Bright Things Share Discussion Threads

[the analyst] 22/3/2010 17:29

I think 3% conversion is the magic number

If by the end of this year they were to achieve 3% and find themselves adding at least 300 premium networks per month, I would be very happy (that is 300 net, taking attrition into account)

That's only 10 premium networks per day

Of course much more than that is possible, but 300 pm would be a launching pad into 2011

I have been noticing some nice changes to the way the sign-up process looks and feels, how they explain the product to visitors etc., so I think they do seem to know what they are doing, or are taking good advice on that side of things

[carl79] 22/3/2010 15:10

I think the premium service is most definitely better than Nings...My issue is (or rather hesitancy to re mortgage and buy every available share) is that I am not convinced that BGT know "exactly" where to get premium networks from...are they knocking on the right doors - have they got the right contacts etc? Its all well and good to say the product is great for schools, churches, football clubs, bloggers etc etc but knowing this and getting those groups to buy networks are not the same thing... We'll soon see once we get visibility of the sign up rates and i'll hopefully have my mind put at ease :) I think they are doing the business and hope the latest numbers show improvement as a result.

I agree that V2's success is critical...if we dont see an improvement in premium sign up rates once that is launched we are in trouble imo...certainly if we wanted to truly called a premium network provider and we want our income to come from subscription as opposed to "investors" (we know this will never happen at a rate of 1,200 premium networks per year out of 100k) so at some point acceleration will be required...

[carl79] 22/3/2010 12:23

Possibly true TA regards WL increasing prem signups - we can only trust that Dom made the right call for us shareholders and the company...But, we would have certainly ran out of cash quicker unless they did bring in more prem signups so the risk is that they didn't actually pull this off...

We should remember that WL were quite bold in stating that they had 5k customers (or something like that) and they'd all be migrating to SG...I dont think we ever saw anything like that in the end and the prem numbers during that period were actually less than 300 so how much was just self promotion and sales patter??

I guess it is ultimately a balance...I dont deny they will need a superior platform to other offerings otherwise we have no USP - and i think they have made good inroads in this regard...but, they also need to demonstrate that this work is paying off and that they are ramping up premium signups. I'd like to see this acceleration before they start committing to tons more development. Of course, im not an idiot and i know that they need to keep things fresh and enticing but im not yet totally satisfied that the message is hitting target audiences hard enough (not saying it isnt but we obviously havent seen details on this yet so i cant make informed decisions). I therefore dont get too excited about new tech developments unless they state that these developments are as a direct result of customer requests and will lead to 500+ more signups for arguments sake...ie they have done some RoI analysis and are providing updates that address particular needs of potential customers...

Agree 100% on WL involvement though - all things being equal and with enough cash/customers to warrant their involvement, I would far rather they be working with us as opposed to pseudo against us ... They are talented and where real, vocal and persistent advocates of monetisation - eg premium networks

[carl79] 22/3/2010 08:26

TA - I think that what WL asked for was a bridge to far. For all we know, they wanted a large salary and may not even have been prepared to remain exclusive SG developers...At the time - and even now imo, I would think it more important to ensure that conversion (to premium) is maintained and then increased...once they know how to do this, then they can look to adding more fancy functionality and of course be in a better position to pay for it. I don't think it would justify paying out multiple £k's developing something primarily for premium sites when you only have 500 on the books...of course, 2,000+ and it becomes more attractive...I guess what i mean is that there is no point buying a new suit and getting too dressed up for the dance when you have not yet been invited...

With reference WL ability - yep, they are clearly gifted developers and their apparent mercenary attitude makes me think that they would have no problem doing much more work for BGT if the price was right...

The placing price (lets assume there is a greater chance of a cash call than not) will most likely be at sub 1.5p unless there is competition for the stock and BGT can charge a premium. They will not, (as a group of directors etc), pay over the ods themselves unless they absolutely need to - why would they? I'd love to see BGT come out and say that they are doing a placing at 100% above current trading levels for obvious reasons, but i will not be surprised if they don't and i wont get angry about it...but after this round of cash, i will get very irritated if they don't start growing the share price and returning value to us holders...

[the analyst] 22/3/2010 04:58

Mind you, despite all the talk of placings, my main concern right now is how they are getting on with increasing conversion rates.

