty. The parking spaces were empty. There was no foot traffic.
He and his friends were investing everything they had into this place.
In a moment of panic, Kasseris thought, "What are we doing building a restaurant?"
Here is the full story:
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/08/hudson_how_this_small_massachu.html
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
AI Comes to Online Retail
What's the next big thing?
Artificial Intelligence, or machine learning, is definitely coming as big wave of impact.
This little article caught my eye for that reason.
https://econsultancy.com/blog/69292-this-online-retailer-uses-ai-for-product-categorisation-here-s-how/
Here is a snippet from the piece:
Artificial Intelligence, or machine learning, is definitely coming as big wave of impact.
This little article caught my eye for that reason.
https://econsultancy.com/blog/69292-this-online-retailer-uses-ai-for-product-categorisation-here-s-how/
Here is a snippet from the piece:
LovetheSales.com was founded in 2013 and is a retail sales aggregator where consumers can find more than a million sales items from hundreds of retailers.
Machine learning is used to classify these products, tagging them to enable the website to sort them into the right categories and to show a user products they may be interested in.
[Founder Stuart McClure] explains the need for a machine learning-led approach:
“Given that we’ve got that massive catalogue of products that can change and shift very quickly - as products on sale can change in price or sell out - we recognised that we needed a pretty clever tool."
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Machine learning is used to classify these products, tagging them to enable the website to sort them into the right categories and to show a user products they may be interested in.
[Founder Stuart McClure] explains the need for a machine learning-led approach:
“Given that we’ve got that massive catalogue of products that can change and shift very quickly - as products on sale can change in price or sell out - we recognised that we needed a pretty clever tool."
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
BRotD - Entry 0253 Next Generation Stores Today
Best Reading of the Day
Always remember, the folks who want to sell you something will often be willing to write studious analyses to help persuade you to but it.
With that in mind you really should read this, the best read of today, or the month really.
Forget everything we know or think we know about the retail store. Given the technological shifts we've seen in recent decades with online, social, integrated fulfillment, seemless customer service through digital, mobile, and more, what should the store look like today.
Here is a snippet that provides one view:
Over the next three years, outdoor lifestyle apparel retailer Toad&Co. plans to open 20 new brick and mortar stores.
With news of store closings by powerhouse brands likely swirling around in your head, you may be tempted to make sure you read that number correctly. It’s been dizzying for sure. So why would an apparel retailer be looking to expand its brick and mortar footprint in this environment?
Santa Barbara, CA-based Toad&Co. lives by a simple truth: People enjoy shopping and being in the store, and still want that experience. They just don’t want it to be disconnected from the rest of their purchasing journey.
“We don’t believe brick and mortar is dying,” explained Kelly Milazzo, VP of operations for Toad&Co. ”But we do believe that the consumer expects, and will soon demand, a seamless interaction with the brand.”
Here is the full article:
http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/how-make-next-generation-store-right-now-store
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
Always remember, the folks who want to sell you something will often be willing to write studious analyses to help persuade you to but it.
With that in mind you really should read this, the best read of today, or the month really.
Forget everything we know or think we know about the retail store. Given the technological shifts we've seen in recent decades with online, social, integrated fulfillment, seemless customer service through digital, mobile, and more, what should the store look like today.
Here is a snippet that provides one view:
Over the next three years, outdoor lifestyle apparel retailer Toad&Co. plans to open 20 new brick and mortar stores.
With news of store closings by powerhouse brands likely swirling around in your head, you may be tempted to make sure you read that number correctly. It’s been dizzying for sure. So why would an apparel retailer be looking to expand its brick and mortar footprint in this environment?
Santa Barbara, CA-based Toad&Co. lives by a simple truth: People enjoy shopping and being in the store, and still want that experience. They just don’t want it to be disconnected from the rest of their purchasing journey.
“We don’t believe brick and mortar is dying,” explained Kelly Milazzo, VP of operations for Toad&Co. ”But we do believe that the consumer expects, and will soon demand, a seamless interaction with the brand.”
Here is the full article:
http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/how-make-next-generation-store-right-now-store
Happy Reading,
J.W. Gant
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