Henry Phish

This is just pretty and disturbing and kind of odd, but it gets the point across. Reminds me of the Last Tree in a Museum commercial I saw growing up. I’m not really sure what Quercus is, but it sounds like some kind of environmental organization and typing their name into a web browser comes up with this. If this is at all related to JJ Abrahms, please let me know.

Quercus Global Warming Video

CNN last year posted a list of 2006’s dumbest business blunders.

Of note is number 4, GM’s make your own commercial contest as part of their Apprentice promotion in which participants created commercials with slogans such as: “Yesterday’s technology today” and “Global warming isn’t a pretty SUV ad – it’s a frightening reality.” While a good idea, on paper, online communities have a habit of revealing your faults if you give them the chance.

Other interesting moments are number 10, Comcast repairman falls asleep waiting for customer support…the owner of the house made a video…

Long story short, when your customers have complaints, it pays to listen. They probably have a point…and eventually these things come back to bite you in the ass.

101 Dumbest Moments in Business – 2006

So after all the hype around Google and Chrome in the last couple of weeks, I got to thinking about Microsoft, and how they were chalking up these days. The funny thing is, they really aren’t that exciting.

A couple weeks ago they bought Bloomberg for a bunch of money just so they could get their hands on Ciao.com, which is essentially one of a thousand sites set up to drive web traffic to other peoples sites…in this case retailers, but why did Microsoft require, what amounts to a billboard on the side of a concrete wall, in order to make their brand more visible? I already know who Microsoft is…in news and media this is just another tiny mark on their earnings board.

The Less is More Philosophy at Large

Microsoft over the years has relied on quantity over quality in regards to their brand. More is better has always been their slogan. It’s a Bill Gates/Steve Ballmer tradition that has worked well for them, but with other companies entering the marketplace, such as Google, Apple, Firefox, and Blackberry; each with better brand identities and a more focused business plan, Microsoft is failing to compete.

The Perfect Example of the Microsoft Strategy…think of this as being applied whole company.

The other day I watched a news program on CNET or CNN, I can’t remember which, advertising the newest version of the Windows Mobile platform. The guy from Microsoft that introduced the product seemed uncomfortable, and honestly the interviewer wasn’t giving him much of a chance to speak, so I really can’t blame him. However, the whole interview just demonstrates the lack of esteem that Microsoft products are held in these days.

In the world of cell phones for example, the products Microsoft presents lack the luster of products such as the Blackberry with it’s proprietary OS, or Apple, with it’s scaled down version of OS X. In the Blackberry, we have a product that is ergonomic and sensible, something that makes people want to pick it up and play with it. In the IPhone, we have something that has a little flair, but is still practical enough to use from the very first moment you pick it up. What I would compare Microsoft’s products too, and honestly their marketing in general, is that hunch back with the lazy eye from Young Frankenstein; you just keep looking at it, but that eye never goes away.

Most of their products are a little ugly. A little too techie maybe. Not organic enough. Not intuitive enough. Just something isn’t right about them. It just screams, stay away from me, I don’t want you. If I saw one on the counter next to one of the other two phones, I dare say it would probably scream at me if I picked it up.

Thinking back to the monopoly lawsuits Microsoft has gone through over the years, their branching across categories and industries, strong arm tactics, guerrilla warfare tactics and the like, their products mirror their corporate philosophy. In fact, it was the simple act of Bill Gates quitting as CEO and moving into a philanthropic organization that really gave Microsoft any sympathy in the media. Let’s face it, Bill Gates is the founder, and the face of Microsoft, and what he does dictates how the company is perceived.

The Current Face Of Microsoft

Microsoft is pretty well cemented in the workplace with products such as Windows Vista and their Office line. Their real world media empire is fairly secure as well. Companies such as Bloomberg help add to this content, but the company as a whole has an image issue, and all the synergy in the world won’t change that unless the leadership at the top takes the necessary steps to kick this company into gear.

