Posts Tagged: USD


17
Feb 10

Instant DVD Gratification is worth a Premium

I love me some Redbox.  I’m ashamed to admit that I’m probably a good 5-years behind on movies I want to see.  Buying any DVD (with the exception of kids’ movies) is a waste of money, in my opinion.  I contemplated signing up for Netflix, but I doubt I would utilize the service enough to justify the expense.  Redbox neatly fills that void by allowing me to pick up new releases at my convenience, all for the low price of $1 plus tax.


1
Jan 10

Tablets could ruin everything

Speculated mock-up of Apple’s forthcoming tablet product.

 

I’m watching all the speculation over Apple soon-to-be unveiled Tablet product, due to be revealed on 1/26/2010.   Steve Job’s had questioned the wisdom of a tablet (NYTimes via John Gruber):

Another former Apple executive who was there at the time said the tablets kept getting shelved at Apple because Mr. Jobs, whose incisive critiques are often memorable, asked, in essence, what they were good for besides surfing the Web in the bathroom.


23
Dec 09

Are You a Fan of Pepsi?


This is kind of a big deal, and may be one of the first mass market attempts of strategic use of Social Media by a major brand.  Pepsi appears to be running a textbook engagement campaign instead of a traditional mass market television campaign for the 2010 Superbowl (via Springwise):


7
Dec 09

Daily Links for December 7th

All excerpts are quoted from the respective link(s).

  • The Major Works of Counterintuitive Thought From the Past Decade- The 00’s Issue– New York Magazine – In the aughts, the shocking hidden side of everything became the only side of anything worthy of magazine covers and book deals. Social scientists applied their techniques to the problem of climate change; liberals who wanted to be taken seriously had to come up with arguments for conservative policies and vice versa. Everywhere in the media, the former creators of mass consensus devoted themselves to contradicting the conventional wisdom. Here, a selection of the most unlikely ideas in a decade that was always looking to blow your mind.
  • Winners and Losers as the Dollar Falls – Experts argue about the many effects of the dollar's fall and what it says about confidence in the American economy, with its decades-old trade deficit and mounting national debt. But there are also more predictable effects replayed in each decline.
  • How Will You Die? – While you may be worried of catching of an obscure disease you heard about on the news, the truth is that we are far more likely to die of a small range of illnesses, nearly all of which are tied in some way to your lifestyle choices, like the food you eat or how much exercise you get. But you can lessen—sometimes dramatically—the likelihood of succumbing to the most common causes of death by knowing your risk factors and making informed choices. This is a look at your most likely cause of death (excluding uncontrollable events like accidents and homicide), given your race, sex, and age. Use this information to make choices that will keep you healthy.
  • The Biggest Lie In Social Media – Weather we want to believe it or not, investing in social media takes time, money, and resources. Companies and people need to have a means for evaluating their investment in social against other areas of focus. When the bean counters and CMOs are weighing their options, I can guarantee you an argument of “the numbers don’t matter” won’t hold water and will have you laughed out of the room.
  • Why Social Media Purists Won’t Last | Social Media Explorer – No, I’m not turning my back on the social media community or mindset. But I am trying to make a point all the social media evangelists out there need to grow up and face: If you don’t stop selling the fluff and start driving the bottom line, you’re going to have to go back to whatever you were doing in 2005. It’s not about convincing the curmudgeon. It’s not about waiting it out until digital natives are calling the shots. It’s about making social media drive business for your clients or companies. If you don’t, you’ll soon hear, “You’re fired,” and it won’t be from Apprentice reruns.
  • Three Tweets for the Web – Many critics of contemporary life want our culture to remain like a long-distance relationship at a time when most of us are growing into something more mature. We assemble culture for ourselves, creating and committing ourselves to a fascinating brocade. Very often the paper-and-ink book is less central to this new endeavor; it’s just another cultural bit we consume along with many others. But we are better off for this change, a change that is filling our daily lives with beauty, suspense, and learning.
  • Business Week Social Media Article Misses The Point – They frame it as if social media (which in reality is just one part of the digital marketing mix) is this new scary thing, and that companies and professionals are gullible enough to be usurped by snake oil types. At this point, the opposite is true: any marketer worth their salt understands digital marketing by now. At least enough not to be sold snake oil.

