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| 7 Marketing Lessons From RIM's Failures | | Friday, February 10, 2012 11:24 PM | Alex Goldfayn |
|  Alex Goldfayn is CEO of the Evangelist Marketing Institute. His new book is called Evangelist Marketing: What Apple, Amazon and Netflix Understand About Their Customers (That Your Company Probably Doesn't). You remember, don't you? The emails magically appeared while you weren't looking. That blinking light turned us into addicts. And that keyboard -- copied often, but never matched. It was the BlackBerry, the glorious, beloved, and life-changing BlackBerry. It made us feel good, and it never let us down. Long before the iPhone the took the world by storm, and before Google even dreamed about getting into the phone business, Research in Motion was on top of the consumer electronics mountain. Today, sadly, it is buried under it, and industry insiders everywhere wonder whether RIM will survive. What happened? Harmful strategy. Unforced errors. And, mostly, really bad marketing. On this, RIM is in good company in the consumer electronics industry, where so many manufacturers market poorly. But few have made so many marketing mistakes so quickly. Here are seven marketing lessons from RIM's dark and difficult journey. 1. Make Great Products Consumer electronics success begins with excellent products. The BlackBerry was once perceived as the very best smartphone -- or, at least, "emailing phone" -- available. It was exciting, emotional and it made people feel good. RIM sold BlackBerries on the strength of word-of-mouth recommendations. BlackBerries were aspirational, and people wanted to own one because friends and colleagues were so passionate about them. Now, fast-forward to today. Consider the excitement and energy around the iPhone and all those Android handsets. RIM enjoys none of that today. Not one percent of it. In part, it's because it stopped making good smartphones in favor of a poorly received tablet called the PlayBook. Successful marketing begins with having a tremendous product or service to market. Nothing happens without this. 2. Build on Strengths Instead of Improving on Weaknesses I'm constantly telling clients that they should build on strengths instead of trying to improve their weak areas. For RIM, the BlackBerry was a great strength, and they all but abandoned its development and marketing for a year or longer to create the tablet. RIM did this to try to prevent the world from passing it by in the tablet space -- which it did anyway. Tragically, as a result of diverting talent, attention, resources, investment and innovation from the BlackBerry to the Playbook, the consumer smartphone world has also passed RIM by. It doesn't matter what business you're in. If you focus on developing weaknesses, your strengths will atrophy due to neglect. If you want to market well, identify your strengths -- products, services, techniques, approaches, relationships -- and exploit them relentlessly. This technique overcomes nearly all weaknesses. 3. Gravity Pushes Backwards If you've attained a measure of success, you must continue innovating your products, services and your marketing just to maintain your position. Because you can bet the competition is innovating aggressively, and they'll pass you by in three seconds if you stop doing the things that brought you success. RIM not only stopped releasing new BlackBerries while focusing on its PlayBook, it basically stopped talking to its customers about them for an extended period. We've seen this story before with Palm and many others. Gravity pushes backwards in business. Consistent and aggressive innovation is required not only to attain success, but to maintain it. 4. Know Precisely Who Your Customer Is RIM's management famously disagreed on who their customer was. Then co-CEO Mike Lazaridis felt the customer was the corporation. Others, probably including his counterpart Jim Balsillie, wanted to aim BlackBerry products at consumers. If you don't know exactly who your customer is, it is impossible to market. Language, messaging, platforms, branding and public relations change completely depending on the customers you target. So identify your customers as precisely as possible, and aim all of your marketing efforts at them. 5. Executives Set the Marketing Tone Consider the most successful companies in consumer electronics (and two of the most successful companies in all of business): Apple and Amazon. Their chief executives set their marketing tone, and everyone follows. If you haven't seen it yet, watch this YouTube video of Steve Jobs introducing the iPad, and listen to how everybody who followed him on stage used exactly the same words. This is no accident. The next day, thousands of articles used the same words to describe the amazing, remarkable and awesome iPad. Amazon's Bezos is the same way. The best marketers have high-level executives setting the tone. They not only teach the rest of the company how to talk about their products and services, but the customers, the media, and the market itself. Obviously, RIM's co-CEOs did not set this tone. They couldn't even agree on who the customer was. 6. Avoid