Grishmas's Blog

Threadless

Grishma — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:14:45 +0000

What might have been a great opportunity to some companies, has been an issue/dilemma to Threadless in this case. An offer by a major retail store to carry their unique T-shirts in a large volume opens many doors for Threadless such as generating huge revenue, growth, popularity and what not. However, the executives here are more concerned of what community members are going to think of this as. Is it going to upset them leading them to boycott the site? Are the designers not going to post their designs anymore? Or is this going to be beneficial for both since there are high chances of designers getting recognition by the mass population who would be wearing his/her designed t-shirts. The base of this company has always been the community. From its inception, the factor that has taken them this far is their close connection to the community members. They care what they like/dislike and always on their toes to make them happy. This has always been more of a family oriented community business rather than a typical money oriented. From my personal viewpoint, I do not think they should take this offer. Once they step into the mainstream market, they would be labeled as just another t-shirts worn by thousands of mall crowd. They might loose the exclusivity factor that they have been able to preserve so far.

And we thought Twitter was Ads free?

Grishma — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 01:35:27 +0000

Until now:

The Newyork Times article about “Twitter unveiling plan to draw money from Ads“

Facebook: Social Networking or Service Provider?

Grishma — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:01:57 +0000

Every other day we read or hear about Facebook on the news. Either it is about their new and surprising services, or making revenue with some silly games that millions of people (including myself) are hooked to or even being blamed for the death of the people. We all have seen Facebook evolve from mere a fun and cool networking website for college students to a full time addiction for soccer moms. It has connected long lost high schools friends, ex-boyfriends/girlfriends, husbands/wives and the list goes on. Nowadays, we hear about all the “apps”, fan pages, groups and what not. Currently, its on the news for new stream of services, facebook banking (yes, banking!!) and now “panic button” for children? These articles show how Facebook has evolved from just a social networking website where you reconnect with old friends or meet new people to this new genre where you can transfer money to friends, raise funds, etc. Perhaps this transformation was necessary for its survival!!

Grishma — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:58:22 +0000

When I began reading this case, I was somewhat excited. I was hoping it would be more about the LinkedIn’s business strategy, competitive advantage and why they are popular as they are in today’s social networking era where there are mushrooming social networking websites. The case started off with LinkedIn’s new change in revenue generating techniques and to my disappointment it got diverted more towards “encyclopedia” or more of a manual of LinkedIn. Being a LinkedIn member, I am familiar with the processes and rules about how to go forward with adding/inviting contacts, what to expect and what are the things I can and cannot do and some informations were unnecessary.

Going back to the main focus of the case, that is their revenue generating options, I agree with what some of the members have suggested in the case, that is charging members to contact others without intermediaries. However, they have to look at the possible drawbacks of this application too. LinkedIn executives have to make sure that the profile infos of the members are not compromised in any way. There are annoying and obnoxious recruiters who constantly trying to approach various members (emails from job posting websites) and if they are given the leverage to contact anyone by paying certain sum of fees, then some members might be overflowed with random invitations or contact requests. My recommendations would be to have various level of charges for the services memebers want to receive. For instant, basic fees, premium fees, etc. This way, LinkedIn might somehow promote more quality or level of services to job seekers as well as recruiters.

Wikis @ DrKW

Grishma — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:52:40 +0000

DrKW bank is evaluating on their introduction of Wikis to its corporate culture. Lazopoulou, head of User Centered Design for the bank is impressed by Wikis and what it has to offer to bring all its employees together in a common web shared medium. However, she is not sure how successful this can get. First, she is wondering how the non-internet savvy will take this. Second, she is somewhat hesitant to give up all her power of control over what the employees write and third, she is completely not satisfied with the Socialtext’s User Interface.

Until and unless she finds an alternative to solve these issues, she will have tough time making Wikis a success story in the organization. She might want to put the importance of Wikis in today’s work environment. This can enable the bank employees to walk past the User Interface issue (it is not a big deal once you get used to the system). Perhaps a mandatory contribution (weekly/monthly report) that they might share it through emails otherwise??

