February 7, 2012 by Robert
Streets Ahead by kinjamin is a great artist fan mash up of two great things: Street Fighter and Community. If you haven’t been watching Community, I’d suggest catching up on Netflix. It’s very similar to Arrested Development and I fear it will have the same fate (being cancelled). It’s definitely one of those shows you have to watch from the beginning to get all the inside jokes.
Some more from Kinjamin:
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January 29, 2012 by Robert
On topic of businesses failing to adapt, NY Times has an interesting read about Barnes and Noble, and how they developed (and continue to develop) the Nook.
“They were all wondering what I was up to,” Mr. Gopalakrishnan, 46, said. “I’m a technology guy — why I was working for a retail company? They thought I was nuts. There were a lot of e-mails that said, ‘Barnes & Noble?!’ ”
What I find most interesting about this article is that publishers really want B&N to succeed. To me, it seems a little bit odd that a publisher is clinging on to B&N, when really, they should be looking at their own business model. It’s clear that publishers no longer offer value (and increasingly less so) and if they don’t adapt, they’re going the way of Borders. I’d like to see if the publishing industry as a whole can still survive and adapt. Dinosaurs are not the future.
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January 24, 2012 by Robert
The Economist outlines why FujiFilm is still thriving and why Kodak is not.
Then came digital photography to replace film, and smartphones to replace cameras. Kodak’s revenues peaked at nearly $16 billion in 1996 and its profits at $2.5 billion in 1999. The consensus forecast by analysts is that its revenues in 2011 were $6.2 billion. It recently reported a third-quarter loss of $222m, the ninth quarterly loss in three years. In 1988, Kodak employed over 145,000 workers worldwide; at the last count, barely one-tenth as many. Its share price has fallen by nearly 90% in the past year (see chart).
It’s clear that Kodak did try to innovate, but again was short sighted and just couldn’t innovate enough or in the right direction. There’s always room for innovation and dinosaurs are not the future.
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December 4, 2011 by Robert
LA time covers the history of Kodak and it’s slow death. Perhaps even bankruptcy in the near future.
But its executives couldn’t foresee a future in which film had no role in image capture at all, nor come to grips with the lower profit margins or faster competitive pace of high-tech industries. At one meeting with Microsoft‘s Bill Gates to discuss integrating Kodak’s photo CDs with Windows, Kodak Chairman Kay Whitmore fell asleep.
I find it astonishing that such a large corporation could be so short sighted. On one hand it’s sad to see such an old company that brought joyful memories disappear, but on the other hand, I welcome innovation. I guess it’s true, Dinosaurs Are Not the Future.
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December 2, 2011 by Robert
From NYMag, here’s a great story of a hustler (and I mean that in a positive way). Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
Is this a way for everyone to make money? No. But this guy has found his niche and perfected his sales pitch. What a great story!
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September 20, 2011 by Robert
Wiisa takes Polaroids of nomads in Mongolia and let’s them keep them.
while researching mongolia prior to our trip, we found out that most of the natives love having photographs taken of themselves. most nomadic mongolians have never had a polaroid to keep of themselves before, so we decided to bring a bunch of polaroid film along on our motorcycles so each local we met along the way could have a picture to keep of him or herself!
I alone probably have 6 or 7 devices in my house that can take pictures (digital camera, digital slr, web cams, phone cameras, etc.) and it’s very humbling to see the reaction of the people in the video.
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September 19, 2011 by Robert
For Lucas Jatoba‘s 30th birthday, he decided to give away 30 gifts to 30 random people in Sydney. Below is his video:
Not only is this video really well made, but what a great idea. He also has a “making of” video on his Vimeo account which shows some of the gifts people reciprocated.
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September 13, 2011 by Robert
Some music for your Monday from Ellie Goulding. I’ve never heard of her until I saw her on SNL. Reminds me a bit of Emily Haines, but mostly probably because she’s a singer and female (which I suppose isn’t a good reason).
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August 24, 2011 by Robert
Fortune has a great story on Jim Skinner, CEO of McDonald’s
“Some people have an ego that makes them need to be seen even if it’s not necessary,” says Hennequin, now CEO of hotel operator Accor. “Jim is not like that.” Several former executives described Skinner as having no tolerance for bureaucratic double talk, one noting that he has a “good crap detector.”
I’m impressed by his leadership skills and energy at the age of 66! What I love about Jim’s story is that he didn’t try to rebrand/revolutionize McDees when he became CEO. So often you see newly appointed CEOs make radical changes solely for ego and to make a name for themselves (and often to the company’s detriment).
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August 18, 2011 by Robert
Naomi Klein gives her take on the looting in England and the political implication and drivers.
At the time, many of us pointed out that the pricey new arsenal that the police had acquired – water cannons, sound cannons, teargas and rubber bullets – wasn’t just meant for the protesters in the streets. Its long-term use would be to discipline the poor, who in the new era of austerity would have dangerously little to lose.
Naomi is a fascinating person and I really enjoy her critical analysis of turmoil. I highly recommend reading her stuff.
Some of her books:
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs
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