For your last blog post, please discuss one of the business models you found interesting form this week’s presentations of our final projects.  Please do not discuss your own proposed business model.  Highlight the strengths of the business model and provide some suggestions for improvement.

Prediction markets are only effective if a lot of people participate.  What are the best ways to encourage more traders and trading within internal company prediction markets?


If you’re not familiar with prediction markets yet, read the NYT article in the syllabus, check out the Wikipedia page, and I highly recommend experimenting with some prediction market trading before class.  You can trade futures and options on movies and Hollywood stars for free on the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX) or vote to predict political events on Intrade.net.

What are the similarities and differences between a community-driven product development process and a traditional product development process within a firm?

What’s the best way for companies to engage with their customers using social media?

How do Wikipedia’s processes for creating and modifying articles ever lead to high-quality results? In other words, since anyone can easily edit Wikipedia, how is it that good (and usually accurate) content emerges?

What new features and functionality would you want to see in Facebook and why?  How could these new features help Facebook earn revenue?

1. How does Hulu’s value proposition differ from traditional broadcast and cable television?
2. How do network effects (cross-side and same-side) impact Hulu’s business model?

Discuss an example of lock-in (not one of the examples on the wikipedia page) and how a consumer might be able to overcome the effects of lock-in.

1) What do you think are the major challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for Taxi Magic? or
2) It seems like Google has their hands in everything, what do you recommend Google focus their efforts on next?

How Social Media has impacted the recent Egyptian protests

Discuss the importance of Internet technologies in the recent Egyptian protests. How have technologies like Facebook and Twitter impacted the movement?

Amazon.com gets feet wet with Amazon Fresh, Grocery Home Delivery Service Pilot in Seattle

Discuss the  the long term viability of Amazon’s new Fresh and Tote home delivery services. What are the challenges and opportunities Amazon faces with these services?

Is there anything amazon won't try? The e-commerce tycoon already carries everything from A-Z, and is a leading consumer decision analysis and market testing authority. Every dotcom strives to emulate what Amazon has already conquered. But, grocery home delivery? Amazon has launched limited availability of Grocery Home Delivery Service, named Amazon Fresh. A little behind the curve, as Homegrocier.com and webvan.com already exist. Local groceries also offer delivery service, Giant  of Northern Virginia offers Peapod. The people who would use such a service, are most likely already signed up. It is perfect for any working single who simply doesn't have time to spend grocery shopping. For myself, and most other red blooded Americans, I like to see and touch my produce before I buy it. No one wants to eat wilted broccoli or spoiled strawberries. The same applies to meat and dairy products. The convenience of Peapod is your groceries come from your local Giant, so returns would not be difficult. But, where is my Amazon Fresh groceries coming from?   Some warehouse? What about local produce? The prepared and frozen foods market could do well for Amazon, but that isn't fresh.

Amazon's Tote, offers free home delivery in a "tote" bag rather than the standard shipping box, once a week. The corporate giant is attempting to suck every penny out of us with buzz words, free delivery. The catch? You have to spend x amount each week to continue the service. A savvy internet shopper already gets free delivery. Clearly "tote" didn't deliver, the service has already been terminated. 

Piracy, Social Frenemy?

Are there any effective ways for content producers to deal with piracy or should they just give up? What would make you choose to purchase content over pirating it?

Frenemy
an enemy disguised as a friend

I am constantly bombarded with piracy is against the law campaigns, the ads in movie theater previews, warnings on the music I paid for, television commercials, signs on the metro, signs on buses, every other day in the news, and so on... the Public Announcements depict late teens and 20 somethings purchasing bootleg movies, downloading music files, streaming illegal movies, games, and other unlicensed pirated content. The narrator always makes me laugh. A threating, deep male voice saying something along the lines of, "If you download music without paying for it, you are breaking the law, and you will go to jail." It reminds me of the '80s, "This is your brain" series.

Piracy is not a new trend! Throughout the years, my friends would share music, movies, or the famous hanger with duct tape to fix the cable box to get free premium channels. My generation started with copying cassettes (remember your mix tapes?), then burning CD's, next came Napster, and now bit torents. Sharing content has become easier over time. With the internet and technology today, it is impossible to stop piracy. No matter how many locks or other piracy prevention developers produce, there will always be someone to break it. It's simple economics. If there is a demand for pirated content, someone will produce it. On the other economic hand, there is a price schedule and anti-piracy mix where piracy is reduced, and sales is up.

Content producers, piracy is your frenemy! Embrace it, don't fight it. I know that when my friends would share music and movies they would open up to know more artists, movies, games...  It's grassroots marketing. My friends pay for concert tickets, memoribila, and future CD's. Those friends continue to expand the fanbase of the product, who in turn spend money on tickets... introduce more people.....

 The IT Crowd Piracy Video

'80s PDA Annoucement