Rush only to have a great product

Business

"What are you waiting for?" That is something many pro-entrepreneur individuals say when you have an idea or would like something to be better. I completely agree, that yea "What are you waiting for!". Just do it. After that, everybody starts talking you should go lean, fail fast and learn while doing it. This way there might be better chance to find a fit for the market and start collecting those dimes worth more than variable costs per unit sold.

Therefore, just as an idea: When you start your business, there is an immense rush to get stuff done. It stresses you out in the nights, gets you a positive rush the next and anxiety the day you look into the business' bank account. And the latter one is the one you are rushing for.



Be the first in the market...er...not

Be the first in what you do? Well, I don't think so. You might have heard the praises for blue ocean strategy. In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid. In blue oceans, competition is irrelevant because the rules of the game are waiting to be set. Blue ocean as a strategy is correct, but it often is mixed with the idea of being the first.

It is true that you have many advantages if you execute an blue ocean strategy. But the advantage does not come from being the first.

The gold rush

So, what is the key when you go out and start your business? I would argue that is it the rush to have a great product. You are definitely in a rush, especially every time you look into your bank account. Eric Ries argues that an entrepreneur’s greatest advantage is their obscurity. If your first product sucks, at least not too many people will know about it. But that is the best time to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them to make the product better.

Therefore, the rush is to have a great product that creates a blue ocean before you run out of money.

Freedom is... the ability to choose

Philosophy

"I'm not afraid. I'm standing on top of this building, watching the storm approaching. I am not scared, taking on any weather it takes, cold or warm. We walk this world together afterall".

Filmmaker Pedro de la Fuente @pfuente, a good friend of mine, is currently working on to make people think what is freedom? I would start asking what is the value of freedom. To start, lets say loyalty has an important aspect. Loyalty to believe and to trust that the other will or can go out to do what is decided. When you trust, you can propose freedom.


This summer I've had the freedom to go fishing at 11pm

Loyalty and freedom

The key to understanding freedom is to recognize and respect that people are deeply loyal to themselves and those they love, but not to products, brands and governments (as society could be understood). They are loyal to their own values and the (relatively few) people and causes they truly believe in. What looks and feels like loyalty to a government, product, brand, company, etc. is driven by what that product, service, brand says about who we are and what we value.

If I buy from you, with money or by action, it’s not because I like you but because I like myself


This summer I've had the freedom to enjoy time in the park with my girl

Value of freedom

I also discussed this in a study on branding (pdf here). The value of freedom can be understood through an idea of post-modernism: the need to order the world into easily identifiable ranks and categories. Categories are society's way to interpret, to contrast and compare objects. The values signify the person's identity and leads to an active enjoyment of the specific object. The value of freedom is, therefore, the emotional interaction in a world of free choices. In a post-modern society, the citizen freely collects signs that signify the self.

The value of an object is the ability to create emotional loyalty, which emerges from the signification of the self. Hence the value of freedom is about the option to choose.


This summer I've had the freedom to enjoy a cup of tea with magazines.

6 business opportunities with social media overload

Business


Mashable here has a great article about "Sharepocalypse", or how social media overload will generate an expanse of new problems. However, this will generate a new opportunity for social assistance — a new category of software and services — and therefore, a ripe environment for startups.

Social Relationship Management (SRM): : Services that help people create, organize and manage sets of social network relationships — for example, sets of people to follow and/or share with on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, etc.

Social Awareness: Services that help people keep up with their social networks, especially among a user’s friends.

Social Curation: Services that help people organize and make sense of their streams and messages.

Social Personalization: Services that help people sift through the network noise for information most relevant to their particular needs and interests.

Social Analytics: Services that help to measure online social behavior and trends, optimize engagement, monitor activity and communicate more appropriately.

Social Automation: Services that help to automate activity in social networks, like automatically updating your status, helping to increase your influence, suggesting what to share, matchmaking, alerting, and using bots to intelligently interact with and assist users.

Because social assistance will become so necessary, both vertical and horizontal social assistance could mean interesting opportunities for startups. Ventures that provide vertical social assistance for particular networks, like Google+ and Facebook are going to be early build versus buy acquisition targets. These are rapid innovation opportunities for individual developers or small teams.

Louis Vuitton S/S 2012 for men looks

Style

I really do enjoy Louis Vuitton style and here is a nice look at the latest style for their S/S 2012 men's collection.

Manifesto to End Digital Divide - by FACT Liverpool

Philosophy

Posting an manifesto I was given a week ago at Liverpool. It gives you a nice overview of of challenges societies see regarding the growing digital divide and how to tackle it. This is super important for societies in Europe, and rest of the world as well.

