At Issue } essential reading
Bottom-Line: Media Companies Must Restructure or Face Consequences
Media companies are in a valuation nightmare. Their problem: being valued almost exclusively on old models and metrics, while not yet reaping the balance-sheet benefits of an unfolding digital nirvana.
Web Companies' Dark Side: Few Jobs
Some of the biggest Internet companies are growing like weeds, serving millions of customers a day and operating globally. But, as commentator Nicholas Carr points out, they tend to employee very few people.
The Sweet Revenge Of Steve Jobs
Some say Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs is an egomaniac. Others have written that he's a tyrant. And if it's true, then so much the better--because if you can pitch a new product as Jobs does, no one should get in your way.
How Long Is A Customer Lifecycle?
A customer lifecycle is the foundation of consumer involvement with your brand over time, and it can shift over time, as consumers come in and out of different lifestages.
The Face Behind Facebook
The face of Facebook is Mark Zuckerberg, the mogul who's guiding its extraordinary growth. What everyone wants to know is: Is he old enough to be running a company some people say is the biggest thing since Google?
Emotional Business Bonding on Social Networks
New research from Communispace, supporting the hypothesis that people are looking to fulfill six essential social needs online, and drawing on the Maslow hierarchy of human needs, concludes that businesses that help facilitate those needs are more likely to create deeper emotional bonds than usually exist between companies and customers.
Q&A: Faith Popcorn
Shhhh. Longtime futurist and author Faith Popcorn warns that optimism is passé and brands that trumpet their benefits are hopelessly out of tune with consumers who are sick and tired of marketing's noise.
A Goodbye to Gates
After a lifetime of computing, it's odd to see Microsoft's icon exit the stage.
Has Gawker Jumped the Snark?
Gawker, the gossip Web site, seems to be in the midst of a particularly intense period of turmoil, which has led to a slide in its once-hypnotic influence on the news media world.
So Much for Engagement; Buys Are Still Based on Eyes
For all the talk about engagement, top marketers and their media buyers still consider reach the No. 1 criteria when they're framing their media plans and making their purchases.
