Random Thoughts in Marketing

The BEST PR oppertunities are easy

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Thu, 04 Sep 2014 21:32:00 +0000

You'll have to read through a few posts back to see it, but earlier I blogged about how AirBNB's new logo could have been used as an exceptional PR opportunity (that they blew). This post is about yet another PR hack that you could/should be using for your app.

In just 5 short days Apple will launch their much anticipated new products and upgrades. Though Apple will host the press at their headquarters, think about all the press their stores received on previous launches. Now realizing this, know that the cost to have someone be a placeholder in line at an Apple store is historically anywhere from $500- $3000, depending on location. Know those overpriced T-shirts and hats that your Marketing team had printed with your logo and catch-phrase? Good, now put those two together and what do you have....

There is no excuse why the first 10 people in line at Apple's flagship stores (ie Apple's 5th avenue New York store) shouldn't be there wearing your companies T-shirts, Hats, and evangelizing your product! Think i'm wrong? watch the days and weeks surrounding this launch, and ask yourself why this wasn't your product getting the press.

First Movers get the press....

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 16:05:00 +0000

I have seen articles in all the major tech news services the past two days showing AgileBits 1Password product working with Apple's upcoming IOS 8.
It should be notably to you, and how you market your software to note that 1Password is not nessasarilly even on the lips of most people when they think about password managers (of which it is one). All this important press, and the long tail behind it should have gone to the market leaders in the space (The RoboForm & DashLane 's of the world.).

Lesson learned, when there is an opportunity to showcase your product integrated with a new, or upcoming platform, you devote resources. Make certain you are first to showcase your product. First movers always get the press.

Twas Marketing that killed the tablet

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 22:14:00 +0000

So I'm just now hearing comments from the CEO of best buy that iPad tablet sales and other tablets are plummeting in sales. I can't help but think that the problem is not with tablets per se - the bigger problem is with the people that are running product.

So they introduced tablets and their answer for the next generation tablets are let's not make it 5 inch let's make it 6 inch let's make it Nine let's make our phones tablets blah blah blah blah blah. Let's stop for a second.If you wanna understand what's going to drive tablets understand their place in the world.

Number one you have a country (forget the rest of the world world for a moment) of the United States with 300M + consumers who have landline phones from Ma Bell connected to copper wires that have been sitting on their wall forever. With voice over IP with Skype video services there is no reason why we should not have one of these iPad (or other) tablet devices in every one of our rooms. So instead of working on a different size tablet - your product managers need to wake up and ship devices that are made to replace the old phones and become the new video phones to replace decades of copper wire connectivity. Additionally try to understand what a consumer needs, not what you want to sell. For me as a stock trader I would love my monitor to be surrounded by six different tablets all held up by a little flexible gooseneck that holds them in place. My wife, who reads or watches video on her Tablet when going to bed might want something to hold it up for her as well.

So stop breaking the Tablet market by making up random sizes you think might work...the simple solution is what a tablet might be used for, and how it is held. Ship some configured as 'phone-first devices', and instead of changing form factors every quarter, try introducing new and interesting tablet stands, not tablets.

What do you think?

Yelp blew it with video

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 20:23:00 +0000

Yelp recently announced that it would add the ability for it's users to upload videos. Yelp blew it for multiple reasons in my opinion.

First, understand that Smartphones are already a thorn in the side of many businesses. In Yelp's main playground (restaurants), not only do they cause tremendous delay in the whole customer experience (people put wait staff on hold while they take selfies, etc), but more importantly for Yelp - Restaurants (and other small businesses) HATE Yelp. Now a business may or may not have a legitimate gripe with their online reviews, that's a different issue. But for Yelp the issue is that businesses that should be advertising and embracing Yelp disdain it.

Instead, Yelp should have made the ability to upload videos available to the business, not the consumer. Yelp wins two ways. Yelp has now thrown businesses a peace offering, a tool if you will to make their product or service appear better on the Yelp platform. Yelp then also has the ability to sell yet another product offering to their businesses - their real bread and butter customers.

Maybe Foursquare will take the ball and run with it. What do you think?

