« Making a straighter ruler | Blog Home | A linchpin hierarchy »

30%, the long tail and a future of serialized content

The 1960s and 70s were the golden age of magazines. Why?

• Lots of people wanted to read them
• The newsstand could only hold a few of them (barrier to entry permits some to win)
• The winners had no trouble selling ads because they had motivated readers, in quantity
• The cost of making one more edition of the magazine was relatively low

Enter tablets. To some, it feels like the dawn of a new golden age. People page through apps like Wired and gasp at the pretty pictures and cool features. Surely, we're going to recreate that moment.

Here's the problem, and here's how Apple is making it much worse:

The newsstand is infinite. That means that far more titles will have far fewer subscribers. There are more than 60,000 apps on the newsstand. Hard to be in the short head when the long tail is so long…

plus, the cost of each issue is far higher, because it costs a lot more to pay a videographer, a video editor, a programmer, etc. than it does to pay John Updike to write 4,000 words…

plus, advertisers are harder to come by, because the number of readers is always going to be lower than it was back then, and the ads are easier to skip.

Of course, the good news is that the publisher doesn't have to pay for paper, so the profit on each subscriber ought to be way higher. Except…

Except Apple has announced that they want to tax each subscription made via the iPad at 30%. Yes, it's a tax, because what it does is dramatically decrease the incremental revenue from each subscriber. An intelligent publisher only has two choices: raise the price (punishing the reader and further cutting down readership) or make it free and hope for mass (see my point above about the infinite newsstand). When you make it free, it's all about the ads, and if you don't reach tens or hundreds of thousands of subscribers, you'll fail.

In a rare glitch, John Gruber got Apple's decision about the 30% subscription task completely wrong. By his logic, Apple would have been just as good for its users if the tax was 60%.

For content to be fabulous, for tablets to be more than game platforms, folks like Apple need to do two things:

• Reward creators instead of taxing them.
• Create promotional channels so that curated great stuff (not merely things from big companies) has a chance to reach a mass audience.

The web has been a hotbed of siloed content, of deep dives for small audiences. The large scale stuff, though, has tended to be mostly about gossip and other quick reads that's cheap to produce. Tablets offer a new chance to create content worth paying for. Paving the way for that to happen is a smart move for anyone who cares about the audience and the devices.

Posted by Seth Godin on February 25, 2011 | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451b31569e2014e864f9de1970d

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference 30%, the long tail and a future of serialized content:

« Making a straighter ruler | Blog Home | A linchpin hierarchy »

 

Homeowners who used a real estate professional to sell their homes reported a 50 percent better closing rate than those who went it alone, according to a new consumer survey by HomeGain.

Fifty-nine percent of home owners that used a real estate professional to sell their home were successful vs. 39 percent of for-sale-by-owners, reflecting a 50 percent higher closing rate for those home sellers using a professional.Eighty-one percent of homeowners that used a professional to try and sell their homes said they would use a professional again for their real estate needs.

HomeGain found that 17 percent of potential sellers would try to sell their homes on their own, a significantly higher number than the 9 percent market share for FSBOs reported in the National Association of Realtors’ 2010 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. 

FSBO rates as measured by the NAR Profile over the years has fallen from 14 percent of sales in 2003 to 9 percent last year.  However, the HomeGain data may not represent a rise in actual FSBO transactions.  The NAR study measures actual transactions after they close, while HomeGain surveyed the intentions of homeowners who had not yet put their homes on the market.

In fact, HomeGain found that 24 percent of FSBO sellers eventually enlisted the aid of a real estate professional to help sell their homes.   Only 71 percent of FSBO sellers who managed to sell their homes on their own said they would try and sell their home on their own again.

“It is especially striking that homeowners fare significantly better in selling their homes using a real estate professional than selling on their own.” said Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain. “Due to that relative success, the level of satisfaction in the home selling process is also higher for home sellers utilizing the services of a REALTOR® than those who try to sell their homes on their own.”

• 

• 

• 

• 

• Share/Save

About Advertising EDGE Programs Reprints Terms of Use Disclaimer Privacy Notice Ethics Code Contact Us Site Map

©2011 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved.

When millions of foreclosures suddenly flooded the market at the onset of the housing crash, home owners knew little to nothing about holding onto their homes or how to recover if they got the boot.

Misinformation and fraud compounded the effects of slow regulatory action and lackadaisical response from the lending industry.

Uncharted waters were submerged in rumors, speculation, conjecture and ignorance.

Years later, foreclosure myths endure.

Freddie Mac, one of the nation’s largest home loan investors, initially charged with expanding opportunities for home ownership and now focused on the liquidity needs of the mortgage market, is also about myth busting.

To set the record straight on foreclosures, it offers “Top Foreclosure Myths” and the truth behind those false beliefs.

To wit:

• Myth: You should stop paying your mortgage so you can leverage assistance with your mortgage payments.

The approach, called a “strategic default,” can become a tactical trap.

It isn’t necessary to default on your mortgage payments in order to qualify for help.

If you are struggling to stay current on your mortgage, you may be eligible for a loan modification or other assistance program.

You signed a contract that binds you to making regular mortgage payments. If you don’t make your payments, you will be exposed to foreclosure, subsequent black marks on your credit report and years of financial recovery.

