Thanks, Banksy

As the most loyal of my readers know, I do not own a tv.  I don’t have a television screen hanging on a vacant wall in my apartment like nearly everyone else I know.  Instead I have some 20×200 art and a picture of mayor Bloomberg.  You think I’m joking, but I’m not.

How do I work in media and not own a tv?  Well, first, I read a lot. Turns out people have developed this bizarre habit of post blogging and tweeting about almost everything that happens and even things that are to happen.  A good Google Reader obviates the need for television, magazines or newspapers.  Even my beloved New Yorker.  Second, in addition to Cliff Note-esque transcriptions of everything that happens, almost everything is also available streaming online.  YouTube has a frightening amount of content uploaded each day and sites like Hulu.com and Netflix.com are finding more and more visitors stopping by per day. But, this isn’t news.

The news is that Amazon has decided to throw its hat in the ring. A couple weeks ago, Amazon announced that Video On Demand was free for Amazon Prime users.

Much like the Google Reader, an Amazon Prime account is a necessary indulgence.  I’ve written about it before, but Prime enables free two-day shipping and $3.99 overnight shipping on any item shipped by Amazon (though not a third party).  Doesn’t sound that great?  What about if you remember that due to economies of scales and savvy negotiating Amazon offers just about the lowest rate on just about everything?  Do you really want to walk THREE BLOCKS to CVS to buy a new toothbrush?  No, you want to click a button and have it arrive in the mail in two days and save mucho dinero.

Now you can also save $8 a month by cancelling your Netflix subscription in favor of an Amazon Prime account. That’s right, Amazon is taking on the giant directly. This is an interesting business move for a couple of reasons:

• This is a great way to sell Prime accounts.  The $70 a year doesn’t seem so bad when you realize how much you get for it: free shipping and free streaming videos.  The price point is similar to that of Netflix as well.  It makes the choice pretty easy.
• Consumers seem to be consolidating their lives.  In the same way, an internet user doesn’t need to leave Facebook to do anything anymore (games, shopping, news, socializing), they can do it all at Amazon.  Consumers don’t need to be bothered by typing in another URL.  AND Amazon kindly saves its users credit card and shipping information so users can make all necessary transactions on Amazon.

I am interested to see how Netflix et al. fare with this new player in the game and how Amazon’s Prime memberships and revenue grows.

20×200: Coming off of my last art post, this website puts high-quality art into anyone’s hands.  The website sells limited-edition prints of painting and photographs ranging from $20 to $1000, depending  on the size.  Here are two that I’m considering adding to my collection:

It being the 19th of December, time is running out, however.  Rather than being gouged by high shipping costs, you should consider a digital gift.

A Pandora subscription costs only $30 a year.  $30 a year!  It’s an affordable gift that will continue on after the holidays have ended.  You are also supporting a great company.  Apparently, only 3% of users have actually upgraded to the premium account, which allows for unlimited listening and higher quality streaming.

A Netflix subscription, while it may not be great for my social life, has dramatically transformed my leisure time.  There’s nothing better than watching a great movie whenever you want to without having to plan ahead.  You can purchase a subscription for a friend in different increments, from one month to an entire year.

Do you have any good last minute gift ideas?

Via Tech Crunch

Even though this was announced last week, the fact that Facebook has created its own market replacing dollars.  Let’s take a step back though, I feel I need to explain myself.

There is this subset of people called gamers who spend hours on their computers playing computer games.  These games aren’t the computer game you grew up with like the Sims or Roller coaster Tycoon,  these games like World of Warcraft and Farmville allow the user to interact with other gamers in real time, thereby creating a parallel universe that can rival the real one (or so I hear).

In these Farmville’s and WoW games users pay real money for digital tools.  Yes, self respecting humans fork over cold hard cash to buy a new plow for their fake farm.  I guess we all need a hobby… who am I to judge.

Anyway, smart retailers found a way to harness (read: exploit) these gamers want of fake items and abundant free time; that is to say that companies have started using gamers in exchange for these fake goods.  Some companies, like People Browsr, use the gamers as mechanical turks in order to filter through online content.  A gamer answers a few question in exchange for an ax or two.  Facebook took this one step further by offering shopping as an alternative to paying money.

What!? Why didn’t anyone think of this earlier.

Users earn this Facebook currency by shopping at partner websites.  So someone earns a certain number of points for joining Netflix or buying the latest Groupon.

So, Facebook hasn’t created a currency to rival the dollar or the Euro (though who knows what the future holds), it has created an exchange market that while not completely free, serves a certain group of people that could be extended beyond.

Twittabling.com offers jewelry with your Twitter handle, like name plates.  Not only do these necklaces, rings and bracelets show off your sense of fashion, but they also show just how geeky you are.

Couldn’t be a bad way to get more followers… I think it’s pretty fantastic, I should order an @theAcumenity name plate now (prices start at $49.95).

