 |
 |
09 May 2008 |  |
Marti Barletta: How to Market to Moms
07 MAY 2008 from Advertising Age | Read the full story»
If you are going after moms, make the most of the many ways to connect with them. But don't make the mistake of using stereotypical "mommy marketing."
Filed under Marketing
| Send this 
Student Consultants Supply Fresh Insights to Businesses
08 MAY 2008 from the New York Times | Read the full story»
Sending business students to do fieldwork at local firms is not new, of course. The trend, however, has taken a sharp new turn over the last few years, said Bo Fishback, vice president for entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation, a center of entrepreneurial research in Kansas City, Mo. "There has been a huge shift into these hands-on programs where the kids act as de facto consultants," Mr. Fishback said. (Subscription required)
Filed under Entrepreneurs
| Send this
U.S. lawmakers introduce new net neutrality bill
Two Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would subject broadband providers to antitrust violations if they block or slow Internet traffic.Filed under Technology
| Send this
Corporate giants get fat on food crisis
In our continuing series, "Food Fight," we look at the profitable side of the global food crisis. Sarah Gardner reports on the big agribusiness firms that are breaking earnings records as everything from grains to soybeans skyrockets.Ballmer's War Against Google
A behind-the-scenes look at Microsoft's provocative plans to challenge Google's online-ad juggernaut without Yahoo.Filed under Strategies
| Send this
A Fear of Big Demand for Corporate Loans
Banks have promised scores of companies money for a rainy day. Now that day is here — and the banks, hard pressed themselves, are worried they will have to keep their promises. (Subscription required)Podcast: Technology vs. Personal Interaction
Business is all about relationships, but relationships are transformed by technology. Peter Handal of Dale Carnegie advises on using technology without losing crucial personal interactions. (Audio
)
Filed under Brand You
| Send this
Comcast Mulling Net Usage Cap to Discourage 'Excessive' Use
Comcast is considering putting a formal cap on monthly downloads instead of just calling up users who used several times a typical subscriber's 2 gigs. It's a bid to increase transparency about limits that have always been there on an "unlimited" usage plan, they say. Others say "good luck" putting the genie back in the bottle.Filed under Strategies
| Send this
Cuba Bars Blogger from Accepting Award in Spain
Last year, Time magazine named Raul Castro one of the 100 most influential people in the world. This year, he is off the list, but another Cuban has taken his place. Her name is Yoani Sanchez, creator of a critical blog titled "Generation Y" that has received over a million hits. (Audio)
Filed under Blogging
| Send this
Soon, Your Space on MySpace Can Be Everybody's Space
The social networker plans to allow its customers to share their personal data with websites operated by Yahoo, eBay and others, a move that would change the nature of social networking.Meeting on the Right Side of the Brain
30 APR 2008 from the New York Times | Read the full story»
"It’s really hard to have productive meetings in rooms that suck the life right out of you." Now, vanguard hotels seem to have heard Ms. Marquard’s complaints and are offering meeting spaces that look more like lounges than boardrooms, with high-tech replacements for flip charts and yoga and wheat-grass shots on breaks. Such surroundings are meant to stimulate the right half of the brain, which has been linked to creativity, versus the left brain, said to be responsible for logic and other thinking. (Subscription required)
Hat tip: reveries
Filed under Strategies
| Send this
How Little Do Users Read?
06 MAY 2008 from Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox | Read the full story»
On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely.
Filed under Technology
| Send this
|
|
08 May 2008 | |
More productivity from fewer workers
U.S. worker productivity increased in the first quarter of 2008 at an annual rate of better than 2% -- which is pretty good. But the underlying reason is that job cuts required the remaining employees to do more work. Dan Grech reports.The Slump: It's a Guy Thing
Men, concentrated in the weakest sectors, are losing jobs in this downturn, while women make gains.Filed under Talent
| Send this
FBI Targets Internet Archive With Secret 'National Security Letter,' Loses
Without a warrant or subpoena, the FBI seeks records from the Internet Archive about one of its patrons, citing national security. But when the EFF and the ACLU intervene, a federal court sends the G-men packing.Survey: More Americans feeling 'green guilt'
More people (primarily women) are feeling guiltier this year than they were last about their not-so-carbon-neutral habits.Filed under Trend$
| Send this
Chinese firms bargain hunting in U.S.
