Entries by Sebastian Brocher

The two Scandinavian entrepreneurs which founded Skype a few years ago launched today their new global broadband television service, named joost.

Click here to read it from Reuters. Here are some screenshots from the joost website:

You can go and register to try their beta version for free (it only takes a few minutes), however they will be the ones picking who gets to try the service. I just registered, and can't wait to get to try it (it's snowing in Austin, TX today and so I'm trapped inside all day long!). Once you get invited, you will get tokens to invite other people to try their beta version for free (remember gmail?). From the pics, it seems like this will be a much more exciting television, where you can interact with the community watching the same programs via chat and IM, etc (remember my post about my TV becoming obsolete?). What about interactive audience and games? what if you could add pics, webcams, voice, ... so many alternatives!

Oh... and, did I mention advertisers will probably have, finally, a firm measurement of how effective their ads are? who is watching them? who is clicking them? who is not? once they click, do they buy? do they come back? hmm ... Genious! Traditional TV channels must be so afraid right now.

I'm just back from some excellent vacation time. As usual, I went to visit my family and friends in Buenos Aires for Christmas and New Year. Holidays season is perfect for this because we all have more time off, and also because it happens to be summer over there!

Needless to say, this time of the year is always very refreshing and revealing for me. I always come back full of energy and new ideas. Somehow, the distance from the day-to-day routine and responsibilities lets me [mostly involuntarily] set and analyze my goals, ideas and problems alike from another perspective, from another camera.

So here goes a list with my top 10 camera-changing strategies and exercises:

1. Go on vacations!

   
   

2. Change planes. No, not the flying ones. I meant the mathematical ones. Analyze the project from a different plane. Pick two variables and forget the rest. Then pick another two variables and repeat until you have a good understanding of all the different planes. The n-dimensional shape will become clearer as your brain blends all those planes, and you migh discover hidden places and shapes (combinations) you might not have thought about before.

   
   

3. Change time. Imagine, for a second, you only have half the time to implement your idea or finalize your project. Then imagine just the opposite, that you have double the time. By temporarily eliminating the time constraint, this will help you concentrate and get first the big picture, then the details at the same time on your mind. If a factor of two doesn't work well, try a bigger one.

   
   

4. Repeat 3. with other constraints (resources, budget, etc).

   
   

5. Explain your idea to a kid or teenager. Then write down the story. You will probably end up with either an executive summary, or an excellent marketing collateral.

   
   

6. Change roles. If you are the entrepreneur, imagine you are the customer. Then imagine you are the partner, the supplier, the investor, the consumer, the engineer, the marketer, the ... You will discover that each individual will see different n-dimensional representation of the problem or idea. Extra-ball: practice the other 9 ways for each role!

   
   

7. Change the problem. Try thinking about a bigger idea that encapsulates the original one. Then do the opposite, break down the idea or problem into a combination of smaller ones. Extra-ball: you are smart enough to discover it on your own!

   
   

8. Change the rules. Imagine a different market, a different objective, different players, different technology. For example, if you are trying to build a very profitable business, imagine your idea or problem on a non-for-profit environment. You will discover you can borrow some of those new ideas to contribute back in your original world.

   
   

9. Tell a few friends about your idea or problem. Ask them to concentrate, listen to you, ask any necessary questions and try to remember it. Then ask them, a few days later, to repeat it back to you. If there is no clear intersection between the different stories, that probably means the story isn't clear to you either. The differences will help you realize where you are failing. The solution: go through the other 9 points, then repeat this one until the intersection is significant.

   
   

10. Be a kid. Ask why. Then ask why again. You will be surprised to know how many people get it wrong. Most of the times, there is a bigger agenda behind it, a bigger why and a bigger reason. If you are not there yet, try to guess it. Once you get it, that's the real problem or idea you wanna think about. Imagine. Go a few years back in time and see the problem or idea as something you might do in the future. Think how would you prepare yourselve (and the world) for it. Then go forward in time and see it as something you did and how the world changed because of it. Then match the expectations from a past view with the results that would make you happy from the future view. Re-set your goals and repeat.

    
    

Just a quick note to wish y'all a Merry Christmas

I'll be back here for some more serious blogging when I get back from my vacations in Buenos Aires...

I'm not a pricing expert, but the $9.99 (or $19.99 for that matter) pricing strategy is looking old to me. This guys say it works well. I say change the rules. If you are selling to a “smart” market, the $9.99 might even sound insulting. This can also be true in general for some cultures. So stop insulting your customers. Start respecting them, show them you know better. They are smart and they will appreciate that. Develop trust. Differentiate yourself.

How does a "Simply $10" sound instead of "Only $9.99"? Doesn't the first one sound more honest, fresher, uncluttered and more stylish? Aren't you tired of reading $9.99? If you were the customer, which one would you prefer? Do you really care about that penny? Are you really tricked into thinking it is less than $10 with the first one? I bet nowadays even your unconscious mind ain't buying. Change your strategy, give it a try, see what happens. Don't forget to measure and compare conversion rates.

Oh ... and also, with all those extra pennies, you could implement something else. For example, you could add a simple “win a free gift :-)” big, green and fun button with a fancy sound and display at the check out and give away a little something (personalized with your brand?) every 10 or 100 customers. Now that's something your customers will remember and may talk about.

P.S.: Here is a short review of the different marketing pricing strategies and concepts.

Go have a look at http://www.eff.org/share/petition/. Then go ahead and electronically sign the petition if you agree with it (I do).