Archive for December 14th, 2007
Posted by: admin in Money Spot
A few months ago, Seth Godin put the word "seamless" into a better context. …seams are important. Try throwing a baseball or a football without seams. Wear clothes without seams and you look like you're on Star Trek. Seams make it possible to get a grip. The goal, it seems to me, is not to create things that are seamless. […]
 A few months ago, Seth Godin put the word "seamless" into a superior context.
…seams are important.
Try throwing a baseball or a football without seams.
Wear clothes without seams and you look like you're on Star Trek.
Seams make it possible to get a grip.
The goal, it seems to me, isn’t to create things that are seamless. It's to put the seams in places where they’re actually useful.
That's exactly what Threadless.com does for its customers. If you've done business with them before and have selected an item that's running low in their inventory, and you abandon the checkout process before buying, they'll send you a follow-up email like this:
Their shirts come with seams, as does their marketing. The copy is spot-on without being pushy. They seem to be doing us a favor. Threadless knows that their customers know that the t-shirt designs they print sell out fast. They don't shout "buy now!" when we're just browsing the products. Nope. This message is tailored for people who've shown genuine interest. And despite the exclamation points, it reads something like this: "Sorry to bother you, but here's what you should know about our inventory. If you really do want to purchase this item, you should probably do it soon-ish."
(Hat tip to Rishi at the Superior Retail blog for the subtle link to this via comment. Great seam!)
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It's Getting Colder Outside… Warm your body and your mind. Join us January 14th and 15th in Orlando, Florida for our Persuasive Online Copywriting and Call to Action seminars.
For more visit Source:www.grokdotcom.com
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Entire Site, FORTUNE, Money, Business 2.0, FORTUNE Small Business …. 2007 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. …
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Oh, OpenSocial. How utopian. How idealistic. How run-by-Google. How not actually what Bebo decided to go with for their Open Application Platform, announced this day (CNET coverage), despite having joined the initiative last month. Instead, their platform is set to be Facebook-compatible, making it simple for developers to port their Facebook apps to […]
 Oh, OpenSocial. How utopian. How idealistic. How run-by-Google.
How not actually what Bebo decided to go with for their Open Application Platform, announced today (CNET coverage), despite having joined the initiative last month. Instead, their platform is set to be Facebook-compatible, making it simple for developers to port their Facebook apps to Bebo. Which, you know, they’re all just dying to do.
Bebo is among the first to be able to use Facebook’s markup language (FBML) externally, a capability which Facebook just announced.
So, why the betrayal? Bebo CEO (and co-founder) Michael Birch made his announcement this morning, he explained:
When OpenSocial (which has yet to launch in full) is ready and stable, Birch stated, Bebo will add those APIs to its developer arsenal, too. “OpenSocial and the Facebook Platform are clearly different platforms,” he said, then added jokingly, “Our lazy development team stated they couldn’t do both at once.”
I wonder if he was joking when he informed the assembled reporters that “There’s a little bit of a land grab with social networks.” (To which the assembled reporters said, “What?! Really? Huh. I’m one of the 50 people this side of the Atlantic who’s heard of Bebo and you’re telling me there’s some competition in the field? Didn’t know that.”)
Bebo’s platform will feature a ratings system to make it simple to find good (or at least popular) apps, as well as the capability to fully skin the apps to match your profile. At launch this day, they’d around forty developers and companies already working on their apps, including an app for The Office. And some others, but they probably won’t do as well as The Office, although there’s no word on whether you’ll be able to earn Schrutebucks.
In other platform news, other OpenSocial partners have announcements, too: LinkedIn will launch and Friendster is launching now (via).
Pilgrim Partners: Quintura - Control your web searching and find what you want much easier.
Source:www.marketingpilgrim.com
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Each year, as we get closer to Christmas, it seems the amount of news starts to slow down. I’m already starting to see that happen, but managed to filter the noise and bring you these interesting nuggets. Mahalo.com is adding new social networking features to its human-editor search service. Google is testing “scrolling” ads for AdSense. You […]
Each year, as we get closer to Christmas, it seems the amount of news starts to slow down. I’m already starting to see that happen, but managed to filter the noise and bring you these interesting nuggets.
Pilgrim Partners: SponsoredReviews.com - Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!
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It’s always fun whenever someone discovers one of Google’s many experiments with their search interface. 99% of the time, the discovered tests never materialize as a major rollout for Google, but it’s still worth noting. Today, Valleywag has news that Google is testing the display of videos and products in the sidebar… (image credit Valleywag.com) Now, where have […]
It’s always fun whenever someone discovers one of Google’s many experiments with their search interface. 99% of the time, the discovered tests never materialize as a major rollout for Google, but it’s still worth noting.
This day, Valleywag has news that Google is testing the display of videos and products in the sidebar…
(image credit Valleywag.com)
Now, where have we seen this before, I wonder?
(via)
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What makes a Pilgrim’s Pick a Pilgrim’s Pick? Great question. It’s the news you need to know about, but don’t necessarily need us to hold your hand while you read it. Therefore, we just give you link and let you loose. Go ahead, give it a test with these. You’ll like how it feels. RSS reader Newsgator […]
What makes a Pilgrim’s Pick a Pilgrim’s Pick? Great question. It’s the news you need to know about, but don’t necessarily need us to hold your hand while you read it. Therefore, we just give you link and let you loose.
