Hinutech

Nintendo has been able to create a real phenomenon with the Wii.  Maybe it’s because it is a great product, and maybe it’s because they have released them in a manner that promotes scarcity.  Regardless, kids have responded to the marketing and want them…badly. 

This is the most disturbing video that I have seen in a while.  It is a collection of about 50 kids opening their Nintendo Wii’s during the holidays.  Most scream.  A few faint.  Many cry.  The kid at the 3:00 mark’s reaction is particularly poignant.

Brilliant.

For all of the gloom and doom that you hear about, 2008 has been a pretty amazing year for Hinutech.  Although Hinutech has been in existance for nearly 2 years, it has only been since May of this year that I had built the business to the level of being able to support me financially.  Since that time, I am proud to announce that Hinutech has:

• Quadrupled the number of customers with which we work
• Created sustainable revenue
• Grown web traffic through non-traditional means like social media and Twitter
• Developed an active community of readers through this blog

From a product point of view, we have introduced some very cool features like:

• Social networking capabilities
• Integrated chat
• Twitter integration
• Activity tracking
• Friends
• Integration with Sugar CRM

2009 is shaping up to be another great year.  We are planning on migrating some of our offerings to Drupal which will offer our customers a more robust interface for delivering on their business needs.  Additionally, an e-Book is in the works which will serve as a guide for non-profit organizations as they seek to navigate the tricky waters of growing contributions and raving fans in a troubled economy.  With the launch of that book, we will be offering a new array of consulting services aimed at assisting that sector of businesses in refining, developing and implementing their approaches to online marketing through social networking and social media. 

Good stuff is on the horizon, and I am thankful to each and every customer who has helped make 2008 a successful year.  I wish you well in 2009!

If one of your New Year’s resolutions involves being nicer to the environment.  keep reading.

If another of your New Year’s resolutions involves doing good for the world, keep reading.

If you like cool, T-Shirts, keep reading.

Still here?  Good.  You need to check out http://teecycle.org.  These folks have created a mechanism for trading in and purchasing cool, vinatage, used T-Shirts.  Teecycle’s belief is that by keeping T-Shirts out of landfills, they are doing good.  I agree.  If you like unique, cheap T-Shirts and don’t have time to rummage through yard sales and thrist stores, let Teecycle do the heavy lifting for you. 

From a business point of view, this is one of those cool, “why didn’t I think of that” ideas that are percolating. If you want to start your own business in 2009, look for inspiration from people like the founders of Teecycle.  Find something you are passionate about and make it happen.

When I write a blog post, I don’t have to worry about updating multiple site to let the world know about it.  I do this through the magic of Twitterfeed.

Twitterfeed reads the RSS feed that is associated with your blog and posts your updates automatically to your Twitter account.  If you manage multiple blogs, you can configure multiple feeds.  So, when Twitterfeed sees that a new blog entry is available, it tweets “New Blog Post: <<Title>> <<Link To Post>>”  

This is a great way to let all of my followers on Twitter know that I have written new content.  But what about my Facebook friends?  Well, I have configured Facebook to automatically update my status with my latest Twitter post.  So, when Twitterfeed submits a new status, Twitter gets it and Facebook changes my status.

Pretty cool, and it automates the delivery of my posts to multiple networks.

Do you want to know why the music industry is struggling?  Look no further than the comments section of Sterogum’s post about the new U2 album.  The historically important, though increasingly irrelevant, top-shelf Irish band will release 3 different limited edition versions of its new record "No Line On The Horizon" on March 3. 

By releasing limited editions of their album, U2 is following in the footsteps of Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead who released free and limited editions of their latest works to the great adulation of their fans.  In the post-Napster world, people don’t want to pay for music — but they will pay for exclusivity.  They will pay to have something that no one else (or at least very few people) has.  The problem for U2, though, is that they, as a band, are not as exclusive as NIN and Radiohead.  U2 is much more accessible, and therefore, are an easy target for the wrath of the indie snobs. 

My prediction is that the limited editions of "No Line On The Horizon" will sell quite well.  People who love U2 are older, have more disposable income and remember a time when buying records was an important experience.  Going to the record store, thumbing through album covers, learning about new bands from the people who work there….the very act of buying a new release from a band involved some personal sacrifice (time) but was rewarded with the feeling of making a real connection to other humans working and shopping at the record store.  By releasing limited editions of their albums, bands are necessitating that buyers make a level of personal sacrifice (go to stores) to purchase their records. 

