Much has been written about Quibi — the streaming video service launched a few weeks ago by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman. The central conceit of the platform was that it was premised upon shortform, mobile-first videos – “quick bites,” thus the name Quibi. Unfortunately for its creators, Quibi has largely been a flop. Which … Continue reading Disney+ and Quibi. It’s a Small Screen World, After All.
When I first got this email from United, about their new hygiene + cleaning standards, it just kinda rubbed me the wrong way. I had trouble figuring out why exactly it felt a little off, but I think I’ve boiled it down to a few things.For starters, it strikes me as odd that this new … Continue reading CleanPlus℠
The other day, I got an email from Chase, letting me know about some offer I had waiting for me, provided I downloaded Chase Pay, their digital payments app. When I went to the App Store and searched for “Chase Pay,” I discovered three rather distinct Chase banking products, which, taken together, nicely represent a … Continue reading Finance Apps and their Contents
Yesterday, I got an email from Amazon, letting me know that my Prime card* would now get me 5% back at Whole Foods. What strikes me as interesting about the marriage of Amazon and Whole Foods is how Amazon is using Whole Foods as a unique beachhead in its rapid assault on other retail incumbents. … Continue reading Organic Foods. Prime Benefits.
Last week, my wife and I spent a few days in France. We flew a low-cost carrier (Transavia, whose perky branding almost makes you forget that you’ll be charged $2.50 for bottled water), but being in the airport reminded me of the popularity of, and excitement around, Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. In fact, El Al, Israel’s … Continue reading Planes and Processors
There’s a nice piece on Medium by a member of The Economist’s digital team that speaks to the 140 year-old publication’s active efforts to remain relevant to newer generations, which, in this case, amounts to a more aggressive digital strategy: social media, video, experiential marketing, interactive content, and so on. What I liked about the … Continue reading Let’s Get Digital
OK GO’s most recent music video, “Upside Down & Inside Out” is pretty stunning. Seriously, watch it now: What makes the video particularly interesting is the fact that it premiered on Facebook, not on YouTube. In fact, a visit to the band’s YouTube channel yields only a snarky prompt to watch the video on Facebook. Devoted … Continue reading The Stars Aligned with Facebook
December 2015 was a record month for Ben and me, in terms of page views on Silicon Spatula. We leveraged Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, word-of-mouth, and sympathy clicks from our parents to grow our monthly hits from just a few dozen a month to something much larger. However, as I’ve written, metrics remove, to a certain … Continue reading Page Views
Black Friday has become an opportunity for consumers to end their Thanksgiving meal early and mass at the entrance of their nearest big box store, in anticipation of a morning light that will bring with it discounted TVs and marked-down skinny jeans. In the race to be the place for customers, stores are opening earlier, as well … Continue reading Camp in the Outdoors, Not Outside Stores
AdWeek reported yesterday that GoPro will award cash prizes on a weekly basis to users who generate some of the best content. The piece notes: “This is not a contest or gimmick—it’s an ongoing campaign,” said Zander Lurie, svp of entertainment at GoPro. “We envision that a key component of our strategy will be to share revenue … Continue reading GoPro Goes Long
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