Instagram to roll out Ads. Enjoy it whilst it's Ad free.

Instagram, the photo/video sharing site, is officially to start rolling out Ads in the US slowly. Video Ads are to come mid 2014 whilst at the moment, Instagram is "ad free".

Instagram is the site where you can use some very cool filters on your pics that makes them look beautiful.....and they work. Owned by Facebook (acquired 2012 for nearly a billion usd), with a guesstimate of 150 million active users, the "Ads" will largely be quality brand photos placed in your feed, whether you follow them or not. But they won't be 'banners'.

However, Instagram are indicating that you'll have some control over what you Ads you see. So they have concerns about the disruption that advertising can cause, especially on a quality site like this. A lot of brands do have already a great presence on Instagram with high followers. Notably fashion brands such as Burberry.

The contextual relevance of Ads is key and in order to deliver effectively on that, data will become key. When signing up for Instagram, that data is fairly basic so that could become the issue for targeting unless they cross-correlate with Facebook usage.

Without the ability to 'click thru' too, it's likely Instagram will just be selling impressions. 

Celebs have already actively made sponsored posts for brands such as Nike, without Instagram earning a cent. Although such posts are now required to feature a disclaimer if they're commercial.

Instagram needs to become a stand-alone business and "monetize" (hate that word) its users. Advertising is one way to do that. However, it will be interesting to watch how they strike that balance between annoying people and generating revenue.

Their owner Facebook, is not exactly strapped for cash, so they'll go at it slowly as they've said, with experiment after experiment until they get it right. If not, they may risk their business.  

More likely is that they'll get it right and it'll be a good model for other sites too. 

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says goodbye emotionally and with his favourite song. And it's not, "On the good ship, Lollipop".

'Crazy' Steve Ballmer, the food of many a blog and mine included, departs Microsoft as CEO. He says goodbye to 13,000 Microsoft employees in Seattle after 13 years at the helm but 33 years at the business.

'Crazy' because of his style of presentation and if you search him on this blog, you'll get the drift. This goodbye one, is actually tame in comparison.

Fairly emotionally he says it too and it's hard not to feel for the man. Despite it all, it's a tear jerker until that is, he ends with a song. A song of his choosing that says it all up for him. His favourite song.

Jennifer Warnes "Time of my life" from 'Dirty Dancing'. Jesus. But that kind of sums him up.

Wonder what Movie song will Bill Gates choose when he goes? Answers on a postcard but I'm guessing..... "Working 9 to 5".

Coke. A real good example of a story well told using online video. Terrific.

Not a big fan of Coke (which is like giving a compliment with one hand and taking it away with the other) because of the high level of sugar which damages kids. There's an average of 11 cubes of sugar in a can of Coke.

But I am a big fan of the type of activity that Coke have done to market themselves. Like the surprise of spreading a little happiness on a grey day as the video shows. It's a great little idea.

What's more too, is the video production which is super, although I don't know who made it. 

It gets across the spirit of the day using gentle cutaways of people being happy in an almost 'secret filming' way and yet it tells the story of the greenery being rolled out. Like every good online video, it should have a start, a middle and an end.

The music track is ideal and certainly feels "commissioned" rather than stock library music. It builds brilliantly.

The reveal of the bottle shape at the end leaves something for the viewer coupled with a lovely end graphic which was not cheap to do, I can tell you.

So a great story, well told.

And a great story to "share" as I am doing with you, which is the whole point of video. Nearly 60,000 personal up close views, in 2 days. That's real one-to-one marketing.

So it's a classic example of online video doing a great job for Coke. Exactly the way video was intended to be used. Little bit of trouble, little bit of thinking and you get something that's viewable and shareable.

Good for Coke. Pass it on.

Delta Airlines 11,000 pilots to get Microsoft Surface tablets instead of flight bags. Ad Campaign crying out to be done....

Delta Airlines have announced that they're to replace Pilot's flight bags with Surface 2 Tablets. That's 11,000 of an order for Microsoft Surface where Pilots will now board without the iconic, but 35 pound heavy, flight kit.

The saving in weight is one good reason as well as reducing paper (and therefore, CO2) but flying lighter saves fuel, saves money. Also, one would think that it's more efficient and that the tablet will have better, up-to-the-minute graphics and information such as weather detail.

The Microsoft Surface has had a poor first year - 900m usd in write downs and a price slash to attract customers and only about 1.5 million Surface tablets sold. How many Ipads sold in the same period you ask? About 60 million.

So there was some surprise at Delta's decision to opt for the Microsoft Surface. However, it does bring Microsoft a gift in marketing terms, if they're smart to it. A whole Ad campaign about what tablet do pilots trust? After all, your life might depend on it....that sort of thing. 

The Tablet that's trusted because it's reliable; it works under all conditions; it's accurate; it's light - all the stuff that a pilot might need it for.

An Ad campaign crying out to be done.
Hello? Anybody?

YouTube Music Awards November 3rd. They're killing Television.

