Independent Thinking Blog

Second Look: Netflix, Social Media Side Trips, Mobile Trends

A double-decker second look covers two weeks of top posts, surveys, and other news that I have read and/or tweeted about that you may not have seen. As the name implies, I think they deserve a second look:

1. Netflix, Innovation, and ROI: The second place team in the Netflix $1 million contest lost the money, but their search for a better predictive model yielded huge insights. Great article looks at why companies spent millions on the Netflix contest and the innovation payoff.

2. Social Media Side Trips: Paul Chaney, author of The Digital Handshake, talks with Toby Bloomberg about social media. A sample: If social media is a road trip, then “the ‘side trips’ have to do with the people we meet and the relationships we forge along the way.”

3. Business Loans, Personal Collateral: Should you use personal assets as collateral for a business loan? While it might be unavoidable, you need to negotiate carefully, borrow only what’s essential, and recognize the risks. Open Forum article looks at how to manage those risks. Shout out to Gini Dietrich for alerting me to this one.

4. Mobile trends: Rather than another post about apps and geo-location, the Economist takes an in-depth look at how mobile technology is changing the rules in the developing world. Key trends: availability, Chinese telecom companies, and the rise of mobile services.

5. Negotiating Tips: Three keys to good negotiations–empathy, win-win, and it’s not about contracts–by Palo Alto software founder Tim Berry.

Photo by Thomas Quine (Flickr).

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