If you can financially afford to make your mortgage payments, even if you’ve been declined a mortgage modification , short sale or other work out, do so to maintain your credit standing.

If you need help, contact your lender, contact a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved counselor online or call the Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline at 888-995-HOPE (4673).

• Myth: After a foreclosure, you’ll never get another mortgage.

Well, sure. You blew it. Perhaps you borrowed more than you could afford or your ability to pay for what you thought you could afford went away. You may not qualify for a home for as long as seven years, but that’s not “never.”

Work to create a spending and savings plan that will rebuild your credit. Get approved counseling that will reveal your effort to recover.

• Myth: Workout options are over once you get a foreclosure notice.

Lenders would prefer that you keep your mortgage and continue to make payments because they lose money when they foreclose on you. Even if foreclosure proceedings have begun, it’s not too late to be considered for a workout or other alternative.

• Myth: You need to leave your home as soon as you’re notified that your property is in foreclosure.

A notice of foreclosure is the first step in the foreclosure process. There are procedural and legal guidelines and applicable state and federal laws that servicers and lenders must follow in every foreclosure. Foreclosures take months to complete.

• Myth: If you’re late on your monthly payments, you’ll lose your house.

You will if you stick your head in the sand. If you have a financial hardship and fall behind, it’s possible to keep your house and get back on track if you tell someone who is able to help. Contact your lender to discuss your options that include forbearance, loan modification, reinstatement, repayment plans, even a short sale.

• Myth: All the offers for help are probably all scams. Scam artists do often target homeowners who are struggling to meet their mortgage commitment or who are anxious to sell their home.

Deal with your lender first, rather than an outside party. If you do deal with an outside firm avoid those that ask for a fee in advance to work with your lender to modify, refinance, or reinstate your mortgage. Ignore guarantees from outside firms that claim they can stop a foreclosure or modify your loan.

Legitimate offers will have specific information identifying your current mortgage, including the loan number of your mortgage. Shy from offers that come from a company other than your current lender or an authorized agent of your lender.

• Myth: Give up if your lender is not responding to your inquiries.

Never give up. Lenders are deluged. It make take longer than you’d like to reach your lender, which is why you should contact your lender at the first sign of trouble. The process of obtaining a loan modification or other foreclosure alternative may require diligence in the form of multiple calls and multiple submissions of documents between you and your lender. The process isn’t perfect, the procedures continue to change.

Qualifying and being approved for a mortgage are only part of the financial responsibility of buying a home. There’s also a host of closing costs that, as a buyer, you should expect. Affordability is a topic on the minds of today’s buyers, so researching each of the following costs, large and small, is important.

1. Down Payment. This amount ranges widely depending on the dollar price of your home, but many financial experts recommend a down payment be at least 20 percent of the total cost of the house.

2. Credit Report and Score: Before you even think about buying a home, you need to verify the accuracy of your credit report and score. You may access your credit report three times a year for free at annualcreditreport.com, but you generally must pay to view your credit score. This costs around $10 – $20.

3. Home inspection: It is imperative that you get a home inspection. Even newer homes may have hidden budget busters, such as termites, mold, or shoddy electrical work. Chances are your offer, unless you are buying “as is”, has a clause that allows you to back out of the deal if the home inspection comes back unfavorably. A home inspection takes a few hours, during which you should be present, and costs around $300 to $500.

4. Loan Origination and Points: You may have agreed to pay “points” in order to get a lower interest rate. Think of this as pre-paid interest. For each point purchased, the loan rate is typically reduced by 1/8%. An origination fee is what you must pay the lender to write and process your loan. This can be up to several thousand dollars.

5. Appraisal: An appraisal protects your lender from investing in a property that is over-priced. That means if the home appraises for $200,000, but the seller wants $225,000 … you will only be able to get financing for $200,000. An appraisal also helps you to know the real market value of the home you are interested in.

6. Private mortgage Insurance: According to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, “PMI is extra insurance that lenders require from most homebuyers who obtain loans that are more than 80 percent of their new home’s value. In other words, buyers with less than a 20 percent down payment are normally required to pay PMI.” PMI protects your lender if you default on a loan, something that weighs heavily on the minds of lenders in today’s economic climate.

7. Notary fees. Some states have a cap on the amount a notary may charge, while others don’t. But you should generally expect a fee less than $10.

The good news? Your lender and real estate agent will provide a “good-faith estimate” of your expected settlement costs. These are only a few of the many costs associated with closings. Planning ahead for these expenses is important, and it is another reason to examine whether or not you can truly afford to buy a home at this time.

If you go to the other side of the world and interact with people there, can you recognize the emotions they are feeling by looking at their facial expressions? Paul Ekman says the answer is yes. He has been studying emotions for many years and in different geographies and cultures. He has identified seven emotions that seem to be universal:

• Joy
• Sadness
• Anger
• Contempt
• Surprise
• Disgust
• Fear

What is an emotion? – Considering how important emotions are in our everyday life, there is not as much research on emotions as you might think. In order to study emotions it’s necessary to define them first. Scientists studying emotions contrast them with moods and attitudes:

Read More

Armonk NY Homes

Armonk Luxury Homes