UPs SolidEnergy is our innovative new caffeine energy sweet which we launched in Manchester, January 2013.

Kaffeination consists of four founders, three of whom studied together in Manchester doing their Masters in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship. The fourth founder studied Business and Engineering in Dresden, Germany.

The team has an international background, complementary skills and a unified passion for innovation.

I have come across this product a couple of days ago, it is called Ups.

What I have found incredible at first glance was the idea behind it. What they are basically trying to distribute is a sweet which is able to give the energy you need during the day. If you are not able to drink coffee or have an energy drink, Ups is the solution for you. In fact, just 16g of this product are equal to one cup of coffee, in terms of the Caffeine that they have.

At this moment, the only flavour that they are producing is Strawberry, which I think is probably the most interesting they could have chosen. However if they want to take this further they will have to able to produce other different flavours. In my opinion lemon, orange, pineapple, melon and pear could be the next ones. Even if I would try to make something completely different with a “banana” flavour, which I think it has never been tried before by anyone.

The product comes out in two versions, the 16g and the 50g pack. I have been lucky enough to test both and I can easily suggest to stick to the smaller one, which contains the equivalent of one cup of coffee and it is not too addictive. Further it is small enough to fit in your pocket; you can do the same thing with the second version, but I think it is too big to bring it around.

In the next months they will probably face two main issues: distribution and the improvement of the product. The distribution, from what I have been able to see, has been achieved in the best way as possible by starting from the University of Manchester user base. On the other hand the improvement of the product will have to focus on the next flavours and on a low calories product.

Even though it is just a sweet, it has up to 333 calories per 100 grams; which is not a lot, but this number can be lowered. Here you can find the nutrional table, which gives you a general idea:

I have been able to test it during revision time today and I have to admit that I am pretty well satisfied by it. I have tried the small pack first, which I think it is the right caffeine for my body, and it was useful and even tasty. It remembered me a lot hairbo, but with a different vision. That is what makes them different from other sweets. They are trying to distribute a product that can help people, not just a mere sweet that is able to fill our greediness.

I believe they will have to work on their vision a lot, because that’s what it makes them unique and different by the others. Although this looks like a small market, it can be a huge one for the simple fact that there isn’t one yet. They are introducing a different way of gaining solid energy to achieve what we want.

That’s why they might find a big user base in students, who are constantly studying, revising and trying to do more at University; but also in professional workers, who need to be focused on what they are doing for hours, without any break. Being in a University is extremely important if you want to start a project like this one, because you can actually see how the product flows goes by testing it directly. Further students have connections all over other Universities, which are important assets for this product.

In fact they can use the Facebook distribution model from one University to the next one, University by University. If the product is good enough, it will take over even in the offices, impacting the niche we were talking about; but there is still time for that. Now they just need to focus on students, because they will be the future professional workers.

I am definitely going to order more packs for the next exams and I suggest you doing the same at this website get-ups.com

When the first tech blogs were started, Beppe Grillo, an italian comedian, decided to start his own blog with the help of Gian Roberto Casaleggio, who still runs his tech consultant company. By first talking about politics and ideas, the comedian was able to gather thousands of people on his own blog. Thanks to this crowd of citizens who read the blog, Beppe Grillo started his first political fights. By growing day by day the blogger understood that these people had the need to gather in different places and not always on his own blog, so several meetups groups called “Amici Di Beppe Grillo” (Beppe Grillo’s Friends) were created in Italy.

That was the first step toward the creation of a political movement, born on the internet. The nicknames and the comments became people who started sharing their views about the world thanks to the meetups spread all over Italy. From that point and thanks to several events, the two cofounders of the blog understood that what they created could become a political movement.

The Five Star Movement was born on the 4th of October, based on a set of principles. One of the pillars of this movement is still the web and in its program we can actually see how important it is. The idea of building a direct democracy led by the web is at the basis of the movement; with the belief that in 2013 we are actually connected to the internet and we can, with a matter of clicks, take decisions to change the shape of our country altogether.

Further following the idea of an e-democracy, there is the concept of digital citizenship, which wants the internet to be free and accessible at the birth. Instead of having personal IDs, we will get an “email address”, which will ensure the access to the internet. The constant use of the internet has made this movement popular on the web, which is the only tool used to spread ideas and to build a main brain, formed by thousands of individuals, who think and write.

