Should I use Struts or Spring MVC?
Should I use Ant, Ivy, Maven, or Grable for my build system?
Should I use CVS, SVN, Perforce, GIT, or Mercurial for SCM?
How about search engine - pure Lucene, Solr, or propriety solution such as FAST or Google?
Application server - Weblogic, Websphere, JBoss, Tomcat, or Jetty?
On the database end, Oracle, MySQL, or MS SQL?
Should I use Hibernate, DataNucleus, Toplink, or JPA?
GWT seems to be a good candidate for RIA or Flex or HTML5?
Spring Roo seems to be fascinating in some sense to generate lots of code with convention!
How about Python, Ruby, JRuby, Groovy, Scala, or Grail for functional programming?
On top of that, you've got to learn BPEL, WebSerivces, Portal, CMS and EIS to work on the enterprise level application development.
SQL, GQL, XPath, XQuery are bonus to work with XML, aren't they?
Holy macaroni!!!
How in the world can I master all of these and get down to work without breaking stuff?
Yeah, I have so much freedom and a pool of technologies to choose from.
But what should I use? When should I use one over the other? How much cost will each technology be?
I don't like .NET even though I grew up with Microsoft technologies. But, when I think about the chaos or freedom(?) I have in the Java world, sometimes, I think about going back to .NET or PHP. Not that I really want to do it!
Just dreaming of the world where I have just the right amount of freedom without chaos, but still being able to use the tools I like...
zzzzz
Monday, November 29, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Premium Advertisers or less unsold inventory?
I'm wondering what is the math behind this formula. A: Premium Advertisers. B: Less Unsold Inventory. A > B, A < B, or A=B? Of course, no one can answer this question with so much confidence. However, this is the type of question most of the publishers might have been thinking about very seriously.
I noticed some CEO(s) are scared of losing premium advertisers for the sake of selling more inventory. The reason is very simple. If unsold inventory is sold with a discount, the premium advertisers will ask for the discount as well. I think this is not about the philosophy but rather a mathematical problem.
One think a company can do in order to find a better solution is to simulate both solutions within a fixed period of time with enough audience. But, before coming to a conclusion or even starting the simulation, we can take a look at the current trend of advertisement.
Until recently, TV was the most visited advertisers' destination. Think about the Super Bowl ads. A couple of million dollars for a 20 second ad? It's insane. The effect or ROI? No one really knows, because it's all dependent on how we measure the success and how long. However, if we calculate the effect of the advertisement in a purely revenue and expense sense, it won't be so difficult to figure out what advertisement is the best solution for a company. Anyways, not like the TV ads, Internet advertisement has become one of the most dominant players in the space these days. A boots shop in a small town in Texas started advertising themselves in the small space on the "paid search" side of Google. A big company, such as Target is putting millions of dollars on Google or Yahoo paid advertisement section.
Considering the growth rate of this Internet based advertisements, we can tell how the advertisement industry may look like in the next 10 to 20 years. Is there any player among them who is making a significant amount of money from display ads, I may ask. The reason being, display ads in a sense represents the premium or fixed amount advertisement on the Internet. Whereas, Google, Yahoo, and MSN are betting hugely on the auction based advertisement. We don't know the result yet. But, we can see who is becoming the winner.
Now, I'm thinking about the hybrid solution. What if we give the upper hand to the premium advertisers and auction off the rest of unsold inventory? Meaning, if you want to pay the premium, you're guaranteed to take the spot. If you're a penny saver, still you can take some space and attract visitors with less expense. Doesn't it sound like a "Win-Win" strategy?
I'm still dreaming.
zzzz
I noticed some CEO(s) are scared of losing premium advertisers for the sake of selling more inventory. The reason is very simple. If unsold inventory is sold with a discount, the premium advertisers will ask for the discount as well. I think this is not about the philosophy but rather a mathematical problem.
One think a company can do in order to find a better solution is to simulate both solutions within a fixed period of time with enough audience. But, before coming to a conclusion or even starting the simulation, we can take a look at the current trend of advertisement.
