Typing Out Loud

Business

When building and diversifying a portfolio, we sometimes get ahead of ourselves and allow our overall strategy to slip a little. Sometimes it helps to go back to basics and perform some simple tests on our investments.

One bellwether

What’s the point of holding multiple investments when their price movements are so tightly synchronized? - might as well hold a single bellwether or an index.

Two competes

Sometimes it helps to play two competing investments, for example baidu vs google. Play your money both ways but set your proportions according to your preference for risk/reward.

Three options

An investment playing multiple locations / markets is great for diversification but be sure the exchange rates and overall strategy works for you.

Life and Net

The world is crazy… no wait, I’m really stupid.

On and off over the years I tried to take some time to get my head around facebook. It’s constantly used in mainstream media, apparently the whole world loves it. With all the hysteria, year to year, strength to strength, it must be something special. And friends will tell you about that wonderful game FarmVille… sounds exciting, not… like I’ve been yanked 20 years into the past.

So why is it I NEVER get it? Every few months I come back to it, desperately trying to get with it, only to come back to isolation, the only person on the planet that just simply can’t figure it out. It’s utterly complicated, confusing and mis-guided.

Again I give up, No need for replies, I know I’m stupid.

Business and Life

Whether we’re selling a product or an idea, positive and negative feedback will impact our mindset and decision making process, it can work for us or against us. Imagine for a moment, you go to a friend with an idea. Here are some possible outcomes:

• Your friend tells you all the reasons why it will not work.

  The continuous voice of negativity can destroy self-esteem. For many people, finding possible flaws is a habit and easier than seeking or accepting solutions.

• Your friend simply doesn’t get it.

  Early adopters and visionaries may get it but many of your friends may not understand your ideas and foresight.

• Your friend says you’re very smart.

  A potentially disastrous position, being lead into a false sense of confidence, that your ideas are great and worth pursuing. An initial boost of encouragement sometimes sets people off in the wrong direction.

Of course, your friend could also be right, so a balance needs to be made, where we carry enough conviction to pursue our dreams yet equally keep both feet firmly placed on terra firma. We need to learn when to listen and when to ignore.

To better explore your ideas, you may need to downsize them and let them evolve. You may also need to test your ideas with more like minded people.

With each milestone we need to re-examine our journey as it is very easy to believe an outcome was based on sound judgment or execution when, in reality, luck played a greater part.

It may also help to keep a sense of perspective, feedback is relative to failure and success. When you get it right you’ll be cheered on, get it wrong and…

Here are some thoughts on how to respond to feedback:

• Recognise the benefits you are bringing to others.

• The world is in constant change, try to be more adaptable.

• Accept your failures and learn when to cut your losses. Don’t let your losses run.

• Remember people love to see actions, meaning and results.

Technology

When looking at new or emerging technology and when trying to predict future trends, a balance needs to be made. We need to recognise game changers but equally to accept evolution over revolution.

Let’s take this by example; video tapes to DVD to hard drive recording. First was the battle of formats, Betamax vs VHS. VHS did not win on technical merit but it did win consensus. For a moment in time, multiple flying erase heads were setting exceptional standards of engineering and production. Then from left field, or so it seemed, digital formats were revolutionising our world. In truth, CDs and DVDs struggled to be accepted. However, as is so often the case, the turning point was characterised by a peak of exceptional bloom followed by sudden extinction.

Let’s translate that to display technology which is undergoing rapid change in so many areas. Aesthetic, sharper, wider and larger screens. Add some 3D technology and add a free roaming 360 degree view. Merge all that with tactile and gesture based interaction. With so much going on, you have to ask yourself, how big and immersive are those screens going to get before we move to the next level?

More inches, less bucks; TV is coming to wallpaper. Screen size will be a big indicator of change. Just when you think screens can’t bigger, thinner, brighter, they will. BOOM - screens will disappear. Direct to retina image projection is coming. Your mobile phone will track and project personalised images to both eyes. Screen size will become irrelevant and subliminal advertising to your peripheral vision is coming.

Life and Net

A few years ago I tried facebook in an attempt to understand the hype. I gave it a shot but still I didn’t get it. Millions of people use fb every day yet I found it confusing and I always found myself asking “why, why??” A week or so went by, then word got out that Microsoft was pouring money into it… it was time to get out. Seems I’m forever running from those guys at Redmond; hotmail, facebook, yahoo - you name it and Microsoft trashed it. A lot of hoops had to be jumped to close that fb account, which says a lot about such organisations unwilling to accept rejection.