Despite the rejection of the presence in TV Shows and the rejection of the common and italian way of doing journalism, the movement has found an home on the internet. With the only use of the web and with a strong presence on the territory, the Five Star Movement has become the second political power of Italy.

However what is remarkable is the way the Five Star Movement chose its representatives for the National Parliament. While the other parties chose their representatives without elections and the democratic party did a primary on the territory, this movement was on the web. For the first time in the history of the internet the Five Star Movement chose its representatives thanks to a Web-based election.

With just three clicks each voter has been able to choose three people. All the members of the Five Star Movement could vote and choose who they fought could have deserved a place in the National Parliament; with 20 thousands voters, the best people were selected. From now on, these people are going to run the electoral campaign toward the 24th of February, when the national elections will take place.

It’s remarkable to see how the internet is changing our lives at the speed of life, but what is important to underline is that the internet has enabled us to share ideas. The Five Star Movement is one of the thousands of examples of movements that were founded on the internet; but it is the first time ever that an internet movement will sit in the parliament with an expected 20%. This means that everything is possible and when people start to think and share ideas, no one can stop them.

This young movement, which is just three years old, has a lot of steps to do in front of it; but with the help of the people that work as volunteers in it, nothing will stop it. Crowd Sourcing is the next big step that we have to face, even when we want to drive a country; given the possibilities that the internet gives us, most of italians have understood that it’s the right time to build the first direct democracy of the third millenium, just with the use of an extremely fundamental tool and thousands of brains ready to share their thoughts.

What I mean is that we are going to make the first step toward a world in which we interact with the Technology that we wear and with the Technology that we use. Thanks to our voice or simply by using our hands or even eyes, we will use new products in a way we didn’t do it before. There are four products that we think are gonna have a big impact in the coming year.

The Four Products And The Paradigm Shift In 2013

#1 – Google Glass

The first big expectation for the 2013 is Google Project Glass. When we watched that demo at Google Input/Output in June, we couldn’t believe what we were in front of. However the most exciting thing was that the people who were at the conference, where able to book a beta glass for just $1500, which are going to be delivered in January, as they promised. If they are able to reach the perfection that we watched in their presentation video, the world will change completely. Without any doubt this is the most expected product in 2013, because it is going to give us a new way to use the technology that every day we have in our pocket or in our laptops.

#2 – Pebble

The second big expectation is Pebble. The most founded project on Kickstarter should be ready to deliver its first watches in 2013 at some point. We have been waiting for this moment too long and now it seems closer than before. With the introduction of Pebble in our lives, we are going to interact with our smartphones through our watches. This is going to be the first step toward the transformation that every single object will face in the next years, the connection to the internet and the ability to support apps. Watches will be the first thing, then everything will follow.

#3 – LeapMotion

We are all waiting for this product, leapmotion. For the first time ever the way we use our laptops and desktop computers will change. We won’t use a keyboard anymore, we won’t type anything, we will just use our hands and the way they move. This is a huge step toward a new technology that will change the world. Keyboards and the common interaction with smartphones are a dead point, we have come to the point that the machine has to understand us and act as we want; we don’t have to tell anything to our machines anymore. They simply understand what we want by studying us.

#4 – Raspberry Pi

This year that is coming is going to be a big challenge for Raspberry Pi, the project that was born with the aim to improve the common computer science skills in young kids. From 2006 Raspberry Pi has been growing and producing new hardware that has made that dream a reality. Following that dream, the team behind Raspberry Pi has been able to build a cheap and modern solution to expensive hardware. With just thirty dollars you can now buy a credit-card sized computer board that plugs into a TV and a keyboard. Raspberry Pi is a miniature ARM-based PC which can be used for many of the things that a dekstop PC does.

These four product will have a huge impact in 2013, these four products have grasped what we mean for “innovation”, now we hope that the other startups and company that are looking at this innovation, will understand what it really means.