Do you Window Shop?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 21:19:00 +0000

I blog over and over again about how your products UI is one of the most important pieces to get right if you want to keep and grow your userbase. I can not stress it enough. If you're like me, you are ALWAYS looking extra closely as the user interfaces that others put on their apps and websites. Is it simple? Can my grandmother navigate it? Is it pretty? So here's a neat trick I like to use. I don't just indulge myself with apps and websites. I like to go Window shopping. Try it, next time you're at the local store, or mall look carefully at their window displays. Notice what makes them nice - or ugly, what draws you in or away from entering the store. What I hope you learn is that a lot of what works in the physical world, will work for your app or website as well.

I personally am a huge fan of 'White-space'. Look at any apparel retailer's window display. Do you see mannequins all the way across their windows? No, instead more often than not, you will see a group of Mannequins in a cluster - surrounded by white (empty) space to either side. Now, go back and re-visit your UI .... Empty space can, and should be your best friend!

Mobile first?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 16:15:00 +0000

Ask an entrepreneur 20 years ago what platform they were developing for, and you might hear 90% - Windows - 10% Mac. Asking the same question 15 years ago, you likely heard 75% were developing for/on the web, less than 25% for the desktop market. Fast forward to today, most startups are developing for Mobile first, and of those many choose IOS first, and eventually Android. Many of these Mobile first companies even remain Mobile only, never even considering the web or desktop market.

I believe within just a few short years (if not now), many should be considering Cloud first. By architecting as much of your product to exist in the cloud you immediatly make it a much easier, and less expensive challenge to enter your next market. So today, you might be launching IOS first, because you might only need a UI Shell (If you run in the cloud) to launch Android it may or may not make sense for you.

HOWEVER, the point of this post is that you want to plan for tomorrow, not today. And the tomorrows of the world are filled with new platforms. With 5G coming and a plethora of new platfroms and devices it's No longer a question of which platform first - Android or IOS, it will also include Wearables like Google Glass, SmartWatches, IoT's, VR (ie Occulas), etc so plan ahead.

Disruption over 5G

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 20:40:00 +0000

The advent of the Internet never ceases to amaze me. Both in how many ways incumbent businesses are being disrupted, and more importantly how many dinosaurs go down blindly, or kicking and screaming trying to protect their legacys (think Blockbuster, Radio Shack, Newspapers, Magazines, etc).

Within the next 5 years we will likely start to see wide scale deployment of 5G (the next generation of bandwidth) networks and with that even more disruption. You do not need to be a seer to watch the current growth in video served up over IP networks, just look at stats from and startups such as YouTube, Aereo, FilmOn,Netflix,etc.

I personally can not wait, as I believe we will start to see major film projects arrive 'IP first, theatre second' as a common practice once 5G arrives. In the interim, I expect only one brave and bold studio (out of the majors) to launch their 'IP First' initiative now, over 4G that we currently enjoy.Hollywood studios - who among you has the brilliance to eat your own lunch? To the victors go the spoils, let the games begin....

Microsoft's Skype Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 14:18:00 +0000

I am currently an 'Android' person, previously I had an Iphone - and had an Android device before that. For me switching between the two proprietary operating systems has been easy. But as we move forward, it will become more difficult to switch. This is (should be) what companies do, if they are smart - try and lock you in. So while in the past the ecosystem might consist of a tablet, a smartphone and an app store, going forward it will include Telematics, wearables, your thermostat, stove and fridge...anything and everything that can communicate. Third parties will also try and 'own' this space as well, such as what Quirky is doing with it's recent spin off of Wink. Ultimately though in my opinion the only decision that will be a must will be IOS or Android. But this does not mean that companies like Microsoft can't give it their best shot at being there as well.

