记得是最好的遗忘

还记得第一天到新的环境，我们只是默默地擦肩而过。
还记得第一次的对话，第一封简讯，
还记得你嘴角上扬的奸笑，
还记得肩并肩走在路上，
还记得你为了我换了一杯饮料……

我想忘记这些还记得的事，所以我选择逃避，
但却又忍不住的去回想，那不可能的如果……

如果撇清暧昧不明的那时，堂堂正正的问你的话，
如果当我们眼神对到时，我不回避的话，
如果我能够告诉你我的感觉的话……

其实真正逃避的人，是我……

Nokia: The rise and fall of a mobile giant

   

Whenever you switch on any Nokia’s legendary mobile phone, there must be one thing that everyone will find out - a famous signature logo, holding hands with a theme song. Nokia always did its best for more than one generation. It carries people through the mobile revolution. However, why a business which had 148 years history would be verge of collapse easily within few years? Before answering this question, we must have a look on its history and background.

Nokia was established in the year of 1865 by an engineer, Fredrik Idestam who first created wood pulp mill in South-western Finland. After that, the Nokia name was born and it was inspired from the Nokianvirta River on the banks of which Idestam established a second mill. Furthermore, Nokia had joint venture with the Rubber Processing Plant and Electronic Cable factory of Finland in 1922. The foundation of Nokia’s cable and electronic business started when Nokia set up Finish Cable Works in 1912.

The development of telecommunications sector of Nokia was first established under the Electronics Division of Electronic Cable factory in 1960. Then, telecommunication systems began in 1962 by Cable Factory. Meanwhile, it started the development on radio telephones in 1963 for the army and emergency services. When Nokia Group was established in 1967, the Electronics department had hired 460 employees and their net sales accounted for 3% of net sales in the whole group of major departments.  Nokia became the third largest TV manufacturer in Europe successfully. After that, Idestam worked with his close friend Leo Mechelin to switch the company into a share company during 1971, and the Nokia Company was born.

Additionally, Nokia launched the Mobira Cityman, the very first handheld mobile phone for NMT network in 1987. The phone was heavy and expensive at that time but it still gained a well feedback. Until now the phone was still considered as a classic. In 1994, Nokia introduced the 2100series which was the first phone featured with the Nokia Tune ringtone. There were 20 million Nokia 2100 phones sold around the world. Furthermore, Nokia had introduced the game of Snake in 1997 and the game was replicated on over half a million phones nowadays (Mobile Technology Report 2013).

In 1998, Nokia became the world leader in mobile phones sales and its turnover increased almost 500% from €6.5bn to €31bn. The exploding global demand for mobile phones by the 90s led to a major logistics crisis for various phone operators (Mobile Technology Report 2013). Nokia sold its billionth phone in 2005 and it was internationally recognized as the fifth most valuable brand around the world.

When the world industries were optimistic about Nokia, Apple officially announced its first smart phone – iPhone in January 2007. Thereby the market began with a brand new pattern of smart phone. After Apple’s former CEO Steve Jobs announced its “reinvented phone”, the worldwide industry gain a new awareness and definition on smart phone. In 2008, Google had released its smart phone operating system – Android and led to a new market changes. Unfortunately, Nokia dropped to the third in the mobile phone market share as it was guided by the trend of iPhone and Android’s smart phone into the mainstream market. Nokia reported a 30% decreased in its third-quarter profits in 2008 and it claimed that they were planning to cut 1,700 employees worldwide as recession hits the sales of mobile phone (Monaghan, 2013).

Apart from that, Nokia faced several crises in its market after 2008. For instant, the Finnish handset manufacture had been holding in the Indian market for over ten years, and there do not have any company or competitor which sold mobile phone that is better than Nokia at that time. In 2005, this disruptive innovation landed Nokia with almost 60% of the mobile phone market in the local. Thus, the brand became a synonym for mobile phone.

However, nowadays Indians will purchase for a “Nokia” but they may come out with a BlackBerry, Micromax or even Samsung. According to a report in 2010 by IDC of a market intelligence provider, it showed the market share of Nokia was 56.2 % in 2008 but only gained 32.9% in 2010 (Goyal & Jaiswal 2011).

Korean electronics behemoth Samsung took the top position in India as it replaced the position of Nokia in India’s mobile phone market. According to 18^th annual survey ‘Voice & Data 100’, the India mobile phone market witnessed a 14.17% growth year-on-year to Rs35,946 crore in 2012-2013 compared to Rs31,330 crore in the earlier fiscal year on the back of increasing sale of smart phone. Samsung would rise in India because of its extensive product portfolio catering to different group of customers. In addition, the product quality and new features allowed the company to attract various consumers’ attention easily too (BT Online Bureau 2013).

