An Inconvenient Truth and real

This morning while I shower I've been listening to the radio program from Carlos Herrera on Onda Cero and I really feel I have come to the floor ... it may be uncomfortable. Uncomfortable with this society, but also and above all in first person about myself.

Are 8:30 a.m. and I have convened several meetings today in my office by email and phone with my lawyers and people in my team, I think it is not justified in certain things remain motionless. I am well, all of a sudden revolution and put me to work on an idea to me round the head with those around me.

Commented the call from a woman who has left me confused first and then really sad.
We talk a lot about the crisis and many times especially from a very wealthy and from this sector of New Technologies, we do not realize that the crisis, economic problems and so on. are not to fall EBITDA, or that the advertising% occupancy is less, or that it has fewer subscribers, or that investing in entrepreneurs and / or companies rewind, or even falls in the dollar or the CPM, this is a shit, the real crisis is something else and it's real and direct way to other people's lives, and frankly this morning I have embarrassed myself and what I'm doing little to help people live as if this real crisis in my own country, the crisis of truth, not that I have been concerned in the first person.

The case is Carlos Herrera commented that as a lady called yesterday on the radio and explained what it is for the crisis. He has several children and one of them has a total disability, we have operated over 30 times and if that was no longer in itself a drama, the drama of truth is that she and her other children more or less to "celebrate" the days of stay in hospital because they can eat food regularly distributed among all the sick child, or as he commented as they managed to mix with water and milk to their children so that they lasted longer, or bought as scrap meat, which sold to feed the dogs in rural areas so as to mix it with a little rice and eat each day.

The announcer commented on the case even impressed by the testimony, the call had been yesterday, and immediately commented as shopkeepers, fruit and so on. had called the radio and no one asked anything and had secured food from the family during the coming years, pledging to send everything they need every week for food.

I listen to all this did not give credit and I felt a lot of confusion, first because I did not really fit on the head that this could happen in Spain in the twenty-first century, and second because I have always taken the lead we need to do things, everyone can (and should) put a little bit of a sustained and steady. To my shame many years thinking that and not doing anything ... when it is clear that my economic situation would allow me to do some things that could at least help improve the lives of some people like this lady who has called the radio.

In these years of crazy growth in Spain rather endian we have finished our personal ego and as a country. One is placed under the 4 Torres de la Castellana look up those hundreds of meters and thought as the country has progressed, the eighth of the world GDP by what abroad is called "the Spanish economic miracle." We are well rejoice in it. In rural areas are going to ride, nobody is going to rural areas and look down, just like nois look up, and if one day hear such testimony in person, you are like me, obnoxious, inconsistent withthe conception that you have in these times of your country and, ultimately outsiders to see.

I called my lawyers, I called one of my main collaborators and I will see how we can all articulate a vehicle of social partnership, which could at least try to help people in need and to draw on a regular basis and receive funds my business to do so. Servent Diego years ago, coordinator of Leisure Networks set up a solidarity project called "solidarity" and I remember those years have closely followed the things they did. I have no doubt, and I learned things that made watching even with few resources are can do things.

Hence, publicly, is my commitment. As far as we have clearer shape in a couple of days, I will be able to explain the way that we see more viable to do so. I love you, I read that you can bring your ideas, your opinion or you can work with the initiative of here exit.

A.

Tags: servent, Internet, solidarity

Culture and Technology: only brave

As a concept culture and the internet chirrían even a little.

I am sure that new technology will revolutionize the coming years in the cultural movements, especially art, music and literary world.

But that was not new and already thinking 5 or 10 years ago, the problem is that it does not arrive, there are hardly any cultural initiatives related to culture on the Internet in general; symbolic in Spain and almost nonexistent in Latin America. It is sad but that is the case.

Investors, projects and the "attack on niche markets" as fashion and in order of importance in the economic, are to blame for delaying go cultural projects that could be very interesting and even more dynamic cultural movements, but by day Today at the corporate level would not be cost-effective nor feasible in a country like Spain, where the cultural consumption is low. We are in a country where you hear lots of music (which rarely purchase), in which the rate of book sales is low, and that despite having 2 of the major art museums in the world (Museum Prado, and in contemporary art and avant-garde MNCARS) if the visit is usually an "almost" the only Spanish there.

One such project is the merit of Angel Maria Herrera, with whom I ate a few days ago at Club 31 in Madrid (indeed, the very traditional restaurant that has earned the 5 cucharetes that have ). Bubok, the draft Angel Maria, was born as an alternative editorial publishing and transplanting emulating the model of Lulu to the Spanish market.

First is a romantic and above all ambitious long-term, and secondly offers unexplored possibilities for the future, not only for publishing the author, but especially for the reprinting and editing works out of hundreds of publishers who do not There are ways to get by the high cost of printing and distribution in series. All of that will come and Angel Maria would have the merit of having taken over an area of privilege and of having bet on the literary world on the Internet where one's own editorial neither had done so yet, something that not many we would have dared.

