In the WSJ this past Tuesday, there was an article about how Twitter is having a hard time filling it's positions because they need to take that much more time to find the right fit. Yes, they are growing by leaps and bounds, are signing up droves of (let's wait and see) loyal twitterers each minute and yet still haven't figured out how to monetize any of it. ( Hey guys, charge 50 cents to sign up you will start making money!)
Back in 2000, Image Direct shared office space with a company called Jumpcut. Jumpcut was ahead of its game in terms of the demand for video, media and its place in how the world was going to ingest information. Unfortunately, I knew it wasn't going to work out when the CEO was more interested in playing video games on the $50k projector and scooting around the office on his razor and wasting countless hours sitting on his $1000 Aeon chair trying to talk up his company I knew it was doomed. Well, when I read about how the co-founders of Twitter are concerned about corporate culture and creating one by engaging in "rituals" such as family style lunches, weekly teas and/or happy hours I couldn't believe it. No , really I thought, are they past future CEO's who think this is a dot com boom again? Get with it Twiiter! With a supposed $225 million valuation estimate, you really need to stop playing in the sand and start planning a stratospheric leap out of the sandbox and onto to the adult playground.
The day after I graduated NYU as an undergrad, my first job was working at Annie Liebowitz photo studio on the Westside of Manhattan. It was a fantastic experience even though I was like the 4th 1/2 assistant /intern/order taker! Remember those iconic Gap ads she did back in 92-93? Well, you're talking to the kid who painted that cycolorama GAP WHITE probably a gizzilion times that Summer of '93! But, it was truly an amazing experience and probably the reason I got myself involved in the business of celebrities to begin with and perhaps one of the reasons why I didn't want to be a photographer but more on that another time. I met a lot of great people, witnessed some amazing shoots and even had a few lunches with Annie, her partner the late Susan Sontag and some countless other intersting people. For a 21 year old kid, that was a cool Summer indeed. What's the point of all this Mick? Basically, reading about how Annie is bankrupt, had to sign up with Getty really kills me. Not in a million years did I ever think a succesful woman like Annie Liebowitz would have to claim bankruptcy!
The valuation of her , Twitter and countless other brands on the outside may come up with astonomical numbers and/or figures but when you look under the hood it may be a different story. This has nothing to do about the power of the brand but more to do with the value of it, what it costs and how much it's really worth and that's why investors and the public seem so skitish and wary of a company like Twitter and are so shocked about a bankruptcy claim by one of the most iconic photographers of our time.
Busy days ahead, planning to head to NY in a few ( exciting announcements to come) and continue to talk about the value of what Elevation Photos can bring to a company and how we can help them accomplish their needs.
The power of the brand is only as far as the companies that sign up with it!