In some circumstances in order to define a company dead, you don’t need to look at its Market Capitalization or at its revenues, you just need to see who is driving that company. Steve Ballmer has been the Microsoft CEO for the past years, driving one of the most well known companies in the world (which I personally don’t like). After stepping down as CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates definitely left his full time role at Microsoft, leaving the CEO seat to his old friend from Harvard, Ballmer.

His aim to become a great CEO and that constant effort to be like Steve Jobs has pushed Steve Ballmer over his own limits. As you can easily watch from the video above. However the main point of this blog post is not about Ballmer and his attitude about being the CEO of Microsoft, but it is about Microsoft itself.

A company that with Bill Gates was the first to deliver a tablet on the market, now it is the last. A company, as many others, that doesn’t know how to innovate. Microsoft is just copying Android and iOS in order to be on the mobile market. However this time Microsoft won’t win in the long run, because the mobile market is free from the monopoly that this company has built in the desktop market.

Have you ever wondered why you must buy a PC with Windows on it? Why should we pay for the license if we don’t want it? Yes, we can be refounded, but why should I waste my time? These are just a few questions that thousands of GNU/Linux users have always wondered and unfortunately there haven’t been many answers to these questions.

Surface is just another tablet and it’s late. The market is so overcrowded and there is no space for another tablet. This company is late and what it is sad about it is that they didn’t even know what to do they just thought it was a good idea to go into the tablet market years after Google and Apple. What we have to reckon is the fact that they changed the way we use a tablet, by introducing a new different User Interface that is a complete paradigm shift from the common UI that we receive when we buy a tablet from Samsung or Apple. However that was the minimum they could do if they didn’t want to get sued by one of the previous two companies.

In the past weeks, I have been able to hear a few guys from Microsoft and actually use and test Windows 8. I don’t see anything new or anything that could have a huge impact in our world. Windows 8 is just another Operative System, whose aim is to make Microsoft richer thanks to its monopoly.

The whole point is that Microsoft has lost its momentum, even if they are selling and shipping, they don’t look like a good and prestigius company anymore. They are the last, they are the ones who wait and see what the others are doing before doing something. Windows phone and Surface are just two of the dozens examples we can point out. If they want to be back in the market as never before, they need to understand a simple and easy concept to grab, “innovation”. If people drive on the right, you must drive on the left in order to see the world from a different point of view.

Further the only key that could lead this innovative thinking in the Microsoft environment is a specific tool that they have implemented for the Xbox, the kinect. Yes, the kinect is the most interesting thing they have, that’s the next big thing they could use to change the way we interact with digital devices. If they just acquired a single company like Leap Motion and integrate it with kinect, they would be on the wave and they could change the way we use modern computers. It’s not that difficult, you just have to think with an open mind. It’s not about money, but it’s about creating something that will have a huge impact on people’s lives.

Microsoft must become a startup again, not numerically by reducing its employees, but mentally by thinking as a young and fresh startup that wants to change the world.

Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurs. It is so easy to use that word without really focusing on what it really means. An Entrepreneur is someone who believes in something, an individual who wants to take the next step in order to build something that is going to improve people’s lives. Isn’t it awesome? Yes, Entrepreneurship is a great concept. However most of the guys that we see every single day miss the point, especially the ones who are pushing hard to become real Entrepreneurs and to spread their ideas.

Finding an idea is difficult, but executing it is even more difficult. The amount of work you have to do as a first time CEO is immense and you always don’t know what you are supposed to do; but we all guess that is normal. It’s normal to be scared and it’snormal to feel stressed just by the idea of driving a startup without even knowing where to start.How much should I pay my first employee? How much equity should I give him? These are the main problems that you face and the questions that don’t let you sleep. However I don’t think that is the point. The point is not about money, but it’s about value and spirit. The first three employees you hire are those who are going to stick to you for the next years till the success or the failure of your startup.

In the past days, I have heard one advice given by a guy, who I really don’t want to quote here, to another individual who was willing to start his own startup. Outsourcing was what I heard and what they were talking about. Yes, you can hire a good programmer for nothing that is able to actually program for you in the first days of you startup, letting you build other stuff and manage the company. That is definitely the worst advice I have ever heard in the last year. I actually wasn’t able to reply to those two guys, cause of my slow and weak English skills, but I have managed to publish this post : ). When you build a startup and you need to create a team, you firstly have to form the first core, those three employees we were talking about. The main core will always be there and it will always support you in any case.

