Netizen

Apple's July

Tim Cook, Apple COO, in january 2009, after Macworld Expo keynote. Picture by Valery Marchive (LeMagIT) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I guess Apple is trying to meet demands it has never been able to meet. You have to remember Tim Cook's primary thing is that he is a supply chain guy. That is what he shone for under Jobs.

Apple suppliers see best July on record as they prepare for 'largest launch in history'

the ramp up for a series of new iOS gadgets that will combine for the 'biggest second-half product launches' in the company's history.... the largest electronics product launches of all time. ... "With the iPhone 5 launch and "iPad Mini" on the horizon, along with the potential for an Apple TV in the coming quarters, we believe Apple's stock is prepared for the next major leg up that could propel Apple to our $1,111 price target over the next year" .... also looking forward to the potential addition of China Mobile to the company's carrier lineup during the first half of 2013, "providing plenty of excitement for investors."

8% Is Statistically Significant

Spotify Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The movie people should take a look at this.

The Spotify Effect Shows Up: Streaming Music Boosts Warner’s Bottom Line

$54 million, or about 8 percent of Warner’s total revenue for the period. .... streaming revenue is growing quickly, but doesn’t seem to be cutting into traditional digital sales from outlets like iTunes .... the increase in digital sales was bigger than the decrease in physical sales ... YouTube.. a significant income source for some corners of the business

Bouncing Dead Cats

Nick Bilton: New York Times: How to Make a Dead Cat Bounce on Twitter

If you’re sharing a link on Twitter, it’s best to share it between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. East Coast time..... On Facebook .. just sharing a link is not that effective. Instead, I often post a large, alluring photo from the article and then attach a link to the image. This can generate four or five times as many clicks on an article. ..... On Google Plus, although photos work well, videos get a lot of interaction, especially YouTube clips that are playable within the feed. .... On a weekend, I will actually go to weather sites before sharing an article. If it’s raining, most people are cooped up inside, so I can post away. If it’s sunny, people are enjoying the day at the beach or park — and not looking at their smartphones in the glaring sun, or at least we can hope so — and I will wait until later in the evening to share. .... Getting on the home page of Reddit is like winning the links lottery. .... In stock market investing, a dead cat bounce is often the last fleeting bump when suckers buy, before a stock hits bottom for good. .... By Monday morning, when the sharing began to slow on Twitter, I shared it again there. That acted as a trampoline for the story and sent it back into the Twittersphere. It was temporarily visible for people who had not seen it on Sunday

It is amazing how even an established writer like Nick Bilton diligently shares and promotes what he writes. Building is not enough. You also got to sell. It is like the tree that fell in the forest. Did you hear it?

Zynga Morale

I'd not be surprised if Facebook has a similar story, although Zynga has taken a bigger beating. But this is not the end of the road. I think Zynga could reinvent itself. Markets go up, markets go down, markets go up.

DowninthedumpsVille: Morale Sinking at Zynga Along With Stock Drop

a culture driven by analytics, where every move is recorded, measured and evaluated ... ..... it appears the long hours and taxing work environment is causing the inevitable — some are deciding to leave, especially as shares trade 70 percent lower than the company’s public offering. .... a “flood of resumes” in recent weeks from Zynga developers looking for jobs or trying to raise capital. .... described morale as grim, while another characterized the feeling as “anxious.” ..... During the company’s 16th all-hands quarterly meeting today, Pincus reportedly talked about the company’s future and fielded tough questions from the crowd as he usually does .... On Wednesday, Zynga’s COO John Schappert resigned after only 15 months on the job. .... two weeks ago, Zynga reported a second-quarter earnings flop that led to its stock sliding by 40 percent...... it took only three months for there to be at least three notable departures from Facebook, the social network that it works with very closely and which is also suffering from post-IPO stock woes.... a majority of the 3,000-plus employees, many are also short timers .... Without a long history at the company, it may be hard for some to feel nostalgic about staying during difficult times. .... Zynga said 80 percent of the staff has been there less than two years .... many employees have joined the company through a dozen or more acquisitions. .... tries to figure out how to create a sense of dedication among its employees .... some employees think it might be the time to pull out the checkbook and spend some of the $1 billion it raised in its IPO on retention bonuses

One lesson though is analytics is not everything.

This is about cold, hard cash. Wall Street looks at cold, hard cash.

I can't say the two - Facebook and Zynga - went IPO too early. They did not.

In Touch With His Inner Steve Jobs?

Mark Pincus cops to being hard-driving but insists he’s a nice guy. .... Tech entrepreneurs are happy to be compared to Steve Jobs, as long as it refers to visionary leadership and not overly demanding, egomaniacal perfectionism. .... his micro-managing tendencies stem from his passion for what his company does

Does Zynga Need a New Game Plan?

For Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, the disappointing earnings confirm what he already knew: His company needs to move aggressively beyond Facebook into mobile gaming and other horizons. To that end, Pincus announced Wednesday the company plans to get into real-money gambling games in 2013. And as he told Slate’s Jacob Weisberg in a recent interview, the future success of social gaming depends on a rather simple principle: lowering the barriers to play

Betting Long on Mark Zuckerberg

Pincus still sees Zuckerberg as a great partner and “a visionary guy who wants to change the world.”

Poking With a Purpose

Pincus is betting on is that gaming will become more social, with increasing numbers of people drawn into competition via their various social networks..... Despite recent investor doubts, Pincus’ social gaming company has more than 300 million monthly active users of games ranging from Farmville to Hidden Chronicles to Zynga Poker. .... Pincus’ personal favorite is Scramble With Friends, which he plays regularly against LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. And Pincus tells Slate’s Jacob Weisberg that games like these are perfect for a world increasingly defined by multitasking, because they are “snacks you can consume in a couple of minutes.”