Author: barcuni

Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg have faced many criticisms based on their apparent control of content on the global network and the use of the information gathered from users. They have been accused of unfairly targeting certain users and content that did not align with their intentions for the site or the prevalent political beliefs held by the founder and leadership.

It is now ironic that they are coming under fire for not doing enough to limit content in the form of “fake news” on the site.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/11/19/technology/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-fake-news-election/index.html

Facebook makes money by letting advertisers get in front of users that are most likely to want to see what they are offering. That political ads would follow this model is not surprising, but where the line is drawn between using the data that Facebook has for commercial gain and political gain seems to have been put to the test during the most recent election cycle.

Initially Zuckerberg stated he did not think the content of “fake news” was sufficient to have had any meaningful impact. Now Facebook is taking steps to address this perceived issue, and that is the primary reason. They have done a great deal to build the Facebook brand around the ideas of bringing people together and improving the human condition. Zuckerberg’s efforts to bring the internet to the world are the most recent example of driving forward this perception. Regardless of how much actual impact the “fake news” had, at this point they must at least appear to do the socially responsible thing and work toward making sure that their information sharing instrument is not misused.

SpaceX has made a name for itself by being a vocal proponent of commercial space exploration and setting its sights on Mars. Now it seems that that is not the only direction it wants to look.

SpaceX has filed a request with the FCC for approval of a satellite system that would bring the internet to every corner of the globe. The three way battle between Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg for most forward thinking techno-genius billionaire continues as Musk is now literally going above Zuckerberg’s ambitious autonomous drone program that would bring wifi to the world from the skies.

The SpaceX plan would put over 4,000 satellites into orbit in conjunction with ground based systems and would cost over $10 billion. The plan is in its early stages, but if we have learned nothing else about Musk from his previous ventures, it is that he is patient, committed to his visions, and does not see money as an obstacle.

The shipping industry has had a tough couple of years. Falling demand, rising fuel costs, and labor issues have all contributed to some major shakeups in the industry. The most dramatic was the fall on Hanjin, which was forced into bankruptcy and left millions of dollars of freight literally adrift.

Maersk Line accounts for roughly half of A.P. Moeller-Mahas revenue. They have been actively engaged in major cost cutting measures but continued to see their profits drop to $429 million from $755 million a year ago. At the same time their market share has risen dramatically. Consolidation and elimination of competitors has reduced the overall number of providers to a point where by they and two others will account for 43% of market share by next year.

Revenues are down, but the number of containers they are shipping is up by 11% when the typical growth is 2-3%. If they can make it out of this slump alive they will have another great story to add to their legacy, but this is probably the most painful way imaginable to gain market share.

Amazon’s direct to customer retailing model has redefined logistics, warehousing, and e-commerce in general, while at the same time redefining customer expectations of online ordering.

As its Prime membership has grown, more and more users expect faster and lower cost shipping and this is not only putting a strain on their ability to execute, but is also now starting to hurt their bottom line.

Amazon posted its lowest quarterly profit in over a year this past week. This is largely due to investing to keep up with the demand.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-posts-smaller-than-expected-profit-1477599108

While this caused shares to fall the overall outlook for Amazon is still positive. The problem will be how well it can balance surges in demand, like the upcoming holiday season, with new offerings like Prime Now that promise two hour delivery.

Amazon continues to push the envelope of its capabilities with these offerings but they are taking quite a risk at a time of year when consumer sympathy and tolerance for failure is typically at its lowest.

Amazon has never shied away from challenges. To stay ahead they have to push, but the costs associated with those efforts may be too much to bear.

Google just couldn’t stay away. As of today they have officially launched two phones in an effort to broaden what their brand is known for to include mobile phone hardware.
For years they have been the software behind most of the major competition to the iPhone.

The first reviews of the phone show that they look and feel comparable to their primary competition. The major players in the mobile device market have struggled of late to distinguish themselves appreciably in their hardware offerings. This may have contributed to Google’s decision to step into the ring, now that they can make a phone not that different from other top of the line makers.

This makes the move less risky than it may seem on the outset. With like hardware, they can focus on what they are exceptional at, that is, the software. In this arena they have a real chance at gaining over the others by introducing software capabilities without having to have buy in from their current mobile device partners.

It remains to be seen how successful they will be, but now may be as a good a time as they are likely to find in the future, so why not?

Elon Musk wants to send people to Mars. But more than that, he wants people to know that SpaceX is going to get them there.

On Sep. 27 Elon Musk unveiled the next steps for his company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (better known as SpaceX), in its quest to make humans an “interplanetary species”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-outlines-plans-for-manned-missions-to-mars-1475011627

SpaceX has made great strides recently that show it is progressing in the right direction. It is still far behind its original projections, but this has not deterred Musk from continuing to look forward and promote his vision.

SpaceX is not the only privately held company that is pursuing these goals, but is arguably the most well known, and is indeed almost synonymous with the concept of private space exploration.

Musk knows that the end result is almost a given, so having it all figured out is less of a concern for him than being highly visible in the process. Getting their first is important, but pushing people to believe its possible, and letting them know that it was SpaceX that motivated the outcome is even more important. Even with its failures, SpaceX is creating brand leadership in a category that it is creating and defining.

So it seems that, counter to my last post, that some folks just can’t live without the option of a headphone jack. So much so that they were duped by a viral video into taking a drill to their brand new device…

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2016/09/27/dont-drill-into-your-iphone-7—headphone-jack-hack-isnt-real/91156728/

A video that was intended as a joke has been actually taken seriously by an unknown but significant number of phone jack desperate consumers. I would like to think that this is also a joke, but unfortunately it seems that drilling a hole into the side of their new iphone seemed like a perfectly plausible solution to more than a few folks.

An actual alternative to this approach has been the emergence of multiple cases that act as an adapter, allowing for the use of the old standby headphones. Please, if you know of anyone considering the drill, point them in this direction instead.

http://www.popsci.com/iphone-7-cases-may-be-best-answer-to-apples-headphone-jack-removal

No Jack No Problem

When Apple’s new phone launched they confirmed what had long been suspected concerning the new design. NO HEADPHONE JACK!?! A staple of auditory technology almost as old as phones themselves had been dumped.
Wow, just wow. How would the world cope with this revelation? Many “experts” felt that Apple would be cutting its throat by making such a drastic change. Fortunately, for Apple’s sake, this has not seemed to slow the enthusiasm for their new phone offering.
As when most things change, there are always those that resist out of hand. To counter this attitude the message they delivered was one of bravely introducing the inevitable. This helped them maintain their image as bold innovators even though the phone itself is not drastically different. There are some nice upgrades to camera and battery, and the long awaited water proofing is a nice touch, but not ground breaking.
Taking away the headphone jack helped accomplish something that nothing else on the new phone could. This “drastic” move showed its customers that Apple pushes the envelope while others are content, and that notion is at the heart of their marketing, and keeps its loyal fans coming back for more.

Recently Mylan Pharmaceuticals has come under fire as the most recent pharma company to be accused of wildly over pricing their products. The cost of their EpiPen went from around $100 dollars to approaching $600 in a few short years.
Mylan’s marketing of the EpiPen was equally aggressive and positioned their product in such a way that it was irresponsible for anyone not to have one nearby.
Now that their pricing has come under scrutiny their CEO has basically said its not their fault, and that the pricing of all pharma products is out of control and they were only following the industry trend.
Making people believe that they have to have something and then capitalizing on that fear is persuasive marketing 101, but in my opinion they went to far, and need to own up to the fact that they have been taking advantage.

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