Sunnyside Up 5.3.12

why we care about start-ups

Bud Caddell writes: 1) Start-ups represent emerging bets at theintersection of technology and culture. Any productthat a company produces is inherently a prediction for thefuture. The start-up community, especially at SXSW,represents a rare opportunity to view hundreds of thosepredictions in a single location, all vying for attention andadoption.

2) Clusters of start-ups help to identify what’s brokenin current industries and where there’s opportunity fordisruption. If we look at a specific industry, say healthcare,and what problems are being consistently targeted by startupsin that industry, we can begin to identify opportunitiesand threats for our clients in those industries

Read More/Source: http://whatconsumesme.com/2012/posts-ive-written/emerging-bets-at-the-intersection-of-technology-and-culture/

Kickstarter is really 2 businesses • With $200M pledged, Kickstarter

has become two businesses "The company was originally conceived as a patronage service to help artists give life to ideas. But it’s now becoming a store front where products are getting pre-ordered and sold, helping entrepreneurs gauge real-world demand for products."

• Read More/Source: http://gigaom.com/2012/05/01/with-200m-raised-kickstarter-is-becoming-two-businesses

facebook adds public actions to apps• What’s new? Facebook has added “actions” to its

Open Graph app protocol.

• How does it work? When my friend checks in on Foursquare, I can save his location by clicking the “save this location” under the status update.

• Why does it matter?• Before, the only good use of public actions was with

Spotify: a user could click a song and listen it immediately• But this doesn’t apply to the rest of non-music

apps like a recipe app or a Foursquare: If my friend checks-in on Foursquare and it shows up in my feed, what can I do? I probably can’t go there instantly, but I can save the location for later use.

• Existing app users will increase their engagement of the app by being able to save app content for later.

• These feature will help apps acquire more users by

using the action as a sort of hook: this content looks good to you? Click here to save it for later. Oh, you don’t have the app? Sign up for it now.

• Read More/Source: http://venturebeat.com/2012/05/02/new-action-links-make-third-party-facebook-apps-more-interactive/

target to stop selling kindles • What’s new? Target will stop carrying Amazon’s Kindle products

in its stores. Large retailers like Best Buy and Target are sensing that their stores are showrooms for large e-tailers like Amazon.com.

• While the move is largely symbolic, Target is making a pointed statement to e-tailers who expect or even encourage consumers to check out products before searching online. Last holiday season, Amazon “offered a promotion on its Price Check app that gave shoppers 5 percent off any item scanned at a store.”

• Why does it matter? With a huge e-commerce revamp last year, Target has been making strides to improve its e-commerce platform, and translate its bulk buying power to discounts for consumers, but ultimately online-only retailers like Amazon will be pressuring Target to justify its brick and mortar stores.

• Shopping at Target must provide some sort of value—customer service, last minute conveniece—in order to outweigh the benefits of shopping on Amazon (especially with its Prime 2-day shipping service).

• Read More/Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/business/after-warning-amazon-about-sales-tactics-target-will-stop-selling-kindles.html?pagewanted=all

Thank you.Profero New York206 Fifth Avenue,5th FloorNew York, New York 10010T. +1 646 381 3500F. +1 646 843 8424