The Times ran an article this past weekend on the rapidly plummeting growth at Fairway Markets, a popular grocer in the tristate area. Fairway had planned to expand coast-to-coast, and go against larger national chains, but has faced serious headwinds. The article notes: Competition in the organic and specialty-food retailer space had intensified. Whole Foods … Continue reading Gourmet Food’s Race to the Bottom
The Times of Israel carries a bold leading sentence about the acquisition of eMusic by an Israeli firm, TriPlay: Overnight, an Israeli cloud-based music access platform start-up has become one of the world’s largest digital music services. Comparable in size to iTunes and Google Play Music, eMusic was bought by Ramat Gan-based TriPlay for an undisclosed amount … Continue reading Music “Rivalries”
There’s an article in the Times about the critical role that Twitter has come to play in customer service, particularly for airlines. The piece cites an example of Seth Miller, a blogger, who uses Twitter to communicate with airlines whenever there’s a hitch: Before the plane door shut, Mr. Miller exchanged a few tweets with a customer … Continue reading #CustomerService
Word is that JetBlue will roll out free wi-fi on all of their flights by 2016. I always liked flying JetBlue – primarily because of the free Terra chips and their easy-to-use app – and this development makes me that much more likely to fly with them. Houston, here I come! Continue reading JetBlue
In 2010, Steve Jobs posited that only some enterprise applications would remain on desktops. “PCs are going to be like trucks,” he said. “They are still going to be around.” But only “one out of x people will need them.” Today, enterprise applications – the pickup trucks of Jobs’s analogy – have become a bit more … Continue reading Enterprise Apps on Mobile
The NYT reported last week that Amazon had recruited Louis CK, Sacha Baron Cohen, and other comedians to produce a raft of new shows for Amazon’s Prime Video service. It’s clear that Amazon – like its video competitors Netflix and Hulu – is doubling down on its investment in content production, especially after Transparent took home … Continue reading It’s All About Content
I was pretty sure I’d never use the word “blackberry” on this blog again, except for, perhaps, a granola recipe. But the news is out that the erstwhile smartphone leader is releasing a keyboard slider Android handset, aimed at the business and security-minded crew. I’m not going to say “I told you so.” I’ll just … Continue reading Blackberry is (Kinda) Back
Two years ago, this small change might well have allowed Twitter to more effectively expand from just social media and news aggregation into messaging. But at this juncture, I think Facebook has that market locked up. Continue reading Missed Opportunities
Japanese messaging service Line rolled out a new app called Line Here – separate from its popular platform – that allows users to share their location with multiple parties, in real time. I find it interesting that Line – which is very popular in Asia, but trails Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger in the US – … Continue reading Line’s New App
This past weekend, the Wall Street Journal had a compelling article on the rise of phone-reading. It noted that readers have abandoned paperbacks, tablets, and even e-readers in favor of increasingly large-screened phones. Publishers are following suit. To engage readers, publishers are now experimenting with ways to make the mobile-reading experience better. They are designing book … Continue reading E-Reading
Silicon Spatula 