The media loves to talk about personal data and privacy. The world, apparently, is full of scammers, losers, weirdos and pedophiles. SIX BILLION PEOPLE on this planet and the chances are it’s all about YOU. How to list the unfamous?

I can deal with the minority of crackheads in our society by applying some common sense and perspective. I’m more concerned about vulnerable groups of people and data hungry organisations. Which leads me to ask, whoever said the Internet is a child’s product? We don’t sell alcohol to children so why are Internet providers allowing unfiltered services to children? For children, we don’t just need filters on the PC or phone, the only true solution is to do it at the service level; filter in, not filter out.

We live in a society that sings the wonders of freedom yet simultaneously tells us why we should be fearful. Isn’t it time that large Internet providers and mobile operators be required to offer child-safe services?

Business

Seems to me, some people have too much money. When a customer says you are too expensive and starts to walk out the door, it might be a good idea to re-assess your offer, drop your pride and invite them back.

Two thoughts come to mind. First, the price might be low but the effort to keep the customer happy might be quick and painless. My other thought is, how much of the costs have already been met? For example, say you have organised an event and you’ve already reached breakeven, the rest is profit. So maybe this customer can bring me other benefits further down the road. I’m not suggesting we say goodbye to profit but, depending on the opportunity, there might be other benefits for making concessions to people you would not ordinarily reach.

Net

Google has no sense of humour.. a search for “funniest incident” gives the dullest of results!

Business

In modern day retailing, margins can be tight and costs need to be kept down. But being overly zealous will also cost you your reputation. Communicating with your customers and establishing trust is essential. Positive word of mouth means you will spend less on advertising. And customer loyalty equals repeat business. The more loyal your customers, the more you can charge over your competitors.

Indeed, times are such that local customers will window shop on the high street and then go online to buy. The obvious reason for this is cost, but that’s only part of the equation. A well executed sales process, customer reviews and favourable distant selling laws also weigh on the customers mind.

It is worth reminding ourselves that bad customer reviews are believed more easily than good customer reviews, regardless of when they were written. And no matter how much you improve your customer relations, those reviews will be found for many years to come.

Consumers sometimes shop locally as they feel there is a greater sense of accountability. But will they make big ticket purchases when you are receiving bad reviews? A good way to tackle this is to lower your sights and improve the customer experience on cheaper items. Let the customer build their trust.

I have a few tips for those online businesses seeking to build trust.

1. On your contact page, do not say “our preferred method of communication is by email” because actually my preferred method is to pick up the phone and talk to you for real.

2. Do not hide behind a generic telephone number like 0871. It might be convenient for your business but it will often put your customers off. It is better to go with a local number, although for certain types of business, a freephone number might work quite well.

3. Add photos of your business, warehouse, shop and staff. Add a map with directions. This re-enforces you are real and accountable.

Business and Life

In the real world, people talk and transact face-to-face. Compliments and complaints are both dealt with face-to-face. There’s no fast or reliable disconnect, our actions and inactions are held to account.

But then get online or on the end of a phone and suddenly we feel empowered. People we can filter and run from because there’s always another agent to deal with that nuisance we call a “customer”. Yes, if only business could eliminate the last mile in a money machine, humans. We’ll automate the phones and demand websites and emails. And finally, we’ll curse those pesky emails and let them disappear into the proverbial black hole. Ah yes, where’s the easy life with babes and beaches?

Do we carry those same values to our social life? Does the ability to search and filter new friends and partners lead us to elitist thinking? Does the who-you-know become more important than why-you-know?

In a world more connected than ever, I can’t help thinking we are simultaneously letting slip the value of listening and responding to people for whom we may or may not normally choose.

“I belong here, choice and independence is my right. I choose you, or not, for this is my function of modern living” or so it seems.

Business

Mark goes to a jeweller and asks how much to remove links from his watch bracelet. The jeweller says £7 to which Mark declines and moves on.

Mark goes to another jeweller and asks the same question. This time he is told £10. Again Mark declines and ponders, how can it be so expensive for two minutes work?

By chance, Mark talks to a man selling mobile phone mods and unlocking. Again he asks about his watch bracelet… just £2 he says. Sure enough, two minutes later the watch fitted perfectly. Mark tipped £1 and thanked him kindly.

Mark reflected. The jewellers had no other customers and no materials to purchase… a simple task with simple tools. Once upon-a-time this would of been free.

