Understanding the Marriage of Technology and Human Behavior
Jan. 12, 2012
Whether you’re selling products, services or both – your marketing/sales future depends on whether you’re up-to-date on technology. That’s because it’s so intertwined with human behavior.
An interesting article in Ad Age is a timely reminder.
It’s entitled, “CMOs Explain Why They’re Flocking to Vegas for CES.” The article explains why thousands of advertising and marketing professionals consider the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas a must-attend event.
The obvious conclusion: CES is vital for their job security. On a macro level, marketers attend CES to stay abreast of technology and the resulting human behavior – how people connect with brands.
They understand the importance of profiting from emerging human behaviors.
Not to criticize, but that’s why it’s so puzzling that Microsoft ended its 15-year association with CES as the anchor sponsor. Yes, I understand the reasons given by Microsoft. But when you own a franchise, you don’t give it away. You’ll never recoup it. And CES is the go-to tech event at the start of every year. Like soft drinks and Coke, Microsoft needs to be synonymous with new technology.
Further, it’s a chance to meet face-to-face with thousands of influential people and to stay abreast of technology. And as each year passes with new evolving technology, CES becomes more important.
From the Coach’s Corner, here are marketing resource links to keep up with your competitors –
How Small Businesses Can Capitalize on Cyber Strategies for Profit
Why B2B Marketers Like Content Marketing – Study
Best Practices to Optimize Your Brand, Manage Your Web Reputation
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
-Thomas A. Edison
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Terry Corbell is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?
Who Profits from Android’s Security Issues? Not Users.
Dec. 19, 2011
Countless headlines detail the cyber dangers of Android-based devices, which is why 22 applications were taken off the market by Google. The operating system’s issues stemmed from malware infections.
So who can benefit? Certainly it isn’t Android users.
“We continue to advise readers to be very cautious in downloading Android applications,” wrote Dr. Stan Stahl on his blog. “Applications should be downloaded only from ‘official’ stores and only after they have been ‘vetted’ as legit,” wrote the nationally known security expert.
Google removed the apps from its Android market after they fooled users into accepting hidden, fraudulent charges.
The biggest operating-system competitor to Google’s Android: Apple’s iOS.
Published reports indicate Microsoft is actively pursuing opportunities to capitalize on Android’s woes.
Research in Motion (RIM) has its woes with Blackberry profitability. New products are slow to market. As RIM’s phones age and need to be replaced by business users, Apple’s products might become even more attractive in the corporate world.
And if the vulnerabilities aren’t resolved, both Apple and Microsoft should be in a position to profit.
From the Coach’s Corner, security resource links:
New Cybercrime Serves as Warning to Take Defensive Precautions
Why Many Healthcare Workers Are Responsible for Alarming Trend: Medical ID Theft
Our Mobile-Banking Warnings about Security Prove Prophetic
“Distrust and caution are the parents of security.”
-Benjamin Franklin
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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?
Is FTC Probe Warranted in Google’s Business Practices?
June 30, 2011
Once again, we are looking at an epic antitrust case. Uncle Sam is again setting itself up as the digital-age czar. You’ll recall the Microsoft antitrust case in which it averted a breakup. Only this time it’s the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) instead of the U.S. Department of Justice persecuting Google. It’s unwarranted.
Google is being targeted because it has acquired enemies en route to its huge Internet success with free services. Adversaries include cable and telecom companies, competing advertising firms, content and media publishers. Oh, let’s not forget Microsoft. The software giant is chagrined, in part, because Google has overwhelmed it despite entering search in 1998 – after Microsoft’s MSN. MSN failed as most of us initially used AOL or Yahoo. Now, two thirds of Internet users prefer Google.
Ironically, the purpose of antitrust suits is to protect millions of consumers – not competitors. History shows two large companies faced with antitrust suits – AT&T and Microsoft – became sidetracked, which hurt businesses and consumers. More on that later.
European Union competitors have also targeted Google. The French firm, 1plusV, has complained about Google’s AdSense. That’s because AdSense prevented 1plusV from advertising its legal search engine from 2006 to 2010. Others include an Italian case, and Microsoft going abroad to complain.
