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Entrepreneur.com: Latest Articles

Unstoppable Moms

Posted: December 30th, 2008, 6:00am CST

Feeling afraid and overwhelmed? Let these successful women who overcame significant obstacles inspire you.
Unstoppable Moms

Posted: December 29th, 2008, 6:00pm CST

Feeling afraid and overwhelmed? Let these successful women who overcame significant obstacles inspire you.

Businesspundit

Downsizing

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 7:22am CST by Ryan

Execupundit.com

Exploiting Success

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 6:50am CST

Jim Stroup at Managing Leadership gives solid advice on exploiting success. An excerpt:

A common practice in a military campaign is to hold some forces in reserve. The very wise rule of thumb is that they are to be used to reinforce success – to exploit a breakthrough or provide the decisive momentum at a point where your side is on the verge of victory.

Unfortunately, the instinct is to send them where your lines appear about to collapse. As natural as that would appear, it almost always works to your advantage to throw the weight of your resources behind a promising assault to seize the early victory, forcing your opponent to abandon his advantage and to reinforce his own failures.

And the same applies in business. We should be pouring our best resources into our most promising opportunities. But we often find ourselves instead propping up initiatives that have lost their luster, or supporting legacy programs due to misplaced affection or tradition.
Old Wine, New Bottles

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 6:36am CST

Bravo!

Check out Cultural Offering's advice on what to teach your children.

TED Blog

Alan Kay: The Graphic Novel

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 6:35am CST

To present BusinessWeek writer Steve Hamm's new book, The Race for Perfect: Inside the Quest to Design the Ultimate Portable Computer, his own magazine asked the artist Joseph Lambert to turn one chapter into a graphic adaptation. Lambert illustrates the role of Alan Kay, "whose ideas shaped the development of today’s laptops, handhelds, and smartphones." It begins with a look at Kay's own idiosyncratic education. Watch Alan Kay's TEDTalk to hear more of his thoughts on education, creativity and curiosity.

Image: Joseph Lambert/ BusinessWeek

Execupundit.com

Blogs on Leadership

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 6:31am CST

How nice!

This blog made the Delaware Employment Law Blog's list of 100 blogs about leadership.
The Need to Reaffirm

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 6:14am CST

You may believe that certain bedrock principles are so well-established that they do not need to be revisited.

Big mistake.

Principles, however major, need to be reaffirmed. If they are neglected, time can erode the perception of their importance. People may conclude that, well yes, they were crucial once but circumstances have changed and a modification or two or three may be appropriate. Those changes may be quietly made without drawing your atttention because, after all, you believe those principles are unchangeable.

I've been amazed at how often such changes are made simply because of poor memories. Some people will forget - perhaps because they never truly understood - the basis for certain principles and begin to drift. That's why you can attend board or committee meetings and encounter proposals that go completely against major decisions that were reached only a few meetings earlier. What you may have regarded as a key turning point shot past while the other person was distracted by a personal issue or was busily fantasizing about a trip to Tahiti.

All roads lead to basics. Those roads need to be maintained.
Quote of the Day

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 6:07am CST

He can compress the most words into the smallest ideas, of any man I ever met.

- Abraham Lincoln

Seth's Blog

What to do about Detroit

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 6:00am CST by Seth Godin

I was in Detroit last week... I have family there. I also drive a car. And I would rather that the world doesn't melt and the economy thrive. So I'm uniquely qualified to weigh in on the automobile industry.

Not only should Congress encourage/facilitate the organized bankruptcy of the Big Three, but it should also make it easy for them to be replaced by 500 new car companies.

Or perhaps a thousand.

That's how many car companies there were 90 years ago.

That's right, when all the innovation hit the car industry, there were thousands of car companies, with hundreds running at any one time. From Wikipedia:
Throughout this era, development of automotive technology was rapid, due in part to a huge number (hundreds) of small manufacturers all competing to gain the world's attention. Key developments included electric ignition (by Robert Bosch, 1903), independent suspension, and four-wheel brakes (by the Arrol-Johnston Company of Scotland in 1909).^[16] Leaf springs were widely used for suspension, though many other systems were still in use, with angle steel taking over from armored wood as the frame material of choice. Transmissions and throttle controls were widely adopted, allowing a variety of cruising speeds, though vehicles generally still had discrete speed settings rather than the infinitely variable system familiar in cars of later eras.

