Web 3.0 and Shutterfly

We have already discussed an overview of the photo sharing industry and looked closely at the leaders: Flickr, Photobucket and Kodak Gallery. Here we will take a look at Shutterfly’s offering from a Web 3.0 perspective. >>>

Featured Videos

iPhone: Countdown

Just 2 weeks left for the release of the iPhone. We have analyzed the eco-system in a fair bit of detail thus far.

Today, I read a great review by an Australian of Nokia’s competing product, N95 which is not “a mere cell phone but a true multitasking, handheld, Internet connected multimedia computer that does a lot of things and does them all well.” A slightly less enthusiastic, but also positive review is here. Nokia doesn’t seem to be asleep at the wheels … >>>

Turn Logic into Magic (7)

By Dominique Trempont, Guest Author

A strong brand generates strong differentiation, attentive and loyal customers, and proud employees.

It incents creative people with the best ideas, products and services outside the company, to come team up with the strong brand and help them continue to leapfrog competitors.

Strong brands tend to know what they are doing: they innovate and surprise, then fine-tune with the market. They do not wait for customers to tell them what to do as, often, customers tend to think incrementally and not leap to the next big bang concept.

Only one company can compete by having the lowest price.

All others need to compete with their brand. >>>

Video FAQs

Heritage Hotels in India

Besides Real Estate, the Hotel industry is also booming in India. I have always felt, Heritage Hotels are a very good way to preserve and restore old architecture, as well as leverage them. India already has a heritage of doing this in Rajasthan and many other places.

I would like to see this tradition continued elsewhere, as the travel and tourism industry in India takes off at a grand scale in the upcoming years. >>>

Story of an Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Raj Vaswani (Part 7)

Raj accepted an EIR position with Foundation Capital. Such arrangements typically have the EIRs reviewing business plans and providing their own technical expertise to any of the VC’s portfolio companies, while incubating a new startup of their own. Below, he explains some of the general terms for being an EIR, including his role with Foundation. >>>

Blue Nile’s Remedy

David Philips wrote an article on Seeking Alpha, called On Blue Nile’s Lackluster Business Strategy last week.

Those who have followed the company for a long time, know, that Blue Nile (Nasdaq: NILE) is one of those rare gems, a dotcom era survivor. In many ways, they are a posterchild of a business that exploited Context splendidly, their context being men shopping for diamond engagement rings.

If you hold them up against my Web 3.0 definition, besides Context, they do well on a number of other points. >>>

Web 3.0 and Kodak Gallery

We have discussed an overview of the photo sharing industry, Flickr and Photobucket and here we will take a look at Kodak Gallery’s offering from a Web 3.0 perspective.

In July 1999, a group of Internet veterans started Ofoto, an online photography service in Berkeley, California. Eastman Kodak acquired Ofoto in June 2001. In 2005 Ofoto was rebranded as Kodak EasyShare Gallery. Kodak EasyShare Gallery has 20 million registered users. It was ranked among The 100 Best Products of the Year by PC World in 2006.

Kodak EasyShare is very user–friendly and the uploading and editing features are very easy to use. I have personally used it for at least 6 years, and have a well organized address book of friends and family on it, that I frequently share “private” photos with, while I use Flickr to share public photos with my blog readers. >>>

Turn Logic into Magic (6)

By Dominique Trempont, Guest Author

A world that simply does not get “Magic” is high tech.

With the glaring exceptions of Apple, Logitech, Blackberry, Motorola and possibly HP recently, it is a screaming desert.

High tech does not understand brand, customer experience and design in general. Not even the beginning of a clue. It may be because it is a world of technical people, who think that good features and functions make the case for the company: Show them and they’ll come.

They don’t understand the role emotion and intuition plays in building a strong brand. >>>