About a month and a half ago a friend turned me onto a music site that I had heard of before, but never visited called Lala.com.  The site offered a sort of music rental service where you paid money to have songs made available to you via the Lala website.  While I am not really interested in purchasing digital copies of music online, Lala offered another service that was completely fantastic.  Using an application that you downloaded from the site, Lala would scan the music files on your computer, match up the song files with songs in its database, and make those songs available to you via Lala.com!  Awesome!  Now it didn’t matter if I forgot to bring my iPod to work.  I could just login to Lala.com and bam! Music like magic.  I spread the word about Lala to friends of mine who I thought would appreciate having access to their home music libraries elsewhere.  The response was resoundingly positive and we were all so pleased until I checked my email May 1, 2010 and found this:

WHY???!??!?!?!? Weren’t we happy? Didn’t we still laugh? All this time you had been seeing Apple behind my back . . . treacherous snake of a Lala.com!

Well, no one was really sneaking around I suppose.  In December 2009 Apple purchased Lala.com, though it didn’t really give a solid reason why.  Apple did say that it was interested in Lala.com’s engineering talent and technology, though no further comments were made by either company regarding plans for the future.  Rumors circulated claiming that Apple was ready to pursue alternative methods of music delivery (a method other than downloading) or that it was looking to join the cloud-based services effort.  Both of those reasons seem . . . reasonable.

Truth be told, it was only a matter of time before Lala got the axe.  Other music streaming sites like Rhapsody and Napster offer less complicated, but essentially the same services, for a price.  Both Rhapsody and Napster offer monthly fee-based plans that provide the subscriber with unlimited access to a specific number of songs (in the millions) and also the opportunity to purchase authorized copies of songs they want for keepsies.  Users on Lala enjoyed access to their matched music collections without paying anything, which is a pretty good deal.  Lala also lets you listen to any album once.  I am listening to Casino Twilight Dogs by Youth Group for the first time right now, as I type this to you.  What a wonderful way to decide if an album is worth some dollars.  Let’s face it though, if I am going to put any money toward this record it’s either going to be through Amazon or at one of the few remaining record stores in my neighborhood, not renting it on Lala.  I guess that makes me part of the problem :-/

With or without Lala.com there still seems to be interest in streaming music.  In the AppStore there are several streaming music applications to choose from.  The Pandora app works just like Pandora.com, but there are other apps that stream directly from your computer to your iPhone or iPod Touch like StreamToMe (OSX only!) and Dot.Tunes which offers additional features like remote-control abilities.  While these applications focus primarily on mobile devices, they still have a personal-collection focus, which is what was initially attractive to me about Lala.com.

Regardless of what is available now, I am still interested in what the future holds for streaming music and media.  I think it’s fair to guess that Apple might adopt a similar plan to those of Rhapsody and Napster, except Apple has the iTunes element which could really make things interesting.  Would I pay $10 a month to have 9 million songs available to me online on Rhapsody?  Mostly likely not.  But how much would I pay each month to have Apple stream my iTunes library into the internets?

On April 22, 2010, the world celebrated the 40th edition of Earth Day.  According to earthday.org, it is the largest secular event in the world with over 1 billion people participating in over 190 countries.  This number was surprising to me because I barely remember reading anything about the event that allegedly included 1/7 of the population.  Other than the Google homepage spelling out Google in very “earthy” letters, Earth Day would have passed me by unnoticed.  By contrast, events like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (75,000 people), the Kentucky Derby (140,000 people), and even the NFL draft (held in Radio City Music Hall) had around the clock coverage, but were much smaller in scale.  Even a BP oil spill that happened off the Gulf Coast on April 20th was receiving around the clock coverage during Earth Day.  This made me believe that Earth Day would be more effective if people focused more on what they were trying to accomplish rather than how many people participated.  Thus, the question was raised: how many companies are serious about its environmental goals and how many are focused on convincing the public that they are serious?

I can not speak for every company nor can I provide a complete analysis on the positive and negative effects of any company’s environmental policy.  However, I can point out a few examples of environmental hypocrisy that will remind everyone that the only difference you can be sure of is the one you make yourself.