Between 1907 and 1912, the high-wheel motor buggy (resembling the horse buggy of before 1900) was in its heyday, with over seventy-five makers including Holsman (Chicago), IHC (Chicago), and Sears (which sold via catalog); the high-wheeler would be killed by the Model T.
Back in its heyday, Ford Motor made every single part of its cars, including raising the sheep that grew the wool that made the fabric that upholstered the seats. That's not true any more. Now, suppliers make just about every part. We need those suppliers, and we need them to stay healthy.

What we don't need are giant companies with limited choice, confused priorities, private jets and a bully's attitude.

I'd spend a billion dollars to make the creation of a car company turnkey. Make it easy to get all the safety and regulatory approvals... as easy to start a car company as it is to start a web company. Use the bankruptcy to wipe out the hated, legacy marketing portion of the industry: the dealers.

We'd end up with a rational number of "car stores" in every city that sold lots of brands. We'd have super cheap cars and super efficient cars and super weird cars. There'd be an orgy of innovation, and from that, a whole new energy and approach would evolve. Betcha.
Google gets jiggy

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 5:53am CST by Seth Godin

If you're a signed in user of Google, you'll notice the most significant change in search since their launch.

You can now interact with search results, wiki style.

You can vote them up or down and leave comments. And they will be seen by others.

1. This is going to lead to an incredible rush by small businesses and social networkers. They're going to go crazy trying to game the system.

2. Google is going to find that millions of people pay a lot more attention to their search results (for now).

Interesting to consider what happens after that. How do they handle the deluge? Does democracy matter when it comes to search? How do you filter out the gamed votes?

Also interesting to think about how a tiny change in a beloved interface changes the way you think about and use it.

Google is a natural resource. We're defensive. We don't want them to wreck it, we want it to be here forever and we want it to work better for us. All at the same time. I give them ten points for bravery.

Leadership Turn

Leading On The Road To Hell

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 5:30am CST by Miki Saxon

I’ve come to the conclusion that the road to hell isn’t paved with good intentions; it’s paved with ”leaders with intentions”—good, bad or indifferent.

I figured this out based on media coverage of leaders. After all, have you ever seen a media treatment of a follower?

Media co-opted ‘leader’ and ‘leadership’ decades ago and increasingly diluted the meaning until it disappeared.

Along with dilution, the media gave those they termed leaders the same treatment that was previously reserved for extraordinary athletes, celebrities and rock stars.

In doing so they created the monstrous, indestructible, uncontrollable ego found in every leader who bought into their hype; and reflected in compensation packages more fit for royalty than for business people.

And in case you haven’t noticed, you can find many of those massive egos in (surprise, surprise) investment banking, hedge funds, insurance and other sectors of financial services. But you knew that.

In fact, ego-mania has percolated throughout all industries, with little consideration for the size of the organization or its mission.

Further, in throwing the leader term around so loosely the media helped enlarge politicians’ already super-sized egos still more and extended the ego franchise to religious heads.

Not only are those egos super-sized, they also seem to be bulletproof.

How many of these ‘leaders’ have actually taken responsibility for what they’ve caused?

Have you seen them apologizing for their share of bringing down the global economy? Did I miss it? Boy, I hope you Tivoed it for posterity.

But the media’s gone pretty silent on the subject; lauding corporate heads seems to have gone the way of the dodo bird. But dodos aren’t the only extinct bird, the phoenix is, too. And like the phoenix, media leadership hype will rise again just as soon as we all forget—which, unfortunately, we will and that’s a historically proven fact.

By the way, I’m not the only one; Jim Stroup noticed the silence, too, only from a different perspective.

Your comments—priceless

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Image credit: sxc.hu
Tags: ego, Jim Stroup, leaders, leadership, media
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Businesspundit

Does a Potty Mouth Pay?

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 4:30am CST by Lela Davidson

As a partially reformed foul mouth, I’m always intrigued by cussing in the work place. For some businesses it’s obviously totally off limits. You can’t have the hostess at the Olive Garden telling you to sit your sorry a** down. However, in light of recent economic news, I can’t think of another time people would be tempted to let ‘er rip.

It seems the more intimate the setting, the more likely people are to use swear words. Or maybe it’s a generational/societal thing and we’ll all be swearing and thinking nothing of it soon. It’s a slippery slope. (I have to remind the neighbor kids that we don’t use frickin’ at my house.) Or maybe it just depends on the workplace.
What’s the Point of Swearing at Work?
I learned that you can always find another word to get your point across. But sometimes that’s just not true. Sometimes you want the wow factor of a cuss word. But as these words become more accepted, does the wow wear off? And then what’s left behind?