If ever you wanted an example where digital broadcasting is eating into traditional Television, here's one.

YouTube have designed the 'YouTube music awards' on November 3rd, a lovely idea in itself because of their younger profile and the fact that music is a such a big YouTube driver. A lot of stars would never have got a music deal (such as Psy) were it not for exposure on YouTube.

However, the show which features Lady Gaga, Eminem, Arcade Fire and loads of other top acts, will be broadcast live.....on eh,YouTube. The 90 minute show will be driven by awards from votes and data about viewership on YouTube.

YouTube will also be showcasing contending artists in the build-up. And some of those artists will not be hugely well known generally but big on YouTube.

But this will be bigger than MTV. 

So here is a digital channel that's generating its own awards that it will broadcast itself. So no need for traditional TV there at all and in fact, they're being left out in the cold as they won't have the content. They won't be able to broadcast the show.

So when they tell you TV viewing is growing, be careful out there.

Cause it sure won't be on November 3rd amongst that younger audience who'll be glued to YouTube. 

YouTube and exclusive content on Netflix are killing Television.
This is only the start.

Breaking Bad ends Sunday. Here's a viral to remind you of the best bits. The most rated TV show ever.

The final, all-time last episode (called 'Felina), of Breaking Bad ends on Sunday. The photo above has just been released by the studio taken from the last episode.

Netflix expect to have it within 24 hours of the live broadcast.

It's been called the greatest TV series ever and certainly set the record as the world's most rated show ever. It has also driven Social Media in that it got a massive surge online being given a perfect '10' online.

Believe me, people are crazy about it and I've blogged about it before on September 18th below.

The penultimate episode had 6.6 million viewers live.

Mind you, it reportedly cost 3 million usd per episode, to make. 

So this YouTube viral is outtakes and emotional scenes which for fans, should be enjoyable. 

By the way, Walt dies. Maybe not.

Twitter's moving into Advertising by broadcasting 30 second TV spots.

Twitter is moving more into advertising notably in advance of its IPO. 

If Twitter can show real ways to generate revenue (current 2013 revenues expected at circa 500 million usd, a doubling of last year) it will help their float.

One way they're doing it, and talking to Ad Agencies about it, is to introduce the standard 30 second TV spot. They've been present at Adweek this week in NYC, a big traditional advertising get-together.

What they're suggesting is that advertisers broadcast their 30 second spot in the Twitter feeds of anyone watching the programme live online. So the ad would appear on TV as usual but also on second screens twitter feeds, simultaneously. Lovely idea.

It shows Twitter as an ally of TV which is a good move. TV Broadcasters could do the same in reverse.

With 200m active users sending 400m tweets a day, Twitter has been behind the door regarding advertising. But now, money counts especially in convincing investors of big revenue potential. A lot of Ad Agencies view Twitter as a Social Media tool rather than a medium in its own right. A lot of traditional Ad Agencies mind you, view everything Social as being tools.

Twitter have an Ad strategy that in my view, works.
But advertisers will find the money from their traditional TV budgets.

Flipboard raises 50 million Dollars. Value of 800 million. And it deserves it all.

My all-time favourite App? 

Flipboard and it's not an App, it's a thing of beauty, allowing you to merge and mash all your feeds into one "designery" space. This is top end design with relevant content that's really going upwards.

They've just announced they've raised 50 million us Dollars in funding, bringing the company valuation to about 800 million usd. 

Founded only in 2010 by Mike McCue, they have 85 million registered users which surprises me that it's so low....

Almost like a top-end magazine it aggregates news feeds with social media in the way you want it as "flippable" pages. It also allows you consequently, to create your own magazine and over a million have done that including 'Rolling Stone' and 'National Geographic'. That's a self-publishing dream.

But the long term play for Flipboard I think anyway, is deciding on what content to include and by that I mean, getting revenues from publishers who want to be included. If you own the App, you decide on what goes in.

With 85 million users it hasn't reached the critical mass of say, Twitter (800 million)....yet. But when it does, it will be a real player that it deserves to be. It wasn't that long ago (a year?) that they had 20 million users.

They've also gently started ECommerce with a 'click to buy' button working on a sales margin. That's going to be big.

It's the sort of news innovation coupled with top rate design and functionality, that is leading the way (although the current digital issue of 'Wired', is also something to behold).

And if you haven't got it, get it now.

Flipboard are getting the financial recognition at last.

Blackberry sells today. 4.7 Billion Dollars. OMG.

So Wow, they were able to sell Blackberry..for a 9 dollar a share price bringing in 4.7 billion us dollars. Extraordinary.

The buyer is Fairfax financial, a Canadian Insurance fund (Blackberry is Canadian too) who were also Blackberry's largest shareholder. Blackberry was, Canada's greatest star.

It has come after a weekend of speculation, notably by the excellent UK 'Telegraph', when Blackberry announced losses of almost 1 billion usd in Q2 and planned to slash 4,500 jobs with shares slumping by -24% on Friday last. 

