A big advantage of Myspace is the word of mouth and viral nature of how information is distributed between users.
Obviously, VC Star would target 'adding' and advertising to 'friends' mainly around the surrounding areas. The Myspace page is a middle man. If they can drive traffic to their myspace page, if only for one or two eye catching stories or elements, it has the opportunity to divert traffic to the microsite.
Myspace allows users to comment on content, and this could be a great place for user input, blogs, and submissions, without affecting the credibility of the news. I think the biggest strength of presence VC Star can have on Myspace is utilizing bulletins. As long as they establish a strong base of 'friends' in the local area, bulletins can be a huge tool. As i've said before, I find out a lot of news by friends posting bulletins on big things that happen around here, relevant to me. The VC Star myspace should do exactly the same thing.
As long as they keep the bulletins to the most interesting and relevant stories, they can potentially become a big tool for driving traffic to their microsite for users who want to find out more about the stories touched on in the bulletins.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Jakobs got a point
Jakob Neilsen's article on poor web content was an interesting point of view. If asked the question i would probably have initially said that poor navigation was my biggest complaint of websites. However, content is key if your going to generate repeat visits and multiple clicks per visit.
He is absolutely right in the analysis of the business article, so many websites these days are very primitive in the quality of information they offer as well. Links should be informative as to the content they will open. Ultimately his point was that no matter how good the navigation or links etc of a site are, if the content isn't there you arent going to succeed. Sites need to be intuitive, informative, and relevant enough to be worth the short attention span web users have to look at them.
He is absolutely right in the analysis of the business article, so many websites these days are very primitive in the quality of information they offer as well. Links should be informative as to the content they will open. Ultimately his point was that no matter how good the navigation or links etc of a site are, if the content isn't there you arent going to succeed. Sites need to be intuitive, informative, and relevant enough to be worth the short attention span web users have to look at them.
music marketing is getting creative
Just thought i'd post this since it relates to the Coldplay example we looked at in class last week.
The Offspring has done something similar with their new album, releasing a free download of their new single, but only available by giving them your email address and in turn recieving a free one time download of the song.
go here if you want to check it out, i thought it was cleverly done.
www.offspring.com
The Offspring has done something similar with their new album, releasing a free download of their new single, but only available by giving them your email address and in turn recieving a free one time download of the song.
go here if you want to check it out, i thought it was cleverly done.
www.offspring.com
Monday, April 28, 2008
Call in the SWOT
Internal:
1. Strengths: Content, there is a lot of news and information that is available if you know how to look for it. Local ties, the VC Star has been around a long time and it is a name that is synonymous with providing local news. Their openness to expanding/trying new things is an advantage as it allows for growth and adaptation.
2. Weaknesses: Cluttered Page, difficult to find content, Organization, Relevance
External:
3. Opportunities: Younger Demographic, sub-brands like the microsite, SNS's, Reshaping how and what news is via internet.
4. Threats: Other news sources including papers and websites like CNN.com, Weather.com etc. SNS's also due to the word of mouth nature of news in the younger demographics.
1. Strengths: Content, there is a lot of news and information that is available if you know how to look for it. Local ties, the VC Star has been around a long time and it is a name that is synonymous with providing local news. Their openness to expanding/trying new things is an advantage as it allows for growth and adaptation.
2. Weaknesses: Cluttered Page, difficult to find content, Organization, Relevance
External:
3. Opportunities: Younger Demographic, sub-brands like the microsite, SNS's, Reshaping how and what news is via internet.
4. Threats: Other news sources including papers and websites like CNN.com, Weather.com etc. SNS's also due to the word of mouth nature of news in the younger demographics.
The VC Star needs some help
1. Based on the data for Santa Barbara City and Ventura County there is a large potential audience between the ages of 15 to 34. This is a younger demographic than their traditional site mainly caters to, and there is a large number of the population for these areas that fall into this age category.
2. The branding for this microsite is going to be a big part of developing a reader base. The brand has to be some that sets it apart from the traditional VC Star or even "News" as it is traditionally thought of for an older demographic. Youth in this society gravitate towards something edgy and cool. Kids around here flock to terms like 'underground' and other ideas that make them feel like they are onto something that not everyone knows about, or even something a little taboo or not approved of by parents etc. Some like vcrockstar.com or the VC Underground will have a lot more appeal as a brand to this younger demographic.
