Most ads these days fail to draw people’s attention. Many of them are simply uninspiring. But also, there’s so much noise and attention grabbing tactics at play in the media industry that many people, myself included, simply tune out. I’ve noticed that I ignore almost all banner ads when I am browsing the web. I am sure I am not alone.
Occasionally though, we see ads that truly stand out, and it’s a great thing to see. Pure creativity at work. Here’s a small collection of some really smart print ads.
Great technology demonstrated at DemoFall2008 and TechCrunch50 with products such as Mytopia, Atmosphir, FitBit and others. Yet, the top prize at TechCrunch50 goes to a Twitter knock-off with a business model: Yammer.
Twitter continues to amaze me. The service and technology are pretty straightforward. It’s obviously addressing a real need, otherwise it would be hard to justify the amount of interest it generates, and how loved it is in some circles. So much so that we are starting to see spin-offs that are virtually identical to Twitter itself.
In terms of IP protection, I am not sure if Twitter has filed any patents protecting its technology or not. I believe it hasn’t. In any case, it will be interesting to see what Twitter will do next with challengers like Yammer trying to eat its lunch. I don’t think it will be able to block anyone in court. Honestly, I don’t think Twitter wants to play the IP game. I don’t blame it. Considering what they have, if I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t try to leverage any IP either. The value of Twitter is in the community.
What about Twitter’s business model? Until not too long ago, the service was a yo-yo in terms of reliability and uptime. Things have improved as of late, but how is it going to make money? It’s been more than a year since Twitter stormed SXSW and it’s still not obvious how they will monetize. The longer they wait, the more they tend to lose as others capture profitable niches. Yammer has a great model for charging customers and making money.
I think we are just getting started in this space of awareness and communications. There’s lots of room for innovation here. Things are getting interesting.
Finally a book that geek parents can relate to.
Alas, it’s just advertising material from Microsoft, promoting its Windows Home Server. But at least it’s refreshing.
It looks like we have another option to choose from when it comes to browsers. Google is announcing that Chrome, their open-source browser, is ready to go. More details here.
The space is getting crowded, but owning the browser experience is important from a strategic point of view. That is especially true if you are building web applications that threaten the monopoly of one of your competitors, as is the case between Microsoft and Google. Google can’t afford to let Microsoft cut their air supply.
Despite the significance of this announcement and what it will come out of it in the future, today’s highlight for me was how Google announced Chrome. They hired the great Scott McCloud to design a comic book detailing the browser, explaining their motivation for building it, etc.
As a side note, companies such as Apple and Google have spent the last few years developing apps that detach themselves from Microsoft and let them set their own courses. Both Apple and Google now have their own browsers and office suites.
I would also sleep better at night if my products didn’t depend on Microsoft to succeed (or any other outside company for that matter). It’s an expensive move, but it makes business sense. And Google has the cash. Whether people will embrace it is another story. There’s been a growing sentiment lately among users that Google is beginning to know too much, track too much.