Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Oddly Relevant Jan-29-2013


Overcoming the challenges of retail Wi-Fi: More capital intensive and complex than imagined—one must gauge the beneficial impact (if any), design based on usage purpose and habits, and allow for enough setup time. The process is hairy enough to require high-level planning and cooperation for successful roll-out. [Note: props to Starbucks, this is no easy feat indeed]…Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2013/01/28/overcoming-the-challenges-of-retail-wi-fi/

RBS to wind down M&A as sale called off: ~40 bankers who pulled in $436mm in annual fees 6 years ago soon to be made redundant. The fee income plummeted to $74mm last year…Source: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b9e0bc08-6a39-11e2-a7d2-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fworld_uk%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct#axzz2JQfG1gw6

As music streaming grows, royalties slow to a trickle: On Pandora, 1.5 million times played = $1652.74 in personal royalties, it’s 541.71 for 131,000 plays on Spotify. To make more money, this way of distribution needs to become more mainstream. [Note: The shovel-seller wins in the gold-rush]…Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/business/media/streaming-shakes-up-music-industrys-model-for-royalties.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0

20th anniversary of ETF: Cheapness and convenience drove its success with 4731 funds at the end of last year with 16% of NYSE trading volume. Transparency and promise validity remain concerns. [Note: what’s more, could the market actually become less efficient due to tracker indices?]…Source: http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21570711-anniversary-successful-financial-innovation-twenty-years-young

*The A/B Test: inside the technology that’s changing the rules of business: Without being told, a fraction of users are diverted into slightly different versions of products (be it webpage, app, etc) and have their behaviors compared against the other. If new version proves superior—more clicks, longer visits, more purchases—it will displace the original. [Note: Fantastically written, a must-read]…Source: http://www.wired.com/business/2012/04/ff_abtesting/all/

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