Business & Strategy
Corporations (as well as schools) have too long shunned games as learning tools.
A recent family vacation presented me with a great allegory of business life.
Our friends at boxee just closed their Series A funding round. This is an accomplishment in any market at any time. In the current market, it's a clear sign that boxee is on to something powerful.
I will tell you without hesitation that interactive TV (iTV) is here today - we've just been looking at the wrong boxes.
Many of today's top companies are so fixated on their competition that they forget to focus on their single most important competitive advantage: their strengths.
If at the heart of design is the endeavor to solve a problem, then in theory, there are as many opportunities for design as there problems to solve.
Americans love their cars. So what would it take for people to actually get rid of their vehicle?
In addition to great picture and sound the next generation of Blu-ray disc players have something that is just starting to come into focus: network connectivitiy.
All signs are pointing in the same direction, and that direction is towards a substantial spending shift in advertising towards interactive media.
"I don't remember being forced to accept compromises, but I've willingly accepted constraints." - Charles Eames
What makes brand extensions into virtual worlds a success or a failure? Part 1: less successful examples of consumer brands.
A start-up (read: you) can't afford to wait until after its product launches to get to know its customers.
While distribution platforms are getting morphed by games consoles, the games themselves are becoming a source of programming for TV.
How can I tell if someone is going to be a good strategic thinker?
Make sure you understand your user (or in the case of brand, your customer). This means listening to them in order to learn their motivations and desires.
Your brand is your reputation. If you are in business, you have a customer, who has an opinion.
In our current world of un-conferences, regular meet-ups, and foo-camps, I easily forget about how unidirectional traditional conferences can be.
Among my favorite things is getting to see good people win. It was an absolutely wonderful experience to be with Avner and Dave from boxee earlier this week at CES iStage.
Games are changing the TV landscape by altering distribution platforms, content programming and, finally, production environments.
It may sound entirely self-evident - "focus on the brand, stupid" - but I'm increasingly thinking that proposition is flawed, or at least in need of some retrofit.
