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Interview with MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe

14 June, 11:58 AM

Did you know that 12% of all Internet minutes are spent on MySpace and 45% of all the users on MySpace are over the age of 35.

Initially positioned as a social network for those in the music industry – the site has since gone mainstream with 73 million users in the United States and 117 million globally.

For a site that is just four years old, perhaps the most interesting is the ever-changing demographic of MySpace users:

Forty percent of all in the United States are on MySpace.

Twleve percent of all Internet minutes are spent on MySpace.

Forty-five percent of all the users on MySpace are over the age of 35.

With recent news that Internet ad spending is predicted to slow, DeWolfe is barely phased. MySpace dominates the social networking space and has strategic partnerships, with companies such as Google , in place for long term success.

This year, MySpace has seen their click-throughs increase by fifty percent. With at least 250 employees working in their technology monetization group to create algorithims that identify enthusiasts in different areas of interest, MySpace is certainly paving the road for targeted advertising within social networks.

Read the entire interview with Chris DeWolfe in Businessweek.

Unproductive Technology

14 June, 11:24 AM

Are the same technology tools that have led to improvements in productivity can be counterproductive if overused?

A great article in the New York Times called Lost in E-Mail, Tech Firms Face Self-Made Beast poses an interesting question – are the same technology tools that have led to improvements in productivity can be counterproductive if overused?

RescueTime, an computer habits research company, conducted a study and found that a typical information worker who sits at a computer all day turns to his e-mail program more than 50 times and uses instant messaging 77 times. The study also found that on average the worker also stops at 40 Web sites over the course of the day.

Perhaps the area of greater concern is the financial impact of distractive technology in the workplace. According to Basex, a management science research group, in the United States more than $650 billion a year in productivity is lost because of unnecessary interruptions. The firm says that a big chunk of that cost comes from the time it takes people to recover from an interruption and get back to work.

According to John Tang, a researcher at I.B.M, the challenge today lies to finding ways to prevent software tools from distractions in the workplace.

Ugliness does not sell - or does it?

14 May, 05:54 PM

There is a huge market that lusts over beautiful design – but what about the people at the bottom of the pyramid?

Raymond Loewy was known for being one of the best industrial designers of the 20th century. After a brief period working in fashion styling and illustration, Loewy transitioned to the barely conceived field of industrial design where he quickly established himself as a natural expert on design, sociology, and strategy.

In the book, Industrial Design, Loewy said that “Success finally came when we were able to convince some creative men that good appearance was a salable commodity, that it often cut costs, enhanced a product’s prestige, raised corporate profits, benefited the customer and increased employment.”

Ugliness Does Not Sell was the title of a book published by Loewly, a man who was touted as being the Father of Industrial Design. Could a man who designed products and experiences put form before function?

Design is not only an experience – it has a social function. Great design should be about improving people’s lives. Current markets are becoming saturated and corporations are looking for emerging markets to reach. These emerging markets are known as “the next billion customers”. Also referred to as the “bottom of the pyramid”, they have been ignored as viable markets for so many years. However, as many of these regions experience growing economies and rising disposable incomes – they represent a market not to be forgotten.

In a sense, we are moving away from the idea of Brookes Steven’s notion of planned obsolescence which he defined as “instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, and a little sooner than is necessary.” Instead, we need to embrace the challenge of designing for the next billion customers and realize that perhaps we need to re-evaluate our perception of what really makes a design great.

At a recent TED Conference, while speaking on the topic of “Why Design”, Philippe Starck said “I try not make the object for the object but for the result, for the profit for the human being, the person who will use it”.

There is a huge market that lusts over beautiful design – that can afford planned obsolescence – that would never buy anything ugly – but what about the billions of people in the world who are at the bottom of the pyramid?

Indeed, there is a huge market that lusts over beautiful design – that will fall for, and can afford, planned obsolescence – that would never buy anything ugly – but what about the billions of people in the world who are at the bottom of the pyramid?

Uniting The Global Village Through Film

6 May, 05:44 AM

Can short films change paradigms and birth a global acceptance of diversity and peace?

Jehane Noujaim, an award winning filmmaker, had a dream: to see a global acceptance of diversity, mediated through the power of film.

In 2006, Jehane was awarded the TED Prize, which granted her wish to change the world. Together, Jehane, along with fellow members of the TED community, conceived Pangea Day – a global event bringing the world together through film. Pangea was chosen because it is the name of the super-continent that broke apart 200 million years ago to form the present continents.

On May 10, six events will be linked via satellite to produce a program of live events, speakers, and 24 short films selected from more than 2,500 submissions. The films were selected based on their ability to transform, inspire, and shift our paradigms to create new perspectives on global causes that affect us all.

The hope is that Pangea will create a global movement focused on heightened awareness, empathy, compassion, and peace on a global level. After Pangea Day, there are plans to launch a series of community building activities to help provide people with outlets for change.

I’ve been following Pangea Day since I learned about it through the TED Conference last summer. Can film birth a global acceptance of diversity and peace? It remains to be seen. But I do believe that no other medium is more suited to deliver a global message that will speak to all cultures.

The currency of today is about ideas and experience. Experience transcends all barriers that a culture can have, whether language, distance, or time. Experience is the only language that unites us all because it is the only language that resonates with the human spirit.

Ning = Emotional Attachment???

3 May, 03:23 PM

When your currency is ideas, people become emotionally attached and then you become a social utility like Blogger, YouTube or Facebook.

Fast Company recently did an article about Ning – a “do it yourself” social networking where anyone can set up an online community on any topic.

Ning’s recent $500 million pre-money valuation is attributed to what many are calling its “double viral loop” of expansion where by their growth spreads two ways because every network creator is a user and any user can become a network creator.

As of April 2008, Ning reported more than 230,000 groups on its platform. However, the key question is how many of those groups have active users? In an interview with Fast Company, Gina Bianchini said that “When your currency is ideas, people become emotionally attached and then you become a social utility like Blogger, YouTube or Facebook”.

Is Ning really a viable social utility? Are users truly emotionally attached to Ning?

I believe that the currency of today is about ideas and experience – that people are looking for brands that speak to them on an individual level – and that provide some type of valuable service in their lives.

In order to create a product that will have a lasting emotional connection with its users, there must be an element of that product’s experience that resonates with the human spirit by either making them feel good or by providing them with a superior service.

Does Ning have what it takes to sustain further growth, develop its own advertising platform, and show sustainable monetization? I’m not convinced just yet – but with Marc Andreessen and Gina Bianchini leading the way – it will be an interesting story to watch.

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