Let us begin with BP.  Oil companies already have a bad reputation regarding the environment and we have heard everyone blasting BP for spilling oil into the Gulf.  What people are not talking about is that BP has been recognized as one of the most environmentally conscience companies in the world.  Granted, operating an oil company generates a certain amount of pollution, but so do dozens of other industries.  So where is the hypocrisy?  It lies in the federal government.  Just listen to how they scold BP and its offshore drilling efforts.  Even though, on April 1st, President Obama lifted a decades-long moratorium on offshore drilling.  This effectively allows new drilling to take place in Alaska, the Gulf, and the entire Atlantic coast.  New drilling has been banned for the last 20 years.

During the government’s tongue lashing of BP, you will also not hear them mention that BP was one of three finalists for the US Department of Interior’s Pollution Prevention Award.  The winner was chosen before April 20th, but the ceremony has been postponed.  If BP was not the original winner, then why postpone the ceremony?  You also will not hear them mention BP as a finalist for the U.S. Government’s SAFETY Award For Excellence (SAFE) for High Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Activity.  In other words, BP is a finalist for having the safest off-shore drilling operation.   The winner of this award was also chosen before April 20th, and the ceremony has been postponed.  I wonder who won.  It appears to me that BP is serious about the environment and the government is more concerned with making you think it cares.

Another great example is FedEx.  They announced on March 29th that they are launching the first electric delivery vehicle.  Awesome FedEx, we appreciate your efforts.  Here is the press release about the vehicle, which is not up and running yet.  Shocking.

The only problem with announcing that you are the first at something is that people might not believe you.  As it turns out, UPS has been operating 4 electric delivery trucks in New York since 2004, and dozens more in Europe.  The difference is that FedEx felt the need to run ads, commercials, and hold a press conference to tell the world about the one electric vehicle that they have and do not use.  UPS did the same thing without running around telling the world how wonderful they are.  They wanted to make a difference and did.  FedEx wants you to think that it is considering making a difference, but has not yet. 

The point is, before you allow a company’s environmental policies effect where you spend your money, remember that they will overstate the positives, understate the negatives, and say whatever you want to hear to get your business, fatten their wallets, and make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.  Like the old saying goes, “The loudest person in the room has the least to say.”  If a company was really making a difference it would not have to consistently tell you that it was.  You would notice, and if you really care about doing your part for the environment, remember, the only part that matters is the part you do yourself.  Don’t let a company fool you into thinking you are helping if you purchase its products.  The only difference it will truly make is on their balance sheet.

Here in the office printing analyst community, few forecast drum beats can be heard as loudly as claims of the imminent consolidation of copier vendors and the looming obsolescence of the A3 format.  These forecasts have gained increasing clout during the last year as the floundering economy expedited Oce’s path to acquisition and the emergence of new A4 MFPs, such as Sharp’s Frontier series, prompted analysts to proclaim that A3s were finally on their way out.  Although there is very justifiable evidence behind each of these forecasts, one of the most compelling arguments that both have come to fruition occurred in February when Panasonic announced that it was finally exiting the A3 MFP-Copier market to capitalize on the growth opportunities that lie in the A4 space.

From a 10,000-foot view it seemed pretty clear.  With one announcement, Panasonic encapsulated two of the most common theories surrounding the office printing space and became the first milestone in a pair of major transitions that are set to change the office printing market forever.  However, as with many apparently clear harbingers of change, the closer you look at Panasonic’s announced transition, the less straightforward the motivations behind it are.

Although Panasonic was never a copier market powerhouse, the manufacturer’s investment into the A3 space was clearly waning for the last five years before reaching its official nadir earlier this year.

On the product side, Panasonic’s actions did not reflect those of a company with intentions of growing within the copier market.  Panasonic launched just 12 new A3 MFPs between 2007 and 2010, all of which were closely based on their predecessors and provided no notable specification or feature improvements.  To put that into context, since December 2009 Xerox, Canon, and Ricoh have launched 13, 12, and 6 new A3 systems, respectively, and Ricoh is expected to launch another four MFPs in the coming months.  Additionally, Panasonic resisted expansion into departmental segments, sat as a spectator as vendors migrated to the light production arena, and never launched a true third party development platform.

Panasonic’s Old A3s

Panasonic appears to have invested even less into the marketing and distribution of its copiers and actually adopted almost the exact opposite channel strategy of the current market leaders.  In 2005, Panasonic bucked the growing trend of direct sales expansion by selling-off its 13 direct branches, in a cost cutting move that was positioned as an attempt to reduce competition with its channel partners.  During the following years, Panasonic’s limited emphasis behind its A3 business resulted in the manufacturer losing a large number of its authorized dealers, almost all mid-market and major enterprise clients, and its entire government sales presence beyond the municipal level.  Perhaps the most telling sign of Panasonic’s lack of commitment to the copier market came in February 2009 when the vendor announced that it would transition its 60 remaining authorized dealers to reseller status.

