Facebook Scrabulous vs Hasbro Scrabble

Scrabulous Hello, my name is Mike and I’m a Scrabuholic.

Yes, I’m one of them. I’m one of those people who logs on to Facebook everyday just to play Scrabulous. While I only have six games going (as opposed to hundreds by true hardcore Scrabuholics), it’s become quite an addiction. And I know I’m not alone.

Which is why I’m sad to hear that Hasbro (HAS), creator of the board game Scrabble, is trying to shut down Scrabulous. Hearing this makes me a sad panda.

In his article, “Will someone please start a Facebook group to save Scrabulous?” Josh Quittner of Fortune Magazine writes:

I can’t tell if Hasbro… is the smartest company in the world or the dumbest. Over 100 million sets of the game have been sold in 121 countries, in 29 different languages, according to everyone’s favorite source. What a cash cow. …

But all good things must come to an end, which is bad news for Scrabulous fans, and even worse for the [Scrabulous creators]: Hasbro’s trying to shut the site down. “They sent a notice to Facebook about two weeks ago,” Jayant confirmed to me. “The lawyers are working on it.” …

As a tech writer and life-long student of what passes for Internet economics, I’m baffled. Is Hasbro just a stupid Potato Head? Or is this a brilliant game of Stratego?

Jayant, of course, is part of the duo that created Scrabulous, along with his brother Rajat Agarwalla. They were just two rabid Scrabble fans who used to play on Quadplex until it started charging its users. “I’m not sure why Hasbro actually picked on this” Jayant added as he pointed out all the other free online Scrabble clones out there (like gazillions!).

“Because, dude, you’re the best,” added Quittner. Dawww.

These two brothers first built a site called Scrabulous in 2006 that earned about 600,000 registered users in a year. So when Facebook opened up its platform, the brothers launched their Facebook app in June 2007. Six months later, they earned about 2.3 million users. Holy Scrabble Batman! It’s currently the most popular Facebook game out there too (check it out under the “Most Active Users” tab).

So an obvious thought for most people in the web industry is: Why doesn’t Hasbro just purchase the Scrabulous Facebook app? Perhaps they are… “We’re trying to work out some kind of deal,” Jayant added. TechCrunch also picked up this story (“Hasbro Tries To Shut Down Scrabulous“) and one commenter suggested that “just acquiring the app might be cheaper (AND strategically [more] meaningful) than throwing their lawyers at this.”

What would Scrabulous be worth if it was for sale? Jayant said it makes “over $25,000 a month.” Adonomics, an open analytics and advertising platform for Facebook, values Scrabulous at just under $3M. Hmmm.

So say Hasbro purchased Scrabulous. They’d get a major presence on Facebook, some marketing exposure (especially among Facebook users) and a new revenue stream—though it would be a tiny one, compared to their other profit makers, like Cranium or Monopoly.

And what’s the potential downside for them? As another TechCrunch commenter wrote, “Sure, buying them would be an option, but then in some ways you’re rewarding people for stealing trademarks and brand names.” That would certainly set a precedent in the industry for other potential copycats hoping to score big by selling out. Hasbro may not even have the operational capacity or knowledge to support Facebook apps either. They have their Flash-based Monkeybar TV HasbroGames, but it may not have been built in-house. Also, perhaps they simply doesn’t see the gains in marketing and revenue worth the risks of buying Scrabulous.

Being Scrabuholic that I am really makes me hope they don’t shut down Scrabulous. Though if they did, they’d free me of my addiction and give me back oodles of free time. But then, I wouldn’t have Scrabulous. And that would make me a sad panda.

SEO for Newspapers and Magazines

Long Bet Remember the long bet between Dave Winer and Martin Martin Nisenholtz of the New York Times?

In a Google search of five keywords or phrases representing the top five news stories of 2007, weblogs will rank higher than the New York Times’ Web site.

Rogers Cadenhead of Workbench tallied the results and discovered that he was sorta right. For 2007’s top stories, some blogs did rank higher than newspapers in a Google search.

