In a time and age where I can chose whether to listen to a brand or to read my friend’s status update – how can a brand get my attention?
In my opinion it is all about big ideas

Isn’t the big idea dead already?

Mark Earls believes that big ideas are dead, over used, and that we should focus on small tests and campaigns. However I am talking about differnt kind of big ideas. I am not talking about a short lived one time gig. I am talking about deeply rooted concept at the heart of the brand, that affects its dealing wiht customers, the product they build, and  the way they treat their customers.

What is a big idea?

Big ideas are concepts that beyond a product or one’s daily life, that are more important than price or features. Big ideas are ones who change the way we look at life and society. Big ideas are ones that are powerful enough to make the man on the street listen to your message. A big idea is that one story that brings value to people – not only consumers.

In some cases brands are not openly stating their big idea. In some cases they don’t even realize their big idea until the community, their users, tell them it exists.

Let’s take Twitter for example. Twitter’s big idea is communication without boundaries. This idea fueled the Iranian uprise, which in turn personified this idea. As stated before, it was a false hope in my opinion. Still it was amazing to see the energy that this idea brought to the community.

Canon and HDSLR are  another example. Canon released their 5D Mark II DSLR camera with the ability to shoot HD videos. This quickly materialized to another big idea – everybody can be a filmaker – now in an affordable way.

What isn’t a big idea?

Well, the product itself. Features, without a wider context, are merely technical parameters. They don’t improve ones life. Price is not a big idea – again, unless it is in a wider context, such as in the case of HDSLR cameras.

Also, Fun is not a big idea. Fresh is not a big idea. these are just awesome keywords for a brief. “Like” competitions are definitely not a big idea. Hiring “buzzers” is many things, big idea is not one of them.

The Time is Now

Modern western society is in a unique situation. World War II ended with the good guys wining. Communism lost the battle. Most of the western world is democratic, and relatively liberal from an economic point of view. Governments are losing their position as setters of big ideas. Yes, Obama most used word was change. But at the end of the day, nations are creating less and less big ideas that affect lives.

But people are still looking for bigger than life concepts and experiences. They want to feel that they are a part of something, something bigger than day to day life. They want to be excited!

Someone will fill the void. Brands and companies are the best candidates for that. They have the incentive and money to do it.

So what’s your big idea?

In a world of likes, what is the value of engagement?
Facebook made “like” easy. Just a click. No comments, no attachment, no real interaction. Just a click.
So why do we constantly value our campaigns and social activities by this low effort measurement?
It might be that we don’t have enough tools to really understand the value and quality of our social web marketing activities.
But it might be because it is easier to count likes and fans than get to the bottom of these new tools and platforms.
And maybe it’s because we are working too hard to be cool and “social” and “new” that we forget that social marketing is at the end of the day a part of digital marketing – which in turn suppose to provide clear business value.
Engagement doesn’t matter if it doesn’t grow the business. Likes are useless if they don’t help the company to grow by either lowering costs, increasing revenues, or increasing customer satisfaction.
Digital marketers have a huge responsibility – we are ahead of the curve for most of our clients. We should always remember that at the end of the day we need to justify our retainer and project fees, with proper increase in revenues – or achievement of a clear business goal.

So, what’s the business value of Like?

Michael Eisenberg, an Israeli VC, wrote two thought provoking posts about the way the government  invest properly in Israeli High Tech. From Microsoft and .Net monopoly through iPad banning, to poor distribution of CSO funds, our government neglects the important aspects of maintaining Israel’s technological leadership.
Though not a VC, I’ve worked in several industries, from mobile to internet to media, and I meet a lot of startups in different stages. And I think that though Michael is right in his claims, there is another angle to this story – the core competencies of the Israeli industry is not as important as in the past.

Origins of Israeli High Tech
Israel’s High Tech originated, broadly speaking, from 4 sources:
1. Technological army units such as 8200, Air force and Mamram
2. Universities such as Technion
3. Russian immigration
4. ECI/Comverse RAD group and other major companies, whose employees who jumped ship and opened their own startups.

The strong points of these sources were electrical engineering and telecom oriented know how.

The Best Beta Site
Israel has one of the highest mobile and broadband penetration rates. Therefore, a mobile startup could easily sign a deal with a local mobile operator and make it a beta site. The local mobile industry was at the same level as  European mobile markets, so Israeli companies could launch products in that huge market relatively easily, as it was close to what they had locally. I was a part of such process when working with Flash Networks. First we sold our product to Orange, and then to T-Mobile. We knew what was needed in order to build and deploy a product in such an environment.

