European Lending merry-go-round...and the US is owned by China

Casa del Libro: There's No Place Like Home

1. My Decision:

If I were the new key player CEO at Planeta, I would stick to the old UNIX platform for Casa del Libro.

2. My Criteria:

In many ways, Casa del Libro was way ahead of the game when they started selling books online in 1995. It was a “very artisan website, not integrated with the back office, running in an IBM AS/400 platform. Everyday operations implied a great deal of manual processing.” For anyone who has been to a Casa del Libro store, this original system actually matches the image I have of them in my mind. When Planeta decided they needed to bring Casa del Libro into the “future” they worked with AOL and a consultant group to revamp their online system so it could handle the expected growth. Of course, this meant they were essentially “building up an entire company.” Their new system was “based on Sun machines, it had 4 servers with 2 CPUs each, running in a Solaris (Unix) operating system. The software included a database manager (Oracle 8.i running in cluster), Vignette 5.6 to manage content and support e-commerce, and Excalibur v5.3 as the search engine. The design was also redundant, in order to guarantee high availability. To complete that, a firewall and a load balancer were also included.”

It is evident that Casa del Libro underwent many changes in a short span of time. And what, exactly, were their needs? Not that many, if you think about it. They were just selling books. They weren’t Amazon and I don’t think they even wanted to be (even if AOL probably did). Switching systems would be like building a new company all over again and would cause some commotion internally as well as leading them to stray even farther from their original purpose. Although switching would save them money, part of the cost cutting was as a result of some bad luck with timing and repositioning decisions made on behalf of executives that weren’t necessarily in touch with Casa del Libro or their target market. Once the dotcom world regained its strength and Casa del Libro went back to its roots, their online market would recapture its strength and possibly gain more clients according to its better operating system (as compared to what they had in ’95).

Tesco: Testing IT

Mission: “to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty.”

A company focused on their client and working to ensure their commitment, Tesco explored IT in order to facilitate client satisfaction and loyalty.  Their exploration and perseverance in the world of the internet through their investment in the NCR Teradata data warehouse and the Microsoft BackOffice, which allowed them to gain a competitive advantage.

The NCR Teradata system is a software that works in conjunction with different operating systems in order to warehouses data.  Tesco used it to get to know their customers and get a 360-view of them in order to better answer to their needs.

Tesco also gained an IT competitive advantage when it implemented a Microsoft BackOffice to allow for an online shopping service based out of their retail infrastructure.  Through their site, customers were able to purchase their food, books, electrical goods, videos, etc. for just an additional £5 delivery charge. Their back office allowed for customer customization, so that every time someone logged in they entered a “virtual storefront” and access their previous shopping list as well as the entire superstore and a help line.  From the online storefront, clients could compare prices with other major supermarkets, could check and use their club loyalty points as well as trade shares.  By 2001, Tesco was the “number one e-grocer on the Web” while competing supermarkets throughout Europe were either going bankrupt or being acquired.  Moreover, Tesco.com discovered a hidden market outside of their original target market of working or stay at home wives.  They began to reach out to people with sight and hearing problems. 

By 2001, Tesco.com was making money and controlled 55% of the e-grocer market share.  The problem, of course, was that their online income only represented 1.5% of their overall profit. Unable to rely on the UK market, Tesco invested in groceryworks.com in the USA, where they hoped to convert the Safeway system into a profitable one more like their own.  While Tesco had the first move advantage in the UK, the USA already had competitors with a loyal clientele like Fresh Direct (an online grocer without actual supermarkets). 

So, while Tesco HAD an IT competitive advantage between 1996 and 2001 that allowed them to move lock in a loyal customer base, I am not sure they enjoy that same advantage today. The technologies used are accessible to most companies. The question is, can they steal the Tesco customers?

Pinkberry: The Movie

Yes, this is where I used to work. Yes, that was my hallway. Yes, I worked with some of these guys. Yes, I trained one of those girls. Yes, I love Hollywood. And WME. And pretty much this whole thing is f*ing hysterical!

ERRRR, ERP?

Excuuuuuusssssse Mmmmmeeeeee!! No. I didn’t burp. And, since I’m not techie genius, I’m going to assume a few of you aren’t either and go ahead and give you the definition of ERP:

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an Integrated computer-based system used to manage internal and external resources including tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources. It is a software architecture whose purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. Built on a centralized database and normally utilizing a common computing platform, ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a uniform and enterprise wide system environment.

So, knowing this, let’s discuss how I think ERP’s fit into the corporate world and if companies should be adjusting to ERPs or if ERPs should be adjusting to them.