A lot of people believe swearing at work can improve morale? One 2007 study even ‘proved’ it. Have you ever felt a little closer to the boss after the dropping of an F-Bomb? A relaxed attitude can make people feel more comfortable, but does this lead to increased productivity or just a degradation of workplace civility?
Do Men Swear More Than Women?
More interesting is the difference between the sexes. Are guys more prone to cuss at work, or only in front of other men? When I was working for a big accounting firm I found out that certain partners communicated quite differently with the men than they did with the women. I never heard them utter anything improper. The guys, however, enjoyed a much less restrained relationship. I always wondered if that worked to my benefit or detriment. It would have been nice to cuss with the guys, but it was also quite pleasant to be spared from their uncensored frustration.

Do you use foul language at work and if so, do you have any self-imposed rules for doing so?

Image Credit: nyki_m, Flickr

Small Biz Survival

Update on small town bank solvency

Posted: November 21st, 2008, 12:51am CST by Becky McCray

How are small town banks doing now? Yesterday, Sheila Ferrell, VP Cashier of Farmers Exchange Bank, gave me an update on small town banks. She has been with Farmers for 24 years. It's a terrific little bank in Cherokee, Oklahoma, (population approx. 1600), with a few branches in surrounding towns.

Ferrell stressed that Farmers is not doing the same types of loans as those big banks that are in the news. They do more farm and business loans. But doesn't that leave them vulnerable to the economy, as it begins to affect the small town businesses? Not yet, and she doesn't think it will.

"Our loan base is not going to cause a problem," Ferrell said. "We've got the money to lend."

Lack of population and the usual small town problems are the bigger driver than the larger economy. One of the driving tourist attractions for the area, the Great Salt Plains Crystal Digging Area, has been closed. That's much more important to the town of Cherokee than the national economic situation.

New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.

The Social Customer Manifesto

Connect

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 7:05pm CST by Christopher Carfi - Cerado, Inc.

Seth: "Connect the disconnected to each other and you create value."

TED Blog

TED's Chris Anderson honored by WITNESS tonight

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 4:24pm CST

Update: Last night, WITNESS' 4th annual Focus for Change benefit honored TED's Chris Anderson. WITNESS was founded by Peter Gabriel to harness the power of video to fight injustice -- by putting cameras in the hands of oppressed people and helping them become firsthand witnesses. Watch Peter Gabriel's TEDTalk about his work with WITNESS -- a powerful, personal story. And watch Chris Anderson's own TEDTalk to understand his vision for TED.

Accepting the award on behalf of the TED community, Chris commented on some similarities between WITNESS and TED. Both sought ways to use technology as a force for good as the world gets ever more interconnected, he said:

"And we're both in the business of nurturing new kinds of heroes for the 21st century. You're turning technology-empowered story-tellers into heroic human rights activists. We're trying to create a new form of hero called, for want of a better word ... a teacher. One of the most thrilling aspects of the past couple years at TED has been giving a platform to people who have been doing amazing work all their lives, but who no one has really known about. Seeing their work and their ideas spreading to milllions of people around the globe courtesy of little 18-minute lectures captured on video and released on the Internet ... now that's exhilarating."

Freakonomics Blog

Jenkem: Bringing the Levitt Family Together

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 4:21pm CST by By Steven D. Levitt

I often get emails from blog readers asking me to shed light on some issue that, in the mind of the email writer, is a pressing social or economic issue. Sometimes it is a big issue like immigration or the financial crisis. More often it is something less mainstream, like election fraud or an unusual [...]
Spamonomics

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 3:48pm CST by By Freakonomics

Since last Wednesday, the torrent of junk e-mail coursing through the internet has been slowed dramatically, with 40 percent or more of it cut off at the source. The source of all that spam? San Jose, California. That's where a group of servers responsible for much of the world's spam had been operating until they were [...]

Experience the Message

THE BEST FLASH MOB EXPERIENCE

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 3:48pm CST by max lenderman

Many of you have already heard of the Improv Everywhere stunts for flash mobs. They are exceptionally well-conceived and executed, and have done some very heavy lifting in getting the concept of a flash mob onto the radar screens of marketers and advertisers alike. But Improv Everywhere’s latest prank is...

Freakonomics Blog

Are You Better for the Environment if You're Tall or Short?

