Here are the results of a study done by Panorama together with Nielsen Media Research that concludes that “while all makes of mobiles have a wide spread of customer types some groups are more attracted to certain brands than others.”
What your mobile phone says about you:
We have all been in situations when we are preparing for a presentation and we already know that it’s gonna be a tough one. There might be times when you are not fully prepared, when the audience is demanding or when you simply don’t have a good day.
Most of the times (at least that’s my experience) the presentations still run very smooth and afterwards you probably think “wow, why have I been worrying so much about it”.
One great example of this is the a presentation of Apple’s Steve Jobs from 1997 announcing they Microsoft bought a big share in Apple stock and that the both companies will be working together more closely in the future.
Just imagine beeing Steve Jobs, lying in bed the night before and already knowing that the audience will not be cheering with this announcement. And if that’s not enough imagine Bill Gates the night before already thinking about the reaction of the audience when he appears on the main screen talking to a fanatic Apple crowd. I think I would not be able to sleep the night before…
But after the initial boo of this hostile crowd and after hearing the crowd laughing when Bill Gates appears on the screen, Steve Jobs manages to get them back in the boat and convices them, that this is the right move.
And after his presentation, what does he get? Standing ovations and he was probably thinking: “Wow, that was actually better than I expected”.
There has been some buzz on the internet recently about some pretty funny Apple advertisements comparing a PC vs. a Mac. In case you haven’t seen it, click on the movie below for an example or find all movies on Apple’s website.
Bill Gates doesn’t like at all. Actually his response to these ads could come straight from the guy in the movie. Here is what he said:
msnbc.com: How about the implication that you need surgery to upgrade?
Bill Gates: Well, certainly we’ve done a better job letting you upgrade on the hardware than our competitors have done. You can choose to buy a new machine, or you can choose to do an upgrade. And I don’t know why [Apple is] acting like it’s superior. I don’t even get it. What are they trying to say? Does honesty matter in these things, or if you’re really cool, that means you get to be a lying person whenever you feel like it? There’s not even the slightest shred of truth to it.You see, that’s what you call advertising. It’s not about facts, it’s about emotions. And arguing that there is “not even the slightest shred of truth to it” completely misses the point. It’s about role-models in this ad, and not about facts. Some people at Microsoft *kind of* understood what the idea with role models is. But more about this later….
Once a year, around 1000 people come together in Monterey, California for a unique conference to present their ideas and how they affect the areas technology, entertainment and design. This exclusive event (invitation only and still 4000 USD entrance fee) creates a lot of positive buzz but it’s usefullness are also questioned since it is such a small group of people to attend.
However the argument that the group is too small to create momentum for the ideas presented there is from my point of view not valid. Many talks of this conference can be downloaded a few months after they have been presented at TED and believe me – some speeches will give you a completely new perspective in certain areas.
What I like about the TED conference is that even though it’s invitation only, you still have a chance to watch the speeches and to comment them (on your blog or webpage). Maybe with the right kind of online community you could move from the “Speech Style Presentation” at TED to an ongoing conversation about the topics presented there. Because for your ideas to gain momentum it is not just enough to be on stage 20 minutes at a major event, but to provide the possibilities to adopt, discuss and influence your idea in an ongoing process.
Identifying trends in society has always been a tricky yet important task in order to identify upcoming business opportunities early on. But keeping an eye on these many different factors is cumbersome task and without a global network of individuals, it is impossible to identify major trends in other areas of the world.
Luckily “trendwatching” is not just a term but also a job description with professional trendwatchers screening the environment and identifying changes that might have substantial impact on your life and also your business.
Here is a list of “must-read” web-sites that identify and describe consumer trends which might help you in coming up with new ideas and staying ahead of your competition:
These are the most important sites that I am aware of, any sites missing? Let me know!
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