Steve Johnson on product management

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Product management evangelist and guitar player.

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December 2009

 

"Blue Moon" to Shine on New Year's Eve

091230-blue-moon-new-years-eve

If the skies are clear, revelers looking up at midnight will get an eyeful of the second full moon of the month—commonly called a blue moon. The last time a blue moon appeared on New Year's Eve was in 1990, and it won't happen again until 2028.

Filed under  //  Just for fun  
Posted by Steve Johnson 
 

Best branding? Build a great product

Maybe you saw this on TV this winter. An excellent example of using video to tell the story. Dad + kid building a Lego "kit" together. Want a great brand? Start with a great product!

Filed under  //  Just for fun   product marketing  
Posted by Steve Johnson 
 

Exactly who said this was a good idea?

My Pragmatic Marketing mug stares at me every morning with the same stark reminder:

“Your opinion, although interesting, is irrelevant.”

via blog.arenasolutions.com

Of course, I value your opinion but the market may not. The mug is a good reminder that we should make product decisions on what the market will buy, not on what the developers can build. If you're in meetings saying "I think" you'll lose to the developers' (and executives') opinions.

Posted by Steve Johnson 
 

Stormy #snowpocalypse ahead!

Get ready for a massive #snowpocalypse for the midwest.

Map_spectrop06_ltst_6nh_enus_6

Snuggle up and stay safe!

Filed under  //  travel  
Posted by Steve Johnson 
 

Just in time for Christmas...

Phone-razor-1
The cell phone/shaver. It make calls... and shaves. And it's apparently a real product, currently available only in China. Read more at http://techie-buzz.com/mobile-news/is-it-a-phone-or-is-it-a-shaving-razor.html

Filed under  //  Just for fun  
Posted by Steve Johnson 
 

Support Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a nonprofit project that exists for one reason: the free and open sharing of knowledge.
Your donations keep Wikipedia going.
via wikimediafoundation.org

I just thanked Wikipedia with a donation. How 'bout you?

Filed under  //  life  
Posted by Steve Johnson 
 

I broke my rule!

Product-21_5in
I have a rule: don't buy electronics for your wife. Oops. She's getting a new iMac for Christmas. (I guess it's partially a gift for me: I'm tired of supporting her old system!)

Posted by Steve Johnson 
 

Social media marketing explained in 61 words

It's amazing how many companies are still using "old school" marketing. David Meerman Scott explains today's marketing in Web Ink Now: Social media marketing explained in 61 words. It's a long video but the first few minutes are key:

You can buy attention (with advertising); You can beg for attention from the media (with PR); You can bug people one at a time to get attention (with direct sales). Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it online for free: a YouTube video, a blog, a research report, photos, a Twitter stream, an ebook, a Facebook page.

Here's the video of David speaking at BMA 2009:

David Meerman Scott keynote at BMA 2009 national conference from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.

What a great intro! Yet, alas, in our annual product management survey, we learned that 43% of technology companies have no social media component in their marketing plans and only 7% consider it a major element.

Socialmedia

As we go into 2010, all marketers should be exploring how social media defines the marketing plan. Instead of talking about SEO and other web "tricks," today's marketer should embrace the "new rules" by developing real content that generates inbound links--which is what the search engines really love.

Filed under  //  product marketing  
Posted by Steve Johnson 
 

YouTube - Robot running

Toyota humanoid robot running at 7km/h.
via youtube.com

Has no one seen "The Terminator?" I mean, really. First Google tries to connect everything together and then Toyota has a running robot! Judgment Day approaches.

Filed under  //  Just for fun  
Posted by Steve Johnson