The official blog of Stathis Kassios for Business, Media, Economics & Arts

My predictions for 2012... Smartphones will lead the mobile markets all across the globe. More and more mobile apps will be competing for our daily needs & activities Video on demand services will be the new norm while traditional media companies will have to quickly respond & adapt to the changing ecosystems otherwise they will lose more audience and ad revenues The tech industry (sitting now on 200$BN cash) is going to be the least affected by the recession thus will retain its competitive advantage over other troubled & unsustainable industries China & other fast developing Asian countries will have a significant say for the global economy & trade policies "Harness the web" will be the new unexplored map & mission for every firm or professional willing to survive in the long run I am not sure if my country Greece will eventually collapse even though I am pretty sure that the crisis will change the mindsets of more individuals who will start

I would like to thank everyone for joining the official Facebook group of SONGREAL! To show our appreciation here is a free Songreal wallpaper giveaway for you to download! Look closer... Please select a size that best fits your screen resolution!  1920x1080: http://www.songreal.gr/ Downloads/1920x1080.jpg 1440x900: http://www.songreal.gr/ Downloads/1440x900.jpg 1366x768: http://www.songreal.gr/ Downloads/1440x900.jpg 1280x800: http://www.songreal.gr/ Downloads/1280x800.jpg 1024x768: http://www.songreal.gr/ Downloads/1024x768.jpg Iphone: http://www.songreal.gr/ Downloads/iphone.jpg

“ New media is a matter of digital Darwinism affecting any and all forms of marketing and service. In the world of democratized influence, businesses must endure a perpetual survival of the fittest. Engage or die !” - Brian Solis  I am not sure that the slogan ''Engage or Die'' is Darwinian though. It's very easy to misinterpret the Darwinian theory of evolution or misuse it as a methodological tool for our subjective explanations of the dominant online technological ecosystem. The ones not adapting to new social media won't necessarily "die"...

Songreal means free culture! Experience the music with Songreal.gr! For the first time in Greece, Songreal will embrace listeners & lovers of Greek music in a brand new & innovative way! If you support our global vision, join our group & learn all about the latest SONGREAL updates! http://www.facebook.com/groups/songreal/  

David Bowie related posts have been hosted in this blog. Recall his album " From Scary Monsters to Super Creeps "! Make a -mind- time leap forward of about 30 years and see what happens in the other side of the Atlantic. " From Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites "? Sounds similar. I wonder where has the rising dubstep/electro house star Skrillex hidden his David Bowie influence? Can't be a pure coincidence. He sure knows how to subliminally hide other things too like his voice saying " You don't need to hide my friend, for I am just like you". His EP was produced in his apartment using a laptop, surely raises some suspicious eyebrows when thinking other artists that spend huge studio budgets to deliver sh*tty productions. This is one of the most innovative music clips & tracks I have experienced since a long time. The new Trent Reznor of the music industry? Time will tell...now get the music dope of Skrillex!   Click here - Skrillex! Ch

Record companies are suffering due to a downturn in recorded music sales. Innovative firms have developed digital music services that offer recorded music products to customers in new ways, yet sales are not what they used to be. Web 2.0 technologies have changed the customer’s tastes, expectations, and desires. Thus, a deeper understanding of the new “digital customer” is needed in order to better offer services in a way that he or she prefers most.   Read or download the full text of my master thesis here: http://hj.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?searchId=1&pid=diva2:324539 Your comments are welcome!   Cheers! Stathis

When I first learned about "Infocom World Athens" I realized that Greece has still something valuable to offer in the domestic & international markets. Established companies in the field of technology, telecommunications & informatics were present to show that they are able to lead the way out of our problems & towards a brighter future. These significant players seem to have defied the dominant logic of crisis, thriving with their business in Greece & beyond while strengthening their customer base and profits globally. It was the ideal environment to visit with the Siteland team as we first & foremost occupy ourselves with the latest events occuring in the aforementioned field. All the speakers stressed the need for drastic changes & focused on their sector as the promising carrier for change. New high-tech networks, more efficient electronic government for the public, new - business to business - platforms that diminish various costs & incr