The entrepreneur of cultural projects in Spain, especially if you get funding and carrying out, but a dreamer brave, or crazy, or a friqui. I have no doubt that Angel Maria is neither crazy nor a friqui.

I met him personally more than a year ago, I remember we ate on the occasion of the book he published "15 years of the Internet in Spain" next to Jorge Villabona in the editorial Owl Group, wanted to talk with me and hear my story and had the detail of course 1 devote extensive chapter of the book to count my wanderings along the major characters of the new technologies in Spain as Bernardo Hernandez, Luis Abril, Jesus Encinas, Carlos Blanco, Emilio Marquez, Ismael El-Qudsi, Jesus Monleón, Sixto Arias, Javier Martin and Rodolfo Carpintier, among others. I've always seemed like a very sensible person and has a professional staff and very curious, he sees a person who has concerns and has done many different things in life and with a clear vocation and by the cultural background. Adding to all this entrepreneurial spirit and capacity of conviction who has had to be surrounded by bright people in an advisory council and get to convince investors of the size of Sequoia, Europa Press, El Grupo Intercom, Andreu Teixedor and Caja Navarra.

I wish you the truth it goes well the adventure of Bubok, that in different markets, has similarities and reminds me in some things in our draft Yes.fm and I would love to, because we talk about music and literature, literary and music industry, someone of significance to a project seriously and be encouraged with the leg of another great culture and one of my great passions, art.

If that project comes to an end, to me that I would not call what I want to lose and I would love to participate.

Tags: Angel Maria Herrera, Art, Bernardo Hernandez, bubok, Carlos Blanco, culture, Emilio Marquez, Ismael al-Qudsi, Javier Martin, Encinar Jesus, Jesus Monleón, Jorge Villabona, books, literature, Luis Abril, music, Rodolfo Carpintier, Sixto arias, Yes.fm

The real value of a click

The click is the king of advertising since the advent of systems like Adsense contextual advertising. However, in graphic advertising has a very different life, we are tired of seeing campaigns brading graphically and very effective visual click with ratios of less than 1%-0.x.

Advertisers and agencies over the years have gone to seek encouragement and the click of a variety of ways, but there are branding campaigns that should not and can not be measured by the ratio of click thru.
Many carriers, including mine, at any given time in recent years have chosen to avoid or stop CPC campaigns except Adsense.

The reason is obvious, Adsense is contextual advertising, it works and is well segmented. The content is relevant in most cases, and the ratio of click brings the user who is interested in CLICK usually "see behind" the ad. The ratios are positive for advertiser support.
The abuse of graphical advertising on the basis of CPC years ago I did not authorize the sale in our media campaigns CPC, I prefer if there is not even advertising autopromos launch of our websites and services. The reason is the abuse of advertisers (sometimes in convenience with agencies) to deliberately make campaigns brading of which we all know that there will be no click and launch even millions of impressions on your sites at prices of laughter. Over the past 10 years has been notorious cases of banks (especially at the birth of the Internet banking) and I remember a particularly painful for my Yahoo! Music a couple of years ago, in which an August vacation that was launched a brazen campaign brading camouflaged CPC me and millions of prints colaron 8-9 that seemed to say "look at me, but I do not click! "A CPC with what I think they should not bill for it or 200 Euros, so the" colaron "dozens of media. That summer, he and at least 3-4 years, we ban advertising campaigns graphical CPC.

But what a click is worth? That is tremendously variable. I imagine that if you sell cars with a high profit margin, the click of a user interested in that vehicle is high. By that logic very niche areas or large business sectors (tourism, economy, engine) per click prices are high. This is an example of today, nearly 5 Euros for a click on "hotels" and the commission discounting Sedó. Ie click on that should have been paid 6-8 Euros (of commissions Adsense, Sedo) before coming to us. On the opposite side of the clicks you can find everything from token amounts as 0.01 as thematic and Ip.

But for me the most useful to observe the actual clicks is to be able to study, analyze and measure the temperature of niches and segments as competition, price and quantity of advertisers.

Tags: Adsense, branding, clicks, CPC, niches, parking domains, Sedo

10 links in the week (Oct. 26)

- Reports from Silicon Valley (For Didac Lee)

- Adapt or die (by Carlos Blanco)

- Dinner Yiffers (by Axel Serena)

- Incredible Opportunities (by Kangaroo Rico)

- The end of blogs in the era of Social Networks (for Error 500)

- 10 reasons why it fails, a startup (for Failbeta)

- Do we have a plan in Spain? If the Spanish officials (for GurúsBlog)

- Shares of clicks on Google (by Ismael El-Qudsi)

- Notice of complaint (by Jordi Bufí)

- The crisis that will come in January (for life of a consultant)

Tags: axel serene, Kangaroo Rico, Carlos Blanco, Didac Lee, Failbeta, GurúsBlog, Ismael el-Qusdi, Jordi Bufí, links, Life of a Consultant

Creative examples: Adidas

Some of the ads from Adidas Australia

Tags: Adidas, creativity, creative

The week in the network of blogs Entertainment Networks (Oct. 25)

Olive oil vs. Corn

Images Guinness

How to post images in a Word Press from an Iphone

The 10 most greasy foods for high cholesterol

Madrid and nightlife

Giselle Bundchen posa semi naked against deforestation

Enrique Bunbury number 1 of blockbusters

Analyze your heart rate with the Iphone 3G

Break in hostilities come to dinner with me

The art of being creative in advertising.

