“More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About The Economics ... - The Business Insider” plus 3 more |
- More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About The Economics ... - The Business Insider
- More Business - San Francisco Chronicle
- Nolcha, the Business Platform for Fashion Entrepreneurs ... - PR-USA.net
- Business Decisions Are Like Golf Decisions - canada.com
| More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About The Economics ... - The Business Insider Posted: 27 Mar 2010 08:41 AM PDT Yesterday, a Reuters blogger attacked Business Insider for, in effect, caring that our writers produce content that readers want to read. The blogger didn't put it quite that way, but he does seem to feel that a publication's writers and columnists should not have to be concerned with whether readers actually want to hear what they have to say. We, needless to say, disagree. We exist for you and because of you. And if you don't want to consume the content we produce, we can only conclude that it's because we're doing a lousy job. The Reuters' bloggers' views are shared by some journalists who work in mainstream media organizations, where there is still a lot of money coming in from old business models to pay their salaries. This is especially true at Reuters, of course, where the bloggers' salaries are paid by a massively profitable global trader-information terminal that Wall Street folks pay thousands of dollars a month for (a terminal business that, by the way, the bloggers' efforts don't help in any way). Let me be the first to tell you that we would LOVE to have a multi-billion-dollar global trader-terminal business to fund our online news operation. It would make life a lot easier and more luxurious. We hope to someday have a business like that. Alas, as yet, we don't. More importantly, we also think the Reuters' blogger;s criticism of our content is grossly unfair. In fact, we're publishing a huge amount of content that is exactly what this particular critic thinks we should be producing -- long, text-heavy analysis, original reporting, and commentary. Some examples from just the past few days include:
And that's just from our (unbelievably dedicated) full-time staff. It excludes the many excellent visual and quantitative features we have produced, which our readers love (Check out this cool look at some of the world's most luxurious train trips, for example, which was a huge hit yesterday). We also are fortunate to have dozens of excellent contributors, who contribute great stuff all week long--and we're adding more all the time. And in addition to producing stories like the ones above, we highlight, link to, comment on, and/or analyze more than 75 other important business stories every single day. In short, if long, text-heavy content was the only thing that our readers really wanted to read, we'd produce even more of it. (In fact, it's safe to say it would be all we produce). But it isn't. It's the mix of content that readers love, and we're proud as hell of ours. After listening to the Reuters' blogger's views about how we should be running our business, it occurred to me that maybe one reason he feels that way is that he doesn't understand the economics of it. So, yesterday evening, while my kids squabbled over the screen angle of Lord Of The Rings in the back seat of our car, I addressed that particular topic in a short Tweetifesto. What seems to most offend some critics about our content is that we occasionally produce slideshows that require readers to click to the next section instead of just breaking stories into pages, the way their publications do. I, for one, LOVE well-produced slide shows. To me, they're a native form of online storytelling, in which the "reveal" of each new page can have the same surprising impact of a new slide in an excellent PowerPoint presentation. Well-produced features are also a lot easier to consume and understand during a busy workday than lengthy essays. And I note that no one seems to complain about being forced to turn the pages of, say, The New York Times, which, last time I checked, doesn't arrive at your door in a scroll. But, for the benefit of those who prefer scrolling to clicking, several months ago, we added a "View As One Page" option to all our slideshows. It's in the lower righthand corner of every feature. Clicking it will remove the need to click and instead allow you to scroll. So, without further ado, here's more than you ever wanted to know about the economics of the online news business -- a Tweetifesto. You can click through it here, in handy one-thought-per-page bites >OR You can scroll through it by clicking the handy link to the right that says "View As One Page" >Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | ||
| More Business - San Francisco Chronicle Posted: 27 Mar 2010 07:08 AM PDT (03-27) 09:00 PDT SIRTE, Libya (AP) -- The head of the Arab League urged the 22-nation bloc on Saturday to engage Iran directly over concerns about its growing influence in the region and its disputed nuclear program. Amr Moussa also warned in his opening statement at a two-day Arab League summit in Sirte, Libya, that Israeli construction on land claimed by Palestinians could scuttle the Mideast peace process for good. Moussa outlined his plan for closer ties with Iran, saying it would involve a forum for regional cooperation and conflict resolution that would include Iran and Turkey — both non-Arab nations. But the proposal could undermine U.S. and Israeli efforts to isolate Tehran amid concerns that its nuclear program aims to develop atomic weapons. It also comes as the U.S. and other Western powers push for a fresh round of sanctions over Iran's nuclear defiance. Tehran insists its program is for peaceful purposes. "I realize that some are worried about Iran but that is precisely why we need the dialogue," Moussa said. The push to engage Tehran seems to be at least partly fueled by Arab frustration over Washington's failure to get Israel to back down on plans for more Jewish settlements on land the Palestinians want for a future state. It also suggests that Arab nations are increasingly less likely to align with the U.S. strategy on Iran if they feel they are getting nothing in return in Mideast peace efforts. Arab countries have grown increasingly skeptical that President Barack Obama will be able to forge a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians to end a conflict that has fueled anti-American sentiment in the region. Moussa urged Arab leaders to create a new strategy to pressure Israel, and stressed the peace process cannot be "open ended." Earlier this month, Arab nations opened the door for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to enter four months of indirect, American-brokered peace talks with Israel. But they later threatened to withdraw support for the negotiations after Israel announced plans for new Jewish homes in east Jerusalem, the part of the city Palestinians claim as the capital of a future state. Speaking at the summit Saturday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas also urged Mideast peace brokers to push Israel to stop settlement construction, and vowed that the Palestinians will not sign any peace deal with Israel without the Jewish state ending its "occupation" of east Jerusalem. He accused Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu's government of trying to create a de facto situation in Jerusalem that would torpedo any future peace settlement. The Palestinians are seeking strong Arab backing at the summit in the face of Israel's construction plans. They are also asking for millions of dollars in funding for Palestinians living in east Jerusalem. The summit registered a higher than usual number of no-shows from Arab leaders. Eight heads of state stayed away, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | ||
