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Alex Iskold at ReadWriteWeb discusses the potentially dangerous trend towards free.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_danger_of_free.php
"Are we heading into dangerous territory? The paths that we are taking lead to confused customers at best; and monopolistic practices at worst. A culture where consumers think that increasingly more and more services should be free is not healthy." - Alex Iskold, ReadWriteWeb
For companies that sell and ship physical goods, check out this compelling product fulfillment service by Amazon.
http://www.amazonservices.com/fulfillment/
"Your business should focus on customers and sales - not fulfillment. With this innovative new service, your inventory and orders are processed using the same system used by Amazon.com. When a customer places an order we pick, pack and ship it. No more complicated warehouse and inventory management software. No more worrying about how you’re going to get all those items packed before the pickup time. No more hassles with shipping companies. Just let Amazon do all of it! After 10 years and millions of orders and customers, Amazon has created one of the most advanced fulfillment networks in the world and your business can now benefit from our expertise." -- Amazon.com
Personalized manufacturing - proving that it doesn't have to be virtual to be groundbreaking.
"The post-industrial revolution is changing the way products are created, traded and distributed. Now everyone can engage in the manufacturing process through their PCs - bringing personal manufacturing of individualized products to the masses. "
After recently securing a $13.3 million Series A Round, Earth Class Mail has been getting some well-deserved press coverage for it's innovative service.
"Earth Class Mail is changing how postal mail is delivered, for the betterment of individuals, businesses, national post offices, and most importantly – the planet. Instead of making physical postal deliveries which are so dependent on fuel for planes and trucks, we deliver postal mail online - where people can deal with it instantly, anywhere in the world..."
I love this concept. It's the beginning of a new class of content - premium, rich content that is dynamic and alive.
"idiomag is a high-quality, digital magazine currently personalized to each individual user's interests in music. It keeps them "in the know" about the artists and genres they love, as well as finding new artists that they might like. It includes feature articles, reviews, galleries and interactive elements in an engaging format that users can access whenever and wherever they want it."
The Best Equity is Sweat Equity by Mark Cuban.
http://www.blogmaverick.com/2008/01/02/the-best-equity-is-sweat-equity/
A must read for entreprenuers.
Innovative business model and music service. A sort of stock market for bands.
Bands upload music and then sell $10 "shares" in a future album. Once $50,000 is raised, SellABand helps produce the album in a professional studio. Album and advertising profits are shared between the artist, fans, and SellABand.