Until recently, TV was the most visited advertisers' destination. Think about the Super Bowl ads. A couple of million dollars for a 20 second ad? It's insane. The effect or ROI? No one really knows, because it's all dependent on how we measure the success and how long. However, if we calculate the effect of the advertisement in a purely revenue and expense sense, it won't be so difficult to figure out what advertisement is the best solution for a company. Anyways, not like the TV ads, Internet advertisement has become one of the most dominant players in the space these days. A boots shop in a small town in Texas started advertising themselves in the small space on the "paid search" side of Google. A big company, such as Target is putting millions of dollars on Google or Yahoo paid advertisement section.
Considering the growth rate of this Internet based advertisements, we can tell how the advertisement industry may look like in the next 10 to 20 years. Is there any player among them who is making a significant amount of money from display ads, I may ask. The reason being, display ads in a sense represents the premium or fixed amount advertisement on the Internet. Whereas, Google, Yahoo, and MSN are betting hugely on the auction based advertisement. We don't know the result yet. But, we can see who is becoming the winner.
Now, I'm thinking about the hybrid solution. What if we give the upper hand to the premium advertisers and auction off the rest of unsold inventory? Meaning, if you want to pay the premium, you're guaranteed to take the spot. If you're a penny saver, still you can take some space and attract visitors with less expense. Doesn't it sound like a "Win-Win" strategy?
I'm still dreaming.
zzzz
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Global Redeeming System
It was about a month ago. I had a chance to talk with one of my coworkers. We were chitchatting about this and that. It was then that my radar suddenly raised an alarm and rang a bell... Wait, what did you say? That was my reaction. I couldn't believe I was hearing something that could be a really, really big idea.
It is about a redeeming system. Yeah, I know there are a lot of them. Starbucks, Tully, and CoffeeBeans have those. Airlines have their own frequent flier programs. AMEX has it's own redeeming system. I accept that.
But, wait a minute. Is there a system that people can use cross business wise? Let's say, I went McDonald for a new menu, McRib with french fries. Of course, I'd like to have something more than hamburger which is I want to know if I can store some points and redeem it later. I'd like to know if I go to Starbucks and use and points that I accumulated from McDonald. I'd like to use the redeeming points I collected from Costco shopping towards an airline ticket for a trip to Paris. I want to get some discount when I go to Cheesecake Factory because I've been there multiple times before.
There are so many of these local redeeming systems that are not usable cross-business. I also don't want to have 567 redeeming cards in my little wallet. I just want to have one card and one system.
What about businesses? Why does each business have to come up with their own system when they can just register themselves and configure the rules. They can easily become a member of the Global Redeeming System and let people know that we are a member of GRS, therefore, you can use the card you already have to accumulate points. Some business may want to make an alliance so that customers can use the redeeming points from each other.
New small businesses can easily participate in this program without creating an expensive infrastructure. Just visit the website and become a member. One more thing to do. Just put a sign, "GRS member" out on the window where people can see it like "Zagat rated" for restaurants.
If we are talking about 1% redeeming point for every purchase being made in the United States, considering the GDP is around $15,000,000,000,000. We're talking about $150,000,000,000 business each year. It's an astronomical number, isn't it?
Is it realistic? Maybe, to some extent. Will business adopt this system by replacing what they have? I'm very positive, because there is a huge leverage effect by joining forces and control their rules. Will people like it? Of course? I'd love to use it and use my redeeming points towards travel every year. If I spend $50,000 a year for whatever reason, I would get $500 bonus airline ticket? Yeah...
Well, it maybe just another dream...
zzz
It is about a redeeming system. Yeah, I know there are a lot of them. Starbucks, Tully, and CoffeeBeans have those. Airlines have their own frequent flier programs. AMEX has it's own redeeming system. I accept that.
But, wait a minute. Is there a system that people can use cross business wise? Let's say, I went McDonald for a new menu, McRib with french fries. Of course, I'd like to have something more than hamburger which is I want to know if I can store some points and redeem it later. I'd like to know if I go to Starbucks and use and points that I accumulated from McDonald. I'd like to use the redeeming points I collected from Costco shopping towards an airline ticket for a trip to Paris. I want to get some discount when I go to Cheesecake Factory because I've been there multiple times before.
There are so many of these local redeeming systems that are not usable cross-business. I also don't want to have 567 redeeming cards in my little wallet. I just want to have one card and one system.