One year before making it official, Panasonic had essentially ended development of new A3 MFPs and was the only copier manufacturer without a direct sales or an authorized dealer presence.  To put it plainly, Panasonic’s exit two months ago came as no surprise to those that were paying attention.

One thing that may surprise folks in the A3 obsolescence crowed is that Panasonic is not shifting its focus to the type of A4s that will theoretically replace copiers.  Instead the vendor is planning to expand its current SOHO lineup, launching a variety of new desktop models that will sell through IT resellers, its Panafax channel, and will even reportedly include a substantial retail channel push (and they thought direct sales were expensive!).

Panasonic’s New A4s

Given the market share race and manufacturing scale pressures that face current A3 MFP manufacturers and the hardware cost advantages of A4 MFPs, it is almost certain that vendor consolidation and an engine format shift will continue.  However, Panasonic’s exit from the copier space and increased commitment to A4 printers should in no way be viewed as a move from a company that really had a choice.  Going forward there are certainly a handful of A3 vendors with low enough market shares and limited enough manufacturing scale that their future may be in doubt, but none are anywhere close to where Panasonic was in 2005 (nevermind 2010), so its safe to expect a substantial slowdown in vendor consolidation until the next recession.  Meanwhile, the expected transition to A4 MFPs is already occurring, but it will likely take the form of more balanced A3 and A4 product and fleet lineups as manufacturers look to provide the right hardware solutions for their clients’ needs.  It will not be in any way as abrupt as Panasonic’s recent transition – especially not until A4s can rival A3 systems’ usage costs, speeds, and high volume capabilities.

If you’d like to make plans with me it will have to wait till September. My jet-setting began in February and will continue all the way through August. I have planned nine trips over seven months! My travels include the following cities in this order: San Francisco, Napa, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Lake Tahoe, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz.

Why so many trips? Well, I traveled to San Francisco to visit my best friend from college. My trip to Napa was a family vacation that brought lots of wine and yummy food. My adventures in Las Vegas and Palm Springs were both tied to the wedding of a dear friend. Lake Tahoe was a special birthday party for my darling niece who turned one year old.

In the next four months I head to Sacramento to host a bridal shower for my best friend from high school.  Following that trip, I will be traveling to my home town, San Jose, to host a wild 30^th Birthday party for my big brother. In July, I will be heading to Santa Barbara for a bachelorette party followed by a wedding in August in Santa Cruz.

Traveling can be slightly overwhelming at times and I must admit that a weekend at home seems like a luxury these days. I joke that my dent in Tyrone (yes, I named my couch Tyrone) is losing its shape. Though all this traveling may be starting to wear on me a bit it is worth it. I love spending time with my friends and family more than anything else in this world. Being around those you love is such a treat.

A constant on all of my trips is a discussion about my exciting new job here at Gap. I have found that explaining what we do here at Gap seems to only invite more questions. Everyone is happy for me despite not quite understanding what exactly I do all day as a Sys Ops team member.

Here at Gap I am the data gate keeper for digital cameras. As a sort of newbie this is an on going learning process of course. I am slowly but surely becoming an expert when it comes to cameras and I couldn’t be more excited about this. It’s rather fitting that in my inner circle I am known as the paparazzi. I bring my Canon PowerShot everywhere I go. Friends of mine joke that they can leave their camera at home if I am coming to an event because they know I will have the picture taking duties covered. 

Lately I have found that I notice cameras everywhere I go. I was at a wedding recently and I couldn’t help but take second looks at the cameras that were snapping away as the happy couple said their “I Do’s”. I found myself noting model numbers to myself. As pictures began to circulate after the wedding it was quite apparent that certain cameras took a better picture than others, but I won’t disclose which!

So, if you need any travel advice, I’m your gal.  For instance, large round earrings look like ninja stars to security x-ray technicians so it’s better to pack those on top of your bag (not packed away deep in your suitcase).  I learned the hard way to avoid sitting near small children on flights.  Children aren’t much fun on planes. Also, if you own an iPhone, the Southwest Airlines travel App is a must. Not only does this app alert me when cheap tickets are available but it allows me to check into my flight on my iPhone! Oh technology!