Why? Because if you are able to hire people who believe in what you believe,they will believe in the company’s mission in any situation, without stepping back. This is my second advice, hire people who believe in your idea. Look at the sparkle of their eyes when you interview them, try to find them between your friends, because you need people that you can trust. Every great idea was born from a small group of people who could trust on each other. Think about Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg was just a tiny part of the big game. Since the beginning he was supported by his best friends, Eduardo Saverin, business major, Dustin Moskovitz, great roommate and Chirs Hughes.

If you look at these three guys, you will find out that they weren’t programmers, they didn’t have any idea about building something, they just believed in Facebook. Dustin Moskovitz, who wasn’t a CS major, started learning how to program in the first weeks in order to help Mark to expand thefacebook. Why? He believed in Mark, he trusted him and he thought that Facebook was a great product. On the other hand the CEO, in this case Mark Zuckerberg, was able to be in a team of people he could trust.

The point is that you don’t have to hire the best programmers, outsource to some freaky guy miles away from you or ask to a CS major to build your product even if you don’t know him. You must find people who believe in you, people who don’t care about money, people who want to push their limits to make your idea a reality.

These are the people who would form that first core that you need in a startup,these are the people who would never leave you in a difficult moment. Hiring is not about finding the best people, but it is about finding the people who can adapt to your environment and who really are passionate about your mission. This is what Entrepreneurship is all about, that’s what I believe you should look for.

One of these newsworthy and interesting softwares I have been using is Spotify, the company led by Daniel Ek. I heard about Spotify a couple of years ago, but I have never had the opportunity to use it, because it is still not available in many countries (included italy). Further I am not a music fan at all, so I thought it wasn’t for me and that it was going to become the classical niche product.

However in the last month I have started interacting with the Spotify free version. Yes, they use a freemium model. At the beginning I thought it would be a nightmare with the basic version, which plays loudly ads and opens huge ads on your spotify client; but you know what? I get used to them and I really don’t notice them anymore.

Instead of being annoyed by those ads, I have started enjoying spotify and its power. With the possibilities that we have today (LTE and Wifi), it’s one of the most reliable sources of music that you can carry on with you wherever you go. I really believe that they can make a difference in the music industry, because their product is easy, fast and reliable. People are willing to pay, if the product works.

The market is huge and the competition is immense, but this company has been working on this technology for the past years and it is going forward without having problems at all. Even Sean Parker, former Napster cofounder and great Investor/Entrepreneurs, saw in Spotify the possibility to change the music industry in a once life time opportunity, the one that he wasn’t able to reach by working at Napster.

Spotify is growing day by day, by introducing the product slowly country by country, they are able to work on it, improve it and distribute this amazing product all over the chosen country. The most ridiculous fact about Spotify is that the Premium version, which gives you the access to the entire world wide music archive is at the mere price of $9.99 per month.

With the growth of the internet many companies have been able to use it to push their limits forward. Spotify, as many others, has been able to see this gap within the music industry, which is literally dying day by day. They are changing this industry in better, by giving to the people a great product and by elminating piracy with its humble prices.

How did you come up with the idea of Vodio?

I spent hours and hours with Uri, one of my 2 co-founders (Ishay Weinstock is the other) talking about developing a service related to Video. We were both frustrated with the video discovery issue and thought we really need to come up with a good solution for it.

Actually, the first tool we developed was a browser add-on that enabled users to collect videos from the web, similar to what Pinterest does today. From there it rolled into the idea of Vodio which is basically serving users, at all times, with the most updated and interesting videos in any given category, in an easy, simple and beautiful way.

Where do you think the video industry is going to? Will we face a complete and full integration with social media?

It seems that YouTube and other media companies have finished laying the infrastructure to the video content world. Now, In a very similar way to what Google has done with internet pages and websites, different services including Youtube itself are looking to place some order in the chaos. Better quality video content is being uploaded on a daily basis onto YouTube and other sites by large ‘traditional’ media sources, curation has become key in offering users video content around what interests them and deep integration with social media results in better recommendations to the individual user.

Do you believe there are or will be startups that are going to be able to challenge what Youtube and in particular Google have built?