Media and Internet are Winning. Pipes are losing.
However, the market changed. World wide innovation lies more and more in internet companies. Hulu is more innovative then Motorola. Google is more innovative (and profitable) then Nokia. Mobile operators are not as important in the value chain as they were before. And Apple is changing the game again and again with innovative hardware and software.

Failure in  Growing the Business
Most Israeli companies are just not big enough, or maybe not with the right culture and financial resources to win over the mobile and telecom market and create the next Nokia or even next iPhone. The last guys who tried it failed and closed shop, not to mention their founder’s financial trouble. Yes, I am talking about Else Mobile and Eli Reifman‘s troubles. So in that area we are basically, well, screwed.

No Longer a Beta Site
So let’s look at the Israeli internet industry. Unlike the mobile market, there is a huge difference between local internet industry to international or American one. While video is growing drastically in the US, and major media companies experimenting with new business models, our market is just too small, too centralized, to make companies feel their bread and butter is at risk. With 3-4 major media players (Hot, Yes, Reshet, Keshet), and two major portals (Walla, Ynet) no one has the incentive to innovate. They are making enough money as is, and digital cents are not even on their map, as no one buys content here.
We don’t have an Israeli iTunes. We don’t have an Israeli Hulu. We don’t have an Israeli Huffington Post. We don’t have an Israeli ereader market (Sorry E-vrit, not enough units sold yet). Come on, iPhone, one of the biggest media innovations, landed here less than a year ago.
Amazingly, there is a huge gap between Startup innovation and portals’ adoption of technology.
So the Israeli media and internet is like Shakshuka – some great cutting edge media technology (eggs) floating in a sea of not extremely innovative portals (tomato sauce).

Culture
With technology less of an issue and winning product is the focus in the online and media industry – culture and media consumption habits become the key for creating a winning company. And, we don’t have the visibility of neither. Cause our local market is so different.

Is This The End?
Is this the end of Israeli startup industry? No. There are several amazing content and media companies here in Israel such as Innovid, Outbrain and many more.
But we need to start think differently. It is not like 8200 will start to create cool video players so Israeli innovation won’t die. But it might be that in the future these units won’t be as important in Israeli High Tech as in the past.

Possible Solution
We need a simple plan – and do the so unIsraeli thing to do- actually follow it. We should encourage Hot, Yes and the major portals to invest in innovation. It might be through tax incentives or other ways, but we should give them a reason to do so, cause they don’t have one now.
We should create special incubators for media companies with international media veterans. I have couple of names in mind.
And we should take into consideration that the market is going to change to the worse for us. As Michael said, we are definitely not competitive in price. If the current situation will continue, we will lose our technological edge as well.

What’s Wrong with this  Post?
If you know me you know that I love well established facts. Unfortunately I don’t have the numbers to back the claims here. It is based on personal experience and being in the industry for 10 years.
Would love to hear your opinion.

Google released their Android app inventor, an intuitive development tool for non developers, that enables anyone to develop and publish an android app.
Open ecosystem followers rejoice!
Well, sorry, but it seems that instead of improving Android’s ecosystem, this latest move will only harm it.
You see, Android is becoming the new Symbian. Too many devices, too many different features in each phone, and not enough standardization. We are back to square one, explaining to our customers which phones are supported by the apps we develop for them.
And now things are going to get worse. Instead of improving user experience and providing better apps, Google are opening their app market to a flood of poorly written, mostly useless and probably badly designed applications.
When deciding between “open” and “just works” I chose the later. Ecosystem should cater consumers with easy to use, high quality, and screened apps.
Google will win the smartphone market. The sheer volume of new android phones will eventually eclipse Apple‘s production power. But at the end of the day, Android Is heading towards lower consumer satisfaction, bigger headache for developers, and a clear decision to chose quantity over quality.

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Last year, brave citizens of Iran decided they had enough. After a suspected rigged election, thousands of young Iranians started protesting against the elected government. The movement, called the Green Movement, arranged mass demonstrations, and clashed with security forces.
And while the government controlled the media, it couldn’t control Twitter.
Protesters, Green Movement activists, and ordinary citizens, used Twitter to coordinate protest efforts, and tell the world what the government was trying to hide.
Blogs, magazines, and newspapers, were full of articles about the power of Twitter, and how important it is in such events.

Year later, the green movement is crushed. Iran’s Basig, the ever faithful Republican Guard, crushed the resistance. Demonstrators were shot and killed. Some were jailed and tortured. The first anniversary of the biggest uprise against Ahmadinejad regime ended quietly.

Twitter is an amazing network. I use it every day.
But we should remember that it is just a website, a social network, a communication medium. At the end of the day, Twitter won’t bring democracy to countries under dictatorship. It might prove a film distributor that it is worthwhile to bring the latest horror flick to the theater near you. It could help raise funds for nobel cause.
But at the end, as Iran case proves, the gun is mightier than the Tweet.

