Google
Experiment rapidly, embrace failure.
Apple
Every aspect of your brand should be as good as the product.
Zipcar
Stop selling products, start selling services.
GOOD Magazine
Set the agenda and let your customers spread the conversation.
Amazon
Identify parts of our business that could be offered as additional services.
Facebook
Create the playground and let your customers define your offering.
Virgin
Think big , think small. Amaze customers with your audacity, please them with your attention to detail and customer service.
Twitter
Stay flexible, allow your audience to dictate how your services or products are used.
IKEA
Take a wider view of the shopping experience, making each step along the path to purchase simpler and, more [...]

Skype continues to bring the freedom of communication to millions of people around the world. It has leveraged technology to disrupt multiple markets, creating a system that works for all types of users, and connecting people around the world. The recent introduction of Skype Mobile should have tremendous implications and could change the way that we see place and geography.
Lesson for Business:
Reach scale with free products, make money from premium services.

“Best. Idea. Ever. Free phone connections for everyone (that has a web-connected computer). And they do their thing well.”
Fred Kylander, Design Expert, Stockholm
http://purplelist.com/members/fredk
“Skype stands for something amazing; free communication. [...]

Wired UK carries gossip that the next iteration of the iPod Touch will carry a camera and microphone. As I read it I notice the cordless phone on my table an old iPod connected to the kitchen radio. These older iPods are becoming [...]

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a series of technology initiatives yesterday, all of them designed to increase transparency and improve access to information about City services. A contest called NYC Big Apps will begin in the fall and return as an annual competition to improve government accountability and transparency, as well as  engaging New York’s high-tech workforce and strengthen the media sector. The City encourages innovative and useful applications and will provide data to allow the development of software used on mobile devices and websites. Winners receive a cash prize, marketing opportunities and a dinner with Bloomberg himself.  The Mayor [...]

For men who would prefer not to ever step foot in a clothing store again, enter the Trunk Club: a new online service that pairs the customer with a female personal shopper who will select an outfit for him and have it delivered to his door. The service begins with a video chat consultation to take inventory of the man’s current wardrobe, and decide on what he might be willing to try. From there, the personal shopper will select around nine articles of clothing—of her own choosing—and have them delivered. The man then tries on the new wardrobe, receives feedback [...]

Skype have made their brand book available for free download to all. The book is composed of two PDFs, ‘How We Look’, and ‘How We Think’. The first takes the reader through the evolution of the Skype logo and covers the key rules to be followed when considering the Skype logo for display, including mash-ups. The second is all about Skype’s philosophy as a company. They are both beautifully illustrated and will be especially useful for people who are interested or work in brand design.
[via Christmas Gorilla]

When we started this site almost five years ago, we wrote often about the idea of phones that could use voice-over-IP technology like Skype in WiFi zones to bypass network providers. There were a number of WiFi phones launched but at some point, the idea seemed to fizzle out.
But maybe the idea didn’t die because on Tuesday March 31st, Skype will launch an application that will allow iPhone (and iTouch??) users make calls with their service in WiFi zones. Calls to other Skype users will be free and calls to land phones across the world will be at their [...]