I don’t believe that there will be a startup that will take over YouTube’s place as the leader in the video content world as YouTube has become too big and practically has almost all the interesting media sources displaying content of their dedicated channels within YouTube. Even AOL On, the video service by AOL and one of YouTube’s main competitors has decided to upload onto YouTube all its video content in 23 different channels.

Having said that, never say never…

We have previously interviewed Ori Goshen from Tawkon, so taking into account what we asked to him, do you believe that apps can really be disruptive? Can they change the way we live and improve our lives?

Yes and there is no doubt about that. From the very simple fact that apps (mobile) offer us doing things while we are commuting or waiting somewhere make our lives better as we can perform tasks we weren’t able to do before while moving around. Furthermore, since the touch screen and the user experience built on top of it are much more natural and easier to us human beings, it seems that many people are able to do so much more with apps rather than traditional websites or even in the real world.

Vodio has drastically changed the way I watch videos. In the past years I didn’t even go to Youtube, but now with Vodio I am able to watch what I love at any time wherever I am. Was this your primary aim?

Exactly. Vodio aims to offer you the videos you would enjoy the most anywhere and everywhere. However, it also constantly tries to broaden your knowledge by exposing you to media outlets and enabling the discovery of more content and channels you wouldn’t even know you’d enjoy. The beautiful thing about our times is being able to discover wonderful things beyond our close surroundings. How sad would it be if we only knew of what our family, friends and acquaintances know of?

With the introduction of new platforms, new devices and smart tvs, where do you think Vodio will be in the next five years?

We think of Vodio as people’s gateway to a great world of video content. As such, we would like to be available on any device that offers the consumption of video content. Smart TVs are indeed in our roadmap, however, we still have some other platforms, mobile and non-mobile to support first.

What is the most important advice for a young entrepreneur?

Stay positive and remember that “obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal” (Henry Ford)

Ori Goshen told us that in order to hire people who believe in what we believe we should always ”look at the spark in their eyes”. What do you think and what is your advice?

I tend to disagree with this statement.
As in any relationship, sometimes the spark ends up as a simple crash on an idea, and the being in love period tends to end quickly.
I think it is more important to find people you believe you can build a strong and sustainable relationship with. They should be able to have and express their own opinions, offer better and different sets of skills than you have and are willing to be in this for the long run, for better or worse.

Is it better to startup in a duo or a trio?

Most definitely a trio. The reason is mathematical, to be honest. As a company led by a trio, you can always move forward and the ship doesn’t get stuck because 2 people cannot agree upon a direction. Sadly enough, I have seen too many duo startups close for the reasons aforementioned although their products and services were phenomenal.

The most important thing a company should have.

Good people. After all, you spend more time in the company than with your family so you better enjoy the journey with people you respect and honor while trying to make it big with your company.

Tawkon

How did you guys come up with tawkon?

Gil, Amit and Myself founded tawkon because, in our vast experience in the cellular and wireless space, we found it strange and disturbing that mobile phones which are two way communication devices (receive and transmitting electromagnetic waves), but only have indication of the receiving signal. We see it is a health imperative for people to have the capability of being able to know their radiation exposure radiation from their phones. We saw the opportunity to fill this void with a way to allow people to use their phones in a safe and healthy way.

How does it feel to be part of a project whose aim is having a huge impact on people’s lives?

We really do feel that tawkon is part of something bigger. Making this application has become something more than just a startup, it is our small contribution to making the world a better place. The app is saving thousands of minutes of high exposure to cellphone radiation everyday. We believe that this consumer behavior change and awareness we’re creating will have a huge impact on our collective health and it is great that our product could positively effect so many people out there.

Do you really believe that technology can change the way we live?

It isn’t a matter of what WE believe, it is already a fact that technology has greatly changed the way we live our lives – You just have to look at the adaptation of mobile technologies over the last 15 years. The use of these technologies has grown so quickly, and has become such a huge part of our lives. Think about it, what is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning (well maybe after washing your face etc…)? You go check your email, Facebook and/or Twitter account. This is a huge shift in our every day lives.

Do you think technology will be completely integrated within our lives in the next twenty or thirty years?

