TODAY'S COCKTAIL OF TECH STARTUP STORIES:
The latest cocktail of emerging technology news, people, startups, products, and innovations for the true tech enthusiast.
| Yahoo! Japan Integrates First Third Party Service: Kiip |
|
Today, Yahoo Japan announced a new partnership with Kiip, heralding the first time they have integrated a third-party service into their app. Kiip is designed to deliver real world rewards to app users for completing tasks and reaching in-app milestones. Kiip, one of the world's 50 most innovative companies of 2013, offers Yahoo Japan more than just an achievement engine. The largest shared loyalty program in Japan is the T-Point, and by adopting Kiip's technologies Yahoo Japan will be able to bring it from web fully onto mobile platforms. The functionality translates into Yahoo Japan's platform via achievement ads. When users perform certain activities and actions, they are thus rewarded with T-Points. And the beauty of the T-Point is that it has real world value. T-Points can be exchanged with participating businesses that are affiliated with the T-Point alliance, a network of over 100 companies throughout Japan. Alone, Kiip taps 75 million monthly users across 1,100 Android and iOS apps, and it is used by over 115 consumer brands like Amazon, Hasbro, Verizon, and 7-Eleven. "This showcases Kiip’s continued trek in our diversity of moments throughout the day beyond gaming," says Brian Wong, CEO and co-founder of Kiip. "This partnership underscores Yahoo's commitment to owning individual moments in mobile."
As they keep moving forward, Kiip wants to engage in similar deals with more publications, most likely serving not as an ad network but as a technology provider. In the meantime, however, the world's largest mobile rewards network will be satisfied partnering with the largest shared loyalty program in Japan. The post Yahoo! Japan Integrates First Third Party Service: Kiip appeared first on Tech Cocktail  |
| Outfox Competitors by Starting Small: Lessons from Savvy Wares |
|
A startup can compete against a larger website by gaining a foothold in a tiny sub-sector of a market and then branching out to offer similar services, according to two web strategists. Web giants such as eBay, Amazon or Craigslist offer a broad range of services, but a startup can compete by focusing on a small part of that business, said Harry Weller, a general partner at the New Enterprise Associates venture capital firm. If a startup's niche is small enough, it will not be worth it for the larger company to divert resources to compete, Weller explained. "The big guy has to generalize and the smaller company does not, which breeds efficiency for the smaller company," Weller said.
Building a following in a niche community also allows startups to pursue what Weller calls the "land-and-expand" strategy. "The land-and-expand model is when you pick a beachhead market that is small relative to a large competitor's market, and you expand by finding markets with some of the same needs that are relevant to the services you offer," Weller said.
Savvy Wares is using this land-and-expand approach by planning a series of online classifieds, each tailored to a specific type of job to focus on the needs of those communities, said Ted Stein, the company's lead developer. The company, based in Washington, DC, launched its first website Savvy Lessons in 2012, which is a jobs board for at-home music lessons. The company plans to follow it with Savvy Tutors, which will list offerings for at-home tutoring on a broader range of subjects, Stein said. The company is seeking funding to launch other sites including Savvy Babysitters and Savvy Yoga, he said. Craigslist is a behemoth in the online market for jobs listings, but Stein said the Savvy Wares websites could compete using features including search filtering and background checks of people listing their services. "Our filters for geography and skill set, combined with our background verification badges and ranking algorithm, allow for more relevant searches," Stein said. "With funding, we believe that we can generate a broad and widely used set of websites."
A website needs to develop credibility in a specific geographic area or industry to build a critical mass of users, said Peter Zollman, founder of the AIM Group consulting firm. AIM Group has worked with two-person tech startups but has also worked with larger corporations including Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google. Sharp web design and original website content such as photos and blogs directed at a specific community can help a startup stand out against a large competitor, said Zollman, one of the world's top analysts of Craigslist. Despite its popularity, Craigslist has used the same bare-bones classified website format for years, so to stand out Savvy Lessons operates a blog written by its music teacher users, and has profiles for each user. "You need to get people to engage with you. Target the passions like money or sports. Those passions could also be local issues depending on the region you are in," Zollman said.