AT&T breakup
Antitrust actions have long intrigued me. A Hollywood script-like drama was building for months in 1974. Finally, the intrigue was over. On Nov.21, 1974, the Justice Department filed the biggest antitrust case in history as it sought the breakup of AT&T. The legal war lasted nearly eight years.
The government argued that the vertically integrated company, which provided both long distance and local services, was a monopoly and caused unfair competition. AT&T’s long-distance rates had been subsidizing the local residential service rates. AT&T was forced to break up its Bell system of local-exchange telephone companies so that it could go into the computer business.
This was heady stuff for me as a journalist, as it followed the end of the Vietnam War and Watergate. The economy was in bad shape, even a few years after President Richard Nixon imposed wage and price controls. Middle East oil shortages exacerbated inflation. The lines at the gas stations were sometimes very long.
All the case did was to accelerate the company’s demise. Such legal action drains company resources. They become distracted, which hurts consumers who no longer benefit. Indeed, AT&T could no longer innovate.
AT&T’s looming divestiture coincided with changes in how the TV and radio networks distributed their news and other programs to affiliate stations. Before the AT&T breakup, TV broadcasters used the company’s microwave relay and coaxial cable systems. Radio networks used the company’s “leased lines.” New satellites, Satcom 1 and Westar 1, provided competition with higher audio and video quality with lower costs.
Many stations, however, still had contracts with AT&T or they didn’t have big enough budgets to buy expensive earth stations in order to get the network feeds. I worked at two such stations, including one owned by the legendary Dick Clark.
Microsoft’s antitrust precedent – and a disclosure
Many analysts have noted that this FTC-Google issue is, of course, reminiscent of Microsoft’s war with the Justice Department. The federal antitrust lawsuit lasted from the 1990s to the early part of the 21st century. Microsoft finally emerged from government oversight in May of this year.
Although I empathized with Microsoft, I understood firsthand why the company was sued. Microsoft’s legal department was very busy.
Disclosure:
In 1992, I purchased a firm, MSN – Marketing Services Northwest. The financial and human resources needs of my new clients prompted me to expand my consulting services. Three years later, to reflect my services, I updated the firm’s name to MSN – Management Services Northwest. I spent a small fortune on branding and collateral materials. Then, considering its software/digital age dominance, Microsoft entered the search-engine competition rather late with its MSN. As my business exploded, I neglected to fully protect my company’s name.
Unexpectedly, I encountered two issues with Microsoft:
- The company apparently used the MSN moniker without any regard to precedent (mine).
- MSN had accounting problems and its customers mistakenly telephoned my firm nonstop, 24/7 to complain.
When I contacted Microsoft about my two concerns, I was marginalized. A company employee told me: “Join the crowd…this would be lawsuit du jour.” Frustrated, I contacted two noted attorneys who empathized but declined to take my case. They knew we’d be outgunned by Microsoft’s vast resources. In the late 1990s, I was stuck with a big tab for new collateral and marketing.
However, I freely admit Microsoft’s behavior was a factor in my strategic planning. Thankfully, it included becoming a news media columnist – a full-circle return to my career roots.
A few years later, when I was the Biz Coach columnist on Belo Web sites, cybercrime regularly raised its ugly head. I wrote that Microsoft was not performing adequately in security. Like AT&T, it seemed as though Microsoft failed to innovate – it was not using best practices in security.
However, a decade after the legal war, it’s worth noting that Microsoft is now serious about security and is better serving business and consumers. The company provides a free service, Microsoft Security Essentials. It does a credible job of providing real-time protection against viruses, spyware, and other malicious invaders.
FTC’s antitrust allegations against Google
The FTC is investigating whether Google is an abusive monopoly – a predator that unfairly exploits competition and is harmful to the public interest in its search-advertising business.
Not only do Internet users count on Google in 66 percent of all search results, the search giant helps in comparison shopping, e-mails, mapping and travel. It’s also in mobile phones, television and videos.
Competitors – such as Expedia, TripAdvisor and Microsoft – allege Google is disingenuous. Microsoft, in particular, has been rather vocal. The competitors claim Google directs Internet users to its own interests and basically hides competitors’ links – at the expense of its rivals.
The antitrust subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee is exploring such allegations. So are the Texas attorney general and the European Commission.
