PR Back Talk

Wall St. Journal Nominates "Innovation" as Most Overused Word in 2012

2012-05-23T12:19:00.001-04:00

Each year, we make predictions as to what may be the most overused phrase in 2012. In April, we nominated the word "pivot," used to indicate when a business (generally always a startup) changes its focus, its technology, its strategy, etc. to find a new business model. Pivot is still getting a lot of ink (or, more accurately: pixels), and is being used in a lot of meetings we've been attending. However, the Wall St. Journal has nominated another word as most overused word or phrase for...

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Entrepreneur Validates "Lean In" in Jargon of the Month

2012-05-10T10:13:00.001-04:00

Back in January, we predicted that "lean-back/lean forward" might be one of the most overused phrases this year. As background, Lean-back activities are those in which users passively access content, like watching TV. Lean-forward activities are those in which the user is actively engaged in consuming content, as when they’re searching for content on the Internet or via an app. The May issue of Entrepreneur, not yet available online, validated that prediction with its...

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New York Times Validates Cashless Wallet Prediction

2012-05-08T08:57:00.000-04:00

Back in Feb., we issued the prediction that focus on mobile payments would increase, saying: Spearheaded by Google Wallet, Visa's V.me, and Verizon, 2012 looks to be a big year for mobile commerce. Using your smartphone to make purchases will not attract most Americans this year, but a growing part of the population will love the convenience of not having to find an ATM or not paying fees to use another bank system’s ATM. You can delay the day our society becomes a cashless one, but...

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"Natural" Causes Problems for Companies like P&G, J&J and Kelloggs

2012-05-02T09:25:00.000-04:00

This week, we've seen two consumer companies get called out for misleading consumers about the ingredients in their products. Procter & Gamble was subject of calls to reformulate its Tide Free & Gentle (fragrance free) and Tide Original Scent because they included low levels of a 1,4 dioxane, a possible carcinogen. And Kashi was booted off the shelf of an organic food store because the owner found Kashi uses genetically engineered, non-organic ingredients. Normal 0 ...

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The Atlantic Validates Our Prediction: Social Media May Make Us Lonelier

2012-05-01T10:25:00.000-04:00

In this year's edition of our annual predictions of top media stories, one of our prediction was: "We may be immersed in social media, but we’ll spend less time with actual people." Back in Jan., we wrote, "So many people use social media sites – from Facebook, Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn, to and more -- that people have less time to spend with their friends and family. We’re not sure if this will get much media coverage..." Well The Atlantic Monthly has validated our...

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Another New York Times Article about Cutting the Cable Cord

2012-04-30T14:09:00.001-04:00

Another day, and another article about alternatives to accessing TV content that previously was available only via cable subscription. Here's the latest New York Times article that validates our prediction: "In Search of Apps for Television." It's worth checking out.

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Wall St. Journal Validated Our Trend about Pivoting

2012-04-27T10:00:00.000-04:00

We always look at words that we think will be widely used in the media in a given year. This year, we chose as the most overused phrase in 2012 could be: lean-back/lean-forward user experiences. Earlier this month, we changed that to nominate the word "pivot" as a key word for 2012. In this case, pivot is used to indicate when a business (generally always a startup) changes its focus, its technology, its strategy, etc. to find a new business model. The Wall St. Journal validated...

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New York Times Validates Another Prediction

2012-04-26T09:47:00.000-04:00

Our second prediction in our annual list We may be immersed in social media, but we’ll spend less time with actual people. We made the point that "So many people use social media sites – from Facebook, Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn, to Pinterest and Quora and more -- that people have less time to spend with their friends and family." Although we noted that "We’re not sure if this will get much media coverage," we said that "we’ve seen some books addressing the topic (like last year’s “Alone...

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Boston Globe Validates Our Prediction about Unplugging

2012-04-25T15:13:00.000-04:00

Topping our annual list of predictions this year was this: "The desire to be connected 24/7 may change in 2012." With vacation season fast approaching, The Boston Globe's travel section published a cover story on truly getting away and unplugging. Check out "10 places where pleasure is the plug-in and only boats need a port." Now that our top prediction has been validated, we can relax, and unplug. (Ah who am I kidding -- who can afford to unplug?)

