Case #4: Pricing Strategies

In a Web 2.0 world, many users especially those who are more tech saavy are likely aware of the many free services that can be found on the internet. From the most useful to some pretty niche web application, these services can range from video sharing (YouTube) to content management systems (WordPress) to productivity tools (Jott).

One of my recently new favorites is Mint. Found at www.mint.com, it is a free, web-based financial tracking tool. It allows users to link all of their online banking, credit card and investment accounts to a single site. The site helps users to track expenditures and income and has several features to make the entire experience extremely useful and intuitive. Some of the features include automated syncing with accounts that have been set up, track where money is spent, bank-level security, text and email updates, an iPhone application, and several more. According to the site, some good reasons to use it are: to “pay off credit debt, save for retirement, create a personal budget, and manage investments.”

The best part of Mint is that it’s FREE! Mint does not charge a single penny to its users, and even explicitly states their commitment to remaining free. The site generates revenue by offering and recommending services from other banks and investment institutions that can help save users money. The creators believe that they “only make money when you do.” Looking at the various free pricing strategies discussed in class, this is basically an advertising model, but rather than slapping banners all over the each page, ads are specifically offered to users based on several factors including types of accounts open, expenditure habits, and a user’s credit score.

I’ve read about Mint on several occassions since it has come out, and it appears that it has been doing very well. The site’s commitment to remaing free seems to be serving well and has gained it lots of praise. A quote from the site by user Michael Glass states, “I love your site. I haven’t taken advantage of any of the savings offers yet, but plan on it. Most importantly, it was super-easy to add my accounts … which is what makes me want to use this over any other online banking system.”

Learn more about, and perhaps try out, Mint today!

Case #3: Web Business Models

As people get busier and busier each year, staying organized becomes an increasingly important part of everyone’s daily routines. Cellphones and smartphones have become excellent organization tools, but software developers have done their part to help others stay organized. Among these applications is a favorite of mine called Remember the Milk.

Remember the Milk (RTM) is an online-based task management application that offers users a variety of ways to create, edit, send, share, and manage lists. Its website, http://www.rememberthemilk.com/, is the main portal where users can easily access their account to see what tasks need to be done. Since its launch in the fall of 2005, RTM has added an array of services and outlets to make it even easier for users to be productive. This includes:
•    Multiple means for access – Google widget, Mac widget, iPhone/iPod Touch application.
•    Prioritizing – Prioritize tasks in four different levels: high, medium, low, and uncategorized.
•    Customized organization – Create your own lists and tags.
•    Tasks by location – Set up locations and tag tasks by location
•    Connect with other services – Link with a Jott account and other popular Web 2.0 services
•    Mobile access

RTM is based on a subscription model but is also a free service for those who set up basic accounts. Setup takes less than 5 minutes, and the user interface is rather intuitive. The company generates revenue through its subscriptions. Power users who wish to unlock the more advanced features of RTM can subscribe to it’s services for an worthy $25 per year. Advanced features includes mobile access, which is extremely worth it. I myself am a “pro” user and have RTM installed on my iPod Touch. Since having this program, I’ve relied on it heavily to input tasks and reminders that I’d otherwise write on several different pieces of paper or simply forget.

RTM most likely determines its overall performance by number of signed-up users, and it can further keep track of how many paid subscribers they have. In addition, the company can track how many new list items are added overall per day, where people set locations for these tasks, and how they access their account (i.e. website, iPhone application, desktop widget, etc.)

Overall, Remember the Milk has become a widely popular Web 2.0 service among GTDers (people who wish to get things done) or lifehackers.  Its free basic service is full of useful features making it an attractive addition to many people’s organization regimes. Having a paid subscription model also helps keep this pure play company afloat and successful.

[Images via Remember the Milk]

Is Google Unintentionally Infringing Upon Copyrights?

When you think of the word “search,” what comes to mind? Chances are you’re going to say, “Google.” Why? Because Google has become the world’s most powerful and leading search engine. In the past few years alone, the company has added an array of products that complement its original search function and has leverage themselves as a major provider in productivity and organization services. The company is boasted as the go-to search engine for many thanks to its secret algorithms that allow “bots” and “spiders” to crawl the web indexing the nearly infinite amount of websites. Despite being a powerful tool, people have raised concerns of privacy and copyright infringement.

Such is the case of Google’s caching feature. Its search engine works by crawling the web to find the new websites and indexes it to provide split-second results after entering a search query. As it crawls the web, it saves an image or copy of each page, which is also known as caching. When viewing search results, Google offers users the option to visit the cached page.  This is features is intended to provide users with an alternate source in case a page is not functioning correctly or was recently changed. The problem here is that this entire process is fully automated, and Google does not request permission from website owners to save copies of their content constituting copyright infringement.

Here's an example of my hometown library's cached website.

Some companies, including major news outlets like the New York Times, believe this feature is a violation of copyright law. As cited in a CNet News article, the newspaper company provides archives of new stories and articles to paying members, but users have found ways to get around this by accessing cached articles via Google. Since the article was published, the New York Times has modified its site to prevent Google from caching it’s pages. Among other news sources, this caching feature also raises other legal implications. Having pages archived even for less than a day can be problematic. Articles published with errors or misprints are often updated immediately by news sources, but having an older version saved on its cache serves as a legal liability to the publisher.

