Digital Hive

I think retail's about to change

You have to check this out. I am sad to say I'm late in discovering Threadless (thanks to Doris and Moynihan for egging me on), but it's amazing. As everyone knows, I pretty much only wear T shirts. But I also get bored easily (in case you didn't know that). Which means I'm constantly on the hunt for cool new Ts. If my accountant is reading this, don't worry, they only cost like $15 each.

Threadless is an online T shirt retailer specializing in designs from ordinary folks (not "brands"). Which would be reason enough for me to really love it (you'll all recall my recent Etsy binge). But it's also a site where anyone can submit a design for a T-shirt and have it voted on by anyone online. If they choose your design for a shirt, they pay you $12,500 (and you get famous). It's also a place where you can determine what is later sold (by rating the submitted designs). You can even ask them to reprint designs that are sold out.

This is listening to customers in a whole new way, I think. And giving them value, some of which is brand new to the marketplace (a T shirt is no longer just a shirt, it's a way to participate with a brand, a souvenir of an engaging process where you participated in the product's design - brilliant).

I see big changes for mass market retail coming. Sure it could be in 10 years, but I think once people get a taste of this new approach to acquiring stuff (influencing what's made before you buy it), it's pretty hard to go back to pre-packaged at WalMart.

Think of the implications for a retailer like Zara that already has pretty quick inventory turns. They could be cranking out a new set of items every day (I think I just got a tingle).

I wish the site were more viral-enabled; e.g., had a quick link to allow me to email a design that's perfect for my friend DeMane to her new boyfriend Eduardo so he can get it for her as a gift. They offer a way to embed items in social media (which I've done here), which I really enjoy using.

Anyway, it's a cool site with decent UI and a compelling concept. Check it out.

In An Unusual Move...

While I was having my annual baking frenzy during the week of Christmas I visited the Ghirardelli.com site looking for recipes that called for their unsweetened cocoa powder. Even using their advanced search tool, I could not locate more than a couple of recipes, which was frustrating given that I had a brand new can of cocoa powder. Hershey's has the functionality I was looking for (hey so does Hillshire Farm,) so I was kind of bummed out. Now I have many cookbooks and a binder full of divine recipes that I regularly rely on, but I was trying to give a company a break - and actually use their website. GAH! So annoyed was I that I went to the customer feedback section and told them of my frustration. I vented, I dragged out the cookbooks, I forgot the whole thing.

And then an envelope arrived in the mail today. A hand addressed envelope from Ghirardelli filled with recipes. Wow. I was so completely surprised by the effort that I had to write about it. Good work Ghirardelli - now please fix the functionality on the website.

What happens in Vegas stays - pink?

Today's WSJ online (sub. req'd.) has an interesting article about Las Vegas's new outreach to gay and lesbian travelers. At left is a recent example of Harrah's G/L advertising.

The story begins in a typical way - marketer discovers segment spends 30% more than average, marketer decides to target segment - but also includes some interesting hospitality industry nuances. For example, a check-in. A travel industry expert explains: "For a lot of gay travelers the moment of checking in is a bit of a moment of truth. It is one of the key moments when you realize, 'Oh, will I be accepted or will I be actually welcome?' "

Clerks can no longer assume that 2 men checking in together on a reservation for a room with one bed (not two) have made a booking error.

Interestingly, the casinos' research shows typical G/L visitors are traveling as couples not singles - so the communication emphasizes things you can do as a couple rather than opportunities to meet new people.

Pass on Quechup

Over the past couple of days I have received invitations from several friends, Age of Conversation co-authors and co-workers to join a social networking site called Quechup. Within hours of receiving the initial invitation via Quechup (using my friends' names as SENT FROM) I received a follow-up email directly from my friend with a RE: line along the lines of "Do NOT act on email from Quechup." During the registration process Quechup asked my friends if it could check their contacts (Google, Yahoo, others) for Quechup members they may already know. Quechup then spammed everyone their address books without consent.

A quick blog search turned up hundreds of angry posts about Quechup "hijacking" their email. The early adopters out there are furious.

The site appears to be operated by a UK outfit called iDate (though the "contact us" address is in Las Vegas.) The "conditions of use" were enough to turn me off the site - yes, I am geeknik enough to read the terms of service when I sign up for something. And I quote:

"By posting Content to any public area of Quechup.com, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to Quechup.com an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy, perform, display, and distribute such information and content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such information and content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing." 

So after a sentence warning that "You are solely responsible for the Content that you publish or display..." you get a warning that they own whatever content you post there. Should you choose to sign up for a service that spams your friends.

This kind of bad operator impacts our efforts to create real social networking connections and serves as a reminder to our social networking friends to read the terms of service, check the blogosphere, check Google news and try to get a sense of what you are getting yourself into.

Diary of a girl technogeek

Honestly, I'm not planning to present a daily diary on life with the iPhone - but I just like it so much. I'm already hooked on mobile video (perfect for blocking out the medical oddities conversations on the morning train.) For the first time I can check all of my email accounts in one easy location (the lobby of the gym, the line at the bagel joint or the walk to the office.) I've never been much for texting, but the SMS interface is so gorgeous, I'm glad I went for the 1500 message package. Geek. Geekier. Geekiest.