If the short term greed was set aside… if a smile with courtesy was forthcoming… Mark would of recommended the jewellers to friends… or later thought to buy a precious ring.

But the bad vibes were spread and it came at a cost, Two minutes of kind could barely be lost. To one kind person, to many Mark say, returning with money, another day.

Business and Current Events

I can’t tell you just how impressed I am with the X Factor. It’s not the competition itself that blows me away, it’s how the events management, production and marketing comes together to be, without doubt, the best there is, period.

A lot of that excellence comes from Syco TV. Every week I watch Syco TV do their magic and tonight’s X Factor final was simply jaw dropping; how good that must be for all attendees. If I could invest in Syco TV then I would of done it a long time ago and faster than I can blink.

I am sure there is something to be learned here and I’m thinking it simply comes down to the idea that if you want to give the best experience then you MUST demand exceptional teamwork and you MUST MUST MUST hire exceptional people.

Life and Net

In the online world, “what are you wearing?” is a turning point; a phrase widely interpreted as flirtatious. Some might say the question defines a relationship, that the question may or may not be welcomed. Yet when we meet people in Real Life, the question disappears as the answers are obvious. More so, in Real Life compliments of someone’s appearance will often be flattering and appreciated.

With that thought I want to ask, why does the abstraction to text or voice make the net such a personal place? And if a growing relationship leads you to ask that question, maybe it’s a smarter move to meet the person for real?

Current Events and Technology

In recent years there has been some controversy about amputees competing against able-bodied athletes. This is the result of significant advancements in prosthetics. Amputees are mutating from “brave individuals” to “dirty cheats”. That someone with titanium legs might actually be considered unfair competition. So how long before the Paralympics become the main event with a completely new and defining set of rules? Right now you’re going to laugh at me for considering a human running 100m in 4 seconds… but when they do it you will be hooked.

Fast forward to current events about the Smarthand European Research Project in Sweden. A robotic hand wired to the users brain, returning the sensation of touch. Yes, amazing and undoubtedly the birth of a new race, a new human race bringing us closer to our science fantasies.

But as I started, the excitement for such liberation is a bumpy road and the war against cyborgs will come. No, really, a difference between humans and super humans. The fight for employment on a different front and the fight for religious values.

To know this is the future we simply look to the past. In the 1950s science fiction sold us a happy future, lots of free time because robots were going to do everything for us. Many of us would never have to work again. But today, the unemployed are the cancer in society, an unwanted tax.

My question to you is, as we redefine ourselves, can we retain compassion and humanity or must we go to war?

Net

Google AdWords:

We’re sorry, the new AdWords interface does not work with Opera. We recommend using Firefox 3, Internet Explorer 8, Safari, or Chrome to manage your AdWords campaigns.

…unless, of course, you change the browser identification in preferences. So what is it about a giant tech company, overflowing with talent, that it can’t write a web app compatible with Opera? Conflict of interest?

Business and Net

The volume of people trying to monetise their content is ever growing. All the things we consume for free is begging for a universal micro-payment system.

Tiny-tiny payments for news, sports, emails, music, games, porn, twitter… As the train rolls, as more money feeds new startups and applications, the possibility of that need being satisfied is getting closer.

We are comfortable paying online. The problem is, we tend to pay one provider at a time, often in a form of stored credit. It could be better.

There is a fear that charges, however small, can turn consumers away very easily. A need for fearless; consumers will pay and stay if there’s convenience, simplicity and widespread acceptance.

As consumers, we’re waiting for a super cheap and widely accepted currency which has no passwords and is built into our web browsers. The key is automation. It would auto-accept payments for specified users and sites. It would feature price controls and sport an online meter in a status bar.

There are plenty of micro payment systems and sometimes their media attention seem to burst into life; remember how e-gold was going to change everything?

The big credit card companies could do more but, frankly, I think they are too greedy and too icebound. This revolution will be taken by fresher players.

The alternative to micro payments is a prolific rise of content from aggregators and portals. A single point of content, not just all-you-can-eat music but all-you-can-eat-everything.

Domain Names

Moniker have a portfolio lock feature and they also claim to of never lost a domain. I think they should back that up with an insurance policy… that way, you know if they ever had to pay out, for sure they would not want to pay out more than it’s true worth.

I know their appraisals are recognised by the IRS but I think something like this would bring a lot more legitimacy to this business. A put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is philosophy.