Google Labs' new Browser Size feature simple yet powerful

The new Browser Size feature from Google Labs is perhaps one of the simplest, yet most powerful tools when designing landing pages or home pages (or any page for that matter). Put simply, it takes the web page you enter and superimposes an opaque view of the area viewable by respective %s of internet visitors, based on average screen resolution. This is exactly the type of tool I'll use over and over again. Check it out here: http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/

Twitter to turn a profit in 2010?

At a recent news conference in Tel Aviv, Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, remarked that new advertising capabilities and strategic acquisitions will put the company in a position to finally turn a profit during 2010. As someone who has watched Twitter gain $155 million in funding over the last two years, it has always been very interesting to see just how this company will find it's way to profitability if they indeed don't go the route of being acquired. While the company is keeping the details to themselves, Twitter's new advertising platform is generating a lot of chatter in the social and capital spaces, and for good reason. Advertising generally is a very intrusive form of outbound marketing that has not found wide spread success in the social market (yet, at least). Stone did mention that advertising on Twitter will take a "non-traditional" form, and while that may be true from his standpoint in juxtaposition to traditional advertising efforts online, Twitter users will ultimately decide just how "non-traditional" this advertising is, especially since it will likely further clutter our already cluttered stream of updates. And yes, I am making the assumption that it will be embedded within the stream. In order for advertising to have any value to marketers, their messages must be able to hit the 80% of Twitter users that are using other applications (TweetDeck, iPhone, Seesmic, Blackberry, etc) to interface with the Twitter community. More interesting for me is the role acquisitions will play in making Twitter profitable. Since the early days, Twiiter has opened up their platform and left much of the creative development to developers, who have in turn not only created applications with richer, more useful interfaces (from my standpoint), but have more importantly created applications that allow brands to follow and respond to what people are and aren't saying about them. Social media has become the single most important force in Online Reputation Management (ORM), and the business-oriented applications that facilitate the follow-and-interact process, particularly across various social mediums, are particularly valuable to the market. Acquisitions of this nature could prove very beneficial to Twitter, especially if they are able to enhance the capabilities of these applications in ways only Twitter can. In terms of looking at ways Twitter currently spends it's cash and the potential for vertical integration, SMS technology could also provide some very interesting benefits by eliminating or re-organizing a large amount of their current costs. It will be interesting to see if they do anything in this space in order to help boost the benefits advertising can bring next year. So there's my two cents. What do you think about the acquisition possibilities for Twitter? Where do you think they will align themselves in order to secure long-term profitability? Or, should they just sell now to the highest bidder, particularly since they recently announced their search engine integrations with Bing and Google?

Demystifying Retention - Part 1

The following is the first article in a series published by eGaming Review in their November 2009 edition. Over the course of the next few issues, this series will seek to carve out the critical steps you need to deploy in your business in order to get more out of your retention programme. The copy below may differ slightly from the published version, as this is my original unedited version. Most CEOs I've sat down with recently are facing the same major challenges: how will we differentiate our brand(s) and products in an increasingly commoditised, saturated gaming market? How can our offering be more compelling, our teams more productive, and our marketing more cost effective? If you are feeling the pressure, trust me, you are not alone. As a result, more and companies are taking a hard look at their retention programmes, which have long had a strong reputation for delivering excellent business value through its relatively low cost of generating additional revenues. The numbers indeed support it: the cost of keeping a player is less than the cost of acquiring a new one (at least when done correctly and only for a certain length of time). However, most companies have a tough time realising the potential financial benefits in their bottom line. I recently had the opportunity to chat with a lot of operators following my presentation on loyalty programmes at the EIG Expo last month. While there was tremendous interest generally about loyalty, retention and managing the customer lifecycle, there equally seemed to be a lot of focus on using expensive tools and developing complex schemes and processes that provide little more in terms of revenues than they do in costs for the business. Retaining players and generating that much sought after additional revenue is critical for every business, but it's not necessary to have a PhD. in Statistics or Financial Modeling on staff to achieve this (at least not to start). In fact, this is the exact reason why CRM has come under attack over the last few years. Companies are over investing their time, energy and money on complicated CRM programmes and business intelligence, resulting in an exponential growth in the people and processes required to support them, effectively washing the real value out of the end-result. While there are some businesses out there that can benefit from these systems, most companies, especially in online gaming, only get caught up in a quagmire of unmanageable products, data intelligence and lists. Over the next few issues of Egaming Review, we're going to look at the critical areas you need to consider and the steps you and your business can take to start realising the potential financial rewards straight away. Our goal is that by the end of this series, you and your organisation should have the practical knowledge necessary, a set of streamlined processes and tools set up, and be in an advantageous position over your competition to really make an impact on the bottom line. Meet me back here next month as we address the issue of where the real potential sits in your database and how to harness it. Look for Part II to be published in eGaming Review's January 2010 edition.

A CEO's guide to Internet Marketing

Just saw this seminar from the Inbound Marketing gurus over at Hubspot. Certainly some very compelling stuff in there, particularly related to using content and social media to drive leads. No, this is not another lame Social Media expert (i.e. the NEW life coach) showing you how to use Twitter. It's actually some very thoughtful stuff on building concrete strategies to leverage this evolving marketing channel. I encourage you to check it out: http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-webinars/ceo-guide-to-internet-marketing-archive/

My 10 Rules

Over the last few years, I've seen quite a few top "X" rules to live/manage/work/etc by, including Clint Eastwood's very amusing and useful "Clint's Rules" (see below) and Go Daddy founder and CEO Bob Parson's Top 16. But perhaps the most notable Top Ten came from a personal associate of mine with whom I worked in my last two companies, Alex Czajkowski. His rules were very influential for me, especially in terms of providing a good framework of core values, and they ultimately provided the impetus to this post. So, I figured it's about time to start a list of my own, at least as it relates to my professional life. While it will no doubt change over time, it's important to start somewhere. So here's my best crack at a Top Ten (in no particular order):

 

1. If you are going to do something, do it right or don't do it at all

This is a big one for me, personally. There's nothing more infuriating than a half-assed effort. It wastes time and energy, and frankly pisses off everyone around you. Your work represents who you are and is a lasting legacy, remember that.

