Saturday, 25 December 2010

Must read.. especially for the middle aged guys & girls.. ;-) Age and happiness: The U-bend of life | The Economist

Age and happiness: The U-bend of life | The Economist:

Must read.. especially for the middle aged guys & girls.. ;-)

"Whatever the causes of the U-bend, it has consequences beyond the emotional. Happiness doesn’t just make people happy—it also makes them healthier. John Weinman, professor of psychiatry at King’s College London, monitored the stress levels of a group of volunteers and then inflicted small wounds on them. The wounds of the least stressed healed twice as fast as those of the most stressed. At Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Sheldon Cohen infected people with cold and flu viruses. He found that happier types were less likely to catch the virus, and showed fewer symptoms of illness when they did. So although old people tend to be less healthy than younger ones, their cheerfulness may help counteract their crumbliness."

Tuesday, 21 December 2010

My response & prediction peHUB � Depressing Thoughts About Groupon’s Model

peHUB � Depressing Thoughts About Groupon’s Model

my response and prediction:


I would tend to agree with you Jeff, but as I eluded to in some of my previous private tweets at @GarethWong, the Groupon model sadly unsustainable.

Although I just tried Groupon (a major sized canvas print for price of a small canvas) and lately Keynoir in UK (more upmarket & exclusive products, they argue), essentially it helps raise awareness and potential reach but not necessary the B2C brands' normal target audience..

Real sustainable Acid test (for long term ecommerce solution/upstart) is whether it would change consumer habit and continuously provide value (like ebay+paypal, alibaba for b2b or linkedin for directors of B2B firms networking etc.) .. there is only limited number of lobster or steak meals or 50% of suits.. but the retailers will start getting wise to the fact that the clientèle will not return as the price point to convert them just is not sustainable (unless it is part of a conglomerate operating a 'basket' approach of supermarkets)...

Biggest challenge for the whole dot.com or tech-crunch world is this, the REAL percentage of consumers that 'transact' and pay is sadly still not the majority (unlike myself, for majority of the joe blogg public, they still do not buy everything they need online... )

When we see the reports from broadsheets and investment banks like morgan stanley start talking about % of internet people that buy things, rather than % of population are on broadband, that is when the real sustainable business arrive in our 'joe blogg's world and we will then have some proper conversation about brands or services that WILL last..

Groupon I sadly say will not be around in its present form (just to be controversial) in 5years time... and I am not a betting man.

Tuesday, 14 December 2010

Price War Ignited Between Online Booksellers_English_Caixin

Price War Ignited Between Online Booksellers_English_Caixin:

great for consumers!
we love pricewars!

"Dangdang currently offers 600,000 books on its website, while 360buy sells 220,000. According to Dangdang's IPO prospectus, the company's fourth quarter book sales are expected to reach 441.8 million yuan, with daily transactions worth 4.9 million yuan.
In addition to the fierce battle in the book market, 360buy, which has long relied on low price strategy to attract customers, is also facing challenges from rivals in the electronic retailing sector, including Gome and Suning.
Local media outlets reported that Gome and Suning are in talks with appliance suppliers to reduce supplies to 360buy, accusing the online seller for violating market rules by offering below-market prices"

Monday, 13 December 2010

Asia Times Online :: China News, China Business News, Taiwan and Hong Kong News and Business.

Asia Times Online :: China News, China Business News, Taiwan and Hong Kong News and Business.:

very interesting.

"Wang's book argues that China's middle class is essential to three things: China's economic well-being, China's political liberalization, and America's economic well-being. A fourth may be implicit: that successfully engaging with, and profiting by, the explosive growth of China's middle class may be a necessary reminder to Americans of what we have lost - not in economic terms, but the vision of a better future."

Friday, 10 December 2010

Top 15 Advertising Agencies to Work For | Blog | Amanda Cobb

Top 15 Advertising Agencies to Work For | Blog | Amanda Cobb

Indeed, how many will still be around, or with key guys intact?

key surely is to track who are the stars?

or is new media breaking that proven cycle?