Go ahead, give it a test with these. You’ll like how it feels.
Pilgrim Partners: SponsoredReviews.com - Bloggers earn cash, Advertisers build buzz!
Source:www.marketingpilgrim.com
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Posted by: admin in Money Spot
Although the idea of shopping for gifts online sounds simple, too many e-commerce sites make it more difficult than it should be. Sure, you could purchase a gift card for everyone on your list, but what does a piece of plastic really say about how you feel? What ends up happening when customers give these […]
 Even though the idea of shopping for gifts online sounds easy, too many e-commerce sites make it more difficult than it should be. Sure, you could purchase a gift card for everyone on your list, but what does a piece of plastic really say about how you feel? What ends up happening when customers give these unoriginal "gifts" is that they end up sending friends and family back to the same websites that didn't inspire them to buy something cool in the first place — and the whole cycle of "Hmm… what should I purchase?" starts over.
In this edition of Screencast, I'll show you how some e-tailers are helping their on the web shoppers navigate the gift-giving season, while others are, well, let's just state they're hoping to receive (your money). For instance, WalMart.com doesn't seem to do anything special to help gift shoppers. Meanwhile, Etsy.com — a site where independent clothing designers and artisans from around the world their wares — proves you don't need a Wal-Mart-sized budget to sort merchandise into gift guides for the customer. BarnesAndNoble.com has a nice gift guide that helps you find gifts to match the person's style, but good luck finding it; their guide is hidden in drop-down menus and poorly phrased navigation buttons. Amazon.com does it ideal, and even though there's room for improvement, as you'll see, they engage gift shoppers front-and-center on the homepage (a smart thing to do in December) and they do a good job of limiting choices. That's right. When it comes to deciding between gifts, less is definitely more more — just be sure to show them things they'll like.
Our gift to e-tailers? How about some holiday bonus tips:
- Provide a Gift Buying Guide
- Overcome "analysis paralysis" by limiting choice
- Grant customers to shop THEIR way…
- By relationship
- By "most popular"
- By price
- By characteristic (i.e., type of gift)
- ASK your customers how they would like gifts sorted
(If video doesn't load, click here.)
There you have it! Sort. Categorize. Limit their choices to stuff that's relevant, and let that momentum pull them toward the sale. And do yourself a favor: Don't wait until Cyber Monday '08 to help gift shoppers spend their money on you. Engage them directly by using language and navigation that address their needs right away. And if you're still leaving cash on the table, make a resolution to get help.
[Special thanks to Conversion Analyst Ron Patiro for his help finding these examples.]
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It's Getting Colder Outside… Warm your body and your mind. Join us January 14th and 15th in Orlando, Florida for our Persuasive Online Copywriting and Call to Action seminars.
For more visit Source:www.grokdotcom.com
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Posted by: in Management
Filed under: Management, Investments
 Facebook Inc. founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, last seen making googly eyes at Hong Kong Richie Rich Li Ka-shing, would be well-advised to deal with the public relations mess over the social networking firm’s proposed marketing program. So says Robert Scoble, who takes the Web 2.0 “It boy” to task this day for dropping out of sight as critics continue to kvetch about Facebook’s plan to use the network to send information about what members are buying to their contacts on the site.
“This story is NOT going away,” Scoble writes. “Even if this particular story goes away, there’s a bad taste in our mouths because Facebook tried to do something that clearly wasn’t for the users.”
Where’s your $15 billion valuation now, Bill Gates? You’d think Microsoft Corp.’s recent $240 million investment in Facebook might entail the right for the software company supremo to instruct young Zuckerberg a thing or two about crisis PR. After all, Gates certainly has taken his lumps in the press over the years, while today he’s an early candidate for secular sainthood, thanks largely to his commendable charitable works.
Continue reading at TechConfidential.com.
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Posted by: in Management
Filed under: Management, The Blackstone Group, Rumors, Engagements
Alliance Data Systems (NYSE:  ADS), a provider of loyalty and marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data, announced on 5/17 it would be acquired for $81.75 in cash ($7.8 billion) by Blackstone Capital Partners (NYSE: BX). ADS is recently down $2.80 to $75.48. ADS December option implied volatility of 48 is above its 26-week average of 18 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.
Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) is recently up .39 to $15.23. The Wall Street Journal reported S rejected a $5 billion investment offer from a group led by ex-Sprint Chairman Donahue according to sources. S option volume of 10,285 contracts compares to put volume of 3,125 contracts. S December option implied volatility of 37 is above its 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.
Daily M&A Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com
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Posted by: in Management
Filed under: Management, Activist investing
With the challenges facing independent video game publishers, virtually every smallish company toiling in the sector these days is the subject of takeover speculation. Struggling Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. [TTWO] has been no exception, and talk that the maker of the popular and violent “Grand Theft Auto” series might be absorbed by a larger company only got louder after a group of activist investors ousted its management in March.
Forget it, says new chairman Strauss Zelnick, according to Reuters. He argues that the company structure has slimmed significantly since he took over and that Take-Two is now in “growth mode.” He made similar comments right after shareholders approved the activist slate, so the news really isn’t news. But what else could he state?
Continue reading at Tech Confidential.com.
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