Shares were trading at circa 8 dollars and I remember them at 138 dollars. 

It had officially put itself up for sale last month having hired PWC to help. 

Amazon and Microsoft had considered buying it previously but Microsoft's Nokia deal put paid to that. The BBM (Blackberry messaging service) is the golden egg with 60 million users although the once dominant company has really struggled against Apple, HTC and Samsung since 2007. 

Blackberry once controlled half of the US market (!), now that's under 3%.

The BBM service had one great advantage - as London rioters and drug dealers knew - it was hard to intercept. Hence it became popular with drug sellers and became known as 'Crackberry'.

It only shipped 2.7m of its latest Z10 phones out of a planned 6.8m although it sold 5.9m smartphones in Q2, well below expectations. Apple, for example, sold 37m and the Iphone 5S sold out online.... in 5 minutes.

Blackberry had slashed phone prices so effectively, they couldn't give them away. Its losses reflected a big write-down on this stock of unsold phones.

The story of the downfall of Blackberry (if you call a sale of billions a downfall) is that they stuck with a corporate market and a keyboard, largely ignoring connectivity to the internet as having value. When they realised their mistake, it was too little, too late.

Keyboards had their day, internet connectivity was king and the corporate market became a personal market. Executives choose their own phone for business and personal use, rather than a company bought phone.

It's a sad story in one way but ultimately a good story in that they've done well to attain a good price now. Or lucky to have a shareholder like Fairfax, prepared to protect their investment and obviously being cash-rich enough to do so.

Still. A once dominant brand like Nokia, bit the dust. Or has it?

Grand Theft Auto launched this week. And made 600 million Dollars profit in the first 24 hours.

They were saying that gaming had peaked....maybe it has, but Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 5, sold a whopping 800 million us dollars (that's "sell through" into retailers) in the first 24 hours after launching this week.

It has smashed records and will easily do a billion this year. Easy. 

Call of Duty (Black Ops 2) only sold a shameful 500 million in their first 24 hour sell. Imagine the disappointment.

Retailers this week across the world, opened their doors at midnight to sell GTA and very reminiscent of Microsoft launches of old (remember them?). 

Unlike other games - Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed are annual updates - GTA hasn't been out in 5 years building excitement. It's also being raved about.

The availability of online access has driven this growth creating further opportunities for revenue from game owners through interactive upgrades etc. So GTA's sim crime, is a real winner. Although it's controversial, in that opponents say it encourages violence.

Costing 200 million usd to make, that's a pretty fun way to make a profit for Edinburgh based developer, 'Rockstar'. Although a lot of employers reporting staff going sick on the launch day....

Terrific story really from a British crew facing a global business.
Edinburgh? Beautiful, but hardly silicone valley.
See? It can be done.

Breaking Bad. It's officially the greatest rated TV show of all time. This week's episode was the "best TV episode ever made". Why?

The greatest rated TV show of all time. Officially.

If one more person tells me 'Breaking Bad' is the best thing on television - ever! - I'll scream. And note the word Television.

Everyone in Streamabout, who have a good eye for this sort of thing, are crazy about it, especially cameramen. Obsessive even.

I watched 4 episodes, Series 1 and it lost me but unquestionably, I'm in a tiny, tiny minority.

The show was created by Vince Gilligan for Sony Pictures, having previously written The X Files. 

This week's episode "Ozymandias" (episode 14, series 5... in case you're asked because fans talk like that) got a huge, perfect '10' from 12,000 reviewers on Amazon's IMDb. Which makes it into Television history. Nothing else has come close to that online reaction.

Critics went ecstatic and fans were left breathless. An OMG! reaction. The name, Ozymandias, is from a famous sonnet by Shelley about a crumbling empire.

It has been talked about as being one of the best TV episodes "ever made". I kid you not.

Set in New Mexico, the show premiered in January 2008 about a chemistry teacher who turns bad (or good some say?). This final ever series completes (a total of 62 episodes) on September 29th and Netflix has really helped to grow the audience and is the greatest rated TV show of all time in The Guinness Book of Records. 

I won't list the awards it has won, because it's just too long.

But what Breaking Bad does show is that good drama, good content still works on Television and Online. It also shows that Social Media engagement in content, is more and more critical.

When 12,000 online reviewers give it a '10', it makes you think that you have to watch it and so spreads the word, virally. Good shows get noticed quicker and get audiences faster, rather than the 'hit and miss' of old because of online recommendation.

After all, it's the oldest cornerstone of advertising - word of mouth - and Social Media gives you that in droves. So Breaking Bad shows what can be done with traditional TV content, broadcasting online and Social Media engagement.

So I for one am going back to it, to see what the fuss is all about.
Or Chemistry. 
Yeah, I hear there's money in that?

Amazon Instant Video gets Airplay Support on Apple TV. This changes things. Again.

Amazon instant video has now got fully updated with Airplay support on Apple TV.

What does that mean?