Samsung ended the year with revenue of Rs 11,328 crore compared to Rs 7,891 crore last year and it showed 43.6% of growth. Also, Samsung had become the market leader with a 31.5% market share. In contrast, Nokia fall a rank to be arranged at number 2 in the Voice & Data survey. The survey showed Nokia had a 27.2% market share following with a significant 18% revenue fall. Additionally, Nokia’s revenue in India was placed at Rs 9,780 crore in the 12 months ended March 2013 compared to Rs 11925 crore in the previous financial year (BT Online Bureau 2013).

According to Chris Horton (2012), the world also found out that Samsung Mobile Marketing exceeded Nokia for top position in worldwide of mobile phone market in the first quarter 2012. Even worldwide mobile phone shipments grow a little over 3% per year, the Korean factory also shipped 93.5 million mobile phones in the first quarter for a 25% share of the market. In contrast, shipments of Nokia mobile phone were decrease 24% year-to-year to 82.7 million units and giving only a 22.5% share. According to market research firm Strategy Analytics, there were only 14% of Nokia’s smart phones shipments compared to Samsung which has 34%. This was the first time that Nokia was not positioning at the top in the mobile phone market since 1998 (Chris Horton, 2012). Furthermore, figures of analyst firm Gartner had shown Nokia’s smart phone market share was a dominant in 2007 with 49.4%. In the next few years, it was 43.7% in the beginning and it dropped to 34.2%. Also, it had plummeted to only 3% in the first half of 2013 (BBC News, 2013).

 “They missed the importance software,” Mr. Wood says. “Nokia make great phones, they still do. They went through this incredible decade of innovation in hardware, but what Apple saw was that all you need was a rectangle with a screen, and the rest was all about the software (BBC News, 2013)”. Therefore, Nokia had lagged behind its competitors such as Samsung, Apple or even more.

Besides that, Microsoft claimed that it bought most of the Nokia’s mobile phone units for $ 5 billion and spent another $ 2.18 billion to get the license of Nokia’s patent portfolio. Hence, Microsoft had spent a total of $7.17 billion to buy Nokia’s mobile phone business (Fried 2013). According to BBC News Business’s report, Nokia shares rise to 35% while Microsoft shares dropped more than 5%. The takeover is set to be accomplished in the early of 2014 where almost 32,000 of the Nokia employees will transfer to Microsoft. Microsoft Chief Executive, Steve Ballmer described that the deal was regarded as a “big, bold step forward” and said to BBC that his company was in the process to transform itself from software and PCs to a company that focuses on devices and services (BBC News 2013). In addition, the cooperation between Microsoft and Nokia is expected to wrest the dominance position from Apple and Google.

Nokia firm’s sales dropped to 24% and it sold 53.7 million of mobile phones during the quarter which decrease to 27% in 2012. Yet, its new Lumia phone’s sales which had run a Microsoft operating system gained a rose during the period. Mr. Menon said that the deal between Nokia and Microsoft is able to bring the “hardware closer to the operating system and achieve a tighter integration”. Besides, Microsoft also agreed a ten year licensing arrangement with Nokia. Microsoft was the one who use Nokia brand on current handset products (BBC, 2013).

However, it is hard to regard Nokia as any other thing than a handset company. Yet, there was a peek into its history that shows a deep-rooted skill to reinvent it. Mr. Wood claimed that he would not be against the ‘new’ Nokia managing to pull anything off. In addition, a recent deal shows that Nokia bought up Siemens’ share in Nokia Solutions and Networks which was a mobile broadband company. Moreover, the remaining in Nokia’s product portfolio was its well-regarded maps division. It was a choice of mapping software in 80% cars which feature built-in dashboard navigation. Luckily, Nokia’s had dominance early, so it had many crucial patents which allow the mobile industry to rely. According to Forbes, Nokia’s portfolio is value somewhere on the region of $4bn (Dave 2013).

In conclusion, Nokia does not blindly chase the mainstream popularity even if various negative effects may indicate the starting of the end for Nokia Company as a famous brand in hands of millions. Thus, many people believe that Nokia is in good condition and moving forward as it can be transformed into a key player behind the scenes. 