Tags: Blogs, links, links, links week

The realism of Muñoz Vera

Today is one of those days that I do not have a lot of wins to speak of technology, neither business nor the internet, in fact I think I took the morning a little relaxed and I'm in the office quietly reading a book. Come and field and beach Raro ... I be so lazy, but occasionally necessary. Today I am particularly well

Wore in the mood to talk about Guillermo Munoz Vera quite a while and I think so relaxed this morning (finally) it's time to do so.

Guillermo in a Chilean painter, who lives in Spain, specifically on the outskirts of Madrid in Chinchón. It is one of the great painters of our time realistically, with a very refined and similar to that of Claudio Bravo, which is comparable inevitable.

Realism is not fashionable, I love it, you are going to make a will at times against the tide. Some of the boxes Muñoz Vera relax me especially. I do not even carry his own and work for several years saying that "this year I buy something," but I have not even found the box I want it. Only that would be a box lot of interpretation of light.

Guillermo founded Arauco (Art and Contemporary Authors) years ago in front of his house in Chinchón, ARACUO Foundation is an academy of artists and a wonderful project that I just put a snag, many of the artists who come from there, working with a highly refined technique, but in the compositions and ideas seem to be all Muñoz Vera.

Some years ago I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with William at his home. The dealer who was his Bonelo Carmen, I knew that I wanted to meet him and took me to see him. His house (spectacular, with some impressive ancient caves below) and I could see him work. At that time preparing an exhibition at the Gallery Ansorena and had just returned from a trip to the glaciers in Chile.

I was surprised a lot of their age and their commitment to digital technology, as well as how they work, where you have to make those digital photos with photoshop images up and then works on them and paint using them as a model.

I leave with you here some pictures of William at you like you recommend given a tour of the Virtual Gallery Artelibre to see the rest of his work:

Tags: Art, muñoz vera, painting, Realism

The CD is dead. Live the digital music!

I have always been passionate about music. In fact the only 2 times that I have worked in paid employment, though very young, has been linked in this sector.

For 17 years, attracted by the music world record and I went to the assistance of DJ's in what was then a classic Top 40 on 97.2 FM Radio Spain, it was the epoch of the family Fontán as owner of the medium, and FM was directed by Raul Marchant and Gregory Ramon and so I started working in radio broadcaster in music for many years then combined with another issue closely related to the music; the direction of Public Relations in the evenings of some nightclubs in Madrid as Joy Eslava, La Riviera or the recently disappeared Empire (Yes, we all have a past ).

Let it was an era in which it went pretty well and work was fun. I met dozens of artists, engaged in a great friendship with one of them and even some thrash unspeakable youth, many anecdotes and lots of fun, in conclusion, what was a game.

In those years there were only a great alternative to radio formula Music generalist at 40 Main, and we were with the Top40. The group Prisa virtually controlled the music business and us with few means at that time they did harm in Madrid. It was the era of good speakers from 97.2 FM to another generation older than mine as Luis Vaquero, Julio Manuel Domingo, Rosa Quintana, Jaime Moreno, Monica Chaparro and many others, I remember that I was the youngest of the group and no one can say no I learned some quick and took advantage of my opportunities . In 1998, radio was more a hobby than a job, is something that hooks you, I always liked me can communicate and have a direct relationship with the music. Finally, and for me it was something traumatic, I decided to leave him on the 2000, perhaps a little earlier, unable to devote the 4 Horit the day I called and reconcile with my Internet companies.

That is a parenthesis that is closed in 2007 with my joining the team Yes.fm, is closed circle my staff from another perspective, which the junta music, radio, communication, internet and technology that have been elements that always have accompanied me.

The age of 90 lived very intensely in the music world, was a second youth from what had been a creative level 80 in Spain, which unfortunately I missed (I was born in 73). From that perspective I have been watching developments in the sector since the barrier: the glorious 80, the happy 90 and the debacle of 2000 onwards.

In the 90s there were many proposals, new groups, tens of stamps in Spain that have been disappearing for one or the other reasons: Sapphire, Dro, Fonomusic, Hispavox, Twins, Salamandra ... stamps that have emerged in the 80s and 90s artists like Trap, The Doors, modesty, Los Secretos, Mecano .... Epoch-making creative and today there are not that ended up being bought and added to the catalog and a Major (Emi, Sony-BMG, Warner and Universal).

Not many years after the advent of the internet appeared confused at the world record. The chaos, unable to comprehend, even many executives are so large Internet companies-whether it was an ally or an enemy. The business of music as conceived disappeared, I have a sense of the archaic model of distribution, promotion, marketing and stock, and even calls into question the very medium that even then he had not had a very long life; the CD.

