sheehan alam

My 5 Most Valuable Assets

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:33:00 -0700

Finance gurus love to discuss our assets in terms of monetary value. MasterCard likes to think there are some things in life that money can’t buy, but I believe in a Web 2.0 world, information is our greatest asset:

Facebook Profile - this is my proxy to the real world. I schedule events, chat, and stalk my friends online, so that my relationships in real life are even deeper.
Gmail Account - business is still conducted over e-mail and Google Mail is by far the best in its class.
iTunes Library - I have over 70GB of music ranging from classical, heavy metal and trance.
Google Reader - I subscribe to over 200 blogs which results in information overload and random tidbits of knowledge that I crave.
Macbook Pro - without it my life would be full of BSOD’s and restarts.

Music in the Clouds

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:22:00 -0700

iTunes (the defacto standard of music) is dying. The future of media will be online. Continuing on the trends of sharing and being “more social” the fundamental problem that lies with iTunes is the fact you can’t share your playlist with your friends. If you forget to sync your iPod, you won’t have any way to access your media library when you’re at the gym.

The cloud is all knowing, and the cloud is great. We are beginning to see a major shift from storing content on your computer, to the web. Facebook is already the largest photo-sharing site on the Internet with over 3 billion pictures uploaded everyday. By hosting your music online, you will be able to share your playlists and access your songs whenever you want, on any computer, on any device, anytime. Startups like GrooveShark and Spotify are already paving the way. Hell, even YouTube lets you create playlists now. Say goodbye to ~~pirating~~ buying MP3’s, and hello to on demand media. Simply search for what you want and then add it, favorite it, and share it.

"we are told to live a zen-like life, but imbalance and obsession are what make us great"

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:12:00 -0700

“we are told to live a zen-like life, but imbalance and obsession are what make us great”

- some zen master, or phil jackson

The Internet is the New Democracy

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:04:13 -0700

Despite popular belief, the United States of America is not the land of the free. The free world is known as the internet:

Information is uncensored (unless you are China)
Social media is the new democracy. Think digg.
Anyone can be influential. Re-tweeting is proof.
You control your own privacy. Facebook is making that happen.
Scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours. Whuffie is the new worldwide currency.

Where is the iPhone Killer?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:31:42 -0700

LG Voyager = Fail.
Chinese Knockoffs = Fail.
Blackberry Storm = Fail.
T-Mobile G1 = Fail.
Palm Pre = Fail.
Verizon Droid = Fail.

The prodigal iPhone killer is non-existent if the industry doesn’t shape up. Past mistakes are being repeated and handset manufacturers are rushing to keep up with Cupertino.

Let’s take a look at the Windows Mobile + HTC relationship. Microsoft makes the software and HTC puts it on their phones, sounds like a win, right? Unfortunately there is no synergy. This is where Apple thrives - customer experience. The iPhone is sleek, application quality is superb, and its plain easy to use.

Companies can pump out feature after feature but at the end of the day the customer only cares about usability. If your TV crashed, or required a million buttons to operate would you use it? Probably not.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. When we develop products, lets keep this manifesto in our minds.

iTunes AppStore Hinders Consumer Adoption

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:46:00 -0700

Despite living and breathing the Apple ecosystem (I own an iPhone, MacBook Pro, and solely use iTunes) Android will be the future of mobile computing if Apple doesn’t change their app store policies.

3-4 week approval process for submitting changes to an application is ridonkulous (yes, 1 step above ridiculous)
PR is non-existant because Apple has control over your marketing message
AppStore is not designed to showcase over 100,000 applications. Only the highest grossing survive

Now lets take a look at Android. Despite the lack of polish, proliferation across different devices, and open-ness will allow it to thrive. This is the pareto principle in action. Android is 80% there.

No application approval process
Unlimited marketing power
Applications are not limited to the app store

Time for mobile hackers to re-strategize.

Who the F Needs a Business Plan?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:25:58 -0700

Writing a business plan is the old way of starting a company. Planning is over-rated. Those who do, are successful. Google launched their product without a business plan, and were completely customer focused. Here is the fundamental problem with most entrepreneurs, they scrutinize over plans and logistics and never end up launching a product.

Release early, and release often.

The quicker you launch your product the faster you can adapt to your target market. Instead of prognosticating in your business plan who your market is - go out there and build beautiful products for them.

"simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:53:24 -0700

“simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

- steve jobs

Developers Should Be Setting Timelines

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:28:32 -0700

I’m going to cut to the chase. Titles and positions are simply a superiority complex. They don’t mean anything.