2. We are not our customers

This one I took directly from Alex's list, and it's critical for everyone in a business to remember, but particularly those who have a direct influence on the customer experience (i.e. support, development, marketing, etc). Get in the habit of finding out what your customers want and not making assumptions to that end. No level of understanding, experience or intuition is better than holding constant dialogues with your customers. However, don't forget to balance what customers say with what they do, data-wise, and with the strategic foundations of the business.

3. Incremental improvement is preferred over postponed perfection

Again, another one from Alex's list. This one is indeed more difficult than it may at first appear.  Too often do we get stuck in the ideation and planning phases, and ultimately results are not as great as they should have been. It's important to focus on execution, even if that means your vision isn't fully realised from day one. However, poor planning can also lead to very disastrous results, so finding the balance here is key.

4. Embrace mistakes and learn from them; then move on

Marc Suster, who writes the blog Both Sides of the Table, recently wrote about a quote that has stuck with him throughout his Entrepreneurial and VC careers: "Good judgement comes with experience, but experience comes from bad judgement." I've certainly had my fair share of failures in my short career, but I've always tried to learn from them. Making mistakes is acceptable, but repeating them is not.

5. Never stop learning

There's nothing more dangerous than a stale business mind, and that happens all too often in corporate environments. Challenge yourself. Learn about new methods and ways of thinking. Books, seminars, podcasts, blogs, courses, etc. It will make all the difference.

6. The answer's in the data

The last but most important one I borrowed from Alex's list. The beautiful thing about data is that it tells you almost everything you want to know once you learn how to read it. Build a data culture in your organisation. Limit your use of gut instinct and assumptions when making decisions.

7. Plan for the worst, expect the best

Stay focused on the positive, but don't ignore the negative. Have a solid plan for contingencies and worst-case scenarios, and build this into your strategic framework. You'll find that many of the same dangers ahead are shared by your competitors. Acknowledging them and planning can be a huge competitive advantage.

8. Never forget those who got you here

No one succeeds alone. Whether it's managers, staff, friends, or family, you are more dependant than you may think. Always remember the network of people who helped you accomplish success, and thank them. And no, not in the Oscar-winner's-long-list-of-names format. Remember and thank them properly.

9. Find balance in life

I'm guilty of learning this lesson the hard way. All work and no play does indeed make Jack a dull boy. There are things more important and more lasting than work alone, so find ways to balance everything that is meaningful to you. Once you do, it will pay dividends in each area of your life and generally make life much richer.

10. Your word and name are the two most important things

No list is complete without at least one bit of wisdom handed down by a father. When you say you are going to do something, do it. And with everything you do (or don't do) remember that your name is on it. If you keep these two things in mind and act accordingly, even when it's easier not to, it will always pay off.

 

And for reference, here are Clint Eastwood's "Clint's Rules", also known as Rules a Man Should Live By 1. Call your own shots. 2. Be fearless. 3. Keep moving. 4. Love your job. 5. Speak softly. 6. Don’t be predictable. 7. Find a good woman. 8. Learn to play the piano. 9. You are what you drive. 10. Avoid extreme make-overs.

Google provides holiday travellers with free airport WiFi

Beginning this Tuesday, Google is giving holiday travellers in 47 US airports free WiFi. What's the catch you ask? When users log in, they will be greeted with an option to make Google their homepage or download Chrome. Not clear at this point whether a traveller can opt out of either option, but it seems a fair trade off to temporarily make Google my homepage (which it is already). Additionally, travellers will be given the option to donate to one of three charities that Google is supporting, including Engineers without Borders, One Economy Corporation and Climate Savers Computing Initiative. A few years back, we used to advertise aggressively on in-flight magazines, which don't hold a candle to the potential this new marketing channel provides. You have to wonder how long it will take fellow gaming operators to catch on and offer free wifi in exchange for downloading a casino or poker client.

Google Wave account activated - first impressions

After about nine months of waiting, Google finally sent me an invite to check out Google Wave. First impressions? Well, it's fairly lonely in there. With most people still on the outside looking in, I've been dumped into the Wave world with no contacts and therefore no way to really test the interface until the people I invite sign up. Still, it seems Google has created a very interesting proposition for the way we may communicate and collaborate in the future. There is no doubt a long way to go, and many key features are lacking (like the ability to auto-embed a picture by simply posting a link to the image), but Google is certainly on to something, and they may just have enough influence to move business and younger people through the adoption curve. I'm not sure it will succeed at replacing chat and email (at least in the short term), since those forms of communication are so deeply engrained in our internet culture, but I'm very excited to see how Wave will improve the collaboration process in business and personal life, particularly among the who's-up-for-beers-and-here-are-the-directions-to-the-pub crowd. One word of warning though: Wave will allow others to see what you are typing in real time, even before you have the chance to edit it, so think twice about what you are about to write before writing it, and most of all don't drink and Wave! For those of you who don't yet know Wave, here are a couple quick videos on it. The first is a great short intro, while the second is done by the team at Google and goes into a bit more detail (including actual screen shots which the first one lacks)