A Berry Cool Blog

As most of you know, the NBA has been on lockout for quite some time. Sabrina Rai just posted an interesting blog on Google’s ploy to use the lockout to its advantage.

It was announced that four of the NBA’s biggest stars–LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwayne Wade–are to take part in a 4-game exhibition tour dubbed the “Google+ Homecoming Tour.” Not only will Google be the main sponsor, it will also be live streaming the games via the tour’s Google+ page. The scheme is, ultimately, supposed to increase brand awareness for Google.

I find it most interesting that Google is expanding into the live-streaming video market. A news-press on CNN just revealed Netflix is selling shares and hiking up prices in order to get a little security and protection from competitors “with much deeper pockets.” Big tech players such as Amazon and Google are jumping into the streaming game and making things very difficult for Netflix. If it goes as planned, Google should recruit tonnes more Google+ users and as well become known as a strong live-streaming site.

Google+ is interesting, it’s great to see a really well-executed product in the space. There have been a lot of Facebook competitors, but Google+ is the best so far.

-Dustin Moskovitz (co-founder of Facebook)

 

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/tech/58419–google-plus-unlikely-winners-in-the-nba-lockout

Here is a link to the story which was featured on CNN.

To sum it up, an Afghan woman, Gulnaz, was brutally raped  2 years ago and as a result today she bears a child. Instead of receiving sympathy, she faces prosecution on the grounds of adultery–a 12 year sentence in Afghanistan.

Currently, she is in jail serving her sentence with her child. The only way around adultery in Afghanistan is to marry her attacker. Incredibly, Gulnaz is willing to take this action in order to “start a new life” for her daughter. Unfortunately, her situation is not as easy as that. In an interview with the man who raped her we discover that

“she would likely be killed if she gets out of jail. But he insists that it will be her family, not his, that will kill her, ‘out of shame.'”

Gulnaz’s story is just one out of thousands in Afghanistan. And while her predicament does bring some attention to women’s rights, sadly, it does not help them. Gulnaz is still left to face the reality of 12 years in jail, or to marry her attacker.

Adidas and Star Wars are not normally two things that go together—THAT IS until Adidas started its Star Wars collection.

I am an Adidas regular. From shoes to hoodies to t-shirts I love it all. A while ago when I saw Adidas’s new line of Star Wars gear I just about lost it. It’s just about the craziest thing any clothing company has ever done—and I LOVE it. By combining my favourite sports brand with one of my all time favourite movie series, Adidas has created my clothing heaven!

Why do I love Adidas so much? Apart from functional, reliable, high quality products, Adidas is so original. You can see it from its ads and its products that its originality is embodied in everything it does. For me, this is what differentiates Adidas from similar brands such as Nike.

Take these ads for example:   

Now if you didn’t enjoy those I think you are crazy. It’s just so random and refreshing and better than 90% of sportswear ads on TV. David Beckham, Snoop Dogg, and Han Solo in the Star Wars Cantina is just priceless.

I watch the Superbowl because of the advertisements. They are usually put on by beer and chip companies, and 90% of the time they are hilarious. While they try to make people laugh, above all they are still trying to sell a product. Companies such as Bud Lite and Doritos use humour to market their product because it is the easiest, effective way to engage and recruit customers.

This technique is called Content marketing. Content marketing engages potential customers with information relevant to them.  The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if a company delivers consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, the buyers will ultimately reward the company with their business and loyalty. iTunes’ Genius Bar, which enables you to create new playlists from your stored music or to discover new tunes that you’re likely to love based on a song that you have chosen from your own iTunes collection, is a strong example of Content Marketing.

More towards TV ads, I thought I’d share this one on Carlton Beer. Simply brilliant–even if you don’t appreciate a good pint!

Carlton Draught

Strong leaders can definitely make or a break a company. Apple’s loss of Steve Jobs is so massive that “[w]ith him gone, the cult may soon dissolve,” says Anver Mandelman from The Globe and Mail.

Mandelman’s reasoning comes from a past event: in 1985 Jobs was pushed out of Apple and the company nearly went belly-up. Jobs eventually returned to save the day. Now that “Apple’s sparkplug is gone” forever, Mandelman thinks, “so is the company’s rosy future.”[1]

Is it possible for Apple to actually turn into a mediocre company? It is really hard to tell at this point, and I think over the next few years it will remain that way. As some years go by, though, I think we may witness changes in Apple and its products. Steve Jobs’ knack for inspiring innovation was what lead the company to what it is today. Larry Ellison, the billionaire chief of Oracle[2], said “[t]he difference between me and Steve is that I’m willing to live with the best the world can provide. With Steve that’s not always good enough.”

For the sake of Jobs and also tech-users worldwide, I hope Apple can continue producing better than good products.

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[1] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/features/the-buy-side/apples-light-will-fade-now-that-the-jobs-spark-is-gone/article2209905/

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_Database

Suppose a tornado picks up your neighbour’s car and throws it onto your driveway. Your neighbour then sues you for stealing and crashing his car and you have to pay for damages as well as serve jail time.

Monsanto, a Missouri based agricultural company which spends around $3 million a day on product development, conducts itself in almost this exact manner; however, instead of cars being tossed around, genetically modified seeds travel various ways from testing areas into nearby farmers’ fields where they grow and spread—just as regular plants do. To ensure no one is stealing its GMOs Monsanto sends its “seed police” to neighbouring farms where tests are conducted regularly to determine whether or not the seeds belong to it. If they do, Monsanto proceeds to carry out a legal case against the farmer on the grounds of patent infringement. Absurd isn’t it?

Ethics in business are huge, and Monsanto’s number one priority should be attracting more customers and maximizing its profits. It could get rid of its patents, or else it could figure out a fool proof way of protecting its seeds. Ultimately, to attract more business and make more money it should become less intimidating and more sympathetic.

Anti-Monsanto Crop Circle

http://www.monsanto.ca/ourcommitments/Pages/FieldCheckProcedure.aspx

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805#gotopage1

http://www.actionforourplanet.com/#/top-10-unethical-companies/4545796858