In the blog post “Food or Facebook? The Philanthropic Face-Off”  on LinkedIn by David Sable, the possibility of technology being able to save the world is discussed. David writes that although Mark Zuckerberg believe that building a consortium of tech companies will effectively allow everyone around the world get easy access to the internet and help narrow the disparity of the rich and poor,  Bill Gates doesn’t think it is a well-thought idea. He doubts that if it is meaningful for poor people to use internet technology when they can not even afford food and medical treatment.

David, however, tries to integrate Mark’s and Bill’s ideas. He states that social service infrastructure can be provided via apps so that people can get access to medical, agricultural and educational resources. Although I certainly agree with David’s idea, I think there are some issues that should be considered. Firstly, there are areas around the world where people can’t even get access to the internet, let alone apps and websites that provide useful information. Secondly, in countries like North Korea, the government’s surveillance power is so strong that its citizens can hardly be exposed to internet.

For sure, the above poverty and political issues will require the effort of the whole society to solve. Technology, especially the internet, might not be able to save the world now, but it will definitely add petrol into the society’s engine for growth. And maybe the first step for the consortium of tech companies would be to help build internet connection in poor areas.

Reference:

Sable, David. “Food or Facebook? The Great Philanthropic Face-Off.” World’s Largest Professional Network. LinkedIn, 16 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.

Choney, Suzanne. “North Korea’s Internet? What Internet? For Most, Online Access Doesn’t Exist.” Nbc News Technology. NBC News, 29 Mar. 2013. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.

In a blog posted by Berfu Apaydin,  the importance of humor in advertisement is emphasized, and is backing up by an example of  the video ad “Baby&Me” of a mineral water company.  I think that the author has made a good point by saying that ” Firms need to be customer-orientated while they are marketing their products. ” Surely, if companies use humor in ads to appeal to customers, the value propositions and points of difference of a particular product will be delivered to potential buyers and investors in a more efficient way.

Berfu also states that it is hard to make sure that the sense of humor is what the customers enjoy. I believe that it is important for companies to know their customers and target a specific segment of customers with their ads rather than try to appeal to all and have no focus. However, in the example given by Berfu, the mineral water company called Evian has broad customer base, so it has to come up with a kind of humor that appeals to as many people as it can. As a result, it used “babies”, which most people find cute, and most people will enjoy seeing an ad like this.

Funny ads can make customers remember the brand, and hopefully can also make them choose the product in supermarkets, where they will recall “Oh, this is the brand with the lovely ads!”

Reference:

Apaydin, Berfu. “Berfu’s Blog.” Funny Ads Make Brands Stronger. N.p., 08 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

Mckee, Steve. “Funny Ads Make Brands Stronger. No Joke.” Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg.com, 03 June 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

Yesterday, I took part in an event called the Impact Lab which was hosted by UBC Global Lounge. There, Vanessa Chase, the founder of  Philanthropy for All, focused her speech on the importance of storytelling in terms of crowdfunding. After this event, I feel that storytelling is truly about communicating value propositions to your target audience sincerely and dramatically. It is about drawing a beautiful and genuine picture of the future of your business in your audience’s mind. When people can relate to your story and see the value of your business, they will do things to help.

A case study posted on the Globe and Mail can better explain the importance of storytelling. In this case, Energy Aware Technology Inc., a small business located in BC, has reached its 30-day fundraising goal for its new product “Neurio” in just two weeks using crowdfunding on Kickstarter. It is important to note that usually half of the projects on Kickstarter will not get funded. However, Energy Aware successfully “beat the Kickstarter odds” by telling good stories—before their Kickstarter launch, they shared their brand story through niche bloggers, and made sure that “the timing of these outreach activities was meticulously planned to achieve maximum impact”.  Good storytelling has  helped Neurio market its value, and has become a catalyst for Energy Aware’s fund raising.

Reference:

Cubbon, Paul. “How a B.C. Tech Company Beat the Kickstarter OddsAdd to …” The Globe and Mail. N.p., 08 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

Chase, Vanessa. “What Is a Story and Why You Need To Tell Them.” Philanthropy For All. N.p., 30 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

Chase, Vanessa. “Meet Vanessa Chase.” Philanthropy For All. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

A blog called “Confessions of a Lululemon Addict” revealed that employees in a store in Massachusetts responded to the complaints from customers on the sheerness of yoga pants by wearing underwear on top. Before the company could recover from the sheer yoga pants scandal this spring, Lululemon  Athletica Inc.  is raising eyebrows again: according to today’s CTV News, Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon, says that  the piling of some pants is not due to quality issues, but because  “some women’s bodies just actually don’t work for it”.

From bottom employees to top management people, it seems that few have shown their determination to maintain good customer relationships. These incidents will turn some of the loyal customers to anti-fans and will certainly damage Lululemon’s brand image. The company could have done better by showing concerns about customers’ feelings and make sure that every employee in the company is prepared to address the issues properly. Chip could have been more willing to take responsibilities, or at least be careful of his words in public. And the company can name the sheer pants “Sheer Nirvana” to form a new product line, where pants are designed to make women look more sexy. This way, the threat could be turned to an opportunity, and Lululemon would be better-off.

Reference:

“Confessions of a Lululemon Addict.” : Lululemon Mocks Customers. N.p., 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

Mulholland, Angela. “Lululemon Founder Says Yoga Pants Don’t Work with ‘some Women’s Bodies'” CTVNews. N.p., 07 Nov. 2013. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.

Roose, Kevin, and Charlotte Cowles. “New York Magazine.” Daily Intelligencer. N.p., 21 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.

In a blog posted by Clement Kong, the main issue regarding the new phones released by Apple last months (Iphone 5S and 5C) is the lack of point of difference (POD) compared to previous Iphones and phones from other competitors. The author argued that only a few new features that are not so attractive can be found—new colors, polycarbonate phone cases, new fingerprint sensors and A7 processors.  This lack of POD, along with increasingly fierce competition within the industry, has posed a threat on Apple’s market share.

Apple has certainly disappointed many of its fans who have been waiting for the release date, expecting something different and creative from Iphone 5S and 5C.  As for screen size, Apple is trying hard to make itself special by offering elongated phones rather than altering width.  But though it has differentiated itself from its competitors, the POD compared with its previous phones has been ignored. Improving POD is really a big deal in the smart phone industry, and those who grasp its importance is likely to gain competitive advantage. For instance, Samsung has launched smartphones with curved display screens in South Korea according to BBC news. This shows Samsung’s ambition to further improve its POD which contributes to its domestic market share. Apple should certainly watch out and learn from this.

Reference:

Kong, Clement. “Clement Kong’s Blog.” Clement Kongs Blog. UBC Blog, 06 Oct. 2013. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

Kelion, Leo. “Samsung Launches Smartphone with Curved Display Screen.” BBC News. BBC, 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.