| Nolcha, the Business Platform for Fashion Entrepreneurs ... - PR-USA.net Posted: 27 Mar 2010 07:15 AM PDT Nolcha: Fashion Business Services continues to expand its business-to-business services devoted to fashion entrepreneurs with the debut of the Fashion Business Conference taking place 9:30am to 6:00pm on May 20th 2010 at LIM College; the nation's only college focused exclusively on the study of business and fashion. | The Fashion Business Conference, sponsored by Datafashion, will provide one full day of industry expert-led panels and thought-leadership discussions with those who define business strategy in the fashion market; including Long Nguyen, Fashion Director of Flaunt Magazine, Rick Weinstein, Director of Sales and Marketing for Searle NYC and Jennifer Evans, President of Evans Group International. This unique event will deliver relevant content that is key to the independent fashion business owner focusing on retail, financials, imaging and branding, sourcing and manufacturing as well as virtual worlds and social networks. Speakers will guide attendees through the industry standard procedures of buyers and showrooms, line sheets, purchase order credit, the importance of seasonal updates, the future of the online world for the fashion business and advice on pattern makers and production. "As the nation's only college focused on the study of business and fashion, LIM College is a natural fit to serve as the site for Nolcha's first Fashion Business Conference," says Elizabeth S. Marcuse, President of LIM College. "Given the current economic climate, it has become increasingly important for fashion entrepreneurs to take advantage of educational opportunities and expand their knowledge base." The day will close with an intimate cocktail networking event providing attendees the opportunity to connect with industry executives and decision makers. A Fashion Business Conference 2010 schedule can be found at: http://nolchafashionbusinessconference.eventbrite.com/ For interviews, inquiries or to attend please contact Kerry Bannigan kerryb@nolcha.com About Nolcha About LIM College www.limcollege.edu Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| Business Decisions Are Like Golf Decisions - canada.com Posted: 27 Mar 2010 08:20 AM PDT On April 5 the 2010 Masters' golf tournament tees off in Augusta, Ga. On every hole players will have to decide how to play their next shots. One of their most frequent decisions: when to aggressively attack a hole and when to "lay up" -- that is, purposely hit a shot a little short so as to guarantee a safe position from which to hit the following shot. Laying up keeps you out of big trouble like landing in water or sand, but it also creates an opportunity for a more aggressive player to gain a stroke on you. The winner at Augusta will probably be a player who made smart choices about laying up -- and who didn't rely on the strategy too often. The decision whether to lay up arises in business all the time, too. 10 Tips, Traps In Making Great Biz Plans 10 Elements Of Any Effective Web Site Nine Alternative Ways To Raise Cash Now 10 Businesses To Start For Under US$10,000 Five Common Financial Mistakes Small Businesses Make An information technology executive recently told us that most of his work is now done at such a small margin that "there is no room to be creative." Another executive, at a company that produces wire and cable, told us that his team is often criticized for bidding jobs too low, because they're chastised if they don't bring in enough work. Bidding low is the surest way to get the work. In these instances the IT executive lays up, because he feels he's left with no choice, and the wire and cable man finds that laying up would mean losing potential sales revenue. In business as in golf, there are times when laying up is the right call, but doing it too often likely resigns you to a finish no better than at the middle of the pack. If you continually hit the safe shot, your chances of winning in your career, especially in challenging times, are slight. There are opportunities in the recession for those who can identify the right time to eschew the safe shot in favor of a chance to put some distance between themselves and the competition. Over the past two years we have been writing a book, Your Career Game, in which we've used game theory to develop a way for executives to understand what they need to consider in determining whether or when to take the aggressive shot. The key considerations are similar in some ways to those the golfers at Augusta will face. They are: -- What moves are others likely to make? If you can count on others to move in a predictable way -- that is, expect those with reputations for conservatism to lay up, and those with a history of aggressive play to go for it -- then evaluating how your own decision to lay up or not will affect your game is easier. -- How does the time frame affect play? Moving aggressively early may be an easy choice for many players to make. After all, that's when there's still plenty of time to recover should a shot go poorly. Later in the round, or on the final day, most players may be expected to be more conservative. -- How do the playing conditions affect my decision? If the weather changes, players may make different decisions about whether to be aggressive or lay up. Worsening conditions may make it tougher to gain a stroke on the competition later on. These same questions need to be considered by any executive trying to understand whether a particular workplace decision should be handled with a lay up or as a chance to allow for some separation from the pack. A sense of how others will move, of the effect of time and of how the conditions on the playing field can alter your game are all factors we found to be important predictors of success, because they all help you know when to act more aggressively. Other elements can be added in, too, with this approach. For instance, the game's context matters. The recession may encourage you to lay up, but when you do so you cede ground to players who are more willing to take on risk. Each player's goals matter as well. Some players at Augusta will start the tournament aiming only to make the cut to qualify for the final rounds. They will probably take a different approach from anyone determined to actually win the tournament. Clearly the recession has had a dramatic effect on almost every business and on almost every executive. For well over a year now most businesses have focused first on improving their operational efficiency, and many executives have focused on being sure not to give an employer any possible reason to let them go. Those are laying up strategies, and they do no harm as long as competitors are behaving similarly. But just as the golfers at Augusta who are quickest to seize opportunity will separate themselves from the pack, the executives who are quickest and best at understanding when laying up is the wrong call will be the first to put their companies--- and their own careers -- ahead of the competition. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | ||
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