What about businesses? Why does each business have to come up with their own system when they can just register themselves and configure the rules. They can easily become a member of the Global Redeeming System and let people know that we are a member of GRS, therefore, you can use the card you already have to accumulate points. Some business may want to make an alliance so that customers can use the redeeming points from each other.
New small businesses can easily participate in this program without creating an expensive infrastructure. Just visit the website and become a member. One more thing to do. Just put a sign, "GRS member" out on the window where people can see it like "Zagat rated" for restaurants.
If we are talking about 1% redeeming point for every purchase being made in the United States, considering the GDP is around $15,000,000,000,000. We're talking about $150,000,000,000 business each year. It's an astronomical number, isn't it?
Is it realistic? Maybe, to some extent. Will business adopt this system by replacing what they have? I'm very positive, because there is a huge leverage effect by joining forces and control their rules. Will people like it? Of course? I'd love to use it and use my redeeming points towards travel every year. If I spend $50,000 a year for whatever reason, I would get $500 bonus airline ticket? Yeah...
Well, it maybe just another dream...
zzz
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Googomobile?
Google was one of the contenders of Kelly Blue Book buy-out along with AutoTrader and Cars.com. I wonder why Google doesn't develop their own platform, for they already have massive database including the automobile data.
I love Google search engine; t's simplicity and relevancy. However, when it comes to car search, I end up in a website filled with advertisement and cluttered content. I wonder always why these websites can be as simple as search. Can I just type in, "I'm interested in buying a new SUV with 7 seats or more, but it should have fuel efficiency of more than 25 MPG, and at the same time I don't want to spend more than $30,000." Something like that.
Most of the websites such as kbb.com, edmunds.com, Yahoo Autos, MSN Autos, and Ebay Motors have the concept of new and used, etc. But, when I come to car research, do I really care? Either I'm a car enthusiast looking for new cars, future cars, nice background pictures, cool editorials, etc. or I'm a practical car buyer looking for a deal.
I just want to start with a very simple search page and then start digging in. Let's say, I'm looking for a car within $25,000 and $35,000, since my budget allows that range, and the MPG should be between 25MPG or up, and I don't like certain brands and prefer certain brands. I just keep adding new criteria. Of course, I want to compare similar cars to make the final decision. At t the end of my research, I want to find out what dealer has the car I'm looking for and how much they would like to offer.
I'm talking about simple and fun car research and buying experience. I like TrueCar in a sense since they provide a pretty good picture of the price of a car I'm thinking about buying. I like Vast in a sense that they are doing some research for me. I like Edmunds' Insideline sicne I can see a lot of cool cars, editorials, etc.
But, what I really like to see is a Google like car website. I'd call it, "Googomobile!".
Should I make one?
zz
I love Google search engine; t's simplicity and relevancy. However, when it comes to car search, I end up in a website filled with advertisement and cluttered content. I wonder always why these websites can be as simple as search. Can I just type in, "I'm interested in buying a new SUV with 7 seats or more, but it should have fuel efficiency of more than 25 MPG, and at the same time I don't want to spend more than $30,000." Something like that.
Most of the websites such as kbb.com, edmunds.com, Yahoo Autos, MSN Autos, and Ebay Motors have the concept of new and used, etc. But, when I come to car research, do I really care? Either I'm a car enthusiast looking for new cars, future cars, nice background pictures, cool editorials, etc. or I'm a practical car buyer looking for a deal.
I just want to start with a very simple search page and then start digging in. Let's say, I'm looking for a car within $25,000 and $35,000, since my budget allows that range, and the MPG should be between 25MPG or up, and I don't like certain brands and prefer certain brands. I just keep adding new criteria. Of course, I want to compare similar cars to make the final decision. At t the end of my research, I want to find out what dealer has the car I'm looking for and how much they would like to offer.
I'm talking about simple and fun car research and buying experience. I like TrueCar in a sense since they provide a pretty good picture of the price of a car I'm thinking about buying. I like Vast in a sense that they are doing some research for me. I like Edmunds' Insideline sicne I can see a lot of cool cars, editorials, etc.
But, what I really like to see is a Google like car website. I'd call it, "Googomobile!".
Should I make one?
zz
No Ads?
