Techies are from Mars, marketers are from Venus

Marketing software companies might orbit the planet marketing. But they certainly do not live on it.

Despite claims to the contrary, tech geeks still don’t ‘get’ marketers. But what can marketers do to improve relations with techies?

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Posted 12 September 2011 11:42am by Peter Schlegel with 12 comments

The Mac App Store is here. Should developers worry?

With the App Store, Apple has positioned itself as one of the most powerful players in digital content. Millions upon millions of customers now acquire everything from music to mobile apps through it.

But when it comes to Mac desktops and laptops, the App Store is irrelevant. Until now.

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Posted 06 January 2011 09:26am by Patricio Robles with 5 comments

OpenTable: value is in the eye of the beholder

Take a look at the stock chart for restaurant industry solutions provider OpenTable and you're likely to assume that the world is a pretty good place for OpenTable right now. OpenTable has been a hit with investors since going public, and its 126 price-to-earnings ratio brings back memories of the .com boom.

But behind the scenes, questions are being raised about OpenTable's value proposition to the restaurateurs it serves.

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Posted 17 November 2010 09:35am by Patricio Robles with 2 comments

Oracle invests $1bn in multichannel commerce

There's a lot of talk about multichannel commerce and the future, but major retailers already know that multichannel commerce isn't the future; it's already here. Consumers are shopping using many platforms, and companies that want to maximize their sales have to have a cross-channel strategy today, not tomorrow.

That explains in large part why software giant Oracle is shelling out $1bn to buy ATG, one of the leading cross-channel commerce platform providers.

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Posted 03 November 2010 08:54am by Patricio Robles with 0 comments

Will the Mac app store change the desktop software landscape?

Are you ready to buy desktop applications through an app store? Apple thinks you are. In the next few months, it will roll out the Mac app store, which will let Mac owners purchase desktop software apps the same way iPhone owners purchase apps for their phone. And Microsoft has plans of its own for a Windows desktop software app store.

The big question: will the app store model work on the desktop? And is the desktop even a market worth targeting?

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Posted 25 October 2010 09:03am by Patricio Robles with 3 comments

European Commission wants software protections

When it comes to software, should consumers be entitled to the same protections they receive when purchasing physical products?

If two European Commission Commissioners have their way, consumers will.

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Posted 11 May 2009 09:45am by Patricio Robles with 2 comments

6 things your business is overpaying for online

The economy is still hurting and businesses are still cutting back.

But there are plenty of little (and not so little) things that businesses are still overpaying for online that can add up to real savings when addressed.

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Posted 02 April 2009 09:00am by Patricio Robles with 3 comments

Publishers must adapt to economic and digital trends

Some of the challenges and opportunities facing publishers are brought into sharp focus by our 2009 Vertical Search (B2B) Report published recently.  

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Posted 02 February 2009 11:13am by Linus Gregoriadis with 1 comment

Paul Graham - source code or solutions?

Paul Graham is one of the more interesting personalities in the American startup scene today.

Recognizing some of the flaws inherent in the venture capital model as it relates to consumer internet startups, he launched YCombinator.

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Posted 08 December 2008 12:00pm by Drama 2.0 with 10 comments

Would you buy fashion from Microsoft?

In its effort to make itself cool again, Microsoft and ad agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky have launched a Microsoft clothing line called 'Softwear by Microsoft.'

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Posted 08 December 2008 09:31am by Patrick Oak with 4 comments