Hong Kong banks
Hackers threaten to take down websites of Hong Kong banks unless they pay bitcoin ransoms – interesting move and good PR by Akamai, the block chain has allowed researchers to see which Hong Kong banks are paying up.
Business
Chinese Soccer Prepares to ‘Fly Alone’: Will Success Follow? | WSJ – moving away from government. It will be interesting to see if China can displace the European teams in the world’s sports media markets. I suspect that a key component of that, which hasn’t been addressed yet, would be changes in sports betting
Design
Should Your Logo Be a Wordmark or a Symbol? + Subtraction.com – app design space predictates going with a brand symbol which has its own risks. But wordmarks work in other media like word-of-mouth
Gallery: A practical, low-tech Japan | Ars Technica – really clever product design
How to
BeeCanvas – Collect and share your information visually – great for assembling mood boards
Innovation
LINE Maps for Indoor – Android Apps on Google Play – Japan only indoor mapping. More related posts here.
Glove-like socks are made from material stronger than Kevlar – Swiss Barefoot Company. It is interesting that so much effort is put into materials technology for glove-like socks.
Ireland
Direct flights from Hong Kong to Ireland would really see bilateral trade take off, says Irish consul general | South China Morning Post – it would also affect the role as Heathrow as the long haul hub for Irish flights
Marketing
3M Builds an Impressive Branded Rube Goldberg Machine From a Variety of Its Products – absolutely nails the brand positioning of 3M as a business and is a good profile raiser amongst technical specifiers
Selfridges puts Apple Watch at the center in floral window display | Luxury Daily – interesting targeting strategy by Selfridges, focusing on Apple Watch sales to women, rather than men. It reinforces the devices status as a fashion device that happens to have health benefits
Online
LinkedIn Lookup app replaces company intranets – Business Insider – defensive move against Facebook for Work
Kik Takes $50 Million Investment From WeChat Parent Company Tencent, Hits $1 Billion Valuation – interesting move by Tencent to invest in Nik
Vlogger Chyaz on product placement online – BBC News – ASA clarifying yet again
Retailing
Smartphone-Owning Millennials Say Most of Their Retail Browsing Occurs In-Store | Marketing Charts – so retailers need to put in free wi-fi without a reg wall
Wireless
China’s smartphone sales slide 10% year-on-year (but not for the reason you think) | Techinasia – consumers going for premium handsets and keeping them for longer than changing cheap handsets. Is it total cost of ownership or status driven?