Apple Introduces iCloud - What It Means For Media Distribution

I'm sure you are all familiar with a small company known as Apple. In case you didn't know, they are a computer company knwon for their sleek, modern, user-friendly devices like the Apple computer, iPhone, iPod, iPad and the world's largest music seller, iTunes.

From June 6^th till June 10^th, the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) was held. Thousands of Apple engineers demonstrate and explain the incredible power of the world’s most advanced operating systems and how our apps are integrated. They even offer workshops where you can learn to create your own apps and games so you can be an iTunes success story one day.

At this specific conference, Apple introduced to the world their latest innovation, iCloud. And of course it’s another word with an ‘i’ in front of it. Very original. But what is it?

To break it down, it’s basically a hard drive in the sky, therefore iCloud. iCloud stores your content so it’s accessible from your iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mac or PC.

It keeps your music, apps, photos, e-mail, notes etc up to date across all of your devices. No syncing required, iCloud does it for you. For example, if you buy a song from your iPhone, iCloud will automatically spread it across all of your devices. Same thing goes if you buy a book, app or any other product from iTunes.

Once you sign-up for iCloud, you will get 5GB of storage. With the launch of iCloud, MobileMe & iTools will be replaced. Since MobileMe will be discontinued, iWeb will no longer be in service as well. No word from Apple yet what will happen to current iWeb users but I’m sure their websites will still run, you just won’t be able to create a new one.

iCloud will launch in the fall of 2011 and will include the new IOS 5 update, created for iCloud.

Reference

http://www.apple.com/icloud/what-is.html

http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/about/

Podcasts

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Inside Fashion Law

Guidelines to what is accepted in society. That is a debatable phrase to what the law means to us. Without law there would chaos, conflict and even devastation in our communities. As times change, so does the law if we agree with it or not, that's just how society works.

The fashion industry is no different from any other industry, there are laws and regulations in place that companies need to obey so they can be protected and of course to avoid all sorts of chaos. But as in any other industry, there are all kinds of lawbreakers. I want to focus on three (3) examples that have impacted the fashion industry recently and the outcome of these examples.

With over 400 stores, 12 000 employees and billions in revenue, Forever 21 became a global empire focusing on cheap girl fashion. But all this success didn't come without a price. Between 2006 and 2007 the company faced 15 lawsuits alone. Not only are companies and designers suing Forever 21, their own workers are too. In 2001, all the factory workers attempted to alert management on the unsanitary working conditions and owed wages. Forever 21 refused to negotiate with the workers and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center filed a lawsuit against them. Forever 21 finally decided to settle and with Sweatshop Watch on their backs they didn't really have a choice.

My second example comes from an unique shoe company. Blake Mycoskie is the owner and chief shoe giver (CEO) of Toms Shoes, a shoe company based out of Santa Monica. California. But it’s this company’s message that makes it so unique. For every pair of shoes purchased, Toms gives a pair to a child in need, that’s where the companies slogan comes in play; One For One. Toms was started in 2006 and to date has given back more then 1 million pair of shoes to children in need.

In late 2010 the very popular shoe company Skechers, launched a new line called "BOBS" and looks exactly like the Toms shoe model. Not only did they copy the shoe design but they even copied Toms main mission, One For One. For every pair of Bobs purchased, Skechers will give a pair to a child in need. It became a global controversy, even so that Skechers had to take down their Bobs promotion. But I think you need to take a deeper look at this situation. Blake Mycoskie, the founder of Toms Shoes, has always motivated other people and companies to copy his business model, so you have to be careful what you say. I doubt Blake thought someone would copy his business model so blatantly but in the end this proved Skechers lack of creativity and originality. If Skechers copied the idea in a different way it could have worked but doing something like this purely for marketing and promotion purposes is unethical and the consumer and see right through it.

My third and last example comes from a very unique entrepreneur who started his company as a complete joke, Johnny Cupcakes. Johnny first started selling his t-shirts back in 2001 while touring with his band. The brand grew so much that Johnny had to quit his band so he could focus on his new clothing brand. Today Johnny Cupcakes has three (3) boutique stores in the US and one (1) in London. But with such a successful and popular brand you can expect a few copycats out there.