Reference:

BBC News 2013, Microsoft to buy Nokia’s mobile phone unit, viewed 7 October 2013, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23940171>

BT Online Bureau 2013, Samsung pips Nokia as Indian mobile handset market grows 14.17% in 2012-13: Survey, viewed 7 October 2013 <http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/samsung-tops-indian-mobile-handset-market-survey-nokia/1/197981.html>

Dave, L 2013, Nokia: The rise and fall of a mobile giant, BBC News, viewed 7 October 2013, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23947212>

Fried, I 2013, Microsoft to Buy Nokia’s Device Business in Deal Worth $7.17 Billion, viewed 7 October 2013, <http://allthingsd.com/20130902/microsoft-to-buy-nokias-device-business-for-7-17-billion-euros/>

Goyal, M & Jaiswal, K 2011, How Nokia fell from dominance and got pinned down by competitors, viewed 7 October 2013, <http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-03-27/news/29194836_1_nokia-india-ceo-stephen-elop-nokia-c7>

IBN Live 2013, Samsung beats Nokia to take No.1 spot in Indian mobile phone market, viewed 7 October 2013, <http://ibnlive.in.com/news/samsung-beats-nokia-to-take-no1-spot-in-indian-mobile-phone-market/416318-11.html>

Monaghan, A 2013, Nokia: the rise and fall of a mobile phone giant, viewed 7 October 2013, <http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/03/nokia-rise-fall-mobile-phone-giant>

Mobile Technology Report 2013, The history of Nokia, viewed 7 October 2013, <http://www.mobiletechnologyreport.com/the-knowledge/the-history-of-nokia/>

Facebook Initial Public Offering Issue

According to Reuters (22 May 2012) , two top U.S financial regulators mentioned that the issues of initial public offering (IPO) of Facebook should be reviewed. 

Facebook shared a nearly flat close on Friday’s (18^th May 2012) and a sharp drop in 11% on Monday (21th May 2012). Then, the stock fell into 8.9% lower at $31 on volume of 101 million shares on the next day. The company had shed more than $19 billion in market capitalization compared with its $38-per-share offering price one week before.

According to CNN Money Tech (23 May 2012) , there were more than 40 lawsuits in different state and federal courts had been proposed in the weeks since Facebook went public on 18 May 2012. A “technical error” on the Nasdaq exchange caused delays and errors in Facebook trades. Therefore, this process fell into an unexpected loop because a lot of investors submitted changes to their orders before the opening trade began. Besides, this situation affected some brokers as they couldn't confirm the price of their orders or was the orders had closed until the late Tuesday. 

In addition, some people alleged that Facebook disclosed certain financial message to big bank’s analysts in advance and not average to investors.  Therefore, brokers who over-ordered shares in the anticipation that supply would be limited had constantly complained that they need to handle many stock and did not have any awareness about the alteration of forecast. According to one of the advisers of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, it is a serious problem for the whole industry because the institutional investors received the message but the retail investors did not.  

In my opinion, the “selective disclosure” of the estimate cut is extremely unfair to those investors who purchased Facebook’s stock on the IPO and didn't aware of anything about the stock market. Meanwhile, this issue might have a violation of securities laws at the worst situation. Furthermore, this problem will affect the reputation and credibility of Facebook as well. Also, it will influence the price of Facebook’s stock in the stock market. Besides, it was normally regarded as significantly negative news for the stocks when analysts cut the estimates.

In addition, Reuters (Mar 25) mentioned that Nasdaq planned to give retail market makers lower than the $500 million in estimated losses from Facebook’s IPO. However, the written decision of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claimed that the compensation plan could affect pending litigation against Nasdaq. Moreover, the SEC investigates the role of Nasdaq in the botched IPO. According to a source, both sides were in talks to possibly solve the problem. Also, Tamar Frankel, a Boston University professor said that if Nasdaq had to compensate the entire brokers who lost money in the Facebook IPO, then it might bankrupt the exchange. Besides, it may end up by driving more trading into less transparent venues.

Additionally, Facebook’s stock was remained at low range after its IPO and this caused a lot of investors felt disappointed with it. However, Facebook’s finally stock hit $45 on 11 September 2013. It was the highest record since 2012 IPO (Reuters, 12 September 2013). Before that, some investors doubt about the profitability of Facebook in the future. In this case, Facebook have to find new profit growth points, from search engines to mobile advertising and then mobile games services. Therefore, Facebook’s latest earning is better than expected, especially their strength in the mobile advertising. “Facebook's mobile ads accounted for 41 percent of its $1.62 billion in ad sales during the second quarter where the company reported $1.81 billion in total revenue, beating Wall Street expectations on Wednesday” (ADWEEK 24 July,2013). Last but not least, this situation will help to stimulate Facebook’s share in the future. 

