Bergonomics

Who Started the mess we're in now!

2011-10-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

Like most I've often wondered where/how our political system got off base and was impressed to read such a thoughtful yet concise piece by Joe Nocera's piece in today's NYT. Ted Kennedy's real lasting legacy.

"I bring up Bork not only because Sunday (10/23) is a convenient anniversary. His nomination battle is also a reminder that our poisoned politics is not just about Republicans behaving badly, as many Democrats and their liberal allies have convinced themselves. Democrats can be — and have been — every bit as obstructionist, mean-spirited and unfair.

I’ll take it one step further. The Bork fight, in some ways, was the beginning of the end of civil discourse in politics." Read on...

Everyone looking for a job must read this

2011-08-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

Why Software is Eating the World

by Marc Andreessen

Few in America both understand technology, fully grasp its impact and know how to talk about it like Marc Andreessen. This ought to be mandatory reading for anyone in college or thinking about their future career. Read Andreessen's interview with the Wall Street Journal

6 Things ...

2011-08-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

... Managers Believe That Are Dead Wrong

Matthew E. May, Founder, Shibumi Creative Works

June 30, 2011

Earlier this week I reviewed the book Designing for Growth, by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie. In it, they propose that today's business professional, whether entrepreneur or seasoned corporate manager, needs to be become a designer of sorts, irrespective of their daily function. It's not a new idea, since design thinking has become mainstream over the past few years.

I liked how the authors made their case that the traditional business approach to a problem is profoundly different than a design approach: imagine two student teams—one composed of MBAs and the other of design students—tackling the challenge of how a consumer products firm should think about and respond to changes in the retail world over the next decade. How would they approach the problem?

The MBAs would most likely do a sweep of published data and analyses by industry experts, perhaps interview them, and benchmark leading retailers and competitors. They'd then extrapolate, produce forecasts, present a set of strategies, including financial pro forma spreadsheets, and deliver the whole thing in a PowerPoint presentation.

The design students would take a different approach. Analytical reports would be a part of their investigation as well, but they would use the reports to develop multiple scenarios of possible future states. They'd go out into the real world and start observing and talking to the real experts: customers. They'd focus on human needs, develop sketches of different customer profiles, called "archetypes" or "personas," and use the scenarios to craft storylines and model changes in the lives of these various profiles. They might conduct a brainstorm around "the store of the future." In the end, they wouldn't issue strategies or solutions in a PowerPoint, but rather mock up a few concepts to be quickly prototyped. Those concepts would be tested with real people in an effort to learn and get feedback.

The authors follow up their assertion by pointing out that "...professional managers tend to follow a set of maxims that simplify their professional lives. Sayings like 'keep your boss in the loop' and 'it's sometimes better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission' are good examples. Unfortunately, some of the old, reliable tenets don't work anymore. Here are six common management myths..."

Myth 1: Don't ask a question you don't know the answer to

This one is borrowed from trial lawyers, and it traveled into mainstream business because it always seems career-enhancing to look smart. Unfortunately, growth opportunities do not yield easily to leading questions and preconceived solutions.

A better maxim for growth leaders is: Start in the unknown.

Myth 2: Think big

There is always pressure to be sure an opportunity is big enough, but most big solutions begin small and build momentum. How seriously would you have taken eBay or PayPal? To seize growth opportunities, it is better to start small and find a deep, underlying human need to connect with.

A better maxim for growth leaders is: Focus on meeting genuine human needs.

Myth 3: If the idea is good, then the money will follow

Managers often look at unfunded ideas with disdain, confident that if the idea were good it would have attracted money on its own merits. The truth about ideas is that we don't know if they are good; only customers know that. Gmail sounds absurd: free e-mail in exchange for letting a software bot read your personal messages and serve ads tailored to your apparent interests. Who would have put money behind that? The answer, of course, is Google.

A better maxim for growth leaders is: Provide seed funding to the right people and problems, and the the growth will follow.

Myth 4: Measure twice, cut once

This one works fine in an operations setting, but when it comes to creating an as-yet-unseen future, there isn't much to measure. And spending time trying to measure the unmeasurable offers temporary comfort, but does little to reduce risk.

A better maxim for growth leaders is: Place small bets fast.

Myth 5: Be bold and decisive

In the past, business cultures were dominated by competition metaphors (sports and war being the most popular). During the 1980s and 1990s, mergers and acquisitions lent themselves to conquest language. Organic growth, by contrast, requires a lot of nurturing, intuition and a tolerance for uncertainty.

A better maxim for growth leaders is: Explore multiple options.

Myth 6: Sell your solution

When you are trying to create the future, it is difficult to know when you have it right. It is fine to be skeptical of your solutions, but be absolutely certain you have focused on a worthy problem. You'll iterate your way to a workable solution in due time.

A better maxim for growth leaders is: Choose a worthwhile customer problem. Let others validate.

These six new maxims will not simplify your life. They will make it more difficult. And that's a good thing!

Seven Great Attributes of Good Leadership

2011-05-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

These seven are the basic building blocks of a leader and other aspects of leadership flow from them. For example, innovation “requires the imagination to conceive of a new vision, the judgment to ensure this vision is practical and can be implemented, the empathy to anticipate how others will react to the new idea and to garner their support, and the courage to stick with a plan despite inevitable bumps in the road.” (They note that because innovation draws on so many of the seven attributes it is a rare quality among many leaders.) They are:

Integrity. “Integrity is the fundamental leadership attribute….Integrity is the fundamental attribute that keeps everything else secure.” Without integrity, things break down fast. Kroger CEO Dave Dillon remarked, “Integrity allows you to assume important characteristics about how things work.” As a result it fosters trust which leads to higher productivity. (See more on this on Facebook)
Empathy. Defined as a fundamental ability to tune in to others, it “is critical for leadership for many reasons. Combined with integrity, it drives trust. It gives followers a sense that their interests are being looked after, and this creates positive energy. Followers who sense that a leader appreciates them are motivated to carry out their duties in a more committed way.”
Emotional Intelligence. This is self-mastery or the ability to “perceive, control, and improve the connection between what we feel and the way we act.” It’s about self-awareness. Do I know myself? Can I control myself? Do I look for ways to improve?
Vision. A frequently abused term, vision starts with imagination and an inquisitive mind. “Visionary leaders are good storytellers who are capable of weaving together interesting connections.” Vision provides direction.
Judgment. Good judgment is good decision making. “This sounds simple enough, but the origins of how and why people make the decisions they do are actually quite complex.” It’s the ability to zero in on what’s important, see the whole chessboard, and take decisive action.
Courage. There is always conflict. “Leadership means being on the front line of those conflicts. It means facing conflicts, mediating and shaping them, sometimes at the risk of great personal cost or freedom.” How often does a fear of standing out inhibit your ability to do the right thing?
Passion. A leader’s passion or drive is important because it creates positive energy. “They attract followers and act as catalysts for the formation of highly motivated teams.” High energy and enthusiasm are signs of passion but the trick is to determine where that fire comes from and is the leader in it just for themselves. There is a balance to be maintained with the other six attributes.

The Story of how a great idea got started: Ronald McDonald House Charities

2011-03-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

Kim Hill, Inspiration for Ronald McDonald House, Dies at 44

By DANIEL E. SLOTNIK

Published: March 9, 2011 New York Times

Kim Hill, whose childhood battle with leukemia inspired the first Ronald McDonald House, the model for an international network of temporary housing for families of sick children, died on Saturday in Orange, Calif. She was 44. Full Story.

The Golden State is made of Lead...and so are many others.

2011-02-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

The Golden State Is Made of Lead

Pollyannas say we’ll all be going back to Cali. I don’t think so.

Tim Cavanaugh from the March 2011 issue

Good read describing just why a managed economy cannot work...

“We’ve been living in Fantasyland,” incoming California Gov. Jerry Brown announced in a December forum on the state’s dire budget situation. “It is much worse than I thought. I’m shocked.”

Amid lengthy budget crises and nationwide snickering, you might not think anybody in the Golden State could still be shielded from harsh reality. After all, spending for the current fiscal year is a mere $86.6 billion, only $300 million more than in the previous year—an increase former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger described as “essentially flat.”

State spending is down almost $20 billion from its 2008 level, but that’s still not nearly enough to get Sacramento’s fiscal house in order. In December, less than two months after signing a putatively balanced budget that had initially come in with a $19 billion deficit, lame duck Schwarzenegger—supported by Gov.-elect Brown—convened an emergency session of the legislature to close an additional $6 billion gap that became apparent after the budget was enacted. Evidence for California’s looming insolvency is all around: a state of fiscal emergency in Stockton, a potential municipal bankruptcy in Los Angeles, a government bond rating that is the worst among the 50 states, unfunded pension obligations that could run as high as $500 billion over the next decade.

A Prayer of Praise

2011-01-09T05:37:00.000-08:00

Too often prayer's are a laundry list of wants and needs. About 2,500 years ago a man named Ezra recorded the following in the first book of Chronicles re: prayer that was spoken by King David. A prayer of praise to God which is something we often forget in our self-centered lives. Thinking about each word, the order they were state and the context (David's final public announement after 40+ years of being Israel's king is remarkable.) My New Year's resolution is to read and meditate on the Word not rush through it "buffet-style".

I Chronicles 29:10-19 (NIV) - below are the first four (4) verses.

..."Praise be to you, O Lord,
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.

11. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory
and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in
heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord is the kingdom;
you are exalted as hea over all.

12. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler
of all things. In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.

13. Now, our God, we give you thanks and praise your
glorious name."

Good ideas to fix our Fed Budget Mess

2010-12-05T19:17:00.000-08:00

Found the attached a well reasoned list of steps to take to restore some fiscal sanity to our nation's financial situation.

How to Balance the Budget Without Raising Taxes

The 19 Percent Solution

Nick Gillespie & Veronique de Rugy | December 5, 2010

A value-added tax, a soda tax, a gas tax, banning earmarks, freezing a portion of federal spending at "pre-stimulus" levels - there’s no shortage of ideas being thrown out to fix the country’s disastrous balance sheet, which threatens not just near-term economic recovery but the possibility of long-term growth. Like last week's report from the president's Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, most of the current plans to fix the country's finances rely more on increases in revenues than on cuts in spending. In part due to its heavy reliance on revenue hikes, the commission, charged with balancing the budget by 2020, failed to win enough votes of its own members to present its recommendations to Congress.

Which raises the question: Can America really reduce its debt and deficit without raising taxes to job-killing rates or cutting essential services to developing-world levels? The answer is not simply yes, it's that we have to.

Raising government revenue - taxes - substantially is not only bad policy, it has proven difficult and ultimately unsustainable for any length of time in the past 60 years. Since 1950, annual government revenue, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has averaged just below 18 percent despite every attempt to jack it up or tamp it down. Our post-World War II experience shows that if the government is going to live within its means, it can't spend much more than 18 percent of GDP. Period.

Which is one reason to be happy that the debt commission's recommendations won't be presented to Congress anytime soon. The report assumes revenue equal to 21 percent of GDP and struggles to get spending to "below 22% and eventually to 21%" of GDP. That’s a recipe for disaster that would guarantee deficits and red ink.

Similarly, former Sens. Bill Bradley, John Danforth, and Gary Hart, working with the Committee for a Responsible Budget, have offered up a plan to balance the budget by 2020 that relies on revenue hitting 20.8 percent of GDP, a level that hasn't been achieved once in the past 60 years. Republicans have not advanced any realistic near-term plans. Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wisc.) Roadmap to the American Future does not balance the budget until 2063. The pre-election GOP’s Pledge to America is worthless since it fails to provide specifics (and to the extent it does, it is no good). Read more.

The right way to reduce taxes

2010-11-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

To Reduce Taxes, We Must Abolish Our Tax Breaks

by John Tamny, Toreador Research and Trading (VE Guest Contributor)

After preparing my taxes last year, my accountant noticed my horror and responded that “You’re not playing the game right. Buy a house with a large mortgage, have children, or do something that’s deductible to reduce your tax bill.” The accountant’s words were true, and a shining example of a wealth transfer that’s not spoken of enough.

We hear all the time about how basic income taxes, government spending and inflation are redistributive in nature, but not mentioned enough is how both political parties use the tax code to redistribute wealth to favored constituents or individuals who live as Washington would like them to. Those who don’t play the game are essentially fleeced so that those who do can enjoy a lower tax bill. Full story here

The Year The "Media Died"

2010-10-23T11:30:00.001-07:00

A classic from Terry Kawaja

How The Fed Spends Our Dollars

2010-09-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

In case you're wondering the six (6) segments are:

Social Security
DoD
Unemployment / Welfare
Medicare
Medicade
Interest on the Nat'l Debt (first orange section)

Easy to see where the cuts need to be made.