It means you can use their App to watch Prime Instant Video and The Amazon Instant Video store on your Apple TV. Like Netflix, it's a big upgrade for their competitor as Apple (who may control connected TV's) have reached a deal with Amazon.

It also allows full integration with Amazon's IMDb which you might be familiar with and which also gives information on movie casts, soundtrack, history etc. In turn that allows them to offer you a Movie by the same Director? or including the same cast? So a lot more integration.

You can also have other features which traditional TV doesn't give you; like customer reviews or ratings; like "if you like this, watch this"; like concurrent downloads; like so much stuff enhancing your viewing.

The App is free and fully compatible too. Amazon, having tried to buy 'Roku' and not completing it, were rumoured to be producing their own set-top box. This may indicate that they've decided not to. 

As I see it, it's a clear example of a "deal" being done between a content provider (Amazon) and a device supplier (Apple). In other words, if you want your content on a device such as Apple TV, you'll need to do a deal too.

Which will worry many because "free to air" on standard TV's, might not be a distribution route in the future simply because, standard TV's will phase out as they're replaced with Connected TV's. I suggest it's unlikely that your next TV will be a standard TV and more likely a connected one.

And if you want to "do a deal" say as a traditional content supplier, Apple will need to be convinced that they want your content firstly. And even if they do (they may not want 'home produced' features or local content for example), you can be outbid by cash rich dotcoms to keep you off.

How would Irish news for example, fit into this platform? Streamed online means moving around whilst a free App might do it? Don't know, but it will disrupt.

So this will change the world. 
Because it changes distribution.

A little bit about Twitter and Jack Dorsey. And the IPO.

Jack Dorsey's first ever tweet.

It was July 15th 2006, when Jack Dorsey launched Twitter (although his first tweet was in March) with the now infamous 140 characters, designed by the way, so that mobile users could easily text, tweets. 

He was working in San Fran at that time when he approached a podcasting Software company Odeo and whilst he was obsessed with..... Trains...and Taxis. In fact he wrote software to co-ordinate Taxi locations.

The name was inspired by Flickr and it was first used as an internal service within Odeo.

7 years later, 200 million active users (over 500m registered users though), tweet 400 million times a day. 60% of tweets are from mobiles.

Now, in advance of the impending IPO, it has a value of between 10 and 15 billion us dollars. It had revenues last year of 250 million usd although that's likely to double this year.

Over time, Dorsey was moved out of the company in 2008 and following equity calls, had his stake diluted to just over 3% and he started to develop payments company, Square. That's worth over 3 billion us dollars today.

Twitter is now one of the 10 most visited websites and Justin Bieber the most popular on Twitter with over 44m followers. Obama is the highest politician and FC Barcelona, the highest followed sports club. 

Dorsey was born in 1976 in St. Louis, raised a Catholic and Forbes put his net worth at over a billion usd. With a forearm length tattoo and a drop out of New York University, he originally thought he wanted to be an artist.

Very interested in politics, there's been talk about him running as Mayor of New York. Real talk. 

But all in all, it's a fairly admirable story. Unlikely that Jack Dorsey will make a complete fortune from the Twitter IPO given his stake, he will always be seen as the founder of Twitter. 

And if you're not on it, get there.
It's absolutely an obsession.

Oh, it's @stuartfogarty btw.

Newspapers are embracing digital. And The Independent Group are making a fine job of it too.

In the digital age, one of the media that's often quoted as being in the firing line is newspapers. And they have been, but that doesn't mean that they're sitting on their hands and rolling over because they're not. They're actually embracing it and making a damn good job of it too with The Independent Group really making inroads.

What online and video brings to publishers, is the ability to sell TV commercials and the ability to use their established brands with loyal readers, to develop interactive magazines (IMags). Streamabout have been playing a role in delivering these quality videos for online publishers.

Clearly, firstly, the use of video news, allows for pre-roll and mid-roll advertising which allows newspapers to broadcast TV Commercials - something they've never been able to do before. In fact it's an opportunity for newspapers to attract in large TV advertisers whom they've never had as clients before. Who'd ever have thought you'd seen a 30 second TV commercial in a newspaper?

Newspapers can now scale up into the lucrative TV airtime space and that's a whole lot of opportunity for new revenue. Because TV Advertising as a sector, generally dominates media revenues.

Pre-rolls are now developed, available and growing with great long term potential.

The second offering of interactive magazines is a further development of that space. Here the online edition of a magazine - what is normally a printed product in tandem, although one wonders if IMags will become standalone opportunities - gives further, better interactive content.

The Irish/Sunday Independent have been at the forefront of this. Their online imagazine 'Juno' published yesterday, is a clear example of that.

A succession of interactive magazines aimed at niches such as Rugby ('Lineout'), Childcare ('Mothers&Babies'), Fitness ('Fit'), Exams, GAA, Christmas ('Mistletoe'), Soccer ('Soccer Legends') and so on, has been more than a foot in the water. In fact, when you look at the list, you'll see the pro-activity.

