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Technology's LIPSTICK effect |
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By: Balaji Narasimhan |
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Date:
2008-12-24 |
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Place: Bangalore |
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 While everything is so gloomy, Internet comedy site Funny or Die is laughing all the way to the bank
The term Lipstick Effect was coined by Leonard Lauder, chairman of Estee Lauder, to describe how the sales of lipstick goes up during a slowdown. This happens because women who cannot buy jewellery tend to buy lipstick as a substitute.
A similar thing seems to be happening in technology. While everybody is reeling under the recession like sailors who have had one too many on shore leave, the site Funny or Die (funnyordie.com) is basking in happiness.
This is because this site, which is supported by actor Will Ferrell and seeded by Sequoia Capital, has raised $3 million in cash from a single, undisclosed investor. Additionally, there is also a $3 million commitment for in-kind contributions for marketing, publicity and promotional support for programming. Why is a funny site doing so well in a time of gloom? This reminds one of Sherlock Holmes' famous quote from the 1892 story Silver Blaze concerning the curious incident of the dog in the night-time the fact that the dog did nothing was the curious incident. Today, with recession bringing the threat at times the certainty of job losses, many people are not spending money on costly gadgets (In fact, while I have not got any threats for writing so much about gadgets, some of my friends have said that they wished that they had the money to buy or gift some of the products that we have featured in iT ADDA!).
Fun steps in
So, today, there are two kinds of people people who have lost their jobs, and people who think that they are going to lose their jobs. With neither group buying costly gifts, the best way to cheer yourself in a bad economy is with some funny site. (Of course, you could drown your sorrows and fears in alcohol, but that is costly).
But this doesn't mean that you can start any funny site and expect it to work. This was faced by FoD too the site has also changed from a comedy-only video site into a portal that features comedy based on countries like Brazil and Britain, and even has cooking advice to offer. Today, the site has stand-up comedy, clean comedy, animation, and even a 'not safe for work' section that could get your HR department to fire you if you view such stuff in the office.
Learning the lesson
It would be wishful thinking to assume that somebody could start a funny site today and get were FoD has reached, but this doesn't mean that we can't learn from them. Actually, since people choose to learn from bad times, it would be good for all of us to appreciate that FoD has survived by branching out, by offering something for everybody, and by staying relevant. These are lessons that always work, recession or not.
QUICK TAKE
>>While everybody is facing a recession, funnyordie.com is getting a $3 million investment
>>This is because of the lipstick effect of technology
>>People who aren't feeling good during a recession are seeking something funny |
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