Unforced Errors Most marketing problems are self-made and entirely avoidable. Consider the major developments from RIM's recent past: It voluntarily stopped focusing on the BlackBerry to make a product it had no experience with. It could not identify its customer. It stopped marketing to consumers, allowing competition to roar past. Not convinced? Consider Netflix's recently concluded horrible-terrible-no-good-very-bad year: A dramatic price increase. An extended period with no action to placate angry consumers. Spinning off something called Qwikster and then spinning it back in. A remarkably poor response to it all by the CEO, Reed Hastings. None of these things happened to these companies. They did it to themselves. Don't try to outsmart yourself. Avoid unforced errors. 7. Keep Talking to Your Customers My work with clients often involves conducting qualitative conversations with their customers to deeply understand how they feel about what the company is doing and what the company is thinking about doing. If RIM had talked to its customers like this, it would have quickly learned that they probably weren't particularly interested in a BlackBerry tablet without built-in email, messaging or contacts! If you're not talking to your customers, you're just guessing from a conference room. I believe RIM has enough of a corporate and government customer base to sustain it through this most difficult period. To recover, the company must precisely identify its customer, make terrific products for it, and orient all of its marketing and messaging toward it. In the meantime, we can all learn from the mistakes that brought the BlackBerry maker to this point. You remember the Blackberry, don't you? Image courtesy of iStockphoto, franckreporter |
| Revealed: Google Wallet Security Flaw on Android Phones [VIDEO] | | Friday, February 10, 2012 7:20 PM | Kate Freeman |
|  Don't give up your wallet and plastic cards just yet -- at least, not until Google Wallet gets a security update. The Android-only service, which lets you pay with your smartphone, turns out to have a major security flaw. If someone gets hold of your phone, they can effectively hit the reset button on Google Wallet -- and get themselves sent a new PIN number. The flaw, uncovered by TheSmartphoneChamp.com, wasn't the first vulnerability uncovered in Google Wallet this week. Zvelo, a malicious software detection service, found that Google Wallet could be hacked and the owner's pin number obtained using an app. But that hack required a phone to be oonal |
| Mystery: Apple Secretive About Ongoing iTunes Store Hacks [VIDEO] | | Friday, February 10, 2012 5:04 PM | Mashable Video |
|  iTunes Store users have long reported curious problems with Apple's digital store -- mysterious purchases, gift card money disappearing, changes to account information. And recent reports have revealed that those complaints account for more than 70 pages on an Apple forum. These problems, which some sources such as The Global Mail say is the work of hackers, range from funds disappearing completely from PayPal accounts to purchases being made for songs or apps. When The Global Mail asked Apple for a statement on the issues, it responded with a blanket statement. "Apple takes precautions to safeguard your personal information against loss, theft and misuse, as well as against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. Apple online services such as the Apple Online Store and iTunes Store use Secure Sockets Layer encryption on all web pages where personal information is collected," according to The Global Mail. Check out the video above to learn more, and tell us in the comments: Have you experienced these kinds of problems with your iTunes account? |
| The White MacBook Is Dead [VIDEO] | | Friday, February 10, 2012 3:46 PM | Pete Pachal |
|  If you own a white MacBook, it's now vintage. Apple officially ended its waning existence, pronouncing the product as "End of Life." For consumers, this is kind of déjà vu. Apple actually discontinued the white MacBook from its lineup last summer, when the MacBook Air line was refreshed and took over the honors as Apple's entry-level notebook. However, the company kept the white MacBook around in its education channel, offering it to students and schools. All of that is over now. We haven't heard back from Apple as to why the white MacBook is no longer available, but MacRumors, which originally reported the missing Mac, speculates that production of the white model probably ceased some time ago, and Apple chose to slowly sell off the remaining inventory in its education channel. SEE ALSO: Gold and Diamond MacBook Pro Will Make You Apple Royalty Now if you want an Apple laptop, it's all aluminum, all the time. The move to a purely Air and Pro product line hasn't hurt Apple's bottom line, with the company posting big gains in laptop sales since the new Airs were launched in July 2011. The white MacBook was the first model in the MacBook consumer line, introduced in July 2006. Although it was preceded by the MacBook Pro a few months earlier, the white MacBook design was notable for making widescreen displays and "chiclet" style keys the norm for Apple's consumer laptops, features absent on it predecessor, the iBook. It was also the first consumer Apple notebook to use Intel processors. Do you own a white MacBook? How do you feel about Apple fully discontinuing it? Let us know in the comments. |