You'll find them all linked on www.independent.ie homepage, under 'Services' as you may not be able to click the links in this blog. (If you can't, just cut+paste the links here into your browser). But I've included two videos here at the end which are well worth the watch - honestly!

Yesterday, they published a lifestyle magazine, 'Juno' edited by Constance Harris, with The Sunday Independent but also online. 

http://supplements.independent.ie/?xml=Juno_iMag&iid=80896#folio=1

For example, whilst the printed version featured a fashion shoot with legendary photographer Mike Bunn, the interactive magazine had 3 'behind the scenes' videos about the shoots. So readers were able to delve into it more and understand what it's like to shoot fashion. 

http://supplements.independent.ie/?xml=Juno_iMag&iid=80896#folio=30

A piece with model Roz Purcell on a lingerie shoot, also came with a video (calm down) where interviews with the photographer, stylist and scenes from the shoot were very watchable. 

http://supplements.independent.ie/?xml=Juno_iMag&iid=80896#folio=46

A story about Irish female authors self-publishing their work, allowed for online interviews with the actual authors. 

http://supplements.independent.ie/?xml=Juno_iMag&iid=80896#folio=26

Another fashion shoot meant online, you saw it in the making plus more detail on the garments. 

http://supplements.independent.ie/?xml=Juno_iMag&iid=80896#folio=62

Another video was able to give you tips on how the make up was applied by a top make up artist from the shoot. 

http://supplements.independent.ie/?xml=Juno_iMag&iid=80896#folio=76

A story on wellbeing with Karen Ward, gave your more insight on her interactive video interview. 

http://supplements.independent.ie/?xml=Juno_iMag&iid=80896#folio=82

All supported by brands like Chanel, L'Oreal, Clarins, BT's, Newbridge and so on, who introduced their own TV Commercials, links directly to their websites facilitating purchase and links to their Social Media pages.

With all the content available to freely share on Social Media.

So digital now brings publishing and magazines to life and gives the readers further content to view for free. With the expertise of editorial that's available to a topline publisher like the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent, they're assured of being quality and will be hard to beat.

A clear example of embracing digital. 
And INM are doing it very, very well.

Have a look at this one from yesterdays 'Juno'. The story of a first. A Fashion Shoot in deepest Ireland, on a 'rock' called Skellig with legendary photographer, Mike Bunn.

Oh okay then, here's the Roz Purcell one from 'Juno' too.

TV Audiences versus Online viewing. You know which one is winning and growing, don't you.

You do get tired of a constant barrage of PR and in essence propaganda, from vested interest groups in the TV market, telling us that TV viewing is growing. In fact, it's getting better they say. TV viewing?

They've not learnt the lessons of the music industry, nor the book publishing industry, that instead of knocking digital, they can embrace it and make from it. Digital can be the saviour of TV as CBS are finding out. 

Tired and weary.

Sure, I have a vested interest in online video but I don't hide behind it, and I have a daily vested interest in Advertising. Traditional TV broadcasters do hide, producing Press Releases and Research under acronyms as "facts". And the reason I'm interested in online, as a former dyed in the wool Adman, is that I know it's where the eyeballs are heading. I still do traditional Advertising but I tell clients the truth.

TV stations are of course, afraid of online and video online viewership, so they have to keep telling a yarn that the online explosion isn't really happening, when it is. Understandable perhaps, but it's helping, as intended, to dampen advertising support online. Which is slowing online growth - but not for long.

However, advertisers are cleverer than that because they know the switch in audience away from traditional TV - simply from their own experience. Anyone with a child under 18, sees it everyday.

It might surprise some, but Clients are people too.

It's a simple fact that as Social Networks have grown, people are spending more time (notably in the traditional peak time evening viewing) on those networks. And if they're doing that, they're consuming less TV OR, watching it differently by second screens. Second screens clearly reduce the impact of advertising. It's just commonsense.

Online video is soaring. 

- 58% of the US stream (EMarketer) up from 20% in three years. 
- 75% of internet users are watching digital video (EMarketer). 
- 87% of people complete a video ad (that's from Nielsen) 
- "internet video ads have a higher impact than TV Ads" (that's Nielsen too). 
- "TV viewing is flat, steamers are watching more online video for longer" (IAB) 
- And digital is growing in that light 18-34 hard to reach TV audience (Nielsen). 
- Light TV viewers are shifting online quicker (Nielsen). 
- 145 million people in the US watch video online compared to 290 million who watch TV. And that was in 2012 (Mashable)
- YouTube has over 1 billion viewers a month (Daily Mail) and "more 18-34's watch YouTube than any cable TV channel". 
- Online video advertising is expected to grow +40% this year (Business Insider) 
- Americans aged 12-34 are spending less time in front of their TV's (New York Times) 
- Netflix now has 33 million subscribers (that's paid for viewers who are more valuable to advertisers). 
- "Households abandon cable and Satellite TV for streaming" (Forbes).

Will I go on?