This is Google’s second hassle with the FTC this year. You might recall Google agreed to settle FTC complaints of deceptive practices and violations of consumers’ privacy after it launched Google Buzz, a social network, in 2010. Google was also accused of lying about its treatment of European Union (EU) users’ personal information – in violation of the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor privacy framework. For the next two decades, Google will have to submit to privacy audits.
“When companies make privacy pledges, they need to honor them,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz on the agency’s Web site. “This is a tough settlement that ensures that Google will honor its commitments to consumers and build strong privacy protections into all of its operations.”
Meantime, Google took another shot at success in social networking with a new product, Google+, which connects its users – a direct challenge to Facebook.
Google’s response to new FTC probe
A Google blog post stated “it’s still unclear exactly what the FTC’s concerns are.” Google also said “our success has led to greater scrutiny.”
The search giant asserted that the majority of complaints stem from disgruntled competitors who feel angst over inferior search rankings.
“Since the beginning, we have been guided by the idea that, if we focus on the user, all else will follow,” the company said in its blog post.
“We make hundreds of changes to our algorithms every year to improve your search experience,” it added. “Not every website can come out at the top of the page, or even appear on the first page of our search results.”
Plus, here’s more on Google’s strategies: Google taps former Microsoft prosecutor amid probe.
Conclusions
Yes, Google is aggressive and innovative. It adapts to consumer preferences. It hasn’t behaved perfectly, but all businesses are aggressive if they want to survive.
During all those months when Microsoft was in its advertising-search merger talks with Yahoo – their quest to overtake Google – no one complained about the two companies’ prospects in ganging up on Google to achieve search dominance. In fact, I recall many times when using Yahoo, I wanted to search on Bing, but Yahoo refused to let me. A popup question appeared – asking me if I really wanted to leave Yahoo for Bing. It was annoying and Yahoo’s defensiveness was a sign that it was desperate. But I wasn’t going to complain to the FTC.
Has Google been a monopolistic predator operating against the public interest? No. I have found Google to be innovative, responsive, and transparent about its goal to be known for relevant content. It provides a bevy of blogs and videos to help publishers.
Furthermore, its success forced Bing to become more innovative. My sense is that Bing now competes well with Google in delivering relevant results. That means Yahoo does, too. The three account for 96 percent of Internet-search market share. As a result, all Internet users have benefited.
The Internet has become so big and so fast, what makes the federal government qualified to be the final arbiter of what services should be made available to consumers? Why not let the markets be the final say?
Google’s success is largely from developing a unique algorithm system that’s enabled it to become the most popular among Internet users. Without giving too much information to spammers and cybercriminals, Google has been transparent by frequently providing tips to publishers on how to succeed for better rankings.
So, is the FTC probe warranted in Google’s business practices? No. The Internet competition has benefited consumers and businesses, alike. We’re all benefiting from Google’s leadership. The complainers need to stop whining. It would be more productive for them to better satisfy their customers – by analyzing their companies’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Then, innovate for the benefit of Internet users. That’s how I dealt with the adversity from MSN, and it’s why Google triumphs over its competitors.
Let’s hope the antitrust probe doesn’t distract Google from its mission. Millions of consumers will be hurt.
From the Coach’s Corner, here’s this portal’s case study for success on Google:
As publisher of this business-news portal, I haven’t always been enchanted with Google.
By way of explanation, for nine years, I wrote Biz Coach columns for Web sites of three media companies – Belo, Fisher Communications and Cox. With such a history, I hoped it would give me a competitive edge when I launched this portal in July, 2009. I worked hard to develop what I believed were contemporary thought-leadership – business-coaching columns with proven solutions for maximum profits – coupled with business-news videos. I thought a business-news portal with good content would be successful.
But success was slow in achieving Internet prominence using biz coach, as the key words. I was impatient with all the search engines, especially Google because it was No. 1.
In addition, for publishers, its AdSense program proved to be impotent – users in most demographics stopped clicking on ads, which meant little revenue for Web sites. Google has responded with improvements and regularly emails tips to publishers. (Disclosure: This portal uses Google AdSense in addition to other advertising.)
