Paul Wallbank – Brilliant Communications

Author: Paul Wallbank

  • Reaching Peak Tablet as iPad and android sales begin to plateau

    Reaching Peak Tablet as iPad and android sales begin to plateau

    Today Australian electronics retailer JB Hi Fi released its annual results. They confirm what’s been becoming apparent over the last year that tablet computer sales seem to have peaked.

    A plateauing of tablet sales is bad news for retailers like JB whose stock price fell by 8% on the news.

    It’s not surprising that tablet computer sales have peaked as the growth had been spectacular and, unlike PCs of a decade ago, there isn’t an obvious five year replacement cycle.

    That the old PC industry business model doesn’t apply to tablets is why Apple is focusing on other revenue sources like the App Store and internet of things plays such as HomeKit and HealthKit.

    Once again, the industry leaders are finding they have to pivot to stay up with a rapidly evolving market.

    The other notable point from JB’s management was that Australian consumer confidence is tanking, which might indicate the economy is entering its first recession in twenty years.

    If it is true that the Aussie economy is entering a recession, then it might be time for the adults to take charge in a very immature government. Some of the Liberal Party’s pampered princelings may have to start earning their salaries soon.

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  • Facebook incurs the users’ revenge

    Facebook incurs the users’ revenge

    On the web, no-one likes being forced into downloading a new app. That could be the main lesson from Facebook’s splitting messenger into a new app.

    Users aren’t happy and it shows in the product reviews as Mashable reports. Across the world the new Facebook Messenger app is getting the thumbs down in App Store reviews.

    Which goes to show how the public now have the power to strike back when they believe a corporation isn’t behaving fairly.

    The ball’s now in Facebook’s court to win back trust with an app that delights users. If they don’t, there’s always another disrupter on the horizon.

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  • Splitting apps

    Splitting apps

    Much to the irritation of many users both Foursquare and Facebook have split their apps into separate tools.

    Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, one of the investors in Foursquare, explains the reason for this are that different patterns meant the service had to cater for privacy models which threatened to confuse users.

    The risk for both Facebook and Foursquare is that irritated users might give up on the service, it’s a tough balancing act.

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  • Reinventing management communications

    Reinventing management communications

    This blog has been particularly interested in how social media tools  are changing management.

    Last year we had an interview with Yammer’s founder Pisoni on how fast communications are breaking down business silos.

    Matt Honan has an interview in Wired magazine with the founder of Slack, Stewart Butterfield.

    Slack is a corporate communications tool and Butterfield sees the company as being  the next Microsoft.

    While that’s a big call, Butterfield shouldn’t be taken lightly having founded Flickr and following the company into its being absorbed by Yahoo!. Butterfield’s resignation letter after several years is an entertaining read.

    Whether Slack becomes the next Microsoft or not, the changes to business communications with services like this are profound.

    Dealing with the new ways of communicating within a business is going to be one of the greatest challenges to company managers over the next decade.

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  • Everyone is a critic on the internet

    Everyone is a critic on the internet

    “Everyone’s a critic” is the old saying. Today this is truer than ever as anyone can post a review online.

    One of the notable things about business in the internet age is how sensitive people are to criticism.

    A good example of this is a story going around the web this week of a Dallas chef, John Tesar, who had a magnificent breakdown over a review of his restaurant in the local newspaper.

    This set off a chain of claims and counterclaims including some truly bizarre pieces on various blogs about ‘chefs winning the war against critics.’

    Probably the strangest thing with this whole debacle is the review by Leslie Brenner in the Dallas Morning News is actually quite constructive and certainly no AA Gill style demolition of the establishment.

    This silly little spat illustrates how business people, not just temperamental chefs, have glass jaws. Another story going around the web this week is of Union Street Guest House in Hudson, New York, that fines guests for bad reviews

    Tesar’s response is pretty typical of many business owners – attack the critic instead of addressing the problems. Given Tesar threw the Twenty Rules of Social Media – which apply to businesses as much as social media – out the window, he was lucky not to find his reaction backfiring horribly on him.

    What business owners have to understand is that you will get criticism, unfortunately most of it you will never know about as unhappy customers tell their friends and relatives.

    If you get the opportunity to hear that criticism, then you have the opportunity to fix the problem.

    This is something business owners need to understand about review sites and social media; it’s an opportunity to get some honest feedback about how things are going.

    So start listening to what your customers are saying online and stop being so defensive.

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