Sunday, May 14, 2006

Lego redefining value in our online world

In Lego Factory, now not broken, Chris Anderson talks about Lego creating value in the digital age. You just need to think sideways sometimes to crack the thorny issue of how a company survives in today’s world.

Lego Factory is the company’s service that allows you to design your own models and have the parts sent to you in a cool Lego kit-style box (and share your designs with others in a Lego marketplace). It’s a great idea, but it’s been hampered in the past by gnarly fulfillment issues that inflated the cost of the kits by including too many pieces you don’t need.

Read the whole thing.

Cross-posted at Communities Dominate Brands

Saturday, May 13, 2006

They're all in the ad business now

When the demand side of a voluntary exchange starts supplying itself, the traditional suppliers are going to get scared. To wit, all of the exploding business models around us (newspapers, music, movies, and TV just for starters).

The same fear is being felt by companies when it comes to their ads. This is, of course, because it’s so cheap and easy for people to bring to life their own creations - people who are connected to the most powerful distribution network in history.

These companies usually aren’t connected to that network, though they think they are. 

"They're all in the ad business now" continued...

Friday, May 12, 2006

Acumen Fund: Diminishing global poverty through entrepreneurialism

I’m doing a charity-back guarantee on tickets for our June 21st event, What MySpace Means. The charity in question is the Acumen Fund, which really does deserve a look from all of you (the Acumen Fund blog is super, too). If you can, please give generously to support it.

This Is Broken

Worth visiting: A project to make businesses more aware of their customer experience, and how to fix it.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Dress Barn and the hard sell

Who likes a hard sell? No, really, who likes a hard sell? Robyn, a relatively affluent person (and all around readable writer), blogs about her experience with the hard sell she got from the Dress Barn employee who was only supposed to be activating her charge card. The language is not for the timid, but Robyn does get her point across - and it’s a point that many companies desperately need to understand. 

"Dress Barn and the hard sell" continued...