BzzAgent

Grishma — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:11:21 +0000

Word-of mouth marketing has been a traditional old school marketing strategy but a full-service technology based promotional agency dedicated for word-of-mouth is unheard of … at least to me. The case do show that this company might have a potential to succeed. However, I am just skeptical about how a company can sell word-of-mouth marketing. I personally would not believe any of word-of-mouth reviews or saying especially if I get to know that is their business. In this day and age, where internet world is full off frauds, spams and whatnot, I am not sure if I would every trust the agents on their blogs to get the services/products.

Brightcove: A Bright Future?

Grishma — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:54:23 +0000

I liked the Brightcove’s business model and its core focus. However after going through massive amount of information about the company’s technological platforms, priorities, networks and competitors, I realized that Brightcove is trying to be involved in multiple sectors. I liked its intention of building and controlling the media distribution company with a focus in “long-tail” video content. Even the founder and the CEO, Jeremy Allaire has realized that the internet television is evolving rapidly and not taking a quick action to enter in this business can become a major loss of opportunity. However on the flip side, it would have to go through several challenges such as its major and super successful competitors – youtube and Google. Brightcove would need to make some kind of deal with major television networks in order to show get competitive advantage in the industry. In addition to supporting “long-tail” video content, I think it should also support the major television programs to remain ahead of the game.

Google

Grishma — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:24:05 +0000

Google has transformed from a search engine website to a “verb”, a name/word that people associate with searching just about anything and everything. As mentioned in the case, the success of Google is due to its business model and competitive advantage that has been able to create a unique value among the users. Though Yahoo is going head to head with Google, it has been able to attract and give a unique value among people. Today, Google is not just a search engine website, it is a successful email service, personalized home page , operating system (Chrome), cellular phone and many more yet to see. In this case, Eric Schmidt, was persistent in letting people know that Google in not in portal business and they are trying to make the entire world’s information accessible and useful. However, I, along with several thousands of people believe that Google will soon be spreading into different businesses than its core search engine. With that said, I believe that Google should not divert its focus from developing superior quality search solutions. As mentioned in the case, having various portals like Yahoo and MSN could also add value to Google. It has already started voice services and shared documents, etc. Furthermore, Google should invest into developing operating software that would further leverage its core component that is search engine.

NTT DoCoMo

Grishma — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:42:44 +0000

The fact that Japan is so far advanced in regards to various technologies is a well known fact. However, I was in quite a shock after reading the case and knowing about the advancement of eMoney and data services used in Japan. Their innovation and mediums of internet usage and IC technologies are still unheard of in the US. DoCoMo has successfully stayed at the top of the telecommunications industry due to its frequent introduction of unique products and technologies with smart strategies. Being able to bag the deal with Sony and making it a platform to introduce Felicia is quite an impressive move. In this case, introducing mobile Felicia with IC technology can be phenomenal for the profitability and growth of the company. It would have a first mover and competitive advantage over its competitors like KDDI and Vodaphone. After the introduction of Mobile Felicia in Japan, I believe DoCoMo should move into international market before KDDI makes its leap. With effective security protocol and features to minimize the loss in case of lost mobile, they can capture a significant market in international arena. However, I feel their major drawback is the lack of focus into their specific line of business. Felicia can bring a major revenue into their business and if they focus mainly in improvising all the drawbacks and provide better security and value to mobile Felicia, they could potentially come out as a winner not just in Japan but in international sector, especially USA as well.

Netflix

Grishma — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:33:05 +0000

Disclaimer: Being a current and satisfied Netflix susbcriber, my opinion about the company(case) and its strategy might be little biased.
Netflix’s business model (current) and strategy has impressed me a lot. The company not only puts its customer first but also has induced revenue and recognition for indie movie industry and USPS. The case talks about the dilema of Hastings’ announcement about entering into the online video market and how it would impact the core business, that is DVD rental market. Today, Netflix is into online video market, as in, the susbcribers can watch the streaming movies instantly on the PC, or even in a high-def TV with cable connection, Playstation 3 or XBox. In this day and age where everyones lives revolve around PC and smart-phones, investing into the online video market can generate additional revenue to the company. As mentioned in the case, perhaps charging additional or little more for people who would want to watch it instantly rather than waiting for a day or two for the DVD. However, I do not think separating the online video from DVD would be a great move for their well established brand name and might confuse or even split their customer base.