The CD is one of the keys, we live in the disappearance of vinyl (on the radio I started working only with vinyl, CDs and later ended up with digital music) industry as we had no problems in assimilating and promote the first change . With the CD has not suffered the same thing, they fear the intangible, are afraid to support 100% digital and are afraid of piracy.

There are some myths about the CD, is the main idea about the price artificially inflated by the record companies. Curiously, although it is a widespread perception is not accurate. Kiko Fuentes, former country manager for Warner Music, and currently Director of Content Yes.fm he explains that in 10 years in the cds have not gone up in price almost absorbing inflation, also has increased in parallel much of the content (packaging, bonus tracks, dvds) that was obtained for the same consideration, and that reminds me of the value chain of real incorporates a CD recording audio and video, royalties, copyrights (SGAE) , Manufacturing, logistics, including storage, transportation and obsolescence, costs of Marketing (very big) and outside the company. Come on, that the difference between the PVP (which also incorporates distributor's margin and VAT) and what it costs to copy a CDR at home is not a net margin for the record company as it looks / wants people to believe.

That is why we could say that the problem has not been inflating the price of the CD but cling to the hardware and while doing so less and less profitable for all of the above. Instead of an orderly migration to the new model have been driving like aristocrats ruined, full of arrogance but with holes in the socks.

It is true that P2P has the lace to the recording industry, but it is also true that the same industry, to combat piracy has committed absurd movements that have destroyed itself by creating a gulf-user industry, which is presented almost as irreconcilable enemies.

1) Movements defensive umbrella of stamps. Many companies are launched to buy tiny ones. "That there are fewer market, so you do not lose my share." Sale of losing always, the user, creativity and new artists to which no one gives an opportunity when sooner if there were proposals that had the opportunity to succeed.

2) The cowardice not to take risks. The risk of being anchored to a support traditional high-cost stockaje, creation, distribution and storage such as CD, a traditional posture and immobility. Best draw for the umpteenth time a "greatest hits" from an artist who gamble with a new proposal that is not sold and generates losses to the companies for the high cost of recording / marketing physics.

3) The high demand for some stars. Artists like Madonna, not only do not understand, but they do not care where the market is not the same. Large companies like Warner come to stop marching to their ships insignia, such as Madonna, as their financial claims down while away from the boat is sinking and are still being inasumibles up by the industry.

4) The DRM, possibly the most recent stupidity, the doors to try to field the user. The consumption of music should be combined with other proposals, with other prices and other alternatives. I think Luis Alonso-Lasheras, who heads popmadrid and the topic touches him closely because it works at the initiative of Telefonica PixBox we could expand a little on this subject.

5) The VAT. Absurdly in Spain VAT on a CD is not 16% to 4% should have to be a cultural product. At the end user pays the duck with that extra 12% disbursed by a CD.

6) The Persecution. The attempt to identify to sue users who share files over the Internet from Promusicae and is trying to get into the prison to which you must do your customers do not seem the most intelligent.

Kiko Fuentes possibly can in a more effective way that I extend all this information and give us his unique vision and more data. I think it will be especially useful for all of us his vision of the future of the music industry, of which I spoke at length on several occasions and that he would appreciate it could share with everyone.

And then, separate and apart from these sectoral issues, whether it is true that it is piracy. It is true that music has become a total free via P2P networks and software as Emule, Kazaa, LimeWire and in its day Napster and WinMX. The industry does not understand that the goal can not be closed but those networks adapt prices, structure and strategy in this new competitive situation in which even the P2P networks can become a channel for marketing and distribution.

I've bought a few discs in my life. First, because on the radio for many years kindly departments for the promotion of the record companies were sending me everything, and so reaches accumulate more than 5 or 6,000 on vinyl and CD discs. Just storage is a problem, and I do not remember when was the last time you put out a CD of the box ... Then later with the advent of the internet to us that we are going to deceive the 800-odd songs that I have not in my IPOD are precisely purchased on itunes. This is not to make glorification of piracy, it is more'm not anybody to give lessons in morality, something that is socially was there and I'm the one who has used it for years and had not many alternatives and if there were the obvious and pull down the path in between.

On piracy there is no doubt, the objective is to see that the industry has become the first harakiri and what remained was what led the free-total, I do not think it is fair to blame the ills of piracy only the music industry.

Suffice to mention that Promusicae ceased to publish data discs sold in the country because it was not good for the public sector that were, fell from 50,000 to 40,000 disk of gold, and 100,000 to 80,000 platinum disc. A few dates appeared a confidential report leaked to Internet sales, which was the highest selling a week in Spain, a country with 45,000,000 inhabitants, had sold "a whopping" 4,500 copies. Hallucinating. The conclusion: In India music is consumed (and lots!) But "not buying CDs or Tato."

