Four Click Freedom

Is there anything other than Word or SMS or RSS？Yea Apple has Pages but still my point is that nothing on the Internet is anything more than a puffed out Word document with pictures and tables, still just a word document.  All that is on the phone is instant messages. All that is on the Internet are feeds and RSS.   And who wants to get between this? Everybody!  So can you actually tell me that when an advertiser makes an ad on the Internet that it will actually fit in with the conversation?  Is the ad on the right hand side of the page going to add to the graduate students thesis paper, are the ads sent in between text messages going to add to the party and the pizza they are ordering?  Probably not.  If ads want to go anywhere, they need to step back and find out the basis of computing for normal people.  Right now the hot trend is to get people to incorporate themselves into the ads by sending them on to friends.  Did you know that only 2% of all ads on the Internet are clicked on only and at least once?  So all this hype about people interacting with the ads on social media is only about, well I can’t even do the numbers, but a very small amount.  And they say this is where the future is going.

If you want to find the future, you have to get back to the basics.  Think of it in terms of Word and SMS.  Would I literally write my grandmother a letter saying I used something?  Or would I literally write my friend that I love to rent movies from a certain place just because, and not because it is the closest?  The big big dollars are being mounted on less and less supports.  And yes there is strangely absurd correct placement of advertisements on the web these days with re-targeting technology and

Actually it was a pretty productive meeting.  Starting out he liked the Clickboard.  He thinks its a great new media and has more applications than just coupons.  I see his point and we both agreed that it could be copied by anyone.  That was not a qualm.

We also talked about the difference between SMS and MMS.  It seemed common that this idea worked better through MMS and that most phones are capable of receiving MMS.  We did argue about the potential plagiarism rights an SMS creates.  He was saying that people can simply send themselves coupons, thereby creating cause for theft.  He was saying that waiters can simply send themselves a bunch of messages, or even in the first place not tell that the SMS was used and pocket the money.  This led me to the validation step.  Currently his process does not have a validation system.  I suggested that once the coupons have been sent to the user, that they would be required to validate the coupon in front of the waitstaff thereby expiring the coupon from use by that user.  The total validated coupons received for that client could then by submitted at the end of the week or month for their records, eliminating theft from waitstaff.  But he saw that people would not pay the extra money to send one more message to validate their coupons.  This led me back to the fact that I wanted to change his model to be free to the user.

Regardless each message is locked in to costing RMB1 under his model so this would not work or change.  However he said I could have my own number to use for RMB3000 a month.  So the Clickboards on his site or others around the Internet could be accessed through my number.

He kept explaining that the mobile coupon market is still very young and has not taken off.  He has seen little success with this type of business model.  Something that can not support itself.  And charging the client for giving away the coupons is very difficult.  Alvin sees the light that the Clickboard has but not necessarily through coupons and believes charging clients RMB12 per acquisition of coupon will be difficult.  Getting any money out of them would be hard.  So he sees value in the Clickboard but not for this.  This is a conundrum.

He followed up his argument with a colleague he helped try to take print coupons to the mobile media for use.  He said there was little success.  However I am going to follow up with this person Andrew Collins of MailMan.com to see if he sees the light in what I’m doing.

We concluded by saying that I need to do my own stand alone website that would act as the hub for Clickboards and that I could on a trial basis use his website as an extended portal.  And again use my free number in which these discounts would be accesses through MMS.   This he said he would do on the basis of a friend.  However to build this standalone website with full Java applications could take three months with ten people working solely on the project for a grand total of RMB300,000.  This is currently what his mGuanxi.com website is worth.

I then asked what he is doing with mGuanxi.com and he said it was simple the social tool of his service.  I began to understand that not too many people are that involved with this site as their choice for a social media.  We then went into behavioral advertising and that kind of tailspinned as he did not see people interacting heavily enough with the site to truly allow it to work for the clients.  I see that and asked why there was no advertising on the site now and he said he did not want it to be overbearing to the user at this point but that is in the plans.