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 3:15pm CST by By Daniel Hamermesh

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is increasing the space between rows of seats on its planes. I'm not surprised - the Dutch are the tallest people on earth these days, as I discovered when I had to crane my neck around the Brobdingnagians in front of me in an Amsterdam movie theater. Like many Europeans, [...]

The Bing Blog

A case study in executive stupidity

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 2:14pm CST by Bing
Just a question I’ve been thinking about since yesterday… What do you think the boys at the Big Three auto companies were thinking about when each took his own private jet to Washington to ask for help? A number of subsequent queries suggest themselves:
- Are they stupid?
- Assuming that they are NOT completely stupid, didn’t anybody consider this might not be the absolutely best move, at least in terms of the optics?
- If somebody DID think about it, did they voice the opinion and were then overruled?
- Why were they overruled?
- If nobody thought about it, WHY didn’t they? Granted, the thousands of dollars spent in this form of transport have no discernible impact on the billions that are under review, but still…
- If they were going to fly private, why didn’t they all go in ONE jet? Do they hate each other that much? Or couldn’t they agree on which jet they would take?
- Did they think nobody would find out?
- Why do senior officers of corporations get so out of touch? Is it a part of the job description, or do they devolve as they serve their terms?
- Do politicians fly commercial? If so, why don’t I ever see any?
- Are senior officers of Detroit auto companies considered part of Middle America?
- Should we blame an entire industry for the failings of its senior officers?
Tell me what you think.

The Social Customer Manifesto

Waggle Dance

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 12:31pm CST by Christopher Carfi - Cerado, Inc.

Marinel Mones reviews Cerado Ventana, and says "Cerado Ventana is an excellent investment that brands should consider using."

Humbling, and a high bar. We'll keep working hard to live up to that standard.

Michael Geist's Blog

The Meaning of the CRTC Decision

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 12:17pm CST by Michael Geist

Mirko Bibic, Chief Regulatory Officer, Bell:

"With this decision, the Commission has rightly confirmed that network operators are in the best position to determine how to operate their networks effectively and efficiently, to allow fair and proportionate use of the Internet by all users."

Len Katz, Vice-Chair, CRTC:

"Someone told me Bell put out a press release that said the commission upheld its position that network management practices are a fundamental right of theirs. That's not what we said at all."

American Copywriter

Lunch Bag Art

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 11:40am CST by John

What a geek dad does over his lunch hour. Fucking cool.

The Bing Blog

Shut it down. Now.

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 10:39am CST by Bing

It is my belief, based on a day-by-day analysis of the situation as it pertains to my own sector and the economy as a whole, that Wall Street should be shut down immediately and re-opened to people who can prove their sanity on January 2.

We don’t let people drive who are drunk. We don’t allow people to operate heavy machinery when they’re on psychotropic medication (except in California). Wall Street and its associated analysts, brokers, traders and investors are simply too stupid to operate at this point. So let’s not let them.

Everybody should take a month or so, celebrate the holidays with their families, take a look at the genuine value of the companies on the various exchanges, and then come back with a clear head. It’s hard to have a clear head when it’s shoved firmly into the darkest place imaginable. Let’s wait until we get a little light.

This is not an academic proposal. What we have here are a bunch of guys potted on fear, thwarted greed, grief and short-termitis, rampaging through the forest with shotguns. Not since Dick Cheney went duck hunting have we seen such danger to all in the vicinity.

Companies that are actually performing quite well are zooming down to incomprehensible lows, with market caps lower than the value of the real estate on which their operations perch. Anybody with half a brain is sitting things out until the madness is over. This leaves those with less than half a brain on the field.

Let’s send them all home. Now. Let the season of cheer and good-fellowship start immediately. And take the guns out of the hands of these children.

Freakonomics Blog

Ron Paul Answers Your Questions, Part Two

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 10:19am CST by By Stephen J. Dubner

Ron Paul When we solicited your questions for Congressman Ron Paul shortly after the election, so many questions came in that we split Paul's answers into two batches, the first of which was published last week. Here is the second. Like the first batch, they are well-considered and interesting throughout; they will surely make many [...]

Businesspundit

Y Would I Want To Work With Gen-Y?

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 10:07am CST by Drea

This is a guest post by Dr. Jim Anderson, who blogs at The Business of IT.