It seems to me that an ERP is like a massive back office. Companies use it for organization and facilitation. Basically, they make your business run better and help connect your business to its target market. Sounds great, right? But, like any office, there is a built in system. Unlike any office, it is computerized (not people run), so the ability for it to adapt and mold in an easy fashion appears to be slightly difficult. I’m basing this on reviews that I’ve read online. Many people seem to find it annoying that the system won’t budge. Let’s use our blackboard suite as an example. Is it an ERP? I have no clue. But it sure does kind of sound like one. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of it. It’s not easy to use or modify to work for you. There is tons of information that is completely irrelevant and unrelated to me and yet it’s my personalized home page. I can’t stand the interface, and logging into it is something I legitimately dread doing. Why? Because I like to keep things simple and it makes things complicated.

So, if an ERP is anything like this then I think that ERP’s should be made to adapt to companies rather than a company adapt to an ERP. Every company is different, with different missions, goals, and systems. Everyone takes a different approach to how they do their work and that doesn’t mean that any one way is better. So why be limited by the system that Microsoft or any other ERP producer deems fit?! Not to mention that success is often hinged on the ability to grow, change, adapt and innovate. A built in system goes against pretty much all of that. Sure, it keeps things organized and clean cut. But, sometimes, running a tight ship is exactly what hinders it from swerving off coarse into the desired triumphant blue ocean.

DELL: TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET?

Dear Mr. Jarvis,

I understand that you are disappointed in the customer service you encountered when your Dell crashed time and time again.  Let me tell you, I hate Dell too.  I bought a Dell in 2001 as an innocent and gullible 17 year old waltzing into her freshman year in college.  Although my computer still runs (for the most part)), I too encountered many an issue with their customer service.  So, I’ve officially stopped using Dell.  Of course, I’m not sure it’s because I don’t like Dell or if it’s because I just love Apple. Either way, I’m not a customer and for one main reason: customer support. 

This simple phrase, “customer support” is clearly where the Dell business model went completely wrong.  More specifically, “customer.”  Somewhere along the way, they seemed to have forgotten that the point of their company was to serve their customer and not to produce machinery.   And not just customers but people.  Yes, they’re dealing with computers.  But every monitor has a face in front of it, whether it be in Dell headquarters, or outside of it.  So, when they think Dell, they should have been thinking of the reflection of the Dell in the eyes of the person in front of the monitor and not about whether or not the Dell logo stamped on the plastic rectangle at which they’re growling was placed at the correct angle.  So, had I been Mr. Dell, I would have done the following:

1.     Called Dell myself as a disgruntled customer to see what happens and get a taste of what it’s like to deal with the customer support at Dell.  Just pick up the phone and use an alias.  He must have experienced it before when calling your phone service provider, bank or insurance company.  From there, I would then be able to isolate the necessary changes.

2.     Speed it up!  It’s true, you don’t need to answer to everyone’s beckon call but at the point at which a blog about IT hits national press you should start to feel the ground shake a bit. Not to mention that while you, Jeff Jarvis, are no Rupert Murdoch, you are a prominent figure in your own right who could have used multiple outlets to express your concern and you kindly did it on your blog instead of a print publication.  Nowadays, however, blogs get more readership than print so this comment really only applies to 2005.

3.     Speed it up some more! OK, so he didn’t respond at the right speed…and neither did the customer support.  You have to be there for your loyal customers when they need help.  We all know what it’s like to get the death screen and feel like your whole life is just slipping away into the abyss.

4.     Listen up!  At the end of the day, Dell is what we allow Dell to be.  If they don’t listen to the customer complaints or acknowledgements, then how do they plan to produce for the clientele?  The lack of communication between Dell and their customers (probably within Dell as well) created a massive disconnect.

5.     Make the effort!  Innovate!  Dell had been running the same ship for a while, following the same protocol and receiving the same complaints. Just because it quasi works doesn’t mean it’s good enough and just because it’s good enough doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to make it better.  Don’t worry about the protocol of the others. Allow yourself to stand out with new ways of reaching customers and answering to needs.  Come up with new forms of support and just try new things.  People want to see you try even if you don’t get it right the first time.

Jeff, it’s been real.  Are you still a PC guy or are you on to Mac?

Warm regards,

K

Everyone Needs A Leader...

Even during a spinning class.  Today, Kike decided to teach the class not on the bike.  And, as hard as he tried to guide the class according to the beat (waving his hands, yelling out numbers and even mimicking bike movements on dry land), everyone looked like a bunch of uncoordinated bobble heads, going to the beat of their own drummer boy.  At first, it was funny.  Until the empty bike next to me became occupied by the smelliest man ever (peaches, this was worse than the W Hotel woman at Crunch...although I have mentioned that Kike is a lot like Tommy?!).  Anyway, I persevered but really it was atrocious.  On a lighter note, here is a picture of Tommy and another one of Borat in a swimsuit.  Kike looks just like Tommy and wears that amazing swimsuit to go spinning.  No joke. OK, maybe it has a bit more material but you get the picture.  And, on his birthdayday, it was white.  Super attractive.
                                                                                              

New Lady Gaga: Alejandro!