Microsoft can play catch up in other ways. Microsoft needs to think of their Skype property more as a central focus for now, and not their thus far failed mobile OS. A Skype phone would make things very interesting in jump starting Microsoft's mobile efforts in my opinion. Skype has almost 400 million users already, so the audience is already there. Microsoft should make a second device (after launching the Skype phone) that is not dissimilar to their already existing tablet, the Surface. This product should also have Skype as it's central, focal point. This is the video phone that will replace all the old bell telephones we grew up with in every room in our house. Unlike earlier attempts at video phones 10 and 20 years ago, this time it's different. The bandwidth is plentiful, the video software works, and to be frank, i'm shocked that this isn't main stream as we speak. Microsoft can take this initiative even further, with other existing technology they have (they just don't know it). I have been reading about some Skype software initiatives that they are going to be launching next year. This is their translation play. They tout it with spots like "...imagine Skyping with someone on the other side of the world, who speaks a different language, and Skype translates that in real time...". While that sounds really cool, if you are speaking to someone on the other side of the world, and neither speaks the same language, you are likely transacting business. Are you really going to risk a translation app on a business call?? The real value, and beauty of what Microsoft's software can do is not the translation, it is the real time speech to text. There are 700 million people around the world who are 'hearing impaired'. Imagine if they suddenly had a method of communicating like anyone else.

So between Skype's existing 400 million users, and another 700 million that are hearing impaired, you have a potential market of over 1 billion for a Microsoft phone. That's how you get back in the game, Microsoft. Longer term, if you read my earlier blog post you know I believe that the software and apps will ultimately all be up in the cloud, your phone will be 90% about sensors and hardware. All Microsoft needs to do right now is get in the game.

(The purpose of the above blog post is not so much about Microsoft, you should think about it in terms of how YOU and YOUR startup can enter a market where players already dominate...there's ALWAYS a way, so don't give up!!)

Kickstarter & Indiegogo have a Potato Salad problem

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:44:00 +0000

By now you've likely heard of, or seen the over funded Potato Salad project on Kickstarter. To everyone's amazement, it not only met its intended goal of raising $10, but went on to raise over $61,000 from over 6000 backers. Cute...and it likely was a phenomenal PR event for Kickstarter, but they now need to be careful that they don't have a Potato Salad problem.

Those who know me, know that I am a huge fan of both of the aforementioned services. I visit them often, and recently I am noting a huge influx of Potato Salad 'like' campaigns. Not in the literal sense that people are raising money to create a recipe, but more like Cyber begging. Some want money to fix their car, or to buy something, etc. While there is nothing wrong with this, both services (and yours!) need to carefully model their UI's and website flow to filter such offerings more selectively. If not, they risk alienating users who search (for example) for technology as a filter, and expect to see technology related campaigns.

If you do not think this can create a huge usability issue for your start up think again. All you need do is look at every successful service, and how spammers ultimately take away from an otherwise pleasant experience. I not only get this spam in my email inbox, but also as Trolls on Twitter, Bots on Quora,etc. It has gotten so bad on Craigslist, that I rarely am able to search there anymore (Try searching for 'Prius' under cars, and see how users have abused Craigslist by inserting 'Prius' as a keyword into ads that have nothing to do with Prius.)

Is your Startup experiencing this yet, or perhaps you want to stop it in advance? Reach out to me, and I will show you how to fix it.

Why you shouldn't hire me

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 19:22:00 +0000

One of my ventures AFPR is a consultancy where I offer all of what I have learned (mistakes and successes) over the past 20 years to small software and app. developers. Even though my greatest successes have been in product, or business strategy, and not just business development deals, that is often why entrepreneurs seek me out. The conversation us usually the same .... "Andy, I want you to do some business development for us. I noticed 'XYZ (their competition) corp. is having tremendous success and momentum...."

More often then not, I either try to structure these engagements as more of a strategic consult, or I turn them down outright. Why would I turn away a potential client? If your product is inferior to the competition, or something is wrong with your funnel (there are many points of failure for a product) you need to ask, what would be the end result that new business relationships would add to the bottom line?

In the Freemium world, from my experience the average conversion rate from free to pro is 1.5%. I always use this as my benchmark, and mark how successful I am by how far I can exceed this. While at RoboForm, I was proud that I had this rate converting far in excess of that average. If you approach me already knowing that your 100,000 monthly free users are converting at only .25%, there is nothing of value to be gained by me getting those 100,000 monthly's up to 500,000, or even millions. You have a more critical flaw somewhere with the product,pricing funnel, etc. This is why I prefer to approach any potential consulting engagement top down first. So should you.