Data Content '10, Philadelphia, PA Oct 26-27

2010-09-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.infocommercegroup.com/conference/

I'll be on a panel discussion next month talking about new revenue opportunities for those firms employing online ad rev / lead gen business models.

Seven Things to RE-THINK to help launch new ideas

2010-09-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

We've all experienced the frustration of a great idea - or at least we thought so - that went no where on your team, firm or even family. The following includes a good check-lick of things to "re-think". Wasn't it Einstein who said that the definition of insanity is " ... doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different [better] result."

Below are the Seven (7) items from the "Leading Blog" to rethink.

1. Re-think complexity. We create complexity by over-analyzing our situation; creating issues where there are none; forgetting our purpose. Complexity obscures the issues. Keep the issues as uncluttered as possible.

2. Re-think systems. Tenaciously grasping the old ways of doing things just because that is what you have always done, can stop the flow of ideas and innovative solutions and lead to hopelessness.

3. Re-think ego. Our ego frequently keeps us from exploring new ideas. We keep retrying to work the old and deceive ourselves into thinking we’re making progress when all we are doing is rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship.

4. Re-think boundaries. Think bigger. Think interdisciplinary. Growth often involves blurring boundaries to open your mind to new possibilities.

5. Re-think reactions. Repetitive reactions are the result of ingrained patterns of thinking that we have hard-wired into our brains long ago.

6. Re-think failure. If you’re afraid of being wrong, embarrassed by failure or paralyzed by insecurity, you will never find the solutions that lead to meaningful growth. Failure provides the nutrients for growth when we respond to them positively.

7. Re-think success. Know what success looks like. How will you know when you have arrived? Muddy expectations lead to exhaustion and defeat before you even get started.

10 Tips on How to Write Less Badly

2010-09-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

10 Tips on How to Write Less Badly

Brian Taylor

Enlarge Image

By Michael C. Munger

Most academics, including administrators, spend much of our time writing. But we aren't as good at it as we should be. I have never understood why our trade values, but rarely teaches, nonfiction writing.

In my nearly 30 years at universities, I have seen a lot of very talented people fail because they couldn't, or didn't, write. And some much less talented people (I see one in the mirror every morning) have done OK because they learned how to write.

What I have tried to produce below are 10 tips on scholarly nonfiction writing that might help people write less badly. Here's the list of 10 tips.

Digital vs Traditional Media: a solid read from Greg Satell

2010-09-01T06:21:00.001-07:00

"An Industry at War with Itself

Tolstoy wrote, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” The digital world is a collection of unhappy families, mostly because everybody is confused. With some many ideas flying around and so much money at stake, who wouldn’t be?

Problems are poorly defined and solutions are untested. Technologists want to build cool stuff, marketers look to fill consumer needs and finance people want to see a profit. Who’s right? Well, companies that lose money on lousy products that nobody wants don’t last very long. People with different perspectives and varied skill sets need to learn to work together,

Having spent ample time in both digital and traditional media, I find the digital world no less myopic, but far less integrated than established industries. I would suspect that the companies that will survive are the ones that manage to find a common purpose long after the high growth phase has extinguished itself."

Check out the rest of Greg Satell's solid read on Digital Tonto.

Here's what is really wrong with the American economy...

2010-08-26T09:10:00.001-07:00

40 Years to get Baptized

2010-08-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday (8/8), almost 40 years to the week I accepted Christ as my Lord and savior as a 12 year old at Good Tidings Bible Conference I was finally baptized; old school style. Dunked in the bath - under water - almost took the pastor under with me. I'm grateful that my Mom, Dad and wife Julie were in attendance. I see this as an ordnance and not a ritual for my salvation is based on my faith through God's grace alone.

Randy Fishkin's view's on linkbuilding: a worthy read

2010-07-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

Greg Suhey provided a nice summary of Randy Fishkin's (photo) "out of the box" views at PubCon last fall on link building as a part of your overall SEO strategy. It is always about good content.

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"Believe it or not, Google employs a team dedicated to searching for webspam. They invest lots of time and resources into finding and shutting down effective paid linking opportunities. This is the number one reason why you should never participate in paid links. Once Google finds you, you are done!

Paid links are paid links. They cost money! Rand hit on some better ways to invest your money in other avenues that will help you acquire links in a more natural manner. Here is what he said to do:

1. Spend the money necessary to increase your webpage load speed. This will decrease your bounce rate, make your visitors much happier, and possibly cause them to link to your content.

2. Invest in user generated content and contributions. Spending money to create content that will be on the internet for years is a much better way to go than purchasing or “renting” links.

3. Hire community managers. Managing your place in the online community can definitely help you obtain links back to your website. Providing your customers visibility into your business wherever they are is the best way to get traffic and drive links to your site.

4. Organize and sponsor events. At SEO.com, we organize workshops for the local community that help us get links all over the internet. Rand and the SEOmoz team organized and sponsored a party on Wednesday evening. That party got a lot of attention and links back to the party page on their website. This can be a very effective way to get a lot of really good, natural links.

5. License content or technology for nominal fees (free if possible). Making something of worth available to your customers to either purchase or obtain for free can be a great way of getting links and promotion to your cause.

6. Issue press releases. We do this for many of our clients. Press releases are a great way to generate buzz about your business and get links back to your website, if you have something newsworthy.

7. Collect research data and share it with others. If you have collected truly valuable research data and you share that data for free, you can expect a lot of links coming back to your site.

8. Take some time to look at optimizing the link targeted content from a conversion standpoint.

9. Advertise link targeted content. It isn’t a sin to purchase links to advertise your link targeted content. You are trying to get the word out about what you are trying to offer or share with others. You aren’t trying to get rankings for that page with the purchased links.

These are most of the things that Rand spoke about. They are all really good ways to think outside the box and spend money on efforts that will bring natural links back to your website.

In closing, it is important to remember why we don’t want to participate in paid links. When you take a look at link acquisition speed, natural links grow organically or naturally. The number of links you acquire can and will fluctuate each month.

Not only that, natural links have less targeted anchor text, unlike paid links. You definitely don’t want all of your links to have the anchor text of your main keyword.

As with everything you do for your SEO campaign, you should always think twice when considering any gray or black hat tactics. Keep in mind that it is much more difficult to make your efforts look natural when you participate in anything Google looks down upon. When Google sees red flags, which they will, you are toast!"

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To Micro Site or Not Micro Site - Vanessa has an answer

2010-07-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

As a long time fan of Vanessa Fox's work, and her book (above) I found her thoughtful summary (below) of Six (6) reasons why its good to avoid a microsite strategy insightful. Below are some highlights.

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1. You lose brand identity and audience engagement

You spend significant corporate energy on positive brand perception and awareness. And then you start over completely from scratch with an entirely new brand. Woo? If you are reaching an entirely different audience and your current brand would be confusing, then you may in fact want to build out a new brand, but that case, you probably won’t be launching a microsite, you’ll launch a full site. In most cases, microsites are subsets of or promotions for the main site, with exactly the same audience. Do you really want to work at building up multiple brand identities? And do you really not want to benefit from the brand building in one category for another related category? (This comes especially important with ecommerce sites, such as those drugstore.com operates. Even today, we don’t want to hand over our credit card information to just any site.)

Brand awareness has a search impact as well. As I note in the searcher behavior chapter of my book, searchers quickly evaluate the search results page to determine which result to click on. Many things go into that evaluation, but certainly brand recognition helps in evaluating credibility and perceived value.

2. You lose the ability to leverage your audience

Let’s say you launch an awesome site with a fantastic user experience, great products, and unrivaled customer support. For instance, let’s say you’re Zappos. Someone writes up a positive article about you in say, the NY Times. Readers start clicking over to your site. They see you sell running shoes. They just read about how great you are, so they feel confident about purchasing some products from your site. But maybe those same readers also need some clothes to go running in. If you had a separate runningclothes.com microsite, you’ve just missed a great opportunity to reach a targeted and motivated audience.

3. You confuse people and search engines

Oh, I won’t have that whole NY Times reader problem, you say. I’ll just keep a complete copy of my runningclothes.com content on my main site too! That way, I can reach the audience for my main site as well as get all the additional audience potential of the microsite. Oh really? First, that’s just confusing. If someone becomes accustomed to shopping for athletic clothes on your main site and then clicking over for shoes, but then one day they end up on runningclothes.com and everything looks the same… and yet the shoes are gone — that’s just not the experience you want to give users. read more...

4. You may have to spend substantial additional resources

The microsites run by drugstore.com all use the same template and content management system. So it seems like low engineering overhead to maintain them all. But wait. As you build out the content of both sites, you have to decide which content to put where. And decide how to spend marketing, PR, and advertising resources. When you issue a press release, which site do you talk up? All of them? What if you have 20? And you likely are doing social media. Do you now maintain 20 Facebook pages and 20 Twitter accounts? I’m tired just thinking about it. Read more...

5. You cobble your search acquisition efforts

A big part of ranking well in search engines continues to be the strength of the external links to the site. If you maintain multiple sites, then you are diluting that external link value. If five people link to your main site and five people link to your microsite, each site is competing for rankings against the rest of the web with those five links. Instead, you could have one site competing with ten links. Anything that you do for offsite search engine optimization, you have to repeat for each site.

6. It can be difficult to match promotions to search visiblity

One common case of microsites is when a company launches a new promotion. It seems to make perfect sense to launch a microsite as part of that promotion. You can tie branding to the promo and it can be a lot easier to outsource the development of the site to the agency that is managing the promotion creative than to try to coordinate in-house resources and add a section about the promotion to the main company website. Read more...

The "great deception"

2010-07-13T06:31:00.000-07:00

Having the right info is important; a worthwhile commentary from Charles Stanley.

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The Rich Young Ruler

Luke 18:18-23

"Three of the four gospels contain an account of the young man who asked Jesus a very important question: "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (v. 18). A ruler with great wealth, he considered himself a moral man because he had kept God's commandments.

However, he was operating under the false assumption that good works bring salvation. He seemed to be asking Jesus what else he had to do to secure his place in heaven--besides all the good things he'd already accomplished.

This is what I refer to as the "great deception"--the false belief that eternal life can be earned through our own efforts. If we give credence to this lie, then we do not understand the problem of our sin and how it separates us from God. Scripture tells us that we have inherited a sinful nature from the first man (Rom. 5:12). Ever since that time, humanity has been in rebellion against the Lord and under His judgment. There is nothing we can do to pay for our sin. If this were the end of the story, we would be a people without hope for today or the future. But the good news is that the heavenly Father recognized our plight and mercifully provided the way to heaven (John 14:6).

When God made us in His image, He created us to live forever. So, though our earthly body will perish, our spirit will never die. The question about eternal life is important, as we'll spend eternity either with God in heaven or in an insufferable state, separated permanently from Him (Matt. 25:34, 41). "

10 Tips for Creating a Successful Content Marketing Campaign

2010-06-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

A great check list from Brian Rice to make sure your content driven marketing plan is on track.

Create a content marketing plan that includes a SEO plan, Content Plan and Performance Plan.
Research using free tools such as Compete and WordVision.
Use competitive intelligence to pinpoint opportunity.
Drive search engine success through your SEO plan.
Prioritize keywords to drive your SEO goals. Tip: target a combination of 1/3 keywords that you rank in the top 50 of the search listings, 1/3 keywords that you rank 51 – 100 and 1/3 keywords that you rank 100+.
Create category maps that include the topic, primary keywords and secondary keywords to make SEO writing easier for your staff.
Expand your content asset portfolio.
Listen to the conversation happening on the various social media channels.
Track your SEO rankings. Tip: you can also measure success by evaluating your website traffic, repeat visitors, time on site, conversion rates, content lead generation and content lead conversions.
Tag your content publishing dates.

Focus on your employees and success will follow.

2010-06-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

John Battelle interviewed Tony Hsieh (pix below) of Zappos this week at Federated Media Publishing's CM Summit in NYC and one of the key take aways for me re: their success was his (Tony's) focus on corp culture and caring for his employees. Below is a quote from an article in Inc that he basically repeated in the interview. Additionally, the article is also a fascinating read on how selling Zappos actually enabled it to thrive and grow.

