In the traditional television model, a producer puts together a television show and sells it to a TV network. Occasionally, the process works the other way around, but for the most part, someone pitches a TV show and then a network either picks up the show and gives it a spot in the lineup, or the show dies.

Television Follows Music Industry to Doom

Recently, however, that model has come under attack. It is still early, but television as it exists today is finished. It will take several years to play out completely, but the television stations and cable systems who once held control (and made all the money) are finished, they just don’t realize it.

Hulu recently created and began distributing its own television show called Battleground. Netflix, likewise, has created a program called Lilyhammer. And, word around Silicon Valley is that both Google and Amazon are close behind.

The reason all of these technology companies are getting into the original programming realm is because the cable systems and television companies have forced them to. It simply is more cost effective to make your own television programs. The high (and rising) prices charged by media companies for rights to stream their programs are only part of the cost. Once the rights have been acquired, there are all manner of restrictions upon how, where and when those programs can be shown.

For example, movie companies force their films off of Netflix when they are being shown during the month on a cable TV channel that bought different rights. Your average Netflix subscriber isn’t an expert on program licensing. To them, it seems that Netflix is an unreliable source of movies. All of this occurs AFTER the studios force Neflix to wait and increasingly long period of time before they are even able to show their films.

Check out good personal finance advice on the FinanceGourmet blog.

Television networks aren’t much better. CBS famously forbids its programs to be shown on Hulu at all, causing users to think of the service as only a partial option. Even shows that are allowed on Hulu come with restrictions ranging from delays in when they can be aired online, to how long they can remain online.

The rise of devices like iPads, Kindle Fire and even Barnes and Noble Nook, show that consumers aren’t interested in only sitting in front of their living room television to watch their entertainment. Yet, traditional television producers give them nothing but the run around in order to watch their shows.

Add all of it up, and getting traditional programming from the networks costs too much. The only solution is to create your own programming that you can show immediately, with no restrictions, reliably and for as long as people want to see it. If any one of these companies tastes even moderate success with their own programming, you can be sure that the growth of these shows will proliferate quickly. The death blow will come when Google, who has been stymied by traditional television (and Hulu, but at the orders of their TV masters) gets into the content game, buying up television shows and documentaries that can be shown without restriction on a Google TV. That may comes sooner rather than later with the technology giant looking for a way to gain a foothold before Apple TV launches and entrenches as the multimedia distribution leader like it is for music.

This stop, delay, complain business strategy worked out terribly for the music industry. One can only wonder why both the film industry and the television and cable industry insist on running the same losing playbook. One chapter will be significantly different. The television industry won’t be able to complain that piracy is causing all of their problems when the programs that are destroying them are actually original works produced by other, savvier, corporations.

Soon, it may be the traditional media outlets paying the online content providers to ensure that their shows get equal billing and availability, and the likes of CBS will be complaining that Hulu promotes its own shows over those from other networks.

And, they’ll have no one to blame but themselves.

Related articles

• Hulu and Netflix Begin Forays into Original Programming – TIME (techland.time.com)
• How Hulu plans to measure success of ‘Battleground’ without TV ratings (venturebeat.com)

Did Traditional Television Commit Suicide? is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

Black Friday Tricks

The oldest Black Friday scam in the book is the super-limited inventory scam. This is the same scam that car dealers use in their advertisements. Sure, you can get a 2012 Ford F-150 for no money down and just $99 per month, the thing is, there is only one make and model and options package that gets you that price and there aren’t any of them left. How would you like a new truck for $2,500 down and $299 a month instead?

It is illegal to advertise items that the retailer does not carry or never has in stock. These laws are the result of the old, now illegal, bait and switch scam where retailers would advertise an item that they did not ever have any intention of selling in order to get suckers customers into the store. Then, the shoppers would be offered a different, more profitable item in its place.

However, those laws are easily circumvented by having a very limited inventory of sale items. Some stores go so far — out of legal obligation or otherwise — to mention just how few of an item they have in stock. Many ads will say something like “Minimum of 4 per store,” or something like that. In other words, unless you camp out, get in the front of the line, go straight to the items without getting waylaid, and grab them right away, you cannot get that price. Some retailers only have ONE of those items in stock.

Here comes tax season. Check here for the 2011 standard deduction and other tax information.