I hope all of your future travels go smoothly. If you need any recommendations on where you should travel next I have a large list of suggestions. Traveling is a privilege and I am so blessed to have so many reasons to grab a suitcase and go. No matter where my travels take me though I always feel lucky to come home to San Diego. Happy traveling everyone!

Living in the age of pervasive social-networking, I take a small amount of personal pride in still living a relatively detached life.  Sure, I’ve got a Facebook, I’ve got a Myspace (but who uses that anymore?), a LinkedIn, and a Tumblr, upon none of which I am particularly active.

I understand the appeal of social-networking sites and services.  It is fun to hop online and waste 5 hours reading every mundane thought that my friends post on Facebook.  But try as I might (and I do try), I just can’t seem to sink my teeth into it.  I miss the mystery that comes with catching up with an old friend.  It feels like these days there is less and less reason to ask someone what they’ve been up to or how their weekend was.  I already know.  I read about it on Facebook.

Going against almost everything I just said, I have taken to the iPhone/iPod app Foursquare with reckless abandon.  All the application does is broadcast your location to your Foursquare friends, your Twitter, your Facebook, or to no one if you like.  The purpose of the application is to let your friends know where you are, and serves as an implied invitation to come and join the fun!

The application is organized by city and uses GPS to identify your location in order to list “venues” nearby.  Once you find the listing for the venue you’re at, check-in!  Checking-in sends an alert to your Foursquare friends letting them know your location.  There is also a point system and badges to earn, which makes the application feel like a game.  Bonus!

The reason that I really enjoy Foursquare is that it ultimately works to facilitate face-to-face interaction.  Enjoying the company of friends in real-life is always better than hanging out online.

Does it feel a little bit like stalking? Yes.  Knowing when and where my friends go for their morning coffee is a strange topic for an alert.  You take the boring with the fun though.  Those same coffee-loving friends check into more exciting places, too.

Because it seems I don’t have a choice about being in constant contact with my friends and family, I have decided to at least adopt a method of connectivity that leads me to their presence, rather than their persona.

One year ago last week, gap intelligence’s Market Intelligence reports included an industry news brief revealing that two thirds of all former Circuit City customers planned to go to Best Buy and Walmart for their future electronics purchases.  An understandable, but still immense, 55 percent of Circuit City shoppers planned to make future purchases at Best Buy, while a respectable 11 percent of shoppers expected to direct future CE purchases to Walmart locations.  Assuming that a similar portion of former CompUSA shoppers were already transitioning to Best Buy and Walmart, 2009 stood to be a banner year for the retail giants’ consumer electronics sales, regardless of the economy.

Although Best Buy and a number of other retailers certainly benefited from the recent channel consolidation, the redistribution of Circuit City and CompUSA’s sales has been far from one-to-one.  It turns out that much of Circuit City’s $11.7 billion 2008 revenue and CompUSA’s $4 billion-plus 2006 revenue was also consolidated – leaving surviving retailers and CE manufacturers searching for where at least $5 billion in annual electronics sales went.

One could easily attribute 2009’s reduced electronics spending to the ongoing recession and they would be at least partially right.  However, I believe Systemax CEO Gilbert Fiorentino has tracked down this missing electronics demand, and interestingly enough, it appears that it never left – it’s just not being addressed at the same rate as before.  In a recent retailer roundtable discussion Mr. Fiorentino cracked open his Marketing 101 textbook and explained this phenomenon in the simplest terms.  With the exit of CompUSA and Circuit City went $800 million in annual advertising, roughly 25,000 relatively knowledgeable sales associates, and nearly 800 retail locations, all of which in their own way spurred demand.  To borrow Staples’s long-retired slogan “It’s that easy.”

The good news for CE manufacturers and retailers is that the potential electronics spending ceiling just increased significantly.  It’s just a matter of creating a need in the minds of consumers, providing inviting and convenient locations to shop, and staffing these locations with a knowledgeable and incentivized sales staff.  These are not new ideas and can certainly be done again.

So now the question is: Who is going to go out and make this happen?

Gilbert Fiorentino

Said this:

“You know how important advertising is – people think they need what they are told they think they need.  It wasn’t just pent-up demand in a world where a guy woke up in the morning and said, “I want to go buy a laptop” or “I want to go buy a TV.”