Related articles

• The Myth of the Iranian Twitter Revolution (subtraction.com)
• The Limits Of Twitter (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)
• Iran 2009 protests: Where are the green Twitter avatars now? (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)

After couple of days with iOS4, the new iPhone/iPad operation system, I find myself a bit confused. Yes, it’s that multitasking feature that everyone were waiting for it, if not due to its usefulness, then in order to shut all those Android lovers mouths. But it was implemented wrong. Here’s why:
1. I still don’t get it – which app supports multi-tasking and which just freezes? The main difference is the experience. The ones that don’t really support Multitasking just start again when you chose them from the open apps menu. The experience isn’t consistant, which is pretty annoying.
2. Who the hell decided to use the home button to reach the open apps? Sometimes clicking the home button works as intended, but in some cases I reach the search screen.
3. The apps don’t quit on their own. Now I have gazillion open apps. What am I supposed to do now?

I’d like to have file upload, VoIP calls, and IM sessions open in the background. But who needs this app cacophony?

Steve Jobs is going to revolutionize the video telephony market. Here are 2 posts discussing how it would affect the market and what does it mean that it is based on open standards:
Thank You Mr. Jobs
The Technology Behind  FaceTime

These posts were published in IMTC‘s blog, an international consortium of visual communication companies,  and were written by me and Anatoli Levine, President of IMTC and Director of product management, Americas  at RADVISION.

A Friend

A lot of exciting things happened recently, and can’t wait to tell you all about it. However they affected our blog updates, and we are now getting back to speed with that too…
The incentives of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is an important tool in online marketer toolbox. Companies big and small use this method to reach new audiences effectively. The principle is simple – Company A provides incentives to everyone online to promote their product. Usually a cut of the deal is paid to the affiliate. Companies such as Amazon provide dedicated links and widgets for these partners who in turn distribute them to their audience.
Besides Amazon and other well known brands, many found affiliate marketing a profitable business in other business line such as diet and nutrition and investment tools . In many cases a small operation of two to three smart people, with strong knowledge in SEO and PPC can make a lot of money in these activities.
Affiliate marketing is in many cases more a science than art. Where everything can be measured, smart affiliate marketers optimize their efforts again and again to reach the best conversion rate possible. The ability to instantly measure every activity as well as reassign resources makes it a very dynamic business.
Some in this business are using tactics that are ethically questionable such as fake blogs and spam.
Brands are interested in creating meaningful relationships with their audience, in order to make their brand affect buying decisions.
In short, while affiliate marketing is all about one night stands with customers, branding is more like a long term relationship.
Efficiency of Social Media
Social channels are all about creating meaningful connection with current and potential customers. Unlike other channels, here the brand is acting within the personal space of the customer. That’s because people go to Facebook and Twitter to talk with friends and family, and not necessarily in order to consume content. The content they do consume is usually recommended by friends, or sent to them based on their permission (such as joining a Facebook page of a product or a brand). In social channels it is all about trust – brands can increase the trust of their target audience while engaging with them and giving them value. These channels offer many for affiliate marketers as well. Do a little test: twit several times about forex and diet and see how hoards of great looking, well endowed women follow you and offer you to get rich and fit in less than 10 days. Many find it rude.
This is the risk for brands. Let’s say that Joann, 19 yo, beautiful brunette just offered me a unique diet that will make me the hottest guy around, and when I click the link I am getting to a reputable brand’s page – how would it make me feel re this brand? Would I continue to trust it? And let say that I am looking for info about a company and see that the only mentions on twitter are by Joann and her friends – would I trust that company? And if all the raving reviews about this company are from blogs that look like fake ones – how would that affect my perception of the brand?
Brands, Short Term Relationships and Incentives
Everyone wants to make money. This is not a shocker. But there are different ways to make money. Some companies are focusing on short term gain, and some are focusing on building and maintaining a brand. The brand strategy takes time and effort. Not only that but association with spam and other ethically questionable tactics can harm brands more than the value of increased exposure gained by using these tools.
While affiliate marketers aim is to increase conversion, brands are interested in creating brand equity – meaning, making their brand count. This is a basic difference in incentives.
So while our imaginary Joann could provide great conversion rate for the affiliate marketer, the brand she is referring to might suffer from that activity even if in the short run they will sell more of their products. And while it was always true, the trust based system of social media increases the potential damage for brands.
So What Can You Do?
It all boils down to strategy. If your company doesn’t care about branding – affiliate is the way to go. If branding is crucial, but so is affiliate marketing, consider separating brands, or find ways to impose at least some guidelines on your affiliates. It’s tricky but feasible. As long as you know what you lose and what you gain in each strategy, you will be able to find the best way to grow your business.