When a store knows there will be demand for HUNDREDS of the item at that price, the only reason to have so few in stock is to ensure that only a handful of customers get the items. The next week, after the sale ends, there will be dozens in every store, or easy availability for ordering online. This turns the sale into a lottery where only the lucky few can “win” the sale price.

Crappy Black Friday Sales

Retailers know that customers want to nab great deals on Black Friday. Some shoppers are naïve enough to think that every Black Friday sale is a great Black Friday sale. Retailers prey on these unsavvy shoppers by advertising items at the normal sale prices, that is the sale price that was available last month, and will probably be available again within a few weeks.

Be sure to at least check the price of the item at a competing store or online at a major retailer like Amazon.com before leaping to buy that “cheap” television set on the front page of that electronics store ad. Chances are good that the price isn’t that great after all.

Black Friday Item Replacement Tricks

A favorite in the electronics and computer industry, with this scam retailers sell and item that is similar but very different from the item you think you are getting. Computers with less memory, or RAM, than would typically come inside of that level of computer are one good example of this scam.

Another favorite are television sets that have similar make and model numbers but that are just different enough to be cheaper thanks to inferior or missing components. Something like a 65″ Sony LCD TV  that has the previous model’s insides but the current model’s case and remote would be one example.

Some retailers and manufacturers go so far as to make different model numbers for each retailer in order to be as devious as possible. Instead of the highly rated and well reviewed MSC99381D model, store will offer a lower quality, cheaper MSC99381O model on Black Friday where unsuspecting customers will purchase and assume that they got the same item for a great price.

Avoid Black Friday Sales Scams

The best way to avoid Black Friday sales scams is to research before heading out to go shopping. Many retailers have released their ads online this year to avoid having them leaked by internet deal websites. Google your holiday items and be very careful to not the exact model numbers to avoid any surprises. Also, check the pricing on Amazon to be sure you aren’t getting a phony sale price. Finally, check out deal websites like slickdeals.net or gottadeal.com to find out what deals are really hot and which deals are no.

Black Friday Sales Scams is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

Getaround Business

If you have ever tried to rent a car from a rental company for a single day, you know that it is not worth the expense and hassle. Don’t even think about trying to make it worth it to rent a car for a few hours. It isn’t really a scam or conspiracy on behalf of the car rental companies, it just doesn’t make sense for their business model. Between reserving, delivering, returning and cleaning the car, the costs are just to high to be able to offer a reasonable hourly rate.

Getaround gets around this (Hah!) by not doing any of those things. Instead, Getaround signs up car owners to rent out their cars rather than buying and maintaining a fleet of cars. No Getaround personnel are involved and the company has no responsibilities during a problem-free rental. Nice low overhead.

If this sounds like a lot of risk for the car owner, you’re thinking. The company works around this issue by doing two things. First, ever rental includes full coverage car insurance including comprehensive and underinsured coverage. Second, the company offers a kit that is installed in your car that acts as a monitor and, if you have an iPhone, can even handle the rental and drop off without any face-to-face meeting with the renter.

Theoretically, if a renter gets in a car accident or you car gets stolen while someone is renting it, you are covered. Of course, that isn’t much comfort if your car gets totaled by a renter the day before a big job interview. Much more likely, than losing your car or having it wrecked, however, are those little things that aren’t quite so obvious. Was that scratch on the door before the rental? How about that flat tire? What about the chain-smoking renter who says that they never smoked in the car? Those kinds of things might be problematic to collect on and/or prove.

The biggest risk for renters, is those unseen things. While most renters are reasonable drivers, even when renting from Hertz, there are always those who view a rental car as a chance to squeal the tires and punch it from every red light they hit. Think of the guys joy-riding the car in Ferris Bueler’s Day Off. They don’t wreck the car in anyway, but it certainly is worse for the wear when it comes back.

The company relies on the standard internet quality mechanism, user reviews, as its guard against such things. Until there are a lot of regular renters, however, this will be little help. Most renters will be first-time (and likely only one time) renters during the startup period.

Getaround Rentals

For the renter, the risk is lower. In fact, at first, the toughest part is probably finding a rentable car. The company says it has thousands of cars available, but they aren’t available at all hours of the day because their owners are using them some times. As a new techie-type business, rental offerings are sure to be clustered in certain cities like San Francisco, Austin, and other high-density, high-tech cities.