Friend of Digital Hive, Jackie Huba, wrote an interesting post at the Church of the Customer blog entitled iLoyalty (proving that I'm not the only one putting "i" in front of random words.) In the column Jackie opines that the iPhone lineup outside the Apple stores was about about "cultish devotion." I have to credit my husband Thomas with convincing me to purchase my iPhone at the Apple store (and wait in line for a bit) instead of aiming for no wait at an AT&T store. I had been triangulating the shortest distance from my home + the time I would leave the office < likelihood of all of suburban Boston showing up in my chosen location = AT&T store in the backwoods (but probably no wait and a guaranteed shot at a phone.)

Tom changed my acquisition plan with one question: "Why would you choose the AT&T store experience for a piece of Apple technology - especially given our excellent customer service experiences at the Apple Store?" He went on to tease me by asking if "brand girl" had lost her mind - or if "customer service witch" was so blinded by technology that she would throw over the Apple experience for a (potentially) shorter wait. Thank God I married Mr. Always Right, because he was correct again. I waited in line (for less than two hours) but not because of cultish devotion to Apple - just cultish devotion to the best customer service experiences.

iPhone, Day 5 - "Can I Touch It?"

I was preparing to write this morning and stopped by my Yahoo page to check the MLB Standings when I came across this Red Stripe Beer ad. I love it when companies in completely unrelated industries hop on a juggernaut like the iPhone. I got quite a chuckle from the ad unit and more so when I clicked into the site. I found amusing work that goes hand in hand with the extremely odd television campaign, so bravo Red Stripe, I like it when things work together.

I'm not planning to chronicle life with the iPhone, but in my other space I answered a bunch of questions that people have about the iPhone and thought I would do the same here. I was pleased the last week Apple chose to answer all of the critics of the iPhone in one day. They updated the iPhone page and posted a slew of press releases that answered the battery life, size, and capability of the device. Here's my take:

iLove my iPhone Experience

Yes friends, I did what every tech obsessed adult wanted to do yesterday - I waited in line to get an iPhone. Being a lazy kind of person desiring an iPhone, I didn't arrive at the Burlington Mall until 4:15pm - less than two hours before they went on sale. As any devout Apple watcher can tell you, the Apple Stores all closed at 2pm to prepare for the big unveiling and mad rush at 6pm.

#99 in Line

The wait in line was amusing. I haven't waited in line to purchase anything since 1982, when I camped overnight in a parking lot to get tickets to see Cheap Trick at the Rainbow in Denver. The Burlington Mall line was a superior experience in that I didn't wake up covered in dew, and there were public restrooms available without the purchase of a Grand Slam Breakfast. The people in line were quite upbeat - it was easy to imagine them in the line for Santa Claus. The kids at the front of the line had been there since the mall opened, and were equipped for an 8 hour wait - that is to say they had nice chairs, food and beverages, books, iPods, laptops - and they took turns running errands for each other. The majority of people did not bring chairs. I brought my Zuca bag - a Christmas present from my husband which I thought an odd choice at first, until I learned all the ways it could make my life easier, prime among the being a place to sit when waiting at the train, or for an Apple iPhone. Ozzy Simoes, the manager of the Quizno's Subs location in the mall had the best live marketing effort I've seen in ages. He brought a tray of samples, talked to every single person in line, and gave out business cards with a handwritten coupon on the back. Smart! Another gentlemen worked the line offering his tech consulting business card. He was nice, but hey - free samples will always get you better press. The folks in line were happy to chat about why they wanted the iPhone ("It does everything!" and "I think I got sucked in by the advertising because I NEED one." were typical responses.) My friend Peter sent me text messages of encouragement/mocking - so the wait went very quickly (also I had a book, an iPod, snacks and water...)

Second Life losing luster as marketing property

Finally the voice of reason on Second Life. Check out this interesting AdWeek article about what Second Life's users really think about the marketing on the site.

Interesting findings:

• More than 70 percent of the site's users say they are disappointed with the marketing that goes on in Second Life
• Second Lifers have become skeptical of marketing on the site
• 42 percent of all respondents doubted companies would actually put much follow-up effort into their site presence beyond putting up a storefront

Another interesting finding - the actual number of Second Life's regular users is far lower than what they had expected. Linden Labs - the site's creators - and the media have made much of the site's 3 million users. However, the number of people who use the site regularly is probably a tenth of that total, according to the tech news service CNet. Curiously - Linden Labs has not responded to questions on the topic.

Saturday at the Genius Bar

I have to start this post by saying "Dear Apple Computer company, I love you."

When I came home from work last night my husband Tom was freaked out about his Powerbook. During the day it started making ugly, grinding noises and then it wouldn't boot up. Yikes. After calling me at work to make computer grinding sounds over the phone, he called the Burlington (MA) Apple store and they suggested he make an online appointment at the Genius Bar (so he wouldn't have to wait.) He went online and picked today at 2:55pm. (Love the specificity!)

Today we wandered over to the Genius Bar and arrived at 2:55 on the dot. And they called Tom's name at 2:55 on the dot. A very nice young man named David was our assigned Genius.

"Your Name Here" All-Stars

I was pointed to the Converse One site by the awesomely good ad blog from the UK by Amelia Torode. I enjoyed fooling around around with the design tool and I created some deliciously ugly sneakers which you can view here. (You could also purchase them for me if your little heart desired...husband...Thomas, are you paying attention?) The design interface is a little wonky and I know the design-your-own thing isn't new - but to design my own Chuck's - the sneaker of my childhood, that's marketing I can love. That's engaging me with the brand - and not in a way that feels wrong.