Can you imagine a world without advertisements? I mean, Internet world. I was eating lunch with my colleague outside in the patio area in the Water Garden building in Santa Monica. We were chatting about "Design Thinking". Suddenly, one idea popped out of nowhere and rang the bell on my head.
"No Advertisement on the websites?" How cool is that? What if you visit websites such as CNN.com, NYTimes.com, TechCruch.com, TED.com, etc. etc. And you don't see any ads but only content? What? I know. Yeah, it's "what?" We are so used to see advertisements whenever we visit websites. It's annoying. It's REALLY annoying sometimes. Pop-ups everywhere. After installing pop-up blockers, I still see whole bunch of crazy ads filling the half of the space. I usually spend some time looking for the content. Sometimes, I can't tell what the content part is and what advertisement part is.
I myself am working in a company where the advertisement is the main revenue source. But, when I think of this from the consumer's point-of-view, I scratch my head. Hmmm. What I develop something, like "No Ad Filter" widget. People can download the widget as a browser plug-in. Once they turn on the plug-in, suddenly no ads on the web sites. I know, it may look kind of weird. So what! No ads. My dream come true, right?
Okay, now, I'm thinking about how I can make money out of it. I may charge 1 cent per day for blocking ads? Not bad. $3.65 per year. It's your freedom. You are buying freedom for $3.65 per year? What a deal! Will people be convinced? I don't know. Will people know the value of it? I don't know, since we are so used to be a slave of advertisements.
What about the law-suits coming from all the publishers? They might try to get rid of me. They might use "carrot-and-stick" to kick my butt out of it. Of course, because this thing will kick millions of people out of job. Wow! I may become the worst enemy of the corporate American but the best friend of the public.
It's so crazy. I don't know how in the world we become a slave of advertisements. TV ads, radio ads, banner ads everywhere, not even on the Internet world. In the movie, "Social Network", Mark once said that he would lose the "coolness" once they put advertisements when his friend wanted to do something to make money. What happened now? Do you not see ads on Facebook? Where is all the revenue coming from for Facebook? Maybe, Facebook is big enough to keep the "coolness" even with ads.
I strongly disagree. Someone else will come and replace whatever is not cool, someday. Someday, I may rise to provide the best thing in the world to free people from slavery of advertisement.
Someday!
z
"No Advertisement on the websites?" How cool is that? What if you visit websites such as CNN.com, NYTimes.com, TechCruch.com, TED.com, etc. etc. And you don't see any ads but only content? What? I know. Yeah, it's "what?" We are so used to see advertisements whenever we visit websites. It's annoying. It's REALLY annoying sometimes. Pop-ups everywhere. After installing pop-up blockers, I still see whole bunch of crazy ads filling the half of the space. I usually spend some time looking for the content. Sometimes, I can't tell what the content part is and what advertisement part is.
I myself am working in a company where the advertisement is the main revenue source. But, when I think of this from the consumer's point-of-view, I scratch my head. Hmmm. What I develop something, like "No Ad Filter" widget. People can download the widget as a browser plug-in. Once they turn on the plug-in, suddenly no ads on the web sites. I know, it may look kind of weird. So what! No ads. My dream come true, right?
Okay, now, I'm thinking about how I can make money out of it. I may charge 1 cent per day for blocking ads? Not bad. $3.65 per year. It's your freedom. You are buying freedom for $3.65 per year? What a deal! Will people be convinced? I don't know. Will people know the value of it? I don't know, since we are so used to be a slave of advertisements.
What about the law-suits coming from all the publishers? They might try to get rid of me. They might use "carrot-and-stick" to kick my butt out of it. Of course, because this thing will kick millions of people out of job. Wow! I may become the worst enemy of the corporate American but the best friend of the public.
It's so crazy. I don't know how in the world we become a slave of advertisements. TV ads, radio ads, banner ads everywhere, not even on the Internet world. In the movie, "Social Network", Mark once said that he would lose the "coolness" once they put advertisements when his friend wanted to do something to make money. What happened now? Do you not see ads on Facebook? Where is all the revenue coming from for Facebook? Maybe, Facebook is big enough to keep the "coolness" even with ads.
I strongly disagree. Someone else will come and replace whatever is not cool, someday. Someday, I may rise to provide the best thing in the world to free people from slavery of advertisement.
Someday!
z
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