S.K. - Please introduce yourself and update us on your latest activities! A.T. - Greetings readers! My name is Aspa Tsaoussi and Ι am a Lecturer of Law in the Faculty of Law, Economic and Political Sciences at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. I teach Sociology of Law, Law & Economics and General Sociology in the School of Law of the aforementioned Faculty. I was indoctrinated into the world of music in the colorful and musically vibrant environment of New York City, where I spent my childhood and most of my teen years. My current research focuses on social norms and culture-based differences in social and human capital. When I was younger, I did empirical doctoral research in Sociology of Law at the University of Chicago (from 1994-2000), under the supervision of Nobel Laureate Gary S. Becker. I am very happy to give this interview to Stathis Kassios, who was a student of mine in one of my Sociology classes at the University of Athens years ago. Stathis was very bri

In the featured video you will watch Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak arguing that the loss of Steve Jobs is like the loss of John Lennon. In my personal view, Steve Jobs was the modern Prometheus who stole the knowledge from the Gods & diffused it massively upon the world. He bit the forbidden "Apple" of technological knowledge & offered it to everybody.

It has been a well known marketing story. Where to spend most? Commercial companies have been shrinking their marketing budgets, choosing measurable/quantified results instead, for their money spent on advertisements. Latest news on UK announced that online ads have surpassed TV ads for the first time. Actual figures were 27% and 26% respectively. These are strong signals for the troubled advertising industry & the various digital firms that want to achieve a sustainable living out of their display or search ads. Use your marketing budget wisely. Check out the full article here (Google translate for non-Greek speakers): http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_05/10/2011_409454

I wanted to repost here an analysis of the Greek crisis by Nightfall's singer Efthimis Karadimas. The reason for doing this is not just because he is my bandmate, as someone would argue, but because more people should be aware that Nightfall is not all about aggressive guitars & grotesque melodies. Nightfall is a philosophical artistic ship. I will let Efthimis now continue this introduction with his views on the economic turmoil that has been devastating this "land of holy grace"! "Many things are said the last few weeks about the Greek debt problem and the attitude of the Hellenic State and its citizens collectively. As an artistic vehicle of Greek origin Nightfall take the opportunity to offer music people -who may lack proper information about the political and financial matters ruling everyone’s life these harsh days- a brief view of current events. Firstly it is worthy to mention to everyone abroad that there is a massive pressure lately towards a f

Dear readers, I had some very interesting thoughts exchange with Silicon Valley's strategist Sheridan Tatsuno! I was lucky and honored to meet him in personal, attend his lectures, project set-ups & class discussion contributions, while studying at Jonkoping's International Business School in Sweden. Here's what he says about the next new thing happening around the globe right now... " The Next New Thing will be global networks where billions of smartphone users create new content (photos, videos, images, text, etc.) in unlimited new ways that we can’t even imagine right now, just as Internet developers created new Web businesses and groups that we couldn’t imagine at Stanford in 1993 before Mosaic and Yahoo! showed up. The future belongs to visionaries who find useful services and market needs, then build and share them . That’s the role of Silicon Valley Global Network: to connect emerging visionaries. The world really needs new companies and

I am pretty sure the word ''Punk'' still irritates a lot of people's ears/minds. In our - not so - distant past, the Punk movement/art started rising in the US, UK and beyond, shouting against the established social hierarchies and old ways of thinking and do ing things. The book by Matt Mason is a must for those who worry about their business models being threatened by modern ''Pirates'' and for those that Piracy represents the new wave, the new wind of change both for the digital and physical worlds and markets. Here's an interesting excerpt from the book that I chose to share with you for your personal introspection: '' Throughout the time I've been groping around cyberspace, an immense, unsolved conundrum has remained at the root of nearly every legal, ethical, governmental, and social vexation to be found in the Virtual World. I refer to the problem of digitized property. The enigma is this: If our property can be inde

Hello there people! I have decided to change and renew the very nature of this surrealistic blog. Therefore, I will start offering you music "shots"! Yes, this is how I will call the short interviews that I will be conducting from now on. Short interviews featuring artists and interesting creative people from all around the globe, answering to questions which reflect the content and the scope of this digital space. Here's music shot part one featuring the Athens (GR) based trip - hop band Freedom of Speech. Hope these music shots will give you a proper head buzz to accompany your summer nights! 1) Hello Emilios! You may introduce yourself and your band Freedom of Speech! Hello Stathis. As you know I' m a graphic designer. I have worked in different advertising companies but for the last three years I've been working alone as a freelancer. This is my main occupation but as you know I have the best hobby - music - and during the last years this