The point too, is that all the opposing arguments are based on data - nobody is lying - but it's how you interpret that data for your own PR purposes is the issue. As someone said, if 40% of car accidents are by drunk drivers, then sober drivers are more dangerous.

It's not the data - it's how you use it.

So a word to media planners and buyers. A word to marketing managers and brand managers. A word to Admen. Use your commonsense.

TV isn't dead....but it's dying. 
You know it and so do I. 

Do you think you'll ever buy a TV again? You won't, you'll buy a connected TV for online content which in a lot of cases, simply won't show traditional TV programmes. If you own the device (like Apple will own Apple TV), you'll own the content and that's broadcasters biggest fear - distribution. It could close them.

You pay to get on the App Store. You'll pay for access to connected TV as a content provider IF they want your content. And they probably won't.

Look at data and ask yourself why it has been given to you.
Question it.

Time for a change.

12 years today.

Twelve years ago today, 2,606 lost their lives in the buildings. Hard to believe still. And nothing more to say. Except this. 

The new Freedom Tower at The WTC (above), will be completed this year. 

Bigger, Better and Stronger. 

The Steve Jobs firing from Apple by his best friend, John Sculley, in 1985. John Sculley video talks about it this week for the first time.....and Jobs about Sculley "he destroyed everything, starting with me"

Steve Jobs recruited John Sculley from President at Pepsi (which he had joined in 1963) on the infamous quote that did Sculley want to sell sugar water all his life, or join Jobs and change the world? Sculley had been famous for developing 'The Pepsi Challenge' 1975 taste-test campaign.

That was 1983 and they became best friends describing it as an "amazing partnership". In 1984, there was the famous Superbowl commercial, "1984" (ironically).

Eventually Jobs believed Sculley was "bad for Apple" and a power struggle culminated in a Board showdown in May 1985. Having been best friends, they were now best enemies.

The Board sided with Sculley and 5 months later, Jobs resigned from Apple. Of course in 1986 he started Pixar and in 1995 produced their first feature, 'Toy Story'. Jobs was the Executive Producer.

In 1996 Jobs rejoined Apple and the rest, as they say, is history. Sculley had left/fired in 1993. 

It's pretty clear that the clash was between an innovator and a business head. Sculley was focused on structure, cashflow and traditional business whilst Jobs was just an unruly doer. Jobs, it has to be said, was no angel either.

And Sculley has never talked about it...until this week aged 74. Worth a look.

And then at the very,very end of this piece - hear Jobs talking about Sculley - "I hired the wrong guy.....he destroyed everything I'd spent 10 years working for...starting with me"

Instagram shows unreal growth for Facebook. 150 million active monthly users. Their video offering is driving it.

When Facebook bought Instagram (an App) for a billion usd in April of last year, most of us were scratching our heads. Whilst Instagram had 9 employees (it was started in October 2010), it was the first time Facebook had acquired a business like this. 

9 employees, 1 billion?? Here's my blog from then;
http://streamabout.blogspot.ie/2012/04/instagram-sells-to-facebook-today-1.html

This week, Instagram has just announced that it has 150 million active monthly users - that's 50 million more than it had 7 months ago and that is, unbelievable growth. 60% of these users are outside of the US which makes it even more appealing. 

With this growth comes Ads and Instagram have said that they'll start selling ads next year and that will now go some way to repaying Facebook. With this amount of users, it won't take too long to generate a billion dollars in revenue.

One of the things that's driving this growth is Instagram online video which started a few months back. So you can not just view pretty pictures but pretty video too. 

Fairly extraordinary stuff and one where I think we can safely admit....it looks like we were wrong....online video driving growth, again. I should have known.

Never a fan but this Guinness Commercial is really worth the look. Really.

Not a fan of Guinness Advertising at all, at all although I do drink the stuff (as often as I can). But this really caught me off guard.

Story of a basketball game but the story of friendship, togetherness, told in a very effective way. Which you'll see at the end. Might even shed a tear or two, if you're a girl......lads don't do that sort of thing.

Music is 'To Build a Home' by The Cinematic Orchestra.
After that, I've no idea who is behind this. 
Just presume it's AMV BBDO? 

Lovely job really.

Samsung launch the first 'wearable computing', their Smartwatch. Pity about the name.

Samsung have finally launched their long awaited 'Galaxy Gear' smartwatch.
The first real attempt at wearable computing and this is the first generation watch - so it will improve in time.

Bigger than most watches, it's seen as a bit 'chunky' with a flat, rather than curved, screen. Doesn't look too bad though, although it's not a replacement for your phone but an addition to it. You won't have to use your phone so much, but you will need it.

Connected via bluetooth, it has a camera on the wristband and touchscreen. There's a Pedometer which allows you to track your running and it costs 300 us dollars. And it comes with nice colour choices (6) making it 'fashion technology'. Or so they say.

So we'll see. Apple are due to launch theirs, next week.

Samsung have gained first-mover advantage here and it shows they can deliver innovation, quickly and affordably. It will be 'in the shops' at the end of September.

What they can't deliver however, is a name. 
Galaxy Gear? Catchy.

