Origin of A Real Transformer in The Future

(10/8/2014) This is the coolest "toy" I want. I bet many transformer fans would like to have one too. A lab from MIT designed this self-assembling robot cubes that can move, rotate, and even jump (watch video below). The amazing design of robot cubes is its modularity, which may one day be applied to difficult construction or exploration that the conditions are totally beyond calculation. If I am the CEO of Hasbro, I would like to get license from this technology and launch a toy for kids, it definitely will be more appealing to kids than the "roboroach". How long does its battery really last?

The RoboRoach stirs some ethic issues of cruel treatment on insects. Definitely it's not a toy for everyone.

Inspiring Speech - From Online Dating to CRM?

(10/6/2013) This woman reminds me of Nate Silver. Interestingly, both them are jewish. Not only her speech is very inspiring, I am thinking some of the techniques might be useful for customer relationship management (CRM). What are the algorithms used by those online or mobile marketers? Maybe they should watch this speech.

Labor Disputes Creep to Amazon

(10/6/2013) You probably think of Walmart if I say a retailer that is struggling with labor issues. But now it's Amazon. German Amazon workers may be on a strike before the Christmas sales season in Europe. Note that, Amazon recently has been caught with unfair treatment to their warehouse workers in the US too. Several lawsuits in the US are acting against Amazon now. As an online shopper, we will not see these unhappy workers squeezing their insincere greeting to us like those in Walmart or Target (that is the difference between front-end and back-end operations). But we should not ignore the working conditions and unfair pay those Amazon workers experience.

(12/16/2013) Dear Mr. Bezos, don't say these German workers didn't give you a warning. "Hundreds of workers at Amazon.com in Germany have walked off the job in an effort to put pressure on the American online retailer in the busy days before Christmas to settle on a new wage agreement." You (Amazon) fails yourself.

No Jerk, Please!

(10/4/2013) We probably all worked with jerks sometime in our life. It is pain in the ass and we just try to avoid any encounter with that person. If "No jerks, please!" is the sign on a job description, what would you think of this company? It seems now some firms dare to take a firm standing saying that: we don't want jerks to work with us. Life is too short to deal with jerks, isn't it?

Customer Service to The Next Level

(10/2/2013) Wow, this is real customer service. In 15 seconds after pushing the mayday button, you will talk to customer representative for Kindle problems and they guide you on the screen step by step to answer your question. Amazing.

The Success of K-Cups

(10/1/2013) When you walk in the aisle of a supermarket and look for some coffee, what do you notice? K-cups are taking over the shelf. Keurig's success is well established now. I found two articles talking about its success: THE K-CUP PHENOMENON from CoffeeTalk, and The Buzz Machine-- The inside story of Keurig's rise from Boston.com. Keurig's story can be used for class discussion in the topic of product innovation. No matter how easy and convenient it is, my favorite coffee is still my morning french press. :)

Walmart and Made in USA

(9/25/2013) Do you connect Walmart with Made in U.S.A.? Probably not, and that is what Walmart wants to change your perception by marketing campaign. The rising labor cost in China and more expensive logistics cost now are two economic factors justifying this change of tide. But the patriotic image can change the perception of consumers on Walmart, whose suppliers once in a while are in trouble of labor working conditions.

Is manufacturing really returning back to U.S.? Here we have stories of Google's Moto X, and other companies.