So before you ask to hire me to do business development, let's have a more strategic conversation first.

Dear @Twitter ...

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 14:45:00 +0000

The past few months it has become more apparent that Twitter has a user issue. Specifically, new users, and retaining them. When Twitter reports their quarterly earnings at the end of July, you can expect to see their MAU's to likely be flat to perhaps up a few percent sequentially. Twitter will ask analysts, investors et al to focus on other metrics, such as the billion + reach of their mobile ad network. While I agree that Twitter will have an easy time monetizing, and showing great revenue growth, let's face it - Without user growth, Twitter is a dyeing asset. It puzzles me that it takes such a large company, with likely product teams that are 100 people + so long to figure out how to fix it.

I believe that Twitter, and it's hoards of engineers might be looking at their product through colored glasses. After all, if you're Jack Dorsey, or Dick Costello and you use Twitter, you are likely using it as many narcissists do, or perhaps as your bully pulpit. Who doesn't like the feeling of having thousands of followers who hang on every word, and re-tweet what you have to say? So problem number one is that Twitter needs to understand that for the average Joe (who may or may not have the false expectation that people will immediately flock to follow, and retweet them), the initial Twitter experience is likely to be a large disappointment if indeed that is how they intend to use it.

Instead, this is what Twitter needs to do to fix their user retention issues:
Twitter needs to understand that most Twitter users (at least the ones that I am aware of) do not want to necessarily follow (or be followed by) their family and friends. They have Facebook for that. So when on-boarding a new user, just offering to scour their contacts to recommend people to follow is not going to cut it. Twitter needs to 'learn' about who a user is, what their demographic is, and what their interests are.

As a new user, this is what one will see currently.

My first issue is how Twitter determined that I would want to follow that list. Personally, I would not want to follow any of them. Twitter should do a better job of guessing whom a user might want to follow, and not just draw from their location (I assume this is why it suggested the New York Islanders to me).

Here are two alternative methods that I believe would be a more welcome initial customer experience. Ask the user a series of questions, that better serve to 'profile' the user. It is only at this time, that Twitter is in a more intelligent position to recommend who I might find interesting to follow. A second method might be to consider showing a user 'interests', not people to follow. For example, if a user selected current events, perhaps then Twitter should recommend CNN, and other news sources. Maybe a user would check off sports, or even more macro - automobile racing. It this juncture, Twitter could recommend following NASCAR... you get the point - why doesn't Twitter??

The Death of Brick & Mortar Retail

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 13:13:00 +0000

Traditional Brick & Mortar retailers have seen sales chiseled away over the past 10 years by a scrappy little sales channel called the Internet. This is a disruptive trend, and one that we all see. The smarter retailers saw this coming, and rather than conceding the war, the fought back. This is why even with the mega-success of Amazon, Walmart.com is right there fighting the good fight.

Now however, with the advent of the Smartphone, retailers asleep at the wheel will find that the online challenge has 'stepped up it's game'. I expect that within 5 short years, we will see even some traditional Brick $ Mortar retailers that obtain more than 50% of their sales via a Smartphone (and other mobile devices). For etailers, perhaps as much as 75%. If you're not already, you need to start immediately plotting out your mobile strategy.

Your blunder is your biggest PR opportunity

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 13:17:00 +0000

If you have not already seen it, AirBnB just announced their new logo design. As horrible as it is, it is also the talk of the town. You can not view a twitter of Facebook stream without seeing it mentioned. Here lies opportunity. Should I be part of the AirBNB team (I am not), I would be all over this. How AirBnB could leverage this even more is simple. Announce that you now wish to crowdsource a better logo design, and watch 'em talk about you even more!

Kickstart your Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 14:59:00 +0000

I have done all forms of marketing over the years. These include online ad spends,Adwords, SEM,SEO,Website and Product funnels - and at the other end of the spectrum, PR,Social Media, Print ads, and Broadcast. I am always on the lookout for new methods of getting the word out, in a cost effective manner.