We are already seeing this scenario play out, and it is moving at such an incredible pace. I think it is impossible to imagine how integrated technology will be in our lives, but suffice to say that, considering how quickly we have integrated in the last 20 years, that it will be very very significant.

Do you still believe that at some point Tawkon will be in the App Store ?

Currently, we are focusing all our efforts on the Android market. We have really found a welcoming environment there and are glad that we have been so warmly received. However, it is our firm belief that every phone needs to have tawkon. Therefore, we are confident that Apple will have to give their users the freedom to use tawkon eventually.

I personally believe that in order to drive a company and to build a team there should always be a strong mission and aim at the core of the project and I see that Tawkon believes in something, is it easier to keep working while believing in something?

That’s absolutely true. As in any other project you run there are difficult times. Once you are fully confident and believe in what you are doing, it makes things much easier.

What is the best tip to recruit someone? How can you be sure that he believes in what the company wants to achieve in the next years?

Look for the “spark” in their eye.

The Fresh Living Project

How can the fresh living project be disruptive? Is there the possibility to change the world just through mobile apps?

What we see these days is that, although the healthcare system may not be structured in a way that makes most people care about their health, since they don’t usually have to bear the full costs of illness, there has been a growing movement of consumers who want to try and take an active role in maintaining their health. There is big enough market to make such services worthwhile, and its increasingly mainstream. Our mobile phones can be our greatest life coach. They can remind us to eat on time, watch our diets, help us in our exercise, and best of all, they help us measure our progress over time. At tawkon, we believe that health and wellness is a great app category and consumers can make good use of these amazing technologies to live a better, healthier life. That’s the reason we created The Fresh Living Project; we wanted to help people to live better lives through mobile apps, and demonstrate how they can easily adapt those technologies in their daily routines.

Which are the criteria you used in selecting apps for the fresh living project? Did it make a difference being on two platforms instead of a single one?

We chose the apps that we at tawkon like, use the most and found relevant. We’ve reviewed dozens of apps for health related activities (running, training, diet, sleeping, etc.) and took the cream of the crop in terms of reviews, number of downloads, and our own personal experience. The apps we chose were based on these criteria, so whether they were on the app store or Google Play, or both, did not factor in to our decision.

What do we receive if we subscribe to the fresh living project?

The Fresh Living Project is an on going project, we will be adding new apps on a regular basis. We see this project growing into the definitive place for people to discover all types of health and wellness apps, and by subscribing you will be able to get immediate updates on the new additions to this amazing project.

Can anyone be part of the fresh living project?

Absolutely! The whole point of The Fresh Living Project is to be a place that anyone interested can find the apps that can help them live a healthier life. We encourage companies to contact us so we can work together towards this goal.

There are a few startups out there that care about humans and Tawkon is one of them. We hope that the Fresh Living Project can have a huge impact on millions of individuals that every single day use their smartphones. In 2012, Technology can really help us live better lives, making them faster, more efficient and longer. We have never been connected so much before, so we believe this is the right time to make the next step toward a future without diseases and deaths thanks to the strong support of technology.

Although it seems crucial to work in a better environment and to improve your userbase, it is not something that you can build in a day. Building a brand is one of the most difficult things you can imagine. In order to spread a message you need to find a userbase who is willing to listen to what you say and promote. Further when you find it, you should be able to entertain them and catch them from the first moment they start listening to you.

Branding is about catching people’s mind with ideas that you think are great. Steve Jobs, when he came back at Apple after being fired by the same company he founded, has been able to build one of the most successful brand ever from an almost failed company. Jobs wasn’t able to do that, but he knew that Apple was not about being smarter than Microsoft, he knew that Apple was about being an Apple user. By creating this idea, Apple users identified them and they believed in what the company was doing.

There is a reason behind the long queque for the iPhone in front of central park. Those people identify themselves as Apple users and as the leaders of a technological revolution that Apple has claimed to lead. Those people believe in the mission of the company and they smile when they see the little or big apple behind a device. This is about building a brand.

Obviously there are many several ways to build a brand, but everyone is completely different from the others. Jobs was able to create a brand by the way he showed the products Apple had built in the previous months. Jobs was amazed from what he was showing in his keynotes, because he believed in the product, he believed in the mission and he loved what he was doing.

