Google Chrome and Switching Costs

I am a big fan of the Google Chrome browser. What is so special about it?

1. Technology - no doubt that it is faster than other browsers. No matter in what you do. Also, i really liked the fact that you could have one tab in the browser crash, without bringing down the whole browser, as each tab runs in a separate process

2. Design - Google chrome was a very well thought out, and very well designed. For example, if you have a bunch of tabs open, and you want to close several of them, you can close one tab, and then the next, and then the next - without moving your mouse! The next tab's close button aligns with your mouse as soon as you close the last one. Also, whenever you open a new tab, it shows the most frequently sites you visit in a simple format on the screen, making it easy to go to your favorites

3. Offline - With Google gears, Google is embracing scenarios in which the user will be offline but want to use a web app. I am pretty sure that Google Chrome will be the first browser to adapt new features of Gears, as they are developed. One of my favorite web apps, Remember the Milk, uses Google Gears.


So I switched to the Chrome, but gave it up and moved back to Firefox. Why is that? Switching costs of third party apps/extensions. I use a Firefox extension called Read It later, which as the name suggests, lets you mark any page to be read later, come back to it easily, and remove it from the list when you are done. There was a Chrome extension; it just didn't work well enough. And so, I am back for now, to my dear old Firefox.

Kindle opened up: Now what?

As you can read here, Amazon has opened up the kindle to develop applications for the Kindle. I believe this move is in anticipation of the launch of the Apple Tablet/E-Reader (which is expected to bring, among other things, world peace). According to the article, developers will get to keep 70% of revenue - a 15 cent per MB Delivery free. Kindle released 3 models for apps - free, one time and subscription based.So would there be 10,000 apps developed for the Kindle? Let's explore various aspects of it:

1. Developer fatigue - The iPhone was the first awesome, super-duper-cool mobile platform open to developers. Then came Android and Blackberry. Now everyone, and their mother, is creating an open platform. This is likely to result in developer fatigue, and resistance to learning how to code in new platforms

2. Drawbacks of e-ink - monochrome, minimal graphics, no touch screen interface etc.

3. The 15 cent per MB charge - which means that the app cannot access the internet (without losing money or being very expensive)

So what kind of apps are likely to be developed for the Kindle?

1. Interactive books - Zagat guides are being developed as an app, but so could be some pretty cool stories for kids, which are book, but also an app. And the story book could have different elements - it changes every time the kid reads it. These books are best for kids above 7 years of age, as before that age, kids just love repetition and consistency (Side Note: I am no child psychologist, just my observation)

2. Mystery book-games - same unpredictability aspect, but for adults! Now, a sherlock homes novel, which is interactive, lets you guess outcomes, and can be used 10 times as there are 10 storied embedded in it!

3. Thought of the day/blog post of the day etc - which is basically a Kindle adoption to an exsting web service. The concern remains - the 15 cent per MB Delivery fee

Other thoughts?

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

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2010 : The year of the Tablet/E-Book Reader

I was (and am) waiting for the Apple Tablet to be released. It is expected to be announced January 25th or 26th. Expectations for it are sky high. Here are some of the things I have read about it on Tech blogs

1. The price will be $800
2. It will have a new, and very surprising method by which you interact with it. Do you sing to it?
3. It will have the regular color screen, apps, multi-touch interface
4. It will include an E-Book reader
5. Steve Jobs is happy with it. That is saying a lot!

But even before the launch of the Apple tablet there are many other devices that either are already here, or are expected to be announced soon:

1. HP/Microsoft's Slate Tablet released at Consumer Electronic Show
2. Plastic Logic's Que ebook reader (video below). It's pitch is that it is flexible, shatter proof and completely designed for Business. It features full control by touch, ability to view documents, synchronize calendar with outlook, pin favorite things, receive books by wireless etc.

Plastic Logic shows off Que eBook reader from Dean Takahashi on Vimeo.

3.HP's Android tablet here

And so on and so forth. But what do you really want from a tablet/ebook reader Device? The way I look at it, I always question - what device does the Tablet replace? This is true of most new gadgets. Even the iPod replaced a device - the CD Player. It also replaced you carrying around a 1000 CDs. The apple tablet must replace a few simple things for me - a pen, a notebook, and books that I read. It must include a eReader, but be a lot more.

This is what I want:

1. A single device - not a separate ebook reader and tablet PC

2. Calendar/email integration

3. Ability to download and run apps

4. A replacement for the notebook - with a stylus pen, and ability to add comments to documents, create notes and synch with a service like Evernote

5. Price less than $500. Because I am a student

6. Wireless capability for downloading books

What are the questions apple faces:

1. How to get wireless service on the device? Would users be willing to pay for another connection?

2. How to get content - books, videos etc? It can rely on iTunes for everything else other than books. But what about books? Partnerships? Perhaps a partnership with Amazon, which might be very contentious, given the Kindle?

I am waiting eagerly for January 26th...

My second entry on the Kellogg student diary just posted

Check it out here

Google and Yelp Acquisition Talks

One of the key lessons we learned in our first strategy class was - always question an acquisition. Always question whether the objectives of the acquisition could be met simply with a contract, and whether the synergy (the most over-used buzzword in the history of business, and possibly
mankind) made any sense.With this perspective, I began to analyze the recent Google - Yelp acquisition talks. I feel that the synergies associated with Yelp as part of Google do make sense, and Google should acquire Yelp, if the price is right. What do you think?

