Is it me or is Pandora suddenly everywhere?
I feel like it was just a few months ago that Pandora wasn’t doing so well. They weren’t seeing the ad revenue they’d been shooting for and rumors were swirling wildly, but now the rumors are faded and real (good) news is taking its place! Pandora was everywhere the week of CES, with a number of companies including Pioneer, Ford and of course Apple taking about Pandora as a valued partner. The Pandora iPhone app is a leader and both Pioneer and Ford are bringing Pandora into the car. It seems as though Pandora is making the jump, rather successfully, from Internet wunder-company to true cross-media brand that could signal a significant revolution in radio.
Many of you may ask if this is written because of a relationship with Pandora, but I have to be honest in saying that I know no-one over there. I have no relationship with them at all, I’m just an average, “ordinary Joe” consumer who listens to a lot of music and in the last few weeks I’ve been reacquainted with the brand because of all this latest wave of press, the various distribution deals that have surfaced and my experience has been overwhelmingly positive!
A number of years ago, when it first launched, I played with Pandora and while I thought it was great, it never had the consumer resonance with me. The fact that it was tied to my computer was the single biggest challenge I saw. Of course that was coupled with the fact that I didn’t listen to radio and I only listened to my iPod but in recent months I find myself re-expanding my horizons and finding other ways to access music through the web. All these partnerships are finding ways to insert Pandora into my daily life and very little are a result of advertising. Even my Samsung Blu-Ray player has Pandora and I love it!
The take-away of this observation is that Internet brands can succeed offline when the right partnerships are struck and the Internet is expanded beyond the keypad of your computer. The last few years have seen a “virtual” explosion as more and more devices are connected to the Internet. Back in 1998 I made a presentation to some clients about the future of the Internet and how it would power your television, your car, your refrigerator, and even the security system to your house. That future is upon us as the mobile revolution, led by the development of the mobile app store as a means of distributing focused applications, is primarily responsible. Apps were first applied to the web, then to your phone and now to all sorts of devices. TiVo was the first to open the door and Sling and Vudu cracked it wide open, but Amazon, eBay and upstart brands like Pandora are there to make sure that they get an invitation to the party. Internet brands are branching out because the Internet is no longer confined to the keyboard. And of course, in just a few short weeks, Apple will roll out it’s tablet to add fuel to the fire that Kindle and the Nook have stoked and convergence will be a thing of the past as we find fewer and fewer “holistic” devices and more fragmented access to Internet content strewn across the landscape of our day. Pandora’s box has been opened and consumers are more than willing to have multiple devices that access different applications if they add value to their daily experience.
Pandora is doing things well right now and my hat is off to them. They are strategically creating relationships that will offer an option for their users to be unbound from their computers. More Internet brands will be following suit in 2010, so keep an eye out and see what you can learn!
Who else is doing a great job of breaking away from the borders of the Internet brand space? Let us know by visiting the Spin Board and sharing it with us!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
MEDIAPOST: Do You Take Your Job Personally?
Do you take your job personally?
Many people will tell you that your personal and professional lives should be kept apart and that happiness in one should not necessarily be related to the other, but in today’s world I find this impossible because the two are inevitably intertwined.
Technology blurs the line between your day job and your night life, but I also feel that a sense of responsibility and a desire to succeed in the eyes of those around you are driving factors as well, and that it’s not really a bad thing!
The people who know me well know that I have a personal philosophy to take your job both seriously and personally. Most people take their jobs seriously; ensuring focus and the feelings of responsibility that enable you to do a good job. That’s different than taking your job personally; which means making sure that you treat every personal interaction and every deliverable as a means of creating an impression and improving upon whatever relationships you may have because these are all a reflection on you as a person. As the hours grow longer and the separation blurs between your personal and professional lives you’ll find that many of the same people exist in both spheres of influence and their perception of you is based on their interaction with you in the work environment. The work that you do and the relationships you create at work are all part of who you are and the way you se the world.
Taking your job personally means a number of things, and there are some keystones to keep in mind when doing so. First of all, always put forth your best effort. A less than 100% effort typically results in a less than admirable output, and people notice. Second of all, always treat the person on the other end with respect; return emails and phone calls and give an explanation when one is requested. Try not to be curt, and try not to be disrespectful and if something is going wrong then be honest and upfront with them; explain the situation. Thirdly, manage your time properly and try not to negatively affect the schedules of other people; recognize their hard work and the effort they put into managing a schedule as well. If you’re going to be late, let them know. If you’re going to change things up on short notice, try to be understanding of the impact. For the most part try not to create problems for other people because you were unable to meet expectations. You don’t like it when these things happen to you, right?
The best overall guideline for taking your job personally is a simple one; try your best and pay it forward. If you can go that extra mile to get something completed and pay forward a little good karma, it can go a long way to making you valued, appreciated and recognized as a good person to do business with. If you are difficult to work with, people won’t want to work with you and that can carry over to your personal life as well because rarely is a person difficult at work and easy outside of the office. These are personality traits, not professional traits.
Your professional life is a significant part of your day and when its not going well it can have a significant impact on your personal life, so how can you be expected to separate the two? More people get stressed out every day because of their jobs, and I’m no different (just ask my wife). On the flip side, when things are going well you gain a sense of accomplishment and peace and your career continues to grow. When you have positive interactions with people on a personal level, they are willing to go that extra mile for you and all of this comes more easily when you take your job personally, not just seriously.
So today, or tomorrow, or whenever you feel the time is appropriate, be sure to sit back and take a look at yourself, your interactions and the way that you do business every day and ask your self the question, “Do I take my job personally”? It might just help you get a little further, be a little happier and feel a little bit more complete!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Digital Influentials Volume 2, Issue 1: Welcome to The Machine (2010)!
On behalf of all the Digital Influential’s that have a hand in this column may I wish you a warm welcome to 2010, or what I lovingly refer to as “The Year Of The Machine”.
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