Also see Survival of the Hippest.

AdAge made a slideshow showing the value of different companies and their tweets.  The most notable of these slides was Kim Kardashian’s:

The text reads: “Kim Kardashian’s Tweet Stream, $10,000 a tweet.”  A TWEET!

What is she famous for again?

She has 2.7 million followers on Twitter (of which I am one) and is the top celebrity on Ad.ly, a service that allows celebs to monetize their social media.

While her tweets might be worth $10,000, I am curious how much value a company actually derives and how much she makes.  Just looking at her feed right now, she posts several times a day and posted about ‘Reebok Easy Tones’ just a couple hours ago.  It’s clearly a product placement, but the followers don’t seem to care (she is choosing the products to place carefully…I suddenly remember why she is famous).

If marketers are willing to pay, and people are willing to buy it, then why shouldn’t Kim profit?

The holiday season is tough.  Its cold, to start.  Then there is the constant cheeriness.  AND buying presents for all your friends and family.  Jeeze, is it over yet?  Well, this year, Keds is utilizing social media in order to make your shopping a little easier (and fun).

In the past few years, making your own items online has become increasingly popular.  Keds is changing it up a little.  Not only can you design your own shoes, but you can also sell them to the rest of the country.  Powered by Zazzle, you can personalize your shoes not only with different colors, but also pictures that you upload yourself.  So you can have those shoes with your cats’ faces on them like you always wanted.

Thats pretty cool and all, but it isn’t unique.  What’s cool is that you can actually put your designs up for sale, and receive 10% of the profits.  Seriously, you could be famous — and make some money.  Its a pretty neat outlet for creativity, while coming up with awesome shoes.

This not only gets people excited because its fun, but it really connects consumers with the brand.  It’s not just any shoe you are personalizing, but KEDS.  This is just one of the new efforts brands are making to connect users with the brand by means of social media.

These are my favorite — what are yours?

Amazon.com has risen through the ranks of the internet to become one of the biggest retailers in the world, valued at $59.1 billion.  For a company that wasn’t profitable in its first few years, that is quite remarkable.  In a lot of way, its brings Walmart’s convenience to the internet by creating a one stop shop synonymous with online shopping.

In recent years, Amazon has continued to build its loyal followers through program like Amazon Prime.  For a nominal yearly fee, Amazon Prime members receive free two day shipping and $3.99 overnight shipping on most items.  For a lot of consumers, the nominal fee would override the savings, that is, until you start going to Amazon first.  Now, when I am looking for everything from books and electronics to clothes and make-up, I stop by Amazon first to compare prices.

Well, now that Amazon has conquered the digital world, they are expanding to a brick and mortar pop-up store in London.  Hard to believe that the tech bubble was only about ten years ago, when everyone feared that retail shopping was dead.  Now, digital stores are trying to monopolize all shopping.

Wipe that smile off your face, this guy won't be sending your packages anymore...

Amazon’s store will be one where you buy online and pick-up in a store.  Just in time for the Holiday season.  Pretty neat stuff, Amazon.  Wish I were in Britain!

Update 12/7/09:  Turns out this, as reported by the Sunday Times, is just a rumor!  A spokesperson said that they have no plans to open a store for the holidays.

Also, in reference to Ellen Cayer, it would certainly be much more cost effective to continue only online, the point of opening the store would be two fold: to experiment with the order online, pick up in store model popular in stores like Target and  Bed Bath and Beyond and for PR.  A temporary pop-up store would be a major draw for consumers.

Did you survive Black Friday?  In an article by the Dallas News, it seems that the crazies were definitely out on Friday, but that the whole event has been subdued.  In the past, many consumers (like the one profiled in the article) would emerge from their food comas and head out shopping to snag the sales.

Some sales open at midnight and continue into the next day, so consumers pull all-nighters.  Others open at 4:30 am, and promise ‘door buster’ discounts in order to create lines for their 4:30 am openings.

I chose the Dallas News article specifically because I was actually in Dallas yesterday for Black Friday.  We started shopping at the humane hour of noon, but were still apart of the pandemonium.  Frankly, it took away from the shopping experience.

Not only was everything picked over by the time we actually made it to the mall, but the lines were long and the crowds were mean.  It just wasn’t a pleasant experience.  So we left.

It also seemed like we weren’t getting much of a bargain.  In a world of Ebay and Gilt Group, I hate paying retail.  I’ve gotten to the point, where I don’t think 15% off is even a good deal.  I mean, come on, how much did it cost to make that J. Crew sweater, 30 cents? Also, most deals are actually online.

Online you can comparison shop and you won’t buy something because the sales person says you look ‘fabulous’ in it.  Everyone falls victim to impulse buying, but there is a grace period where you can cancel the order…

The internet has ruined shopping for me.  The whole experience seemed tiresome and plebeian.  I’ll talk to you after Cyber Monday.