• Of that filtration is also emerging as unfortunate things that some discs show some certifications much higher than that have actually sold. Ie to promote, and make the paripé to deliver some discs of gold or platinum, we took the hair:

or David Bisbal - Premonition: 5 platinum (292,903 copies)
or Amy Winehouse - Back to black: 2 platinum (124,587 copies)
or El Canto del Loco - People: 2 platinum (135,203 copies)
or Juanes - Life is a rodenticide: 2 platinum (139,894 copies)
or Tow - Allenrok: 2 platinum (107,273 copies)
or Monica Naranjo - tarantula: 1 platinum (53,662 copies)
or Merche - Cal and sand: 1 platinum (59,695 copies)
or Sergio Dalma - A good time: 1 platinum (58,259 copies)
or The Ear of Van Gogh - LOVG Big Hits: 1 gold disk (9,327 copies)

(Again, the disc are 40,000 copies of Gold, Platinum 80,000, that is, all this is a joke, a joke)

Other data curious to measure the health of the patient are the examples of Madonna or Cold Play, numbers 1 entry into direct sales in Spain that do not reach the 30,000 copies sold, or 2 months later.

Is entered in the list that produces Promusicae selling only 200 copies in one week in a country like Spain, is simply pathetic. You can gather with friends and get into the list of sales for throwing a few laughs.

I think now with new music on demmand under Fremiumm models (with the possibility of free subscription) as Last.fm, as Deezer, or the Yes.fm in Spain, little by little the consumer is going to be changing. First toward a free possibly more responsible consumption, and over time gradually a percentage of that consumption toward subscription models and it's going to be very important for the industry.

It is an evolution and it is a matter of time, as mentioned Chris Anderson, Editor of WiRed.com it's time to idealize the concept of Freemium, a mixture of Free and Premium. Perfumes given as samples or 0.1% of its product to sell 99.9%. In the Internet model is the opposite. Das free 99% of your product to collect as Premium 1%

Una de las personas que ha escrito sobre música on demmand en España y que posiblemente lo ha hecho con más criterio, porque además le gusta la música y es usuario de estos servicios desde hace tiempo es Antonio Ortiz en Error500 , me encantaría si nos pudiera añadir la opinión que le merecen estos servicios.

También creo que vamos a ver nuevos tipos de compañías discográficas; las e-discográficas, compañías virtuales , startups de internet especializadas en web2.0 y distribución de contenido digital, en las que la promoción digital de un artista en medios online usando herramientas de web 2.0 y medios como MySpace, Facebook, YouTube etc, pueda crear un consumo, promoción y venta de un producto que se graba como lo que es y como tal debería ser consumido; 100% digital.

Creo firmemente en la música, y hasta, aunque a veces me cuesta un poco, creo hasta en la inteligencia de los grandes directivos de una industria que probablemente empieza a torcer el volante y apuntar- a ciegas eso si- a nuevos modelos de negocio alejados de modelos arcaicos y sin sentido como el CD que ha cumplido su función y desaparecerá sin llegar a tener ni de lejos el encanto del vinilo, que aún hoy sigue vivo como objeto de colección.

El CD ha muerto, los nuevos consumos de música digital han llegado y están aquí para quedarse.

Tags: 2Fm , 97 , Antonio Ortiz , deezer , discografias , Dro , emule , error500 , Fonomusic , Gregorio Ramón , Hispavox , Jaime Moreno , Julio Manuel Domingo , kazaa , Kiko Fuentes , last.fm , Luis Vaquero , Mónica Chaparro , musica , pirateria , popmadrid , radio , Raúl Marchant , Rosa Quintana , Salamandra , top40 , Twins , Yes.fm , Zafiro

Yes.fm en Expansión y El Mundo

En la edición de este fin de semana de Expansión , y el domingo en el diario El Mundo , aparecía una cobertura a tres cuartos de página sobre el proyecto de Yes.fm y una pequeña entrevista al CEO de Yes, Christophe Cassand .

Podéis leerlo en estos pdfs:

El Mundo

Expansión

Tags: Christophe Cassand , el mundo , expansion , medios , musica , Yes.fm

La crisis como revulsivo muy positivo

Creo que todos sabemos ya que estamos ante un nuevo escenario económico-social. Eso es un avance, porque hace algunos meses, cuando algunos lo veíamos venir discutíamos primero sobre si había o no crisis y segundo sobre si afectaría o no a las empresas de tecnología.

Pues bien, ya no tenemos ninguno dudas de lo que tenemos encima, aunque nadie de nosotros sabe a ciencia cierta como evolucionará la situación.

Es el momento de descubrir quien está en pelotas , parafraseando  a Warren Buffet en una frase que desconocía y he leído vía Sixto Arias (a quien no conocía personalmente y la semana pasada en el First Tuesday Madrid me causó una gratísima impresión) y Carlos Blanco : “cuando baja la marea se ve quien está en pelotas “. Pues bien, la marea es posible que baje tanto que veamos quien está o no incluso con los zapatos puestos.

Yo, que no sé si por mi carácter conservador o porque me lo veía venir desde Diciembre, he sido muy negativo , y me preocupé mucho en los últimos meses por nuestra empresa más joven, la Red de Blogs de Ocio Networks.