Just in case you’ve missed it, there is a major change happening in the workplace and it will end up affecting all of us. It turns out that the next generation of workers, Generation Y, is made up of 75 million folks who are between 16-29. Their arrival in the workplace means that all managers need to (1) be aware of it, and (2) start to change the way that they mange. Are you ready?

Many managers tell me that they don’t have time to worry about getting ready to manage Gen-Y’ers. Oh oh - this is no longer an option. In 2007 the Gen-Y crowd accounted for 25% of the work force and their numbers will only grow as the baby boomers start to retire.

Before managers start to despair about having to learn a new language in order to communicate with their staff, everyone needs to understand that Gen-Y brings a lot of benefits to the workplace. Specifically, the Gen-Y crowd comes to the workplace with tech-savvy skills, multitasking skills (hmm, is this good?), and networking skills. What this means is that Gen-Y has the opportunity to introduce real innovation into every workplace.

So what’s a manager to do? In order to both attract and retain the Gen-Y workforce, a manager is going to have to create new training and reward programs. Because of the way they have been raised, constant feedback is something that the Gen-Y worker is constantly looking for.

Motivating Gen-Y employees can be as simple as giving them more control over their jobs. Whereas previous generations of workers (myself included) were more than willing to sell their soul and put the workplace before friends, family, and personal health. Gen-Y workers will not be putting up with any this. Instead they are going to insist on being able to maintain a work/life balance.

Finally, having the ability to make an impact is critical to Gen-Y staff. The Gen-Y team wants to be able to see that their work is changing their world (in a positive way!) This goes hand-in-hand with the Gen-Y employee’s need to be constantly learning new things. If both of these needs can be satisfied at the same time, then a manger has a better chance of holding on to his/her staff.

It won’t be easy to be a manger who is in charge of Gen-Y’ers. However, every generation has had to deal with similar issues. The most important thing to remember is that Gen-Y has already landed in the workplace and so managers have the responsibility to change. The future is looking so bright that we may all have to wear sunglasses…

# # #

Dr. Jim Anderson has spent over 20 years working with a wide variety of IT firms from the very big to the very small. His insights into how to bring the separate worlds of business and IT together offer hope to firms everywhere who are struggling with this challenge. Dr. Anderson offers his insights on how to get these two different groups to work together for the betterment of the firm and its employees.

Get more information on both Dr. Anderson and this topic at www.blueelephantconsulting.com and www.thebusinessofit.com.

Dave Winer :: Scripting News

More on ProxyPass in Apache/Windows

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 9:16am CST

I thought I had it yesterday, but there was a case I didn't test, and it didn't work, so there's still some more work to do.

What I want:

1. http://apache.twitterland.org/ should be served from the static Apache folder, which is in its virgin state with the "It Works!" page. And it does work.

2. The npr sub-folder should be served by the OPML Editor, and it is.

3. http://test5.twitterland.org/ should also be served by the OPML Editor, but it is not. Instead it's serving the static Apache folder.

Here's a copy of my httpd.conf file. The VirtualHost stuff is at the end of the file.

This is a virgin Apache install, with the modifications made in yesterday's checklist, with one additional change, I've set the DocumentRoot to C:/www.

Canadian Marketing Blog - Canadian Marketing Association

The Truth about Plan A

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 9:02am CST

Earlier this week, in a post about eco-friendly businesses, Marks and Spencer, which has a large scale eco-friendly initiative, “Plan A”, was said to be abandoning the plan. We’ve since heard from the UK headquarters of Marks and Spencer and learned that this is absolutely not true; that it had been incorrectly reported as such (and then retracted the very next day).

So in setting the record straight, and we must, let’s take a look at Plan A - it’s far reaching and impressive; clearly a model for corporate social responsibility.

Straight from the source:

Plan A is our five-year, 100-point 'eco' plan to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our business and our world. It will see us working with our customers and our suppliers to combat climate change, reduce waste, safeguard natural resources, trade ethically and build a healthier nation. We're doing this because it's what you want us to do. It's also the right thing to do. We're calling it Plan A because we believe it's now the only way to do business.
There is no Plan B.

A recent M & S report card on the Plan’s progress states that 20 of the plan’s 100 commitments have been completed thus far with 75 underway - they are almost mid-way through the 5 year Plan.

There are way too many initiatives to mention, but here’s a sample from each of the target areas of their program:

Climate change (aims to make operations in the UK and Republic of Ireland carbon neutral) – They launched an energy service that sells gas and electricity to their customers in partnership with an energy firm; incentivising customers to use less energy by offering a £15 M&S voucher to anyone reducing their annual energy use by 10%.