During the development of a system the developers should be giving estimates and timelines, not the project manager. This is a very common mistake in software shops. Only those who are close to the code can judge how long a problem or feature will take. Yes, there is pressure from the business and requirements front, but code is code. The role of the project manager is to set a schedule based on the dates developers give.

Shortening these dates results in poor quality, or a missed schedule. It’s that simple. Good developers give accurate estimates. Good project managers make good schedules based on these facts.

This is possibly the first of many lessons in the Sheehan Alam School of Management. Stay tuned.

Location, Location, Location is Old Business

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:54:00 -0700

How many times have you heard from head honchos and “thought leaders” that the most important thing in business is your location? This used to be true pre dot-com era, and is critical for businesses in the food industry, however the web has changed that.

Location is important because you want to attract the best crowd to buy your product or service. Real estate is expensive.

Social media is important because you want to attract the best crowd to buy your product or service. Twitter and Facebook are free.

I like numbers, so lets compare two companies that operate via location, and via the web.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble both sell books. Amazon through online media and Barnes & Noble primarily through regular real estate channels.

Amazon Market Capitalization: $38 billion at the time of this writing

Barnes & Noble Market Capitalization: $1.2 billion at the time of this writing

Now I understand Amazon vs Barnes & Noble isn’t an apples to apples comparison - but the bottom line is this: We can have a vast amount of information we can collect about our customers to analyze and enhance our product offerings on the cheap. This level of granularity can’t be achieved by old business, and is the sole reason why the shift towards online customer experience is so important.

The cloud is all knowing, the cloud is great

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:24:51 -0700

Saving data on physical devices is risky. Hard-drives are mechanical in nature and will fail. If you don’t properly backup your data (4.6 million people don’t), then you are SOL.

The cloud is the future.

Imagine not worrying about where you saved your homework, or how you are going to transfer your music after getting a new computer. The cloud will solve your problems, because the cloud is always there. Data is persistent.

Though the cloud is just beginning to take omnipresence a few cloud apps are already making grounds:

Mozy - backup your computer online
Weave - backup your browser bookmarks
GMail - surprised? Your e-mail is always there, protected by Eric Schmidt
Google Docs - of course Google is pushing the envelope, all of your documents are stored online too, with the ability to edit data offline.

Why back up to the cloud and not your own personal backup drives? Well for one, large companies like EMC and Google who host cloud infrastructures have real engineers who will fix servers when they go down. They ensure quality, reliability and your uptime. With deep pockets they make sure your data is protected.

On demand service is the name of the game. The more gigabytes you consume the more you will pay. Amazon EC2 is a good example of a company who has learned to monetize the cloud.

Whether you are in IT, or you are a consumer - the cloud is all knowing, the cloud is great.

"Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is."

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:36:38 -0700

“Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is.”

- Isaac Asimov

How Interrupting a Meeting Lead to a Bad User Experience

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:03:39 -0700

I was recently sitting in an important meeting, because all meetings are important :), where a phone that wasn’t silenced started to go off across the room. My colleague fumbled around to find the silencer, thinking it was a switch somewhere on the phone, only to find he had to hold down a number on the keypad to mute it. My colleague was unsuccessful in silencing his phone because he hit the 5 button instead of the 9 button since there were no indications otherwise. Getting pretty nervous as his phone was still ringing, he decided he would make a last ditch effort by turning the phone off. I saw a sigh of relief, and then a moment of shock, as the phone proceeded to play the shutdown chime right before turning off.

This is a horrible user experience.

Users should not have to think about using your product

Buttons should be clear.
Indications should be made to let the user know the product is still working, and working correctly.
When a product doesn’t work, it should fail gracefully
The user should expect every interaction, and the outcome of an interaction

Bottom line - your product should be so damn easy to use that the user can expect the unexpected. Think about it.

Productivity Hack: The Portable To-Do List

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:53:00 -0700

Getting things done is all about focus. If you have to multi-task you already lose track of your goal no matter how many multi-core processors are in your head.

The prodigal to-do list has evolved since the days of sticky notes. Today we have lists that live on your desktop, on the web, and in our phones. All that sync and play nicely with each other.

Whether you use Evernote, or GMail Tasks, or another weapon of choice, the key to getting things done is to have everything in one place. I’m talking e-mail, calendar, and notes on the same screen, in the same app. When you’re not at your desk, make sure you can take notes on your phone and have it sync back up. This way you are always connected and in a recursive loop, with yourself.