Meantime, I didn’t invest funds in Internet marketing, nor did I worry about Google’s vaunted search-advertising business. I focused solely on best practices for organic growth and content. I did my best to translate my portal’s analytics into strategic actions to meet users’ needs.
This meant I added thought-leadership opinions from select contributors. I studied the authoritative trades for insights. Using high page-ranked search-engine press release sites, I wrote 150 press releases to promote columns. I encouraged links from prestigious Web sites, but refused to let weak sites link to this portal.
Finally, this portal cracked the top 10 in search results after seven long months.
By Feb. 2010, emerging competition from social media sites proved to be formidable for all the search engines. Increasingly, millennials relied on social media for information. That meant search engines were forced to incorporate presence in social-media as a decisive factor in ranking Web sites. After writing about the trend, I realized that I wasn’t capitalizing on it. I started to include my shameless self-promotion of all content for my niche on the three dominant social networks – LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
Not to be gauche, admittedly, I smiled as The Biz Coach crept to No. 3 and soon jumped into first place on all the search engines, including Google with its more than 40 million search results for the key words, biz coach. I intend to keep smiling.
Thank you for visiting. I look forward to more of your visits.
Resource links for Internet success:
Google Insights – 23 Key Questions about Your Web Site
Web Publishers: Are You Optimized for Bing?
10 Tips to Optimize Your Web Site for Higher Sales
Google Speaks Out About Frequency vs. Value
Startup Toolkit – How to Make a Hit on the Internet
In SEO, Your Site’s Download Speed Matters to Google
“Your brand is created out of customer contact and the experience your customers have of you.”
-Stelios Haji-Ioannou
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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complementary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?
Windows 7 Looks Great, but Should it Be Better? Yes.
Jan. 29, 2011
A review about Windows 7 in InformationWeek caught my eye because it struck a nerve. The publication’s senior editor, Serdar Yegulalp, wrote an insightful piece entitled, “What Windows 7 Is Still Missing.” As a longtime Microsoft supporter, I agree with his insights and have my own personal unfortunate experience but more on that later.
“There’s little question Windows 7 has been received with open arms by users and admins,” Mr. Yegulalp writes.
”It fixed many of the problems that plagued earlier versions of Windows, made good on the promises that seemed only half-fulfilled with Vista, and introduced a slew of new functions — big and small — that were also warmly received,” he explains.
“When Windows 7 was released, Microsoft made a major blunder by not updating a free offering that had been previously available for Windows XP and Vista: SteadyState,” he adds. “Windows does not have, by default, a single all-encompassing mechanism for returning the entire system — user settings, data on disk, etc. — to a given state.”
He explains SteadyState saved Admins setup time.
“Instead, Microsoft released a white paper in which they described how admins could use many of the native technologies in Windows 7 to emulate the behaviors of SteadyState,” he points out.” It isn’t hard to guess the reaction: people booed Microsoft roundly for ignoring a much-requested feature from its customers.”
Mr. Yegulalp maintains Windows 7 doesn’t provide a critical function: “…one of the biggest and most crucial functions — disk protection — isn’t provided except through workarounds like System Restore. These don’t work in remotely the same fashion as SteadyState’s own disk protection, which required little or no intervention or downtime.”
He points out it lacks support for other hardware.
“Most of us are all too familiar with this scenario,” he writes.”You install a copy of Windows on a newly-minted PC, or perhaps reinstall a clean copy on an existing one. Unfortunately, a great many things simply don’t work — your Bluetooth module, for instance, or your memory card reader. Or the whole system just seems weirdly sluggish for a fresh install.”
He makes these suggestions:
- Extend Windows update to close the gap
- Universal software updates
- Proper touch support for tablets
- Acquisitions, third-party features
“But Windows 8 is two years or more away, and most people will not wait that long for solutions to the problems…They want some sign, sooner rather than later, that the right thing is being done,” he asserts.
“And if it Microsoft doesn’t provide it, someone else will,” concludes Mr. Yegulalp.
Amen.
To read his full assessment, here’s his article: What Windows 7 Is Still Missing.
From the Coach’s Corner, my own Windows 7 experience is not what I’d expect from a leading technology company.
After some thought, I decided to buy Windows 7 to upgrade my most-revered notebook computer, an IBM ThinkPad. (Actually, I own two.)
