Click Here for Fame

A lot of time has been spent on the topic of fame recently. Fame is the new currency of success. Tiger Woods' life has been turned into a shamble due to fame. The White House security infrastructure was overcome by one couple's obsessive urge for fame. Two parents faked the disappearance of their son - via a seemingly dangerous balloon ride - for the sake of obtaining fame.

For some, it seems that fame is now really worth more than dignity, kindness, honesty, or even sanity. Because fame has become more accessible and ubiquitous, it is no longer untouchable or unreachable. Ironically, because of cable, reality television, YouTube sensations, etc. fame is now just one (potentially absurd) step away - where some are willing to do anything to touch it, to reach it, to capture it.

This increased value of fame makes digital social-media even more valuable. Beyond allowing us to connect with friends and family, platforms such as Facebook and Twitter allow us to simulate fame. These channels give everyone the ability to innocently, easily, and quickly gain a following. Facebook puts a face to this simulation. Twitter puts a number to it. When combined, we all now have the tools required to feel famous.

Web TV is Confusing

I now regularly rely on the Internet to catch up on television shows and movies. Technology has finally caught up so as to provide a sufficiently pleasant experience - e.g. high resolution, quick download time, etc.

But the decentralized nature of the Internet is far from conducive to easily finding shows. There are the official websites such as NBC.com and ABC.com, the officially endorsed aggregators such as Hulu, the pay-for-subscription services such as Netflix, the user-generated hubs such as YouTube, and then there are the bootleg sites that offer lower quality but greater diversity. The complexity is further complicated by the fact that there seems to be very little logic behind which shows end up where and for how long.

Clearly there is a need for some central, interactive, and highly comprehensive Internet-based TV Guide - and there are a few in development/early-stage rollout. But what's even more important is the need for some form of collective, marketplace understanding - potentially driven by consumers - as to what, when, where, and which content is expected.

The Strategic Interception

The interception is one of the most painful events in the game of football. It often represents a change of momentum and instantaneously ends a potentially fruitful string of offensive plays. The interception can be the most important event of a game.

Interceptions usually occur when the quarterback reaches a little too far, attempts a little too much, or takes an unnecessary gamble. The quarterback throws the ball away to the opposing team and gives his opponents a potentially deadly opening.

The concept of the interception translates pretty well into the world of business. The strategic interception occurs when a company takes an extra step and unintentionally weakens its core capabilities - particularly when a successfully growing company over-reaches and stumbles by purchasing another firm. Two recent, technology-oriented examples come to mind:

• eBay's purchase of Skype. eBay purchased Skype, the company which enables Internet-based phone calls, in 2005. Because Skype's offering had very little to do with eBay's core auction service, the acquisition was a major reach for eBay. After sinking Billions into the purchase, development, integration, and promotion, eBay has failed to successfully incorporate Skype - recently selling off 65% of the company at a significant loss.
• Google's purchase of YouTube. By purchasing YouTube, Google entered a new market within the Internet universe. This move has been an intellectual and financial drain to Google and has weakened both Google's search dominance and YouTube's online video dominance - giving Bing the opportunity to slowly gain momentum and Vimeo to gain a foothold with its video offerings.

Although both Ebay and Google are large enough to fully recover from their missteps, their stumbles have given their opponents an opportunity to gain traction and score a few points. It's clear that the strategic interception can be equally as painful in the world of business as it is in football and that even the slightest loss of focus can lead to change of momentum.