The service might prove especially tough to take advantage of in less compact cities. Here in Denver, for example, you might need a rental just to get to your rental.

Of course, the included insurance helps, but there is no guarantee that a rentee won’t claim that you did something to their car while you had it.

Getaround Insurance and Local Laws

The biggest potential problem with Getaround, however, isn’t what happens between the company and the renters, but how this all flies in the event something goes bad.

Many cities and states have strict rules and regulations when it comes to offer a car for hire, which this type of rental may very well fit into. Owners probably won’t get a visit from anyone while everything is working, but an unpleasant visit may occur if there is an auto accident. Sure, the car is covered, but are you covered for operating a rental business without a proper license and how big is the fine for not keeping proper maintenance records?

While Getaround’s insurance covers your car while it is being rented, does offering your car out for rental affect your own normal car insurance? Most specifically forbid activities such as renting the car out.

Finally, what about the tax implications? Is this a business? Do you owe taxes on the revenue? If you deduct car expenses or take the standard mileage deduction for your business, offering our your car for rent may cause you a big IRS headache down the line. (Of course, if you fold renting out your unused automobile into your business that is a different story.)

Getaround sounds like a great idea, and frankly, I hope it works out. I’d love to rent out the second car that sits in front of the house most of the time, but I’ll be waiting to see how it goes for a while before signing up.

On second thought, if someone in the Denver area is renting out a sweet car, I wouldn’t be above a fun drive around Denver and back.

Getaround Scam or Good Deal? is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

What makes this new business strategy so interesting is that it completely cuts out the middle man companies that Warner Bros. currently depends on to rent it’s films. The idea is that instead of going to Netflix or Redbox to rent a movie, customers could do so directly through their Facebook account. Assuming the user already has Facebook Credits or a credit card linked to their Facebook account to do so, paying for a movie rental is as easy as clicking a button.

This is an important step because it prevents the possible hodgepodge of payment systems that would arise if each studio rented its movies directly from their own websites. Facebook credits are not necessarily used widely even by the the website’s own users, but Facebook is working hard to change that, and once a customer makes their first rental, subsequent rentals have virtually zero barrier.

The success of Warner Bros. Facebook gambit will be limited, however, because the studio refuses to face the realities of movie rental. Pricing is set at 30 Facebook Credits, or approximately $3, which is the same price for a DVD movie rental at the now bankrupt Blockbuster video stores.

Renting the movie is actually cheaper if you go through the middle men rather than buying direct, a completely upside down pricing system.

Warner Bros. is overvaluing the convenience of renting online through Facebook and charging a premium for it, rather than following the pricing model of every single successful online venture, which is to make it cheaper online. Customers have no incentive to rent through Facebook rather than through Comcast On Demand or other services, and customers actually have a disincentive compared to renting via Redbox or Netflix.

No doubt, the company’s strategy is to offer new releases directly to customers first, before they can be rented via Netflix or Redbox, thereby justifying the premium charged on the rental. Of course, in order for that strategy to be successful, Hollywood would have to generate movies that customers can’t wait 90 days to rent, and those don’t seem to be too common these days.

Warner Bros. Online Movie Rental Strategy

In the fantasy world that movie studio executives live in, they will be able to build up a large enough distribution channel for online movie rentals via Facebook that they won’t have to do business with Netflix or Redbox at all.  Unfortunately, in order for that strategy to work, the company would have to understand the reality of business strategy.

As everyone else seems to understand, the way you build a large base of users is to aggressively price your product. Only AFTER people have fully invested in your service and seen your full value proposition can you squeeze out competitors. Apple’s iTunes dominates because of its low-price and ease of use.  Amazon’s Kindle platform has grown to dominate the market by offering lower priced electronic books.  Google’s Gmail email service displaced established market leaders by offering more storage space at a lower price (free) than the competition.

At this price point, there is no incentive for customers who don’t already have and use Facebook credits to put the effort into learning about them and getting the setup, and for anyone who lives within a 5 minute drive of a Redbox, there is no incentive to forgo the quick trip to rent a movie in person, and there is most definitely no incentive for a cable customer to setup and use online movie streaming rather than just click a button for their cable company’s pay-per-view service.