Tackling the Digital Divide

1. Give older people access to enter the digital world - Residential care homes, sheltered accomodation, clubs for the elderly and care centres should be digital hubs - providing mental stimulation and opportnities to explore and learn new creative media skills. Digital technology can help older people get socially connected, with lessons in how to surf, blog, make short films or even DJ. 

2. Let's open the doors to the online Town Hall - Community activity is increasingly happening online via forums and websites for the local population. Democratic debate and participation is thriving o the internet. Older people should have greater access to the tools and skills needed to participate in their online neightbourhood. 

3. Online Freedom Passes for over 65's - The internet is now the primary source for public service information. From collecting pensionsto legal advice, everything is going digital. To ensure pensioners can make the most of the opportunities available, the Government and Internet Service Providers should provide over 65s with subsidised internet access, and make access to super-fast broadband for the most vulnerable a priority.

4. End digital illiteracy - 10 million people in the UK lacking basc digital skills os a social injustice ans an economic liability. The government should set a target for eliminating digital illiteracy by 2013 and established Government's national youth service where young people "buddy-up" with the elderly online.

5. Social networking across the ages - Conversations between the generations are fundamental to a well-functioning, happy society - and the Internet is the perfect place for those conversations to take place. From webinars which bring older people into the classrooms to online Q&A's, the young and the old should meet in the digital ether - actively promoted by Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Putting Power in the Hands of Citizens in the Digital Age

Business

I am attending and speaking at The Finnish Institute in London organised Community TV Expert Meeting, held at FACT Liverpool. This is a roundtable event trying to promote cooperation and best practises of Community media.



One idea forwarded during the day is to look back at community media of 70s and 80s. Curation and social identity through pirate media stations gained traction in these centuries. So we argue that, putting power in the hands of citizens will be one of the first choice for curators and media.

Community television is a throwback to a time when cable technology was new and the web was not yet born. It allowed anyone to create a program that could be seen on cable. Community television was the youtube of its day; but things have changed. Downloading and streaming have precipitated a complicated restructuring of the television industry, brought on in part by new viewing habits. Traditional TV now seems to be on the wane. But there are some things that are harder for the internet to replace.



Most television takes more than one person to make. The internet cannot replace the studio space, hands-on training and possibilities for in-person collaboration and mentorship that community television allowed for. It won't replace the sense of place provided by a community production studio; a space where people can gather, work, learn and create together.

We are at a critical moment when traditional media ownership is more concentrated than ever, and yet we have perhaps the most participatory medium in history at our fingertips. As such, citizens need access to media literacy, knowledge and media production skills more than ever before. Community media centres--modeled on the idea of recreation centres and local libraries--may be a crucial piece of the digital divide puzzle

Finally an nice overlook of Liverpool from the rooftop of FACT.

The Restaurant Day in Helsinki

Style

A week ago me and Helene had the pleasure to attend as guests the community led Restaurant Day. We went to the Restaurant "ViiniTV" As it is, from the link at Visit Helsinki site you will find more info.

I do not really have any opinion on the current state of food and beverage industry, but in my opinion such actions are amazing to boost activity within Helsinki Region. Not in commercial way per se, but think about the new connections people ended up having during that evening last saturday. Just myself happened to gain 3 new contacts that evening, some might even end up being business friends. And thanks for the 1976 Port guys!



Food and drinks are one common issue we all have and there is nothing better than Michelin-grade dinner, served in 3 room apartment with 14 smily faces around you. I myself hope the next such day will be held on August as it is planned. See the meal photos below, taken by Helene Auramo

Breads


Starter


Main Course


Dessert

Value of Curation

Business


(source)

Why is curation so important for the future of web content publishers? I believe the content curator is the next emerging disruptive role in the content creation and distribution chain. With increasing amount of information shared, curation is tremendously valuable service to anyone looking for quality information online: a subjective and qualified selection of the best and most relevant content and resources on a very specific topic or theme.

I could argue that a content curator is someone "who continually finds, organizes and shares the best and most relevant content on a specific issue online". The most important component of this job is the word "continually."In the real-time world of the Internet, this is critical.

The idea of curation goes back to the art world, where galleries have for decades used professional curators to shape the experience of the visitor. This is the key element. As a curator, one has to think about the gallery visitors. The individual experience from the accessibility to the end thoughts about the art pieces are extremely important. And as the possibilities are endless, curation brings a lot of value to the experience. Afterall, I very much enjoy the explanations about the gallery's arts, on which I can build my own view.


