Marvel Expanding its T.V. Options

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It seems that after the success of its movie ventures, Marvel has decided to make an attempt at producing shows.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2013/11/07/marvels-scope-is-far-larger-than-anyone-realized/

A while back in my Creative Writing class, we were talking about trans-media and storytelling that exists in multiple mediums. The thing about trans-media is that it’s very profitable. And Marvel has realized that.

The company’s growth will be reliant upon taking existing characters and putting them in as many mediums as possible. They’ve done this for existing characters like Spiderman. There are Spiderman comic books, movies, video games, the list goes on.

What Marvel is realizing now is that while they have characters that have an appeal to a wider range of demographics, they’re not going to be producing stuff for lesser known superheroes with the same fervor as for a hero like Thor.

For characters like Daredevil, they realize they need to start smaller. They made a movie for Daredevil in the early 2000’s and it didn’t perform well at the box office because Daredevil wasn’t a well known character.

Remember this movie? No? Good.

But Marvel needs to expand its universe in order to profit, and Netflix has provided them with the perfect opportunity to start on a smaller scale for smaller characters.

 

Netflix’s T.V. Revivals

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The following article talks about how Netflix is acquiring discontinued T.V. shows in order to attract more subscribers. http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillbarr/2013/11/15/is-netflix-playing-a-tv-game-of-moneyball/

The Killing is the most recent example of Netflix’s strategy of restarting discontinued T.V. series. The company did the same thing with Arrested Development earlier this year. I had never even heard of Arrested Development until Netflix announced they were producing new episodes. And from what I saw, people were excited for it. Even my mother who had never seen the show.

What Netflix has discovered is a cost effective way of securing new subscribers for their online streaming service. The fans of cult T.V. hits like The Killing and Arrested Development wish to see these shows continued. So Netflix acquires the rights to produce more episodes and only airs them on Netflix. And according to the article, it seems to be an effective way of attracting new subscribers.

I bring this up because of the class activity we had a while back, in which we were to advise Netflix on what their strategy would be to grow. The students acting as the board of directors disregarded the group pushing for producing original content, because they thought it was too risky.

It seems the actual Netflix thought otherwise. And it seems they thought right.

Console Wars and Consumer Decisions

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A blog or two ago, I mentioned that I was very much into video game industry news when I was younger. Since I have no stake in the upcoming release of the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, I thought I’d take a look at the “console wars” phenomenon. Inspired by the following article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/11/16/xbox-one-vs-ps4-the-console-wars-are-just-getting-started/.

Photo Courtesy of Forbes

Some have said that the fact that different game consoles exist is rather pointless when looking at the video game industry as a whole. After all, new consoles are brought around every few years when a substantial change in technology necessitates the need for systems that can run more tech-demanding games. Every company in this industry is going to take advantage of the same technology, which more often than not is produced by third parties. If every new console is similar in terms of tech, why do we still have different consoles?

Because the manufacturers (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo) each want to make a profit for themselves through selling their own individual console. Methinks the console war phenomenon is allowing this to continue. The consumers are allowing this inefficient system of enjoying games to continue by fervently declaring themselves to one console in an effort to convince themselves they have purchased the best product.

So in short the console wars are an example of the consumer allowing an inefficient product market to continue.

 

San Francisco’s Mayor on his Relationship With Tech Companies

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The 43rd Mayor of San Francisco Ed Lee, recently did an interview with the New York Times. The interview covered a variety of topics such as his activism history, being invited to the White House, but also the relationship with tech companies in San Francisco.

Link to the Interview: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/magazine/mayor-ed-lee-tech-workers-are-not-robots.html?ref=business

Mayor Ed Lee, courtesy of The New York Times

The idea of shared value comes to mind when reading this interview. The concept of shared value is a company operating under policies that provide benefits to itself and the community in which it is located.

Mayor Lee seems to recognize that concept in the policies he has undertaken as mayor. A big part of his career so far has been keeping companies like Twitter in San Francisco. He says in the article that for every tech worker in SF, 5 other jobs are created or sustained. While it may not be an example of a company actively making shared value policies, Lee uses the study as an example of inherent shared value. Not only that, but Lee offered a tax break for certain parts of the city so twitter could grow without being punished. That in turn, has lead people to develop in “seedy” areas of the city.

Twitter HQ in San Francisco

The shared value in this case would be the value created from keeping a company like Twitter in San Francisco.

My Experience With Stocks

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Back in the distopia that modern historians refer to as 2008, I went through my Bar Mitzvah. I had finally been initiated into my people’s definition of adulthood at the wizened age of 13 (lol). I received numerous gifts that day,including shares in the company Electronic Arts from my Grandma

I was very much into what was happening in the gaming industry back then (I still am to some extent). and I suppose the best way to get me interested in business was to find where it would overlap with my other passions. At the time, EA seemed like a fairly well-managed, reliable video game publisher.

Boy did that change.

Me after learning of EA’s standing with consumers

On April 4th last year, EA was named The Consumerist‘s “Worst Company in America”. It wasn’t just last year either. There’s been a growing rage from the hardcore gaming community towards EA that started in 2008. It was only recently that EA;s price per share got anywhere reasonably close to the 2008 share price. So naturally I sold my shares ASAP.

So what did I learn from this? Well that there’s a whole bunch of things you need to look at when deciding to buy stocks, such as price, company growth, etc. But one of the most important things is to find out how the company stands in the eyes of the public.