Read/WriteWeb took a look at this and correctly hinted that the test isn’t an accurate conclusion of the popularity of blogs vs newspapers—it’s really a test on the SEO effectiveness of the two groups of sites. And the blogs in these results are more search engine-friendly than the newspaper websites. (Also, this test doesn’t measure how many people read the actual printed newspapers.)

This made me wonder. What would the newspaper (and magazine) websites have to do to increase their SEO?

  • Use proper heading tags (H1, H2…) for article headlines and subtitles
  • Improve the URLs by replacing those cryptic numbers they oftentimes use the article headline
  • Don’t require user authentication, or create a non-signed-in blurb of the article, though that’s not as SEO-friendly
  • Archive all previous articles publically, perhaps with a disclaimer that it’s an old article (some news sites delete old stories)
  • Update the Google sitemap regularly (some do this already)
  • Encourage links to the article by adding related content or features to important articles that add value
  • Include a link back to the web article in the emailed version
  • Use web standards markup so search engines have less code to crawl and index
  • Create an RSS feed for all articles & articles by category (most do this already, though I’ve seen a few who don’t)

1-800 Numbers With Words

Old Wireless Phone Pardon this rant, but I just need to get this off my chest. You know what bugs me? When ads show 1-800 numbers made up of words to represent the numbers. Such as 1-800-FLOWERS or 1-800-PLUMBER.

Now, I know why such numbers exist. It’s much easier for a customer to remember a phone number with a catchy word than a string of random numbers. That totally makes sense because the dialpads of phones list letters with each number.

But: Not all new phones have such dialpads. Many smart phones don’t. My phone doesn’t. And every time I have to dial a 1-800 number + word, I have to dig up a phone with a traditional dialpad. A few times, I’ve just given up and called a competitor.

I’m sure I’m not the only person with this problem too. Just about every smart phone owner has this problem, and if these people make up your target audience, you’re as good as Boo.com: dead.

There’s an obvious solution to this problem though. Include the corresponding numbers with your word in the ad. Duh.

Whew, I feel much better now that this is off my chest. Now go fix your ads!

The First Four Months

It’s one of the first questions asked of me. “What have you been working on?” You see, I’ve been visiting family & friends over the holidays, and they’re all curious about what the first four months of my entrepreneurial ventures have been like. Naturally.

So here’s what I’ve been doing: adjusting, vacationing, learning, researching, and building. In that order.

Adjusting

A friend had warned me that the first few weeks would largely be a transition period, where I’d have to adjust from a corporate-directed schedule to a self-directed schedule. He was right. Settling down into a routine where each day was, and is, entirely unstructured can be a challenge. That’s also the beauty of working on your own too. Your schedule is now entirely in your own hands, for better or worse.

Vacationing

After years of working for The Man, I also decided on some R&R. So I took a trip to Vienna, Budapest, and Prague. It was incredible. This trip, along with another to Hong Kong and Tokyo earlier this year have given me some business ideas as well, wink wink. Oh, and I also did a week in Hawaii and a month in New York City. Vacationing is fun!

Learning

When I left my last employer, I adopted the philosophy of being a mental sponge. This means keeping my mind wide open and trying to absorb as much knowledge as I can, from everyone around me. Also: I read ferociously. I attended Lunch 2.0 meetings. I met new people. I talked to former co-workers and fellow ex-coworkers. And I delved deeper into the world of investing, search engine optimization (SEO), online communities & blogging, and social media marketing. It’s fun being a mental sponge!

Researching

I didn’t quit my job with a specific business idea in mind. Instead, I quit with a handful of ideas and the desire to research each for viability. Some I share online, others I share with friends. Some ideas take days to properly assess, others take weeks, especially those that involve some kind of market testing. In doing so, I’ve discovered that ideas themselves are relatively easy to come up with and sharing an idea with the right people can infinitely strengthen it. Sometimes those people will offer advice, play devil’s advocate (which is extremely helpful), or even offer to join me in making it happen.

Building

Being an ardent multitasker and workaholic, I’ve also been building a few online businesses in between vacations and everything else. I’ve been helping some friends out in various capacities, from web design & development to technical & project management. There’s nothing to announce right now, but they’re fun projects with good potential.