| Now You Can Fit the Entire Pirate Bay Site On a USB Stick [VIDEO] | | Friday, February 10, 2012 3:22 PM | Mashable Video |
|  One Pirate Bay user successfully ported the whole of The Pirate Bay onto a USB drive. This is made possible now that the site has transitioned to magnet links to save on bandwidth and likely because it leaves behind less potentially incriminating evidence on The Pirate Bay's own servers. "Somewhere on TorrentFreak, I found out a simple comment, that with the magnet links, the whole Pirate Bay fits on USB stick. So, I thought, why not test it out?" the user wrote. Check out the video above to learn more. Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Le ciel azurà |
| Why iPad Textbooks Are Still Too Expensive for Schools [INFOGRAPHIC] | | Friday, February 10, 2012 2:51 PM | Josh Catone |
|  When Apple announced its initiative to bring iPads into schools and provide textbooks in digital format, the reaction among many was enthusiastic. iPad textbooks are more interactive, they can be easily updated and they can't be easily vandalized. The price Apple announced at their launch event -- $14.99 per textbook -- also sounded like a steal, certainly far cheaper than traditional textbooks. But when you dig into the fixed costs associated with digital textbooks vs. their paper counterparts, there are some major reasons to believe that iPad textbooks might not be coming to a school near you any time soon. The biggest is that the textbooks themselves don't turn out to be cheaper. A representative of textbook publisher McGraw-Hill made clear to Mashable shortly after Apple's announcement that the functional cost of a digital textbook for a school will actually be the same as the paper version, despite the much lower sticker price. Because of the way iBooks will be linked to specific user accounts, reuse from year-to-year isn't possible; a freshman algebra textbook purchased in 2012 will need to be repurchased for new incoming freshman in 2013. If you use the standard cost and lifespan estimates for paper textbooks of $75 and five years, the digital versions end up costing the same as the paper editions. SEE ALSO: Why the iPad Won't Transform Education - Yet So if textbooks cost the same, then going with iPads actually ends up costing schools much more, because of course, the schools need to purchase iPad hardware on top of the textbook software. And that's not a one-time cost -- iPads don't last forever. Apple tends to refresh the device every year, and judging by how poorly my heavily-used, three-year-old iPhone was functioning when I finally upgraded in January, a four-year lifespan is probably a good estimate (if not a little generous). Further, iPads can and do break. Which will cost more to replace, this or this? The infographic below, created by our friends at Online Teaching Degree, details the costs associated with iPad textbooks versus traditional paper editions. Of course, it is important to note that iPad versions come with numerous tangible benefits that can't be matched by paper books -- they're interactive, they can access the web, they're better for a student's health (carrying one iPad instead of multiple heavy books) and they can be kept up-to-date in real time. However, unless Apple and textbook publishers can come up with ways to greatly reduce the cost -- via things like drastically cheaper iPad hardware, innovative trade-in programs and discount volume licensing for textbooks -- it is unlikely that many schools will be able to absorb the sizable cost increase necessary to get iPads in the classroom. Infographic via Online Teaching Degree, grab the embed here Thumbnail image via Flickr, mortsan |
| Breakthrough: Organic Computer Could Change Everything [VIDEO] | | Friday, February 10, 2012 2:21 PM | Alissa Skelton |
|  Scientists have created a biological computer capable of extracting hidden images on a DNA chip. There's nothing new about a computer reading images encrypted on DNA chips, but this is the first computer made only of biomolecules. The scientists behind the research in California and Israel say they don't expect biological computers to compete with electronic computers. The biological computer isn't pretty and doesn't look like a normal computer since it was created in a test tube by mixing chemicals in a solution that appears clear, said Ehud Keinan, the professor who led the research. Scientists don't know what impact their findings will have on technological advancement, but biomolecular computing devices could redefine what a computer is. A computer is defined "as a machine made of four components - hardware, software, input and output," Keinan said in a statement. "In contrast to electronic computers, there are computing machines in which all four components are nothing but molecules," said lead researcher Keinan. "For example, all biological systems and even entire living organisms are such computers. Every one of us is a biomolecular computer, a machine in which all four components are molecules that 'talk' to one another logically." SEE ALSO: From Fantasy to Reality: Scientists Create Time Invisibility Cloak Keinan explains how the biological molecules were created: "The molecules start interacting upon one another, and we step back and watch what happens," Keinian said. "And by tinkering with the type of DNA and enzymes in the mix, scientists can fine-tune the process to a desired result." The computing device can extract images similar to the way computer software does. The 100% biological computer may be useful for long-term storage. Watch the video to see how the biological computer works. Thumbnail photo courtesy of Flickr, Passive Income Dream.com |