Me preocupó especialmente esta sociedad por varios motivos, principalmente su juventud, la debilidad del mercado publicitario basado en CPM con los blogs y por el alto y deficitario coste operativo que manteníamos con el objetivo de crecer muy de prisa de tamaño por encima de crecer de forma económicamente sostenida.

Por ese motivo desde Diciembre 2007 empecé a concienciar a nuestro staff directivo con Diego, Mónica y Jaume a la cabeza de la que nos podría venir encima. A Diego y Mónica les insistí especialmente por su función de Coordinador de la Red y Redactora Jefe, y durante todos estos meses hemos estado recortando gastos, optimizando rendimientos y estructura, priorizando inversiones y desechando algunas previstas, parando gastos superfluos, creciendo en tráfico e ingresos a un ritmo sostenido y sobre todo equilibrando balances que eran demasiado negativos para el futuro . Sé que ellos dos, que ahora leerán estos pensamientos, lo hacían un poco sorprendidos ya regañadientes y no veían la situación global tan negra como yo les pintaba. Hoy, tengo la convicción personal de que si no hubiéramos tomado todas esas medidas desde hace 9 meses, posiblemente Ocio Networks no podría sobrevivir en el próximo año y no me cabe ninguna duda que ellos lo ven ahora mucho más claro que hace 9 meses.

En varios puntos de este trayecto la empresa ha necesitado financiación, y por ese punto conservador que tengo por virtud-defecto he ido cubriéndola personalmente con objeto de no depender de financiación bancaria ni dar aun entrada a nuevos socios manteniendo el 100% de la compañía. No sólo parece haber sido un acierto sino que hace la empresa hoy sostenible aunque yo a nivel personal tenga un pasivo por recuperar en los próximos años. Haber dependido de un banco podría haber sido en estos meses que vienen un punto crítico e irrecuperable.

En paralelo me interesé por el tema comercial y quise invertir y apoyar una pequeña estructura interna que nos permitiera no sólo depender de nuestra agencia, Addoor sino poder cerrar acuerdos de acciones especiales, patrocinios y partnership a largo plazo con empresas que tuvieran sinergias con nuestras publicaciones. Esta estrategia ha dado su fruto muy claramente y hemos firmado en Septiembre y Octubre 3 acuerdos anuales y 3 acuerdos semestrales que nos garantizan una fuente de ingresos añadida a nuestros habituales.

La otra pata necesaria era el crecimiento y optimización , con menos estructura, con menos presupuesto mensual, había que agudizar el ingenio para seguir creciendo en tráfico y por consiguiente en ingresos. Desde Enero lo hemos conseguido, siendo precisamente Septiembre nuestro mes de mayor crecimiento absoluto y porcentual.

El miedo y la crisis pueden tener un efecto negativo ; la aprensión y el pánico ya que el dinero es cobarde. Pero creo que t ambién puede tener un efecto tremendamente positivo que nosotros internamente hemos vivido . Mi miedo personal ha hecho que hayamos trabajado más que en otros periodos, tomado precauciones, agudizado el ingenio, hayamos sido más agresivos, más exigentes y hayamos podido desarrollar una red comercial. El miedo también puede ser un estímulo, sin el que posiblemente  hubiéramos afrontado mucho peor los tiempos que vienen. Podemos incluir el miedo a la crisis en este caso como un factor más de la pirámide de motivación personal aplicada a la empresa.

En números de Ocio Networks, todo esto se traduce en que desde Diciembre hemos crecido más de un 100% en audiencia de 1,3 a  2,73 millones de usuarios únicos, casi un 100% en páginas vistas de 4,5 a 8,18 millones/mes, más de un más de un 120% en ingresos publicitarios, y en patrocinios e ingresos atípicos hemos quintuplicado los ingresos que teníamos entonces.

En paralelo hemos bajado nuestros gastos y costes de explotación en un 12% desde Enero . El mes pasado fue el primer mes en el que Ocio Networks dió amplios beneficios y ya sabemos que con nuestro crecimiento, costo de explotación actual, controlando los gastos y con los acuerdos firmados en los próximos meses duplicaremos el beneficio de Septiembre de forma sostenida y consolidada.

Esperamos haber hecho los deberes y cuando baje la marea llevar todos el bañador puesto.

Sin el miedo a la crisis y al escenario que parecía venirse encima no hubiera sido posible; es el estímulo de la adversidad.