In a previous post I had analysed the troubled logistics chain between the distributors of media content & media companies producing the content on the other edge of the spectrum. These problems constitute  a harsh reality in the digital world as well. The difference is that media distributors online are evolving in a - catch me if you can - pace that media companies find difficult to adapt or follow. This means altering the latter's business models all the time. The intellectual property of the media companies is the question & the dilemma here. How do online distributors handle media content? In what extent do distributors have the right to exploit media content as they see fit without asking legal permission from the producers, everytime a new distribution model appears?  These questions have existed before in the physical markets but the Internet is the new ''boxing'' arena where the aforementioned players fight hard or prepare for new rounds of boxin

Songreal is my new business endeavor in co-operation with the incredible Siteland team! Coming soon...keep your eyes on our official website: http://songreal.gr/

The world economic crisis goes hip - hop! Follow the link! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk&wl_token=hLc-pjPlK63tn5Ya4RnRYTjt_a98MTMwNjQ4Mjk5MEAxMzA2Mzk2NTkw&wl_id=d0nERTFo-Sk

Lately, I have been following news - all around the Web - on how the big players like AOL, Yahoo, Youtube, and others, keep investing big money in the content of their web media platforms. The content is the king undoubtedly, otherwise the aforementioned companies would not exist as we speak. It is very exciting to have personally found a young team of latest internet technology followers/experts/entrepreneurs for whom I will discuss further on. I currently cooperate with the Athens based web company Siteland. A well established company with a proven and remarkable record of business clients (take a look at the company's portfolio here: http://www.siteland.gr/#portfolioModuleGrid ). I am happy to announce that from now on I will be handling their marketing campaigns and business development activities. Our services range from standard web design to the creation of an enhanced e-shop for your online business, to sell & promote your products while reaching new customers glob

Welcome to the 21st century, where the old rules of content and distribution no longer apply. - Jon Friedman, Marketwatch Read more: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ipad-and-old-media-a-shotgun-wedding-2011-04-13?link=home_carousel

That is the current case in recent Casino Industry news in Greece. Illegal gambling, physical (traditionally widespread) and digital is increasingly absorbing a significant financial amount of the official Casino business revenues. Perhaps this reminds you of digital piracy in music biz. In numbers, I found a worryingly falling revenue percentage which immediately created job losses in various Casinos around Greece. Job lay - offs, the well known recipe for cost - cutting effects, happens when a sector is getting depressed by external factors like the Greek recession, technological upheaval, unfair competition in the form of black markets. Not only that but if the Greek government passes a new legislation for foreign companies pushing for online gambling games, the already troubled Casino Industry will have to face another economic burden. In total, the "virus" consists of about 250 online betting ''places'', 20.000 AWAPs (electronic machines for entertainmen

No wonder why Trent Reznor won the Best Original Score Awards at Oscars 2011! Follow the link for more information: http://www.boncherry.com/blog/2011/02/27/trent-reznor-snatched-the-best-original-score-awards-at-oscars-2011 During my master diploma studies in Sweden, I had the opportunity to read Richard Florida's books on the creative class. Read one of his full articles here: http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/02/grammys-big-city-winner/71341/ Cheese! S.

Two things that currently swirl around my mind. The Grateful Dead & especially their ultra psychedelic album "Blues for Allah" (1975). The title brings me war images of NATO warships circling Libya. Just replace - relocate the wor(l)ds & see what happens when West & East collide. Back in the 2011 reality, read some hot news about iPhone applications that let artists record personal messages for their fans which can be played back using social networks like Facebook, Myspace, etc. The application's "follow" features will help music bands to identify some kind of loyalty index in order to distinguish loyal fans that pay to buy albums, attend gigs, thus recognize fans that generate revenues rather than sole free riders. " On older social media platforms, the artist doesn’t know if you friended once on Facebook and then walked away, or if you’ve been to every show and know the producer on every album ". For more info: http://www.nyt

Great cinematography...

I think I have previously discussed in this beloved blog of mine, about the concept of  multiplicity for modern media products. I will let you pick some of today's music industry releases for example. A significant percentage of hit - list artists generate highly identical songs. Thank mighty Dionysus that Dillinger Escape Plan is here. Even if they didn't intend to, their latest album's cover depicts the idea of multiplicity for an enormous amount of digital information targeted towards the listeners, the music fans, complicating their search criteria for quality music. Enjoy another great artistic example of their controversial personas. In other news, I will perform with my band Nightfall on the 8th of April @ Fuzz club in Athens, along with UK's Cradle of Filth. Excited to be back on stage after a long break. For gig info and tickets copy and paste: http://www.ticketservices.gr/en/events/?eventid=99