This week I was able to cover a great deal of material in our first week of the course, and I found each of the items to be quite interesting. First, I found Gil and Frank’s analysis of the newspaper industry to be quite interesting, especially since I am someone who grew up reading newspapers but no longer does. As a child, I would read the sports section first and would then continue on to the front page and other relevant news. However, now I get 100% of my news from online sources. Websites like CNN.com, StlToday.com, and the Drudge Report are top websites that I frequent regularly. In addition, I get a great deal of my “breaking news” from sites like Facebook and Twitter, where my social network gets news to me faster than many news outlets possibly can. I also did not realize that newspapers get a great deal of their revenues from classified advertisements. I always assumed that corporate advertisements and subscription fees were the main sources of revenues. Therefore, it is easy to see how virtual classified ads, such as Craig’s List, have taken a huge chunk of the newspapers’ former revenues.
I found the articles by Nicholas Carr and Clay Shirkey to be interesting contrasts to one another. Carr makes some interesting points, and the sheer amount of information and distractions on the internet could potentially make it more difficult to concentrate and retain information. However, if Carr is right, it makes me wonder just how effective my online education is! In general, though, I side with Shirkey’s analysis. While there are certain negatives that come with new advances in internet technology, as a whole I believe society is much smarter. As I was reading his article, the entire time I was thinking about the website Wikipedia and all the value it brings (which Shirkey winds up mentioning in his article). Wikipedia is a site that I wind up using multiple times on a daily basis, and is a means of shared social network learning for millions of people that would not be available without the internet. In addition, the speed and sheer amount of information that is available on the internet makes it an extremely positive learning tool.
Finally, I wanted to discuss Alex French’s article on Mark Zuckerberg. The article was interesting to read today since it was written over two years ago. Since that time, Facebook’s accepted valuation has increased greatly, the movie Social Network has given the general public a more detailed and intimate look at the inner workings of the company and Zuckerberg, and the company has added new features to the site. However, the general discussion is one that still holds true. Facebook, as it stands now, is valued much higher than simply a multiple of the cash flow it is currently generating. The database and information that Facebook has been able to generate is something that one day should be able to be significantly monetized in the future. However, just like French, I eagerly await when and how Zuckerberg and Facebook will do this. It is amazing just how much of our private lives that Facebook has given us comfort in making public.
Overall, this first week provided a nice blend of material that covers how marketing has changed given the advancements in the internet. I look forward to reading in future weeks how companies are using these tools, and others, to advance their businesses.
Anshu,
ReplyDeleteYou selected an ambitious list of readings for the first week and from what you reported, you were able to get through most of the material. Interesting that you used to be a newpaper reader. I was too. Now I read the morning papers on my iPad. We are almost being forced to do so. The local (Bloomington, Indiana) newspaper was never a major paper, but today it is almost a joke. Not only has the number of pages been sharply reduced, but the actual physical size of the paper has shrunk as well. We're predicting that at this rate it will totally disappear in about two or three years.
Nicholas Carr continues to be a critic of the online technology. He certainly raises some interesting points, but there is little chance, in my opinion, of going backwards. Hopefully, as the quality of technology improves, many of the shortcomings will be eliminated or minimized.
We really need to update the material on Mark Zuckerberg. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I have read a book and numerous articles about him. He continues to be in the news as various former colleagues continue to sue him over the originally of the ideas behind Facebook.
I personally wouldn't sell Facebook short when it comes to monetization. The company has hired some top notch managers and marketing executives. Zuckerberg has his vision, but he (or his advisors) know that he cannot run the company.