margin

A while ago, I expressed a wish for more graphical banking interfaces.

Say hello Buxfer.

Haven’t played with it much yet, but perhaps this is the answer for a numerically challenged individual like myself.

Apparently, Google has competition.

It’s called Cuil.

It might be a tricksy way of saying ‘cool’, but we know people often misspell things, so thinking about cuil is going to be an obstruction.

Also, anyone looking to take on Google, is going to have to look further than just search. Google’s suit of services, packaged together is becoming something that is going to be very hard to beat.

you lookin at me

Originally uploaded by v1cky

What a great shot.

Seth Godin references two depressingly good and refreshing bits today:

• When last did you actually read all of a Web site? I just did. And it took two minutes. Maybe writing for the Web and for print is not so different after all. Pure Media, in Brisbane. Nice one.
• Daniel will draw anything for $2. How clever is that. Because everyone is going to want to outsmart him.

There are no boundaries to human ingenuity.

I am writing these words on an iPod. Enough said.

Now that my MobileMe setup is working correctly I have come the conclusion that it is nice. Especially my new iDisk seems more useful than the .Mac version. And the syncing works like son of a gun. What would make it perfect is a 3G iPhone. But that is another story for another day.

I have also realised that for Apple to take it from good to the elusive great, they should add thin versions of their work and play productivity software on to the MobileMe Web interface.

Let’s face it, Google Docs have shown that  client-server computing is here to stay. Now what if Apple would allow you to run thin versions of iWork apps like Keynote, Pages and Numbers so that you can quickly edit files of those respective types on your iDisk. And for an encore, enable you to do remote presentations with Keynote – or collaborate through the cloud with other MobileMe users.

This would not only add value to the MobileMe package, but would enhance the proposition of Apple’s productivity software.

Let’s seed that in the cloud and see what happens.

Translate Server Error

This Chinese restauranteur has a blind faith in teh interwebs.

(seen on BoingBoing.net)

I was at a meeting once where Steve Jobs explained his views on branding. He said that a brand is like a bank account. You do something that makes your customer happy which lets you make a deposit into your account. When you slip up, you make a withdrawal. The aim therefore is to keep your account in the credit.

Over the last few days, Apple made some pretty big withdrawals. The fanboy blogs and Apple discussion boards are awash with users calling MobileMe (Apple’s new cloud data management software that works with iPhone and iPod touch) a “disaster”, “crap” and “not working”.

There is no doubt that Apple undestimated the immense load that would suddenly be placed on their infrastructure. While they were offering .Mac, the previous personal online services tool, they probably never had more than 30% of users logging into the online service. Now with a brand-new, and frankly, much anticipated service, they probably easily doubled that number of users – just even to come and see the new service.

It’s akin to having all your brick-and-mortar store customers show up on opening night to come see your new decor.

My own experience with the new service is that shows a lot of promise, but that it works in patches and rather intermittently. No doubt, due to problems in load-balancing.

The problem is also that Apple has been slow in releasing information. In said discussion boards, users are feeding each other’s confusion and discontent with missing scraps of information.

What can Apple do to minimise the withdrawals?

For a start, turn on the information tap. Put out a steady stream of information in a blog format and seed that information on the mis-information boards. Tell users what the system status is, and what is being done to manage the completion of the switch-over. I think most people will understand that new services will have teething problems – but for Apple to pretend that nothing is wrong, is just fueling the fire. It’s one thing to be enigmatic about product launches – quite another to shut up when the kitchen is on fire.

They should also create context.

People need to understand that the introduction of the 3G iPhone, the launch of the App Store and the roll-out of MobileMe  represents a huge collective step forward for mobile computing. Of course it won’t just materialise out of thin air without any problems.

Because when it starts working 100%, the amazing potential of new apps being launched out of the developer community on the powerful iPhone platform will dwarf the previous concept anyone had of what a mobile device could do.

And that would equate to one helluva big deposit.

From Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish, bounces this wonderful story on theatlantic.com

John McCain can’t use the internet.

To quote:

“They go on for me,” he said. “I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don’t expect to be a great communicator, I don’t expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need.”

A writer of fiction could not have set up two more diametrically opposed candidates for this November’s Showdown.

The June announcement of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that in future corporations and organisations will be able to register their own top-level domains (TLDs) will transform the way we think about Web sites.

This is because URL marketing is becoming central to campaigns where there is either a strong interactive component, or where the interactive becomes an essential link in a company’s supply/service chain (like an airline’s online booking services). This means that the URL in itself is becoming a brand or a sub-brand.

So let’s take an airline as an example. At the moment, most airlines run all their services from a central URL, typically [airline].com. Frequent flyer clubs, flight bookings, policies and marketing promotions are all leveraged from the same front page.

With the new naming system, you could have:

• flyerclub.[airline]
• bookings.[airline]
• [promotion-name].[airline]

This will free the designer of each site to make each component, smaller, but more focussed. Therefore, in future, corporate Web sites will shift away from being a department stores to a mall of boutique outlets. Each smaller offering could develop its own sub-presence and be marketed accordingly.

This will spell the end for the big, corporate Web site.