Reducing Waste – All profits raised from a 5p charge for single use food carrier bags is donated to an environmental charity that supports greener living spaces projects to improve neighbourhoods across the U.K. Over £500,000 has been raised so far.

Safeguarding natural resources (ensuring their key raw materials come from the most sustainable sources available) – They have used over 25 million recycled waste plastic bottles to make polyester; used in their homeware and bedding and garments – and re-usable shopping bags.

Trading ethically – They became the first retailer to provide dairy farmers with funding to help them meet requirements of new legislation designed to reduce the impact of dairy farming by-products on the environment – as part of their Milk Pledge, M & S pays one of the highest prices of any major food retailer to their dairy farmers.

Building a healthier nation – They have completed the removal of artificial colours and flavourings from their entire food and drinks range.

TED Blog

Pondering the design of the universe: George Smoot on TED.com

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 8:45am CST

At Serious Play 2008, astrophysicist George Smoot shows stunning new images from deep-space surveys, and prods us to ponder how the cosmos -- with its giant webs of dark matter and mysterious gaping voids -- got built this way. (Recorded May 2008 in Pasadena, California. Duration: 19:00.)

Watch George Smoot's talk from Serious Play 2008 on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 300+ TEDTalks -- including more talks about what or who designed the universe.

Get TED delivered:
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Startup Spark

Starting a Business isn’t Easy

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 8:27am CST by ShannonCherry

With a recession in full swing, I’m getting a TON of spam about how easy it is to start a busy and make tons of money.

Perhaps you are getting more than a few too?

It makes sense, as jobs dwindle and people become fearful, many preditors are jumping on board saying how easy it is to make money as a small business owner.

I’m here to tell you, it’s not.

I lnow people will say that you can get a loan or even an angel investor. But most people get their initial nest egg from F & F, that is, friends and family. Then, and only then, do a few angel investors step up.

But unlike most F & Fs, they will want to see the goods: you need to have a strong profile, show that your company is viable - and have an exit strategy all in place. (Read: you need to start your startup before an angel will take a look!)
Tags: , angel investors, cash flow in business, Starting a Business, startups
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John Jantsch Duct Tape Marketing

Create a Journalist Listening Station

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 8:16am CST by John Jantsch
This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Create a Journalist Listening Station

Garnering great press for your business is a powerful marketing strategy and as such, journalists should be on your radar as a target market. Now, instead of abusing them with buy (press releases) messages, how about starting by building some know, like and trust before you ever ask for the order - that’s just good marketing.

The absolute best way to do this is to become a resource to a select group of journalists that report on your industry or businesses in your community. As a resource your primary job is to help them do their job better by sending along industry information, adding to stories they write and commenting on potential resources and angles they might consider - nothing to do with selling your business or story.

If you do this I can almost guarantee you will start getting calls to provide quotes in stories as a reliable source.

Here’s how to make the job of journalist relationship building easier.

Use Google Alerts and Google Reader to track every story, blog post and mention your target list of journalists create and scan them in five minutes from one location (or, even have them sent to your email inbox as they happen in real time.)

Then you can visit your Reader page, see if anything from one of your journalists pops up and go make a relevant comment on their blog, drop an industry study in mail or suggest a follow-up angle to their story through a hand-written note. This entire process should take just minutes a day and can even be delegated once it’s up and running.

Some tech notes:
- Use quotes around full names to get best results - “bill smith”
- Check the RSS version to have it sent to Google Reader
- Create a folder in Google Reader just for your PR efforts so that you can store the results of your RSS alerts in one handy place
- Get in the habit of checking and responding at least several times a week.

Name Wire: The Product Naming Blog

Most Memorable New Product Naming of 2008 Not That New

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 8:05am CST

It seems that 2008 was a bad year for product launches. Americans, distracted by the economy and the election, were woefully unaware of new product names.

Even the Nintendo Wii Fit, which was the most memorable new product launch as determined by a recent survey, was only recalled by 22% of respondents.

Americans appear to be clinging to tried and trusted brand names, as evidenced by the fact that the launches that proved most memorable to consumers were all orchestrated by well-known, established brand names.

As evidence, following the Wii Fit was the iPod Touch, Bud Light Lime, and McDonald's Southern Style Chicken Biscuit & Sandwich.

