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Articles tagged with: amazon

Business Models, Disruption, Innovation, Opinions »

[12 May 2011]
Dear companies: stop changing the definition of “ownership”

Consumers are frustrated.  As innovations lead us to newer, better, faster, more powerful products and services, we keep finding a disparity between our purchase of those products and services and the rights we have to them.
Google and Amazon both recently announced online music “lockers” that allow consumers to upload music – that they have legally purchased – for backup purposes and to stream via a web browser or mobile app.   But the music labels think they should be paid to allow this type of service.   As a result, …

Business Models, Innovation »

[28 Nov 2010]
The $3 Billion Dollar Suggestion Box

Some people stick their noses up in the air at the idea that a company “suggestion box” can be a source of practical innovation.   Amazon would beg to differ.
For those not familiar with the Amazon Prime program, members pay a $79 annual fee to receive free 2-day shipping on most products stocked by Amazon.  According to a BusinessWeek article, Amazon Prime might be responsible for 20% of Amazon’s US sales, which were about $16 billion in the last 12 months.  That means Prime could be a $3 billion dollar program.
Guess …

Innovation, Opinions »

[30 Jul 2010]
Inventing the Web 2.0 Lemonade Stand

When I was growing up, running a lemonade stand was easy.  You picked a hot day, made sure you had a good location, priced it right, and provided a quality product.
But in the Web 2.0 world we live in, that just isn’t enough.  Everyone knows that it takes much less capital to start a business then it did 20 years ago, so everyone in your neighborhood is probably thinking about starting a lemonade stand too.  How will you ever be able to beat the competition?  Here is your guide to …

Business Models, Opinions »

[28 Sep 2009]
Amazon: let me help you sell me a Kindle

I think that I want an Amazon Kindle.  As a self-professed early adopter of gadgets, the Kindle should certainly rank near the top of my list.  I wish the product did more (touch screen, color, play movies, etc.) but I’ll just have to wait for the future Apple tablet to give me another multimedia toy.   At $299 it is also fairly expensive as noted by many reviewers, but that hasn’t stopped me from buying cool technology before.
So why haven’t I taken the plunge?  Because I have at least a dozen …