The Importance of Failure

This post was inspired by a culmination of a brilliant article on failure by Umair Haque and the genius of Seth Godin. Haque argues that without failure there is no learning and ultimately no growth. Godin argues that the greatest thing that is stopping us from failing, is fear. Fear is such a powerful emotion that sometimes it can ultimately inhibit growth. 

Admitting to your own failure is probably one of the hardest things you can do. It's just as hard to admit it to others as it is to admit it to yourself. In my mind, the greatest failure ... is failing to learn from your failures. Sometimes we may think of ourselves as being perfect (typically at things we do well) and so it's very hard to admit failure. Failure can truly shape the course of someone's life. I am sure you can think of a handful of examples to prove this point (my personal favourites probably being Thomas Edison and JK Rowling). 

You don't have to be foolish when it comes to failure. My suggestion is focus on learning something and let failure be part of the road you take leading up to it. Persistence sometimes leads to failure, but failure most times leads to growth. So go ahead, try something.. fail.. and grow. 

The Platform Strategy

Today, Amazon announced the launch of it's own app store on the Android platform. It is launching with 3,800 applications and I can only imagine it will add to that in time. There are few things which I find to be truly brilliant about this move by Amazon.

Firstly, it is utilizing the distribution and experience of the Android platform as a base to launch off. Given that Android is now the leading OS in the US and is gaining rapid traction worldwide, Amazon instantly became accessible by millions of people (A good start for a new appstore). 

Secondly, Amazon is moving into a space that leverages one of it's key strengths... e-commerce. Having already established itself as arguably the greatest online retailer in the world, the Amazon brand will pull some serious weight in this new venture. 

What I like most about this new move is that Amazon has added yet another tool to its platform strategy. In a recent blog post, Simon Mainwaring captured some insights from SXSW about how ad agencies should think like software companies. Part of thinking that way involved developing platforms. What Amazon has done is a perfect example. The appstore has allowed Amazon to offer yet another platform to not only its users but also its contributors (in this case developers, but in other cases authors and manufacturers).

Amazon will soon become the go to platform for almost anything online, I am sure of it. Next step: Build a more robust tablet and offer seed it to Amazon Prime members. 

Frustrated Birds

This morning I read an article on Mashable about how the Angry Birds HD update for the iPad 2 now includes... ads!! Apparently users are complaining on iTunes that by virtue of paying $5 for the app, they should not have to endure these ads.

This is a prime example of what happens when you break the permission marketing model. Users revolt. In today's day and age they always will. They revolt because there is a sense of perceived unfairness. Users are smart, they know that certain apps are available for free because they are supported by an ad-model; however, they also know that - on the iTunes store - Angry Birds is not one of those apps! (Things are slightly different on the Android store). So what could the birds over at Rovio Mobile done differently here?

I can think of a few different things. Ultimately, Rovio's end goal is to clearly push the merchandise (because I'm guessing the margins are much higher there), so if that's the case... why not give the app away for free like they do on the Android store? Fine, I understand if they want to keep making money on the app... so how about informing the users before-hand that there will be ads on some new levels? Or ... adopt a Farmville model whereby you make money on in-game purchases (they tried this already with the Mighty Eagle, but I'm sure they can cook up a few more enticing purchases). It just seems strange to me why Rovio would suddenly impose ads on paying customers, hoping that customers would be ok with it. 

If you are trying to promote something, think of ways you can get consumers to buy into your idea and genuinely want to learn more about it, rather than just force the idea upon them. Permission marketing 101. 

The Changing Landscape - A Conversation with John Fanous

Listen to the episodes on iTunes

Two-Part Episode Summary:

This week I had the pleasure of talking to my good friend John Fanous (Senior Manager of Sales & Online Specialist for the Yellow Pages Group in Canada). Drawing on his outstanding experience, John was able to offer some fascinating insights into the entire marketing landscape as it stands today.

In part one of our conversation we talked about the evolution of traditional media and kind of impact that digital (new) media is having on businesses today. in part two of our conversation, we discussed the mobile landscape and the tremendous opportunities that exist for marketers in this space. I hope you enjoy our two-part conversation! (Part 1 Runtime: 40:14 / Part 2 Runtime: 39:53)

Interesting sites to check out:

www.johnfanous.com

www.yellowpages.ca/360

http://profiler.yellowpages.ca/

Shaminda's About.me Page

"Hope I just need a ray of that.." - #HelpJapan

Having been a first-hand witness to the South Asian tsunami in 2004, I can tell you that fear of the unknown is almost unbearable. I was in Sri Lanka at the time and the craziest thing was no one had any idea how bad things were until many days later... and we still had communication lines up and were able to get news. I can only imagine what the people in Japan are going through right now. 

When you're sitting halfway across the world, the hardest thing is coming to terms with the fact that you physically can't do anything. As a result, most of us take the easy way out and don't do anything. I'm writing this post to say you can fight that. I have been inspired by amazing stories of companies that have done so much to help the victims in Japan over the past few days. Companies like Apple, Zynga, Facebook, Microsoft, Samsung and Google. It's pretty simple really, all you need to do is find a way to donate money online to a reputable source. The Red Cross is a good one. 

The quote that titles this post is from a song called I Need a Doctor by Eminem and Dr. Dre. If you listen to the lyrics of that song, you'll hear how one friend is calling out to another seeking revival. Right now I think we all need to help revive Japan. 

It would be more than a shame for us not to take advantage of the Internet when it comes to relief efforts. Although I could probably go on for ages, I don't want to. I would hope that instead of reading more you go ahead and take action in any way you can. #HelpJapan. 

Reaching Out (Podcast)

Bagpiping and Brand Building with Graham Edward (Podcast)

Listen to the episode on iTunes

Episode Summary:

In this episode, I have a fascinating discussion with my long time friend and very special guest Graham Edward. We talk about Graham's entrepreneurial adventures and the power of brand building online. I hope you have a chance to learn something new but most importantly, enjoy the conversation! (Runtime: 43:02)

Interesting sites to check out:

Graham Edward, Professional Bagpiper 

Shaminda's About.me Page

UBB and The Shift in Power (Podcast)