Part of this is the obvious affect of logo recognition, which always plays its part. But even with a memorable logo, never forget that failure can lurk just around the corner. The Wii Fit was popular, but Wii Music isn't living up to expectations.

Even the big names are resorting to interesting means of differentiating themselves to win over consumers.

McDonald's, another winner this year, is quietly trying to leverage the Quarter Pounder brand name by introducing stand alone stores in Japan that surprisingly do not have the golden arches and simply sell, you guessed it, Quarter Pounders.

Of course we cannot forget the role that packaging also plays in the successful launch of new products.

One way to get customers to instantly like a new product, in coordination with a new product name, is to try and get around annoying packaging.

There is a virtual revolt going on over "clamshell packaging." The disgust on the blogoshere over this kind of packaging was sparked by a recent New York Times article that notes that many established brands like Sony, Amazon, and Best Buy are offering user friendly alternatives to avoid "Wrap Rage," which is defined as the frustration we all feel after spending hours opening up packaging designed to cut us or tear our fingernails.

So when releasing a new product into struggling economic conditions, keep in mind that everything from the product name to the user-friendly packaging all play its part in determining success.

Technorati Tags: Product Launches, Product Naming, Product Naming, Brand Names, Logo Recognition, Packaging, Wii Fit, iPod

Execupundit.com

Catching Slick

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 8:05am CST

Martha Lagace talks to Todd Rogers about being able to spot artful dodges. An excerpt:

"More troublingly, listeners preferred speakers who answered the wrong question well over those who answered the right question poorly," the authors note.

"In this research we find that, at least in part, people value style over substance because the style blinds us to the lack of substance," says Rogers.

Dave Winer :: Scripting News

More on Detroit

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 6:43am CST

Reading the news it's not clear if we're going to give Detroit the money to keep them going for a while longer. Pretty sure we can't afford not to, and of course they'll be coming back for more next year, and that's probably a good thing, cause it's time to make some changes. We need to own them for a while so they start working for us not continuing to feed our oil habit and keeping their buddies at Exxon-Mobil's profits high.

And they have to retire their fleet of corporate jets. And all their execs take pay cuts down to less than $1 million per year. If they choose to quit, so be it and good riddance. And since we're going to own them, a new rule -- no more commuting from Seattle to work in Detroit for the CEOs. We're bailing them out not because we think they've done anything remotely like a good job, we're doing it so that we don't have to feed and house their remaining employees and bail out their suppliers when they go bankrupt. We're doing it to save our country, not to save the auto industry as its currently configured, which is rotten and dangerously short-sighted.

I just got a briefing from Frontline, a show that aired just before the election called Heat, about global warming. Lots of interesting stuff in there, all of which must be taken, of course, with a grain of salt. But if you believe them, Detroit had a Prius before Toyota, funded by the government, but it never went into production. The Prius was a response by Toyota to a US initiative to increase gas mileage. Detroit took our money but never shipped the damn car. Now they're rebooting their effort to produce a hybrid, and get this -- they're starting from scratch. The bastards threw away the R&D we paid for. So much for trusting them with our money. Can't do it.

But we also can't jump off the cliff. We'll have Hoovervilles in every shopping mall. When you go to the supermarket the shelves will be empty. It's already happening at some local retailers. When the economy fails, distributors go out of business, then the manufacturers the distributors stiffed, and all of a sudden even if you have money in the bank you can't find food to buy. You turn up the thermostat and there's no heat. Old people and children and people with chronic diseases die when we get there. Perhaps you have some people like that in your family. Perhaps you're one of those people?

If you've ever been to the Third World, or parts of the US that are the Third World like the South Bronx and New Orleans and (I'm told) parts of Detroit -- you owe it to yourself to find out what that's like. Because if you're stupid enough to think that letting Detroit fall off the cliff somehow won't take you and your family with it, you need to get educated, fast.

I'd start with watching the Frontline episode about global warming and see if that doesn't get you thinking. Then, after we give them the $25 billion, when they come back in (say) February, we'll be ready with a plan for them to execute. And they won't be coming to Washington on their corporate jets next time. We need to cut our oil consumption, fast, and they need to cut the fat. Let's get going everyone.

PS: Some people say they should go into bankruptcy, and I'd be willing to make that a condition for the companies to receive government loans. If they can get by without the loan, fantastic. If they can get a bank to give them a loan without going bankrupt, even better. I might also add the requirement that while the companies are receiving our money, their CEOs take the pay cuts outlined above. You don't like it? Quit. We'll keep taking resignations until one of your execs is willing to roll up his or her sleeves for the cause. Taking government money should be a painful process. They've gotten accustomed to our bailouts and keeping their corporate jets -- it must be factored in their planning that we're soft touches. That's got to stop.