(source)

When we go back to online media, the value gained is not any different. Mastering how to create niche-targeted compilations of content is indeed one of the key lifesaving strategies that online publishers can adopt to offer greater value, even at a price, to those interested in it.

We live in a world where attention has become so scarce to become as valuable as currency. The ability to organize, select, compile and edit the most valuable information on anyone topic is ever needed.

Hence, I am well underway on working on a solution for this. :)

Helsinki Trivia on Stadi.TV

ON Stadi.TV, the service that focuses on local Helsinki region issues, you'll find these amazing Helsinki Trivia videos. Go check out how much you know about Helsinki

Analysis of Business Ecosystems

Business

Yesterday I was at a TIVIT next media event, listening to for example Burton Lee from Stanford University. However the most interesting keynote came from Saku Mäkinen, a PhD and Tampere University of Technology professor. And it was about Ecosystems.



Ecosystem Properties

Ecosystems in the nature are about energy flow. Similar idea should be applied to to the business ecosystems, where the energy flows through all the organizations and aims to add value to the end user, argues Mr. Mäkinen. Ususally ecosystems are extremely messy systems (note that these are still organised systems!) and works best if the players are striving towards similar value adding goals. Disruptions, both innovations or market cycles, often break the value adding chain and requires heavy adaptation from each organisation involved, expecially the so called keystone or dominator organisations.



Key points:
- Ecosystems are hierarchical systems
- Ecosystem's organisations have interdependence on each others
- Ecosystems have to be goal oriented
- Ecosystems have modular approach to organize itself
- Ecosystems have to a feedback process in place to enable evolution


Evolution of Ecosystem

Ecosystems tend to organize itself around a certain technology, manufacturing or service process. Mr. Mäkinen says this core element needs to be build down the system as far as possible to make it worthwhile. However, depending on the role of the organization, it can focus on certain niches and still be a very important part of the ecosystem.

According to Mr. Mäkinen, the ecosystem have 3 possible roles: Keystone or Dominator and Niche. Great ecosystems are organic, with no added 'preservaties' or non-natural (for the ecosystem) ingredients. Growth usually evolves around certain roles.



Main role is Keystone player who acts as a source of income and energy for the rest of the ecosystem. This organization is thus usually facing the consumers and needs to have a very need knowledge of the market's needs. This main role is usually taken few big organizations within the markets. These roles are usually created in a heterogenous, fragmented and lucrative markets.

Dominators are similar to Keystone players, but do strive to control the ecosystem to a much higher degree. These organizations need to have massive resources to both create stable energy flow and to adapt on market disruptions. And they need to have even deeper knowledge of the market's needs than Keystone organisations. Usually Dominators evolve in market that are homogenous, mature and lucrative.

The bulk of the ecosystem will consist of specialized niche organization that fulfill a certain role to serve the keystone or dominator roles. The strength of niche is focus, that generates higher productivity and better quality. Therefore keystone/dominator organisations tend to work with these organisation, rather than maintaining all the required parts of the ecosystem themselves. Through innovations, niche players might evolve into keystone / dominator roles.

It is all about the end user!

Mr Mäkinen pointed out that quite often, organisations tend to forget that ecosystem's energy flows towards the end user. The aim of this energy is not to work to the end user, but for the end user. As Charlie Leadbeater has said, ecosystem, like any system, that is self-interested works to you, not for you.


Short summary:
- Ecosystem leadership is no guarantee for advantage nor profits
- Nothing last forever as innovations can disrupt everything
- End user value adding is a focal point. Remember to work for the end user.

Sometimes it is nice to buy presents

I love shopping at Louis Vuitton store. The service is exceptional and when you walk out, you know your present will make someone happy. :)

Organic Breakfast

Breakfast: organic rustic bread topped with organic garlic cheese. Goes down with Golden Needle tea.

Some Beijing Roasted Duck

Log

We have had a busy week behind, with tons of meetings, product development. Later on I am able to tell you more about them, however to celebrate this me and Helene decided to go for some Chinese. Got to love Beijing Duck aka Roasted Duck. Superb Chinese dish.

Promotion Day

Business

ArcticStartup made an article about our latest project Blog!flow. I also love the hectic feeling and excitement to see what people think about your work. Today created some buzz and a lot of new users.

My advice would be was to prepare better for the promotion. And make sure you are technically ready for the increased traffic or users. But more important is to release and prmote often. No use in creating the greatest product of all time and never releasing it. Overall a great day.

The Man in Black - CQ UK

Style

Overall, I am a big fan of "The man in black" himself, and these pictures just refresh the style I am kinda fond of. Not on this style everyday, but kinda need to get my groove on towards this gravitational force of a style.