Recently, I have found myself on the consumer side of new web start-ups such as Kickstarter, or Indiegogo. I am convinced that you, as someone who is launching a product or service should be looking at services such as these, even if you have no need to raise money for your launch. Specifically, I am suggesting that you should look at these services (and others), as an ongoing 30 day advertisement for your product, and not just as a method of raising funds.

What's the Matter with U(I)?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 18:09:00 +0000

One of my passions is beta testing new things. As a part of that, I always reach out to the developer with my thoughts, comments and suggestions with how to improve their product. There is NOTHING more important than the User Interface in my opinion. I do not care if your app. solves world hunger, if users are confused with how to navigate - or even if it just looks ugly...they aint coming back.

So as part of exploring new products, sometimes this is with little obscure start-ups like Ubi . with whom I have been working with back and forth via emails with suggestions. I do not however reach out to large and mature companies directly, as they should know better. And it bothers me just how prevalent BAD UI's are in the mature company world.

I'm just opening my Twitter app (I am on Android, but I am certain the experience is similar on an Iphone), and I scroll down through all the new Tweets since I last opened the app. Now I want to get back to the TOP (Latest Tweet)... how to do this? You would think they would simply have a button that says 'home' or such - but no. In the Twitter app, the only way to get to the latest Tweet is to scrollllllll all the way back through all those Tweets you've just read [Disclaimer - Technically the app does have a home button, however it is not dedicated - such that when you scroll down, it disapeers from view].

Think about your UI first and foremost, and if your grandmother can't figure it out, go back to the whiteboard.

Don't Litigate - INNOVATE!

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 15:59:00 +0000

Today will mark an important decision by the US Supreme court. They will rule on whether or not Aereo can exist. Aereo's business model (in the event you are not familiar with them) is to install a tiny HD TV capable antenna using Line of Site on your behalf. Then, you are able to access your own personal antenna via the Internet (on the end device of your choice) to watch conventional broadcast TV channels.

The incumbent broadcasters (who have not innovated at all) are scared that their entire business model is at stake, and so rather than innovate, they have chosen to litigate this...all the way to the Supreme court.

I am not currently an Aereo user, however I anticipate that I will be as soon as this litigation 'noise' goes away. On a separate but somewhat related rant, it always bothered me how the FCC handled requiring broadcasters to offer their over the air signals via antenna. If you have tried it yourself using any of the very cheap (or expensive if you wanted to bother) antennas you can buy at your local radio shack, you would find that very few Americans have the 'line of site' required to be able to enjoy this. It is a scam of monumental proportions IMO, and one that the broadcasters should have directly fixed using their own innovation.

This same fight goes on again, and again and again - It is so common, that a lot of the time you don't even see it unless you look. Consider Apple computer, and their lawsuits back and forth with Samsung, for billions. AirBnB being sued by various governments (hmmmm think the hotel lobby has anything to do with this?). Uber, being sued and or blocked by local governments (think Taxi lobby).

More and more often I am seeing this across all industries as technical innovation allows people to disrupt incumbents. It bothers me that we, as citizens put up with this nonsense. Regardless, I watch as technology eventually always wins out in the long run. All you incumbents are doing is stalling the inevitable. Learn, to eat your own lunch, before someone eats it for you. It's time to Innovate, not litigate.

You're only as good as your customer service

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 19:02:00 +0000

I'm the type of person who likes to root for the underdog. So when Samsung first came up with their answer (Samsung Droid Charge) to Apple's Iphone, I was all over it. That purchase was years ago, and represents the last time I will likely purchase a product from (or recommend to my family, friends and networks) a Samsung product. It wasn't that the phone was horrible, but it did have more than one major bug for me. I understand that products can have bugs, but that is why I expect support when I need it.

When Samsung was unable to repair my phone (phone was only a few months old), they referred me to their website, where they would offer to buy back the phone from me. I didn't know what to expect because I had paid $400 for my phone only months earlier. Needless to say, I was horrified, when I submitted my product info. on their website as instructed, and learned they were offering me $50 to buy it back from me. This is Samsung telling me that they do not value me as a customer. More importantly (to their detriment), Samsung is telling me they do not need me to endorse their brand to my family, my friends and to my networks.