With the current terms, the Warner Bros. online movie rental scheme will fail, but the revolution may have begun anyway. Smarter studios will offer their movies for lower prices and Warner Bros. may actually learn that they can make more money renting many movies for $1 per rental than they can by having 10 percent as many rentals at $3 per rental.

Until then, look for the real growth in online movie rentals to come from Netflix and Amazon. In the offline world, Redbox and the copycat Blockbuster Kiosks will continue to dominate.

Warner Bros. Revolutionizes Movie Rentals is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

Apple Is the Number 1 Computer Seller If You Count iPads

I don’t even know what to do with this.

The idea, I am well aware, is that iPads are kind of like computers in a certain way. Therefore, if you were to stretch the definition of how computers are counted in market research studies, then iPads might count as computers and, BAM, new rankings.

Of course, this entire line of thought crumbles under the slightest amount of intellectual scrutiny.

For starters, iPads are not computers, not according to the definitions used by data gathering organizations, and not according to Apple. Just throwing them in to the mix makes as much sense as saying that Coca-Cola is the Number One computer seller if you include soft drinks. I mean, they sell WAY more units than those other guys if you count it that way!

If one did want to perform some sort of business analysis along these lines, then one would have to account for the fact that other computer makers also have products that are related to computers and might if one were so inclined be included if the definition were stretched. What about smartphones? Do they count? How about GPS devices? Media servers attached to home theater systems? They have a processor and network capability too.

You get the idea.

The point the analyst is trying to make with his farcical data manipulation is that Apple is selling a lot of iPads right now and that those sales should not be overlooked. Ironically, with all of the hype around iPads and then iPhones, it’s hard to believe that anyone is discounting sales of iPads when valuing Apple.

Truthfully, this guy and every other serious analyst of technology and computer markets knows that this whole thing is a farce. However, there is one very smart thing about it. It is exactly  the kind of "See? I told you so," headline that techie bloggers and their status updating re-tweeters can latch onto and vote up across the entire Internet until someone else thinks of something more "earth shattering."

Apple Market Share Is HUGE – If You Count Other Things is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

The trouble with statistics is two-fold. Number one, far too many Americans are math illiterate. High Schools and Colleges let students graduate with progressively less math. Not that it would matter, considering the staggering number of Americans who can’t remember much of anything that they learned in school anyway. (This suggests a problem of motivation and lack of respect for one’s own mind, but I’m not going there with this post.)

Number two, the critical component of valid statistical analysis is analyzing the RIGHT data. The only way to know whether or not it is the right data being analyzed is to look at the raw data behind the statistics. Unfortunately, that requires a basic understanding of math at a level above addition and subtraction. (See #1)

That being said, numbers don’t lie, as the other saying goes, and neither do statistics. As long as one understands what numbers are being analyzed and what is being said about them, there is no need to understand any complex advanced statistical formulas or concepts.

Apple Versus Microsoft Dollars Sales Value

Recently, the media made a big deal out of the fact that Apple passed Microsoft in market capitalization, theoretically making Apple a more valuable company than Microsoft. Of course, market cap is just one of many ways to measure a company’s value. To actually buy Microsoft or Apple you would have to pay more than the current share price.

Microsoft put up a post on the official Microsoft blog recently regarding some of the other numbers out there. In some ways it is a defense against the accelerating notion that Microsoft is a dying dinosaur while Apple is the future. In another way, it is nothing more than a different way of looking at the numbers.

For example, no one is disputing that Microsoft continues to dominate the enterprise and the personal computer markets. Those markets are far from small and despite plenty of pronouncements that the future does not include the computer as we know it, there is still the pesky problem of input. While the iPad may be a fun new way to view and interact with data, it is a terrible way to do data entry. Not even Apple claims that you should be able to type 80 words per minute on an iPad once you get used to it. That means the iPad for writers and other data creating professionals is a non-starter as a primary device.

The real dig in the numbers actually is in the past projections of Microsoft’s demise, such as the explosive growth of Linux displacing Microsoft in the server world. While Linux has enjoyed remarkable growth and Microsoft should not take too much pride in the fact that it has managed to “hold off” what it should have been able to crush, the so-called experts did miss by a large margin. The implication is that they are doing it again with their projections of huge growth for devices like the iPad.