Don Draper

Said this:

“The most important idea in advertising is “new.” It creates an itch.  You simply put your product in there as a kind of calamine lotion.”

They are both right….

We’ve all been sold on the notion of globalization for the last decade, and for good reason.  Here at GAP we just recently launched our B.R.I.C. services to satisfy the global demand for information.  China is the world’s most populous country and fastest growing of all the G-20 economies.  Thus, operating in China is essential to any company that wants to operate globally, especially those based in America.  This is what I have been led to believe.  Yet, Google Inc., arguably America’s most respected company, is threatening to end its Chinese operations.  The search engine giant has apparently had enough of China’s extensive censorship and is claiming that the Chinese government hacked into Gmail accounts belonging to a number of human rights activist.

While Google is a great company and much admired here at GAP, the first question I had to ask myself was whether or not this was a tactical statement.  Could Google really leave China without a knee-jerk reaction by its stock-holders?  The answer appears to be, so far, yes.  China, even though it has the most internet users in the world, only accounts for 1% of Google’s revenue.  The day Google made the announcement, 1/12/09, its shares traded for only 2% lower at the end of the trading day.  Two days later, on 1/14/09 the company’s stock closed 5 points higher than what it opened for on 1/13/09.  Either stockholders do not think Google will bolt, or they do not think it will matter.  Only time will tell.

One reason Google wants to leave might be because it is losing the battle for market share in China.  China’s own state run search engine Baidu currently owns a 62% share of the market compared to Google’s 30%.  Controlling a third of the largest market in the world seems relatively successful, but not so much when you compare it to the 68% share it controls in the U.S.  I do not think Google considers itself second best at anything, and undoubtedly they believe that the censorship is the cause.  It only seems obvious that the Chinese people would prefer to use a Chinese search engine, particularly, one that is state run such as Baidu.  It is this fact that I believe to be the most influential to Google.

When Google launched its Chinese search engine, Google.cn, in 2006, they had no problem with China’s censorship policies and were willing to adhere to their view of propaganda discipline.  At the request of the Communist Party of China, Google even agreed to censor information about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests along with information from countless human rights groups and dissenters.  Google agreed to all of China’s terms while operating under their motto of “Don’t Be Evil.”  For Google.cn, however, the motto seemed to be “Search No Evil.”

Free speech and human rights activist are heralding the news as a victory for their respective causes, and there is no doubt that Google is taking all the credit.  In fact, we should all applaud any champion of free speech, but Google.cn has been the exact opposite of that for several years now.  If we read between the lines, it becomes clear that Google is like many of the companies around the world.  They keep quiet and turn a blind eye to human rights violations as long as there is money to be made.  There has not been a lot of money in China for Google, and now they can no longer stand the tyranny of the Chinese government.  Coincidence?  I can’t say for certain.

Whatever Google’s motivation is for leaving China, one thing is for sure, it takes powerful organizations to tear down obstacles like the ones the Chinese people face.  I believe it is possible that Google can actually do more for the people of China by bolting than if they continued to conform.  Watching Google strive to become acceptable to the Chinese government, especially during the 2008 Olympics, was like watching an older sibling impose their will on their younger counter-part.  This is not meant to insult the company, but it is simply how Beijing works.  They do not take kindly to any highly publicized, theatrical throwing down of the gauntlet.  In fact, just like in Tiananmen Square, they tend to squash their foes before you even hear about them.  Facebook and Twitter are banned in China, and does anyone remember a public showdown between them and Beijing?  It is far more likely that Beijing will ban the company before Google pulls out.

American’s love Google and the Chinese people made it obvious that they support Google by going to the company’s Chinese headquarters last week and leaving flowers, lit candles, and signs of encouragement.  The impact of Google on this generation is incalculable, but do you believe Google is as heroic as the news is leading you to believe?  Or do you think they are simply avoiding the losses and hassles they would incur by staying?  They did not stand up courageously in the beginning when they thought there was money to be made.  Now, however, Google is willing to stand up for itself, and hopefully, the Chinese people will also have the courage to do the same.  As the old saying goes, “Better late than never,” but I can not help wondering if its courage on Google’s part or is it cowardice.