Pastry is an all girl clothing line founded by the daughters of Run DMC legend, Rev Run. Angella and Vanessa Simmons didn't think (at the time) the small time clothing brand Johnny Cupcakes would hurt them as much as he did. A customer stating that he saw the new upcoming line by Pastry contacted Johnny. One of the shirts looked exactly like one of Johnny's shirts, the placement and font was basically the same. Johnny kept it quiet and decided to contact his Trademark attorney. Pastry was ordered not to release the shirts because of trademark infringement (Johnny did trademark the term: "Make Cupcakes Not War"). Johnny's customers were very disappointed in the idea of someone stealing his design and gave Pastry a bad reputation right off the bat.

Reference:

1. http://fashionlawyerblog.com/?p=371
2. http://www.fastcompany.com/1696887/toms-vs-bobs-how-skechers-shot-themselves-in-the-foot
3. http://www.cotygonzales.com/2009/01/15/pastry-tries-to-imitate-johnny-cupcakes/

Something Companies Tend To Forget About...Ethics

In the most basic terms, a definition for business ethics breaks down to knowing the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, and choosing to do what is ethical, in other words what is right. The term “business ethics” is used to define the agility of individuals within an organization, and an organization as a whole for that matter (Business Definition for: Business Ethics, n/d).

A lot of businesses today have earned a bad a reputation for just being a business. The bottom line for most companies is to make money and it should be but to some people that is all a business cares about. For the most part it could be called capitalism. To make money isn’t wrong but it comes down to the manner a business conduct themselves that brings up the question of ethical behavior.

Every business should have good business ethics. There are many factors to consider when a company does business with another company that is considered unethical. Is the first company part of the other company’s unethical behavior cause of their partnership? Did they know from the get go what they were getting themselves into? Some people would say yes, the first business has a responsibility and it is now a link in the chain of unethical businesses.

Major corporations, including most of the brands that the public use today, can be used as examples not to think too much of ethical business behavior. Major brands have been fined millions for breaking ethical business laws. The major deciding factor is still money in the end for them.

If a company doesn’t comply with business ethic laws they usually end up being fined. Many companies have broken anti-trust, ethical and environmental laws and received fines worth millions. The main problem with this is, is that these companies bank a lot more money then they’re fined. Billion dollars of profits blind these companies to their lack of business ethics, and in the end the dollar sign prevails (What is business ethics, 2009).

In the end it is up to the public to decide if a company is complying with ethical business behavior. If large amounts of money are in play for these companies, they might not be paying too close attention to business ethics. There are many companies that pride themselves in their business ethical principles and behavior, but in this competitive world they are becoming less and less.

Understanding the broad landscape of business ethics can take lots of understanding, time, discipline while being problematic. The field reaches very important topics that raise concerns such as corporate behavior, reputation management, accurate accounting and audits, fair labor policies etc. After business debacles such as Enron, Adelphia, and Worldcom and many others it may be easy to conclude that the world of business can be a cut-throat environment where ethics doesn’t matter or is neglected.

Ethics is a major contributor to a company’s success. It focuses on certain areas a company relies on namely: public image, investment and partnerships. Each corporation has it’s own public image in particular that reflects which way the public see’s it as a whole. These images are the results of a vast variety of different reasons but it primarily comes down to the way a company acts with respect towards different things in its environment. Business ethics plays a major role in determining a company’s public image since they (the public) determine behavior.

When a person, investor or company is considering a particular stock there are several different aspects that needs to be considered. This includes the future prospects of the company, public image, products their selling, service their delivering and in the end it comes down to ethics.

A company that encourages investment in itself needs to have a strong sense of business ethics. Companies fall apart or become extremely powerful with the partnership with a joint venture. To get a good partner you need to have a good overall track record and an excellent tradition of ethical business behavior. If you don’t, a partner will never consider to join your company and will be considered a bad investment (Business Ethics - Why They Are Important For a Company and Its Success, n/d).