Tags: Blogs , Carlos Blanco , crisis , estimulos , miedo , motivacion , Ocio Networks , Redes de Blogs , sixto arias

La semana en 10 links (19 de Octubre)

A quién va usted a creer, a mí oa sus propios ojos? (por Loogic )

El que tenga un duro que lo guarde (por Carlos Blanco )

España tiene un horario que no le corresponde por su situación geográfica (por Una Hora menos )

Un ejemplo de Smartmoney (por Angel María )

Amazon España y el sector del comercio electrónico (por Error 500 )

Falsos profetas (por GurúsBlog )

La perfección de la nada (por Rodolfo Carpintier )

Más del 50% de la inversión publicitaria de las grandes agencias se reparte entre sus primeros anunciantes (por Puro Marketing )

Siempre los mismos (por Vida de un Consultor )

Los 13% de color rojo (por Marek Fodor )

Tags: Angel MAría , Carlos Blanco , Error 500 , Loogic , Marek Fodor , Puro Marketing , Rodolfo Carpintier , UNa hora Menos , Vida de un Consultor

La semana en la Red de Blogs de Ocio Networks (18 octubre)

Se termina el guión de la película de World of Warcraft

Efectos de las ETS’s en la embarazada

Receta de Arroz Verde

Paz Vega vuelve a la televisión

Gusanos en el Messenger

Plagas que afectan a los árboles en otoño

Mouse para jugadores de Pc

Renault desea hacerse con el control de Jeep

Facultad de Arquitectura de A Coruña ofrece un streeptease a sus alumnos

Como hablarle de sexo a tu hijo

Desperate Housewives - 5×04: promo, sneak peaks y spoilers

Tags: ecologismo , enlaces , guapasyfamosas , impresionante , links , messengermania , motorspain , nutricion , seriesblog , sexologia , todowow

El tamaño no importa (al menos en publicidad online)

Escoger una agencia de publicidad que se adecue a los perfiles de tus proyectos web es fundamental en este sector.

Una agencia es como una novia y como tal deberías escogerla y valorarla ya que podrías acabar casándote con ella . Ya, ya sé que alguien considerará sexista la comparación, pero es muy gráfica.

En primer lugar no todo es la fachada, a lo mejor deberías mirar un poco el interior. La gran agencia de megaoficinas, cotizando en bolsa y con 50 empleados y grandes números a lo mejor no es –o sí- la que necesitas.

En segundo lugar debes intentar conocerla bien , y lo más importante; que te conozca muy bien a ti y que las personas claves que allí trabajan encargándose de soportes y comercial conozcan bien lo que haces, quien eres ya ser posible sean capaces de valorarlo como un activo destacado cuando lo contraponen incluso con otros de sus soportes dentro de la misma agencia.

Es también muy importante la disponibilidad , imagino que si no tienes tiempo para tu novia y ella para ti, duraríais lo justo. Aquí pasa lo mismo, la agencia debe tener tiempo para ti, y tu debes tener todo el tiempo que ella necesite para ti, si, incluso para pequeñas dudas y campañas sin demasiada importancia evitando si es posible, tener que delegar en terceras personas y llevar un trato personal, serio, profesional y directo.

Tenemos tantos soportes, y tanto tráfico en los portales del Grupo Publispain , como en Ocio Networks , que para nosotros es realmente importante elegir bien con quien trabajamos.

Trabajamos con casi todas las agencias del sector en España, y con muchas o casi todas las internacionales que se dedican a tráfico en idioma español. Raro es que por defecto no trabajemos o probemos nuevas iniciativas cuando se nos proponen, pero también cuando alguna agencia no trabaja con la seriedad esperada cortamos la relación de inmediato.

Cada agencia tiene un perfil , ya lo largo de los años hemos ido probando y trabajando con muchas de ellas. Cuando preparamos un proyecto nuevo, como por ejemplo el lanzamiento de Archivos.com o Madrid.net en los próximos meses es para mi muy importante definir quien debería ocuparse de la venta de ese portal. Por ejemplo en estos proyectos aun no hemos definido en manos de que responsable publicitario ponerlos.

Siempre he oído en el sector generalidades del tipo: “ Adlink es la mejor agencia, te va a vender mejor que nadie. Eso no es cierto, Adlink es una gran agencia para determinados soportes, y podría no serlo para otras. Exactamente igual que otras agencias. Aquí el tamaño no importa, lo que realmente importa es el trato personal, la atención, el trabajo, la importancia relativa que tengas en su estructura y la fuerza de ventas y comercial que puedan volcar en ti.

En el año 97- 98 empezamos trabajando en exclusiva con una pequeña agencia de publicidad web que se llamaba XMedia (qué tiempos!), estaba dirigida por un buen amigo, Jesús Aldana , ya los pocos meses se llamó Adlink y  años más tarde creció más y más aun hasta fusionarse con Double Click. Fueron muchos años juntos pero hubo un momento, tras la fusión Adlink-Double Click en el que dejó de ser “nuestra agencia” y, como en los noviazgos, hay momentos en los que dejarse, y yo lo hice.

En aquellos años para muchos dejar Adlink era una locura, no había muchas alternativas; es más casi ninguna. Han pasado ya muchos años y sobrevivimos. Hay momentos en los que hay que estar donde sientes que debes estar.

Ahora curiosamente el círculo se cierra, y puedo anunciar que con Yes.fm hemos cerrado un contrato de exclusiva publicitaria con Adlink, lo que me hace regresar en cierto modo al punto de partida de 1997 ha sido un camino largo y estoy seguro de que lo harán bien.