However, making a purchase online, it could not be installed. Plus, Microsoft didn’t send an email confirmation as promised. I tried every tip provided on Microsoft’s Web site to no avail. So I called the company. It took repeated calls. I was forced to deal with two people who were difficult to understand.
Initially, they didn’t believe I even made the purchase. After all, there was no receipt. Then, someone thought to ask for my product key. They concluded they couldn’t help me.
Ultimately, I reached someone I could understand. But the tech-support person concluded that I’d have to wait for the five days for a disk to install Windows 7.
Then, his major gaffe – he lectured me for buying Windows 7 instead of buying a new computer with it already installed.
“Where’s the attitude of empathy and customer service,” I thought. “What a waste of more than three hours.”
I hung up telling him: “You’re of no help.”
Oh, and more than 24 hours later, I finally received a purchase-receipt from Microsoft.
Is this the best a world-class company can do? Now, after reading Mr. Yegulalp’s article – not knowing whether Windows 7 will even be compatible with my own needs – it’s a purchase I hope I don’t regret.
Microsoft’s adCenter Expands Negative Keyword Limits
Aug. 22, 2010
Now that the Yahoo-Microsoft merger is underway, Microsoft has announced a new wrinkle to its advertising program – an increase in negative keyword limits.
The change enables advertisers to increase by “thousands of negative words…both the campaign and ad group levels,” reports WebProNews.
“If you’re not familiar with negative keywords, advertisers can prevent their ads from appearing in response to certain search queries using negative keywords (specific words or phrases that help prevent ads from being displayed to customers who are unlikely to click),” explains writer Chris Crum.
“Doing so will also keep your keyword-level negatives from overriding your newly expanded lists at the higher levels,” he quotes Microsoft’s Tina Kelleher.
Here is Microsoft’s explanation of its negative keyword limits in adCenter.
“Advertisers need to upload their expanded lists of negative keywords at the campaign or ad group level with the negative keywords migration wizard in the Desktop, then remove keyword-level negatives, the company says,” adds Mr. Crum.
“Unless, of course, you’re perfectly happy with your campaigns as they are now and don’t need the increased capacity for negatives at the higher levels, then there’s no action you need to take at all,” he quotes Ms. Kelleher.
From the Coach’s Corner, for an explanation of the Yahoo-Microsoft merger, see:
Web Publishers: Are You Optimized for Bing?
Security Firm Warns About Historic Malware Levels
Updated Aug. 11, 2010
On a day when Microsoft issues a massive security update, McAfee publicizes its second-quarter date, which shows malware is permeating the Internet on mega scale, according to Website Magazine.
The magazine reports McAfee isolated six million malware cases in Q2 – that’s 10 million for the first half of 2010.
Microsoft’s security update included 14 security bulletins. Eight are designated as “critical” and six are deemed “important.” In all, there were 34 vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer, Silverlight, Microsoft XML Core Services and Server Message Block.
“The most frequently used malware included threats on portable storage devices, fake anti-virus software, software specifically targeted at social media users, AutoRun malware and password-stealing Trojans,” writes Linc Wonham, Website Magazine’s associate editor. “McAfee reported that approximately 55,000 new pieces of malware appear every day around the world.”
He reports spam is down after peaking at almost 175 billion messages per day in Q3 2009.
“The most popular forms of spam in the U.S. were delivery status notifications or non-delivery receipt spam, which was also the case in Great Britain, China, Australia, Italy, Spain, Germany and Brazil. Argentina had the world’s highest number of different spam topics with 16, according to McAfee’s report,” he explains.
So, if Microsoft hasn’t updated your computers, get busy. For solutions on malware, see: What You Must Do to Combat the Malware Epidemic.
From the Coach’s Corner, if you want more tech-security information, search for the name, Dr. Stan Stahl, on this site. You’ll find voluminous, useful information.
Trend: Google Down Slightly While Yahoo, Microsoft Up
May 11, 2010
In U.S. Internet searches, Google sites dropped a bit while the Yahoo and Microsoft Web sites experienced an increase in visitors in April 2010, according to the latest comScore Core Search Report. The research company also reports there were 15.5 billion searches last month.
Google’s market share was 64.4 percent – down .7 percent from 65.1 percent.