They should, by now have over 1400 premium networks, but if they are in fact getting nearer to 1800 then I think they need to update - that sort of number would mean that the conversion rate has increased quite impressively

To be honest, I have no idea what to expect on the number of premium networks right now, but I guess I'm hoping it's over 1500...

[the analyst] 22/3/2010 04:57

Hi Norbus,

Interesting question about the price of any future placing

On the one hand, we haven't had any trading figures to warrant a rise in the share price, so based on that there is no reason to expect anything better than 1.25p

On the other hand, it's pretty obvious to me that the Directors could, if they wanted to, place shares at a premium to todays price (your 3p would sound about right), purely based on the ning comparison

So, I wonder why they don't do that? Maybe they are afraid of losing control of the company? Maybe they fancy a few more shares for themselves?

Personally, I'm fully expecting one more placing at 1.25p. Of course, if they get the market cap up to £100m in a few years time, then I won't be complaining :)

[the analyst] 21/3/2010 18:32

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The amount of work those two guys are able do in a small amount of time is phenomenal. They seem have the same output as around 6 or 8 regular UK developers and I'm being serious when I say that

I can't help but think that Dom missed a trick by not offering them a decent salary and options package to head up the US office...

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[norbus] 20/3/2010 19:41

As sure as I am posting this note, BGT will need to raise more funds. Stupid to raise next dollop at 1.25 when the shares should be reflecting progress and strategic advantage since December, and be more at 3p than what they are now showing. Ning did it; An idiot learns from his own mistakes not those others made and equally not learning from other people's smart moves.

[carl79] 19/3/2010 19:04

Im not sure what the problem is...?

Drifting on tiny volume as it always has...no surprises there surely...

Norbus, what was Vikram supposed to be teaching them? I think people need to chill...if it rises on no news, it will drift after the spike, as per usual...simple really

[norbus] 19/3/2010 15:02

you are right; I am surprised they let the price drift back. 1.25 soon! you said it all along. They learned nothing from Vikram, and reverted to their old ways.

[haff1] 19/3/2010 12:33

..and back to square one..

[the analyst] 19/3/2010 12:13

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[the analyst] 19/3/2010 12:12

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[norbus] 19/3/2010 11:52

With so much that has gone on since December, I would now get nervous if there were no preclose update statement.

[carl79] 17/3/2010 19:13

lol - I wonder how often we tread that line and don't know it!

[airforce11] 17/3/2010 18:38

It won't manage itself and will cost BGT a few bob to manage it also, unless they can find some way of automating the process. I wonder if they have anticipated this kind of thing.

[carl79] 17/3/2010 18:38

airforce - yes, simple as pie to set up another site but not with the same domain so you would still need to do some work to get it "known" and visited - which is ultimately the point i guess...so if SG shut them down quick enough they'd eventually give in i guess...

[carl79] 17/3/2010 18:36

As far as im aware there is no scope for adult sites on SG...they dont want adult sites, paying or not...they should be shutting them down as and when they come across them, or they need to change their terms - they should not be sending out the message that "our terms dont mean jack becasue we don't enforce them" becasue they'll become a dumping ground for rubbish

BUT I agree with you Norbus - if they are not going to police them, they should re-engage Zocku and force them down that road so they make money...

If they do not reign in the adult and spam sites, they will soon have a disproportionate amount of rubbish on their platform taking up resources and making the service worse for all involved...I hope they get to grips with this and hope it wont just "manage itself"...

[airforce11] 17/3/2010 18:33

If they are shut down a site presumably it's dead easy to open another under a different name. The fact that these operators are using Socialgo to advertise dodgy products for free is well out of order.

On the other hand, I suppose it's a good sign in some ways that these kind of things are starting to come out of the woodwork as it demonstrates that the Socialgo brand is getting better known.

[the analyst] 17/3/2010 18:32

Ah, the fine line between being a prat and being a complete nob....

[norbus] 17/3/2010 18:27

Only one remedy; Give notice that a Charge $100/month will be levied on adult sites or they get closed down. At least they will earn from those who do not shut down. Most certainly daft of BGT to let adult operators have the use of the network for free.