Their brand has to change with the times, and become something that people want, not just require. Microsoft has the resources to do it, but it’s going to take a lot of blood sweat and tears to change a company culture that has long been mired in making the market come to them instead of making products for the market. It’s about time they recognized that competition is good for them…it promotes innovation…and they need some.

Windows Kicks off New Advertising Campaign with Star Power

Microsoft Tries to Reclaim Windows Image

It’s Friday, and this was kind of fun. It’s from The Onion. Check it out.

A very good reverse history of Apple Inc using video to show how the companies product line has evolved as the company has grown. I’ll be posting a similar article about Microsoft next week. Pretty cool.

A Brief Reverse-Chronological YouTube History of Apple

While this isn’t a news piece about GM specifically, it demonstrates why recalls, as well as a good track record in quality, are so important to consumers.

Recalled Tire Valves Cause Serious, Even Fatal, Accidents

An interesting article on natural gas powered cars, and why Utah is leading the nation in their use. According to the article:

The word about natural gas cars has been spreading in news reports and by word of mouth, and so many people in Utah are now trying to get their hands on used natural gas vehicles that they are drying up the national supply. Used car lots are stocking up, and beginning to look like county government parking lots with multiple lines of identical white Civic GXs once used in out-of-state fleets.

In fact, some unique factors apply in Utah. Natural gas prices at the pump here are controlled and are the cheapest in the country, while the price of conventional gasoline is one of the highest. Questar Gas, the public utility, has compressed-gas pumps around the state open to the public, a fueling infrastructure that few states can match.

Apparently cars that run on natural gas produce 20% less emissions but only get half the gass mileage of a normal car. Since Utah already has the infrastructure in place for these vehicles, adoption of these automobiles came as a natural extension of peoples inginuity. Just goes to show what people can think up when they put their minds to it.

With government incentive programs and legislation pushing hydrogen fuel as a future resource, this may be an indicator of things to come. Until then, it’s wait and see.

Surge in Natural Gas Has Utah Driving Cheaply

I just watched an interesting news article on people in the workplace who create problems just so they can be the hero that solves them. The term is taken from a psychological condition in which caregivers fabricate an illness or induce illness to get attention. Apparently it’s a common occurrence in the workplace these days, which is difficult to detect because people who have the illness often get promoted or commended.

The article recommends encouraging teamwork over individual performance in order to discourage the condition. Honestly, though, teamwork always seemed like the best policy anyway. It’s hard to believe that someone would fake a problem just so they could take the credit for fixing it. Though that probably explains a few people I’ve met over the years.

Personally, that just sounds like a lot of extra work.

Some Employees Create Problems Just To Take Credit For Solutions

As one blog author stated in an article last week entitled Iacocca: GM, Ford will survive.:

Aug. 28–In 1979, Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca went hat-in-hand to the U.S. government asking for $1.5 billion in federal loan guarantees to keep the automaker from going belly-up.

With only a little arm-twisting, the government agreed and within 36 months was not only repaid, but it also made $350 million in interest.

And, of course, Chrysler survived.

According to CNET, Bloomberg news outlet mistakenly published an obituary for the still very much alive Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs. After having a bout with cancer nearly a decade ago and having appeared ill at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2008 the notice was most likely at the tip of some editors tongue anyway when they accidentally pushed the publish key. Still, the article made me think about how important Steve Jobs has been to several key industries in his lifetime. Everything from the original Apple computer to the writing of the NextStep operating system, to IPod and ITunes, the IPhone, IMovie and Final Cut Pro, Pixar.

The man might as well have been Alexander Grahm Bell himself for all the influence he’s had on todays culture, especially in the past few years.

Per the obituary:

He “helped make personal computers as easy to use as telephones, changed the way animated films are made, persuaded consumers to tune into digital music, and refashioned the mobile phone.”

The obituary itself made me feel a little sad, but is a good reminder how single individuals can help to shape our culture in profound ways.

Good to hear you’re still alive Steve.

Bloomberg mistakenly publishes Steve Jobs obituary