Tony Hsieh's approach to dealing with employees is remarkable and his business has flourished in a most competitive market sector, women's shoes. Check out his book to learn how to create a culture that enables a business to thrive and grow. "Delivering Happiness"

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"Zappos sells shoes and apparel online, but what distinguished us from our competitors was that we'd put our company culture above all else. We'd bet that by being good to our employees -- for instance, by paying for 100 percent of health care premiums, spending heavily on personal development, and giving customer service reps more freedom than at a typical call center -- we would be able to offer better service than our competitors. Better service would translate into lots of repeat customers, which would mean low marketing expenses, long-term profits, and fast growth."

From Inc Magazine, June 1, 2010

Zappos is now a $1B/year company for Amazon. Tony was right.

10 Metrics to measure for B2B Social Media

2010-05-31T23:35:00.000-07:00

The info below is from The Social Times; cool blog I like to read with some timely insights.

According to 2009 Mzinga & Babson Executive Education study, over 80% of professionals do not measure ROI for their company’s social media programs. Granted, Social Metrics and their measurement techniques are relatively new, and this might account for the lag in tracking. However, there are some organizations measuring social metrics, which enables them to eventually measure ROI. Marketing Sherpa’s survey of 2,000+ marketers shows the following three social metrics at the top of what’s being measured:

a, Visitors and sources of traffic
b, Network size (followers, fans, members)
c, Quantity of commentary about brand or product

These are easily understandable common social metrics. However, with some C-level executives saying that they want to measure ROI from social media but don’t yet know the value of certain types of social media, there has to be more measurement and analysis. Monitoring data is only valuable if metrics relevant to a company are being tracked, analyzed, then applied to improving a Social Media Marketing (SMM) strategy. Each company may have some specific requirements, but here are ten important social media metrics to measure:

1. Social media leads. Track web traffic breakdowns from all social media sources, and chart the top few sources over time. If members of your social media networks are sending referrals, consider measuring this data as well.
2. Engagement duration. For some companies, engagement duration is more important than page views. For example, if you have a Facebook application, how much time are social network members spending using it? Is per-member usage increasing over time? Alternately, if people visit your your company websites from SM (Social Media) sites, how long are they spending? (Also consider tracking which pages they visit.)
3. Bounce rate. Are visitors coming to your site from SM sites but quickly leaving? Maybe your landing page needs better, more relevant copy. Maybe the information they’re seeking isn’t easily found.
4. Membership increase and active network size. This is the portion of your company’s social networks (e.g., Twitter, Facebook) that actively engages with your social media content (e.g., Twitter, Facebook Pages, etc.) Is your collective members, followers, fans network growing, and is there interaction with your content?
5. Activity ratio. How active is your company’s collective social network? Compare the ratio of active members vs total members, and chart this over time. There’ll always be some social network members who are inactive, but if you initiate a campaign to increase interaction, you should also measure the resulting data. Activity can be measured in a variety of ways, including usage of social applications.
6. Conversions. You want social network members to convert: into subscriptions, sales (direct or through affiliates), Facebook application use, or whatever other offerings you have in your overall sales funnel and that can somehow be directly or indirectly monetized. (E.g., subscription to a weekly e-newsletter can be monetized by giving other companies access to your list in the form of advertising.) Measure all types of conversions and chart them over time.
7. Brand mentions in social media. So, you have a highly active social network and members are talking about your company or the company’s brands. Measure and track both positive and negative mentions, and their quantities.
8. Loyalty. Are social members interacting in the network repeatedly, sharing content and links, mentioning your brands, evangelizing? How many members reshare? How often do they reshare?
9. Virality. Social members might be sharing Twitter tweets and Facebook updates relevant to your company, but is this info being reshared by their networks? How soon afterwards are they resharing? How many FoaFs (Friends of Friends) are resharing your links and content?
10. Blog interaction. This is actually more than one metric lumped together. Blogs ARE part of an SMM (Social Media Marketing) toolkit, but only if you allow comments and interact with readers by responding. If you’re doing this, encourage responses either directly in the comments section of blog posts, or via Twitter. (Use a blog widget that allows this.) If your blog’s content is suitable for social voting (Digg, Propeller, Mixx, etc.) or social bookmarking (Delicious, Stumbleupon) sites, install a blog plugin that displays the necessary sharing “buttons”, then track referrals back from those sites.

You can see from the above list that there are both key metrics and variations that you’ll probably want to monitor and analyze, depending on your business objectives. Not all of them are simple metrics to track, and as such do require either or both custom tools and custom reports. Supplement your metrics reports by noting any milestones in your SMM plan. Also, if you run any sort of social campaigns, measure the ROI on specific goals. Social campaigns could use applications (E.g., Facebook applications like Mob the Rainbow) to encourage social participation. Measure application usage and resulting conversions. Finally, the use of complex measurements such as Multiple Moving Averages (MMAs) can show both short- and long-term trends, thus providing you with an overall view of the health of your sites and social networks.

To, or to not get an MBA, that is the question?

2010-05-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

Was chatting with a good friend of mine's son about whether to pursue an MBA or not and I asked what he wants to do. He claimed he wants to do a start-up and feels that an MBA would help him secure the financing. Interesting point though I told him understanding what your customer wants and knowing how to build it into a solid "buy-low/sell high, collect early/pay-late" business model that's scalable and deliver value has little to do with getting an MBA. Below is a paragraph from a thoughtful article by Vivek Wahhwa that recently appeared in TechCrunch.

"In my experience, the most successful entrepreneurs have been those with a strong technical background who have been through some sort of “finishing school”. (I am not talking about college dropouts such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs—I consider them to be outliers). Engineering degrees can be very technical and can actually narrow one’s horizons. To innovate, you need to understand customers and markets. To build a successful product—one that actually sells and makes an impact, you need to understand distribution and finance. So even in the lower echelons of technology, a broader educational background is a plus."

Read more: http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/08/is-an-mba-a-plus-or-a-minus-in-the-startup-world/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher#ixzz0nMMx6Rvi

Single Greatest Event in Human History: Christ's Resurrection.

2010-04-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder about what was the single greatest event in the history of human existence? I found this list by Shane Ross titled Important Event in Human History an interesting way to succinctly view a time line of event but it got me thinking about which of these more than 500 items is the most important? In my opinion only part of it is listed here.

For me the single most important event in human history occurred in the spring of 30AD over the weekend following the Passover and is recorded by the physician "Luke" in that which he describes the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ .

Unlike all the other events listed by Shane Ross the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ is the only event in human history that impacts every human that has ever existed. The events that weekend were God's ultimate expression of His love to us and through it we have forgiveness and eternal salvation for those who believe. The Gospel is truly unlike any religion in that its the "Good News" about what God already "did" for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Despite what all the world's various religion's say the Bible is quite clear that there is nothing any one who has ever lived can do to earn their salvation as it is a free gift from God that we celebrate on Easter. Mr Ross has compiled an impressive list but I know that the events of this weekend in 30AD are the most important in human history.

Leadership vs. Management

2010-03-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

John Kotter has been studying leadership in CEOs for 30+ years and I found the following paragraph in his book titled "What Leaders Really Do" an excellent summary of his most enjoyable book.

"Most corporations today are overly managed and underled, says Kotter. Management and leadership have two distinct, fundamental purposes. Management is about coping with complexity. Leadership is about coping with change. Good CEOs and senior management effectively do both all the while knowing where their strengths and weaknesses lie. They take steps that span a career--and that at times are personally painful--in working to improve their weaknesses. The key, of course, is to perceive and admit them."

Getting started in understanding the Gospel

2010-02-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

Was recently chatting with a good friend of mine who was interested in reading the Bible but had no idea how to get started. I recently came across the following titled Bible Readings for New Christians and frankly I think it's a great way to get started.

A really cool desk top

2010-02-17T17:18:00.000-08:00

Eight Great Questions to Ask About yourself about your Sales Team

2010-02-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

The following is a nice write up by Melissa Raffoni re: things every sales manager should ask themselves in Q1.

"If you and your team are assessing your organization's sales effectiveness, here are eight common questions that I hear CEOs ask each other in peer groups:

1. "Ok, tell us again, what's your value proposition? Why should customers choose you over the competitors?" It's so basic, isn't it? Yet, I continue to be amazed at how difficult it is to answer this question well. With the constantly changing competitive landscapes and customer needs, every company should take a second look at what they are pitching and why it still resonates today. I'm sure, for most, the value proposition needs a facelift.

2. "What is your sales process and how does your organizational structure map to it?"

3. "Do you think your overall cost of sales is where it should be? What makes you think that? Are you comparing to an industry standard or mapping to a projected financial model?"

4. What key measures are you using to track sales effectiveness? Do you have a sales dashboard?" Is it cost of sales as a percentage of revenue, close ratio, sales person productivity? Something else? You can't really optimize if you don't know which lever you want to move.

5. "If you believe there are two ways to drive sales--increase the funnel and/or increase the close ratio--what are you doing to achieve those increases?

6. "Is sales compensation driving the right behaviors?" Is there enough of a variable compensation compenent to make a difference?

7. "It's a new world, how are you taking advantage of it?" Partners are willing to talk, new talent is on the street, customers are looking for high ROI offerings, social media is changing how people communicate. Are you experimenting?

8. Do you have the right people?

9. Have you built fairly predictable and repeatable sales process? If so, what would happen if you simply put more resources against it--will you yield a greater result? If not, why? If so, why not do that? Other common questions center around the model and what works--hunters, farmers, key account reps, independent reps---does your model still make sense in this economy? Do you need to be more aggressive or take a different tact? Is there a model that will yeild a better result given the cost?

My favorite SuperBowl Ad

2010-02-08T09:59:00.001-08:00

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&from=metadatawidget_en-us_foxpsorts_videocentral&vid=f0aab814-4dca-4ae5-8920-af71d05e1287" target="_new" title="Google: Search On">Video: Google: Search On</a>

10 great tips for writing a screen play

2010-02-07T19:32:00.000-08:00

Great list of ten tips from Pete Daly, contributing editor to the Screenwriter's Handbook.

1. Watch and learn

It is essential to view as many films as possible, good and bad. The classics are not top of the best-ever lists for nothing, and it is difficult to be original when you don’t know what went before. Working out the structural kink in say Memento or the emotional punch of something like It’s a Wonderful Life cannot fail to inspire your own thought process.

2. Don’t show off

European writers in particular try to make their work look complex and clever. The major skill in screenwriting is making the multifaceted seem simple and accessible. Look at Shrek.

3. Structure

Every script has to have a beginning, middle and an end. Once you remember this you can play with it (see Pulp Fiction, where Tarantino started in the middle, went to the end and then back to the start).

4. The story must have a point

Like it or not, the story has to be about something, with a goal at the end, or it lacks interest (Bertolucci's The Sheltering Sky looked great, but had no real premise). If you can’t describe your story by saying “once upon a time . . .” then maybe there’s no story. A conventional plot will follow someone who has had their status quo interrupted; the drama comes from that person trying to redress the balance.

5. If it’s not 90 minutes then there must be a good reason

Generally speaking, one page of screenplay will take a minute of on-screen time. A movie should be 90 minutes. If your script is over 100 pages there had better be a good reason for it (Ghandi was deserving of three hours; many others are not). Commercially, if you go much above 100 minutes the cinemas will lose one showing a day.

6.Choose your protagonist

Movies should have a protagonist. This can be more than one person (Crash), or even an inanimate object or a place (Fargo). They do not always have to be sympathetic, but they do have to be intriguing.

7. Make an impression

There has to be some suspension of disbelief for a film to work. This is easier for some stories than others but if in doubt, think of Groundhog Day. This was a truly preposterous premise, but logical at every step.

8. Avoid being linear

Movies benefit from having at least two contributory subplots to help vary tone and pace.

9. Be original

These are general guidelines. But you must be true to yourself and your vision. Don’t simply copy others. Good movies stand out because they dare to be different, whether it be the tongue in cheek tone of The Big Lebowski or the reimagining of the Brit gangster flick in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

10. You’ve either got it or you haven’t

Talent that is. All the courses and screenwriting gurus in the world will not help you if you don’t have aptitude. There is a knack to writing dialogue that doesn’t feel wooden when spoken. So, happy writing!

>

Google and Vertical Search?

2010-01-09T10:17:00.001-08:00

Having just finished Ken Auletta’s insightful and well written "Googled: The end of the world as we know it" I too concur with Charles Knight's comments on his blog titled "The future of Search: The Missing Link."