The Next Few Months

So what next for the next few months? Well, I’ve been debating between two fundamental business/life strategies: the Big Bet and the Four-Hour Work Week.

The Big Bet is where you throw all of yourself into that one great business idea; it’s running your own start-up; it is what most entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley are doing. The Four-Hour Work Week is based on the book by the same name and is where you build up a number of passive income generators with the goal of minimizing your workload.

Over the holidays, I’ve decided on my business/life strategy. I’ve decided to do both, serially. First, I’m going to build enough passive income generators to cover basic expenses like rent and groceries. Then I’m going to jump wholeheartedly into a Big Bet.

What will be that Big Bet? Hmmm! wink wink.

Happy 2008 everyone!

Biz Idea: Board Game Cafe

Board Game My friends and I love board games. My friends and I love cafes. So I thought, why not combine them both into a board game cafe!

The Business Model of Current Cafes

The current cafe business model is basically to sell you coffee and snacks (and occasionally, other things too). The more in-and-out customer traffic they get, the more sales they make. Although many cafes go out of their way to create a cozy, homey environment to attract lounging customers, this can actually hurt their bottom line.

For instance, cafes with free wifi will undoubtedly attract cafe wifi moochers. That’s good and all, if the moochers make occasional purchases. But as one Seattle coffee shop discovered, removing free wifi decreased lounging customers (more specifically: cafe wifi moochers) and increased sales.

So how about this as an alternate cafe business model: make money from customers who lounge around in your cafe. How? By offering board games!

Game Night at Yahoo!

Here’s another way to look at it. Randy Farmer, a Community Strategic Analyst for Yahoo! (YHOO) started a casual Game Night at Yahoo! last year. It’s free to anyone in the California Silicon Valley area. New members can join through their mailing list, South Bay Boardgamers, then play a large variety of board games at Yahoo!’s offices in Sunnyvale, CA.

Back when I was a Yahoo! employee, I’d occasionally see several dozen boardgamers happily socializing and playing in the Yahoo! cafeteria. The energy was enticing and exciting.

This is proof of an audience for board games. Now say they could also play on weekends in a nice, cozy, homey cafe, complete with coffee and snacks. Not only would it be a good wholesome family-friendly evening, but it would be a great way to meet new people too. There are lots of singles and new residents in the area, many of whom may be, or could grow to be, board game enthusiasts.

Monetizing the Board Game Cafe

Aside from coffee and snacks, this cafe could offer:

Board game table rentals
A group of customers could select or reserve a table and a board game from the cafe’s library. The table would be rented at an hourly rate that varied depending on the day of the week. Perhaps it could follow a bowling lane rental model, or something similar. The group could specify that the table is “private” or “public,” where public tables would allow walk-ins to join at a pro-rated rate. Tables would vary in size and be expandable, from small one-on-ones to large groups.
Board game tournaments
Once the cafe was somewhat established, weekly or monthly tournaments could be held. These would allow singles the opportunity to band together and compete for prizes, such as gift certificates, additional time, or cash. Teams and guilds could be formed too. Some tournaments could take on themes, such as a AD&D Halloween, WWII Week, or Star Wars Wars. Companies can also reserve the cafe for team outings or team-building games.
Online Network
An online supporting network would allow customers to view their accounts and subscribe to various rental schedules (such as a flat fee for unlimited usage per month). They could also form guilds with other members and track their winnings and losses from tournaments or private games. Members could purchase time or subscriptions for other members as gifts. New members could also be randomly selected on occasion for a game together, based on their game preferences and experience.

The Business Challenges

There are many business challenges to this idea. They aren’t insurmountable, but are reason to approach this with some caution.