Thinking of buying the new Galaxy S5? I would tell you based on my personal experience you will be better off with the new HTC One.

"Always On" is a game changer

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 15:10:00 +0000

There have been two new products in the past 12 months that have me very excited for what's next. First, the Motorola X, and most recently Ubi, the Ubiquitous computer. Disclosure, I have not tried nor purchased either product.

What has me so excited, is not even the actual products, but more importantly the introduction of devices that are always *listening*. Siri might get all the press, but to use it, you need to physically interact with your Apple device. With the Motorola X, and the Ubi, you need only talk to the device, and it responds/replies accordingly.

While I don't expect an interaction like Captain Kirk had with the Enterprise's computer, or the recent movie 'Her' anytime soon, I think going forward, every device will need to start listening, and I like where that will lead us.

Smart-Watches - The Do's and Don'ts of Product Design

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 14:22:00 +0000

I like being an early adopter, if for no other reason than to have new things to add to my junk drawer. We all have a junk drawer, it's where bad technology goes to rot along with nail clippers, old keys and USB sticks. So obviously, my appetite is wet for this next generation of devices - Wearables.

If you don't want your product to end up in my junk drawer, here are three things you need to know;

1) If you are making a Smart-Watch, DO KNOW that a Smart-Watch is a Watch first and foremost. People treat watches as jewelry, and as such I do not want my Smart-Watch looking like a cell phone that has been strapped to my wrist (I'm looking at you Neptune Pine). I do however want a Smart-Watch that at first glance, appears to be a watch (I'm looking at you Moto 360 -Well done).

2) I do not want a Smart-Watch that is a brick, unless I buy your other products. Samsung tried to do just this with it's Samsung Galaxy Gear watch.

3) Stop trying to replace my Smart-phone. You can make the greatest Smart-Watch in the world, and 99% of the population will still keep a phone in their pocket. I do not need a Smart-Watch to do everything my Smart-phone does. Specifically, I do not need 3G or 4G connectivity. Just allow me to communicate with my Smart-phone via Bluetooth, and Wifi, and we're done. Other than that, pack in as many sensors as you like. A good camera would be nice as well.

I personally can't wait for 2015. Even though all the big players will be releasing Smart-Phones in 2014, I can't help but think good ones won't arrive until generation two...2015.

Why Facebook bought Oculas Rift

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 15:06:00 +0000

Mark Zuckerburg's Facebook just bought Oculas Rift (OR), a "next-gen" VR/gaming device. Everyone is a buzz about how is it a fit for Facebook? Seems pretty straight forward to me.... Facebook Messenger via VR...Buy anything using an inflated stock price...Hardware envy....The next Iphone...ya these are the easy visions but I think The gift of Hindsight is 20-20, and if Zuck knew then what he knows now, he would have an 'eco-system' ...not unlike Apple's App store, or Google Play. The nice thing about having over a billion users, is that there are sooooo many ways to monetize them.

Don't look at what OR is today (an immersive gaming system), and instead fast forward 5 years out. Though I fully expect OR to launch as a gaming system, and to be written about as a gaming system, try to picture if you will, what it might be able to become.

I envision going to an 'app' like store, where I can download new immersive experiences that have been uploaded by other users. Maybe I want to experience first hand (via the OR's Virtual Reality system) what it is like to jump off a building in one of those Wingsuits - Or perhaps drive around a NASCAR track at over 200MPH .... The sky's the limit here, and if you think about it, some website has to aggregate all those experiences ....Why not Facebook? hmmmm

Does Absense make the heart grow fonder?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 16:26:00 +0000

Anyone who had been reading my blog over the past 10 or so years, might have (or not) wondered where I went to. Why was I no longer blogging? Regretfully a very close family member had taken ill with cancer. I left not only blogging, but my start-up and marketing world to help him, and spend as much time with him as possible. He subsequently passed away a little more than a year ago. At this time, I have a part time job working for Trader Joe's to provide me and my family with health insurance. Though I enjoy working with (and for) the great people of Trader Joe's, my body does not. It is a very physically demanding job. Besides, with the upcoming waves of 'what's coming next' IE Wearables, Smart-Watches, 'Internet of Things' my brain has not slowed down, on the contrary, my thoughts on this have been going a mile a minute.

