Response to Douglas Sack

"Why do you think the Flip failed? Did you own a Flip? Are you still satisfied? What could Flip have done to survive?"

I recently recieved a Flip camcorder for Christmas, as well as an iPhone 4. I never really put much thought into which one would be the best investment until after reading Doug's post. If I were to pick one or the other I would absolutely choose the iPhone 4. Not only can it take video, it also has the capability of uploading it to Facebook or YouTube. I think this is one of the reasons the Flip is no longer selling. Like Doug said, it couldn't keep up with the changes in the marketplace. I will admit that I still use my Flip, however I find my phone to be more convenient to use. Instead of carrying around two pieces of electronics, I have everything on my phone. I think that if the Flip offered more features, such as a camera as well as video and uploading capabilities to other servers it might have had a better chance of survival. 


Did you ever think of purchasing a Flip? Why do you think they went from high popularity to barely sellable?

In The Spotlight: Facebook Studio

Facebook, as most know, is a social networking site for people to connect across the world. It has grown from a primarily, college based, website to much more. Nowadays, businesses are placing their advertisements on Facebook to hopefully attract new customers. New in the World Wide Web is a platform called "Facebook Studio." Here, marketers and business people alike can facilitate the sharing of ideas on certain marketing techniques pertaining to Facebook. To me, this creation is very beneficial for producers looking for feeback on their new ideas. It gives companies an incentive for using Facebook to display their products. An article I read quotes:

"By strengthening its relationship with ad agencies and teaching them how improve their results, Facebook hopes these agencies will push their brand clients to spend more on its marketing and advertising services."


Do you think this new platform will be a success? Will more people start displaying their ad campaigns on Facebook?

Response to Britney Perkins

"Do you think that that is a more ethical way of collecting the ZIP codes?  Would you volunteer that information if you were asked?"


Britney discussed, in her most recent blog, how companies have begun to use zip codes to find addresses and other forms of identification to use to their benefit. I agree with her, that I don't think zip codes are as big of a deal to give, as opposed to Social Security Numbers or actual addresses. I used to work at Abercrombie a few years ago and we were told to ask if the customer would like to give their zipcode. The reason for collecting these was to see where the most customers come from. This information is sent to Corporate headquarters and used to see where the new stores should be built. From the article that Britney read, it seems as if they are taking this too far. I give my zipcode at gas pumps when I use my card but other than that I usually say no thank you when I am at a retail store. Do you think some places shouldn't be allowed to ask for your zipcode?

Kindle price, slowly declining

Amazon just announced that it is going to decrease the price of the Kindle Reader $25. It now will sell for only $114. The catch to this deal is that with the decline in price, will come advertisements attached to the bottom. I think this idea is going to make sales boost a lot for the Kindle Reader. As the price keeps going down, consumers will be better opt to make the purchase which will then lead to them buying the books. This is an example of captive pricing, the basic product in a product line is priced low so more people will be opt to buy it as opposed to a competitive product. I think the books is where they get the most sales anyways. Also, by adding the advertisements to the bottom, it will hopefully generate more sales for Amazon as well. An article I found on cnbc.com states:


"There's been some rumors that they may even offer it for free even with Prime members," Kessler said. "I think we're heading for sub-$100 price points for e-readers."


If it does eventually reach below $100, or become free, do you think this will generate more profit or do you think the Kindle Reader will be on the decline?

Response to Erik Bergstrom

"StumbleUpon, although almost random, is better than search engines. It shows pages that wouldn't normally come up in a search, at least not in the first page. Mastering the ability to use Stumble Upon is a very valuable tool for Marketers. Check it out. Do you agree?"

I too recently 'stumbled upon' this webpage. I agree with Erik, that it is a very good marketing tool for websites that are new and trying to become popular. You can filter the type of information you are interested in coming across and can choose to 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' a site when they feed it to you. I think this is good for people who are only looking for certain types of websites to read. When you 'thumbs down' a site, it remembers that and doesn't show you any similar ones since you weren't particularly fond of it. I don't however think that this site is better than a search engine per say, because people typically use search engines when they need a particular website. StumbleUpon doesn't allow you to search for things, it more or less randomly chooses websites for you. I think StumbleUpon is more for someone who has the time to go through the websites that it randomly gives you. Check it out! i have found some very interesting and fun things while "stumbling."

Pandora Radio: Safe or Unsafe?

Pandora Radio is a popular and widely used application used on smartphones and internet browsers across America. This radio services allows users to search by artist, song or genre and it will coordinate a set of tracks similar to your search. How safe is Pandora radio, however, with our information? A recent article from the NY Times states (view article):

"The online radio service Pandora has received a subpoena from a federal grand jury investigating whether popular smartphone applications share information about their users with advertisers and other third parties."

What exactly does this mean, you ask? Pandora uses our information and delivers it to other companies to track how we interact with the service for advertising purposes. This type of issue seems to be coming up in other sites that we use frequently. The FTC is proposing a "DO NOT TRACK" tool so users will not have their information shared. I think this goes to show how unsafe the internet really is. One minute, a new innovative product or service is being discovered and the next, information is being passed back and forth that hasn't been agreed upon.

What is your opinion? Is this sharing of personal information going too far? Or, is it okay for companies to do without our consent?

Response to Dale Aubin

"Most people will be using the internet more and more so its time to really make sure that your firm has the most information into the world of online advertising and you will have a really good shot in the future. Do you agree with this or do you think that there is limited future in online advertising?"


I certainly agree that companies should advertise alot of their products and services online, however I think they should continue to market in other ways as well. Like Dale said, technology is advancing at a very rapid pace and companies are trying to keep up with it as best as they can. I think that advertising on Facebook is becoming more and more popular nowadays. Facebook uses a technique that they can actually tell what you have previously searched the web for. When they find out this information they post websites on the side of your "Facebook Wall" to coincide with those interests. This is a good technique to get new products out in the open if people are unfamiliar with them. Although I completely agree with online advertising I think Television, Newspapers, Magazines and Billboards are all still very good ways. By having a variety, it allows you to show your company to all types of people in the market! 


What other types of online ad's do you think are becoming more widely used?