AT&T and Verizon both recently dropped prices on unlimited calling plans by $30 a month. But other changes make it possible—likely, even—that the wireless providers will make more money off of the typical customer.
The Early Adopter: Trendsetter or Sucker?
By buying the newest, most hyped, most eagerly anticipated gadgets on the market, you get the thrill of being on the cutting edge. You get bragging rights in tech-obsessed circles. You’re a magnet for stares from strangers, who may be puzzled, jealous, or both. You also get to pay a premium compared to consumers willing to wait a little …
Are You Experiencing “Next Great” Whatever Fatigue?
You just bought an HDTV, an iPhone, and a Kindle, but now there’s 3-D TV, Google’s Nexus One, and the Kindle 2 (or the Nook) that all want you to take them home too. Can’t the marketers and innovators at least wait until we’ve gotten used to all the gizmos and features of our current great “new” devices before they introduce the new-new ones?
Why Are You Still Paying to Make Cell Phone Calls?
The average iPhone user forks over $95 a month to AT&T, and more than half of that covers voice accounts. Now that AT&T has approved applications like Skype, which allow users to make calls—even international calls—for free or very cheap via the Internet, it seems like only a matter of time before customers change the way they make …
More Thoughts on Corporate Blogging
Last week I blogged about the perils of corporate blogging. I cited a study, the Corporate Blogging Survey of 2005 by Backbone Media. Its lead author, John Cass–who is also author of Strategies and Tools for Corporate Blogging (to be published in April by Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann)–writes in with some interesting points:
There
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Google’s Cafeteria Is Better Than Ours
I thought our cafeteria was nice.
I’m a big fan of our company caf, the second-floor canteen in the Time-Life building where we stock up on oatmeal and chicken curry and a salad bar I like to believe is unfailingly sanitary. There are stations for freshly made sandwiches and grilled dead meat and “Oriental” noodle specials (cooked in a …