I recently completed my Internet Business Models course at Full Sail University and had the honor of creating a presentation based on Chris Anderson’s article, “Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business.” I think what Chris Anderson provides great insight into where this concept of “free” began and where it’s headed. The article was written in February of 2008 and I notice many of his concepts relevant today.
This presentation covers many of Anderson’s key points including a brief history of “free” when King Gillette introduced his disposable razor blade along with the six categories of “free” that many businesses use today.
Interesting business ideas…read my comments below.
After watching “Web Start-Ups Pitching Their Companies,” I realized how important it is to have a solid revenue model when creating an Internet business.
When the first presentation, www.phonefromhere.com, was finished, I never truly understood what their revenue model was. I did understand that the call receiver would pay for the call if it was a “1-800″ phone number, however I’m not quite sure how phonefromhere.com was going to generate revenue.
One of my favorite concepts was the “Raffle.it” idea. I thought what one of the panel members said about turning this platform into a lead generator was brilliant. You could definitely find out a lot about someone by what they try to win in a raffle. As the idea of cookies definitely brings privacy concerns forward, I think this could be a much safer, more accurate way for other companies to obtain leads from Raffle.it. This would also open up an entirely new, affiliate-based business model for the company.
Theiplatform.com has an interesting concept. What I thought was interesting was that they definitely had a plan in terms of how they would get revenue once the user signed up (set-up fee, ongoing license). For this type of service, I would make it more of a “Freemium” model. Since this concept is going to seem like others on the market, I would allow a user to use Theiplatform.com for free to push updates out to one service (i.e. Facebook), however, if the user wanted to push updates out to more, then they would have to pay a fee. Instead of the license fee, I would make it more of a subscription-based model. So many web services are based on a subscription and when I think of a license fee, I think of software – not web.
The diary.com site seems like a collaboration tool, rather than a diary. It almost reminds me of Ning.com where you can create your own private social network. I think the revenue models could work, granted there is a need for this type of “diary.” To me, diaries are usually private among oneself and not something typically shared with friends. This site has a great URL to attract customers, however, I think the target market should be changed from girls to anyone that has a need to share files, and collaborate with individuals they know. After going to the website, there is a calendar, task list, and other elements of that category. I believe they could be successful with this, but the market needs to be more widespread.
The www.erepublik.com concept was awesome! We all know that online games have been extremely successful (just ask Zynga)! This site takes the “addiction” element out and allows users to play for 15 minutes per day. Plus the virtual goods model is proving to a huge hit for most online gaming companies. In fact, Zynga announced that “…in five days, more than 300,000 Zynga game players purchased $1.5 million in virtual social goods to support relief efforts in Haiti (http://blog.zynga.com/2010/01/zynga-players-raise-over-15-million-for-haiti-in-five-days.html). The erepublic.com folks are sure to make their virtual world into a profitable reality.
The Frugality Game launches today and some of you may have already signed up to play on Facebook. If you have not already joined The Frugality Game consider doing so as it will be an entertaining yet educational path towards gaining financial strength. The Frugality Game has partners (sponsors) and you can earn exclusive discounts and even win cold hard cash by playing the game. Grow your frugal roots and join the Frugals (Frank, Fern, Freddie, Frannie and their dog Freckles) on a fiscal journey. A Facebook account is not necessary to play however you may consider becoming a fan for possible insider tips, game notifications, etc.
Enter invitation code TFGfan when you register here for a bonus of 2,500 Frugality Tokens which can help you win prizes!
I have finished month 5 at Full Sail University. So far, I must say, this has been a great experience for me. I wasn’t sure how I’d like going to virtual school but it has proven to be a success. Here are a few tips on how I’ve been able to maintain a 4.0 while still succeeding in my full time (and highly stressful) job.
Don’t procrastinate. Many of us procrastinators think that we’ll have it in us to wait until the last minute and deliver the perfect product. In fact, some people think they thrive under pressure and deliver better results when waiting ’til the last minute. That may have been true in the past, however, I’m here to tell you that procrastinating will not fly at Full Sail. There are several projects and pages to read before the Sunday night deadline and planning your week carefully will ensure you finish each assignment on time.
Discover your favorite environments. This was a big one for me. I’ve never been much of a reader; meaning I’ve never opened up a book on a Sunday afternoon just for fun. Since my classes are filled with reading assignments, I realized that I better figure out a way to make it fun. Every Saturday I take my golden retriever to Starbuck’s. We sit outside with our coffee (well, my coffee) and while she enjoys the people-watching, I catch up on my reading. This has been an awesome way for me to actually begin to enjoy reading. Something about a triple grande latte with 2 Splendas and my dog actually makes me want to read.
Get comfortable. My absolute favorite part about going to school online is that I can do it from the comfort of my own home. I can wear whatever I want, look however I’d like, and not have to worry about what anyone might think. Before I begin my work every night, I always make sure I’m comfortable and completely relaxed.
Your teachers aren’t there – who cares if you surf the web. It helps having my iChat (or AIM) open, my Facebook and Twitter account up, and anything else I’m in the mood to look for on the Internet – all while I’m doing my homework. I remember getting in trouble once in high school because I was “surfing the web” while my teacher was talking. With online classes, I can answer a few questions for class, then browse Amazon.com, and then answer a few more questions for class. Having this freedom makes my classes feel less like school and more like a hobby. As I mentioned earlier, it’s all about the discipline.