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Two Additional Predictions for 2012

2012-04-18T11:22:00.000-04:00

We typically issue predictions once a year. You can check out our predictions for 2012 starting Jan. 30, 2012 here. But this year, we'd like to add two other trends we did not mention. The first belongs with our predictions of Ongoing stories we’ll see covered in the media, posted Feb. 2nd. In addition to stories about cybercrime and cyberespionage originating in China, we want to add self-driving cars. There's already been some coverage, including a Wired cover story -- and we...

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The Lessons of Innovation from Fast Company

2012-04-10T11:48:00.001-04:00

Every company is looking to be innovative -- and every business magazine offers insights about innovation. A recent Fast Company offered lessons of innovations, and made some worthwhile points. I've identified a few important lessons (below) but check out the entire article: Growth should be a tactic, not a strategy. In other words, growth shouldn't be the end goal by itself, but a means to achieve a more significant, sustainable goal. Design is a competitive advantage. Not enough...

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From Forbes: 7 Networking Secrets from Silicon Valley's Greatest Connector

2012-04-09T06:45:00.001-04:00

I found these "7 Networking Secrets from Silicon Valley's Greatest Connector" from Pejman Nozad, an immigrant carpet seller who has made it big in Silicon Valley despite a lack of technology expertise, to be interesting. Worth considering. Check them out here.

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Marketing Advice from Cadillac -- Yes, Cadillac

2012-04-03T10:29:00.000-04:00

There was a good Fast Company article about the reinvention of Cadillac's marketing, "Cadillac Turns To A 28-Year-Old To Reinvent The 'Standard Of The World';To break from its past, Caddy turned to someone who is different in every way" focusing on 28-year-old Veda Partalo, planning director at Minneapolis-based Fallon, the ad agency tasked with completing Cadillac's decade-long makeover. I know, Cadillac. The truly worthwhile nugget appeared in the last column in the print edition: To...

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NY Times' David Pogue Validates Our Ultrabook Predictions

2012-03-29T09:55:00.002-04:00

One of our predictions this year was that "the most overused phrase in 2012 could be: lean-back/lean-forward user experiences." So far, we've jumped the gun on that one. (As background, lean-back activities are those in which users passively access content, like watching TV. Lean-forward activities are those in which the user is actively engaged in consuming content, as when they’re searching for content on the Internet or via an app.) But we also said, "Also expect to hear a lot of...

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Bloomberg BusinessWeek Validates Post-PC Prediction

2012-03-27T13:10:00.000-04:00

For the second consecutive week, Bloomberg BusinessWeek validates one of our predictions for 2012. Last week's cover story validated our prediction of Chinese corporate espionage as an important story the media would cover in 2012. This week's "Opening Remarks" column, entitled "Why the iPad's success may spell the end of the computer industry as we know it" (the online version is called, "IPad: The PC Killer") validates the Post-PC prediction, in which we said: We expect that Post-PC...

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NY Times Validates Our Post-PC Prediction

2012-03-26T11:44:00.001-04:00

As part of the coverage around the latest version of the iPad, there have a number of articles looking at the decline of the desktop. One such article was in the New York Times, As New iPad Debut Nears, Some See Decline of PCs. In our predictions this year, issued Jan. 31, 2012, we wrote: Also expect to hear a lot of about ultrabooks – PCs as sleek and thin as Macbooks. We expect that Post-PC will be a term we’ll hear a lot in 2012, given the exploding popularity of tablets,...

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Bloomberg Business Cover Story on Chinese Espionage Validates Our Predictions

2012-03-23T10:30:00.001-04:00

In our prediction about ongoing story angles that we expect to generate coverage this year (available here), we said one to watch is: The rising threat of Chinese businesses, the Chinese economy and the Chinese military.In the current cover story of Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Michael Riley and Ashlee Vance write, "Inside the Chinese Boom in Corporate Espionage," a detailed analysis of what they call "The Great Brain Robbery." There are at least 20 examples of corporate espionage conducted by the...