05 MAY 2008 from the Los Angeles Times | Read the full story»
Liu is part of a growing wave of Chinese entrepreneurs expanding into the U.S. From Spartanburg to Los Angeles they are building factories, buying companies and investing in business and real estate.
Hat tip: boingboing
Indian workers don't want U.S. jobs, survey reports
Despite the controversy surrounding Indian nationals and the U.S. H-1B visa program, a recent survey of Indian high-tech graduates revealed that the vast majority would rather remain in India than relocate to the United States or other foreign countries to pursue career opportunities.Southwest gave free training to FAA manager
The head of the federal office overseeing Southwest Airlines reportedly accepted thousands of dollars in free pilot training ...Publisher's new imprint is greener, inside and out
Filed under Trend$
| Send this
Could home-loan rescue bill sink FHA?
The House is debating a $300 billion home-loan rescue package that would dramatically increase the Federal Housing Administration's role in cleaning up the subprime mess. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports on whether the FHA is up to the job.Institutional Innovations
A Silicon Valley nonprofit fostered the development of a radical open-source platform for top-level health research.Filed under Innovation
| Send this
Achieving Business Excellence
08 MAY 2008 from ChangeThis | Read the full story»
"There is no single strategy that will carry your company forever—just ask my buddy Tom Peters, who wrote the fantastic book In Search of Excellence back in 1982, only to watch more than half of the companies he highlighted go out of business! Markets shift, consumer preferences change, new competitors appear, technology advances—and so must you. Even though I can recommend which of today’s popular strategies I believe deserve your attention, there is no guarantee that these same strategies will still be as relevant in 20 years. I think they will, but no one can see that far ahead. With all of that said, [these] are the six strategies on which all the great companies I studied were relentlessly focused."
Filed under Excellence
| Send this
Keeping Families Above Water
08 MAY 2008 from the Wall Street Journal | Read the full story»
The latest flash point in the debate over the nation's bursting housing bubble is this: Since so many American houses are worth less than their mortgages, should the government do more to get lenders to settle for less than the full debt, even if it may cost taxpayers some money? (Subscription required)
|
|
07 May 2008 | |
Bill Gates says Microsoft going 'independent' way
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said Wednesday the company isn't pursuing other deals following the withdrawal of its $47.5 billion takeover bid for Yahoo....Chrysler offers cheaper gas as incentive
Chrysler has announced that customers who buy or lease one of its selected new cars in the next few weeks can lock in lower gas prices for three years. What is it thinking? Amy Scott reports.Filed under Strategies
| Send this
Technology Group Plans Wireless Network
A who’s who of technology and telecommunications companies announced Wednesday that it intends to build the first of a new generation of nationwide wireless data networks. (Subscription required)Filed under Technology
| Send this
Studentpreneurs
Nick Massari had dreams of becoming a baseball star, but instead finds himself running Nanina’s Gourmet Sauce, a million-dollar pasta-sauce business, reports Glenn Rifkin in the New York Times (5/2/08). Nick found himself at Nanina’s because he had helped start the company as a student in an entrepreneurship class...Filed under Entrepreneurs
| Send this
Unboxed: Can You Become a Creature of New Habits?
Brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel synaptic paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can encourage a way to innovation. (Subscription required)Washingtonpost.com wants identities of readers who post comments
Washington Post: Washingtonpost.com wants identities of readers who post comments—If Jim Brady had his way, there would be no guaranteed anonymity for those who post comments to Washingtonpost.com. — Brady, executive editor of The Washington Post Brady has a notable history with this issue...Taxing online retail sales is only fair
New York state is requiring online retailers to charge sales tax if they have marketing agreements with businesses in the state. It's prompted an Amazon lawsuit. But commentator Michael Mazerov says Internet retailers should play by the same rules as the shop on the corner.U.S. airlines bump up digital fun
More airlines are rolling out high-end in-flight entertainment products in the economy cabin, ushering in an era in which passengers have greater control and selection of movies, songs and video games.Filed under Technology
| Send this
Itineraries: Free Wi-Fi, but Not for All
As travelers demand free Internet access, and providers seek revenue, a compromise is emerging to offer both free and paid options. (Subscription required)Filed under Technology
| Send this
Little tweaks, huge impact
I love reading about little changes that make a big difference. The airline industry seems to be a great example.Filed under Strategies
| Send this
Degrees Designed for Rural Business
Some business schools are creating programs so grads can apply their skills to the farms and businesses of rural America.Filed under Entrepreneurs
| Send this
Ontario bakery succeeds with honor payment system
On a related note, here's an article about the City Café Bakery in Kitchener, Ontario, which uses an honor payment system and almost never gets cheated. |
|
06 May 2008 | |
harley says screw it
It's brave and gutsy, just like the brand.Filed under Branding
| Send this
Aflac shareholders OK executives' pay
Investors in the insurance company Aflac have become the first shareholders of a major U.S. company to vote on top executives' salaries. They overwhelmingly rubber-stamped a pay package put together by the board of directors. John Dimsdale reports.Even the Insured Feel Strain of Health Costs
For millions of people with employer health insurance, premiums and co-payments have increased quickly while coverage has become less extensive. (Subscription required)Filed under Healthcare
| Send this
Yahoo jilted for rejecting Microsoft
Microsoft has finally given up on wooing Yahoo into a long-term relationship. And today shareholders punished Yahoo with a 15% price drop. Host Tess Vigeland talks with C-Net's Ina Fried about what happened.If You Use Outlook E-Mail, Meet Xobni
The free downloadable software can index all of your Outlook e-mail and make messages quickly and easily searchable. (Subscription required)Filed under Technology
| Send this
Kids and Congress
Ebonya Washington, an economist at Yale, has a great paper that was just published in the American Economic Review called "Female Socialization: How Daughters Affect Their Legislator Fathers’ Voting on Women’s Issues." She looks at members in the House of Representatives and looks to see whether their voting patterns change. She provides interesting evidence that, "conditional on total number of children, each daughter increases a congress person’s propensity to vote liberally on reproductive rights issues."Southwest Is Waiting in the Wings
Southwest Airlines sees an opportunity for its own growth if United and US Airways merge and cut back flights to reduce costs. (Subscription required)All In A Days Work
The United States leads the world in two categories: work and waste. American employees put in more hours and take fewer vacations than just about anyone else in the industrialized world, and our individual ecological "footprints" are much larger.Yes, That's Microsoft Welcoming Regulation
05 MAY 2008 from Advertising Age | Read the full story»
Microsoft is pushing for regulation of the data that online companies collect for marketing purposes, leaving rivals angry and perplexed. (Subscription required)
HBS Cases: Negotiating with Wal-Mart
28 APR 2008 from Harvard Business School | Read the full story»
There are numerous media accounts of the corporate monolith riding its suppliers into the ground. But what about those who manage to survive, and thrive, while dealing with the classic hardball negotiator?
Filed under Strategies
| Send this
Doctors To Monitor ICU Patients Electronically
29 APR 2008 from the Washington Post | Read the full story»
Under a program known as Maryland eCare, six Maryland hospitals facing a shortage of emergency room doctors plan to use physicians in Delaware to electronically monitor intensive care patients. Under the $3 million program, a critical care doctor or intensivist based at a command center in Wilmington, DE, will oversee overnight care for as many as 150 patients and provide guidance to on-site nurses. Officials said the collaboration with the hospitals is needed, especially in exurban and rural areas. (Subscription required)
Filed under Healthcare
| Send this
Users Demand Expertise at How-To Web Sites
28 APR 2008 from the New York Times | Read the full story»
Quamut differentiates itself from the long list of how-to sites like eHow, HowStuffWorks.com and, to a lesser degree, About.com (which is owned by The New York Times Company), with a somewhat novel twist: selling downloadable documents of its otherwise free content. For instance, users who want to know how to make sushi can browse through 15 pages of information, like "how to make sushi rice," or can copy and print the information themselves. But Quamut sells a more polished version in a six-page color document for about $3. (Subscription required)
Filed under Strategies
| Send this
Survey: Providing health care an increasing challenge for small business
25 APR 2008 from the Business Journal of Milwaukee | Read the full story»
More than half of the small businesses responding to a survey from a Midwest payroll firm indicated that offering company healthcare for employees is too expensive. In addition, the survey indicated that fewer small businesses are offering healthcare than even two years ago. One out of five small business owners surveyed reported having at least one person turn down a job offer because healthcare was not included.