3. Being relevant to this target market is going to rely heavily on entertainment related news and information. The site needs to have news on the local music and art scene as well as information on entertainment like movie times, things to do, places to go, events etc. Most of the ideas we have mentioned in class would be great to include on the site. Widgets for things like the weather or surf reports as well as local sporting events would be attractive to this demographic.
4. The microsite needs to be simple, sleek, modern and edgy in appearance. The word clutter should never come to mind when looking at the site. Having highly organized and intuitive tabs is a must for keeping the large amount of information that should be available to this users from seeming overwhelming. I think websites like myspace are a great example of how to do this. Myspace has a plethora of features and information, but it is all easy to find and never overwhelming. Band Websites too are a good example of how to keep things thorough but organized at the same time. Thealchemyindex.com and foofighters.com are just a couple examples of this.
5. I think having exclusive information on local business, discounts, entertainment as well as everything mentioned above can all attract the youth market as long as its branded and marketed correctly. I think a big attractor for the youth in terms of news and information is the ability to comment on these things, give their opinions, submit their stories, blogs, pictures, videos ect. The biggest reason sites like myspace and facebook are successful is the community aspect. A news site is a news site, but a news site that involves its users is something that actually stands out. It takes the site from web 1.0 to web 2.0 and gives this younger demographic the feeling of being important and relevant to the site, as well as a reason to come back over and over.
6. As i said in class, Myspace and Facebook should be middlemen, rather than final destinations. VC Star's presence on these sites needs to serve the purpose of getting the word out, generating buzz, and updating readers on things happening on the microsite. Profiles created on these websites need to 'add' or attract as many friends/users as possible to their pages in order to direct traffic to the microsite. These profiles should be very concise, eyecatching, and constantly updated. You don't want users to spend their entire time looking at the VCStar myspace page cause sites like Myspace create a very low attention span and users are very likely to be diverted to a new friends page or band page etc. within seconds. You want people to come to the SNS page and click on the link to the microsite within a minute or two. Then once they are on the microsite hopefully it has enough information to keep them interested enough not to click back to myspace or facebook right away.
7. There are two main ways that this VC microsite can become the "to go" site for news, weather etc. First off, it must be mainly locally relevant. It would be almost impossible for a site like this to become a huge attractor for national news and events, nor should it be. People need local news and i think a lot of times it is hard to find, so this is a niche that is just waiting to be scratched.
The second way it can accomplish this goal is to be comprehensive. Be a one stop shop for all these needs. Users don't want to have to go to CNN.com and then weather.com, and then mapquest and then surfline. They want their information in one easy fluid location. If the microsite can accomplish this feel, again without being complicated or cluttered, than it will have a big advantage over these other sites.
8. The advertising potential on a site like this is huge. Local businesses would eat this opportunity up, especially if their are relevant to the target demographic. Skate and Surf shops, local clubs and concert venues, local restaurants, movie theaters and so on, all would be right at home advertising on a site that provides information directly relevant to both their business and target markets.
2. The branding for this microsite is going to be a big part of developing a reader base. The brand has to be some that sets it apart from the traditional VC Star or even "News" as it is traditionally thought of for an older demographic. Youth in this society gravitate towards something edgy and cool. Kids around here flock to terms like 'underground' and other ideas that make them feel like they are onto something that not everyone knows about, or even something a little taboo or not approved of by parents etc. Some like vcrockstar.com or the VC Underground will have a lot more appeal as a brand to this younger demographic.
3. Being relevant to this target market is going to rely heavily on entertainment related news and information. The site needs to have news on the local music and art scene as well as information on entertainment like movie times, things to do, places to go, events etc. Most of the ideas we have mentioned in class would be great to include on the site. Widgets for things like the weather or surf reports as well as local sporting events would be attractive to this demographic.
4. The microsite needs to be simple, sleek, modern and edgy in appearance. The word clutter should never come to mind when looking at the site. Having highly organized and intuitive tabs is a must for keeping the large amount of information that should be available to this users from seeming overwhelming. I think websites like myspace are a great example of how to do this. Myspace has a plethora of features and information, but it is all easy to find and never overwhelming. Band Websites too are a good example of how to keep things thorough but organized at the same time. Thealchemyindex.com and foofighters.com are just a couple examples of this.
5. I think having exclusive information on local business, discounts, entertainment as well as everything mentioned above can all attract the youth market as long as its branded and marketed correctly. I think a big attractor for the youth in terms of news and information is the ability to comment on these things, give their opinions, submit their stories, blogs, pictures, videos ect. The biggest reason sites like myspace and facebook are successful is the community aspect. A news site is a news site, but a news site that involves its users is something that actually stands out. It takes the site from web 1.0 to web 2.0 and gives this younger demographic the feeling of being important and relevant to the site, as well as a reason to come back over and over.