The best part is that almost all of the numbers cited include a “source” so that an interested reader can verify the data for themselves, saving us all for wondering whether or not this is a bunch of lies, damn lies, or statistics.

But, even with the source links there is still plenty of wiggle room in these numbers. Consider the two statistics showing that less than ten percent of US netbooks were running Windows in 2008 and that 96 percent of US netbooks were running Windows in 2009. Sounds pretty good for Microsoft, right?

What the numbers are hoping you forgot is that in order to get that number in 2009, Microsoft had to re-authorize manufacturers to sell Windows XP because its bloated Windows Vista operating system couldn’t even be used. Furthermore, those sales also included cut-rate, bargain basement pricing of XP which made using Microsoft Windows cost effective. Without those two capitulations, that percentage might be single digits.

And those iPhone sales numbers are for Q1 2010, before the new iPhone 4.0 version came out, but after pretty much everyone guessed it was coming. In other words, those sales numbers represent the calm before the storm. Considering Apple says it sold 1.7 million iPhones in just three days. We will have to wait until Q3 to see real numbers because the new iPhone was only available for a few weeks of Q2.

Projected Sales for Apple Devices and Microsoft Software

• Projected iPad Sales in 2010: 7.1 million
• Projected PC sales in 2010: 355 million
• iPhone Sales in first 3 days: 1.7 million

No matter how you slice, it Microsoft has a bigger market. More importantly, Microsoft continues to have no serious competitive threat. On the other hand, Android devices may soon equal or surpass the iPhone and will be offered on more than one wireless carrier. Likewise, touch screen computers are reportedly on the boards from many manufacturers who can use the iPad as a starting point.

In the end, projections and numbers are worthless. What matters is execution. Microsoft has a long history of sloppy, unloved products that barely pass muster, yet its execution in the sales arena is unparalleled. Apple has a long history of beloved, widely praised products that never manage to reach an audience bigger than its fan base. If the outcome of this decades old battle is to change, then one of these two technology companies has to get better at the part of the equation it is no good at.

Microsoft Versus Apple Market Cap Is Not Everything is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

Facebook

Recent stories, like this one from Reuters, continue to suggest that Facebook is growing fast and that it is raking in tons of advertising revenues. The source of all this incoming cash, of course, is paid advertising. Some investors expect Facebook to earn more money than Google from advertising in the near future. The idea is that, unlike Google, Facebook users can be shown ads that are relevant to users even when they are not searching.

“We can provide really good, relevant advertising to people because they tell us exactly what they are interested in, and who they know, and those people tell us what they’re interested in,” Facebook Chief Executive Zuckerberg said at the All Things Digital conference this month.

Relevant Ads Worth More Money On Facebook

The business strategy behind Facebook’s rising advertising revenue is sound enough.

A user fills out a profile in which they state that they have “Interests” in various things. For example, a user might say that they are interested in chess. Then, theoretically, that user would be more likely to have advertisements related to chess appear than a user who had indicated interest in other topics. But, does the reality of Facebook ads bear this out?

If you are a Facebook user you may have noticed the various ads that appear on the right side of the screen. These ads are the ones that are supposed to be relevant and “targeted” to users based upon their profiles and other preferences. However, to most users, these ads appear to be thinly targeted, if at all, to their interests.

Recently, some advertisements tried to make use of the personal information in Facebook profiles by using the person’s age in the advertisement. Ads like “If you are 24 years old, you can get car insurance for $20 a month” appeared. Is this what Facebook means when they say, relevant advertising?

Other ads seem to be vaguely geographically targeted. For example, users in Phoenix get advertisements that make use of the word Phoenix (even for national brands and ads) or, in some cases, ads for actual Phoenix businesses. This is indeed useful, but hardly revolutionary. Unless you take advanced measures to frequently wipe out your Google cookies and other information you’ll get plenty of local ads there too.

Ironically, ads that are actually irrelevant and uninteresting to users will frequently appear on the user’s Facebook screen. For example, users that block Facebook games like Farmville or Cafe World still often see ads for those games despite having indicated that they are not interested. Users who are members of a Ford fan club, have tons of posts by themselves and friends about Fords, and have hundreds of “likes” for Ford related sites and information still see ads for Chevrolet. In fact, members of groups like Chevy Sucks or I Hate GM will still see advertisements for those products on Facebook.

