Pages

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Rutledge Magic Rubbing Off On Charter Communication

As the new COO of Charter, Tom Rutledge had a lot on his plate when he started at the end of 2011.It seems that whatever skills he brought over from Cablevision has paid off.  With Rutledge at the helm, Charter announced  "an increase of video customers in the first quarter of 20,000 subscribers, the first time the cable company has reached that milestone in about five years."  Make that a triple play growth as high speed and telco subscriptions also grew for the quarter too.

Whether it was the direct impact he had or simply the energy he brought to his new company, Charter is looking recharged, coordinated, and ready to tackle its mission.  The hope is that the momentum continues and it is not an anomaly to future subscription losses.

How Many Social Networks Do You Belong To?

As Groucho Marx liked to say, I wouldn't join a social network, or club, that would have me as a member. Of course we all like to belong to the club and for social networking, it is easy to sign up and join.  But is too many, too many?  With so many around and more being created, are we being spread to thin in our social network membership?

We use different social networks for different purposes, LinkedIn for business contacts, Facebook for friendship, Pinterest for scrapbooking, Twitter for random thoughts and links to interesting articles.  And of course there is MySpace, Google+, Ning, Meetup, Plaxo and many many more.

So how many is too many?  If we spend all of our time social networking, do we spend enough time doing?  Can we possibly manage all these social networks or is it time to cut back to a more manageable number?  And can the long tail of social networks exist?  Obviously the answer is yes.  To every unique interest or hobby or passion, there is a social network to share with other like minded individuals.  Within the category of interest, whether it be business, family, arts, dating, etc. there will be the leader and the rest of the pack.  But as long as there is a revenue stream, either subscription or advertising or e-commerce, that can keep it thriving, the multitude of social networks will continue to survive.  Groucho may not have joined the club, but for the rest of us, there are plenty to find, join, and participate.