Filed under Healthcare
| Send this
|
|
05 May 2008 | |
How Stay-at-Home Moms Are Filling an Executive Niche
05 MAY 2008 from the Wall Street Journal | Read the full story»
Lots of employers would like to be able to hire cheap, temporary teams of seasoned pros with experience managing $2 billion investment portfolios, running ad campaigns or earning Ph.D.s in neuroscience. But few know the secret to finding temps of that caliber: Look on playgrounds and at PTA meetings. (Subscription required)
Filed under Talent
| Send this
Drug companies seek new prescriptions
Pharmaceutical companies face expiring patents on many blockbuster drugs, with few new medicines in the pipeline to replace them. So the industry's trying creative ways to make money. Some say too creative. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.Filed under Healthcare
| Send this
Yahoo Loses Its Deal Premium
Yahoo shares plunged nearly 20% as Wall Street reset the Internet giant's worth after Microsoft withdrew its $47.5 billion takeover offer. The scuttled bid may not prevent another attempt by Microsoft down the road. (Subscription required)U.S. Businesses Cash In on Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo has become big business in the U.S. as restaurants, bars and party planners turn the red, white and green-themed holiday into a lot of green for themselves. (Audio)
Why Leisure Matters in a Busy World
Leisure has many different definitions — we can even have leisure at work and be more productive, healthy and creative. (Subscription required)Filed under Brand You
| Send this
China's tighter visa rules slow business
With about three months to go before the China Olympics, Beijing is being picky about who it's letting in. Chinese visas are getting harder to come by, and foreign businessmen are crying foul. Scott Tong reports.Google's Surfing Safari
"We feel that we shouldbe a catalyst," Joseph Mucheru says, sitting in his office that overlooks central Nairobi. We, in this case, is Google, and the stout 39-year-old Kenyan heads the company's first outpost in sub-Saharan Africa. About 5% of Africans are online, but the thinking is that as the Internet grows, so will Google.Filed under Strategies
| Send this
Your Employees Are Dying to Be Heard
Poor workplace communication could be costing you business in more ways than you might imagine. Here's what you can do to improve it.Filed under Talent
| Send this
Talent Trumps Resume, Persistence Trumps Talent
I’ve encountered two seemingly contradictory pieces of wisdom about talent that add up to a powerful lesson about sustainable success.Filed under Talent
| Send this
'Cloud Computing' Puts Computer Resources on Tap
A new technology aims to make computer power, like electricity, a pay-as-you-go enterprise, potentially bringing supercomputing to the masses. Craig Balding, an information technology security expert for a Fortune 500 company, talks about what is known as "cloud computing." (Audio)
Filed under Technology
| Send this
pre-experience design
30 APR 2008 from russell davies | Read the full story»
I bet there's not a decent-sized corporation anywhere that enables process and experience designers to collaborate on 'expectation design' with marketing and communications people. It just doesn't work like that.
Hat tip: PSFK
Filed under Design
| Send this
Mars's Takeover of Wrigley Creates Global Powerhouse
29 APR 2008 from the Wall Street Journal | Read the full story»
Mars and Berkshire Hathaway agreed to acquire Wrigley for about $23 billion. The deal was a big surprise across Wall Street, but the effects are clear: a colossal candy-and-gum company investing in new markets around the globe, without having to answer to public shareholders. (Subscription required)