Microsoft pays 7 Billion for Nokia. It feels like 1997.

In one of his last great acts, 'Crazy' Steve Ballmer, the Microsoft CEO has agreed to buy Nokia, for about 4.6 billion stg/7 billion us dollars. 

Nokia, the one time Finnish world leader in mobile phones, has worked with Microsoft since 2011 on the Lumia phone. More importantly perhaps, former Microsoft executive, Stephen Elop and current Nokia CEO, was tipped to replace Ballmer.

So is this case of getting a new Microsoft CEO with the company? Buy one, get one free?

It's yet another Microsoft deal that seems on the surface, "bizarre". They all do at first and then when you reflect....well, they all still do.

Firstly Microsoft already has working relationships with other hardware manufacturers, notably Samsung, who'll see this as competitive. A huge conflict of interest anyway.

Secondly a price tag of nearly 7 billion usd seems high for a company that had its stock recently at 'junk status' and frankly, that has little brand status remaining in the smartphone market. All to be paid in cash.

Thirdly, 32,000 employees come with it. That's a big, huge ongoing cost and basically increases the Microsoft workforce by a third.

As one blogger put it, "This would be the deal of the year....if it was 1997" Another suggesting they should buy AOL and Betamax next. In other words, it's all a bit late and a surprising concept for Microsoft to tackle Apple/Samsung mobile dominance, now. That game, one would have thought, is well and truly over.

And you know what? Microsoft just do things and leave them there. Perhaps like the Skype acquisition, there just isn't, a plan.

Here's Ballmer note to staff about the Nokia buy;

From: Steve Ballmer
To: MS FTEs
Date: Sep. 2, 8:00 PM PDT (Sep. 3, 6:00 AM EET)
Subject: Accelerating Growth

We announced some exciting news today: We have entered into an agreement to purchase Nokia’s Devices & Services business, which includes their smartphone and mobile phone businesses, their award-winning design team, manufacturing and assembly facilities around the world, and teams devoted to operations, sales, marketing and support.

For Microsoft, this is a bold step into the future and the next big phase of the transformation we announced on July 11.

We are very excited about the proposal to bring the best mobile device efforts of Microsoft and Nokia together. Our Windows Phone partnership over the past two and half years has yielded incredible work - the stunning Lumia 1020 is a great example. Our partnership has also yielded incredible growth. In fact, Nokia Windows Phones are the fastest-growing phones in the smartphone market.

Now is the time to build on this momentum and accelerate our share and profits in phones. Clearly, greater success with phones will strengthen the overall opportunity for us and our partners to deliver on our strategy to create a family of devices and services for individuals and businesses that empower people around the globe at home, at work and on the go, for the activities they value most. 

We have laid out Microsoft’s strategic rationale for this transaction in a presentation that I encourage you to read.

This is a smart acquisition for Microsoft, and a good deal for both companies. We are receiving incredible talent, technology and IP. We’ve all seen the amazing work that Nokia and Microsoft have done together. 

Given our long partnership with Nokia and the many key Nokia leaders that are joining Microsoft, we expect a smooth transition and great execution. 

As is always the case with an acquisition, the first priority is to keep driving through close, which we expect in the first quarter of 2014, following approval by Nokia’s shareholders, regulatory approvals, and other closing conditions. 

But I also know people will have some questions about what happens post-close. While details aren’t final, here is what we know, and how we’re generally approaching integration:

1. Stephen Elop will be coming back to Microsoft, and he will lead an expanded Devices team, which includes all of our current Devices and Studios work and most of the teams coming over from Nokia, reporting to me.
2. Julie Larson-Green will continue to run the Devices and Studios team, and will be focused on the big launches this fall including Xbox One and our Surface enhancements. Julie will be joining Stephen’s team once the acquisition closes, and will work with him to shape the new organization.
3. As part of the acquisition, a number of key engineering leaders will be joining Microsoft from Nokia, reporting to Stephen in his new capacity:
	· Jo Harlow, who will continue to lead the Smart Devices team
	· Timo Toikkanen, who will continue to lead the Mobile Phones team
	· Stefan Pannenbecker, who will lead Design
	· Juha Putkiranta, who will lead the integration effort on Nokia’s behalf
4. Regarding the sales team, we plan to keep the Nokia field team, led by Chris Weber, intact and as the nexus of the devices sales effort, so that we can continue to build sales momentum. After the deal closes, Chris and his team will be placed under Kevin Turner. We will develop a single integrated team that is selling to operators, and there may be other integration opportunities that we can pursue. Kevin will work with Chris Weber and Chris Capossela to make those plans.
5. Our operating system team under Terry Myerson will continue unchanged, with a mission of supporting both first-party and third-party hardware innovation. We are committed to working with partners, helping them build great products and great businesses on our platform, and we believe this deal will increase our partner value proposition over time. The established rhythms and ways of working between Terry and his team and the incoming Nokia team will serve us well to ensure that we do not disrupt our building momentum.
6. We are planning to integrate all global marketing under Tami Reller and Mark Penn. It is very important that we pursue a unified brand and advertising strategy as soon as possible.
7. Finance, Legal, HR, Communications, DX / Evangelism, Customer Care and Business Development will integrate functionally at Microsoft. Sourcing, customer logistics and supply chain will be part of Stephen’s Devices organization. ICM / IT will also integrate functionally for traditional IT roles. We will need to work through the implications for factory systems given the differing manufacturing processes and systems at both Nokia and Microsoft.
8. We plan to pursue a single set of supporting services for our devices, and we will figure out how to combine the great Nokia efforts into our Microsoft services as we go through the integration process.
9. There are no significant plans to shift where work is done in the world as we integrate, so we expect the Nokia teams to stay largely in place, geographically.
10. Tom Gibbons will lead the integration work for Microsoft.