Year in Review - 2009 from Jib-Jab

2009-12-27T20:12:00.001-08:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

The future of B2B Media

2009-12-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

"You have to start not by thinking about your capabilities, but in identifying a need that your customers have."

This is a quote from a recent blog that was written by Dan Blank and whole heartily agree. To read the rest of this fine entry check out Creating Interest vs. Providing Solutions.

They'll be a test on this after viewing...amazing stuff

2009-11-29T19:11:00.000-08:00

"The Year The Media Died"

2009-11-20T15:19:00.000-08:00

Is the web making the sales rep obsolete?

2009-11-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

Over the past few months I've had the chance to speak with a number of business owners, professional buyers and some sales managers re: the impact the web is having on how products are sold. And if there's one thing that's more and more clear it is that the traditional method of having your sales rep handle every aspect of a sale is going the way of the YellowPages and Classified Section of your newspaper. It's clear that among the many things that Amazon, Google, iTunes and even the TireRack has shown is that the current - and growing - generation of web-savvy users are far more interested in gathering info via the web (e.g. Facebook, etc.) and buying directly without having to speak with anyone.

Whether you are consumer looking for some info about a product or a professional looking for detailed product information one thing is clear that the first place to start looking is the web and as such among the last thing these 'informed' consumers want is a sales pitch from a sales rep when in fact all they want to do is process their request. Saw this article by Reid Carr titled Preparing for a World without Sales Representatives and thought it did a nice job more fully exploring this concept.

The Rise and Fall of AOL: a fascinating perspective.

2009-10-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

SAI's Chart of the Day is among my favorite items to read because of charts like this that show you just how out of wack things can get. Think of this is early Sub-Prime in the Media sector.

Does your pay measure up!

2009-10-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

And you wonder why healthcare

costs are too high?

Has America's business lost its "Soul"

2009-10-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

I want to thank my good friend Phil Melnik for passing along the following by By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch;

"Yes, Wall Street has lost its moral compass. They created the mess, now, like vultures, they're capitalizing on the carcass. They have lost all sense of fiduciary duty, ethical responsibility and public obligation."

A fascinating read listing the top 20 reasons American capitalism has lost its soul and a heads-up re: the pending economic collapse in 2012...there's that date again! I look forward to your thoughts.

Good content will win in the battle of "New Media"

2009-10-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

I found the following Q & A from an interview with Knight Kiplinger Kiplinger.com , and especially the last two (2) sentences (below) in an interview by Dara Pettinelli for Magazine Publishers of America insightful re: the importance and value of good content for media.[Photo]Magazine Publishers of America most interesting re: why and how quality content that monetizes the buy-side will continue to grow.

Question: What makes the newsletter model work? How has it survived this long?

Answer: Subscribers pay 100% of the costs of publishing newsletters because there is no advertising support. The newsletter model requires high editorial quality, which results in high renewal rates.After decades of under-pricing their magazines to subscribers (due to an over-reliance on ad revenues), many magazine publishers are now studying the newsletter model because of declining ad pages. I foresee a new era in which magazines will charge their loyal subscribers much more and accept the fact that circ levels will gradually drift down to more-appropriate, sustainable levels. Gone will be the revolving door, low-renewing readers who were initially lured in by agent-sold subs at rock-bottom prices. Advertisers will win, too, by getting a more committed audience of magazine readers who are more likely to actually see their ads.

"Sell-side" vs. "Buy-Side Media business models; look who'se winning.

2009-10-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

A recent article in Ad Age by Bradley Johnson gives a good perspective on the ongoing upheavals taking place in the media industry but what caught my eye was one of his charts - shown at right - which shows that two (2) of the top three media categories that grew in 2008 vs. '07 - and which also grew in the first half of '09 - were from business models that monetize the "buy-side" via subscriptions. There are many factors impacting traditional ad supported media not the least of which is the shrinking ad budgets due to the down turn in the economy but what is most interesting to note is that consumers (e.g. professionals, homeowners, etc.) remain willing and able to pay for good, useful high quality content and will continue to do so. The Ad supported business model is not dead, far from it but it will remain under extreme pressure for years to come thanks to the more measurable, ever improving and less costly digital media. However, in the years to come I believe that there will continue to remain an opportunity for profitable, long-term growth for those media firms that can transition (no easy task) from a strictly ad supported business model to some combination of both ad and subscription or perhaps even a pure subscription-based business model. This transition won't be easy for many who have grown up and existed solely via an ad supported business model but those who can and will change will survive and grow.

E-Media Reality Check - IAB Ad Rev Report -

2009-10-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

IAB's Analysis on the first half of '09's Online Advertising:

Below is the Exec Summary from the full IAB report re: Key trends underlying 2009 year-to-date results

Revenues Decreased 5.3% in first half of 2009 —Internet advertising revenue in the U.S. totaled $5.4 billion in the second quarter of 2009, a decrease of 0.7 percent from the 2009 first-quarter total of $5.5 billion, and an decrease of 5.4 percent from the 2008 second-quarter total of $5.7 billion.

Year-to-date Internet advertising revenues through June 2009 totaled $10.9 billion, down 5.3 percent from the $11.5 billion reported for the same six-month period in 2008.

“We are in one of the most difficult economic slumps in decades. Interactive is one of the advertising sectors that has been least affected,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. “In recent years the digital revolution has driven a transformation of how consumers experience advertising and media. As the economy improves, we’re confident that brands will devote an even greater share of their budgets to reaching consumers as they make interactive media a larger part of their lives.”

Search Continues to Lead, followed by Display Banners and Classifieds—Search revenue accounted for 47 percent of 2009 second-quarter revenues, up from the 44 percent reported in the second quarter of 2008. Display advertising, the second largest format, accounted for 35 percent, followed by Classifieds (10 percent), and Lead Generation (7 percent) of 2009 second-quarter revenues.

(Note: I was particularly intrigued with the chart on page 10 in the IAB report showing the difference in growth between Search vs. Lead Gen.)

_________________________________________________________

Folio's Matt Kinsman has put together a thoughtful summary on the state of the eMedia Ad Rev business titled "E-Media Reality Check" that's certainly worth reading for all of us who are thrashing about in the world of "NewMedia".

One quick thought re: both of these articles is that I wonder about the impact Google and the other search engines are having on the ad rev / lead gen market given that more and more advertisers are able to track the conversion of keywords on their respective web sites. Advertisers do in fact have a worthy though somewhat limited alternative for generating leads and when you factor in the info they can derive from Google Analytics the story becomes even more compelling...for them.

My friend Andrew

2009-10-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

My friend Andrew was afflicted with ALS a few years ago. Struck down in the prime of his life at age 42 he and his wife Kelly have 2 young boys Briggs and Quintin both of whom are under the age of 10. Andrew's only mobility is via a wheel chair. The manner and speed in which ALS ravages one’s body and their family is truly terrifying.

In the summer of ’08 I brought Andrew’s plight up to our Men’s Prayer Group, a group of 6-7 who meet regularly on Monday mornings. Peter, an engineer with GE who leads our group suggested that we pray not only for Andrew’s physical restoration and family but most importantly for his salvation. I did not know where Andrew had ever heard the good news of salvation or had asked Christ to come into his heart [life]. A few months later I purchased a Bible and asked our group if they would sign it for Andrew. I had no idea whether Andrew would want to read it but when I stopped by to drop it off his wife Kelly was most grateful . For the next year our group continued to remember Andrew in our prayers.

Last Thursday afternoon Andrew’s wife Kelly called me out of the "blue" to say that Andrew would like me to could come over and read to him from the Bible that I had dropped off the previous year; I said “yes”! On the way over I called Bo Matthews, Sr. Pastor of Brandywine Valley Baptist Church in Wilm DE and Peter Mason, Sr. Pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Rexford, NY for advice on where to start when reading the Bible to someone for perhaps the first time - they both said start with Romans 8. I added John 3:16-17, Matthew 5 (first chapter of Jesus’ sermon on the mount) and two of favorite Psalms; 19 and 23.

After reading I asked Andrew if he would like to invite Jesus into his heart to receive the gift of eternal salvation and someday soon a whole new body. To do so all he would have to do is pray in his heart acknowledging to Jesus that he’s a sinner and to ask for forgiveness of those sins and believe that Jesus came and died on the cross to offer that forgiveness.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

I John 1:

There was no formal religious ceremony, just Andrew and the Lord. I closed by praying with Andrew and asked the Lord to wrap His arms around Andrew and to hold him and bring him the joy, peace and hope that can only be found through a relationship with the Lord.

I can’t wait to go back and read some more.

Winning New Business - More Important Than ever!

2009-09-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

There are two things every business must do every day to survive and grow. They are:

1. Keep the customers they have

2. Find and close new customers

Read this blog from C.C. Chapman in iMedia Connections that does a solid job of addressing #2 for the media industry but is relevant for most any business.

5 steps for winning the pitch

By C.C. Chapman

September 15, 2009

"New business is the lifeblood of every company. No matter what industry you are in, finding new customers and getting that ever-elusive signature on a statement of work is crucial to your success.

With budgets being tighter than ever both on the client side and within your own agency walls, it is critical that when opportunities arise, you and your team do everything possible in order to land the business. For a lot of agencies, this still means pitching to win the work, whether you like it or not. Yes, it is an old way of doing business, but it is not one that is going away anytime soon, no matter how loudly some people yell.

With that in mind, you might as well get used to it and get better at winning the pitch.

What are the steps to winning the pitch? I've boiled them down into the following:

Get a reputation.
Come up with a great idea.
Do your homework.
Be early. Be awesome!
Don't forget the human touch.

Read the full blog.

Six Social Media Platform All Marketers Should Consider

2009-08-24T06:48:00.001-07:00

Kent Lewis provides a concise and succinct list of the "in's and out's" of the six (6) leadig social media sites that every marketer should be familiar with - if not using - in his blog http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/24169.asp

Facebook

Community mindset: connect
Primary demographic: 25 to 45
Ideal fit for: entertainment, lifestyle brands, and non-profits
Biggest opportunity: using ads to build fans
Biggest challenge: few appreciate Facebook advertising
Metrics: fans, comments, likes, wall posts
Helpful tools: Lexicon, ad interface, applications, analytics, connect, etc.

MySpace

Community mindset: connect
Primary demographic: 15 to 25
Ideal fit for: music and entertainment
Biggest opportunity: providing music samples
Biggest challenges: noisy; losing market share quickly
Metrics: friends, favorites, groups, impressions
Helpful tools: Open Platform, MyApps, MySpace Toolbox

LinkedIn

Community mindset: connect
Primary demographic: 35 to 55
Ideal fit for: service providers, industry associations
Biggest opportunity: creating thought leadership via Q&A and Groups
Biggest challenge: time commitment
Metrics: profile connections, best answers, group members, discussions
Helpful tools: Applications, Salesforce plug-in

Blogs

Community mindset: create
Primary demographic: 35 to 55
Ideal fit for: technology
Biggest opportunity: develop thought-leadership
Biggest challenge: requires significant resources over time
Metrics: feed subscribers, comments, Technorati score, pingbacks, inbound links, visibility in search engines
Helpful tools: WordPress plug-ins

Twitter

Community mindset: create (microblogging)
Primary demographic: 35 to 45
Ideal fit for: service industry
Biggest opportunity: customer service, consumer insight, sales and marketing
Biggest challenges: noisy; reliability issues; platform limitations
Metrics: followers, @ replies, retweets, direct messages, custom hashtags
Helpful tools: BingTweets, TweetBeep, TweetDeck, HootSuite, CoTweet, Mr. Tweet, Twitalyzer, blog plug-ins

YouTube

Community mindset: vote
Primary demographic: 25 to 45
Ideal fit for: big brands and entertainment
Biggest opportunity: creating viral content (e.g., United Breaks Guitars)
Biggest challenges: noise; conversions
Metrics: views, comments, subscribers, ratings
Helpful tools: TubeMogul, YouTube Insight

Nine Rules of Media

2009-08-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

Below is an excerpt from Tony Uphoff's blog re: his thoughts/insights on the where media and the media business model is headed. Good read.

What I found particularly interesting was item #8. Let me know if you agree.

