Month: November 2013

On October 22nd, 2013, RIM finally decided to launch BBM on Android and iOS, and I say this with little enthusiasm. The BBM application was long overdue, serving as a bitter reminder of what could have been if they had only launched the app years ago. Although there is a high demand for the application, I do not see a bright future for RIM. The company is trying to salvage what little remains, and is doing a terrible job might I add. Blackberry announced on Twitter that they had reached 5 million downloads after eight hours of launching (Burns, 2013). As one of many who attempted to download the application upon its release, I was wait-listed due to its excessive demand. I found this completely ridiculous, and agree with Thomas’ post about how the company is nothing but a sinking ship. BBM was once a unique application that allowed its users to send picture messages, have group conversations, show read receipts, and more. Now it is the mere equivalent to every other messaging application in the app store, having almost no ‘product differentiation’ at all. I believe that what sparked the high initial demand of the application was purely nostalgia. Users similar to myself wanted to relive their glory days in high school where they treated BBM as a form of ‘MSN’ or ‘instant messaging’ on-the-go. However, in simple terms, BBM just isn’t the same. Nice try, RIM.

References

https://blogs.ubc.ca/thomascampbell/

http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/22/bbm-finally-launches-for-android-and-ios-years-too-late/

http://media.idownloadblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/BBM-crossplatform.jpg

The widely loved internet television service, Netflix, recently announced an entirely new browsing experiences for its users. The company upgraded their interface with “better images and more integrated program information”, helping it become more like the guide channel in regular TV programming (Watercutter, 2013). Vice President of product innovation, Chris Jaffe, commented saying, “We want to think about ‘What is the future of television? Where is the future of television in an on-demand world?'” (Watercutter, 2013). Jaffe was referring to what Netflix is calling a new “TV experience” that took a year and a half for the company to develop. The new design allows users to view an entire synopsis of any of their programs, which Emmys/Oscars/etc. a show or movie has previously won, connect with friends over Facebook, and a various other features. Moreover, the company’s original programs are quite successful as well, which is a sign of how Netflix will look moving forward. The internet TV network currently has “40 million users watching a billion hours of movies and television shows per month”, thereby surpassing HBO (Watercutter, 2013). The recent upgrade to the service makes for a more attractive interface, and is much easier to navigate through compared to standard channel guides. As a dedicated Netflix user, I hope that the company’s future remains promising.

Below is a promotional video made by Netflix regarding their upgraded interface.

Introducing: A Brand New Netflix Experience On TVs

References

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/11/netflix-new-software-platform/

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/images/article_images/79420_620x345.jpg

CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk announced plans to build a pickup truck within the next five years. Although the electric car company has a dedicated target niche by selling eco-friendly luxury vehicles, profiting from a pickup truck is going to be nothing short of an uphill battle. Musk told Business Insider that the company intends to build a pickup modeled on the Ford F-150, which is America’s top-selling vehicle (Weissman, 2013). Tesla aims to have a hybrid version of the truck by 2020.

Judging from this news, one might not see an issue regarding Tesla’s upcoming plans. Unfortunately, building an electric pickup truck may not be as hard as marketing it. As of now, Tesla’s home base of California is the source of half its customers, and the largest market for electric vehicles. However, the state of Texas is home to the majority of pickup trucks. Sadly, the ratio of electric cars or hybrids that the residents of Texas buy are 4% and 6%, respectively (Weissman, 2013). If that isn’t bad enough, “Texas banned Tesla from marketing its cars in state, thanks to a statute that bars vehicle manufacturers from selling directly to customers” (Weissman, 2013). The electric car company already lost at its attempt to change the law earlier this year. Unless it finds an alternative plan soon, building a pickup truck will be nothing but a short-lived dream for Tesla.

References

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/can-tesla-sell-the-pickup-truck-of-the-future/281435/

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/10_ObGuXk6AtimMJ_1yLcQ–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTU3MA–/http://globalfinance.zenfs.com/en_us/Finance/FIN_US_AHTTP_THEATLANTIC/Can_Tesla_Sell_the_Pickup-86fe0bdebb19ec092c81244ec38a396e

As of November 14th, Pinterest released its first API for developers. This means that third-party sites will be able to embed Pinterest pins, making it easier for them to post content onto the site. The list of first partners for the service includes Zappos, alongside other big brands such as Walmart, Disney, Nestle, Random House and Hearst.

Furthermore, Pinterest noted on its blog that the documentations for multiple APIs will be released to its partners in the upcoming weeks. Top Pins API (showcase top clicked pins/top re-pins, launching on partner sites today), Domain Search (surface trending results for keywords such as “Men’s Boots”, “Thanksgiving recipes”, or “Fashion Week”), as well as Most Recent (bring a stream of your latest pins to your site) and Related Pins (suggest other pins people may like based on the item or content they’re viewing) are some of what will be included in the documents (Lunden, 2013).

What does adding an API mean for the company? Existing pins will “now be more useful to sites and brands, and also make it easier for people to post to Pinterest” (Lunden, 2013). Therefore, the company will be more efficient in keeping track of data. Pinterest states that users can now pin directly from their partnering sites, “so there’s no need to interrupt your shopping, reading, or browsing” (Lunden, 2013). This release feels like a mere tease when it comes to the company’s plans moving forward.

References

http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/14/pinterest-launches-its-first-apis-partners-with-zappos-walmart-disney-nestle-random-house-hearst-on-first-rollout/
http://pleth.com/sites/default/files/pictures/zappos-pinterest.jpg

On November 4th, the Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women, Dr. K. Kellie, revealed a government-supported project that “aims to increase economic opportunities for women in Canada” (Thomas, 2013). The project includes the Canadian federal government promising $500,000 in order to create more economic opportunities for female entrepreneurs. It aims to cut off the systematic barriers that lead to under-representation of women-led companies in Canada (Thomas, 2013). With the help of this project, the government wants to not only foster supplier diversity, but also increase corporate support of female entrepreneurs. This initiative is currently under the responsibility of WeConnect Canada, which is an organization supporting female business owners. After hearing the news about the federal government’s pledge, president of WeConnect Canada, Mary Anderson, stated, “We are very pleased to partner with the Government of Canada for this project that will help more Canadian women succeed as entrepreneurs”. Since 2007, over $46 million has been approved through the Women’s Program for initiatives that support economic security and prosperity for businesswomen (Thomas, 2013).

As an aspiring female entrepreneur, I’m pleased to read about this recent pledge by the federal government. Although some may argue that women-led businesses are treated equal to their male counterparts, I disagree. I don’t believe that men explicitly discriminate against women in the corporate world, but women do have less opportunities. For females, taking the great “entrepreneurial leap” is tough. Women are taught the importance of having children and creating a family from childhood. Therefore, women who seek to become entrepreneurs find it hard to go against conforming to the stereotypical lifestyle of what a woman should be. It isn’t easy juggling a CEO position and motherhood, and I believe that this is the main reason why females tend not to choose entrepreneurship as a career. However, with the help of this government pledge, and other initiatives that aim to foster women-led businesses, the career does have the potential to grow. To all of the aspiring female entrepreneurs across Canada: We can do it!

References

http://www.techvibes.com/blog/increase-opportunities-for-canadian-women-entrepreneurs-2013-11-04

http://www.weconnectcanada.org/

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/We_Can_Do_It!.jpg