Video Games
There’s a growing trend of video & electronic game usage. It’s arguable that board games have social benefits over the faceless screen of a monitor, though the video game industry is booming. If this trend continues, board game demand may drop and kill the profitability of this business. And if a niche survives, would it be large enough to sustain such a cafe? Or could a retro revival take place to reintroduce board games to the public?
Price Point and Margins
The rental rate would be an important determinant of success. How much are people willing to pay for playing board games in public vs in their own homes? Game Night at Yahoo! shows some demand for playing in public, especially when it means expanding your circle of players. The price can’t be so low that it doesn’t cover the costs involved (board game sets, employees, rent, etc) and can’t be so high that it drives away customers. Research would be needed to determine the right price point.
Location
As with any retail business, the location is crucial for success. Great locations mean high rent, however. Are the profits of this business enough to cover the costs?

Since this business idea would require relatively high capital costs (rent, furniture, materials, employees, training, web site development, point-of-sale infrastructure, etc), the break-even point may not come for a while, perhaps years?

Could this business become one of those successful trends that grows into franchises across the country? Or is it a labor of love, a hobby business for someone who doesn’t need the money but has the time to do this? I don’t know, but I dig the idea. And so, perhaps, would some of my friends!

Need to do a Patent Search?

Marine mammal communication device patent You’ve got a great idea. It is, or involves, an invention that you believe is new and unique. Sounds like you’ll need to do a patent search!

Those don’t have to be the only reasons to do a patent search, however. According to the McKinney Engineering Library at the University of Texas, there are other benefits:

  • getting a general idea of how an application and patent is structured to help in the preparation or your own application
  • learning more about a new field
  • for market information
  • competitor tracking
  • technology tracking

Searching for a patent in that humongous sea of complicated patents can be daunting. Fortunately, the William and John Schreyer Business Library of Penn State University offers a patent searching tutorial.

How daunting can this process be?

For example, patent examiners at the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) spend about twelve hours investigating each patent application to determine whether the invention it describes is patentable. During that time, the examiner consults an average of thirty-eight databases containing patent and non-patent literature to determine whether the invention has ever before been described.

Daunting. It’s worth checking out that tutorial if you’re going to do a patent search yourself. If not, you can hire a patent attorney.

But what if you’re bootstrapping? According to Inc. Magazine’s article “Can You Get a Patent without a Lawyer?“, the answer is YES. “Patent searching is confusing at first, but can be mastered with practice,” writes the author. “It is a research rather than a legal skill.”

Where can you begin your bootstrapped patent search operation? Why, online, of course! Here are some handy online patent search engines:

Good luck with your patent search!

Brainstorming Business Ideas

Coming up with business ideas is easy. Relatively speaking, that is—relative to setting up a business and keeping it profitable.

Here are several brainstorming methods you can use to come up with business ideas.

The Problem & Solution Method

Examine your life and your everyday activities. Are there tedious chores that could be made easier? Are there complicated actions you can’t do, but wish you could do? Are there undesirable activities that could be done by someone or something else?

Carry a notebook with you everywhere for a week. Write down every painful problem you see. Ask your friends about problems they face too. Every problem is a potential opportunity, ripe for solutions that could be made into profitable products or services.

The Market-First Method

Choose a specific target market you want to serve before even thinking about a product or service. Understand that market’s demographics, psychographics, behaviors, beliefs, needs, wants, and problems.

Put yourself in their shoes. If you can, try to live and breath their lifestyle for a week. Immerse yourself in that target market. Watch them, study them, interview them. Take note of everything they say. How do they think? What problems do they need solved? What do they need, what do they want? Keep an open mind for potential opportunities.

The Personal Strengths Method

Analyze your innate talents, learned skills, and experiences. If you’re working with others, analyze your collective strengths. Take psychological tests (like those offered in Now, Discover Your Strengths and other similar sources) to help determine your core aptitudes.

What kinds of products can you build, or services can you offer, with this collection of strengths? What kinds of businesses play to your assets? Chances are, you will be much more successful with a business that utilizes your strengths, even if the idea already exists.

The Mix & Match Method

Take two seemingly unrelated concepts, products, or services and see if you can combine them. They can be across distribution channels, packaging styles, branding styles, ergonomic designs, target audiences, core features, core attributes, and even base materials. Make a list of existing concepts and mix & match them systematically, analyzing each pair for viability.