If I told Dr. Gregory House that his season finale will affect the world of photography and film making, he’d probably answer with some witty-yet-rude comment about my possible film maker wonnabe frustration, and go to annoy Dr. Wilson.
But strangely enough, House MD 6th season finale, aired tonight,  will be one of the most important events in the history of HDSLR filmmaking and affordable filmography as a whole. More to it, the debate that started due to the show’s  Director of Photography  decision will affect not only these markets, but could be also a game changer to the whole filmmaking and TV industry, as well for the innovative camera company RED.
The reason is simple. House MD’s season finale was not shot on film as usual, but on a $2,700 camera from Canon, 5D Mark II. And that’s pretty damn affordable, in comparison to the cost of high end cameras.
This is the story how simple cameras are changing the way stories are being told, how money is lost and gained, and how the filmmaking industry is changing forever.

The Beginning of a Revolution?

As I’ve laid out in a previous post, HDSLR, stills DSLR cameras with video capabilities, are slowly changing the world of video and film making.The ability to use a wide varity of lenses, the high quality image, portability of the cameras, and high quality sensors, sounds like an indy filmmaker dream.
Therefore it is not a huge surprise to see online forums full with enthusiasts, as well as Vimeo groups with stunning videos made on a budget. Vincent Lafouret, LA based filmmaker was one of the first people who advocated these cameras, in the best way possible: creating this stunning video:

Not too long after that Canon introduced its 7D model (which I proudly own), that introduced new key features (such as the most coveted frame rate of 24 frames per second – the same as film), in almost half the price of the 5D Mark II. And then the 550D, half the price of the 7D.

The ability to produce amazing looking videos was quickly advocated by the gear company Zacuto and Philip Bloom, a gifted video maker who contributed a lot to the community through his blog and videos explaining how to best utilize these cameras.
Even my filmmaking hero Robert Rodriguez, was caught using these cameras for some of his productions.

Money To Be Made?
Using an HDSLR camera for video requires more than just a camera. As these cameras are built for stills photography in mind, their ergonomics and features don’t answer some key needs of video makers. And where there is a void in the market, there is money to be made. A new market for support gear and rigs was born, with companies such as Zacuto and RedRock Micro leading the pack. These companies, originating mainly from the film and video industry, price their equipment accordingly. And while cameras cost less and less due to mass production, HDSLR video makers find themselves spending more money on rigs than on their camera. Still, price point of a fully equipped HDSLR camera provides amazing production value for fraction of the price of comparable equipment.

From Hobbyists to Mainstream
In the last months two important announcements changed the way HDSLR cameras are perceived:
George Lucas, the visionary filmmaker, announced that he will use 5D Mark II in his next film. We are talking about theatrical release. The real thing. With Lucas. The guy behind Star Wars.
AND Greg Yaitanes, Director of House MD, announced on Twitter that the season finale, airing tonight , was shot entirely on 5D Mark II.
These announcements have a huge impact on the HDSLR market, and filmmaking as a whole. HDSLR cameras are ready for prime time TV and feature films. And they cost a fraction of a professional HD video camera, not to mention film equipment.

Since the birth of YouTube, indy filmmakers and budget productions could easily distribute their content, but couldn’t afford to get the production value of high end films. Now they can do it.

It is all about talent now.

In the next post we’ll cover the reactions and backfire against the HDSLR movement.

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After spending tens of dollars on iPad apps, I can tell you one thing – developers are still in the dark re the UI of this device. However it doesn’t stop them from charging more than $10 for an ever crashing app.
While iWork apps prove to be stable and usable, others are just riding the hype. I couldn’t finish a 2 minutes session of Elements, without a crash. It didn’t stop the developers from charging $14 for it. And yes, I am talking about a periodic table, with fancy pictures. Compare it to an amazingly useful GoodReader, that costs $0.99, and you start to see how misguided the iPad apps pricing is. SocialReader is another great idea done wrong, that cost $1.99.
And while Things is overpriced but useful ($19.99), the guys from Omni Group are asking for $49.99 for OmniGraffle, a diagram application.

I have to admit that some of the best applications are the free ones. NYT is awesome. The same for Bloomberg and BBC. Gaurdian’s Eyewitness app is great too.

Now, I am all for pricing applications based on their value. But many of the apps on my iPad are simply unstable to the point of unusable.

I have a short list of apps that I really like to use. But I will wait until sanity regained in the pricing of iPad apps.