8 trends to capitalize on in 2008

trendwatching.com has released it's report on "8 trends to capitalize on in 2008". Always an interesting source for high-level marketing strategy and thought, the in-depth overview is worth a read (note: the full report download is a premium item). To summarize, they've dubbed the hot 2008 trends as:

1. Status Spheres
   
2. Premiumization
   
3. Snack Culture
   
4. Online Oxygen
   
5. Eco-iconic
   
6. Brand Butlers
   
7. Miy | Make It Yourself
   
8. Crowd Mining
   

Coworkers.com launches new "Zingers" Instant email feedback feature

Want to give a coworker some quick feedback, but don't have time to enter a full review, or want to keep it private? We have the perfect solution - send them a Zinger! Just write a short note, or browse through our categories of pre-written messages. Click send, and your colleague will be Zingered instantly by email!

Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device "Kindle"

Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device - Today Amazon.com released Kindle, what some are of course calling the iPod for eBooks.

Engadget has some good coverage of the release and some initial reactions to the device. Initial reactions to the hardware design seem favorable, and in the 'ugly, but pleasingly functional' category.

Here are some things that seem to stand out immediately...

PROS

• Amazon and books are peas in a pod, the user experience seems carefully crafter to lead to smooth downloading and reading workflow
• The form factor is interesting, the screen similar in size to a book and the e-ink technology looks like it offers a grayscale rendering, and it's light
  
• The eBooks are less expensive is some cases, than buying and shipping the paper counterpart - there's a definite "Green" notion to this.
• The battery is user-replaceable (cough - Apple, get a clue)
• No subscriptions or additional fees, beyond the cost of the device, for wireless access, 1yr warranty
  
• Promised less than 1 min. downloads
• USB 2.0 connectivity for PC and Mac, but does not require a computer
  
• Email documents and images to the device, read blogs and newspapers
  

CONS

• $400 and a Grayscale display? Now that's more Newton than the iPhone. I understand the tradeoffs here, but we are in the age of sexy color touchscreen mobile devices, so this does come across as a bit v1.0
• No back-light, so, how do you read in the dark? Well, one of the few accessories listed at the bottom of the new Kindle product page is a clunky looking $20 reading light with a clip designed more for print books than eBooks. This seems like a careless afterthought, so it's probably safe to assume that Amazon will release or partner for slicker accessories to fill in the feature gaps.
• As clipmarks.com points out, unlike an iPod you can't "rip" the books you already own onto the Kindle. So, it seems to me, since Amazon keeps such great tabs on previous purchases, it would be slick if they offered customers free versions of books previously purchased on Amazon as Kindle eBook 'cross-grades'.
  
• The built in 256MB internal is pretty wimpy. If you really intend to fill it up with books and emailed documents, you'll likely make the additional investment in a SD memory card (supports up to 4GB). So mark that down as a hidden cost.
  
• $9.99+ per book may not be a great savings when you factor in the purchase of the Kindle device itself. These eBooks cannot be shared easily, resold in the aftermarket, or donated to a local library. Seth Godin has an interesting perspective on this. In this sense, Kindle books are far more limited - but that same argument has not deterred online music sales and overpricing.
• I can't seem to find info on the exact dimensions of the screen itself, I'm curious to know just how much bigger it is than an iPod touch / iPhone
  
• All that embossed texture on the backside is going to collect some nasty dirt and buildup from your grubby hands.
  
• Branding nit: with "Book Burning" as an indelible part of history, Kindle certainly seems loaded with irony
• And as an aside, the Kindle introduces techno-lust into the reading equation. Next year's Kindle will be cooler, just like iPods, let the buyers remorse begin. Books don't really do that to you.

While others have tried, Amazon is in a unique position to move this technology forward. It will be interesting to see how the product performs, and to observe the ecosystem that will likely grow around it.

Box.net Launches OpenBox Services

Box.net: "With the new OpenBox Services, you can bring the power of web applications directly into your existing Box account. Edit photos and images online with Picnik, work on your Word and Excel files using Zoho, publish documents for the whole world to see through Scribd, send your documents signed with EchoSign, and much more...

Already have an account? Log in and add services to your Box Upload files to one place for use anywhere Box users can now utilize third-party applications with their files stored online, which means you will only need to upload files to the web once. Upload an image to your Box account and be able to edit it online with Picnik, send it to a friend on Facebook, add a link to it on Twitter, and turn it into a custom t-shirt on Zazzle — all from a single file upload."

I'm a fan of box for online storage because of it's widgets, and overall UX. Their ongoing efforts to further tie-in box storage to other popular web services is a good thing.

Google Translate Widget released

"Make your webpage instantly available in other languages Add the Translate gadget to your webpage, and offer instant access to automatic translations of that page. "

This is handy, just add a bit of Javascript to your page and you can have dynamically translated content. See the resulting widget below. The setup page also includes bookmarklets for individual languages.

The End of Advertising as We Know It

"The next 5 years will hold more change for the advertising industry than the previous 50 did. Increasingly empowered consumers, more self-reliant advertisers and ever-evolving technologies are redefining how advertising is sold, created, consumed and tracked. Our research points to four evolving future scenarios – and the catalysts that will be driving them. Traditional advertising players – broadcasters, distributors and advertising agencies – may get squeezed unless they can successfully implement consumer, business model and business design innovation..."



This is a very interesting 28 page PDF document packed with valuable data, and some hypotheses worth contemplating.

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