Archive for the ‘Business’ Category:
The Business of Apple Itunes 8 Genius
On Saturday September 13, 2008, around sometime in the evening I received the offer to update my Itunes version. I did so with no hesitation because I have heard it coming for a while on Blogs such as Kevin Rose’s from Digg.
My first impressions of the new Itunes 8:
The interface was basically the same with some new features. When selecting the music tab on the left hand side I noticed that it brought me to the albums view. I thought this was actually pretty neat to emphasize the album cover art.
Next, I noticed the new addition that Apple employees must have been hard at work with for months ( Genius ). Basically what it does is recommend music to buy to the user based upon the current music they are playing.
iTunes 8 genius
You ask me, are you not writing about business anymore?
Then I would reply to you that you are wrong, this posts intent was to give you a paradigm shift how the business at Apple is conducted.
Business perspective:
Apple’s primary motive for the Genius program is to their increase bottom line like any other for-profit company, so that in turn can increase shareholder happiness. So were the profits lagging at Apple, you make the judgment call?
I think they noticed that the average users love to pirate there music, and wanted to change the industry to help the user to purchase songs they liked for only $0.99 each? Not to raise an ethical decision for the user, but were the exes right in implementing there resources all to the new Genius program in an attempt to downplay pirating? Will this change the way we view the industry of music distribution in the future.
Overall, users and Apple both win from this new program Genius because it suggest music to users that they might not have heard about and decide to buy it for a minimal fee. Feel free to express your thoughts on the business implications of Apple’s new Itunes 8 Genius Implementation.
Niche Blogging
“Niche blogging is the act of creating a blog with the intent of using it to market to a particular niche market. While it could be argued that all blogs are, in some form, a niche blog, the term as it applies to marketing refers to a particular kind of blog.” – Wikipedia.org
I have decided to change the direction of this blog. For some time now I have been blogging about whatever I feel like. That is why a more concise focus will be more appropriate. The focus of this blog will be on business. Specifically, in the area of accounting. Since, I am currently an accounting student at Camosun College in Victoria, BC, aspiring for a degree in accounting.
This past semester has been extremely busy with taking five core business courses, I haven’t had much time to chat about random news about I used to. That is why I think it would be easier to talk about the niche I am currently studying.
I hope to offer insight and new ideas for you to ponder about in business and daily life with finances. Some might say free advice. Stay informed and keep up to date and add my feed to your rss reader, because I am positive that my blog will add value to your list. If you have questions or suggestions, please feel free to email me anytime at dave(at)venter(dot)ca.
Thanksgiving
Winter has come and its raining here in Victoria, Canada. This past few weeks have been busy. Today I had off because of Thanksgiving and had to do school work because this week is all midterms for all my courses :S. So this is when rubber meets the road. Performance time 
Just scared of statistics.
Finished reading another of Roberts Kiyosaki’s books, Cash flow Quadrant, it was good read and I highly recommend you read it. Started getting some more books of business and investing together now. Computer times have been very limited because of my busy schedule.
Cheers thats all for now.
Dave Venter
Technorati Tags: Thanksgiving, Roberts Kiyosaki’s books, Cash flow Quadrant
Review of TechCrunch Top 40
1) Flock – Victoria/New York Based company – with a social browser in mind. I have heard lots about this but I think i will stick to firefox, maybe when it becomes more stable I will give thought!
2)Teach the People- Another education tool and low startup cost’s to project pretty impressive. I think Techcrunch summarized who they are best:
Teach The People is a social network built around online education. The site lets anyone with specific subject knowledge or a useful skill set share with the Teach The People communities. Users get to create individual profiles and contribute content to topics such as computer programming, math or “Bob Marley’s Influence on R&B Music”.
*3)CampusSphere- Being a college student I think I would love this on the web..
“CampusSphere is a social platform designed to leverage the power of groups to help college students become more productive and connected. Students are hungry for a platform that allows them to organize, discuss, and disseminate the vast information provided to them from their clubs, fraternities, classes and other social circles. CampusSphere provides a tailored and tightly integrated set of features that will enable more effective group interaction, sharing of information, and better group collaboration.”
4)CastTV – Building a video application search engine.
5)Trip It- Travel organizer, this could be really useful. “Creates master itineraries with travel plans and other critical information like weather, maps and driving directions, and destination information”
6)BeFunky- This one neat because it creates an avatar for you! For all the creative types this one is for you..making easy custom design for facebook, myspace, hi5 and other forums / online communities.
6 out of the Techcrunch Top 40 that I liked and thought were innovative.
* Found in the demo pit!
Another one I saw was from Shoemoney site: Synthasite – Techcrunch40 demo pit I found this one interesting because it was done by a South African internet marketer. Since I’m from South Africa it caught my attention, and they are hiring in Cape Gardens.
I enjoy seeing these new ideas and concepts of business because I am currently in business school. To summarize it best, I would ask you to check out these sites I’ve linked above and support there start-ups.
Cheers For Now Dave
Technorati Tags: Techcrunch Top 40, Flock, Teach The People, CampusSphere, CampusSphere, CastTV, Trip It, BeFunky, Shoemoney, Synthasite – Techcrunch40 demo pit, South African internet marketer, Cape Gardens, business school