Yahoo’s sites jumped in visitors by .8 percent – from 16.9 to 17.7 percent.
Microsoft increased by .1 percent from 11.7 to 11.8 percent.
“Both Yahoo! Sites and Microsoft Sites have experienced gains due in part to the introduction of new site navigation experiences that tie content and related search results together within several channels,” according to the comscore press release.
“These features provide search results to users as they navigate through topical content and meet comScore’s established criteria for counting search queries,” added comScore. “Ask Network captured 3.7 percent of the search market, followed by AOL LLC with 2.4 percent.”
The ranking in terms of searches:
- Google – 10 billion
- Yahoo – 2.8 billion
- Microsoft – 1.8 billion
- Ask Network – 574 million
- AOL LLC – 371 million
The comScore disclaimer: “Based on the five major search engines including partner searches and cross-channel searches. Searches for mapping, local directory, and user-generated video sites that are not on the core domain of the five search engines are not included in the core search numbers.”
Here’s the link for the comScore press release.
From the Coach’s Corner, here’s a helpful article on Six Ways to Test Your E-commerce Site.
Risk Management – Lawyer Explains Basics in Protecting Intellectual Property
Each hour, it seems, news headlines are published about patents. Normally, patent headlines are a sign of business friction as the case with Xerox vs. Google and Yahoo, and Apple vs. Nokia.
So it’s extraordinary for adversaries such as Google and Yahoo to be on the same side. Xerox filed a patent lawsuit naming the two search giants alleging they are violating automatic query and information patents, according to InformationWeek.
It’s also rare when you can spot a positive news headline regarding patents. Note this PC World headline: “Microsoft, Amazon Strike Patent Licensing Deal.” This means Microsoft and Amazon.com will each tap into the other company’s technology. As part of the arrangement, Microsoft will receive payments from Amazon.com.
Entrepreneurs are well-advised to consider ways to avoid legal entanglements over their inventions and intellectual property.
Here’s an example: Apple vs. Nokia. In this case, the U.S. International Trade Commission is investigating.
Sounds serious, doesn’t it – it’s time to turn to a noted patent attorney for an explanation of this case.
“It looks like Apple and Nokia are using their patent portfolios to obtain some leverage from each other,” says Adam L.K. Philipp, founder of the Axios Law firm (www.axioslaw.com). “Generally, two firms of this size may posture, but then settle, especially as their respective patent portfolios are so large.”
He speaks from experience. He says his current clients include: “RealNetworks, Wetpaint, PhotoBucket (formerly Ontela), SEOmoz, Appature, Winshuttle, Kashless, HealthUnity, AirSplat.com, and many more.”
China makes a lot of intellectual property headlines. Is China getting a bad rap?
“China is becoming an intellectual property powerhouse; a bit like a very large high college football player. Young and inexperienced, but having a lot of potential and with the right seasoning has the ability to go to the NFL,” explains the Seattle attorney.
“Generally I tell my clients that it is not enough to have a business partner or intellectual property in China, you want to give your business partner the tools to use by filing for intellectual property protection in China,” adds Mr. Philipp.
He says entrepreneurs face five common problems in intellectual property (IP). They include:
- Waiting too long to seek IP protection
- Talking about their technology before securing protection
- Spending too little money on IP protection
- Spending too much money on IP protection
- Spending money on the wrong IP protection
“From a business perspective it is always important to think of intellectual property as providing a business with business tools,” he says. “By simply understanding IP better, businesses can make better decisions on a cost/benefit basis of how or if to proceed with IP protection.”
And he believes patents are needed for five reasons:
- To obtain exclusivity in their market (barriers to entry for others). Also to satisfy investors.
- To obtain licensing revenue
- For bragging rights (PR)
- For cross-licensing opportunities
- All of the above
How about trademarks?
“Securing the investment in a brand and the associated goodwill,” explains Mr. Philipp. “It is expensive and distracting to entrepreneurs and their customers to change a brand. Registering a trademark can help to avoid that.”
He warns about the importance of copyrights. “Registering copyrights allows a rights hold much easier and cheaper enforcement options. In particular access to statutory damages that can be quite effective in copyright litigation.”