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WSJ Validates our Cashless Payments Prediction

2012-03-22T09:19:00.000-04:00

One of our predictions this year is that mobile payments will increase, and that "spearheaded by Google Wallet, Visa's V.me, and Verizon, 2012 looks to be a big year for mobile commerce." Perhaps Wal-Mart and Target read our predictions published in Feb., but a Wall St. Journal article reported, "Retailers Join Payment Chase; Two Words: Digital Wallet—Wal-Mart and Target Join Project Aiming to Make Plastic," The big issues for adoption by retailers are potential security and privacy...

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Bank of America Validates our Prediction about Using Fees to Offset Declining Revenue

2012-03-20T11:11:00.000-04:00

Usually we tout when a media outlet validates our predictions, like the one we made that Companieswill use fees to offset declining revenue in 2012. But BofA is validating that prediction on its own (via a WSJ article: "Big Bank Weighs Fee Revamp; Bank of America Considers a Revamp That Would Affect Millions of Customers." Here's another case where we'd like to be wrong since we'd prefer not paying fees for services we've been getting for free. Can we get the same people behind the no net...

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More Validation of our Cutting the Cord Prediction

2012-03-15T11:10:00.000-04:00

Lots of stories appearing in print and online are validating our "Cutting the Cable" prediction that people are moving away from cable. Here are some recent validation: WSJ: "Glenn Beck Rallies Troops for Revolution Against TV": I didn't expect to agree with Glenn, but he's right. People are now actively looking for alternatives to traditional TV networks that they can access from their PCs, tablets and smartphones. WSJ: "Plans for 'TV Everywhere' Bog Down in Tangled Pacts": provides...

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NY Times Continues to Validate Our Cutting the Cord Prediction

2012-03-12T16:16:00.000-04:00

Last month, the Wall St. Journal validated our our Cutting the Cable prediction. This week, the New York Times climbed on board. Nick Bilton's Disruptions: TV Makers Ignore Apps at Their Own Peril makes the point that he prefers watching programs on his iPhone or iPad because: "The idea of turning it on, powering up the external speakers, starting the Apple TV or Xbox, telling the TV which input does what, or flicking through some traditional TV channels, makes me anxious. It’s the same...

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More Validation from WSJ about Our Cybersecurity

2012-03-09T09:16:00.001-05:00

In our prediction about ongoing story angles that we expect to generate coverage this year (available here), we said two to watch are: Net-specific issues such as net neutrality (the need to prevent broadband providers from blocking access to competitors), the e-tax loophole (in which e-retailers don’t require customers to pay sales tax, which gives Amazon and others an advantage over bricks-and-mortar retailers that do charge customers sales tax), and anti-piracy legislation (Stop Online...

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Bloomberg BusinessWeek Article Validates Another Prediction

2012-03-01T12:11:00.000-05:00

In reporting on Feb. 16th about Easier E-Books with Inkling, Bloomberg BusinessWeek validated a prediction we made Feb 1st: "E-books will improve their experience by providing new interactive and multimedia content." Check out our prediction here.

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Three Social Media Lessons Not to Copy: Claire's disengages in face of charges that the retailer copied designs

2012-02-28T08:45:00.003-05:00

Claire's Stores, a U.K./U.S. retailer with 3,000 outlets and revenue of $356 million in Q3 2011, has become embroiled in a social media scandal. An an independent U.K. designer, Tatty Devine has accused Claire's of ripping off its designs in this blog post. For more context, check out this ZDNet article, "Claire's Stores ignores Twitter criticism over copycat design claims." When it comes U.S. intellectual property laws, designers cannot, apparently, copyright or trademark their designs....

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WSJ validates another of our predictions

2012-02-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

The Wall St. Journal validates our Cutting the Cable prediction. In an article published yesterday, "Over-the-Air TV Catches Second Wind, Aided by Web," The Journal reported the same driving factors we cited: With an increased array of online-video programming now drawing viewers' attention, companies are starting to pitch consumers on complementing online video streamed from the Web with broadcast-TV signals as a way to save money on cable subscriptions....There are signs that consumers...

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