Just one more thing…
March 26th, 2006
Logitech on the YouTube
The video of bowiechick and her webcam that I linked to has now been viewed over 70,000 times.
While many of the comments surrounding this video were suggesting that Logitech ought to be cutting her a cheque, I’m wondering why they aren’t making an offer for the site itself. Or for that matter, any of the other manufacturers of webcams, camcorders or portable media devices. It seems a natural fit and would give an exclusive audience of potential buyers. As we shed our roles as consumers of content to become creators of content, there’s surely a greater opportunity for those who sell the tools of content creation and the devices we use to enjoy that content. At the very least, why are they not banging down the door to become major advertisors on these sites?
Kodak, Fujifilm, Canon or one of the camera manufacturers should have been the ones to buy out Flickr. By sacrificing a month’s worth of hit and miss, scattershot ads by way of print, radio and television, they could have enjoyed a regular and ongoing relationship with their direct target market.
How many opportunities to build longterm relationships are sitting out there whilst the money continues to chase a shrinking audience that doesn’t want to talk let alone trade?
Wisdom of Crowds
An article in today’s NYTimes discusses a company, Rite-Solutions, which has adopted a prediction market as a means of soliciting and aggregating the ideas and opinions of the entire work force of the company.
“Mr. Marino, 57, president of Rite-Solutions, says the market, which began in January 2005, has already paid big dividends. One of the earliest stocks was a proposal to apply three-dimensional visualization technology, akin to video games, to help sailors and domestic-security personnel practice making decisions in emergency situations. Initially, Mr. Marino was unenthusiastic about the idea — “I’m not a joystick jockey” — but support among employees was overwhelming. Today, that product line, called Rite-View, accounts for 30 percent of total sales.”
What I wonder is what the role of the executive heirarchy is in such a situation. If the organization as a whole is capable of making decisions the president would have ordinarily vetoed, and these decisions result in significant sales growth, then what role does the president play?
Just curious.