___________________________

"The center of gravity in media has been on a decade long transition from analog to digital. Traditional media companies have taken their lumps during this transformative phase. At the same time many pure play digital media businesses haven't yet demonstrated the scale some predicted. The recession has accelerated these trends but also shut off the main driver of growth over the last decade;readily available, cheap capital that enabled P/E backed M & A. So we can safely predict that a series of new media rules will emerge out of this economy; driven by the perfect storm of the recession and the continued impact of technology. We can also safely predict that all of us will be challenged to rethink our businesses. So here's our take on the 9 new rules of media:"

Reach No Longer Equals Revenue. The new calculus is: Content Equals Engagement-Engagement Equals Revenue.
The Moment of Singularity in Media Has Arrived. Content and the applications and technology with which it's viewed and interacted with have become inextricably intertwined.
Below the Line Marketing Has Become Above the Line Marketing. The Traditional branding and advertising market has been devastated but not simply because of the recession. Branded response is replacing traditional branding.
Content as a Marketing Platform. Advertising is being rapidly replaced by knowledge exchange based on content.
Integrate, Integrate, Integrate. People naturally create their own information networks by integrating content from various sources. Make it easier for your audiences to integrate content or someone else will.
Live Media is the Original Social Media. Ironically live media, conferences and trade shows, showed extraordinary growth at the same time social networks were launched and started their growth curve. Live media will continue to serve as a central part of the media ecosystem.
Brands Matter. As Eric Schmidt CEO of Google has stated "the unbranded web is a cesspool". You will see a return to branded content as audiences and marketers drive a flight to quality and wake up from the hangover of the "User-Driven Content" era.
Paid Content Will Thrive. Given the amount of money the average person pays to have web access there is an inherent irony to the proclamation that the web is making all content free. People always have and always will pay for quality content. The challenge that many media companies are wrestling with is that their traditional advertising supported business model has been blown apart. When cable was launched there were dire predictions that people would never pay for television that they had been getting for free since its inception. Taken a look at your cable or sattelite bill lately? We will likely see several new business models emerge but there will be a vibrant and growing paid content business.
Challenge the Assumptions that Made You Rich. One of the hardest things to do is to change the core strategy that built your business. Even when you see it in decline. Company philosophy and culture should sustain. Strategy and business models should evolve and in some cases be blown apart. Redefining your business to adapt to today's market is tough. Far easier to simply cut costs and hope for an economic recovery. Saving your way to greatness isn't a business model however. This economy will recover but it won't come back as a clone of the economy before it. Use this time to truly rethink your business and challenge the core assumptions in your business models."

Some Background on US Inflation

2009-08-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

My good friend Phil Melnik provided me with this insightful link from John Mauldin's blog FrontLineThoughts
"Inflation, to be properly understood, should be defined as a persistent expansion of money and credit that substantially exceeds the growth requirements of the economy. As a consequence of excessive monetary expansion, prices rise. Which prices go up and at what rate depends on a number of factors. Sometimes it is the prices of goods and services that are the most visible symptom of inflationary pressures. That was the case in the 1970s when the Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit a peak rate of 14% per annum. Sometimes it is the prices of assets such as homes, office buildings, stocks, or bonds that reflect the inflationary pressure, as we have seen in more recent years.

When inflation becomes pervasive, and other conditions are supportive, it can engulf a whole industry. We saw this in the financial sector in the period leading up to the crash. The supporting conditions or "displacements," to use the terminology of Professor Kindleberger, were financial innovation, deregulation, and obscene profits and salaries. These drew millions of bees to the honey. All great manias are accompanied by malfeasance, in this case the biggest Ponzi scheme in history and many other lesser ones. It is relatively easy to steal when prices are rising and greed is pervasive. Overspending and a general lack of prudence always become widespread when a mania infects the general public. Rational people can do incredibly stupid things collectively when there is mass hysteria.

The origins of post-war inflation go back to the late 1950s and early 1960s, though some would take it back much further. In the 1960s, the US dollar started to come under pressure as a result of US inflationary policy and foreign central banks' ebbing confidence in their large and growing dollar reserve holdings. The US responded with controls and government intervention in a number of areas: gold convertibility, the US Treasury bond market, the Interest Equalization Tax, and, ultimately, intervention on wages and prices. These moves clearly flagged to the world that external discipline would be subjugated to domestic employment and growth concerns. The policy was formalized when the US terminated the link between gold and the dollar in August 1971, essentially floating the dollar and setting the US on a course of sustained inflation. Of course, the dollar floated down, which, among other things, triggered the massive rise in general prices in the 1970s.

The next episode of credit inflation began in the 1980s, paradoxically triggered by the success of Paul Volcker's move to break the spiral of rising general price inflation through very tight money. He succeeded famously, and the CPI headed sharply lower along with interest rates, setting the stage for the massive US debt binge and the series of asset bubbles that followed. It was easy for the Federal Reserve to pursue expansionary credit policies while inflation and interest rates were falling."
John Mauldin

"Great American Bubble Machine"

2009-08-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

A must read for anyone trying to follow what's been going on with our economy and why.

Packard's Law

2009-07-31T07:06:00.000-07:00

"No company can consistently grow revenues faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth and still become a great company. [And] If a company consistently grows revenue faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth, it will not simply stagnate; it will fall."

Jim Collins How The Mighty Fall (page 55-56)

Examples of Legislature that has "screwed" our country

2009-07-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

The Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-222)

For the first time combined payment with delivery and in turn took away market incentives. The birth of out of control healthcare costs.

The Homeowners Refinancing Act

Roosevelt cut a deal with bankers whereby they would make more money available but had the ability to choose to whom (what areas) they would lend. Most slums in today's major cities exist because of what Roosevelt allowed the bankers to do.

The Community Reinvestment Act (Pub.L. 95-128)

Enabled those who probably should not own a house to take title of house through easier credit and which contributed to the S&L collapse and then ultimately the realestate bubble and subsequent collapse of the US Economy.

Good intentions; bad results - Another Example of how our Fed Governement and politics has created the health care mess.

2009-07-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

The law (PL 93 222) that gave rise to HMO's was a classic example of why the Fed government must not and should not be allowed to venture into dealing with health care. Though noble in intention it was thoughtlessly constructed and worst impossible to get rid of.

Our Constitution and its 27 Amendments lays out very clearly what the Fed governement should and more importantly should not be getting involved with and for good reason. It's remarkable to see how we allow our politicians to continually make the same mistake for the sake of self interest.

Putting the Fed Bailout in Perspective

2009-07-27T05:43:00.000-07:00

Below is a fascinating blog from Barry Ritholtz's blog The Big Picture

" Whenever I discussed the current bailout situation with people, I find they have a hard time comprehending the actual numbers involved. That became a problem while doing the research for the Bailout Nation book. I needed some way to put this into proper historical perspective.

If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars. People have a hard time conceptualizing very large numbers, so let’s give this some context. The current Credit Crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history.

Jim Bianco of Bianco Research crunched the inflation adjusted numbers. The bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures – combined:

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion
TOTAL: $3.92 trillion
______________________________________________________________________

data courtesy of Bianco Research

That is $686 billion less than the cost of the credit crisis thus far.

The only single American event in history that even comes close to matching the cost of the credit crisis is World War II: Original Cost: $288 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $3.6 trillion

The $4.6165 trillion dollars committed so far is about a trillion dollars ($979 billion dollars) greater than the entire cost of World War II borne by the United States: $3.6 trillion, adjusted for inflation (original cost was $288 billion).

Go figure: WWII was a relative bargain."

Health care is a scarce resource.

2009-07-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

An excerpt (just one paragraph) from an article by Peter Singer in the New York Times:

"Health care is a scarce resource, and all scarce resources are rationed in one way or another. In the United States, most health care is privately financed, and so most rationing is by price: you get what you, or your employer, can afford to insure you for. But our current system of employer-financed health insurance exists only because the federal government encouraged it by making the premiums tax deductible. That is, in effect, a more than $200 billion government subsidy for health care. In the public sector, primarily Medicare, Medicaid and hospital emergency rooms, health care is rationed by long waits, high patient copayment requirements, low payments to doctors that discourage some from serving public patients and limits on payments to hospitals."

Convert Debt to Equity; and fast!

2009-07-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

Authorities 'Will Fail Us Again': Black Swan

SECTORS:Banks

By: CNBC.com | 10 Jun 2009 | 08:34 AM ET

Text Size

The Obama administration's attempts to fight the financial crisis with more cash is like treating a bad tooth with Novocain instead of a root canal, Nassim Taleb, author of "The Black Swan," told CNBC Wednesday.

Look at a trillion dollars

2009-06-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

So what DOES a trillion dollars look like?

Trenton, Albany, Sacrementon Disease: Progressive Government

2009-06-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Why Obama Plan Will Not Work; look at Trenton, Albany and Sacremento:

This was the lead editorial from today's WSJ

President Obama has bet the economy on his program to grow the government and finance it with a more progressive tax system. It's hard to miss the irony that he's pitching this change in Washington even as the same governance model is imploding in three of the largest American states where it has been dominant for years -- California, New Jersey and New York.

A decade ago all three states were among America's most prosperous. California was the unrivaled technology center of the globe. New York was its financial capital. New Jersey is the third wealthiest state in the nation after Connecticut and Massachusetts. All three are now suffering from devastating budget deficits as the bills for years of tax-and-spend governance come due.

These states have been models of "progressive" policies that are supposed to create wealth: high tax rates on the rich, lots of government "investments," heavy unionization and a large government role in health care.

Here's a rundown on the results:

Government spending as economic stimulus. State-local spending per capita is $12,505 in New York (second highest after Alaska), $10,136 per person in California (fourth) and $9,574 in New Jersey (seventh).

Has all this public sector "investment" translated into jobs? Not quite. California had the nation's third highest jobless rate in May (11.5%). New Jersey and New York had below average unemployment rates in May compared to the national average of 9.4%, but one reason is that so many discouraged workers have left those states. From 1998-2007, which included two booms on Wall Street, New York and New Jersey ranked 36th and 31st in job creation. From 2000 to 2007, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association calculates that nine out of 10 new Garden State jobs were in the government.

Soak the rich. Mr. Obama plans to pay for his government investments through higher tax rates on the top 1% and 2% of taxpayers. Our troika of liberal states are champions at soaking the rich. The state-local income tax burden, according to the Tax Foundation, is the highest in the nation in New York, second highest in California and sixth in New Jersey. New York City boasts the highest business tax rate, 17.6%, according to a study by the American Legislative Exchange Council. Seven of the 10 highest property tax counties in America are located in New Jersey.

Instead of balanced budgets, these high taxes have produced record red ink. California's deficit for 2010 is projected at $33.9 billion, New Jersey's $7 billion and New York's $17.9 billion, despite multiple tax increases this decade. The Manhattan Institute finds that three-quarters of the loss in revenues this year in Albany is a result of reduced income tax payments by rich people even though the state keeps raising taxes on high earners.

California's debt burden has multiplied so fast that it now has the worst bond rating of any state, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and state legislators are pleading with Washington to command the other 49 states to pay off its IOUs. The interest rates on Golden State bonds have nearly tripled in the last two years.

Powerful unions. Mr. Obama believes union power is a ticket to the middle class. The middle class is getting creamed in all three of these "progressive" states, where organized labor is king. The unionized share of the workforce is 20% in California, 19% in New Jersey and 27% in New York compared to 13% across the country. All three are non-right-to-work states, have super-minimum wage requirements and provide among the nation's most generous public-employee pensions.

Workers in these paradises are indeed uniting -- by leaving. New York ranks first, California second and New Jersey third in moving vans leaving the state. A study by the National Institute for Labor Relations Research found that over the past decade these and other high-union states (mostly in the Northeast) had one-third the job growth of states with low union penetration.

Government health care. New York, New Jersey and California are among the leading states in government spending on and intervention into the medical market. A 2008 study by the Pacific Research Institute ranked the states on the basis of government regulation of health care and found that New York is most regulated, while New Jersey ranks sixth and California seventh. "New York," the report declares, "suffers from government health programs that are out of control, a grossly overregulated private insurance market and almost completely uncompetitive provider markets."

Have government controls and Medicaid expansions ("the public option") lowered costs? Here is what the American Health Insurance Plans found. For family coverage annual premiums in 2006-07, the national median cost was roughly $5,300; in California it was $5,884, in New Jersey $10,398, and in New York $12,254. New York's coverage mandates cause families to pay more than twice what they do in other states for insurance.

As a result, California and New York have more than one-third of their residents uninsured or in Medicaid -- much higher than the national average of 25%. More government involvement in health care in California, New Jersey and New York has raised costs and often reduced private coverage. That's hardly a model for the nation.

