Felipe Gomez-Herrera's Profile

Great article Ross! I agree that Netflix’s model has been truly disruptive and that it probably changed the entertainment industry forever. That being said, a few questions remain. I wonder what the long term strategy of distributors will be. Are they destined to extinction or will they find a way to reinvent themselves? Moreover, given the trends in viewership, how will companies advertise their products and services? Will we see advertising in Netflix in the near future? Will the consumer accept this? Lastly, I think it will be interesting to see how in-house content creation evolves. I do not know if show like Game of Thrones, which are extremely expensive to produce, will be sustainable in the long run given the trends in advertising. Will Netflix and HBO be able to find new sources of revenue?

Very interesting article! I believe that consumer products companies such like Nike will need to actively invest to gain a seat at the “wearables” table. However, I believe that in the coming years this will become a highly competitive market where innovation will be truncated by people’s desire to consolidate all technology into only one device. I wonder if the fitbits of the world are just a fad since most people use their smartphone for always everything nowadays. Perhaps in the future there will be no inherent advantage of using Nike bands compared to just having a couple of apps in your phone.

Very interesting post! A similar pattern has emerged in Latin America. Wealthy businessman have bought newspapers and implemented dramatic cost cutting measures paired with innovative digital strategies. I wonder if the main driver behind these deals is that savvy business people see the opportunity to capture value or if the main motivation is to increase their influence by having a platform to promote their broader goals. It will be interesting to see if they manage to turn a profit in the next couple of years. I believe that the biggest issues will be to educate the customer on the importance of paying for good journalism and to provide readers with multimedia platforms that will cater to varied interests.

Really interesting article! I really like how they are attempting to integrate digitization into both customization of the experience and also operational improvements. I would like to know more about the actual operational improvements. How have they managed to improve traffic patterns? I think this is a major pain point and if they effectively communicate this improvements to the customers they can increase their visitors greatly.

Very interesting! Do you think USPS will be better positioned to make this transition to digital than other companies like FedEx? I believe the USPS fulfills a fundamental social role of connecting certain populations where traditional firms do not reach due to profitability concerns. I would presume that this explains a big part of the company’s loses. I’m skeptical that these two new business models will allow the company to recuperate profitability since it is far from their core business of delivering mail.

Very interesting post. I wonder what the Navy’s mitigation strategy will be in the near future. I am guessing that most of the Navy’s ships run on fossil fuels and hence are big polluters. That being said, transforming these ships to use clean energy is probably prohibitively costly. I do not see a scenario where Congress approves budgets to include clean energy in the next generation of ships. My guess is that most of the money will go towards the next generation of weapons. This double standard of the American Government is sad but not surprising. Similar to what happened with the Kyoto negotiations, it is not clear that developed countries will lead the way on climate change.

Very interesting post! I particularly liked how Intercontinental is now rewarding their customers if they adopt “green” practices. We usually see nudging activity coming from governments but I would argue that private firms could play a big role to push for a culture of sustainability. It will take time but do you think guest’s options should be limited? I can envision a world in which hotel rooms used all recycled toiletries, set limits on showering, and set boundaries for the use of AC. That being said, I do not know if carrots like reward programs will end up being more efficient than sticks like key cards to activate lights.

This was a very interesting read! Although I think Apple’s efforts are noteworthy do you think the company should play a bigger role in developing clean technologies? Although clean tech is far from Apple’s core expertise the company is an innovation powerhouse. Given the challenges ahead, simply adding solar panels and improving manufacturing processes will not be enough. I would argue that companies like Apple can lead the way to generate true alternatives to fossil fuels.

This is really interesting! It is great to see an example of a company that decides to do the right thing because it recognized the long-term value of sustainable fishing practices. Do you think the company would have engaged in this sustainable practices in the absence of regulation? Perhaps this case should elicit a discussion on the impact of regulation on businesses practices and on the necessity to pass more aggressive environmental laws at the federal level.

You have raised interesting points. I think their strategy of diversifying by purchasing new resorts is interesting and definitely a step in the right direction. That being said, although it is clear that they are finding new ways to adapt to climate change, its mitigation strategy is not evident. How will a company that depends entirely on natural phenomenons helped mitigate society’s carbon footprint?