Monday, June 20, 2011

With Yahoo Shares Dropping Below $15, Will Shareholder Patience Collapse Too?

Yahoo's stock in on a downward slide again, just in time for its annual meeting next week.

So, WWSD (What will shareholders do)?

Rihanna America Ferrera Haylie Duff Talisa Soto Julianne Hough

3 Simple Ways to Empower Your Customers to Sell For You

3 Simple Ways to Empower Your Customers to Sell For You

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

3 Simple Ways to Empower Your Customers to Sell For YouThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Have you ever received a comment from a happy customer that went something like this: ?Let me know if I can ever do anything to help you grow your business.? My experience is that most businesses have at least [...]

Mischa Barton Jamie Lynn Sigler Stacy Keibler Rihanna America Ferrera

Chart of the Week: The Health of the Jobs Market

The unemployment rate is a much watched, reported, and discussed measure of what?s happening to the jobs market. Last month, many pundits noted, the unemployment rate went back up to 9.1 percent.

Despite the attention it is given, the unemployment rate is not a very good measure of the employment situation. That?s because it depends a lot on what?s going on with labor force participation. If those out of a job give up looking for work because the economic situationRead More

From Small Business Trends

Chart of the Week: The Health of the Jobs Market

Cindy Taylor Halle Berry Catherine Bell Tessie Santiago Jessica Simpson

Another House Price Index shows a small gain in April

Lacey Chabert Amber Brkich Gretha Cavazzoni Marla Sokoloff Jennifer Love Hewitt

Summer reading, 2011

Brooke Burke Thandie Newton Liz Phair Aaliyah Katherine Heigl

Jack Ma Takes His Own Advice for Yahoo: Alibaba Splits Taobao Into Three Parts

In an interview I did with him at the recent ninth D: All Things Digital conference, Alibaba Group CEO Jack Ma suggested that Yahoo would be better off splitting itself up into smaller pieces.

Today, he did that for one of the key units of the Chinese Internet giant, splitting its Taobao e-commerce unit into three new companies, which Alibaba made sure to say its fractious board was okay with.

Robin Tunney Kate Groombridge Dania Ramirez Lucy Liu LeAnn Rimes

Exclusive: Myspace in Advanced Deal Talks With Investor Group, Including Activision's Kotick

And then there was one?

According to sources close to the situation, News Corp. is down to one possible investing group in its quest to make lemonade out of the lemon that its Myspace social entertainment hub has become.

In the lastest of many scenarios considered, several sources said its owner, News Corp., will continue to own about 20 percent of Myspace. The main bidder is a dark horse bidding group, which includes Activision Chairman and CEO Bobby Kotick as one of the potential investors.

Katharine Towne Malia Jones Jennifer ODell Jenny McCarthy Zooey Deschanel

Don't Forget Your Logged Out Users

I find myself saying this quite often these days to entrepreneurs and their product teams. It's something that I've noticed working with leading social platforms like Etsy, Twitter, Tumblr, and others. Services such as these have a large number of...

Nikki Reed Natasha Bedingfield Audrina Patridge Simone Mütherthies Carrie Underwood

Don't Forget Your Logged Out Users

I find myself saying this quite often these days to entrepreneurs and their product teams. It's something that I've noticed working with leading social platforms like Etsy, Twitter, Tumblr, and others. Services such as these have a large number of...

Natassia Malthe Victoria Silvstedt Hilary Swank Whitney Port Minka Kelly

Not bad: Zynga?s Empires & Allies hits 30 million users in 17 days

Zynga’s Empires & Allies social game has grown to more than 30 million users in just 17 days. The combat social strategy game added about 2 million users today, according to market analyst AppData.

This kind of rapid growth is …

Lauren Conrad Arielle Kebbel Jessica Paré Leelee Sobieski Teri Hatcher

Entrepreneur Corner: Reinventing the boardroom and important lessons learned

Here’s the latest from VentureBeat’s Entrepreneur Corner.

Cut-and-pasting legal language vs. hiring a lawyer ? If you can’t afford a lawyer, it might be tempting to grab terms of service or a privacy policy from another site and claim them …

Kasey Chambers Megan Ewing Kristanna Loken Aubrey ODay Drew Barrymore

Sunday, June 19, 2011

If you're going to work...

Yvonne Strzechowski Rhona Mitra Kelly Rowland Danica Patrick Josie Maran

The professional's platform

Milla Jovovich Maggie Grace Luján Fernández Charli Baltimore Denise Richards

Viral Video: D9 Acting CEO Jane Lynch on the "R-Word"

"Glee" star Jane Lynch opened the ninth D: All Things Digital in a terrific bit of stand-up, posing as the acting CEO of News Corp. and making all kinds of comical proclamations.

But one thing she thinks should not be made fun of are loaded "R-words" that denigrate those with intellectual disabilities, as you will see in this riveting PSA.

Sunny Mabrey Karolína Kurková Laura Harring Naomi Watts Leonor Varela

The taskmaster premium

Giulianna Ramirez Ashley Greene April Scott Mia Kirshner Elisabeth Röhm

Summary for Week Ending June 17th

Mandy Moore Shannon Elizabeth Maggie Gyllenhaal Foxy Brown Ivana Bozilovic

The Trend Towards Lean Startups

The Trend Towards Lean Startups

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

The Trend Towards Lean StartupsThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Marketing podcast with Eric Ries (Click to play or right click and “Save As” to download – Subscribe now via iTunes or subscribe via other RSS device (Google Listen) There is a bit of a movement afoot in the startup world called the Lean Startup. [...]