How to profit is a top challenge for startups along with gaining users, so charging for access is nearly impossible when competing with larger websites, Zollman said. Savvy Wares plans to sell the business management software that powers its websites but is also considering charging for premium features and upgrades, Stein said. Guest author Tom Risen remembers LAN parties and custom-building computers before the rise of the smartphone. He started reporting on the tech stock market at the Medill School of Journalism, and has written about the tech industry for Government Executive, National Journal, Slate, Policy and Regulatory Report, and for newspapers in Maryland and California. He's on Twitter @TomRisen. The post Outfox Competitors by Starting Small: Lessons from Savvy Wares appeared first on Tech Cocktail  |
| Michael Tchong Wants You to Analyze Ubertrends, Not Normal Trends |
|
Bluntly speaking, Michael Tchong is a master at analyzing trends. As the founder of MacWeek in 1987, he predicted that Macintosh, now Apple, would be the go-to platform for graphic designers. That was the first in a long line of decisions that brought him to his current role as a public speaker who can help individuals and companies analyze innovations and trends. But to attain his status, trends had to be disillusioned. That is, trends by themselves are not important – but Ubertrends, on the other hand, are crucial. To Tchong, there are three main Ubertrends – time compression, the digital lifestyle, and unwired – and they all cascade through society to leave smaller trends in their wake. Ubertrends, then, are responsible for the birth of innovation. A succinct analysis of united trends and innovations in turn helps us adapt to the changing of values of life like speed and convergence. And if there is one person any of us should be taking lessons from in this field, it is Michael Tchong. Tchong joined us at Tech Cocktail Week last December. Here is the video.
Tech Cocktail Week is a monthly series of events that takes place downtown Las Vegas and is produced in partnership with Tony Hsieh's Downtown Project. Subscribe to Tech Cocktail Conversations on iTunes and never miss one -  The post Michael Tchong Wants You to Analyze Ubertrends, Not Normal Trends appeared first on Tech Cocktail  |
| Jeff Hoffman of ColorJar on How to Develop a Brand Online |
|
Jeff Hoffman spent nearly five years as the CEO of Priceline YardSale, with both feet firmly planted in the tech world. But soon after, he headed up a production company that would go on to produce Cabin Fever and concerts with Britney Spears and *NSYNC. Today, in addition to his work as cofounder of ColorJar, he also works for the White House supporting business and economic growth around the world. In other words, Hoffman's personal brand is a bit eclectic. But he embraces that. "I am better able to advise customers and entrepreneurs when my own range of experience is broad," he says. "I love observing and collecting best practices, so that’s why I expand my horizons beyond just the immediate marketplace."
And with ColorJar, Hoffman helps startups find their own branding. Although the company ostensibly designs and develops websites, they insist that clients first work with them on positioning, branding, and messaging. And clients don't seem to have a problem with this requirement; in fact, ColorJar has worked with CareerBuilder, Kaplan, Chevrolet, and TechStars Chicago, among others. Below, Hoffman shares some tips for startups on branding and how it influences web design. If you'd like to hear more of his thoughts on innovation in the startup world, you’re in luck! Join us at the Tech Cocktail Startup Showcase Mixer and Sessions in Chicago this Thursday, where he's the featured speaker. Tech Cocktail: Why does ColorJar insist on working on positioning and branding before you design and develop websites? Jeff Hoffman: We live in a noisy, crowded world, where consumers are bombarded by messaging all the time, everywhere they go. And it seems like there’s nothing you can think of that there isn’t already a website for. So when customers come to us to create a website or digital presence, we want to make sure they are delivering a powerful and unique message to the right audience in a way that sets them apart and gets them noticed. For that reason, we do a positioning and branding workshop called a "Golden Purpose” to help our customers find their unique place in the world, where they can occupy a position of leadership and get the attention of the customers they really want. We do this before we develop websites so that the site accurately portrays each company’s unique position in the world. Tech Cocktail: How does positioning and branding influence website design? Hoffman: Positioning and branding influence site design in the same way each of us as individuals decide what clothes to wear each day. We help our customers define a “brand personality” for their company as part of our Golden Purpose workshop. That personality is important to determining each company’s brand voice. In the same way that you know how each of your friends speaks and expresses themselves, the best brands stay true to their brand voice and personality in determining how they will communicate with their customers on a regular basis. That voice and personality then drive the look and feel of the website, from colors to fonts to styles. Tech Cocktail: What happens if you don't figure these things out first? Hoffman: If you don’t do steps 1 and 2 above, your messaging to the world can be inconsistent and confusing, and, at the very least, indistinguishable from the crowd. We see so many companies spending so much time and money on websites, marketing, and advertising to deliver a message that doesn’t resonate with anyone and doesn’t