Dragoș ROUĂ (LinkedIn) said, at a recent conference (Follow-up: Paul RENAUD and Dragoș ROUA: “Lessons in generating top line revenues and personal branding” (MBA Masterclass by Maastricht School of Management Romania, 2012.10.02): Olivian BREDA) suggested (approximate quote): Bloggers should write timeless content on their blogs. I like the thought a lot. I try to obey the rule, to some extend.
Details:
Below photos & videos.
I’ve tested some devices (smartphone / tablet). Some thoughts: The experience is much poorer than on the PC. Much. I find a good pleasure in navigating HotNews on a PC. On a tablet? Not so much. On the other hand, it is better to be entertained on a tablet / phone than on the PC. At the PC I have two options – fun / work. On a tablet / smartphone, since I’m on the road, and I can’t work on them, I have to pick between various types of fun. Thus, the experience is nicer. A physical keyboard means a lot. So does a mouse. Reading stuff on the tablet goes pretty well, as long as there’s nothing else but text (& some photos).
If I had an online store, I’d look into how the technical specifications are written. There are ways to write specifications, to make them clearer. For example, don’t write: Rez. senzor (Mp):14.2 , but, instead, write: Rezoluția senzorului: 14,2 Megapixeli. (?) Things to do: Avoid abbreviations. Instead of “MP”, write “Megapixels”, or the equivalent word (“Megapixeli”). There is a difference between writing one point two in English and in Romanian: 1.2 (En) vs. 1,2 (Ro). Use this difference. I would love to have, at mouseover, an explanation of what a certain word means. I would try to put the most important technical specifications at the top. You do the work of selecting to the user. Avoid translating, and try to explain the specifications to the user.
Two oppositve views:
According to this article:
More to the point, however, is that we can’t really trust early reviews. I always recommend caution when it comes to buying products that have just launched and I rarely take my own advice. Many devices only begin to exhibit problems after lots of use and many faulty devices pop up only after the first batch of highly scrutinized devices runs out.
[…]
In the end, the real reviews are the ones that percolate up out of the forums and blogosphere.
So, what are my thoughts on this?
Whenever I buy something online, I do some research. Things which interest me: Price (Is it a cheap product? Where can I get the product at a better price?) Price per value. Have I tested the products? Have other users tested the product? If so, what is their feed-back? Have famous reviewers (magazines & blogs) reviewed the product? What is their opinion? How does the product stand when you look at the top products sold in the category, at eMAG? What’s the product’s place on price.ro Top 10 lists? What’s the brand? Is it a reliable brand? Compatibility with other products in my house. Design. Can I buy the product without caring for warranty, or should I look for a store which gives me good warranty conditions? OK, if I have to pick, I generally pick a combination between “not to expensive” and “top sold products on eMAG”. Then I look for a cheap provider of the product (if I don’t care for the warranty that much). What’s to notice? When I buy a product, the value of the product matters also. It’s not all about the price. Price matters, but isn’t everything.
Two options: Some phone makers launch a product, give some products to beta testers, and then put the products on sale for the general public. Apple launches a product, then only makes the product available for everybody, not favoring the beta testers. Which option is better? The beta testers do spread the word for your products. Giving the product to everybody at the same time shows you value your clients as much as testers. I like Apple’s solution better.
Until recently, I tended to buy green stuff (vegetables, fruits) from the peasant’s market. After a bit of thinking, I decided: It’s always OK to buy exotic stuff from the supermarket (I used to do this, already). Buying from peasants gives you a possibility – the fruits & veggies may come from people who don’t do fertilizers. Buying from the supermarket gives you a certainty – you certainly know the origin, and you should know that they generally did things which are legal to the products. I used to see all of the advantages of a peasant’s market, and none of the supermarket’s. Now I see no reason to avoid buying Romanian grapes from Carrefour. I can buy them from peasant’s market, but I can also buy them from Carrefour. It’s about the same.
Let’s say you’re company X. You’re on Facebook. You have 150 likes, and most of your articles get no comments, but when they do, they’re from your customers you like. You’re also on Twitter, and have 50 followers, who read you, but you don’t interact much with them. Let’s say you’re company Y. On Facebook, you have 2,500 likes, but close to no one interacts with you. On Twitter you have 400 followers, but they’re very passive. Let’s say you’re company Z. You have 200 likes on Facebook, but when you post something, you have interactions. On Twitter you have 100 followers, with whom you communicate quite a lot. In my opinion, a company in X’s position wants to get to Z. More likes, more followers. That’s it. If I were X, I would strive to get to Z. Not more people who “like” you (but are passive), but more people with whom to engage. Much more difficult to view as success, but this is success, in my opinion – an active community.