The problem that U2 faces, though, is that the social nature of buying music has changed with the advent of Napster.  Music has become a commodity that people expect to get for free.  People no longer visit record stores just to browse and feel a connection — they visit Pitchfork or Stereogum, download a few freebies and make anonymous comments on articles.  The record store club hasn’t really changed — music snobs have always existed — it’s just the members’ reaction to music has changed.  Bands that have the financial ability to release limited edition sets are trying to combat the commodity mentality of the post-Napster music fan, but as U2 has proved, they can’t make in-roads to the new generation of music snobs because they, as a band, aren’t indie enough (and aren’t willing to give their music away for free).

Personally, I dread the day that record stores stop existing.  At age 34, I look forward to going to Galaxy CDs or Shake-It Records, thumbing through CDs, making a purchase, bringing it home and ripping it for consumption on my iPhone/iPod.  Buying digital music is certainly easier, but it doesn’t have the soul of buying a new record from a record store.  I don’t know how the music industry can combat the free mentality of the majority of its consumers (law suits aren’t the answer), but as a lover of music, I pray that they find a way. 

As we celebrate Christmas this year, it is easy to focus on all of the negative stuff happening.  Recessions, wars, political scandals, bankruptcies, layoffs and bailouts permeate the headlines.  It is easy to look at our situation and feel absolutely miserable.  It is easy to look at our world and feel hopeless.  It is easy to look past anything positive and feel only negativity. 

Sometimes, though, we need to be reminded of the power that we have to feel happiness.  If we approach life without the trappings of MODE (Memory, Opinions, Desires, Emotions) and are present in our current state — appreciating what we have and what we have been given — then the feeling of happiness isn’t too much of a stretch.  

Wayne Coyne is the lead singer of the Flaming Lips and is one of the great artists of our generation.  He recorded an essay for NPR’s "This I Believe" series that you need to listen to.  From the segmant:

"I believe normal life is extraordinary….Try to be happy within the context of the life we are actually living. Happiness is not a situation to be longed for or a convergence of lucky happenstance. Through the power of our own minds, we can help ourselves. This I believe."

So, this Christmas, I wish all of you happiness.  I hope that everyone finds themselves in a place of appreciation and gratitude where they can put away the trappings of longing.  Put aside the uneasiness that you probably feel, and focus on the good stuff.  We can’t control the world, but we can control our reaction to it.  This I believe.

I had a meeting with a customer yesterday who leads a social services agency. He does amazing work and helps a large number of people in our community. As with everyone, he is concerned about the contraction of the economy and sees tough times ahead — particularly for social services. Many of his programs will see reduced funding. Some of them will go away. He knows it’s coming. His staff knows it’s coming.

When the budget cuts come to social services agencies, we, as a country, will see people who really need help not able to get it. We will see people who are facing very rough times at the hands of the recession left to their own devices because the agencies that used to be there to help them are either no longer around to help or don’t have the funding to help.

My customer isn’t wallowing, though. He knows that the nature of the way in which his organization will help people has to change. He has to increase their efficiency. He has to seek new ways of bringing income to the agency. He has to do more with less.

He is investing in his business. He knows that the traditional ways of doing business might not work in this recession (or on the other side of it). He knows that the agencies which are preparing for the worst now will be stronger when the recession is over. He knows that there will be many underserved people who need help, and he intends to be the agency that will help them. He knows that if he hunkers down, doesn’t invest in the business and “waits this out” , he will not be in a position to do so after this mess is cleaned up.

Moral of the story: invest when times are bad, and you will be positioned to do well when times are good. This is Economics 101.

The Center will be broadcasting its Christmas service on 12/21 at 6:00 PM EST.  This is a great use of the web to get the message out and connect with people from around the country and world.  Check them out at www.my-center.net or watch the party here in this blog post.

Michael Arrington at TechCrunch posted about Lois Whitman — a woman who, in Michael’s words, represents everything wrong with PR.  Based on what I have learned about Lois, I agree with Michael.  Her tactics are old-school and do nothing but damage for her clients.

This post isn’t about bashing Lois, though (Michael has done a great job of that already).  This post is about the fall-out of bad press and the viral nature that it takes.  You see, TechCrunch is read by millions of people.  Millions of people now know Lois’s name.  Millions of people feel badly for and about her clients.  I have seen Michael’s post pop up in several tweets from people that I follow on Twitter.  As more people tweet about Michael’s post, more people learn about Lois.  As more people read Michael’s post, more people respond to it on TechCrunch (there are 140 responses to his post at the time I began this post — none favorable).

What’s the lesson here?  Behave yourself online.  Don’t spam people.  Don’t abuse email lists.  Don’t do anything that compromises your integrity.  Don’t piss the wrong people off.

People used to get away with marketing tactics that were spammy in nature.  You can’t any more.  The playing field has been levelled.  If you don’t play nicely, you will be throttled, and your reputation will be shattered.