A Market for Low Testosterone

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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/us/a-push-to-sell-testosterone-gels-troubles-doctors.html?ref=business

The article above discusses how drug manufacturers are pushing products aimed at men with “low testosterone”, despite the questionable claim that this is actually a problem among middle-aged men.

The companies that manufacture this product have two possible strategies. Manufacture this product for a short period, until consumers catch on and stop buying, or keep selling this product like it has a viable market so people begin believing it. Either way,” Low-T gel” is ethically questionable as a product.

The medical professionals quoted in the article are in agreement that there is no psychological or biological norm among middle age men for testosterone levels. They also agree that the mentioned health problems are not a result of low testosterone. So the drug companies who manufacture t-gel are not curing symptoms with their product, which in my opinion is the same as lying.

I feel that the gels are unethical products to sell, and I hope consumers realize this. The companies have already made a profit on selling this, so if I were them I would take the money and run. Stop producing the product before you get a misinformation lawsuit on your hands. But fortunately I’m not a scumbag, so I don’t have to make that decision.

Cambodia’s Sugar Industry

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Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/business/international/in-cambodias-cane-fields.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&ref=business

This article reminds me of a class I took last year in high school, “International Studies”, where we covered a variety of international topics. One of the first topics was Globalization, and the NY Times article reminded me a lot of the positives and negatives of globalization. Most of the buyers of Cambodian sugar look to be 1st world countries.

A business like sugar production, which benefits immensely from modern machinery and factory line techniques, can provide economic benefits to the country as a whole. Some of those benefits are outlined in the article, such as increasing the minimum wage, and adding roads and schools. Most economists, I feel, would argue that the net good for the country is worth whatever small misdeeds occur. And for me, its hard to argue with the “greater good” ideology.

But its a slippery slope. If you allow one misdeed to happen, how many do you ignore before it becomes a legitimate problem? It would have been better if those farmers were never displaced, but then there’s allegations that locals are denied things that these migrants have access to, like clean water.

A business needs to make sure that anyone negatively affected by its practices is re-compensated as much as possible. Otherwise, the business will be put in a dangerous spot when buyers from 1st world countries decide to go with another sugar, because its perceived to be a more ethical company.

Business Ethics Post

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The article linked below asks the question “Does India have business ethics?”

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/india-lacks-business-ethics/article5093688.ece

One of my eventual goals in life is to travel the world, and India is on the list of countries I mean to go to. Or at least it was, after reading this I’m not so sure. One of the points the author raises is that India’s tourism industry has been hurt because of poor customer service. That’s really bad in an industry where customer service is one of the most, if not the most, important things.

The interesting thing about this article is the proposal that a moral degeneration in Indian society has lead to disrespect in business life. I’ve heard people cry that there’s a corruption of moral’s in the U.S., but I can’t really point to an instance where I’ve talked to someone rude who worked in retail, or customer service. In the United States there’s an expectation that when you go to a job, you’re supposed to act professional. I’ve never heard anyone question that before, not when I worked as a teaching assistant or when I worked in radio. It seems fairly simple.

I think that Indian management should be clearer on what is expected of their employees, and that India’s government needs to clamp down on bad business practices. And I agree with the article on that the business culture of India needs a major reevaluation.

Microsoft abandons Web Development

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I was originally going to write about Microsoft’s buyout of Nokia, but I found this much more interesting.

http://designisphilosophy.com/microsoft-expression-web/microsoft-abandons-expression-web-and-front-end-web-development/#.UNPZ9iGO448.facebook

I agree with the author’s sentiment that this is plain idiocy and Microsoft’s part. Why would MS assume that they will be able to get by on Windows 8 apps alone? Most of the world still operates on Windows XP, and according to the article below, Windows 7 is still selling better than 8 by leaps and bounds. You know, the operating system that DOESN’T use gimmicky apps for internet browsing?

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/09/01/windows-8-rockets-to-7-41-market-share-as-windows-xp-falls-below-35-mark/

This is a bad business decision for Microsoft. They put too much faith that Windows 8 would sell like hotcakes, disregarding the fact that most people are happy with former Windows OS’s that use traditional internet browsers. There was no reason for them to kill off their web development team, when according to the original author’s article Expression Web was a fantastic program. What MS should have done is actually market the product. I’ve talked to so many tech savvy friends who never heard of Expression Web until I told them. If the software had sold more, then Microsoft would have had a huge foot in the door of Web Development, because they had a well designed program in a growing market.

Technology in the classroom (COMM 101)

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Based on my own experiences in high school, I feel that often technology such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc…usually distract more from learning that help. It’s an idea that’s also present in some of my current classes such as COMM 292. That being said, I think it’s integrated really well into COMM 101. Because so much of the class is discussion, I feel motivated to actually use the laptop for research purposes. On Thursday’s class, my partner and I looked up info on Russia’s new Vodka rules which was helpful because I hadn’t read that particular story ahead of time. Thanks to that we were able to have a discussion.

I also feel that business students learn primarily from example. If we want a look at successful business practices, then looking at a real world example is much more helpful than looking at the practices as theoretic. The available technology helps us quickly look up examples to help better understand the concepts in class. If any students are looking to be entrepreneurs, it will be helpful to remember where other companies have had success. It’s also a lot more engaging to be looking up info on a laptop than reading it out of a textbook.

I’m really looking forward to the next class.