Facebook Ads Not Relevant To Users – Worthless?

It is often said that reality is perception. Facebook frequently states how they can target users based upon their personal preferences and information and that concept is often repeated by journalists and analysts. But, is anyone actually checking to see such targeting is being done?

Going beneath the surface and doing some actual business analysis takes more time than many pundits can commit. Savvy technology writers, however, may uncover some interesting nuggets about Facebook’s so-called relevant advertising. The question is, can Facebook establish its “reality” or get a Facebook IPO stock for investors strategy executed before the world starts asking the hard questions?

Time will tell.

Facebook Ad Revenue Growth Real? is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

For the most part, this desire to anoint everything as the next big thing is harmless since most readers of such technology focused writers and websites are techies themselves who have their own very established beliefs about the future direction of various technologies.

This time, one of the writers over at Newsweek decided to get in on the action. He proclaims that the personal computer is dead and that the obvious, nay inevitable, future is mobile devices. Specifically, the future is a two-way battle over mobile technology with Google on one side and Apple on the other.

The author does generously offer that the personal computer will not disapear overnight, which is probably a good thing since the iPad can’t do anything for business yet, and iPhones require you to use an inferior wireless carrier in order to buy one.

This is all based on…well, that’s where everything falls apart.

In the article itself, the author cites a bizarre string of “evidence” that things are changing.

First, he points out that Apple sells way more iPhones and iPads and so on than it does computers. This is very true. However, that says more about Apple’s ability to sell computers than it says about the future of computing.

Second, he cites some very big sales numbers as further proof about how mobile computing is growing faster than traditional computing. Again, this is true. However, what people keep forgetting is that computers have been around for a very long time and are fully implemented in almost every business and household in the country. Put another way, 20% growth in personal computing is larger than 50% growth in mobile computing devices.

On the other hand, there are TONS of people who do not own smartphones or other mobile computing devices. That makes growth a lot easier. While a computer maker has to wait for a customer who already has a computer decide that they need to buy a new one, the mobile computing computing can count on both sales from current users who are upgrading as well as new consumers who have never owned that type of device before.

Most laughable of all is the way the author proclaims that one day we will all use very powerful mobile computing devices instead of paying big bucks for a computer with tons of storage space.

Just what existing device is he referring to?

Certainly not the iPad which costs as much as a mid-tier computer. He can’t seriously mean the new iPhone which only costs less than a computer if the purchase is subsidized by AT&T in exchange for locking into a contract.

Where is this low-priced powerful computing device, then?

It doesn’t exist! Of course, mobile computing devices will get cheaper and more powerful in the future, which could be a pretty good argument if the same thing were not true about more traditional computers as well.

Not that it really matters, because even if one concedes that these cheap mobile devices will let everyone, “…manage photos and videos and music that will be stored online, somewhere out on the Internet cloud,” how can that possibily spell a revolutionary transformation?

Is that really all the author thinks that computers do?

While I agree that it is super neat-o that you can update your Twitter status and send cat videos to your friends on your iPad, out here in the real world, people use computers for other things like processing data, contact management, product design, engineering, and so on.  Will those functions be taken over by inexpensive mobile appliances?

Devices like the iPad and iPhone are not radical departures from how computers are used. What they really represent is the next step in the world of personal entertainment electronics.

Let’s see if I can make this clear enough for the article writer to follow.

Start with the Sony Walkman which makes personal entertainment (music) portable.

Now, implement the standard improvements that eventually come to virtually all technology:

1. Make it smaller or bigger (depending upon device).
2. Make it more powerful.
3. Make it cheaper.
4. Add new feature.
5. Improve that feature.
6. Make it cheaper.
7. Add new feature.
8. Make it cheaper.
9. Repeat

In this case:

The Sony Walkman made smaller and more powerful (digital with bigger storage) = iPod.

iPods get cheaper.

Add color screen.

Cheaper.

Add video to iPods (and more storage) = 5th generation iPods.

Add networking connectivity = iPod Touch.

Add phone functionality = iPhone.

Add bigger screen = iPad.

Where is the revolution again?