Pero no sólo está Adlink, sino que hay muchas otras compañías con las que trabajamos regularmente: Antevenio, Código de Barras, Correo Direct, Addoor, CPX, Hispano Click, Harren Media, Fox, CanalMail, Adprox … y decenas de otras más con las que hemos hecho pruebas y acuerdos puntuales.

En contraposición al ejemplo de una gran empresa como Adlink, dentro de este sector hay otras opciones más tranquilas y una de ellas es la que elegimos para gestionar la publicidad de la red de blogs de Ocio Networks, se llama Addoor .

Addoor es una agencia diferente, más pequeña y acostumbrada a hacer algo que a mi me gusta mucho y donde veo que está el futuro; hacer acciones especiales. Igual comercializan tu publicidad en formato habitual (banners, roba, megas…) que de pronto venden un widget que reproduce un concierto de Amaral de cientos de Mbs.

He leído hace poco que han firmado en exclusiva como soporte a Cálico Electrónico . Pienso de veras que es un gran acierto de escoger Addoor, porque muy posiblemente sea la agencia en España que mejor puede ver, investigar y trabajar de forma personalizada nuevas ideas y formas de publicidad como la inclusión en las aventuras animadas de marcas comerciales y publicidad dentro de las historietas.

Volvemos al principio, cada uno debe escoger su media naranja; al menos en esto el tamaño no importa.

Tags: Addoor , Adlink , adprox , agencias publicidad , Antevenio , Canal Mail , Código de Barras , Correo Direct , CPX , Fox , Harren Media , Hispano Click , Internet , publicidad

La Creatividad de Pepsi: Te lo cambio

3 grandes ejemplos creativos de Pepsi, esa compañía que parece no existir en España:

Cliente: Pepsi
Agencia: CLM BBDO
Director: Jean Francois Sacco,
Gilles Fichteberg
Foto: Vincent Dixon

BOCA  A BOCA

HASTA EL INFINITO Y MAS ALLÁ

BANANAS

Tags: creatividad , pepsi , publicidad , viral

Vida.com y la inversión en dominios

Más o menos desde Diciembre, y muy a mi pesar, ya que tenemos una cartera muy amplia veo que el mercado de los nombres de dominio se limpia, se relaja y se auto regula a medida que la situación económica global se enfría.

¿Quiere eso decir que los dominios van a dejar de ser una buena inversión? Yo creo que no, lo que si entiendo que quiere decir es que van a ser una inversión mucho más selectiva.

Tenemos 1.300 dominios aproximadamente, muchísimos de ellos muy seleccionados .com, .net, .info o .es de 1 única palabra en los que “tenemos que hacer algo”. Pero también a lo largo de los años hemos ido comprando dominios de 2 palabras genéricas sin ser .com, o de 1 sola palabra pero sin demasiado sentido real o dominios no Premium en otros TLDs como los .tv .mobi o .pro y cada vez pienso más que algunos de ellos no se han ganado la renovación.

Generalmente no vendemos dominios , son como una colección de cromos en la que de vez en cuando vendes alguno para invertir en otros. Este mes hemos subastado tras oferta 2 dominios, “ dominio.tv ” y “ anuncios.pro ”, este segundo actualmente en subasta en Sedo desde aquí tras una oferta de 1500US$.

¿Por qué hemos vendido estos dominios, si las ofertas no han sido tan buenas desde nuestro punto de vista económico?. La explicación es variada; “dominio.tv” tiene un costo de renovación de 500$ y no teníamos previsto hacer nada con el, es decir, nos ha costado en los últimos 2 años 1000$, no tenía sentido mantenerlo parado. “Anuncios.pro” tampoco teníamos nada previsto, especialmente porque aunque si me gustaría lanzar algo de clasificados próximamente (me encanta el sector)  para eso prefiero otro dominio que tenemos reservado “ anuncio.net ”

La inversión en dominios ha cambiado mucho en este 2008, los habituales de los backorders en España de los últimos años, pocas veces aparecen. No recuerdo cuando ha sido la última vez que me sonaba la alarma del móvil porque faltaban pocos minutos para el cierre de una subasta que me interesaba, pienso que los que de verdad hemos estado en el sector estos últimos años, ya tenemos demasiados y sólo buscamos oportunidades que mejoren cualitativamente nuestra cartera, y esas oportunidades han migrado a tratos privados o por mediación de plataformas de compra venta como SEDO o Afternic, pero raramente en subasta .

Uno de esos raros casos de subasta tiene lugar ahora mismo. NameJet subasta en estos momentos el dominio “ vida.com ” en una subasta ¿privada? en la que hay 209 pujadores. Quedan 2 días para la venta del dominio, que por cierto tiene la pinta de que acabará en un inversor americano, y las pujas están ya en 8.100$ . El dominio me parece magnífico y hay cosas que se podrían hacer con el… pero lamentablemente no estaría en nuestros planes hacerlas de forma inmediata, por lo que no creo que tenga sentido que finalmente lo compremos. Aun así, lo estamos discutiendo internamente de forma intensa.

Tags: .com , .info , .net , .pro , anuncio.net , anuncios.pro , dominio.tv , dominios , inversion , vida.com