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The narrative of business is not singularly made of an individual story or a moment in time. Looking at a single plot point might be interesting, but it’s an incomplete picture of what is actually happening. It’s only when we look at the interaction of all plot points and market forces that we are able to see the bigger picture and understand where the narrative is heading. These are the pieces of an evolving story.
In case you haven't heard, James Bond is 50, and never been better. Skyfall, Bond's 23rd visit to the silver screen, marks the franchise's biggest opening ever, bringing in a cool $87.8 million in its first three days. The film has also been an international blockbuster that will easily surpass the $600 million worldwide mark, a first for the franchise.
Skyfall has all the elements we've come to expect and love from Bond: a sweeping theme, stunning Bond girls, exotic locales, and explosive action. The film also offers insight into just how the franchise has remained relevant and exciting for half of a century.
GIF was named Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionary. It's taken 25 years to earn this recognition. “Like so many other relics of the 80s, it has never been trendier,” wrote lexicographer Katherine Martin in a blog post conveying the news. “GIF celebrated a lexical milestone in 2012, gaining traction as a verb, not just a noun. The GIF has evolved from a medium for pop-cultural memes into a tool with serious applications including research and journalism, and its lexical identity is transforming to keep pace.”
Nate Silver correctly predicted the winner of all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the 2012 Presidential election. Between his electoral and popular vote predictions, he was by some measures the most successful major forecaster of the presidential election.
Disney buying Lucasfilm for $4 billion is really big news. Donating all of that money to education is spectacular news.
iPad Mini went on sale with much less anticipation than is typically seen at an Apple product launch. This, the loss of Steve Jobs and several other factors are causing investors to wonder what the future looks like for Apple.
Mokiki Does the Sloppy Swish is a video from SNL that has gone viral. Will it be the next Gangnam Style?
Increasingly today big data has become a big business, only available for big business. But what about big data for small business?
"Big Data" tends to mean different things to different people. Big data to the government can mean thousands of disconnected databases in thousands of different locations. But for small business it can look like data from web traffic, email campaigns, social media properties, point-of-sale, phone calls, and mail-in orders. That data alone could be located in 3 or 4 different databases of information.
Big Data for small business involves connecting the dots between your disparate information systems. Web traffic can be attributed to that customer number in your in-house database, which in turn can be attributed to an email address in your email platform.
But why worry about this? Well, it's about identifying your opportunity. Sometimes it's nice to know those web purchases were actually a result of a catalog or direct mail piece. Or to be able to send review requests by email to someone who purchased something by phone 20 days ago.
At Twist we have a staff with long experience integrating information systems to come up with a comprehensive Integrated Digital Marketing platform. These systems often include Magento, Mailchimp, Iseries, Createsend, Adwords, Analytics, Mail Order Manager, KISSMetrics, Joomla, Wordpress, and more. If you would like to put the power of big data to use for your business call Matt Plank at 314-863-3033 x208 or send him an email at mplank@twiststl.com.
Twist, a St. Louis marketing agency, announced first-quarter revenue of $400,000, up 60 percent from $250,000 in the first quarter of 2012.…
