Skype: the 2nd largest phone company worldwide

I was amazed to read that Skype reached 450 million users. Only the Chinese phone company is bigger and I am not sure that’s the choice of their customers.

Most of us have had unpleasant dealings with phone companies because they feel safe behind their oligopolistic ways and bully consumers. Skype stood up and took the consumer’s side and it worked.

When consumers lack alternatives and think poorly of the service they get, there is opportunity for a great new business. Depending on whether the service can be delivered online or not, you may end up with Skype or EasyJet but in the end, consumers will see the real value.

Think about it,…

How does this work?

Spain: In 2008 real estate prices went down:

- 3% (official number seen everywhere including the AHE)
- 31% when asking for a mortgage (according to Tinsa - aslo part of AHE

Is it just me?...

My blog is talking to me,…

I have inserted the Google Video bar in my blog and it automatically puts the best rated videos that talk about “hipotecas”. So far nothing to write home about.

Today for the first time, I saw ranked in position 2 a video that is neither funny nor impressive nor well done. In fact, it’s just as boring as it gets. It’s a boring guy telling people “remember what to look for before you contract a mortgage” he indicates the importance of understanding commissions, insurances, etc….

People apparently watch it (at least YouTube viewers). My blog (YouTube) is telling me that we are on the right track!

Obama vs. Mandela

Obama has generated a surge of hope in the US and abroad and, while I have no particular interest or knowledge in politics, I believe Mandela was the last (if not the only) country leader to have such a base of followers in recent history.

I can’t help to make the comparison because both leaders were mandated to bring change in trying times and the color of their skin was part of their promise for change.

I remember the hopes of South Africa in 1994. Years later, most people who cheered for Mandela abroad have forgotten these hopes and the South African people are still facing major challenges.

What we should learn from the Mandela experience:

Change comes from the people not only from the leader they elect, no matter how talented or inspirational they may be. Whether we talk about a country, a good sports team or a good startup :-), success lies in the people’s perseverance, stamina and ability to remember everyday their promise to themselves.

The real world…

It seems the internet is getting better everyday as a mean to communicate values. This weekend, a friend of mine was telling me about “wherethehellismatt” and included in his e-mail “playingforchange” (a great concept and smart play on words for a donation-based business).

These are incredible stories because they show how the “physical world” is starting to mimic the internet.
• Initially the “real” world was translated into a “virtual world”
• Then the “virtual world” changed our activities in the “real world”
• Now the virtual world is changing our values and there is no boundary between “physical” and “virtual” worlds, just two parts of the real world

Matt, Kiva, Playingforchange and others are showing how we can live up to greater values through better transparency, communication and solidarity.

Zopa, (how the internet is deconstructing consumer finance)

You may have heard of Zopa, a lead gen company in the consumer finance industry. They just announced that they would close their US operations because of the lack of access to credit in the US (where they had deals with 6 credit union).

Companies are born and die every day but in the case of Zopa, they will keep on operating in Italy and in the UK where their model is a P2P model rather than a lead gen.

I find this interesting for several reasons:

• It seems that in the current market environment people are more reliable than banks when doing the very job banks are supposed to do: using the extra cash of someone to finance the needs of someone else.

• It also shows that European markets, including southern ones, are ripe for consumer finance over the internet.

• And, more importantly, that something fundamentally new is happening in consumer finance: Until now, intermediaries always depended on lenders to monetize their access to consumers. This is already no longer the case for less sophisticated products (such as consumer credit).

More than ever, gaining consumer reach and trust is where the value is.

Marketing Magic,… the sequel

It turns out that Plaxo does not live up to its promise. In my last post I explained how I joined mainly because they seemed to have attracted great professionals but most people I see there are also on LinkedIn while the contrary is not true. So what?

• Viral marketing only works if you deliver on your promise
• Web 2.0 marketing is different from “old web marketing” because the companies do not control 100% of the quality of their products. They depend on the quality of their communities.
• An interface is not a significant differentiation. I recruit on Infojobs which has a terrible interface because there are more and better candidates, I use LinkedIn because they have more and better professionals
• 1st mover’s advantage remains significant

Marketing magic…

I just joined Plaxo,… why? Like many people, I had decided to use only 1 network (LinkedIn), so something about Plaxo’s marketing was different, and its not the logo...



Come to think of it, the main reason I joined was the people who invited me. I don't know what, if anything, Plaxo did to attract high quality people but they did and that gave them credibility.

Secondary, yet important factors in which Plaxo certainly played an active role:
- Incredibly easy to use and intuitive
- They do the work for you (a list of nine people “I may know” was on their home page, and I knew 4 of them)
- The feel is different, faster pace and more fun but without reducing their credibility

So what?
- Invest in good viral marketing especially if you have many competitors: The value of recommendation increases as service offering gets commoditized
- Many startups invest most of their funds in technology,… don’t!: Of course, you need outstanding technology in order to even “play” but it is not enough to succeed and make the difference
- Service is key but comes far behind recommendation: The country manager of Viadeo Spain actually spent time on the phone with me and provided as good a service as one can, yet, while I intended to, I never developed my Viadeo network

If any of you knows where to find good insight on how to manage “word of mouth”, “recommendation” or “viral marketing” let me know…

Embrace the change,…

Robert Redford +Isabella Rossellini+ green movement = Kama Sutra for insects on YouTube

If you wonder how this marvel of modern math became a reason for me to resume my blogging activity, it’s simple: Given my startup I try to understand advertising.

Now that I really confused my (few) readers, let me explain...

I can’t pretend I understand showbiz but, regardless of the actual message or entertainment quality of the 8 clips done by Rossellini for the Sundance institute, I found a business lesson behind that story:

First, I think it is a brilliant use of buzz words: the movies are titled “Green Porno” How perfect is that? Two powerful words that sell on their own and intrigue when put together.

Secondly, it’s about embracing the change: Just like music stars have done it with video clips, Redford and Rossellini are using the internet to strengthen their “personal brand equity”. Ink flows and links are exchanged, all putting their name in the spot light.

These “ads for Sundancechannel.com”, get some traffic and press coverage but how all this generates more “green” (money or minds) is still unclear to me. Maybe that’s not what’s important after all, maybe what is important is the recognition that Youtube has more traffic than TV and that, therefore, it is a better advertising channel…

Now that this truly extraordinary event has confirmed that internet is the place to advertise (and shown the current limitation of traffic monetization), I have even more reasons to go back to my start up and see if I too can get people to embrace the change…

Taking a break

I have not had so much time to blog lately but I found this video fun... (Thanks Horaci)