So firstly, my apologies for the long absence. I hope previous readers who enjoyed reading my posts on Marketing, Web 2.0, etc might recall they learned something, or received enjoyment from those posts. If you are one of them, I hope that my absence has made your heart grow fonder, and you will continue to visit here as I start blogging once again.

Thanks,

Andy

HTC Thunderbolt 'Ergonomics' Review

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:41:00 +0000

I have been dyeing for Verizon Wireless to offer 4G (LTE) phones since late last year's announcement of their coming availability. For the past few years I have been using the Motorola Droid. Though I have seen phone's that I thought were better become available, I didn't see anything revolutionary coming up short of a phone that took advantage of the 4G network. Even 4G by itself is not revolutionary, but I considered a 10x increase in speed to be enough of an incentive.

The question I posed to myself last week was do I buy the HTC Thunderbolt just released ($250 with two year plan), or wait for Samsung's 4G entry (rumored to be available in April), or summer when Motorola's dual core monster becomes available?

Well, I eliminated Motorola out of my equation all together. The deciding factor here is that I learned that they somehow were hardcoding (locking down) the bootloader, such that I would not be able to root the phone (important to me, not necessarily to you).

Long story short, I didn't want to wait any longer, and plunked down the $250 for the HTC Thunderbolt. The following is a review of the HARDWARE/ERGONOMICS only - a the operating system is mostly what I had used on the Motorola Droid (Android).

Because I had been used to my Motorola Droid for a long time, it will likely take me some time to get used to the new form factor (in all fairness to HTC). Depending on whether or not you had previously been using one of the so called *Hummer* phones might have it feel different in your hands.

My initial reaction to the HTC Thunderbolt's feel in my hand is that the weight of the phone feels heavy, but in a good way - as not to feel cheap. Though it's size is big enough as to be slightly uncomfortable. Again, in fairness to HTC - this might simply be that I was using a smaller phone for so long...time will tell. Another, and bigger complaint that I have with the HTC Thunderbolt is their choice of placement of the locking button (this is one of only two physical buttons on the phone, located on the top, and top of right side). One of the nicest thing about a really great smartphone is the ability to use it entirely one-handed. If they had only moved this one button further to the right along the top, this would have gone a long way to making it much easier to use with one hand (I can still use the phone one-handed, but it is awkward). I know you're going to think that such a minute detail is knit-picky, but isn't the 'devil in the details'?

The same 'one-handed ability' has only come up one other time - equally annoying - if not more so. This is when I tried to use the camera with one hand. With my Motorola Droid, there was a choice for me to click the shutter. I could either 'tap' on the screen, or as I preferred to, click on a physical button located on the outside of the phone. The HTC Thunderbolt only allows for you to 'click' the camera's shutter by tapping on the screen. Again, not impossible to do one-handed, but just awkward.

The biggest form-factor (ergonomic) mistake on the HTC Thunderbolt is simply unacceptable, as it makes no sense. The HTC Thunderbolt ships with a very cool kickstand built into the back. This would be a perfect *self-dock* however, The HTC Thunderbolt has it's USB (power-input) jack on what would become the bottom surface, should you use the kickstand. This makes using the Kickstand simply not possible while powering the phone.

The first HTC Thunderbolt I received was defective. Specifically, when I held it to my ear, and people were speaking to me on te phone, their voices were coming through tin-ny / scratchy as if the speaker somehow had a small tear in it. The replacement phone fixed that issue, however it brought up something else of interest to me.

That first HTC Thunderbolt that I had for 2 days prior to returning it had really crummy battery life in my opinion. Certainly not what I had been lead to believe from other reviews, and the products own documentation. On the replacement phone, the battery goes all day, and then some!! I am not sure if I was just unlucky with my too issues, or HTC Thunderbolt has quality control issues. Time will tell.

