On The Margins

Thursday May 07, 2009

[ Papers ] Puzzling on the Value of Bundles

Measuring values of a product bundle, particularly when the bundle contains non-equal or potentially complementary lots, has puzzled economists and business strategists alike. I don't claim to have solved the puzzle but I have puzzled on some other aspects of the problem in a short three page briefing I wrote a few weekends ago.  

2009-05-07 14:35:51.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
bundles business economics offering products strategy subscriptions

Wednesday April 22, 2009

[ Technology ] Another Pluggable Storage Engine for MySQL

Kazuho Oku of Cybozu Labs, Inc., a community contributor to MySQL and SCA signatory, gives a talk on Q4M, a message queue stroage engine for MySQL.

2009-04-22 12:17:45.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
contribution contributor databases developer message messaging middleware mysql products programming queue storage

Wednesday July 16, 2008

[ Business ] A Brand

"Brand" comes from old Germanic or Norse word meaning "burn." Animals are branded, demonstrating their ownership, and a commercial brand leaves a lasting impression in a target's mind. In commerce, building a brand value creates a specific investment that cannot be portable easily. Java was separate from SunSoft. Mac brand was not taken to iPod, but the Apple brand infuses both. 

A brand is a promise of satisfaction. It is a sign, a metaphor operating as an unwritten contract between a manufacturer and a consumer, a seller and a buyer, a performer and an audience, an environment and those who inhabit it, an event and those who experience it.

The consumer, buyer, audience, inhabitant, and "experiencer" (all customers) form their own feelings about what a brand means; but they can be influenced—more than most realize—by the advertising and publicity of the manufaacturer, seller, performer, environment, or event (all producers).

Branding is the process of continuous struggle between producers and customers to define that promise and meaning. To paraphrase Karl Marx, people make their own decisions about who to be, how to live, and what to buy, but under circumstances shaped by brands' advertising, marketing, and publicity.

Matthew Healy, What is Branding? (2008)

2008-07-16 11:46:13.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
branding brands products

Monday March 10, 2008

[ Business ] Systems: Exploration vs. Exploitation

When it comes to learning, systems and resources, James March has summarized it all:

Maintaining an appropriate balance between exploration and exploitation is a primary factor in system survival and prosperity. 

2008-03-10 08:11:07.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
innovation investment priorities products resources strategy technology

Tuesday January 09, 2007

[ Technology ] Electronic Apple

Is Apple's move to consumer electronics complete? Has it now learned to leverage a single successful product to create and dominate a whole market segment? There are already those planning the purchase of the newest i<something>: iPhone. The fans are on the move.

2007-01-09 17:32:45.0 -- ; Permalink ; Trackback.
apple consumers electronics mobile phones products