    Executing on the correct digital strategy can accomplish the same business objectives as strong traditional marketing/PR strategy. The web and the real are no different in my eyes: this article might as well have been called “Beware The Consultant Snake Oil,” sans-social media. What does the web have to do with it?


3
Nov 09

The Iron Paywall?

Saul Friedman, an 80-year old print veteran at Newsday, hops over the paywall (via BoingBoing):

Customers of Cablevision, the cable and Internet provider that owns Newsday, and people who subscribe to Newsday in print will still be able to browse Newsday.com unfettered. But Newsday recently announced that everyone else will have to pay $5 a week to see much of the site, making it one of the few newspapers in the country to take such a plunge.


27
Feb 09

PMH CEO Brian Tierney’s Leadership Lunch at the University of Pennsylvania

I was unable to attend Tierney’s Wharton Leadership Lunch at the University of Pennsylvania.  Fortunately, I am a close friend with someone who did.  This anonymous writer is well grounded in the disciplines of business, politics, economics, and the business of journalism.

These are his thoughts, presented without any of my commentary (previously).

Brian Tierney — CEO of Philadelphia Media Holdings, CEO and Publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer, and CEO of The Philadelphia Daily News — visited the University of Pennsylvania today for a “Leadership Lunch” with undergraduate students. He arrived 20 minutes late, bustling and jovial, no apology. His public relations background shows; he is an optimistic, outsized media personality, all confident and energetic. He uses the pronouns “my” and “I” often, very few references to the credit due his employees or co-investors — except editor William Marimow, to whom we will return. (Perhaps, given the current state of the company, they are grateful that he takes all the credit.)

Tierney opened with a brief biography, then segued into the challenges of the Inquirer and Daily News.


23
Sep 08

The gPhone cometh…

The webcast is due to begin at 10:30 EST.  I can’t justify spending money for a new phone and a bigger data plan ($5.99 T-Zones and a 5-year old Nokia 3650 are fine by me).  Even the appeal of faster 3G connections is not enough.  $0.89 per DRM-free song from Amazon isn’t enough.  I’m just not ready.  I’d rather buy a used iPhone off eBay or wait for the second or third round of gPhones.

I’m prepared to be let down by the gPhone.  The initial leaked specs are a little weak – no video recording?  Really?  Most carriers free phones have video ability!  And no stereo bluetooth?  No inline headphone jack?


23
Sep 08

The Political Component of the Bailout.

First off, the die has been cast. No matter how much money we’ve thrown at the situation, it will simply have the effect of taking your shoes off at the airport – creating an illusion of safety. Post-bailout, we will have $1.3T reasons to feel that all will be well, and that the disaster has passed. But those will be illusions.


21
Sep 08

No Blank Checks.

Congress was shook to the bone by the Bald Banker and Bearded Professor:

Mr. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. had made an urgent and unusual evening visit to Capitol Hill, and they were gathered around a conference table in the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“When you listened to him describe it you gulped,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York.

Their reaction calls to mind the reaction to the Bush saber rattling over Iraq as well as this little bit of research:


19
Sep 08

Bailout.

Make no mistake, it is coming. They are clearly in panic mode [nakedcapitalism via Economist's View]:

“We have lost control,” said Hale, quoting [Federal Reserve Chairman] Bernanke. “We cannot stabilize the dollar. We cannot control commodity prices.”

(Please note that they really could never control it anyway, regardless).

The NYT says:

The head of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve began discussions on Thursday with Congressional leaders on what could become the biggest bailout in United States history. While details remain to be worked out, the plan is likely to authorize the government to buy distressed mortgages at deep discounts from banks and other institutions. The proposal could result in the most direct commitment of taxpayer funds so far in the financial crisis that Fed and Treasury officials say is the worst they have ever seen.

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