sample+blog+post+analysis

TO: Proximity mobile team FROM: Paul Miers SUBJECT: NYT article on Evernote DATE: Sept 11, 2009

We were asked to analyze a blog post or news item to help us prepare Proximity's fall survey. Below is my summary of a //New York Times// article on Evernote's "freemium" application which allows users to upload and store data from mobile devices. I suggest we include questions on the fall survey designed to determine whether TU students are using such services.


 * What Evernote provides**

Evernote is a new Silicon Valley based company which gives registered users a free Web application that allows them to upload data and files from mobile devices to a storage area that is also accessible from their desktop or any other computer connected to the Web. As reported by Damon Darlin in the //New York Times//, Evernote uses the "freemium" business model championed by venture capitalist Fred Wilson. In that model, access to the provider's service is not only free but the provider's site has no ads. Evermore's revenue comes from charging active users for premium services.

Although Evernote only generated $79,000 in revenue for July, the company's CEO, Phil Libin, expects to turn a profit by January 2011. Over the past 18 months, 1.4 million users have registered for the service; 4500 new users join each day. Evernote's 500,000 active users can pay $5 a month for extra features such as the ability to search individual files. The projected profit margin comes from falling costs for an expanding active user base. As reporter Darlin notes, "the variable cost for each active user was about 50 cents a month when the company started, but has been dropping along a curve to 9 cents a month."


 * Why Evernote's service is important**

Evermore's service illustrates two trends which are now changing how Gen Y uses social media, particularly from mobile devices:


 * __Freemium__ - Social media sites like Facebook which depend on advertising for revenue are still not generating profits because Gen-Y users largely ignore targeted ads. The freemium model, where users pay for premium service, has been successfully used by sites such as Flickr.
 * __Cloud computing__ - Users can share data through virtual spaces on the Web rather that having to upload and download files to and from specific devices. Cloud computing allows mobile users to instantly publish images and video captured "on the road" and gives them access to the same files they use at their desk tops.


 * Questions to ask TU mobile users**

In addition to determining which mobile devices and service providers TU students use, we need to find out how they are now using those devices. The mobile segment of the fall Proximity survey should include questions such as the following.


 * Do you subscribe to services such a Rhapsody which offer unlimited access to premium media from your mobile device?
 * Do you regularly upload and share digital media captured on your mobile device?
 * Do you access files from your mobile device which you also use on your desk top?

Proximity clients need answers to these questions in order to understand how the spread of freemium cloud computing is changing Gen-Y's use of social media.

__Reference__

Darlin, D. (2009, August 29) Using 'Free' to turn a profit. //New York Times//, BU 4. Retrieved Sept. 4, 2009, from [|http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/business/30ping.html?_r=1&ref=technology.]

__Notes on the sample memo__


 * The unheaded introduction should do three things: 1) provide a context for the memo; 2) name the item source and describe the product or service referenced in the item; and 3) forecast the types of questions you are proposing for the winter survey.
 * My summary of the item I chose is probably longer than the one you will write because the //NYT// article is fairly long and contains many details about Evernote's business model. A one paragraph synopsis may be sufficient in many cases. Make sure, however, that you inventory exactly what is in your item - that is, reference any links to other posts or video, etc. You don't need to describe this material in detail, but the reader should get a sense of what is in the original item.
 * Pay close attention to the two different uses of bullet lists in the second and last sections of the sample memo. In one case bullets are simply used, as here, to pull out paragraphs with second order topics; the other case the bullets mark particular items in a list.
 * Make sure to keep topic headings parallel. If you use a phrase for one topic, do so for all topics.
 * Since you are using only one source, you do not need to provide parenthetical documentation in the text; you do need to give the complete reference for the source item at the end under a heading called "Reference."