Lawrence Gee | Marketing, Internet, Creativity, Strategy

I’m Back…

Well it’s sure been a long hiatus since my last blog post - a lot of things have happened.

In May, I completed my MBA education at USC Marshall School of Business, having graduated with Beta Gamma Sigma honors.

In July, I married my girlfriend of five years and got to honeymoon in Belize.  I also started my current job as Internet Marketing Manager at LAMPS PLUS.

In August & September, I got accustomed to post-MBA and newly-married life.   I’ve learned that the flexibility of school hours really is something special.  I’ve also learned that being flexible in marriage is also special.

In  October & November, most weekends were busy with attending other weddings and weekend trips (Joshua Tree, San Francisco, New York). All fun but time-consuming.

Now, that I’ve gotten settled back into the swing of things restarting my blog postings was on the top of my list.  Now with this posting, I can officially cross that task off my list.

Stay tuned for more commentary and thoughts on Marketing, the Internet, and more.

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And Then There Were Two? A Look at The Microyahoosoft

No, it will never really be called Microyahoosoft or Microsofthoo or even Yahoosoft but the proposed $44.6 billion bid by Microsoft for Yahoo! was definitely really big news last Friday.  It takes two huge Internet players and creates a beast of a company that just might have a chance at slowing down the Google machine.  So what’s the potential impact of such a merger?  Let’s take a look at some of the obvious and not so obvious synergies:

Search and Advertising Platforms

The most obvious outcome of the proposed merger would be to combine the #2 and #3 players in the U.S. Search Market.  According to a CNN article, Google holds approximately 58.4% of the U.S. search market, while Yahoo has 22.9% and Microsoft’s share is just 9.8%.  In terms of online display ads, combined Microsoft and Yahoo! would control around a 25% share.  This is big business especially since it’s projected that online advertising could reach $60 billion by 2010.  Both Microsoft and Yahoo! have been struggling to keep up with Google.  Both companies search marketing tools are inferior to Google’s on a variety of dimensions.  Combining forces could help both companies share existing research, development, and other resources. 

E-Mail and IM 

A Microsoft-Yahoo! marriage would combine to create a force in E-Mail and Instant Messaging.  Adding a strong Microsoft Hotmail to #1 Yahoo! Mail only creates an even more dominant player.  Combing both MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger would allow more users to connect to one another.

Social Media

E-Mail and Instant Messaging creates instant networks that Microsoft-Yahoo! could tap into to use use to their advantage in the larger social network context. Also, a Microsoft-Yahoo! would have a much richer portfolio of web properties.  Combined you would have an interest in Facebook (which Microsoft has invested heavily in) and Yahoo! owned del.icio.us and Flickr.  Couldn’t you imagine a larger social network being developed that gets integrated with these web properties and overlayed by these e-mail and instant messaging networks? 

Mac vs. PC ads 

Yes,PC isn’t as cool as Mac.  But perhaps the proposed merger could give PC a flashy purple suit just as a shot of Yahoo! culture might be beneficial to Microsoft. 

All in all, just some food for thought.  We still have a bit of time to consider more effects of the proposed merger — if it does move forward, it probably won’t be finalized until the end of 2008.

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2007’s Dumbest Moments in Biz

January is the month of review and predictions for the upcoming year.  I came across this list of 2007’s 101 Dumbest Moments in Business by the Editors of Fortune Magazine.  Some were on the target, some were funny, others were moments that I missed.  Here are some of the highlights:

#5 - Stanley O’Neal - Now that’s a compensation package. 

#13 - Disneyland - They have to fix “It’s a Small World”’s because Americans weigh too much….the boats sink! 

#17 - Cocaine Energy Drink - Did they really think this was going to work?

#20 - O.J. Simpson - There’s no glove this time around….

#26 - Isiah Thomas - So is the dumb moment his sexual harassment lawsuit?  the fact they didn’t settle and lost? or the fact that he is still the Coach of the Knicks?

#47 - John Mackey - WildOatsHater would have been a better screen name.

#84 - Southwest Airlines - Kicking people off for dressing too provocatively?  Have these people been to college campus’ lately?

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Are You an MBE?

What’s an MBE?  Apparently its a Multilayer Business Executive according to blogger Maria Popova.  I googled the term and nothing really comes up so it remains to be seen if this term can stick or not.   So what exactly is an MBE and could you be labeled as one?

According to Maria, MBEs are…

“a new-age version of the types who have been running the parade since the beginning of business time. They’re not the old-school conventional “suits.” Many don’t even go to work in suits, if there’s anywhere to “go” in the first place—nursed on new media and technology, this set is comfortable with telecommuting, Web- and videoconferencing, livecasting and all the rest of those new tools that let them control both their time and their business.”

Here’s a simple checklist to see if you qualify:

1. Not in a suit 24/7 - Yep, that’s me.
2. Comfortable and immersed in new technology - Absolutely.
3. Worldly intellectual and a culture-crossers - I’ve been to Asia and Europe.  Mexico, Canada, and the rest of the US sort of counts.  I’ll do a partial nod and a full nod once I eventually make it to Australia and Africa.
4. Have an MBA - Getting one…so check.
5. Quote Christopher Guest movies rather than Peter Drucker books - Well, I have seen Best in Show…
6. Crave luxury and good design, but also socially and enivronmentally conscious  - Wonder why Pinkberry’s and Prius’ do so well? 
7. Excelled at higher education, but they’re uniquely attuned to pop culture - Face me in Trivial Pursuit, I dare you.
8. Have successful business careers, but are also harvesting entrepreneurial ideas or actual projects on the side - Check and check.
9. Have money to spend - Not yet, but hopefully.
10. Great bloggers with something to say - You can be the judge of that.
    

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