by Chris Billowsin Business Beller, Hobby Heedings, Jets Flight Control, Playstates Theory0 commentstags: Blogging, Change of Mind
This past summer has been a time of review in relation to this blog and my ventures (billo.ws/cyber.holdings). I’ve followed enough game developers on Twitter to witness the carnage in the industry and have decided that I am not going to put any effort for the next year or two on new game projects. My plan is to re-launch CreateOrConquer.com, do some promotion to its mailing list, do exploration of viability for Urbaniacs.com, and casually work on design ideas for Heropath.com. I still love the industry as a fan and advocate, but there simply is no way to justify any serious time investment. There is almost no Return on Investment in Video Games as a game developer. The Video Games industry has become just like the other creative industries with the barrier to entry becoming so low that anybody and everybody is doing game development. This is an abundance of riches and comes with its own downside which is that it is extremely difficult to compete. My focus will shift to website properties which can be developed to attract an audience. I have a couple of projects that I will be turning my attention to, one is related to Sports […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller, Mental Mischief0 commentstags: Business Development, Comprehensive Analysis, Human Condition, Summarizing a Business Organization
Paul Graham is not only a successful entrepreneur he is a analytical master who has written extensively on business, economics, and culture. I greatly appreciate how he deconstructs complex topics and makes it accessible. Below is some of my favorite articles by him: Nerd Culture http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html Hacker Culture http://www.paulgraham.com/gba.html Wealth and Inequality http://www.paulgraham.com/gap.html Wealth, Technology, and Startups http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html American Culture, Craftsmanship, and Design http://www.paulgraham.com/usa.html Graduating from High School http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html Finding What You Love To Do http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html Building a Startup http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html Startup Lessons http://www.paulgraham.com/startuplessons.html Startup Mistakes http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html About What Good Art Is http://www.paulgraham.com/goodart.html Intelligence vs Wisdom http://www.paulgraham.com/wisdom.html Thinking about Equity Valuations http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html About Philosophy http://www.paulgraham.com/philosophy.html Principles to a New Product Launch http://www.paulgraham.com/newthings.html Types of Disagreement http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html 5 Regrets to Avoid http://www.paulgraham.com/todo.html The Counter Intuition of Startup Investing http://www.paulgraham.com/swan.html How Startups are Different from other Businesses http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html How to Find Ideas for Startups http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html Convincing Investors http://www.paulgraham.com/convince.html
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 commentstags: Business Development, Summarizing a Business Organization
When I was taking my business certificate, I created a mental model about the steps of creating a viable business venture. I called it the Destination Model of Strategic Management. Using the analogy of getting somewhere, I envisioned a road, driver, passenger, and vehicle with each part representing a strategic consideration. I created this model years ago and just recently stumbled onto it. I am posting it for posterity sake. I think it has some utility.
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 commentstags: Branding, Business Development, Contrarian
So I have been in the domain and website business since August 2010. I have made a little bit of money but have also lost more. While I can’t brag about success, I can share with you an opinion that is informed by experience. Here are three important things to know about avoiding the shame of the domain name game. 1) Brand First, Concept Second – A domain name is important only if it has a brand or contains words that point to a popularly held concept. This is why so many domains get scooped up because it contains a keyword that can generate traffic, which helps make a website more lucrative. It is like having a really high traffic storefront. This can be valuable, but only if there is traffic. People are now scooping up domains for every niche concept such as wirelessprinterscanner.net (disclosure: I used to own this) all with the intention to capture search engine traffic with the keyword. These keyword heavy domain names (what I call Concept Domains) tend to be very low quality, cheap, and can be profitable, but usually not. It is better to go for a brandable name that is unique and you […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 commentstags: Boot-Strapping, Business Development, Personal Resolve
Dear friends, My company Promaginy is a few months away from alpha launching our premier game website, Heropath. We are putting the finishing touches on the site’s functionality and still need to do some serious testing. I am really excited about what the site is going to offer RPG fans. I have been in the market long enough and have learned from others that considering the launch of any website or advanced game is more equivalent to a marathon than a sprint. Gone are my fantasy wishes for a home run, instead I am going to focus solely on how to retain the users we attract and to convert and then retain them as customers. I am confident that attracting users will not be our main challenge. The business model of Heropath will have built in virality, since the essential purpose of the site is to share what is created on Heropath. Our challenge will be how to make the user interface so intuitive and responsive that the user experience of building a web-based role playing game is a delight. This will take testing and iteration. Its a process of polishing and refining. Its tedious and requires intensive awareness. Interestingly […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 commentstags: Blogging, Boot-Strapping, Branding
Where We Are At I am sure I am not alone with the struggle about when does an IP (intellectual property) or product you are going to release need its own Twitter account? Its own Facebook Page? Google+ Page? The reality is that the internet has become more complicated. It used to be that all you needed to do is throw up a website and submit your domain address to the Search Engines. Now the internet is starting to carve itself into silos. No longer is your web browser the only way to use content now that the world wide web is being carved up by iOS Apps, Android Apps and now by closed networks in the form of Facebook and various other services. Each of the social networks appears to have a niche to appeal to. Facebook is by its initial nature is a place to share personal stories, profiles, and pictures. Twitter is really about following the news makers. Its one-way communication is vibrant though where it really shines is the moments of punctuated dynamic conversations with the hashtag (#) aligning diverse interests. Because of immense volume of tweets, it is really easy for your message to get […]
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