One of the best TED Talks we have ever watched and which we have linked on this site takes in account the Apple case. As Simon Sinek argues, Apple has been using the Golden Circle structure to promote and advertise its own products. By starting from the inner circle Apple is able to underline why they have built the products they release. Further by going outward they describe how they made the products and by the end they tell what they have built.

This underlines how differently Apple has been operating. By explaining WHY as its first statement, Apple has built an idea behind its logo, a vision. The way we communicate is essential to build a sustainable brand, the way we present our products is even more fundamental. When Jobs was presenting the first version of the iPhone, he was trying to describe the best device ever built in the world. He was making a point, his aim was to show us how much they cared about that product and how much it would have impacted people’s lives so drastically. Jobs believed that technology could change the way we live and he was able to communicate that message to the people who were listening to him.

In the early 80′s one of the first mottos was “Soon there will be 2 kinds of people. Those who use computers, and those who use Apples.” What does this mean? How can we translate it? “Soon there will be 2 kinds of people. Those who believe in what we are trying to achieve by building one of the best machine in the world and those who don’t believe in what we believe. Why do you think one of the most popular Apple’s motto is “Think Different”. With just this simple and short sentence Apple has built the most valued company in the world. Think Different, this is what a customer believes while he/she is buying an Apple’s product. The way you promote your product is everything.

Another incredible way to build a brand is your logo. A simple and neat solution will be better than a complex and incomprehensible logo. If it is simple, your costumer will be able to recognise it at any time wherever they are. Further the simplicity of a logo should carry the idea and the philosophy of that company. The Apple logo is a legend in 2012. Apple’s logo reminds us the simplicity and the perfection of Apple’s products.

With this post we aimed to underline a few important aspects about branding and how important it is, as we have previously done in other blog posts. Apple has been one of the first companies to realize the real importance and effectiveness of branding, so for this reason we decided to feature that attitude and way of behaving. We hope that this company will keep innovating and doing the best in the market, without wasting its precious time in unhelpful lawsuits.

On the other hand the fall of Zynga can not be associated with the burst of the social media bubble, since Zynga has been fallen down for its own personal reasons. A lack of good and rational management from its executives, a bad culture inside the company and the production of similiar games stand for the dead of Zynga and Mark Pincus, who wasn’t able to adapt and diversify.

Further Groupon, whose growth has been so big, has faced a lot of problems in terms of market share. By rejecting the Google’s offer the company has decided to go forward alone and this choice has enacted its own fall on the market. We believe they can be back as soon as they find a way to improve their revenues model and stabilize this steady and fast growth.

Social media will never fall, cause people like to interact. What it might change in the next years or decades is the way we interact between each other. Thanks to the fast development of technology we are able to build great connections and improve the way we communicate. For this reason, it is easy to see a possible switch in the way we communicate. Maybe in the next ten years we would share our Facebook statuses by our voice, by our eyes or even by the way we move our hands.

With the raise of new smart cars and tv, the way we share our social experience will be a lot easier. This development will help social media in a way it didn’t help before. If we look at Twitter we see what we are talking about. Jack Dorsey tried to launch his idea in 2000, but smartphones weren’t available and people didn’t know they were able to share what they thought with others. In 2006, Jack Dorsey came back with the same idea and the obsessive use of new smartphones and mobile devices helped the growth of Twitter, which soon became one of the most used social media.

In the next years, our physical life will be on the internet and from the shift of this paradigm we can expect new innovations. In a world in which every single object we own is connected to the internet, the social experience will be massive. Our clock, our scarf, our shoes and our pans will be connected to the internet and they will enable us to share and engage in new social activities.

It is obviously true to say that this market is risky. Facebook, Zynga and other many companies have had a few problems in the past because there are a lot of competitors, the market is unknown and if you play hard you can even lose everything. This is completely true, you can lose everything, but if you succeed you will win over thousands of people who failed before you. Further when you win in this market, it means that you have an userbase of millions of people who are waiting for your next release or step.

I personally believe that internet mass consumption market is astonishing and incredibly interesting; but you have to play hard in order to reach your aim, because everyone here doesn’t want to lose.