The search giant counters these arguments stating that the caching feature allows the site to provide better and more accurate search results. In addition, they allow companies to opt-out by inserting a particular file or code on a site that prevents bots and spiders from indexing them. In Google’s defense regarding legal liabilities to news outlets, other providers have stated that it is not a true concern because of its lack of use. Most people tend to just click on the main link to an article. Other defenders also say that Google’s cache as well as other web archiving site or organizations such as the Way Back Machine can be valuable to historians. They capture moments in time and can be used as references to old sites.

So is Google cache really a bad thing? From a user’s perspective, its cache optimizes the entire search experience providing me with the results I’m looking for. It can also serve as a “back door” or means to get around certain roadblocks such as members-only archived material. On the other hand, organizations should be aware of its implications and understand how it can affect their company.

[Read Google's cache raises copyright concerns]

CASE #1: MASS CUSTOMIZATION

It’s amazing how the Internet can create unique and special user experiences for customers. It used to be that whatever a manufacturer made is what you buy, but with the growth of the Internet in just the past few years, companies have been able give customers the ability to design the products they want and have them shipped to their doorstep within a few weeks.

This is the new paradigm of mass customization, and more companies are beginning to incorporate it into their business. For example, leading shoe and athletic clothing manufacturers Nike and Puma are among those that have launched product lines for mass customization. According to NiceKicks, Nike launched NIKEiD in 2000 and was the first company of its kind to do so. Prior to the launch, Nike carried shoes in an array of colors–but only designed by the company–along with special editions of those that matched sports team colors. One of the benefits of launching NIKEiD was that the company was able to follow trends of the most popular colors and color combinations. Similar to how Google can be a useful for the most searched products or Technorati can be useful at gauging the hottest topics, Nike can use NIKEiD to gauge color trends to influence its newest products designs.

Puma followed suit in 2005 by launching the Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ. While Nike’s name sounds more personal, Puma certainly came up with a unique and memorable name that is inspired by the variety found in Mongolian barbecues. This line was originally available in select Puma concept stores but was later brought to the masses via its website. The company injects some extra flavor in its mix of materials color and even shoelace options. On the other hand, Puma only offers three shoe models for users to customize compared to Nike’s numerous models including apparel.

To get a better sense of the user experiences between both companies, I visited both sites and created a design of my own at each of them. My first stop was NIKEiD. Nike’s site offers a streamlined and slick interface for customers to select what kind of product(s) they would like to customize. The experience starts by selecting what type of style you wish to customize: sport or style. I’m not too big into sports, so I took the style route. From there, a grid-like display of stylish products pop-up allowing the customer to make a selection from a variety of product models to customize. While there’s plenty of variety, it can be a bit overwhelming. They also display a few different examples of customized shoes to inspire customers and show off the numerous permutations of shoe designs.

The entire process is rather straightforward. After selecting the model I wanted to customize–Nike Air Mogan iD–the design process is as simple as clicking the part of the show and selecting the desired material and color. The interface makes it easy to swap out colors and play around with endless combinations. There’s even a meter on the side that shows you which sections you’ve customized and which ones you’ve missed. It’s a helpful reminder to make sure your shoes were completely designed by you. A nice touch they offer is the ability to customize the words on the back of each shoe. Mine says “Sweet Kicks.” After finalizing my design, the experience ends with naming my design and the option to save it to my “Locker” in case you wanted to create other designs. Nike also allows users to create a computer desktop background featuring their shoe design, another way to make the experience more personal.

Next stop is Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ. My first impression is how different the site looks compared to its main site. The Mongolian Shoe BBQ has this Mongolian theme throughout whereas Puma’s main site has a more traditional sporty feel and look. Just like its name, it’s certainly a more unique experience compared to Nike’s. Similar to a ride at Disney World, Puma’s store carries its theme to every little detail. Words such as “ingredients” and “preparation” are used to reinforce the idea of creating a unique design combination.

Depending on how you look at it, both companies maximize its use of technology to create the best customer experience. For Nike, the sleek interface makes the whole process really simple to use and understand. Despite the vast selection of models to choose from, which can be a bit too much, everything is nicely laid out and easy to find. Small touches such as viewing your shoes at more interesting angles and the little meter that shoes how much of the shoe you have customized help add to the experience. Over at Puma, they did a great job using the site to create a special experience. They’ve differentiated themselves by using an unexpected name, although it may be a bit confusing at first, and applied their theme to every last detail on the site. While they only offer three models to customize, it does make the design process extremely simple and the interface carries the customer through each step in the design process. As I mentioned before, Puma spices up the experience by providing a selection of more exotic materials and bold patterns. Overall, Puma was able to create a user environment for customers to experience from virtually any browser.

What Nike and Puma offer are two great examples of how mass customization has changed the way consumers purchase products. It gives them greater control over the products they want, and perhaps in the near future, we will continue to see how mass customization becomes incorporated into a variety of other business other than shoes and apparel. Until then, we’ll have to stick making some sweet kicks.

Hello World!

So welcome to my new blog. I know the title of this entry is WordPress’s default title, but I felt it was appropriate to keep some things as the default. As you can see, this site has already been customized to look very similar to my portfolio website, PASCO A+D. For now, this blog will be used mostly for my Marketing on the Internet class that I’m currently enrolled in. After May, I’m hoping to keep this blog up and use it as the primary source for news and interesting things that I find through my everyday media consumption.

Anyway as I continue to add more content, these widgets on the sidebar will build up, and I hope that you will find many interesting things.