Try it. You’ll be 10x more productive. If not, come hound me and I’ll buy you a coffee while you lecture me on how much you can get done.

I Have Seen the Future and it is in Your Phone

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:19:00 -0700

Mobile technology is hot.

Apple and the iPhone are bringing what was once only for the geeks to your every day consumer. Now that your grandma knows how to use an iPhone, you instantly have a new target demographic. Every handset manufacturer is trying to copy the iPhone with touch screen capabilities and easy to use interfaces.

This is great news.

As mobile software becomes easier to use, the more people will adopt it. The additional supply in handsets will commoditize prices, and make buying phones cheaper every year.

Entreprenuers need to utilize this growing space. There is lots of room for innovative technologies to be developed. Taking what was once on the desktop and replicating it on the phone increases productivity tenfold. Everyone carries their cell phone in their pocket. You want your brand to be in your customers pocket.

"There will always be a company that replaces you. At some point your BlackSwan competitor will..."

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:36:14 -0700

“There will always be a company that replaces you. At some point your BlackSwan competitor will appear and they will kick your ass”

- Mark Cuban

5 Rules of Trading

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Advisory Note: Trading is NOT Investing.

Volatility - Look for gaps in weekly and monthly charts. Use technical analysis indicators like b-bands and simple moving averages to determine if a stock is overbought, or trending. Yahoo Finance has a nice interactive chart that lets you play with these tools.
Leverage - For the biggest bang for your buck, look at leveraged ETFs from ProShares. Play the ultras and shorts. You are reducing your risk by trading an ETF that is leveraged for you. Beware though, these are still risky.
Stocktwits - visit www.stocktwits.com and learn from the recommended tweeters. These guys are smart. Don’t do whatever they say, educate yourself, know what you are getting into, then get out.
Get Out - The market is not linear. Never was, never will be. Take profits whenever you can. Ride the waves. Buy on the dips. Seems obvious, but lots of traders get emotional. If you want that, go watch a chick flick.
Fees - keep your costs low. Trade at a discount brokerage. Fee’s eat up your nice 10%+ returns and bring them down to 8%. Always make money. Always.

An Informal Case Study: Don't Fight The Market

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:53:00 -0700

You cannot beat the market. Whether you’re an investor or an entreprenuer the market dictates where money is flowing. Follow the money. Find it, ride it, and get off. Here are some companies that are fighting the market, and getting trounced.

RIAA continues to believe in CD’s instead of MP3 and P2P sharing
Microsoft missed the boat on Web 2.0 and are 10 years behind on their web product offerings, still clinging on to Office and desktop software.
Blockbuster is getting eaten alive by Netflix and Hulu because customers want their movies now, with a smile. Nobody drives to a store anymore.
New York Times is almost bankrupt because bloggers and twitterers are reporting news quicker. Citizen journalism at its finest.

Nobody can predict the future, so trying to strategize and prognosticate what the next trend is, is foolish. The key is to adapt.

Amazon went from selling books, to selling everything on the internet
Google went from search engines to ads. They invented a whole new market.
Apple saw the shift towards mobile computing and brought us the jesus phone (iPhone).
Honda and Toyota see that gas prices are unruly. Fuel efficient cars are on all of their product roadmaps.

5 Signs Your Developers Suck

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:21:00 -0700

Issues are not escalated early, or often - clear sign there is a communication gap, which is more detrimental than a developer who can’t even code.
New features break the build - this means your developer does not unit test, integration test, or regression test.
Designs terrible GUI’s - sure developers aren’t designers, but those who have an eye for user experience, understand how the application will be used by the customer.
Spends too much time fixing low priority bugs - high priority bugs are harder to fix. There is a reason why they are showstoppers. Picking the low hanging fruit won’t result in better software.
Does not comment - documentation is a pain, but good developers understand it takes more than one to deliver great products.

DocStoc - Legal Documents For Startups

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:01:00 -0700

Running a startup isn’t easy. Who would’ve thought there was more to it than just the development of the product? There is a whole, complicated, legal side to running a business too. Since most startups begin in bootstrap mode we aren’t always fortunate to have a lawyer handle the boring and costly legalities.

Enter DocStoc.

Need a non-disclosure form? Check. Need a non-compete form? Check. Invoices? Check. Did I mention this is all free?

Use legal forms to protect your brand or your trademark. The resources are available to you, and spending a little time securing your product will go a long way.