Regardless of their motivations or tardiness, one thing is certain, it feels good the have Google fighting for the good guys.  I have always considered Google to be one of the corporate good guys, especially in an environment consisting of Madoffs, Enrons, bailouts, and bonuses.  We will have to wait to see how everything plays out in the coming weeks or months, but rest assured readers, GAP is in China, GAP is staying in China, and GAP will continue to provide the most accurate, uncensored market intelligence from China.

It is no secret that blogs have become a go-to source for topical news and entertainment in recent years.  As both print and online media outlets struggle to monetize their products, the targeted insight provided by some blogs has changed the way that many people, including myself, find their news.  Below is a review of my favorite industry blogs.

MFP Solutions

The print4pay Hotel MFP Solutions Blog embraces the entrepreneurial spirit and channel-eye-view of its writer and creator, New Jersey area dealer Art Post.  I’ve been reading the MFP Solutions blog since I first became gap’s MFP-Copier and Production Analyst and contacted Art for an informational interview as soon as I decided to launch the Gap Dealer Partnership Program.  Without even knowing me, Art sat down and answered all my questions regarding the dealer community, what they want, what might deter them, and it certainly helped me nail down a game plan for launching the program.  Perhaps the best lesson that he gave me on what motivates dealers ($) came at the end of our conversation when he tried to sell me ad space on his blog!  Still mulling that one over Art…

This regularly updated blog provides a variety of content ranging from industry news, product reviews, dealer sales tips, and editorials by both Art and a field of guest writers.  Even a few gap intelligence Pico Letters have made it on there.  One of the most unique aspects of the MFP Solutions Blog is the level of interaction that it allows.  Art regularly creates and posts surveys on major industry events and backs his entire blog with a network of closed message boards.  The dealer-only (primarily) P4P Hotel Message Boards allow members to discuss events, compare pricing, share industry beliefs, and rip their vendors in a closed setting.  Perhaps most noteworthy, the level of vitriolic posts on the P4P boards is far lower than any message boards that I have ever seen.  Backed by his closed message board, Art is provided with an infinite number of nets to capture the pulse of the channel and get early scoops on product and industry news to funnel to his MFP Solutions blog.

This Ain’t Your Father’s Office

There are many qualities needed to run a weekly competitive intelligence service, but two requirements that continue to stand out are establishing a routine and becoming completely immersed into a category.  There is no doubt that KMBS rep Neal Petermann applies both of those qualities to his “This Ain’t Your Father’s Office” blog, which is updated each Monday without fail and features very concise overviews of just about everything that happened across the industry that week.  It is basically a print-focused New York Times for the twitter age:  All the news that’s fit to print, but small enough to read.

The Death of the Copier

Leave it to an HP salesman to create a blog called “The Death of the Copier” right?  Readers of The Death of the Copier of course know that this blog is not meant as a condemnation of copier technology (just the sales methods), and is instead intended to tout the benefits of Managed Print Services and selling solutions, not hardware.  Through a combination of excerpts from industry news publications, brief insights and editorials, and very heated debates in each post’s comment section, the DOTC provides very useful insight into MPS and the direction of the industry.

With the exception of certain consultant blogs with a vested interest in the success of Managed Print Services, The Death of the Copier is about as pro-MPS as they come.  So, depending if you’re drinking the new MPS “Kool-Aid” or consuming the same old hardware-centric “coffee”, opinions of writer Greg Walters can range from being a visionary to being dangerous.  Regardless of the various opinions, Greg should at least be commended for finding so many pictures of women with copiers or women with fish (why fish?) to go with each and every post.  He’s got to run out some day.

Plus he starts posts in ways that always crack me up.  This one is classic:

“A couple weeks back, while off the grid, I had an epiphany of sorts.”

You can’t make that stuff up and I am sure he was serious.  I’ve never spoken to Greg, but I can’t help reading that line in a Christopher Walken voice/cadence.

Tough Love for Xerox

I don’t always know what the heck Tough Love for Xerox writer Michael Josefowicz is taking about, but there is no doubt that this 37 year industry veteran is completely focused on the future of production printing.  Especially a future where page growth is driven by personalized newspapers, the “Printernet”, expanded connectivity, and ongoing technological innovation.  No looking back to the good old days on this blog, unless your talking about the stock prices of the companies in Michael’s “Printernet IRA”.

People in the print is dead crowd should add Tough Love for Xerox to their bookmarks.