Newsweek Drinks the Kool-Aid is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

What Do Your Clients Want

Again, standing out is your goal, but what do your clients or prospective clients want? Just because you are an Internet savvy technology hound who keeps all your contact information in a high-tech contact management system, doesn’t mean everyone is. Believe it or not, there are still a lot of businessmen and businesswomen out there who are old school. They keep their business cards in something you may of heard of called a Rolodex. The standard Rolodex punch probably has enough umpph to get through a laminated card, but I’m not certain everyone would try, and unlike you, they don’t want your card sticking out like a sore thumb when they go flipping through. A different color, or a bright graphic is fine, but a plastic card is like those stupid ads in magazines that keep you from flipping through. If it’s irritating enough, they’ll yank it and toss it.

One person I talked to said they didn’t care about these kind of people. After all, if they weren’t more savvy than that, he didn’t want their business. Um…Hello? If you were going to bet your house against the age of a random senior manager at a Fortune 1000 company, would you bet over 45 or under? Me, too. Young and hip is cool, but older still has more of the power.

What about your tech savvy clients? Does your thick laminated card fit through the business card scanner they use? Does it feed properly? Does it scan, or does the light get reflected?

Then, there are those who are power users of business cards, like to keep them in business card holders. First, in a small one in their pocket, and then in some sort of binder. Your laminated card might be just big enough not to fit, or to make the premium leather holder they spend a pretty penny on not close properly. So, they throw it in a bag or briefcase where it gets lost forever.

Finally, you have people like me. I like to jot a note down on a business card sometimes. It might just be a reminder of who they are, or where I met them. Sometimes, it’s even more important, maybe the name of the product I should be looking at, or a price, or a local supplier. Either way, if I can’t quickly write it on the business card, then, I’ll probably just try and remember. I don’t want to take those odds.

How To Stand Out Good

Having the business card stand out is most definitely a good goal, but there are better ways to do it. Color is a great way. You can write, scan, file, on cards of most any color. Slightly nicer paper or embossing are good ideas too. Also, take advantage of all that space on the back. A quick tip, or link to a web site, or something else your clients will find useful can all improve the common business card.

For Mr. Laminated, I remember the card, so good job. The only problem is, I don’t think I have it around here anymore…

Too Clever for Business? is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC

Invited to Microsoft Small Business Center

The email invited me to take a look around the Microsoft Small Business Center. At first glance, this thing looks chock-full of useful information. A few minutes clicking, however, reveals something a little different.

First, you never know which clicks go to real useful information, and which clicks take you to a page where the “solution” is a 60-day trial of some Microsoft product. Unless you don’t have a word processor, it is doubtful that the solution to any of your business issues is a product. Chances are a product could help you, but it won’t be the solution.

Second, even if the click does take you to information and not an infomercial, the information isn’t exactly “wow” material. Take “5 Ways to Create a Media Kit,” for example. A media kit is a critical resource in getting the word out about your small business, especially if you are in a higher-end service business where your target market isn’t likely to respond to form letters or cold calls. So, information on 5 ways to create a media kit would be most welcome.

Create a Media Kit

Here are the so-called 5 ways to create a media kit.

1. Cover the conventional basics.
2. Choose brand-appropriate, consistent packaging.
3. Decide on digital and print options.
4. Include a call to action.
5. Stay timely.

Um, that’s not even one way to create a media kit. Those are five hints you might want to keep in mind when creating a media kit, but that is a far cry from 5 ways to create a media kit.

Really Create a Media Kit

As part of our business coaching we cover various forms of marketing and one of the key forms of marketing is a media kit. Our information includes how to actually create a media kit, not breeze platitudes. Our advice involves choosing a format, usually a file folder or presentation book depending upon the industry. Then, it involves how many pages to include, and what should be on each page. It also includes formatting examples, and things like whether or not to include some sort of coupon, sample, or give-away, depending on your industry. We help with design and offer feedback and tips. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include any advice on staying timely, so they got us there. Of course, after reading that one sentence, I think you know everything you need to know about timely-ness.

Real Solutions for the Real World

There are successful professionals out there who don’t need fluffy hand holding advice. What they need is the prospective of a fellow business professional that has seen things they haven’t seen and tried things they haven’t tried. We provide that tangible real world consulting or coaching to our clients. That’s what separates us from the pack.

5 Ways to Create a Media Kit – For the Brain Dead is a post from Best Hubris. All content exclusively written by Freelance Writing Business of ArcticLlama, LLC