Update: John Robb agrees with my earlier piece.

Update: Cross-posted at Huffington.

Execupundit.com

A New B.A.

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 6:02am CST

This is funny stuff. A sample:

"Another first for Poppleton." Those were the triumphant words used by our Director of Curriculum Development, Janet Fluellen, as she announced the introduction from this September of a brand-new BA degree in Unemployment.

Speaking at a specially convened press conference in the atrium of the new Management Centre, Ms Fluellen explained that the move was a direct response to recent ministerial demands that university degrees should be made relevant to the current state of the British economy.
Quote of the Day

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 6:00am CST

When we were young, the countercultural people had long hair, no socks, and didn't trust anyone over 30. Now, we are the countercultural people.

- John Buck

Seth's Blog

How to make money using the Internet

Posted: November 20th, 2008, 5:40am CST by Seth Godin
Make money: not by building an internet company, but by using the net as a tool to create value and get paid. Use the internet as a tool, not as an end. Do it when you are part of a big organization or do it as a soloist. The dramatic leverage of the net more than overcomes the downs of the current economy.

The essence is this: connect.

Connect the disconnected to each other and you create value.
- Connect advertisers to people who want to be advertised to.
- Connect job hunters with jobs.
- Connect information seekers with information.
- Connect teams to each other.
- Connect those seeking similar.
- Connect to partners and those that can leverage your work.
- Connect people who are proximate geographically.
- Connect organizations spending money with ways to save money.
- Connect like-minded people into a movement.
- Connect people buying with people who are selling.
Some examples? I think it's worth delineating these so you can see that the opportunity can be big, if that's your taste, or small if you don't want to invest heavily just yet.

Connect advertisers to people who want to be advertised to.
Dani Levy did this with Daily Candy, a company she recently sold for more than a hundred million dollars. Daily Candy uses simple email software, there's no technology tricks involved. Instead, it's a simple permission marketing business... hundreds of thousands of the right people, getting an anticipated, personal and relevant email every day. (Note! This only works if you earn true permission, not that sort of fake half and half version that's so common).

Connect job hunters with jobs.
My friend Tara has made hundreds of thousands of dollars (in good years) working as an executive recruiter. But what did she actually do all day? She stayed connected with a cadre of people. She kept track of the all stars. She connected with the right people, invested time in them that her clients never thought was worth it. So, when it was time to hire, it was easier for them to call Tara than it was for them to start from scratch. The best time to start a gig like this is right now, when no one in particular wants to connect with and help out the superstars. Later, when the economy bounces back, your position is extremely valuable. (Note! This only works if you have insane focus and the people you interact with are the true superstars, not just numbers).

Connect information seekers with information.
At a large scale, this is what Bloomberg did to make his fortune. Spending $$$ on a Bloomberg terminal guarantees a user at least a fifteen minute head start on people who don't have one. But consider how many micro markets where this connection doesn't occur. Michael Cader offers it to book publishers and does quite well. Which industry needs you to channel and collect and connect?

On a micro level, there are now people making thousands of dollars a month running their pages on Squidoo. That's almost enough to be a full time job for a curious person with the generosity to share useful information.

Connect teams to each other.
How much is on the line when a company puts ten people in three offices on a quest to launch a major new product in record time? The question, then, is why wouldn't they be willing to spend a little more to hire a team concierge? Someone to manage Basecamp and conference calls and scheduling and document source control to be sure the right people have the right information at the right time... I don't think most organizations can hire someone to do this full time, but I bet this is a great specialty for someone who is good at it.

Connect those seeking similar.
Who's running the ad hoc association of green residential architects? Or connecting the hundred CFOs at the hundred largest banks in the US? It's amazing how isolated most people are, even in a world crowded with people. I know of a guy who built an insanely profitable business around connecting C level executives at the Fortune 500. After all, there are only 500 of them. They want to know what the others are doing... (Consider this example)

Connect to partners and those that can leverage your work.

Freelances had no power because they depended on the client to hook them up with the rest of the team that could leverage their work. But what if you do that before you approach the client? What if you, the graphic designer, have a virtual partner who is an award winning copywriter and another partner who is a well-know illustrator? You could walk in the door and offer detailed

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