* * *

So goes the real-life experience of progressive governance, with heavy tax burdens financing huge welfare states, and state capitals dominated by public-employee unions. Formerly rich states, they are now known for job losses, booming deficits and debt, wage stagnation, out-migration and laughing-stock legislatures. At least Americans have the ability to flee these ill-governed states for places that still welcome wealth creators. The debate in Washington now is whether to spread this antigrowth model across the entire country.

How the Current Tax System is encouraging our demise.

2009-05-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

Another economic rant:

The consequences (intended or otherwise) of our current tax policy is excess consumption. Currently there is not one single incentive for individuals to save and invest which most everyone on both the "left" and "right" will finally admit is the foundation of a stable economy. Since the current tax policy was implemented in the 60's consumerism has driven our growth and simultaneously sown the seeds of our current situation (e.g. huge trade deficit, debtor nation, aka - no more money.) Additionally, our current income tax program is really just a wage tax on those who are paid "W2 wage". Those who file 1099s are not impacted by our tax system for the simple reason is that they have the ability to pay expenses with pre-tax and instead of post-tax money. It makes a huge difference that creates a tremendous inequeity and anyone who thinks everyone is paying their fair share is a fool.

Anxious to hear whether anyone feels the same and your thoughts on a new tax program (e.g. flat, fair, etc.) should finally be considered.

Good advice written 3,000+ years ago: Isaiah 48:17-18

2009-03-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

"I am the Lord your God.
      I teach you what is best for you.
      I direct you in the way you should go.
¹⁸ I wish you would pay attention to my commands.
      If you did, peace would flow over you like a river.
      Holiness would sweep over you like the waves of the ocean.

25 Most Popular Blogs

2009-02-28T19:43:00.000-08:00

As per Nicholas Carlson Silicon Valley Insider

Gawker Properties -- $170 million.
Huffington Post -- $90 million.
The Drudge Report -- $48 million.
Perez Hilton -- $32 million.
Sugar, Inc -- $27 million.
TechCrunch -- $25 million.
MacRumors -- $21 million.
SeekingAlpha -- $11 million.
GigaOm -- $9.5 million.
Politico -- $8.7 million.
SmashingMagazine -- $7.7 million.
SearchEngineLand -- $4.5 million.
Boing Boing -- $3.6 million.
ReadWriteWeb -- $3.4 million.
SB Nation -- $2.7 million.
Destructoid -- $2.5 million.
Mashable -- $2.5 million.
Alley Insider sites -- $2.25 million.
/film -- $2.1 million.
The Superficial Network -- $2 million
Neatorama -- $1.5 million.
Daily Kos -- $2 million.
Talking Points Memo -- $1.2 million.
VentureBeat -- $1 million.
Wowowow.com -- $1 million.

Medical Care Paradox

2009-02-28T19:06:00.001-08:00

Some thoughts on how our advances in technology and medicine have in fact fueled the spiriling costs of health care.

Today we have "answers" for illness that are sheer marvels of technology and medical inginuity. Unfortunetly these "answers" cost money and continue to grow in complexity and effectivness. Years ago when some was diagnosed with a particular condition the (e.g. hyper tension) the "answers" were limited (e.g. lose weight, stop smoking, diurectics, etc.). However today the "answers" for that same hypertensive condition are geometrically greater and more effective; and more costly. There is an economic value to creating newer and better drugs because our medical system will always want to provide a better "answer".

Given that our healthcare system is designed to do all that it can to help those in need is it any wonder why our health care system's costs continue to spiril out of control. Afterall there's no ability to say "no" to our increasingly expensive healthcare solutions ["answers"] for no one - and rightfully so - is willing to deny care when and if its available.

Regulatory Effectivness - Why Gov't stinks

2009-02-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

Warren Buffet authors one of the most insightful pieces of business writing each year called The Chairman's Letter. The following is a exerpt from that letter which I think summarizes very well the problem with our Regulatory Systems; No Accountability; No Penalty for failure.

"For a case study on regulatory effectiveness, let’s look harder at the Freddie and Fannie example. These giant institutions were created by Congress, which retained control over them, dictating what they could and could not do. To aid its oversight, Congress created OFHEO in 1992, admonishing it to make sure the two behemoths were behaving themselves. With that move, Fannie and Freddie became the most intensely-regulated companies of which I am aware, as measured by manpower assigned to the task. On June 15, 2003, OFHEO (whose annual reports are available on the Internet) sent its 2002 report to Congress – specifically to its four bosses in the Senate and House, among them none other than Messrs. Sarbanes and Oxley. The report’s 127 pages included a self-congratulatory cover-line: “Celebrating 10 Years of Excellence.” The transmittal letter and report were delivered nine days after the CEO and CFO of Freddie had resigned in disgrace and the COO had been fired. No mention of their departures was made in the letter, even while the report concluded, as it always did, that “Both Enterprises were financially sound and well managed.”

In truth, both enterprises had engaged in massive accounting shenanigans for some time. Finally, in 2006, OFHEO issued a 340-page scathing chronicle of the sins of Fannie that, more or less, blamed the fiasco on every party but – you guessed it – Congress and OFHEO."

Exerpted from Warren Buffett's Chairman's Letter; page 17

Berkshire Hathaway Corp

Feb 27, 2009

http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2008ar/2008ar.pdf

Warren Buffett Explains Derivatives

2009-02-28T17:20:00.000-08:00

Below is an exerpt from Warren Buffett's Letter from the Chairman" that is an excellent explanation re: why we're in the financial mess that we're in.

"Derivatives are dangerous. They have dramatically increased the leverage and risks in our financial system. They have made it almost impossible for investors to understand and analyze our largest commercial banks and investment banks. They allowed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to engage in massive misstatements of earnings for years. So indecipherable were Freddie and Fannie that their federal regulator, OFHEO, whose more than 100 employees had no job except the oversight of these two institutions, totally missed their cooking of the

books. 16 Indeed, recent events demonstrate that certain big-name CEOs (or former CEOs) at major financial institutions were simply incapable of managing a business with a huge, complex book of derivatives. Include Charlie and me in this hapless group: When Berkshire purchased General Re in 1998, we knew we could not get our minds around its book of 23,218 derivatives contracts, made with 884 counterparties (many of which we had never heard of). So we decided to close up shop. Though we were under no pressure and were operating in benign markets as we exited, it took us five years and more than $400 million in losses to largely complete the task. Upon leaving, our feelings about the business mirrored a line in a country song: “I liked you better before I got to know you so well.”

What's truly wrong with our financial system?

2009-01-26T18:37:00.000-08:00

The last paragraph in an article titled How to play chicken and lose from The Economist Jan 24th '09 is perhaps one of the best explanations of why our financial system is in the mess it is.

"Over the past 35 years it has seemed as if everyone in finance has wanted to be someone else. Hedge funds and private equity wanted to be as cool as a dotcom. Goldman Sachs wanted to be as smart as a hedge fund. The other investment banks wanted to be as profitable as Goldman Sachs. America's retail banks wanted to be as cutting edge as investment banks. And European banks wanted to be as aggressive as American banks. They all ended up wishing they could be back precisely where they started."

"...there's no place like home."

Parallel History Thoughts: What if there was no American Revolution?

2009-01-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

Revisiting the American Revolution:

What would America's history have looked like over the past 200+ years had there never been an American Revolution? A giant version of Canada that stretched from the Mexican border to the Artic Circle? Perhaps Russia would have thought twice about selling us Alaska? Would our current government be a Parliamentary vs a Representative Republic? Perhaps slavery would have ended without a bloody Civil War given the efforts of Wilburforce in the UK in the early 19th century? Perhaps Hitler would have thought twice about invading the UK isles if he knew that that the resources of America would be brought to bear? Without the American revolution would we have had a Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson or Madison? What about Lincoln? What of the Indians? What of the 'Wild West' and 'Manifest Destiny'.

Parallel history discussions are always fascinating in that they give you fresh canvas for exploring a whole new set of 'what-ifs' based on a set of knows. Perhaps everything would be exactly the same.

Let me know your thoughts.

Why our economy stinks

2008-12-29T09:53:00.001-08:00

It all begins with our leadership...

"I think this is a case where Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE - News) and Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM - News) are fundamentally sound. They're not in danger of going under I think they are in good shape going forward." -- Barney Frank (D-Mass.), House Financial Services Committee chairman, July 14, 2008

Caroline Kennedy for Senator: What a joke!

2008-12-29T09:15:00.000-08:00

As a New Yorker I get to weigh-in and state categorically that appointing Caroline Kennedy to fill Hillary Clinton's position would be a fiasco for many reason. Here are my three reasons why.

Better Candidates: There are many other NYers (both politicians and non-politicians) who are better qualified to represent the interests of NY and serve as a Senator. On the political side; Suozzi, Maloney, Silver, Bloomberg and Cuomo all would be a better choice then Caroline Kennedy. Additionally, there are many retired first rate executives throughout NY most any of whom could do an admirable job.
She's never run for anything: Caroline is a nice person but certainly not a Senator or even a school board member. Heck to the best of my knowledge she's never sought votes, raised money or run for anything of note. Worse, her interviews over the past week have been as embarrasing as her own voting record.
Kennedy name: In 2009 the Kennedy name means little to the majority of NYers; only those in the media think it carries any cache. Worse, most every American is turned-off by the notion of gaining an advantage because of one's surname. It's time to give opportunities to those who have worked hard, paid their dues and earned our respect; something Caroline Kennedy has not done.

Best explanation about what went wrong with rating agencies

2008-12-08T11:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=955037443

Business Sheet's Biggest Losers: A Classic

2008-12-01T12:38:00.000-08:00

Of course all these guys in the "Biggest Losers" had the dough to lose. The comments are the best part.

Garden City Junior High School 1973 Boy's Championship Basketball team (12-2)

2008-11-24T15:00:00.000-08:00

Ahh the 70's; when shorts were short and socks were long.

Left to Right: Bruce Bergwall, Keith Ladd, Richard Graham, Coach Ralph Kenny, Tom Bonanno, Jimmy Kenny and Mgr. Mark Chingas. Rounding out the team (not shown) are Phil Hoffman, Jim Evans, Pete Odenthal, Dan Sullivan, Marc Palminter, Bill Goefert, Dave DeLong and Jim Procelli.

A Good Argument for Bankruptcy of the "Big 3"

2008-11-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Let Detroit Go Bankrupt

MITT ROMNEY

Published: November 18, 2008

Boston

Enlarge This Image

Ronald J. Cala II

Times Topics: Auto Industry Bailout

Times Topics: Mitt Romney

Readers' Comments

"The federal government needs to rethink its priorities. Let's spend our money wisely and invest in 'America' first."

Dr. Arnold Wolf, Sterling Heights, Mich.

Read Full Comment »

IF General Motors, Ford and Chryslerget the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

More vs Better Government

2008-11-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

One thing is clear from this fall's financial debacle; our governments utter inability to hold anyone responsible for being asleep at the switch or in making the wrong decision. How is it possible that the likes of Paulson, Dodd, Frank and Cox and even President Bush himself (key public figures in a position of authority and responsibility when it comes to our nations treasury) are not being investigated by prosecutors on charges that the military used to be classify as "dereliction of duty". I fear that the $700,000,000,000 in funding provided for under the legislation that has recently be passed will go down as the greatest heist in the history of man kind. Greed knows no bounds and now where is greed more grievous than in Washington DC and Wall Street.

Franklin often inferred that even at the founding America's decline and ultimate demise will come from within via the corruption and incompetence that is bred by our current political system.

Psalm 28:29

2008-10-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

"He who trusts in himself is a fool,

but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe".

Psalm Chapter 28, verse 29

Free Will vs. Security: The Grand Inquisitor Redux

2008-10-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

I heard on the radio this AM a reference to the Doestefsky's brilliant novel; The Brothers Karamozov and in addition to bringing me back a few decades to one of my more memorable classes in college it reminded me of a fascinating chapter titled: The Grand Inquisitor that featured the famous quote:

"Nothing has been more insufferable for man than freedom..."

With the dire state of our finances (both fed, state and personal), the ongoing War on Terror, Drugs, Poverty, etc and so many focusing on themselves rather than the well being of "our neighbor" the theme of the Grand Inquisitor seems fitting. That is in the poem the Grand Inquisitor's statement to Christ (this is a novel) that he must leave because he offers individuals the freedom to choose where as he [the Inquisitor] offers them no freedom only security. In other words the Grand Inquisitor states to Christ that with His offering of freedom to followers implicit is the freedom to choose wisely and unwisely; and if a choice is unwise it will lead to despair and unhappiness. The Grand Inquisitor knows that freedom opens the door for suffering because people have the freedom to make a 'bad choice'. Whereas and without a choice his subject are far happier with security when compared to freedom.