distinctly remind people of their company or drive them to remember that company and take action. Tech Cocktail: What advice would you give to startups for figuring out their positioning? Hoffman: For startups trying to find their positioning, it’s important to sharpen the focus of your startup to find a market where you can truly win. Startups and entrepreneurs need to take a hard look at what they are best at doing, and what they love doing. When you find something you are really good at doing and are very passionate about doing, your odds of being successful are so much higher. Then you need to intersect that with a market where customers will pay you for that very thing. Those are the three points of positioning that startups need to focus on – what you’re best at, what you love doing, and what other people in the world will value. The post Jeff Hoffman of ColorJar on How to Develop a Brand Online appeared first on Tech Cocktail  |
| Top 6 Apps for Social Networking |
|
You know about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, but there are dozens of other social media platforms out there; isn’t it time you branched out? Depending on what you use social media for, there might be an even better site for your needs. Maybe you’re a small business owner with a niche appeal, and there just happens to be a social media site that’s a perfect fit. Social media apps that tout responsive design can connect you to your consumers more easily than ever. Ready to make the leap? Here are six of the best apps for social networking, in no particular order. While you don’t want to overwhelm your smartphone with SM apps, adding a few key ones to the main screen can help you boost sales, make new friends, or break into a whole new community. Flipboard isn’t actually a social media site, but an app that flawlessly combines all your favorite sites into one easy-to-view program. It looks like a magazine spread, and you can choose which of your SM platforms you want featured. There’s no more opening and closing apps just to see the latest photo or Tweet. You can do it all from this one easy app. 
TweetDeck designed for Mac is free, user-friendly, and has everything you need to stay Tweeted in while on the go. Upload photos, tweet with no effort, and pay nothing for this service — which is perhaps the biggest draw. It’s more than enough for most Tweeters. There are a few Facebook apps out there, but Messenger is what most people really need on the go. It’s kind of like WhatsApp because it lets you chat with your FB friends wherever you are. Floating “chat heads” make it easy to use and you can integrate SMS texting for seamless connections. Twitter and Facebook are the pillars of social media, and those two platforms are what HootSuite is all about. It also supports LinkedIn and Foursquare, but Twitter and Facebook are its primary focus. The iconic images and user-friendliness of this app make it a fan favorite. Do you have a slew of IM services that you use because your friends all have different favorite platforms? That’s not a problem with eBuddy, which combines all the popular chat options into one simple app. It keeps running in the background so you can do other stuff, whether checking your email or making calls. 
Badoo is part social media and part online dating service. It’s designed to take social media into real life by connecting you with people in your area. You can see if a friend is in the coffee shop down the street or look around for a potential love interest. This isn’t a dating app, but it can be used that way. 
No matter what app you use, the important thing is that you’re getting – and staying – connected. Using a service like FlashBind can help you turn your social media into a more serious business venture; or checking out a dating app can help combine your SM savvy with your desire to “get back out there.” Make social media, whether it’s an app or not, work for you. Guest author Drew Hendricks is a tech, social media and environmental addict. He’s written for many major publishers such as National Geographic and Technorati. The post Top 6 Apps for Social Networking appeared first on Tech Cocktail  |
| On Its 3rd Birthday, .CO Plans to Launch New Domains |
|
Our partner .CO Internet made a few announcements on its third birthday this week, including a plan to launch new top-level domains in 2014. "From a strategic standpoint, we think it's important for us to broaden our product offering," wrote CEO Juan Diego Calle in a blog post. ".CO will certainly continue to be our flagship brand, but we recognize that there are niche markets out there where other domain extensions may be equally, if not more, suitable."
This may be motivated by the fact that ICANN is in the process of approving a slew of new top-level domains (TLDs), which will go online in 2014. The organization received nearly 2,000 applications for TLDs, ranging from .beer to .wtf to .yahoo. .CO has seen over 1.5 million domains registered since 2010, most of them coming from the United States (53 percent), the United Kingdom (9.7 percent), and Colombia (9 percent). But .CO recognizes they still have work to do. "We are still a long way off from changing the fabric of the Internet. We are still a small company, competing in an uber-competitive market against several 800-pound gorillas. We're still the underdog." says Calle.
In addition to new top-level domains, .CO is working on expanding its membership program, selling domains packaged with other entrepreneurial products, and some mysterious big partnership. 
Tech Cocktail is proud to call .CO a partner and sport the tech.co domain. The post On Its 3rd Birthday, .CO Plans to Launch New Domains appeared first on Tech Cocktail  |
WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
No comments:
Post a Comment