6. As i said in class, Myspace and Facebook should be middlemen, rather than final destinations. VC Star's presence on these sites needs to serve the purpose of getting the word out, generating buzz, and updating readers on things happening on the microsite. Profiles created on these websites need to 'add' or attract as many friends/users as possible to their pages in order to direct traffic to the microsite. These profiles should be very concise, eyecatching, and constantly updated. You don't want users to spend their entire time looking at the VCStar myspace page cause sites like Myspace create a very low attention span and users are very likely to be diverted to a new friends page or band page etc. within seconds. You want people to come to the SNS page and click on the link to the microsite within a minute or two. Then once they are on the microsite hopefully it has enough information to keep them interested enough not to click back to myspace or facebook right away.
7. There are two main ways that this VC microsite can become the "to go" site for news, weather etc. First off, it must be mainly locally relevant. It would be almost impossible for a site like this to become a huge attractor for national news and events, nor should it be. People need local news and i think a lot of times it is hard to find, so this is a niche that is just waiting to be scratched.
The second way it can accomplish this goal is to be comprehensive. Be a one stop shop for all these needs. Users don't want to have to go to CNN.com and then weather.com, and then mapquest and then surfline. They want their information in one easy fluid location. If the microsite can accomplish this feel, again without being complicated or cluttered, than it will have a big advantage over these other sites.
8. The advertising potential on a site like this is huge. Local businesses would eat this opportunity up, especially if their are relevant to the target demographic. Skate and Surf shops, local clubs and concert venues, local restaurants, movie theaters and so on, all would be right at home advertising on a site that provides information directly relevant to both their business and target markets.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Its all about branding
I'm willing to bet at least 9 out of 10 people just briefly glancing at the picture above could easily tell me what that logo stands for. Its I-Tunes.
Sure the compact disc may become for all intents and purposes obsolete some time in the near future. But do I think Apple needs to change this logo? Absolultely not. It's all about branding and Apple has that down to a science. This logo is simultaneously synonymous with both I-Tunes and Apple and is instantly recognizable. What more could you ask for out of a logo? Nothing.
You put that logo on a website as a button, and intuitively anyone, except for maybe your great grandparents, will know that if they click on it, their I-Tunes application will pop up.
My choice to keep the design of this logo in favor of revamping it isn't a cop-out, but rather a recognition that branding is one of the things that Apple does best and I think this truly is a case of 'if it aint broke dont fix it'.
I-Tunes needs to start thinking outside the box
I-Tunes Critique/Survey/Goals:
All in all, from my personal experiences to the survey responses I collected, there seems to be a general consensus that the functionality of I-Tunes is pretty solid. There are definitely a few features that they need to add, lyrics being a big one. I think some improvements could be made in the search and credits could be added to areas of production and behind the scenes work to the music, but those would all be quick easy fixes for I-Tunes.
Really what Apple needs to view I-Tunes as, and i think they are headed in that direction, is a literal "one stop shop for all your online media needs." They need to give consumers no reason to shop anywhere else for their media, and most importantly their musical longings.
The biggest problem i see with the I-Tunes music store is the fact that as my survey pointed out, almost NO ONE goes to I-Tunes to discover new music. Sure people may often times discover music elsewhere and go to I-Tunes to purchase it. However, if you eliminate that middle man you are much more likely to compete with illegal downloading because you are offering convenience to your customers. Link I-Tunes directly in customers minds as your place to constantly stay on the up and up with the latest and greatest in your musical tastes and people will flock there.
In an upcoming post i will detail an idea i have come up with to help take I-Tunes to the next level as a music provider to the masses. The idea centers on this concept of being a place where people can come not to just buy music, but experience and discover it. It isn't the only solution to the problem and in fact i think I-Tunes needs to consider giving their store a community element to it. The most popular illegal downloading sites i have seen over the years all center on having a communal feel. They create this atmosphere where you feel apart of something; you're in and underground society no matter how mainstream it might be and that kind of thing is attractive to people, especially in a younger demographic.
To summarize, I think there are a few things I-Tunes can definitely do to improve its functionality, interface, searching etc...But I personally believe the true answer to making I-Tunes "The future of music" lies in creating an atmosphere thats both constantly music-relevant, and also much more personal and connected to its users.