As we roll out our new big government programs of President Obama I'm wondering whether decent to a choice-less society - one more akin to that which the Grand Inquisitor would approve - is where we are headed. Stay tuned.

Why the Bail Out is a Bad Idea

2008-09-30T07:11:00.001-07:00

A great article from CNNPolitico.com

By Jeffrey A. Miron
Special to CNN

This bailout was a terrible idea. Here's why.

The current mess would never have occurred in the absence of ill-conceived federal policies. The federal government chartered Fannie Mae in 1938 and Freddie Mac in 1970; these two mortgage lending institutions are at the center of the crisis. The government implicitly promised these institutions that it would make good on their debts, so Fannie and Freddie took on huge amounts of excessive risk.

Worse, beginning in 1977 and even more in the 1990s and the early part of this century, Congress pushed mortgage lenders and Fannie/Freddie to expand subprime lending. The industry was happy to oblige, given the implicit promise of federal backing, and subprime lending soared.

This subprime lending was more than a minor relaxation of existing credit guidelines. This lending was a wholesale abandonment of reasonable lending practices in which borrowers with poor credit characteristics got mortgages they were ill-equipped to handle.

Once housing prices declined and economic conditions worsened, defaults and delinquencies soared, leaving the industry holding large amounts of severely depreciated mortgage assets.

The fact that government bears such a huge responsibility for the current mess means any response should eliminate the conditions that created this situation in the first place, not attempt to fix bad government with more government.

The obvious alternative to a bailout is letting troubled financial institutions declare bankruptcy. Bankruptcy means that shareholders typically get wiped out and the creditors own the company.

Bankruptcy does not mean the company disappears; it is just owned by someone new (as has occurred with several airlines). Bankruptcy punishes those who took excessive risks while preserving those aspects of a businesses that remain profitable.

In contrast, a bailout transfers enormous wealth from taxpayers to those who knowingly engaged in risky subprime lending. Thus, the bailout encourages companies to take large, imprudent risks and count on getting bailed out by government. This "moral hazard" generates enormous distortions in an economy's allocation of its financial resources.

Thoughtful advocates of the bailout might concede this perspective, but they argue that a bailout is necessary to prevent economic collapse. According to this view, lenders are not making loans, even for worthy projects, because they cannot get capital. This view has a grain of truth; if the bailout does not occur, more bankruptcies are possible and credit conditions may worsen for a time.

Talk of Armageddon, however, is ridiculous scare-mongering. If financial institutions cannot make productive loans, a profit opportunity exists for someone else. This might not happen instantly, but it will happen.

Further, the current credit freeze is likely due to Wall Street's hope of a bailout; bankers will not sell their lousy assets for 20 cents on the dollar if the government might pay 30, 50, or 80 cents.

The costs of the bailout, moreover, are almost certainly being understated. The administration's claim is that many mortgage assets are merely illiquid, not truly worthless, implying taxpayers will recoup much of their $700 billion.

If these assets are worth something, however, private parties should want to buy them, and they would do so if the owners would accept fair market value. Far more likely is that current owners have brushed under the rug how little their assets are worth.

The bailout has more problems. The final legislation will probably include numerous side conditions and special dealings that reward Washington lobbyists and their clients.

Anticipation of the bailout will engender strategic behavior by Wall Street institutions as they shuffle their assets and position their balance sheets to maximize their take. The bailout will open the door to further federal meddling in financial markets.

So what should the government do? Eliminate those policies that generated the current mess. This means, at a general level, abandoning the goal of home ownership independent of ability to pay. This means, in particular, getting rid of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with policies like the Community Reinvestment Act that pressure banks into subprime lending.

The right view of the financial mess is that an enormous fraction of subprime lending should never have occurred in the first place. Someone has to pay for that. That someone should not be, and does not need to be, the U.S. taxpayer.

Our Flawed Financial System

2008-09-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

While reading through the Bible this AM I came across the following two (2) verses in Psalms that seemed all too fitting in light of the financial chaos that is wracking our nation.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

¹⁶ The LORD is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. ^[c]

So much has been written about countries financial fiasco that I'll just leave my current thoughts with this these two (2) verses but rest assure what has happened to our financial system is no accident.

Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000: The cuprit for high oil prices

2008-06-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000

http://www.onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_3252.shtml

The ghost of Enron returns . . .

As that US Senate report noted, “Until recently, US energy futures were traded exclusively on regulated exchanges within the United States, like the NYMEX, which are subject to extensive oversight by the CFTC, including ongoing monitoring to detect and prevent price manipulation or fraud. In recent years, however, there has been a tremendous growth in the trading of contracts that look and are structured just like futures contracts, but which are traded on unregulated OTC electronic markets. Because of their similarity to futures contracts they are often called 'futures look-alikes.'
"The only practical difference between futures look-alike contracts and futures contracts is that the look-alikes are traded in unregulated markets whereas futures are traded on regulated exchanges. The trading of energy commodities by large firms on OTC electronic exchanges was exempted from CFTC oversight by a provision inserted at the behest of Enron and other large energy traders into the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 in the waning hours of the 106th Congress.<>"The impact on market oversight has been substantial. NYMEX traders, for example, are required to keep records of all trades and report large trades to the CFTC. These Large Trader Reports, together with daily trading data providing price and volume information, are the CFTC’s primary tools to gauge the extent of speculation in the markets and to detect, prevent, and prosecute price manipulation. CFTC Chairman Reuben Jeffrey recently stated: 'The Commission’s Large Trader information system is one of the cornerstones of our surveillance program and enables detection of concentrated and coordinated positions that might be used by one or more traders to attempt manipulation.'
"In contrast to trades conducted on the NYMEX, traders on unregulated OTC electronic exchanges are not required to keep records or file Large Trader Reports with the CFTC, and these trades are exempt from routine CFTC oversight. In contrast to trades conducted on regulated futures exchanges, there is no limit on the number of contracts a speculator may hold on an unregulated OTC electronic exchange, no monitoring of trading by the exchange itself, and no reporting of the amount of outstanding contracts (open interest) at the end of each day.” [1]

Brewing War Against Web Advertising

2008-06-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

"War against the Web"

Randall Rothenberg, President & CEO of Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) warned us all that legislation is pending in both NYS and CT's legislature that could destroy the Ad Rev opportunities for web based pubs by requiring that all users be given the option of Opting Out of any advertising that may appear on their screen. Furthermore, the legislation would outlaw the collection of any user data (i.e. basic marketing info, ect). Worse yet, this legislation is being promulgated by legislators who at best have only a scant understanding of what they are doing and are being driven by the misguided and errant outcry's from such organizations as The Center for Digital Democracy and the likes of Penn's Prof Turow; both of whom are positioning web-based advertisers as the scourge of our nation. Their claims are ridiculous and would be laughable were in not for the fact that legislation is pending that could potentially wreak havoc in the on-line Ad rev business world; action is essential.

The best way to fight this idiocy is to contact NY and CT state legislatures to inform them of the damage such legislation could offer. Would they ban ads from newspapers and magazines? Why the web.

Melanie's Final Show

2008-05-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut_cWFrR8b0 YouTube video showing Melanie's final art project from the Moore College of Art. May 18, 2008.

The Paradox: by George Carlin

2008-05-16T05:11:00.000-07:00

Every now and then Carlin is so right! One of his more thought provoking works as sent to me by my good friend Appolos. ___________________________________________________

The paradox of our time in history is that we have:

taller buildings but shorter tempers,

wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less,

we buy more, but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families,

more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense,

more knowledge, but less judgment,

more experts, yet more problems,

more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait.

We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancierhouses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stock room.

A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.Give time to love, give time to speak!

And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Why is gasoline so cheap in the US?

2008-05-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Interesting read from CNN Money about just how cheap gasoline really is in the US.

Why companys fail at customer service - an Interview with Jeff Bezos in BusinessWeek

2008-05-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

BusinessWeek has a great article and interview with Jeff Bezos on innovation and putting customers first. Below is just one of the great answers offered up. Much to learn.

Q: Every company claims to be customer-focused. Why do you think so few are able to pull it off?

A: Companies get skills-focused, instead of customer-needs focused.

When [companies] think about extending their business into some new area, the first question is "why should we do that—we don't have any skills in that area." That approach puts a finite lifetime on a company, because the world changes, and what used to be cutting-edge skills have turned into something your customers may not need anymore. A much more stable strategy is to start with "what do my customers need?" Then do an inventory of the gaps in your skills. Kindle is a great example. If we set our strategy by what our skills happen to be rather than by what our customers need, we never would have done it. We had to go out and hire people who know how to build hardware devices and create a whole new competency for the company.

Newspaper Demise - $42B+ up for grabs?

2008-04-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

Today's Silicon Valley Insider claims that $42B in Ad Rev is up for grabs in the coming years and it's at least clearer to see why after reading their article. The online format is merciless on inefficiencies and throughout its history publishing in general is all about "warehousing" more information than you actually need. And worse newspapers try and do it everyday! That said it's easy to see why national newspaper such as USA Today and WSJ are actually gaining circ. with their new formats and style that include the incorporation of the web in their product whereas traditional papers are sticking to their knitting and dieing. (Only the NYT would make the new info free and charge for the archives; geez what a bunch of knucklheads.) Same with many periodicals such as BusinessWeek vs Wired. Its all about the product!

At the Web 2.0 Expo last week a statement was made that in general for every newspaper sold their are 10X viewers of that same content on line. However, the newspaper publishers have only been able to monetize those on-line viewers at a rate of approx. 1/10 that which they get from the ink-on-paper version. Hmmm. Why is this so hard for those in the newspaper business to figure out. Lead with the online; not the printed format and make sure that the traffic generated is efficiently converting those ads to leads not just traffic - click crap.

Web 2.0 Expo: Day Three

2008-04-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of SunMicrosystems, Inc. (JAVA) offered a compelling argument for why every CEO worth his or her salt ought to be blogging; its communication and not PR. Blogging is almost an anachronistic term and should instead be referred to simply as "communication". Among the chief responsibilities of any CEO is to communicate with their employees, shareholders and customers and a blog is simply just another means to do so. "Web 2.0/blogging what ever you want to call it is simply another way for me to reach those I need to connect. Yes there were bumps to get started but I my guide was to blog just as I would talk with anyone about the business."

Web 2.0 Expo: Day Two

2008-04-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

Yahoo's Ari Balogh rolled out their new Search Monkey; a feature that enables 3rd parties an opportunity to upgrade their search results over those traditional organic results. The concept is simple but the idea that one of the premier general search engines are willing to allow web site owners the ability to upgrade search results that are displayed by Yahoo is truly revolutionary. It's no secret that with MSFT breathing down their necks Yahoo's Yang has to break the mold and try something new. Besides anything that could improve bail-rates from Yahoo's results would be a welcome improvement; something that only site owners could offer.

Will this Wiki-like approach to improving that which Yahoo serves up enable Yahoo to catch Google, probably not. But it will certainly improve some of the results and hence user experience. Bravo Yahoo; too bad you waited so long to offer this feature. I suppose necessity is still the mother of invention even in the Silicon Valley.

Mark Andreesen was interviewed by John Battelle and as usual proved to all why he shares the mantel in Silicon Valley lore with the likes of Steve Jobs, the Google Guys, David Packard, Larry Ellison and Gordon Moore as one of its true stars. Among the many things discussed was a stroll down the memory lane of the mid 90's when first his Mosaic browser opened the Internet to the public and then his Netscape Navigator to the masses. Additionally, he wouldn't take Battelle's bait (is MS "defanged") when queried on his feelings about MSFT and their incursion into Netscapes's space with IE but instead he took the high road and saluted Gates and gang for their efforts and in bringing a standard to the desk-top operating system that has enabled the development of all things Web 2.0. Prior to OS there were dozens of systems that ran PC's and developing products for those PC required multiple versions and lower productivity; something the cell phones business could learn from. Finally, he talked about his newest venture Ning; a social network platform for the masses. My guess is that like his Mosaic browser Ning will prove itself a winner especially given its unique viral format. Investors think so.