Currently Alvin is working more in Search Mobile Advertising which I agree is where most people see the potential for the mobile devices in the future.  He is working with some big names and I think that is where his aim is.  Maybe he will apply the Clickboard to this service in the future.  He liked the idea and I’m sure he is thinking of ways to utilize it.  One day I hope I still get credit.

He left me feeling encouraged that the idea has potential but told me the more you do the more pitfalls you will discover.  He is reluctant to change, that is one of the number one pitfalls that occurred during this meeting.  However if I was to start he would go with the flow and help me out.  So as he said keep talking to investors and get their advice.  So keep talking about it!

I’m going after mGuanxi.com now.  Check it out.  I’m sending my resume and proposal tomorrow.  It is the exact same proposal I gave to Richard of Jin Magazine that he rejected.  Now the two want to partner which could squeeze me out.  But I am still after a job with them rather than here.  I am being treated too much like my job is a common commodity here in Tianjin which it is not.  I hope to approach mGuanxi with the fact that I was able to make this magazine recognizable throughout the community and I want to do the same for them.  This is my email to them tomorrow:

Dear Ken and Jessy,

You may not know me directly but I believe you have been talking with Don Stewart and now my boss Richard Zhang is in Shanghai soon to have a meeting with you.  I want to put forth a proposal for you.  I am your man in Tianjin.  I have been the Chief Editor of Jin Magazine for over a year now.  I am responsible for putting a ‘famous face’ of Tianjin on the cover every month as well as find the multiple stories and contacts for these stories together for the writers each month.  If you like I could send you a copy of the magazine from before I started and our most recent so you can see the drastic improvement that has happened under my supervision.  I have been able to carry out every task that Richard has put forth and I have added elements to the magazine that generates response from the readers.

I wish to do the same for you.  I am extremely interested in your mGuanxi and believe I am one of the most beneficial people you will need to make this web and mobile service successful in Tianjin.  I’m excited about the possibilities and wish to give you a business plan that could incorporate advertising into your site.  This would take your site from being a social and savings  media to a social savings networking utility.  I proposed this to Richard and he could not see the finer details.  But RMB100,000 at base is something I think worth pursuing.  I’ve attached my business plan for Clickboards geared toward facilitating mGuanxi, as well as my resume for your revue.  Regardless of your wish to accept my plan I would still like to take the same opportunity I did with the magazine and really add some real impact to your up and coming web portal and mobile media which is emerging in Tianjin.  I have already begun to invite my friends to join my contacts on mGuanxi.  

I know all the clients from Jin Magazine and deal with them directly.  I am in charge of getting coupons and discounts to many places.  My frame of mind around advertising is the financial aspect as I got my MBA here in Tianjin.  I look forward to helping you and quite possibly introducing Clickboards to your web portal and mobile media. 

For the best of your consideration,

AC Grindl

Chief Editor 

Jin Magazine

I have this clause in my JIN MAGAZINE contract, which may be a need to worry:

2. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
The employee shall not use any information, technology or any other confidential information concerning the company’s business other than for the performances of his or her duties as an employee of the company, or divulge such information or technology to any person who is not an employee of the company or in the breach of any instruction given to the employee by the company in relation to such information and technology disclosed to them by any person who has business relation with the company.  The foreseeing provisions with regard to confidentially shall still remain in effect after the termination of this contract.  All inventions, improvements, modifications, discoveries, and ideas which are made by the employee using confidential information and facilities provided by the company at any time during or after the normal hours of work at the company, and which relate in any way to the business or operation of company, shall be the exclusive property or the company, and the same are entitle to pretection under the trademark law, the patent law or any other law of the people’s republic of china relatin to intellectual property.  The employee shall assign the company all rights to such inventions, improvements, modifications, discoveries, and ideas.  The compensation for such employee will be considered by the board of directors.

I believe I’m ok becuase this may only pertain to: using confidential information and facilities provided by the company, which I did not do.