Communicate with your instructors and class mates. Emailing and chatting with my teachers and classmates has helped a great deal. Since I’m not in a classroom with 20 other students, I don’t have the option of raising my hand. Being proactive and asking for clarification and opinions on things you’re unsure of is a huge way of maintaining your success.
Well, there you have it. My first 5 ways of staying committed to an online degree. If you have any suggestions and/or techniques, I’d love to hear them! Please feel free to share with others in the Comments section below.
With the economy showing limited signs of recovery, the holiday season offers hope for many retailers. Amazon, Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and others will try to engage consumers with early holiday deals. But taking those deals might be a mistake for consumers who are already struggling financially.
A new online campaign–”Festive & Frugal”–is encouraging people to think twice about purchases and celebrate the holidays without overspending. The campaign, sponsored by Orange County’s The Frugality Game, is using social media tools like Facebook to spread the word that gifts don’t have to be expensive to be meaningful.
“Since holiday shopping often perpetuates the cycle of credit card debt and overspending, we’re offering solutions,” says Eric Fairon, Vice President of The Frugality Game. “While most companies are encouraging spending, we are advocating spending right with frugal approaches to holiday shopping.”
The “Festive & Frugal” Web site, www.festiveandfrugal.com, offers tools such as a video guide to gifts under five dollars, complementary holiday cards, tips, and a list of websites offering holiday deals. It even includes scripts for consumers that need assistance telling their loved ones that their financial status will affect holiday spending. Some of the suggested ideas on the site include being creative by only spending $5.00. A few examples of this are: a gift basket with fresh fruit, a coffee plant, or a beautifully decorated ornament.
The campaign is stirring up controversy; however, from people concerned that reduced consumer spending will negatively impact the global economy. But lasting economic recovery only occurs when consumers are no longer saddled with debt. “To see our economy truly turn around, we have to begin by rebuilding financial strength in the American household,” Fairon says. “Our site is geared toward people that want a stress- and debt-free holiday.”
Oh, and if you’d like a good laugh, my twin (kidding, see video) challenges his sister to shop at the dollar store and buy 5 gifts for $5.00.
The holidays are here and everyone is looking for ways to cut back and save money. My company recently created a game to help people get out of debt and stay out…for good! It’s called The Frugality Game. Sign up using code 7449 at www.thefrugalitygame.com for your chance to win $1,000. If you start playing, I’d love to hear your comments. Oh, and for those interested, you can watch a short “trailer” for the game below.
When I decided to create my blog, I’ll be honest, I didn’t quite know what I was doing. Today, however, after watching Scott Rosenberg’s “10 Myths About Blogs” video, I have learned that blogging is really all about posting what you’re passionate about. Simple right? Well, I guess that would depend on whether you know what you’re passionate about. Therein lies the challenge with me. What am I truly passionate about?
Although I wrote that I was passionate about graphic design in a previous post, I think the biggest passion I have is helping people. This makes sense as my first blog post is titled Online Learning: My Journey Begins. I originally began my blog to help those interested in going to school online find valuable information. Before I began at Full Sail University I had a hard time finding quality research on the best online schools, what the workload was like, tips on how to succeed, etc. Then when I actually began at Full Sail, I was learning so much information that I wanted to share with the world, I thought I would shift my blog more towards Internet Marketing. So today I have decided that my blog is going to be about helping people in a variety of ways, but mostly geared toward maximizing the technology advancements in today’s rapidly growing world. By creating posts about the advancements in technology, I am truly able to talk about exactly what my blog was geared toward in the beginning, and a lot more! In addition I am able to help people make decisions based on my personal experience or research I’ve done.
Regardless of what I want to write about, as Rosenberg suggests, a blog following will be completely irrelevant if we don’t build trust. By providing information to the world and helping to make people’s lives easier (especially in regard to technology!), I am hoping to build trust and relationships with everyone who reads my blog.
Lately I have been doing much thinking about what I’m most passionate about in life. There are several things, don’t get me wrong, however, one thing that comes to mind is graphic design.
About four years ago I was asked to create what my boss referred to as a “desktop reminder card” for the service department at the company I was working for. Basically what this is is a sign the customer service representatives can post on their computer monitor and then refer to when they’re on calls, ensuring they don’t miss anything with the customer. I had never designed anything before and had very limited knowledge as to how basic software programs like Microsoft Word functioned. I created this card, however, and the reaction from my boss was, “How cute!” I wasn’t sure if I should take this as a compliment or not, but I did when she continued asking me to “design” things for her.
When I would start up the computer and open Microsoft Publisher, I had no clue what I was doing. Oddly enough, it must have been something right. I was having fun making things for the training department and other areas of the company and my boss was liking what I was doing. This inspired me to research and learn more about graphic design. Only a few years and several classes later, I mastered Microsoft Publisher, Powerpoint, Word, Excel, Adobe Captivate 2, 3 & 4, and begun the journey towards mastering the Adobe Creative Suite.
I say that I am passionate about graphic design because whatever I know about it, which I now realize is a lot, was all self-taught. I never had a mentor or guide to help me learn. I will now continue using everything I have learned and still learn today and master my skills even further. Although I don’t want a full-time career in graphic design, I will always push myself to the next level.
