The Value of Mirroring
I'm a fan of mirroring. At least I'm a fan of the idea. I'm not a heavy user. Actually, I don't really use it at all. I guess I'm not alone. According to a recent study from NPD, only about seven percent of tablet or smartphone owners actually use screen sharing technologies. NPD suggests the technology is simply new so consumers just haven't adopted it yet. Certainty this could be true. We know adoption follows power laws so perhaps we just haven't hit the point of accelerating adoption yet. There probably is some truth to this. According to NPD's results, less than 20...
Read MoreSizing the Market Opportunity for Connected Wristwatches
I wrote early this month about the features of connected wristwatches. Since this time there has been significant digital ink spilled discussing the connected wristwatch space with a focus on Apple's potential foray into the market (see: 100 people are working on the Apple watch, Apple's entry into wearable tech, On the Apple Watch watch, Apple watch that talks to your iPhone appears in patent, and a thousand more articles). There is always some trepidation in throwing a number out for the potential addressable market for very nascent - and in this case nearly nonexistent - categories. A...
Read MoreLive, Continuous Testing in Higher Education - How Tech is Changing the Way We Teach
Tech has always had a pronounced impact on how we teach - from prehistoric times of passing on survival skills to Johannes Gutenberg's 1450 invention of the printing press to the most recent two decade push in online education. Tech within a classroom continues to change with the advent of teaching aids like smartboards and software solutions like blackboard and recent pushes in massive open online courses which are once again redefining how we think about organized higher education. Today, companies like Knewton are working with universities like Arizona State University to create...
Read MoreFacebook's Revenue Future
There has been significant talk about Facebook's revenue future. Two weeks ago Facebook introduced gift cards consumers can use at retailers like Target and restaurants like Olive Garden (see here and here). Facebook's CFO, David Ebersman said during the quarterly earnings call in the same week that the long-term potential revenue will remain small for the immediate future. But the potential is interesting and that is where I want to focus for a few minutes. Here is a screenshot I took from Facebook in December: This screenshot was taken on December 23rd - just days before Christmas....
Read MoreWill Dell Exist the Consumer Computer Business?
Dell announced earlier this week that it was going private in a $24.4 billion deal. The buyout is the largest since Blackstone's $26 billion takeover of Hilton Hotels in 2007 and will add $15 billion of new debt to Dell. Dell is clearly at a difficult crossroads. In 2005, Dell was the world's largest maker of PCs while today it is now third behind HP and Lenovo. Today Dell's market share in PCs is roughly 11 percent - down from about 16.8 percent in 2005. While PCs have suffered, some of Dell's other business units continue to expand. Dell's server & networking revenue grew 11...
Read MoreThe Superbowl's Second Screen Experience
The Superbowl has come and gone. Leading up to the Superbowl there was a lot written about what the Second Screen approach would be (see here and here and here). I think alternative second screen approaches - second screen experiences designed by the rightsholder or the distribution network - can be especially effective when the digital platform competes as the primary screen. This is also true when users are turning to the digital platform for additional richness to the first screen experience. But in my opinion, with live events like the Superbowl Twitter remains the winner of the...
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