He’s knowledgeable in the core issues in business-method patents, such as Bilski. Bilski was a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and later debated at the U.S. Supreme Court. But the high court’s decision still left questions about what can be patented.
What’s Bilski all about?
“The core issues revolve around the United States’ policy of protecting innovation; and deciding what types of innovations are worthy of patent protection,” Mr. Philipp says. “If is it merely a method of doing business, is that the kind of thing our Founding Fathers really wanted enshrined in the Constitution as protectable?”
Verbiage regarding patents, obviously, is technical, such as the machine or transformation test.
“That a process patent must either be tied to a particular machine or apparatus or must operate to change articles or materials to a ‘different state or thing’,” he explains. “Currently, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office merely requires a recitation of a particular computer performing the process for software inventions.”
OK, the bottom-line: When does he recommend inventors seek a patent attorney?
“As soon as they decide to build a business around their idea(s),” he concludes. “But that does not mean that they need to start filing for protection right away, rather that they should be informed and strategic about how they allocate their budget.”
Take it from me, pay heed to this information if you want to avoid unnecessary headaches.
From the Coach’s Corner, on a lighter note courtesy of Forbes, here are images of The Kookiest Inventions. (I haven’t verified whether they have made money. )
Microsoft Hits the Jackpot with 60 Percent Profit Increase
Jan. 28, 2010
Hurray! Technology got some welcome news as Microsoft scored a Q2 breakthrough in its 2010 profit picture following its downturn a year earlier. Profit jumped 60 percent.
The company’s results stemmed largely from sales of Windows 7. Microsoft attracted shoppers in droves and increased PC sales using the software.
The numbers: Microsoft achieved $8.5 billion in operating income. Online services were not profitable but $5.4 billion in earnings came from Windows and Windows Live.
Q2 profit increased to $.66 billion or 74 cents a share from $4.17 billion or 47 cents a share the year before. This is from revenue that jumped 14 percent – from $16.63 billion to $19.02 billion.
Consumer demand is heartening news. It’s the best operating system launch in the company’s history. However, Microsoft warned that business has not begun spending.
An interesting side angle: Inexpensive notebooks now comprise 11 percent of the PC market, and 90 percent of which have Windows installed. That means Microsoft is dodging a financial bullet because the low-priced netbooks constitute a lower revenue stream for the software maker.
Weak spots for Microsoft: Office sales were about flat, and online services (think Bing) decreased $581 million or 5 percent. But Bing’s market share of searches increased to 10.7 percent compared to 8.3 percent last year.
The proposed advertising merger with Yahoo is expected later in 2010.
Go Microsoft! Microsoft’s success not only bodes well for the tech sector. Microsoft, as a major employer, is a symbol of hope in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. The state is trying to solve a deficit while suffering from high unemployment.
From the Coach’s Corner, are you looking for some expertise in search optimization?
You might consider this product:
http://www.iis.net/expand/SEOToolkit
WA Entrepreneurs Celebrate 16 Years of Commerce Networking
Today, the world of commerce is buzzing over Bing’s proposal to pay the Fox media Web sites to de-list from Google. It was prompted by basically two reasons – Fox’s visionary founder Rupert Murdoch and newspaper publishers who have been frustrated about how they are treated by Google, and the goal of Microsoft’s Bing to overtake Google in the search.
Yes, this event illustrates the complexity of commerce and how it has evolved in the last 16 years.
If my memory is accurate since 1993, consider these developments:
- Fox Broadcasting Company launched programs seven nights a week. That was also the year Fox acquired the rights to broadcast the National Football League games previously owned by CBS. The network has certainly succeeded. It has delivered No. 1 ratings for 18-49 demographic ratings since 2004.
- Throughout the globe, pocket- size telephones started becoming quite the rage.
- Intel announced its 3.1 million-transistor Pentium microchip about the time Microsoft introduced Windows NT.
- Linux was launched as a free operating system and Apple Computer introduced us to its hand-held computer.
- President Bill Clinton signed NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, into law.
Meantime, a group pioneering as a leads-generation organization in Federal Way, WA has created its own buzz, and is preparing to celebrate its 16th anniversary as Referrals Unlimited.