The new Lady Gaga video is pretty spectacular (filmically). It has a little Nine, meets Dr. Zhivago, some Liza Minnelli movements with a bit of a Funny Face Audrey Hepburn-esque feel woven into some scenes, and then a little Janet Jackson (and a little Bedtime Stories and La Isla Bonita...but I don't want to associate her too much with Madonna). It wraps back up with the Nine type imagery, only this time inserting some Brothers Quay at the very end with the puppetry...overall, I would say that I loved it but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea...

Newsies go Gaga!

FB: The Trendy Next Best Bookend?

First let me start with the following video, which is one of my favorite Facebook videos:
I’ve been a member of Facebook since August or September of 2004. I will never forget the day the girl with whom I was interning at my first film-related internship introduced me to Facebook. She went to Princeton and, at the time, Facebook was only for students at Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Duke, & maybe even a few other Ivy Leagues. By the end of the summer, my alma mater Johns Hopkins was officially on. I don’t even remember the girl’s name or the names of the people for whom I was interning. Facebook, on the other hand, hasn’t left my thought process since. Even though I have officially deactivated my account 3 times (and clearly I'm not the only one), it was never out of hatred so much as it was out of confusion about where my relationship with FB was going. So, where is it going? Not sure. But, let’s see where we think Facebook itself might be going in the next couple of years…

Personally, I think Facebook will be around but boring. I may be biased since I have been using Facebook for nearly 6 years. It seems to me, however, that you get to a point where being big goes against the appeal of being in a social circle. This applies mainly to real life. People, by nature, associate to clans and groups. The bigger the group, the more invisible you become. Exclusivity, on the other hand, makes organizations desirable. Clearly I’m not talking about politics. But, lets think about private clubs like Boujis (night club in London), Soho House (hotel, restaurant and meeting place in London, New York and LA), The Harvard Club (university club), Puerta de Hierro (golf and weekend club in Madrid) or A Small World (online social network). The similarity amongst them is their exclusivity and the difficulty to become a member of each; you either have to be invited, recommended or you have to pay your way in. And this doesn’t only apply to the social world. Think about the Council on Foreign Relations or even joining the board of a company or a school. Just because most of these examples are not online does not mean that the principle changes: people like to be connected to the people to whom they want to be connected. As soon as the pool becomes diluted, they look for fresh land where they can dig a hole and fill their new pond. So, when it comes to Facebook it’s fun to joke around about having your entire family on their and being able to be connected to over 1000 people but its rare to find a joke that is eternally funny (barring the aristocrats joke, I guess). Clearly this first intuition on the future of Facebook is based on observation and I have no psychological research to back it up. But, I can tell you one thing: the success of these sites are often centered around how well they click with tweens and the 20 year olds of the world. As I understand it, the new cool thing in the States is My Yearbook. While one site may not effect the giant that is Facebook, the quick rise in popularity definitely implies that people are slowly getting distracted by other options which may effect the role of Facebook in the future.

That said, the extreme openness of the network has proven to be beneficial to mass communication strategies that will likely be cloned in the near future. Just looking at the 2008 Presidential election in the USA serves as proof enough of the power of Facebook to convey information on a grandiose level. As the CNN article specifies, the election was won not only because of face time but also because of the candidates ability to seem engaged with the population and one way in which they did this was through Facebook. This wasn’t the first time Facebook, or any other social network, was used for political or social campaigning. So, while Facebook may not allow individuals to be relevant socially because of the lack of exclusivity, it does become a powerful tool when it comes to power in numbers. If anything, the feeling of connectedness and social acceptance is a very powerful tool which, when implemented correctly, can give one great power and attract support. It’s 2010, so we have another election in the states coming up in 2 years. Perfect timing! I think they will use Facebook again (and any other online social network source) and I think it will be still be effective but it will also be a perfect marker to use when comparing the future with the present.

A lot of people have talked about privacy and Facebook. I’m not going to talk about it because it seems silly to reiterate what everyone has said (not to mention that I’ve discussed security in my other entries) but this does seem like an interesting interview with Mark Zuckerberg at D8 which I thought everyone might enjoy!

Finally, I want to talk about Facebook: The Movie. It’s actually called The Social Network and will star Justin Timberlake, Rachida Jones, and Jesse Eisenberg. This is a $50 million movie with Scott Rudin, Trigger Street and Michael De Luca Productions producing. So, this is no joke. And Columbia is distributing and already has deals in Finland, France and Argentina. It is set to be released in October of this year. This seems pretty important to discuss. Not because it will reveal something about the life of Facebook to come so much as the weight that one site has managed to gain in the world as well as the legacy it will inevitably leave behind (assuming, at some point, Facebook is not Facebook as we know it). So, will Facebook be around in 2 years? Well, definitely on DVD, or on OnDemand or GoogleTV or something. And it will probably even still be online…but there’s no guarantee that I’ll still be on it….

Hello World...!

EPIC 2015

Crazy stuff...