29 Comments
founding
Dec 12, 2023Liked by kingflum

Great read. Agree about AP

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author

Tomorrow’s another edition 😄🥂

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Dec 12, 2023Liked by kingflum

I don’t know but I think it will morph somehow 🤔😐🤓🤓

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author

Ok, elaborate!!

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Dec 12, 2023Liked by kingflum

ASAP ..... still simmering in the cerebellum lab 🧪

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Dec 12, 2023Liked by kingflum

Well, amidst the chaos of my life, I continue to try to keep up with your notes, articles and posts in whatever order I can.

I think this subscription issue being adopted is good, but I have a feeling it will not be the final solution. I must’ve looked for three hours for the link on a lengthy discussion about this issue that I had mentioned I would send you but could not find it.

You groups comments about AP, their marketing focus, etc. was quite interesting. I think maybe 🤔 there are a lot of butt hurt purist pro era enthusiasts who have a hard time conceiving of a world not so clearly dominated by the Holy Trinity (possibly myself included being somewhat of a VC fan😹) but the fact of the matter is that with the rise of the independence, the reemergence of ALS, and many other factors it’s just not like that anymore.

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author

What is the final solution you had in mind?

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Thanks for the Fourth Wheel mention! Charging a subscription fee for content isn’t a decision I took lightly, and I enormously appreciate everyone who does spend their money on what I write. It’s never going to be for everyone and I respect that, but not paying for written content as a strict principle is a view I’ll always struggle to understand. There aren’t many other “products” (for want of a better word) that require skilful, expert, experienced creation, that we have been conditioned to expect for free. I’m curious to know if your friend sees targeted advertising and the use of his personal data as a more reasonable exchange. T

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author

I didn’t bother engaging in a discussion about the merits of payment or the implicit trade-offs present in the “free content” model… coming from me it would, I thought, come across as “selling” … so I left it at that and simply asked if I could use the messages publicly.

Curious about how it has been going for TFW - insofar as engagement loss, versus fulfilment and so on. If you’re ever around central London and interested in hanging out for a chat lemme know!

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Fair enough! I'm happy to share that TFW as a predominantly paid publication is going very well. Open rate dropped about 5-8% after going paid but traffic continues to rise and qualitative engagement, i.e. volume of comments and likes is higher. It's a constant challenge, but so far, so good.

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author

That's promising, and seems to be as expected.

Being a numbers guy, I always have to remind myself that this 'performance criteria' approach can be unhealthy... the true value of just ONE paying sub let alone 50, is worth way more than the numbers might imply - because that number of 'one' is in fact an intelligent human being who has chosen to support something which is far away from being a 'necessity' - so they must think it is decent... despite the fact they often don't even comment! Gits.

Onward and upward, I suppose. 🚀

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What do you think the next M.A.D. Edition will be?

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author

Not worth buying?

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by kingflum

Fair analysis of the AP collaboration/ situation...I also feel that there's a lot of gatekeeping in the reaction, even putting aside who Travis Scott may or may not be as a person.

I had a moment of regret when I realized I hadn't entered the red raffle (but did do blue and green). It quickly dissipated when I realized I really don't like the watch.

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author

Will be interesting to observe the new CEO’s first major decision…

The excitement of the MAD1 is short lived… that’s the truth, coming from my own experience- depending on personal situation, it’s possibly a nice thing to have lying around… but “cost per use” will be excessive for anyone with a decent collection of other stuff.

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by kingflum

I've been told the new CEO will place a larger emphasis on women collectors, but might be less involved in the design/ roadmap. I suppose it will take a couple years before seeing the results of anything she does. As a fan of the brand and it's watches I'm also very curious about her approach given her background. I'm worried the company will be sold.

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author

I really hope it’s sold 😂

Perfect “big bang” ending.

What does a focus on women collectors mean, in practice - if not from a design perspective?

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by kingflum

Research, marketing? Devoting resources dedicated to designing for women, but not insert herself into the design process?

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author

Semantics. No way *ANY* CEO of AP would be 'hands off' on design.

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by kingflum

Well yes, we are talking degrees of involvement and relative to the guy exiting. BTW I work at a company that produces consumer products where design plays a prominent role (though not as much as a watch)...our CEO has nothing to do with design, totally hands off.

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"Perseverance commands success" - my high school motto (apropos your opening quote)

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author

Sounds like a great school 😄

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It was a cesspool of toxic masculinity that produced many of Pakistan’s elites. “After all, He Who Must Not Be Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great.”

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author

Are you quoting dumbledore? 😂

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Ollivander, you uneducated oaf.

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author

Hey we can’t all attend institutions which produce society’s elite...

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