Category Archives: marketing

California is awesome for business ( The myth of the importance of low taxes)

Posted on October 23, 2014 by patrick

Really how important is business taxes? I talk about the myth of low tax utopia in this post. The myth of the importance of low taxes I decided to write this because of yet another debate on Hacker News about … Continue reading →

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What is wrong with the Crazy Baker website?

Posted on November 26, 2010 by patrick

Via the New York Times, Mr. Hitzig, aka the Crazy Baker, made an appeal to the world to help with the question, “Why is the Crazy Baker getting such low conversion?”: Mr. Hitzig is savvy when it comes to Web … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, how to, marketing, starting a company | Leave a comment

Reasons 21-30 why social media is not replacing email

Posted on November 9, 2009 by patrick

The boo-hoo email is dead nonsense post from the dead tree media. The first 10 reasons why email is alive and well. The reasons 11 through 20 why email is not going away. And lastly reasons 21 through 30 why … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, marketing | 3 Comments

explain the trick

Posted on September 8, 2009 by patrick

What happens when something looks too easy? Or the context is wrong? This Labor Day weekend ( For the non-US people The “official” end of the summer in the U.S. first Monday in September – not May 1 ) me … Continue reading →

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Open Letter to Virtual currency companies: “universal” is not a feature

Posted on July 3, 2009 by patrick

Interesting post from Lisa Rutherford about reaching for a universal currency and some discussion about some problems with that dream. While the glories of a “universal” currency are appealing, I think this might be a “feature” that is in fact … Continue reading →

Posted in marketing, starting a company | 2 Comments

Ad networks: missing features

Posted on May 16, 2009 by patrick

Ad networks missing features: Interconnection with bookmarking services Browser back button support Rich interaction Selective Memory Show different video ads Limit the ad selection Interconnection with bookmarking services You’ve interrupted me. The ad is interesting. Well-targeted. Good job. I am … Continue reading →

Posted in amplafi, broken, marketing, rants, starting a company | Leave a comment

Third person in the room

Posted on March 14, 2009 by patrick

Passion is a wonderful thing. When someone is “wrong” about a subject that you care passionately about, it is natural to argue with them and try to “prove” to them that they are wrong. Don’t. Mentally step back. Look around. … Continue reading →

Posted in how to, management, marketing, political, starting a company | Leave a comment

Don’t trust intuition!

Posted on November 11, 2008 by patrick

Practical Guide to Controlled Experiments on the Web: Listen to Your Customers not to the HiPPO Experiment! Run A/A tests — make sure the variation you are seeing isn’t just natural variation Beware Coupon Codes — too prominent and people … Continue reading →

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Seth Godin is wrong, n00bies are everyone.

Posted on August 5, 2008 by patrick

Boy when Seth Godin gets it wrong he really gets it wrong. Seth postulates that people should be willing to ignore n00b (new) customers or decide that some people are not a good customer fit for a product because they … Continue reading →

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the “anti seth godin” approach to selling products

Posted on May 13, 2008 by patrick

Lightspeed venture partners comments that 11-20% of electronic gear is returned. The breakdown: 68% “no trouble found” — customer found the product confusing 27% buyer’s remorse — too expensive or spouse didn’t like it 5% defective Sony’s solution? Make the … Continue reading →

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