As a leads group, Referrals Unlimited (www.referralsunlimited.org) helps its small-business members attain their entrepreneurial goals. They keep track of the commerce the group generates – the dollar amount is impressive. Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting as a guest to discuss the planned Biz Coach radio program, and met several of the charming members who are proud of their products and services.
Let’s meet some of the members:
“I offer a weight loss program for busy women who want to eat well and lose weight easily,” says Kristina Brown of Heart of Nutrition. “There is no deprivation, just yummy foods that bring your body back into balance so that the weight comes off naturally and without starving yourself.”
Ms. Brown says she’s been in business 10 years: “I bought my first health/cook book when I was just 19 and have been reading, cooking, and sharing this ever since.”
David Sobie represents a security firm, Global Technology Solutions, Inc. (www.globalts.net).
“Global Security, founded in 1988 and with offices in Oregon, Washington, and the greater Kansas City area is a full service security, fire, access control and low voltage home technology provider, “says Mr. Sobie, who boasts of more than 10,000 business and residential customers in Washington, Oregon and metropolitan Kansas City.
Richard Day specializes in identity theft mitigation and prepaid legal services. He doesn’t waste any time in succinctly explaining his services.
“My name is Richard Day protecting your assets against identity theft and giving affordable access to the justice system,” says Mr. Day (http://www.linkedin.com/in/richardday7).
Simone Perry aesthetically preserves what she calls sentimental assets at Sentimental Preservation by Simone (www.sentimentalpreservation.com).
“Whether it is something past down to you from ancestors or from a special event in your life, I can put it in a protective display for you to enjoy,” Ms. Perry says. “I also have unique textile preservation boxes for storing wedding gown, uniforms, christening gown or quilts. Call me today to preserve those treasures before they are lost.”
Isabel Tessier has marketed vitamins for more than three decades.
“Golden Neo-Life Diamite vitamin company has been in business since 1958, and I have been a consultant with GNLD for 31 years,” says Ms Tessier. She says her products deal with fatigue, stress, digestive problems, diabetes, allergies and cholesterol (www.healthplus-vitamins.com).
Renae McGregor owns Legacy Boutique Gift Baskets.
“From Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, our gourmet gift baskets contain the most mouth-watering foods” Ms. McGregor proudly states. “Our baskets are filled with Northwest Coffee, Chocolates, Salmon, Mustard, Cookies, Summer Sausage, Nuts, Died Fruit, Popcorn and Oh! I can’t forget Tim’s Chips! Even our Beer and Wine are from the Pacific Northwest.”
With the exception of the month of December, she guarantees next-day shipping.
“Our web site www.legacyboutique.com, displays a variety of categories, for example, baby, bath body-spa, beer, birthday, chocolates, student, corporate, custom, get well-sympathy, as well as gifts for women and men, housewarming and wine to name a few.”
Referrals Unlimited’s treasurer is a banker, Marty Markey, who introduced me to the group. She is the branch manager at Rainier Pacific Bank (www.rainierpac.com) at its Twin Lakes branch. (Disclosure: I’ve known her as a businessperson, and I’ve observed her outstanding customer service skills for a few years.)
“Rainier Pacific Bank builds profitable relationships by providing valuable financial solutions for its customers,” says Ms. Markey. “We have served the diverse financial needs of our customers in the Tacoma-Pierce County market area of Washington State for over 75 years with consumer and business banking services, income property lending, investment and insurance services.”
As you might expect of a banker with unusually good customer service skills, she is very enthusiastic.
“We strive to be the choice for financial services in the markets we serve, and enjoy a deep level of community involvement throughout our history as a financial institution. Come see us in the local markets of Federal Way, Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Spanaway, and Puyallup!”
Amen. As a kid growing up, a family friend and employer, Andy Andrews at the Palm Springs Tennis Club used to reward me with tickets to the spring training games of the then-California Angels. That’s where I had the thrill of watching baseball stars, such as Willie Mays, play in the desert sun.
As I thanked him for the tickets, Mr. Andrews once told me: “It isn’t what you know, it’s who you know.”
So, to the Referrals Unlimited members, happy anniversary, kids!
From the Coach’s Corner, SCORE (www.score.org) has a site providing numerous business-management tips: http://www.score.org/business_tips.html.