References:

n/n. n/d. Business Definition for: Business Ethics. Retrieved April 12^th, 2011 from BNET. Website: http://dictionary.bnet.com/definition/Business+Ethics.html

Cuizon, G. Jan 2009. What is business ethics? Retrieved April ^12th, 2011 from Suite 101. Website: http://businessmanagement.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_business_ethics

Vasquez, M. n/d. Business Ethics - Why They Are Important For a Company and Its Success. Retrieved April 12^th, 2011 from Ezine Articles. Website: http://ezinearticles.com/?Business-Ethics---Why-They-Are-Important-For-a-Company-and-Its-Success&id=1315711

The iPod Revolution

When you think back these past 10 years, you can’t imagine that time went by so fast. In a blink of an eye we entered the new millennium, experienced extreme terrorist acts, new wars, the last few chapters of the space program, the loss of very talented and iconic hero’s and the list goes on. It’s been a very interesting decade filled with extreme highs and extreme lows. But personally I think the most exciting achievements were made in the entertainment industry.

One word… Internet. The roots go way back to the 60’s but became a more public image in the 90’s while it really took off in the 00’s. With this amazing new “service” we can have the whole world in our hands without any limitations. For most of us, looking at the millennial generation, we use the Internet as our primary source for entertainment. Whether it’s social networking, watching movies, finding a lost friend, looking up your closest theater or shopping, entertainment is one of the main things we do on the Internet. This is where Apple comes in or actually, the vision of one man, Steve Jobs.

Your moms and pop’s music store is closing all over the world or losing business fast, and it’s not just because of a poor economy. The biggest upset in the record store industry came when Virgin announced the closing of their record stores across the world and especially the US. A company that made $280 million annually got shut down by the digital music age in a matter of a few years. This proves just how much the digital music age has affected the record industry and the music industry in general for that matter. (2009, paragraph 6, All US Virgin Megastores To Close By June)

But through all of this one man is smiling, Steve Jobs. He saw the future of the music world and took that gap. He changed our music lives forever and in 2001 introduced to the world… the iPod. A small device you can carry in your pocket while holding more then 1000 songs? The world was in disbelief, that’s amazing! And amazing it was. (n/d. paragraph 1, How has Apple Taken the World Pie?)

Two (2) years later Apple went a step further and in 2003 introduced iTunes. The biggest music store; available to me in my own house, by using a mouse. We don’t have to leave the house anymore to go buy a record. This was the beginning where record stores started seeing a decline in physical album sales. (n/d. paragraph 1, How has Apple Taken the World Pie?)

The great thing about Apple is that they employ both hardware and software engineers so they’re able to create all their products in house so both hardware and software can integrate seamlessly. The iPod design is so clean and simple which added to the success of the product making it user friendly to everyone.

The first iPod commercial featured a guy sitting at his desk while uploading cd’s to his computer and transferring them to his iPod; ‘A Thousand Songs In Your Pocket’, the first tagline and commercial introduced this revolutionary product to the world. It’s debatable on how the iPod became so popular but Apple’s distribution channels were a key factor. The relationship between Best Buy & Circuit City was torn apart in 1998 but came alive again in 2002 when iPods became available in over 500 Best Buy stores in addition to 225 CompUSA locations already selling the product. In 2005 Radio Shack purchased over 400 000 iPods for it’s initial 3 month sales period. Radio Shack distributed iPods to over 7000 of their locations. iPods in vending machines at airports was another major selling point, putting the iPod in over 21 000 locations. But the ultimate selling point for the iPod comes from the Apple Stores themselves. It’s the personal interactive experience in these stores that creates the ultimate selling point between the customer and iPod.

Apple has done an amazing job to get the iPod in as many distribution channels as possible. By doing this the halo effect took place. By selling millions of iPods at across the board, it provided the company with a greater scope of awareness to it’s other products including the iMac & MacBook. Because of this “halo effect” Apple’s retail computer market share in the U.S. up to 4.5 percent in July 2005 from 2.8 a year before. This proves that Apple’s distribution channels are effective.

There are many other MP3 player competitors claiming to be the next iPod killer but at the end of the day the real “iPod Killer” was Apple itself by introducing the iPhone. Now you could have an iPod and revolutionary mobile smart phone all in one. By doing this Apple could now dominate & maintain two (2) markets namely smart phones and MP3 players. Before the iPhone came around, other cell phones were regarded as the ‘iPod killer’ but they didn’t really prevail since Apple combined their revolutionary iPod with a phone and once again took the top place.

iTunes and iPod still continue to amaze everyday and will for a long time to come until the next visionary comes a long. To this date Apple owns 80% of the total MP3 market share. Also, to date Apple holds over an 85% market share for electronic music and has sold over half a billion tracks (continues to rise everyday). Apple has changed the way we look at consuming music in a lot of different ways; it’s the iPod revolution. (n/d. paragraph 1, How has Apple Taken the World Pie?)