All in all, from my personal experiences to the survey responses I collected, there seems to be a general consensus that the functionality of I-Tunes is pretty solid. There are definitely a few features that they need to add, lyrics being a big one. I think some improvements could be made in the search and credits could be added to areas of production and behind the scenes work to the music, but those would all be quick easy fixes for I-Tunes.
Really what Apple needs to view I-Tunes as, and i think they are headed in that direction, is a literal "one stop shop for all your online media needs." They need to give consumers no reason to shop anywhere else for their media, and most importantly their musical longings.
The biggest problem i see with the I-Tunes music store is the fact that as my survey pointed out, almost NO ONE goes to I-Tunes to discover new music. Sure people may often times discover music elsewhere and go to I-Tunes to purchase it. However, if you eliminate that middle man you are much more likely to compete with illegal downloading because you are offering convenience to your customers. Link I-Tunes directly in customers minds as your place to constantly stay on the up and up with the latest and greatest in your musical tastes and people will flock there.
In an upcoming post i will detail an idea i have come up with to help take I-Tunes to the next level as a music provider to the masses. The idea centers on this concept of being a place where people can come not to just buy music, but experience and discover it. It isn't the only solution to the problem and in fact i think I-Tunes needs to consider giving their store a community element to it. The most popular illegal downloading sites i have seen over the years all center on having a communal feel. They create this atmosphere where you feel apart of something; you're in and underground society no matter how mainstream it might be and that kind of thing is attractive to people, especially in a younger demographic.
To summarize, I think there are a few things I-Tunes can definitely do to improve its functionality, interface, searching etc...But I personally believe the true answer to making I-Tunes "The future of music" lies in creating an atmosphere thats both constantly music-relevant, and also much more personal and connected to its users.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
I-Tunes Survey
Here is the link to my survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=jAuFMO7BYfTdZXdD4BY4tg_3d_3d
I collected over 4o responses, which i was surprised at how easy a feat that was. The results were very interesting, especially the fact that the majority of those surveyed do not use I-tunes as a way to "discover" new music or artists. Also the answers to the open ended question i feel gave some really important insight as to what users except or hope for out of I-Tunes.
I have a big idea for an interface/functionality related change/addition for I-Tunes, but it is something i'd rather save until our projects are fleshed out a little further.
I collected over 4o responses, which i was surprised at how easy a feat that was. The results were very interesting, especially the fact that the majority of those surveyed do not use I-tunes as a way to "discover" new music or artists. Also the answers to the open ended question i feel gave some really important insight as to what users except or hope for out of I-Tunes.
I have a big idea for an interface/functionality related change/addition for I-Tunes, but it is something i'd rather save until our projects are fleshed out a little further.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
I Tunes Could be Better
I think one feature that would really enhance the i-tunes experience is having updates from your favorite bands. I think there should be a feature where you can "subscribe" to your favorite bands and receive updates from them when new music, concert tickets, video etc... become available.
Having i-tunes run through the internet would help this, but in any case, when a band you have subscribed to, say puts concert tickets up for sale, you should recieve a news feed on your itunes or even if you have an i-phone you could have it sent directly to your phone as an alert. This makes the experience more personal and keeps you constantly connected with both i-tunes and its content.
Having i-tunes run through the internet would help this, but in any case, when a band you have subscribed to, say puts concert tickets up for sale, you should recieve a news feed on your itunes or even if you have an i-phone you could have it sent directly to your phone as an alert. This makes the experience more personal and keeps you constantly connected with both i-tunes and its content.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Ecommerce is about ease
Instead of looking at a huge ecommerce site like Amazon.com I want to look at a site on a smaller scale that larger ones such as Amazon could take notes from.
The website merchdirect.com sells merchandise for a wide array of rock bands. Their homepage is very simple and eyecatching with a lot of pictures of various new merchandise. The only drawback on their page is there is no "search" function, only a pulldown menu of all the bands they represent. I think once they grow larger it would be much more useful to implement a search function that also includes recommendations on similar bands to those you are looking at.
One feature i really like is that each bands merchandise page you go to isnt just a standard look but rather allows the bands to reflect their image by putting up different backgrounds etc...
The transactions are very simple and it allows you to buy merchandise from many different bands stores at once so that you can save on shipping.
I think bigger sites like Amazon could take a cue from merchdirect.com in eliminating a lot of the clutter on their pages and keeping the essentials of what your customers need.
The website merchdirect.com sells merchandise for a wide array of rock bands. Their homepage is very simple and eyecatching with a lot of pictures of various new merchandise. The only drawback on their page is there is no "search" function, only a pulldown menu of all the bands they represent. I think once they grow larger it would be much more useful to implement a search function that also includes recommendations on similar bands to those you are looking at.