21岁的生日

其实我是个幸运的人，在每一个时段都能遇到许多朋友，

尤其是21岁的生日，

让我体会到原来受到那么多人的祝福是多么开心的一件事……

蒋~蒋~这是我21年来得到最爱的生日蛋糕，

谢谢好朋友的贴心跟计划，很感动只差没哭出来（呜呜……）

其实我还蛮害羞成为焦点的~所以许愿就在默默心里许吧……

其实这一次的计划真的让我又惊又喜啊~

所以绝对要跟我的幕后策划员来张大合照，啊哈哈……

5月12日当天，

谢谢我心爱的男人完成了我所有“明示”他的任务

今年生日除了惊喜，

我也得到了好多实用又贴心的礼物啊（当然包括蟑螂屋=_=）

总结，这真的是个难忘又开心的21岁生日，

我真的“sibei”*100000000000……开心的^^

哇哈哈哈哈哈……

伪装

曾经觉得这两个字说得好玩是可笑，说得好听是虚伪，说得难听是假，
我不明白人活在世上为什么不能对自己不满的，不喜欢的，不开心的事表露得明明白白，
有些事明明不想做，却为了讨好某人而去做，
有些话明明听了不高兴却要表露出没一回事，
有些人明明不想见，见了面还要假惺惺的叙旧，

真心付出换回的却是后悔不已的结果，
当这一切再一次出现在我面前时，我只能用力的去拒绝它，
不想看见，不想听见，也不想遇见，
我以为这是对我自己最好的交代……
我以为不喜欢就可以不削一切……

也许我有那么一丁点错了，
至少我应该学会如何伪装地大方些……

她与他……

13岁的她，16岁的他，
是他们相遇的第一年，他们并不认识对方也不熟悉，
那一年，他并不知道她曾经注意过他，就像她并不知道他也在注意着她，
之后她开始了她的初恋，而他也只有默默的把这份心情藏在心里，

14岁的她，17岁的他，
她与初恋分手了，但她并不十分难过，
而他知道这消息后，开始找机会接近她，
那一年，他们第一次的交谈是在接近情人节的时候，
他告诉她会送她巧克力，她只是淡淡的微笑，
她从朋友的口中听说他喜欢他，她也半信半疑，
虽然她并不相信，却抱着期待的心情，
那一年，他把她叫出来，递出了一束花给她，问她愿不愿意和他交往，
她犹豫了，说会再告诉他答案，
那一年，他用那冒着汗的手牵着她，再一次问她愿不愿意和他交往，
这一次，她有点害羞地点点头，
那一年，她相信他们会永远在一起，

15岁的她，18岁的他，
那一年是他们最难度过的一年，
猜疑、争吵、生气、难过……
那一年，他放开曾经牵起的手，
那一年，她从未想过曾经拥有的是多么的幸福……
他是令她感到最伤心也是最失望的人，
那一年她发誓永远也不会再跟他再回一起，

16岁的她，17岁的他，
他后悔了？
他开始给她发信息，就像当初开始追求她一样，
陪着她，安慰她，鼓励他，帮助他……
那一年，她感受到了曾经爱着她的他，
于是他再一次告白了，
她曾经想过要狠心的拒绝他或者对他进行报复，
但是她做不到，因为她是真心的还爱着他，
那一年，他们再次牵起彼此的手，
他对她许下承诺，一辈子都不会再放开她，
她相信但有害怕……

那之后，他们牵着彼此的手已经快要四年了，
虽然他还是执行他的承诺，但她发现握着她的手越来越冰冷了，
她曾经想过也想像他那样让牵着的手慢慢冷却，
但是她做不到，她开始惶恐、不安、猜疑……
他们之间的争吵越来越多，
她告诉他原因，她希望他多在意她，
但是一切都是白费的，
他不明白，其实她要的只是希望他把她放在眼里跟心里，
于是她试着改变自己，不再在意他太多，
她不明白，这样下去对彼此是好还是坏，
她找不到答案，因为他一直都无法给她一个完美的答案，


她不明白，
为什么爱情达到最高峰后会慢慢的降温，
为什么相爱的两个人不能坦诚相对，不能接受彼此，
为什么她会爱他比他爱自己还要多……


她把故事写完了，
如果他看了这一篇，第一件事想的是什么？
她一直很想知道但也很怕知道……
因为她担心会被她猜中，因为她太了解他了……

那些年……

观赏了青涩却又不单纯的爱情电影《那些年，我们追的女孩》
心里对女主角一句话深深地受到感触“恋爱最美好的时候，就是暧昧的时候”
曾几何时，我也正享受暧昧的那种心动，
美好却又捉摸不清……幻想却又那么真实……

虽然我喜欢平平淡淡，很平稳的感情生活，
但有时却还是会偷偷期待暧昧这种感觉的到来，

最近稍微有一点这样的感觉，虽然觉得不应该可是却无法控制，
“当两个人的感情到了一定的低峰，需要改变的是双方的态度及想法，
否者有一天两个面对面的人，会有一方先转身。”

我面对不了我们之间的问题，却又不舍得放手，
所以唯一的方式就是逃避，逃避你去寻找我向往的感觉，
我找到了，可是却只能站在原地不动，
因为我知道，到最后受到遍体鳞伤的，会是我，
所以我又选择继续的逃……
我不知道还要逃多久，但是我希望在停下来的那一天，
面对我的是一个真心爱我的人。