For example, mix the concept of fast food and package delivery and you have overnight shipping services. Match a photocopier and a telephone and you have a fax machine. Add friend networks and the internet and you have online social networks.

The Importation Method

Travel the world. Take note of all the products and services you see. Consider how each could be imported back to your country. You could create a whole new company doing the same thing. Or you could become the sole distributor/provider in your region for the original company.

The world is rich with ideas, especially in cultures very different than yours. Some imported ideas will need adjustments to adapt to the local market. Others will need experts from the original country to make it happen. Be aware of potential international copyright laws as well.

The Lateral Thinking Method

Look at an existing problem and apply lateral thinking principles to its solution. Shift your thinking and redefine the problem. Consider alternate possibilities, no matter how far-fetched or frivolous they may seem.

This riddle is an example of lateral thinking: “A man and his son are in a car crash. The father is killed and the son is taken to hospital. When he gets there, the surgeon says ‘I can’t operate on this boy—he is my son!’ How is this possible?” The answer involves shifting perceptions to allow alternate possibilities. One such answer is: the surgeon is the son’s mother.

The Godin Method (or The Edgecraft Method)

Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside, writes about creating remarkable products or services and the art of Edgecraft. For many businesses, remarkable marketing and branding help garner success, even with products and services that aren’t new.

Edgecraft is the concept of “going all the way to the edge” of an existing product or service. It means looking at an idea and adding a special twist, a unique element, that makes the original idea remarkable. Godin says it’s more than just a gimmick or product differentiation, it’s turning the idea into a Purple Cow (something that people will remember and talk about).

The Christensen Method (or The Disruptive Innovation Method)

Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, The Innovator’s Solution, and Seeing What’s Next, writes about sustaining and disruptive innovations in the high technology markets. His definitions of disruptive innovations can be a great source of ideas as well.

Disruptive innovations are new products or services that fundamentally change an industry, oftentimes shaking the top companies from their pedestals. There are two types of disruptive innovations: low-end disruptions and new-market disruptions.

Low-end disruptions
These serve less demanding customers with low-priced, relatively straightforward offerings using low-cost business models. Look for markets with over-served customers and offer a simpler product or service.
New-market disruptions
These serve new customers by making it easier for them to do something that previously required being or hiring specialists. Look for unfulfilled needs and create new products or services for them.

The Borrowed Ideas Method

There are lots of sources of free ideas all around you. The web is especially full of them. Some sources are:

See, isn’t that easy? What are other methods or sources you use for your ideas?

Flaky People in Start-Ups

A friend recently asked me, “How do you deal with flaky people when you’re in start-up mode?”

My answer: Don’t.

When you’re just starting up a new business, the people you choose will be absolutely critical to your long-term success. These are the seed people, the grandparents of your business, the ones who will set the pace for generations to come.

A start-up requires an incredible amount of work. It’s not for the faint of heart. A flaky person is not someone with a strong heart—at least, not for your business. Why would you want someone who only cares half-heartedly about success?

There are exceptions, of course. Perhaps that person’s skills are extremely rare. Or that person is already loaded with prior commitments. What do you do then?

Then it becomes a matter of motivation and task management. I’ve already written about motivation. Here are some tips on managing the tasks of a flaky person.

(In this definition, a “flaky” person is one who is unreliable, may not complete tasks on time, and may even forget some of those tasks.)

  • Be clear and direct about expectations. Put them in writing (an email is fine).
  • Get that person’s buy-in on tasks. Have that person agree (verbally or in writing) to the tasks.
  • Set clear timelines and deadlines. Make this schedule visible to the person.
  • Communicate often, even to the point of over-communicating. Repeat the tasks and deadlines.
  • Hold regular, predictable, and frequent checkpoints. The checkpoints can be short and succinct.
  • Give feedback immediately to the person, especially if performance is an issue.
  • Have a back-up plan for an alternate resource.

In my opinion, working with a flaky person in a new business is very, very risky. Personally, I wouldn’t do it. But if you have no choice, hopefully these guidelines can help. Good luck!