| 7 Epic Videos of Gadget Destruction | | Friday, February 10, 2012 2:09 PM | Chelsea Stark |
|  On Thursday, a video of a father shooting his daughter's laptop hit a nerve across the web, gaining more than a million views in 24 hours. His fury at his daughter -- and her laptop -- had people talking. Unfortunately, destruction of the technology we love (and sometimes love to hate) has been the subject of plenty of videos and pop culture references in the past. From the frustrated protagonists in Office Space smashing a monstrous printer, or testing the "blendability" of a brand new iPhone, people like seeing fancy tech toys eviscerated. See our gallery of videos above, and tell us if we missed one of your favorites in the comments. |
| Mobile Device Detects When You're Depressed, Acts as Your Therapist | | Friday, February 10, 2012 12:16 PM | Samantha Murphy |
|  Feeling down? Scientists are working on a mobile phone that notices when you're depressed and intervenes with suggestions such as reaching out to friends. The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine center has been developing various digital technologies to treat depression and other mood disorders. The move is a part of an effort to give more immediate assistance to those in mental need and provide therapy access to a larger population. The phone called Mobilyze! is still in the works, but a small trial run has indicated that it is effective in reducing signs of depression. The device is able to read your mood thanks to sensor data that interprets your location, activity level (via an accelerometer), social context and mood, ultimately detecting signs of depression. The phone learns your typical lifestyle patterns, and notices if you are making calls and getting emails. If it thinks you are creating an isolating environment, it will suggest that you call or see friends. "By prompting people to increase behaviors that are pleasurable or rewarding, we believe that Mobilyze! will improve mood," said psychologist David Mohr, director of the new Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies and a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern's Feinberg School in a statement. "It creates a positive feedback loop. Someone is encouraged to see friends, then enjoys himself and wants to do it again. Ruminating alone at home has the opposite effect and causes a downward spiral." Northwestern is also working on other technologies to make an impact on mental health problems. "The potential to reduce or even prevent depression is enormous," Mohr said. "These new approaches could offer fundamentally new treatment options to people who are unable to access traditional services or who are uncomfortable with standard psychotherapy. They also can be offered at significantly lower costs, which make them more viable in an era of limited resources." The National Institutes of Health-funded center is also developing a virtual human therapist who will work with teens to prevent depression and a medicine bottle that reminds users to take anti-depressant medication. The medicine bottle will even inform the doctor if it thinks the dosage needs adjusting. A web-based social network is also in the works to help cancer survivors relieve sadness and stress. Do you think more technology like this should be created? |
| Reports: Google to Launch Home Entertainment System in 2012 [VIDEO] | | Friday, February 10, 2012 11:11 AM | Pete Pachal |
|  Once again, Google appears to be following Apple. Amid the continual and loudening buzz about a real Apple TV come reports that Google is planning a major home-entertainment system. While it's not solely a television, the rumored product definitely shows a mirroring of strategy: to expand its digital product offerings toward customers' living rooms. A pair of reports -- from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal -- both say Google is working on a home-entertainment system based on the Android platform. This would be in addition to its current crop of Google TV products, which are essentially media streamers that bring web content to TVs. The new device is expected to launch later this year. Said to be in the works for many years, the product is now in the prototype phase. As first reported by GigaOm, Google recently filed an BONUS: Google TV Gets Massive Android Software Update |
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