One feature i really like is that each bands merchandise page you go to isnt just a standard look but rather allows the bands to reflect their image by putting up different backgrounds etc...
The transactions are very simple and it allows you to buy merchandise from many different bands stores at once so that you can save on shipping.
I think bigger sites like Amazon could take a cue from merchdirect.com in eliminating a lot of the clutter on their pages and keeping the essentials of what your customers need.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Starting companies with your friends is hard to do
Next Town Logo:
#2
I think the movie Startup.com was compelling as a whole. It was a rare look into a process that can be very exciting, complicated, and disastrous as the movie showed. Having considered an entrepreneurial route with friends before, it was fascinating to watch how much success and heartbreak the whole process can cause.
Particularly what i learned from the movie was that if you are going to start a business, whether with close friends or not, it is absolutely crucial to be able to separate professional realms from personal. You have to be able to be one distinct person at work and totally separate that from who you are at home.
#2
I think the movie Startup.com was compelling as a whole. It was a rare look into a process that can be very exciting, complicated, and disastrous as the movie showed. Having considered an entrepreneurial route with friends before, it was fascinating to watch how much success and heartbreak the whole process can cause.
Particularly what i learned from the movie was that if you are going to start a business, whether with close friends or not, it is absolutely crucial to be able to separate professional realms from personal. You have to be able to be one distinct person at work and totally separate that from who you are at home.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Easy money is sweet!
My buddy just told me about this site called yuwie.com Its like a myspace site but you actually get paid for being on there depending on how many referrals/profile views you get a month. Not really sure how well it works yet, but its free to sign up so its worth a shot.
If you want to check it out go to this link :) Lets make some money together! http://yuwietip.com/i?i=481243
Here's an example of how payment can work:
If you want to check it out go to this link :) Lets make some money together! http://yuwietip.com/i?i=481243
Here's an example of how payment can work:
Monday, February 4, 2008
The super bowl was funny
Being a completely unbiased observer to the game i found it very amusing to watch fans of both teams brag back and forth. No sooner did i recieve a text from my friend celebrating the patriots touchdown with a "Yeah yeah yeah!" than did the Giants strike back with the game winner.
This elicited a simple response of "what was that?" Personally i did not have a preference as to who won, but it was fun to rub it in to the Pat fans who thought they had a sure thing.
I heard a statistic the other day that said that more domestic violence occurs in America on Superbowl Sunday than any other day of the year. After watching how insane people get during the game this year made that stat easy to believe.
That being said, the commercials this year were way better than last year.
This elicited a simple response of "what was that?" Personally i did not have a preference as to who won, but it was fun to rub it in to the Pat fans who thought they had a sure thing.
I heard a statistic the other day that said that more domestic violence occurs in America on Superbowl Sunday than any other day of the year. After watching how insane people get during the game this year made that stat easy to believe.
That being said, the commercials this year were way better than last year.
Monday, January 28, 2008
There needs to be a 16GB Ipod Nano
The 8 gig just isn't enough space, and the others are too big for the gym.
On a side note, Steve Jobs is a genius. The ipod is an infinite goldmine of potential. Mr. Jobs knows that even if he has the capability of making say a 40 gig nano, he can release a 16 gig, then a year later a 32, and then finally the 40 gig ipod nano and a good amount of their customers will eat up all 3 instead of holding out for biggest one.
For every new innovation to the ipod there is 10 new accessories they can market and sell with it. It's genius, and because their marketing always stays relevant and trendy people will continue to jump the bandwagon and line apples pockets.
Finally, i would like to say i think that the Ipod Touch is a waste of money...why not just get an Iphone?
On a side note, Steve Jobs is a genius. The ipod is an infinite goldmine of potential. Mr. Jobs knows that even if he has the capability of making say a 40 gig nano, he can release a 16 gig, then a year later a 32, and then finally the 40 gig ipod nano and a good amount of their customers will eat up all 3 instead of holding out for biggest one.
For every new innovation to the ipod there is 10 new accessories they can market and sell with it. It's genius, and because their marketing always stays relevant and trendy people will continue to jump the bandwagon and line apples pockets.
Finally, i would like to say i think that the Ipod Touch is a waste of money...why not just get an Iphone?
Nick Swardson is a comic genius
If you haven't seen the movie Grandma's Boy....go see it. And if you have ever worked in a restaurant you will love this video.
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