References:

n/n. n/d. How has Apple Taken the World Pie? Retrieved April 31, 2011 from Filer. Website: http://filer.case.edu/dak22/

Christman, E. March, 2009. All US Virgin Megastores To Close By June. Retrieved April 31, 2011 from Billboard. Website: http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/all-u-s-virgin-megastores-to-close-by-june-1003951620.story#/bbcom/news/all-u-s-virgin-megastores-to-close-by-june-1003951620.story

Interview with Nick Sambrato from Mama's Sauce

For my interview I chose to interview Nick Sambrato, the owner and founder of Mama’s Sauce. Mama’s Sauce is a boutique print shop located in downtown Orlando that dedicates itself to only using the finest water and soy-based inks and cleaning products. It employs designers who truly have a passion for the design process of business cards, show posters, t-shirts, wedding invitations, etc. Mama’s Sauce also has a very interactive website where an order can be placed. It also features a blog and online store with a range of their own limited edition products.

The Mama’s Sauce team is a young group of print and design fanatics who have a drive and passion for what they do. This adds to the fun-working environment they have established. They are also very personable with their clientele so it is more like a family than your normal customer-business relationship. There is sense of community with this company, as it acts like a hub for creative people to come to and explore new things.

One of the biggest challenges Nick faced starting his company was committing. As soon as Nick said out loud he was going to do this he realized he actually has to commit physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally and birth this business. There was no negotiation with anyone, except himself. He told himself to just do it. Nick describes challenges as something that put you the test instead of being a hurdle. A challenge makes you stronger and prepares you not to make specific mistakes again in the future so you can build your business stronger instead of taking two (2) steps forward and one (1) step back.

I asked Nick how he prefers to negotiate with customers and contractors since he has to deal with them on a day-to-day basis. From his response I realized affiliation was very important to him because face-to-face conversation reduces personal distance so it’s easier to avoid stereotyping and other misconceptions. Nick is the owner of a business and acts professional on all levels, so when it comes to negotiating with your clientele and contractors, it’s key to always do it in person if possible. These ads to the personal touch his business focuses on so much.

The greatest advice I got from nick was to be true to yourself when negotiating. Be prepared and know what you want. Depending on the negotiating, in the end you’re selling yourself and that’s why it’s key to be professional. In the beginning of your career, it’s always wise not to be too aggressive if negotiating with someone. Depending on the issue, it’s better to think logically, ask for advice and try to achieve mutual gain. As a young adult entering the working world, I thought this was great negotiating advice from Nick.

Have a look at the Mama's Sauce website HERE

Association Green (AG)

For a company to go green now a day is very important. Especially if you have a specific niche market, like Purple Gorilla does. To go green can mean many things depending on your business but it basically comes down to adopting new and sustainable ways of consuming energy that don’t drain the planet of it’s natural resources nor render it.

Association Green is the Green Initiatives Division of Organization Management Group Inc. OMG supports for-profit and non-profit organizations. Association Green, AG for short, main goal is to create the opportunity for companies to network, educate and locate resources on becoming environmentally responsible.

There are many companies out there that want to go green but they don’t know how. That’s why associations like Association Green are important in today’s corporate like structure.

The research link on the AG site is an excellent source of links for companies who are researching their possibilities of going green. Most of time companies want to go green or they’re considering it but the big question is where to they start; now these companies have a starting point to start their green movement.

For Purple Gorilla AG can assist in many ways and organic clothing will be our first step. We’re a company that spreads the word on Social Good so we’ll be regarded as hypocrites if we don’t embrace the green movement to the fullest.

Regular cotton production uses about 25% of the world’s insecticides and more then 10% of the pesticides, so by using organic cotton or recycled cotton we’re able to reduce these numbers. Good news for the market is that the organic cotton industry is growing every year so environmental damage can be reduced.

Associations like the Green Association is a critical factor in the Social Good industry today. Via the association companies can network and unite to make even a larger effort to reducing environmental damage.

Association Green Official Website
The differences between regular cotton & organic cotton can be seen HERE