Startups Evolve: Tagga

It is said that most startups change their basic idea and/or business model atleast three times before they are successful. I recently revisited the home page of a rather interesting company I discovered about a year ago: Tagga.

As this article on Techcrunch would tell you, Tagga initially started as a company offering free way for users to launch their own SMS campaign. Thus I could for example choose a keyword (lets say CHIPMUNK. I don't know why that was the first word that came to mind. But now that it did, let's just say CHIPMUNK). I could put up signs that say 'Text CHIPMUNK to 82442' anywhere. If you did text CHIPMUNK to 82422, you will get a text reply with whatever content I wanted to distribute to you. It could be a link. The catch was that the content would be atmost 80 characters long, and it would be followed by an 80 character advertisment.

The business model was: advertisers could buy keywords for the placing their 80 character ads. So lets say I really wanted to sell nuts, I might buy the keyword CHIPMUNK. (Do chipmunks eats nuts....Whatever). Or I might just buy ads via other methods, like geographical region. Like if I want to see coats, I would buy Chicago. It's cold here.

Back to the point. Now if you visit the Tagga homepage, it says that Tagga is now an Agency Platform. In the words of the website, it 'is the ultimate opt-in direct marketing platform that is 100% focused on the agency world.' There is one problem with that - I have no idea what it means. It seems like a whole lot of jargon to me. Like synergy.

To really understand what Tagga is doing, I need to click the features button. And then read what each feature is.

To sum up, this is what I think Tagga is doing now: take the original idea, add a bunch of features, but reposition it as a white label service to help agencies launch marketing campaigns. Interesting. But why, why is it making it so difficult for ordinary people like me to understand what they are doing? Why not give a short summary of what they are doing on the homepage, rather than just throwing around buzzwords?

That's it. I have rambled way too much. Time to call it a day

Interesting Video on Socialnomics

I don't think that Social Media is the silver bullet, as this video seems to imply. However, it is still a force to recon with. I am particularly excited about it's potential for small to medium size businesses, who get to advertise for free.






There seems to be no better example of a small business using social media, than Kogi BBQ , the Mobile Barbeque business. The company operates a fleet of vans that drive around, and post the location where they would be stopping 45 minutes before they get there. When they arrive, there is already a line of people waiting to buy food from them. These are the kinds of ideas I look at, and say 'Brilliant!!'

Cloud Computing and Startups

Cloud Computing and Startups

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Cloud Computing: my thoughts

I love the Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies. The 2009 version lists cloud computing at the 'Peak of Inflated Expectations.' Which means that, we are up for disappointment. But are we?

While several aspects of cloud computing are completely new, I would argue that it has been around for a while. When I first joined logistics.com in 2002, it was an Application Service Provider (ASP), providing technology for companies to manage their transportation needs online, without a need for installing any software. It was soon acquired by Manhattan Associates which provided installed software. We worked for an year to enable our software to be packaged, and installed at the client's site. In 2007, we were back to where we starting, positioning our Software as a Service (SaaS) capabilities to target medium sized customers, who did not want to install software on-premises. Of course, this is very similar to Cloud Computing, as far as Business Software is concerned. I am sure MANH would be repositioning the software as a Cloud Computing Solution.

But back to the original question: are we in for a disappointment? I would argue that there are several factors working for and against cloud computing:

Against:

Sales people - yes you heard that right. Salespeople. Like I was. Why? Very simple - most companies haven't figured out a model for paying salespeople for selling Cloud Computing technology, especially as payments come a recurring installments rather than lumpsum payments. Ask any sales guy what he would want - a $100K payment in lumpsum, or four payments of $30K per year for the next four years? The 100K would be much preferred

IT Departments - IT Departments have much less work to do if the application is delivered over the cloud; in effect, you are outsourcing most of the IT maintainence work to the provider.In addition, IT Departments hate to lost control.

Economics - For major applications, like ERP, supply chain systems, I would argue that the economics do not vary much between buying and maintain the software vs. using it SaaS, especially for larger companies. Think of it; fundamentally what changes? The software is still being hosted on a server and database server. The server and DB server are still very efficiently used in the installed environment, because of the high needs of the company. So in one way or the other, things need to be paid for

For:

Flexibility & Scalability - This is the single biggest driver for cloud computing. Several scenarios work very well for this, but perhaps no better than if you launch a new startup, you can just pay for usage. If things go well, your application is used more, your bills (and hopefully revenue) increase. If things do not go well, just end your service, pay your final bill, and you are done.

Cost - If the application usage is limited, and a lot of different clients can work off the same server/group of servers and use the computing resources more efficiently, the cost automatically goes down. Include the cost of installation, and cloud computing suddenly sounds like a much better option

Try before you buy - doesn't need much explanation


What applications are then prime for Cloud usage?

• File Storage - example, Rackspace's Cloud Drive service
  
• Platform as a Service - Microsoft's Azure and Joynet cloud service, amongst the multiple services in this arena
• Operating Systems/Browsers for Netbooks, like Google Chrome and Jolicloud
• Collaboration and Document sharing - Google Docs

So on and so forth.....

BTW I just realized, the Wiki overview of Cloud Computing Covers this and a lot more. So read it.

Another great resource explaining SaaS and PaaS is the Keynote address of salesforce CEO at Oracle Open World