The Connected Copier

The Connected Copier blog is run by Canon dealer Vince McHugh and features very passionate and lengthy posts on two main subjects, slamming IKON/Ricoh and touting Canon technology.  For those at Ricoh/IKON that are trying to gain an understanding of how Canon’s dealers are going about targeting IKON’s Canon MIFs, The Connected Copier is certainly a good place to start.  Gap Intelligence’s weekly MFP-Copier Market Intelligence Report is good too.  Of course the Connected Copier also covers other major industry events and absolutely makes up for its bias with thorough, insightful, and passionate posts.

Digital Picture Frame Review

Consolidation of digital frame blogs has mirrored levels of digital frame vendor contraction in recent years, making Digital Picture Frame Review the only independent DPF blog in existence.  Good thing for industry players and end users, the team at DPFR produces very good reviews.  Reviews on this blog go way beyond the press release and spec sheet, as the writers actually use frames and evaluate the device’s core features including design, display modes, menu, memory sources, and overall usability to provide very insightful reviews.  Beyond reviews, the site’s content is basically limited to reposted press releases, but it is called “Digital Picture Frame Review” after all… what did you expect?

Bill Simmons / Sports Guys World

My wife likes to remind me that I do not actually know Bill Simmons even though when I quote him I call him “my buddy The Sports Guy”.  What does she know.  I’ve been reading my buddy The Sports Guy for over a decade and I’ve seen him go from absolutely destroying every deserving 1990s Boston sports personality from his one man blog to becoming today’s most influential sports personality.  He is on the front page of ESPN.com, has the number one sports podcast on iTunes, boasts over a million twitter followers, and his new 700-page book, “The Book of Basketball”, is number 14 on the NYT non-fiction list.  Unlike other successful entertainers (Dane Cook, Padma Lakshmi, Kings of Leon, Glenn Beck, etc) it is easy to understand why my buddy The Sports Guy is so popular.  Bill writes like a fan (not a critic), includes pop culture commentary in his content, and has harnessed the power of lists and footnotes to help break-up his articles and concisely prove points.  Simmons may not write about copiers or digital fames, but he has had a greater influence on my writing (at least for blogs) than anyone.

Honorable Mention:

Change Forge
Digital Printing and The Pirates that Sell it!
InfoBlog
Imaging Industry Wall Street Insider
Adventures in Office Imaging

As a full time student and a part-time gapper, I find sometimes that I get TIRED. As a means of keeping my brain up and running into the wee hours of the morn I (probably against the advice of my doctor) consume copious amounts of delicious coffee when my school/work schedule demands it. 

Here at gap intelligence we have a small, but growing number of coffee drinkers.  With the somewhat recent addition of Josh and Erin, we have two new members of the G-telligence Coffee Brethren, worshiping our 12-cup maker of goodness.  People keep late hours here. 

It was however recently brought to my attention that some people are not as lucky as we, and do not have caffeine-juice at their finger tips all the time at work.  My roommate is forced to drink instant coffee *gasp* made from the newly purchased hot water dispenser at the retail store she works at.  She uses the new Starbucks Via instant coffee, which I have not tried but has been reviewed as “Alright” by people I know.  In an even more desperate grasp for a liquid reminiscent of coffee, my boyfriend, at his coffee-apathetic office, tried combining Via with a Diedrich Coffee Pod.  He claims the combination  is <i>drinkable</i> but is it enjoyable?  I have no reason to ever find out for myself.  To my dear friends I offer but one word: Melitta.

Now with the popularity of energy drinks though, people can enjoy an expanded variety of energy-upping beverages to choose from if they dislike the taste of coffee.  I was pointed in the direction of the Energy Drink Museum  and was blown away at the recognition of over 1100 different types of energy drinks!  What selection!

Of course there are other ways to treat sleepiness . . . like driving with the windows down while playing loud music (Just kidding, DMV!), or actually sleeping, but that report isn’t going to write itself.  Whether you’re drinking coffee for its caffeine component or simply for its delicious qualities, raise your mugs high and let it be known, Coffee! I love you!

As the world waits for the economy to rebound, considerable attention has shifted to forecasting how it will happen and gauging what awaits us once we’re there.  One increasingly popular theory involves the emergence of New Normal The Pelican and the Snipe dvd

behavior.  Under this theory, consumerism as we know it will undergo a fundamental change as people embrace necessities, spend and borrow less, and view both their home’s equity and their own 401k accounts with increased skepticism.