Presentation by executives from FaceBook and MySpace about marketing techniques and lesson's learned were informative (i.e popularity of the new 646 X 60 banner) and how paying attention to the four (4) pillars of an on-line ad programs 1) Ad Size, 2) Formatting, 3) placement and 4) ad network can dramatically impact your results. Hey, I'll always pay attention to someone who is speaking for a web site [ MySpace] that has 117 million UVs in March '08 and is adding [registering] over 200,000 new users each day!

Web 2.0 Expo - Day One; a view

2008-04-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

This week's Web 2.0 Expo here in San Francisco is again a front-row seat to what everyone else is doing with their SocialMedia (blog) strategy. Much has changed just since last year's meeting - especially around the operating systems and software capabilities and thought I'd just give three (3) key items I observed today.

Microsoft's new Live Mesh renews lends credence that software's future lie in it's usefulness beyond a single device. Simultaneously it builds upon the economics of centralization - and the whole notion of ambient "cloud" computing. An impressive idea that whose value is obvious. Let's just hope it works.
Clay Shirky offered an interesting perspective on the changes in Media that are underway in part thanks to battle hymn of social media. In summary, media was offered solely for consumption and was created using a very ordinary, vertically integrated, command and control business model. Someone (networks) made it and the masses consumed it; usually from their couch. What's changing - and what traditional media can't stand - that that media is evolving into really three (3) parts: Consumption, Participation and Sharing. Still the vast majority of media is consumed but over time newer generation will come to expect that which they can participate in and share with others. Can you say Wikipedia, Facebook, MySpace, Slide. Clay went on to say that he estimates that Wikipedia has cost approx 100 million man/hours of time to create but that in the US alone we consume (watch) about 200 billion man/hours of traditional media. That is for all the time and effort that has gone into creating Wikipedia the amount of intellectual capacity that is still off-line during the consumption of traditional media is the equivalent of 2,000 individual Wikipedia's per year.
Little mention of Google beyond their utility-like characteristics as it relates to SEO strategies for blogs and social media sites. Strange in as much as how prominent Google was featured at this meeting last year with Eric Schmidt's roll out of their new Apps offering. Not that Google is unimportant but there are clearly many new participants some old (IBM) and some new (Slide, Orange Soda).

Religion vs. the Gosple

2008-04-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

From time to time I find discussions with friends turn to issues of faith, God and spirituality and invariably "religion" comes up as a key topic and often is a great source of confusion for most. That is, when asked what do I believe I'll say the "Gospel" to which they say yes but what religion are you; as if that is more important.

All religions are "man made" whereas the Gospel is the message, 'the good news of Christ'; a big difference. To that end I came across the following that was posted by Mark Driscoll and thought it did a pretty nifty job of further clarifying the sublte yet very important difference.

Religion says, if I obey, God will love me. Gospel says, because God loves me, I can obey.

Religion has good people & bad people. Gospel has only repentant and unrepentant people.

Religion values a birth family. Gospel values a new birth.

Religion depends on what I do. Gospel depends on what Jesus has done.

Religion claims that sanctification justifies me. Gospel claims that justification enables sanctification.

Religion has the goal to get from God. Gospel has the goal to get God.

Religion sees hardships as punishment for sin. Gospel sees hardship as sanctified affliction.

Religion is about me. Gospel is about Jesus.

Religion believes appearing as a good person is the key. Gospel believes that being honest is the key.

Religion has an uncertainty of standing before God. Gospel has certainty based upon Jesus' work.

Religion sees Jesus as the means. Gospel sees Jesus as the end.

Religion ends in pride or despair. Gospel ends in humble joy.

7 Blunders

2007-12-01T06:03:00.000-08:00

Thought the following was worth repeating from Wikipedia. How timely is #7.

The Seven Blunders of the World is a list that Mahatma Gandhi gave to his grandson Arun Gandhi, written on a piece of paper, on their final day together, not too long before his assassination.[1]

Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humanity
Worship without sacrifice
Politics without principle

__ things every teenage should know

2007-11-30T21:11:00.000-08:00

Here are five (5) things every person between 15-18 should know.

1. The Gettysberg Address
2. The 10 Commandments
3. How to fix a flat tire
4. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech
5. How to balance a check book

2007-11-22T18:33:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

I think Abraham Lincoln said it best when he pronounced the establishment of Thanksgiving Day as a holiday.

"I invite my fellow citizens to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiv ing and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. "

Abraham Lincoln
3 Oct 1863

8 ways to save our economy

2007-11-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

If I were king here are eight (8) things I would do to return fiscal sanity to our country. I welcome your thoughts and comments. (Note - these are note in priority.)

1. Cancel The Medicare Part D program: Too expensive and too inefficient; a mess that we cannot afford. "A camel is a horse designed by a committee."; Medicare Part D is a camel. In years past our politicians would build offices and monuments to themselves now they are building gold-plated entitlement programs that are neither understandable nor effective at solving the problem for which they were created. Bush's worst domestic program that is not needed when we already have a program that works just fine.

2. Replace Current Income Tax with National Sales Tax with no deductions or exceptions:
The single best and fastest way to restore sanity and trust to our government. The current income tax system is but a wage tax and touches mostly those whose salary is reduced by those who must pay the 941. Easy to implement - most every state currently collects from those selling products or services in their state - and more efficient - easier to track down 12+ million "sellers" than 160+ million individuals. For example a 22% National Sales tax combined with an $8,000/year prebate for each household spares the lowest earners while enabling everyone else to control and manage precisely how much tax they pay.

3. Cancel Corp Tax: Makes politicians feel good but doesn't work [has never worked] as it is just a cost passed along to consumers.

4. Raise Fed Gasoline tax by $.10/year for each of the next ten (10) years: It is in the best interest of everyone in our country for us to use less gasoline. Taxes when implemented correctly make sense and a tax on gasoline that is scheduled to increase at a prescribed amount over a period of time will enable consumers to make their own choices is just such an example.

5. Reduce the number of school districts to one per county: School districts are an anachronism that have outlived their usefulness with the exception of their ability at hiring over priced administrative staffs. Having one school district for one (1) town or worse one (1) school is simply a waste of money that offers almost nothing to students. (You don't need a school district to run a bus service let alone manage a set of elementary and secondary schools that serve less than 3,000 students) School districts exists almost solely for the purpose of hiring and spending money on administrative personnel. In addition to funding schools need teachers, principles and parents to be effective; not administrators.

6. Cut all Federal entitlement expenditures by 10% in each of the next three (3) years: There is so much fat, fraud and waste in every entitlement program that an across the board 10% cut is the least we should expect. Granted that most all of our Fed representatives are beholden to only a small percentage of their constituents and special interests but it would be a challenge worth offering.

7. Raise the qualifying age for Social Security to 70 for those born on or after 1958 and then to 75 for those born on or after 1967. The math is simple. Either we reduce SS by some small amount for all or the whole thing will collapse and serve as the foundation for a revolution. Defined pensions went the way of the unicorn so why shouldn't SS?

8. Elected officials should be for single but longer terms that are purely voluntary.Today's professional politicians (i.e. Murtha, Bruno, Byrd, etc) are the single most destructive force in our political system. They serve no one but themselves and exist solely to retain their power. Congress - save a few oversight committees - is a useless entity that serves no one but themselves. Time to hit the re-set button.

A case for a National Sales Tax

2007-07-09T18:45:00.001-07:00

Congress is sitting on an opportunity that is almost too good to be true.

It is in the form of Bills HR 25 and S 1493 "Fair Tax Act of 2003", and if passed it would be heralded by all Americans as the single greatest act of liberation and support for the citizenry of this country since the Declaration of Independence. (Please don't confuse the writing of the Declaration of Independence with the wording of HR 25 or S 1493 mind you; just the possible outcome.)

A 22% National Sales Tax (NST) would do the following:

1. Spur investment and savings because you could put away savings BEFORE it is taxed. Today the avg. US citizen saves the least amount as a percentage of their income than any of the 20 leading industrialized nations. Savings, and not borrowing, is the #1 growth engine for any economy.

2. Fairness: Make sure everyone pays. Afterall, it's easier to chase down 8 million + business than it is 170 million tax payers.

3. Simplicity: The mechanism to collect the NST already exists. Every public, private and non-profit firm/org. in America already pays taxes to the state in which they reside i.e. 941, FICA, FUTA, etc. Having them now also collect an additional 22% NST would simply be just another item to collect, file and pay. To the contrary, filling out individual tax returns is simply a time consuming hassle at best and an expensive nightmare at worst.

4. Greater Revenue: Today it is estimated that each year hundreds of billions of dollars are lost for non payment/compliance by tax payers. With a NST that number would be reduced substantially because of a) simplicity of collection and b) less reason to hide income.

Is a NST perfect? By no means. Is it better than what we have today? Absolutely! Will our economy suffer by switching from an income to a consumption tax? Absolutely not!! Will some people cry foul? Absolutely! Those who have not been paying their fair share of taxes and those who live off those who do not pay their fair share of taxes.

Let me know what you think. More importantly let your Congress person know what you think and tell your friends if you agree to let their representatives know as well.

Philemon - A letter to a friend.

2007-05-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

Do you know who Philemon was? I didn't.

A few days ago I found a personal letter that was written to him from a friend who happened to be in prison at the time and he wasn't requesting bail or visitation rights.

What's most curious about the letter - besides being almost 1,970 years old, is that its about someone, a run-away slave named Onesimus, who fled Philemon and who coincidentally found himself working in - of all places - a prison that housed one of his former owner's friends. This friend of Philemon was a guy named Paul who himself was a well trained and highly respected [feared] lawyer who - because of an incident years earlier on the trip to Damascus - found himself on the wrong side of the law. Simply put I found this letter to be a fascinating read and study of two (2) professional men and in the power and value of grace and its ability to alter one's heart, the course of mankind and history itself.

Further more beyond its prose and style I was struck by the position Paul took that simultaneously reflected his lawlerly background and their mutual love and faith in Jesus Christ - in resolving what could only be described as a bad situation for Onesimus. (Something today's politicians and civic leaders could well learn from.) And to add to the tension Paul asks Onesimus to a) quit his job at the prison and b) return to Philemon with the this specific letter. (Since it was common to kill run away slaves who return I couldn't help but wonder if Onesimus read this private letter? If not what must have been going on through his mind when he saw Philemon and handed him the letter.) It was not just Paul but Paul and the Holy Spirit which turned the entire situation around into an incredible WIN-WIN for all concerned by appealing to their mutual commitment, love and faith in Jesus Christ. Could you have imaged writing a sentence like the following.

"Perhaps the reason he (Onesimus) was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever - no longer as a slave, but better that a slave, as a dear brother..."(v15)

I would have said "Philemon, get me out of here!"

In early April TIME magazine ran an article about bringing the Bible back into the school's curriculum. Whether you agree or disagree with that idea, and regardless of your position on faith, after reading the letter a guy named Paul wrote to his friend named Philemon concerning a run away slave you would be hard pressed not to see at the very least the civic value the Bible has to offer our future generations. Is there any question in any one's mind that it would make worse the present situation?

Web 2.0 Expo - A perspective

2007-04-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

The Internet is indeed alive and growing! Last weeks (4/15-18/07) Web 2.0 Expo proved beyond a doubt that the Internet as you knew it just a few months ago is rapidly morphing and changing both itself and the way in which we are able to connect with others. My case in point:

Jeff Bezos founder and CEO of Amazon did not spend one moment discussing his incredibly successful business but instead focused almost exclusively on his new ventures http://aws.amazon.com.

Search on Blog has gone from nil to 20% of all search activity in less than 6 mos; an astounding figure.

1 in 2 bloggers are under 30. 1 in 3 are over 30.

Word of mouth advertising is fast replacing ad generated spin as the prefered way to sell a service or product.

Widgets and Gadgets are a must.

Test, test and keep on testing.

Naked Conversations

2007-04-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

Having just finished Naked Conversations by Scoble/Isreal I'm more convinced than ever that this here medium (blogs) has reached the Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell so effortlessly defined in his book of the same name. The "little thing" that has tipped for blogs I sense is the sudden ease with which both creating [writing] and searching for blogs has ocurred. Furthermore blogs like those from the likes of Battelle, Scobel and Israel just reaffirm the wealth of insite and wisdom that is available to all by simply taking the time to turn off their TV and start blogging. Also, try out Melnik's Blog The Mushroom Farm. Welcome and enjoy. More to come.

Note: This blog actually back with my first attempt titled Getting Started which fizzled.

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