Many have asked me if they should buy the HTC Thunderbolt. Having used it for only a week, I would suggest they at least wait one month for Samsung's 4G phone to come out. Having at least two phones to choose from makes sense considering the (few) cons I have pointed out above.

Stealth Mode?

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 16:49:00 +0000

This post is in reply to a Tweet by Fred Wilson (AVC) - who suggested that Stealth Mode is dead (or perhaps never should have been). His comment was basically that no company should be in stealth mode, nor does it help them in any way.

I will make this post short and too the point...Stealth Mode SHOULD remain alive and well. There are many reasons why Stealth Mode might make sense for your start up. In this day and age where no space is cost prohibitive to enter one should expect MANY clones. From the day you (publicly) launch, expect no less than one dozen students somewhere in India to clone your entire business just to get credit for writing their thesis.

I would ask the uber smart Fred Wilson this - When you are considering investing in a startup, do you post it publicly on your blog, or Twitter stream? I imagine not, as this would alert other (competitors) VC's to perhaps push you out of the round.

Apple ITab - 'There's a dock for that'

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:07:00 +0000

If 'There's an app for that' has been synonymous with the Apple IPhone, then the new tagline for the Apple IPad should be 'There's a dock for that'.

For some the Apple IPad will be their ereader. Fred Wilson just tweeted that he will likely mount it on his elliptical trainer. I have personally always wanted a WiFi enabled flat monitor to put on my kitchen refrigerator. When it is not showing the families shared calender, it might be my needed grocery list as bar codes flash in front of it from my fridge.

My Dashdock will mount it in my car...well you see where this is going. But what's really cool about mobile computing (I put this in the category, because it's really a 'smart' monitor) is what you can and will do today (that no one does yet);

My prediction is that within one year a combination of a smartphone and an 'ereader' type device will replace a desktop and or laptop computer for some. Apple IKeyboard coming next ....

Lastly, likely the most important item of news about the IPad is the repercussions it has for the Kindle. No- I don't think this is a Kindle killer, however expect Kindle 2.0 Powered by Android .....

What will you use your IPad for?

You can follow me on Twitter here.

How to set the blinking clock on a VCR

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew Finkle) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:17:00 +0000

Software developers - You have a problem. Having had my hand in product development (as a non-developer) while at RoboForm , ToneThis , Avant Browser I learned something about software developers. Most of them think in different terms than us (the consumer). This IMO is one of the biggest mistakes that startups make early on - no non techies involved with the product.

This became clearer to me yesterday in not one, but two software install experiences. My friend Steven Groves was over my house watching the Cardinals get slammed yesterday, and we were exchanging recommended apps for our Android phones. At some point, Steven recommended 'Bump' as a method to exchange business cards. While I do think Bump will be an excellent solution, I found it's productecture to be horrible. At some point in the installation, I accidently 'told it' that I was someone else (I tapped on one of my contacts when trying to teach it my profile). This is actually VERY easy to do when you are using a haptic keyboard. Further, Bump decided that it likes a gmail email address & profile better than anything else that you have. Final outcome? It took me a half-hour (as well as a total uninstall/re-install of Bump) to teach Bump who I am. Still have not been able to teach Bump that I do not want to use my Google (GMAIL) profile - but at least I won $5 from Steven when I bet him he could not correct that.

The second piece of software was MindMap. MindMap was given to me (It's not an inexpensive piece of software) by someone whom I had done some bizdev with years ago, who works with the company. I have always been impressed with the very cool looking Mind Maps created with it, and had been pumped to make my own maps. Regretfully, after several tries I just could not figure it out. While it seemed to me that the intuitive way to create a new 'box' within MindMaps would be to simply right mouse click (apparently Mac users don't do this), MindMap takes no advantage of context menus, and instead uses keyboard keys such as 'Insert' that I never even knew existed (again pointed out by my friend Steven).

Moral of the story here? Consider having real human beings along for the ride during your development process - not just software engineers. Consider also having a video (ie Youtube) of your product being used. Video is the new product manual.

You can discuss this with me further on Twitter here.