Although each of the booms that followed previous recessions suggests that Back to Normal is still a viable option, we are already seeing businesses position themselves for whatever kind of normal the future brings.  Embracing their bellwether status, both Microsoft and Walmart have actively positioned themselves for a delayed recovery and the possibility of a long-term shift in buying behavior.  Walmart has reduced inventories and assortments across categories and significantly delayed its holiday product refresh, while placing increased emphasis on its value-oriented message to consumers.  Microsoft meanwhile has increasingly touted the efficiency provided by its products, highlighted by a recent open email from CEO Steve Balmer that introduced the company’s New Efficiency message in response to the possibility of  a New Normal future.

Although established businesses and markets can similarly adjust their strategies, still evolving categories such as digital photo frames face a more difficult task when planning for the New Normal future.  To put it simply, the digital frame market has never really experienced a period of true normalcy that it could refer to when forging a path forward.  The economic downturn occurred at such a strange time for the category as the exponential growth that took place in 2006 and 2007 created a gold rush mentality for 2008 and caught many players off-guard as the recession flattened-out the market’s impressive growth rate.  By most early accounts, meeting demand posed the greatest challenge in planning for the 2008 holiday season and industry players invested heavily to ensure that they would have products on shelves through the end of the year.  Instead, the economic collapse that took place in late 2008 pulled the rug right out from under the digital frame industry, creating a severe glut across component supply and distribution channels and essentially eliminating most sell-in opportunities for the forthcoming Moms, Dads and Grads season.

As the 2009 holiday season approaches and remaining 2008 inventories finally subside, it appears that the digital frame market has followed the lead of other more established categories with its own version of new normal positioning.  Now more than ever, digital frame manufacturers are embracing a value and benefit-based strategy that Balmer would be proud of.  Meanwhile, changes that have taken place on the digital frame aisle and to the category’s product cycle come right from Walmart’s revised playbook.

Due to a combination of retailer consolidation and a channel-wide adoption of Walmart’s aforementioned assortment strategy, the number of shelf slots devoted to the category has fallen nearly 40 percent year-over year to 217 placements.  However, the effects of the category’s reduced shelf space and extended inventory glut actually benefited most top tier players.  Many of the relatively obscure manufacturers that once dominated the digital frame market have either been forced to exit due to inventory losses or have been unable to secure placements within retailers’ smaller and more exclusive digital frame assortments.  A remarkable 74 percent of this month’s placements came from major brands, while 19 percent of new frames were supplied by retailers’ private labels, leaving tier two and three players with just 7 percent of initial holiday 2009 placements.  This time last year, lower tier manufacturers claimed a 52 percent share of the retail shelf.

Meanwhile, technological advances and component price erosion have allowed vendors to offer a new level of value and innovation.  Most major manufacturers have added new entry level options, while reducing pricing and significantly expanding functionality across existing lines.  Resolution and panel quality continue to improve, multimedia functionality is becoming increasingly standard, and the abundance of low cost memory has propelled common capacity levels from 256MB to 1GB.  Additionally, new functions and applications are beginning to emerge as manufacturers experiment with aesthetics and test the boundaries of connectivity and content.

Similar changes have occurred across countless maturing categories in the past, regardless of economic climates, and these same events would have eventually occurred within the digital frame market without a downturn.  In fact, the effects of the recession and any manifestation of new normal consumerism only hastened the maturation of the digital frame market and may actually serve to benefit its manufacturers- at least those in the top tier.  Although the category still faces numerous challenges and most industry players would have preferred a continuation of previous growth rates, the effects of the recent maturation will immediately benefit each of the major manufacturers’ shelf share, while improving the category’s long-term image.  As vendor consolidation continues, the digital frame market will be limited to a handful of well equipped manufacturers that are devoted to driving product evolution, maintaining price stability, and ensuring the long term success of the category.

Comedian Joe Ancis once said, “The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.” Well the same can be said for markets, especially the digital frame market before September 2008.  So welcome to being normal digital frames, not sure if it’s new or old, but at least you’re there.

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Joe Ancis on right, Lenny Bruce on left

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Not to be confused with Joe Francis, Joe Ancis was a very funny comedian, who could reportedly out-drink Rodney Dangerfield and received the honor of being called the “funniest man in America” by the immortal Lenny Bruce Fight Club movie download The Plainsman trailer Down in the Valley divx .