While today’s announcement is big news, we have to stay heavily focused on running the current business. We have a huge fall and holiday season ahead of us, so we need to execute flawlessly and continue to drive our business forward. I have no doubt we will.

Steve

Phone Boxes. What to do with them? Great idea from New York. Make them "way-finding" digital touch screens.

So when was the last time you used a payphone to make a call? Couple of years? And yet the city is still littered with these icons of a bygone day. I remember as a kid, visiting London and coming home with a metal die-cast model of the red phone box being such an icon of London.

Indeed, local Irish newspapers reporting recently, that they've become ideal places for drug users to shoot up. But the saturation of mobile phones, has meant that they have no real use anymore and in fact, are becoming an eyesore.

Until now.

Great idea from New York then, which links to a concept being used in London. The idea is to turn the payphones into 'wayfinding' touch screens. Cosy booths, out of the weather to find your way.

So in the payphone booth, are touch screens that give local directions. After all, how many of us have been asked on the street for directions?

An interactive map, with local retail store listings and bus/train stops with timetables, would be a great help to tourism. And a great help to citizens. Once you think about that too, using WiFi, it will allow a lot of other applications.

Clearly Ads on screen being one, but perhaps offering free WiFi hotspots? Or Information hubs on general local heritage stuff? Or opening hours of local attractions showing perhaps, their video? Or local restaurant reviews/info? Car Park information? Traffic updates? Scrolling news? A dispenser of online tickets? Emergency services? And so on. All at the touch of a screen. Perhaps free Skype to allow tourists say hello to the folks literally on the street. 

Commercially it's a sound idea too - as indeed it is to bring real benefits to the streets of a city. The phone box is still iconic and in some ways, treasured. Importantly, it's already there so the conversion is relatively easy.

By giving it a digital makeover could be one of the great landmark ideas. And leave a great mark on the city.

Wearable computing begins. The Samsung Smartwatch launches September 4th.

The new generation of wearable computing kicks off on September 4th with Samsung's launch of its smartwatch believed to be called 'Galaxy Gear'.

It will make calls, receive calls, email, text, access the web and wait for it, tell the time. It's believed to have a camera integrated into the strap.

Google, Apple and Microsoft are working on versions of their own but the Korean company is first to market - a big first mover advantage and sure to steal the PR inches. It beats Google Glasses to a full launch, another long awaited wearable concept, although out there amongst a select few. The Sony Smartwatch is already out there but hey, who knows about it.

It will run on Android with a small key pad but brings mobile into a new space and will further the growth in mobile applications. It's much easier to wear a watch than carry a phone. Rumoured cost about 250 usd and it'll come in 5 colours.

Interesting times as we move into the wearable generation.

New Iphone in September will come with a trade-in offer. Great marketing.

We've come a long way since 1983.

The new Iphone release is rumoured to be on September 10th according To Mashable and the 20th from The Huff Post - but we know it's coming sometime in September. They'll want it in the stores by November for the lucrative Christmas rush.

There's talk of new colours (a graphite grey, gold?), super HD screen, 2 handset sizes, better camera/flash, better battery, a possible fingerprint scanner, faster processor, a cheaper alternative, the name (5S instead of 6?) and so on, doesn't seem to be real exciting. But we'll see. Apple always surprises.

However, there is strong talk of a trade-in programme launch which is a great marketing idea. Although some carriers (O2, Vodafone) already offer trade-ins on all phones as you try to get your "free" upgrade, an Iphone trade-in notably in Apple stores, will get the cash coming in.

Given the saturation of Iphones (which is actually the biggest market problem and notably for Samsung growth) and given the high cost of new models, a formal trade-in is a good marketing trick. Once everyone has a smartphone, it's difficult in these straightened times, to sell them a new one. So a trade-in upgrade is one good idea.

Basically it's one way of giving a "discount" on new phones without damaging the brand values and the old phones have a resale value. So it encourages constant upgrading and keeps stock turning.

Expect this to be announced at the launch and I've no doubt it's a great trick that will boost sales of the new Iphone. 

Will they trade in Blackberrys and Samsungs against a new Iphone I wonder? I would.