Coco Lee Katy Perry Vinessa Shaw Rebecca Romijn Nadine Velazquez

Which of the four are getting in the way?

Gabrielle Union Alessandra Ambrosio Amanda Detmer Emma Stone Raquel Alessi

Viral Video: Okay, 3D Might Actually Work in the Last "Harry Potter"

Here's the second trailer for the last movie in terrific "Harry Potter" series.

It's also the first of the films to be presented in 3D, which has become a much abused technology by Hollywood.

Gretha Cavazzoni Marla Sokoloff Jennifer Love Hewitt Tina Fey Gina Philips

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Morning Greece: Merkel Agrees to "voluntary participation of private creditors"

Lindsay Price Zoe Saldana Rachel Perry Mary Elizabeth Winstead Piper Perabo

To Science And Art

I was passing by Cooper Union the other day and was struck by the words on the front facade of its iconic building on Astor Place. This phrase "to science and art" has been stuck in my mind since. I've...

Eva Mendes Sarah Polley Aisha Tyler K. D. Aubert Sara Spraker

Are you a scientist?

Sanaa Lathan Ana Beatriz Barros Maria Menounos Shakira Leslie Bibb

Bank Failures #46 & 47 in 2011: Georgia and Florida

Mariah OBrien Uma Thurman Alice Dodd Kate Walsh Autumn Reeser

The Post Frequency Rule

The frequency of posts in a service is inversely proportional to the size of the post. Said another way, the longer the post, the less frequently they will happen. Take a look at stats from the three largest "default public"...

Anna Friel Monica Bellucci Minki van der Westhuizen Katharine Towne Malia Jones

Viral Video: D9 Acting CEO Jane Lynch on the "R-Word"

"Glee" star Jane Lynch opened the ninth D: All Things Digital in a terrific bit of stand-up, posing as the acting CEO of News Corp. and making all kinds of comical proclamations.

But one thing she thinks should not be made fun of are loaded "R-words" that denigrate those with intellectual disabilities, as you will see in this riveting PSA.

Jaime King Lokelani McMichael Freida Pinto Eva Longoria Susan Ward

Google Chome 13 beta is out, adds Instant Pages and print preview

Google on Friday released its Google Chrome 13 beta, a version of the browser that includes the newly introduced Instant Pages feature and the long-awaited print preview function.

Both Instant Pages, which preloads your most likely search result, and print …

Ana Beatriz Barros Maria Menounos Shakira Leslie Bibb Chelsea Handler

Digital Grilled Cheese D9 Poll Results Are In: "The Kara" Edges Out "The Walt"

Personally, I preferred "The Walt" over "The Kara."

But the attendees of the ninth D: All Things Digital conference seemed to like the grilled cheese sandwich made of "sharp" cheddar over more "experienced" gruyere, courtesy of a new start-up demo called Melt.

Melissa Howard Samantha Mumba Busy Philipps Thora Birch Jennifer Garner

Friday, June 17, 2011

Irrational vs. unreasonable

Gretha Cavazzoni Marla Sokoloff Jennifer Love Hewitt Tina Fey Gina Philips

Residential Remodeling Index increases in April

Rachel Nichols Dido Joss Stone Majandra Delfino Maria Bello

Greece Update

Drea de Matteo Trista Rehn Moon Bloodgood Kristin Kreuk Molly Sims

Lawler: CAR vs. ?Reality,? and the NAR Benchmarking

Molly Sims Monika Kramlik Lacey Chabert Amber Brkich Gretha Cavazzoni

True Ventures is raising a $200M fund

True Ventures, a early-stage venture capital firm founded by some big names in the startup world, is raising a $200 million third fund, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The firm is headquartered in San Francisco’s …

Roselyn Sanchez Soft Cell Beyoncé Nelly Furtado Leeann Tweeden

"Don't tell me what I can't have" (unraveling a paradox)

Coco Lee Katy Perry Vinessa Shaw Rebecca Romijn

Housing Starts increase in May

Brooke Burns Lena Headey Ali Larter Angelina Jolie Erica Leerhsen

Is Direct Mail Dead or New Uses for Old Tactics

Is Direct Mail Dead or New Uses for Old Tactics

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Is Direct Mail Dead or New Uses for Old TacticsThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing The first half of the title of this post is a question I get, in some variation, quite frequently these days. You could change the subject to email or face to face networking or press releases, but the implication is [...]

Isla Fisher Sophia Bush Megan Fox Michelle Malkin Charlies Angels

Here's the Groupon S-1 IPO Filing: What the Heck Is Adjusted CSOI?

Never heard of "adjusted consolidated segment operating income" before?

Well, if you want to buy shares in the upcoming Groupon IPO, you might want to learn about the accounting term.

Sarah Shahi Anna Paquin Diane Kruger Magdalena Wróbel Connie Nielsen

Exclusive: Myspace in Advanced Deal Talks With Investor Group, Including Activision's Kotick

And then there was one?

According to sources close to the situation, News Corp. is down to one possible investing group in its quest to make lemonade out of the lemon that its Myspace social entertainment hub has become.

In the lastest of many scenarios considered, several sources said its owner, News Corp., will continue to own about 20 percent of Myspace. The main bidder is a dark horse bidding group, which includes Activision Chairman and CEO Bobby Kotick as one of the potential investors.

Drew Barrymore Marley Shelton Thalía Brooke Burke Thandie Newton

Key Question: Is the slowdown temporary?

Evangeline Lilly Lisa Marie Keira Knightley Monica Keena Anne Marie Kortright

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Content Shifting

I'm giving a talk at Read Write Web's 2Way Summit next monday and tuesday in NYC. My talk is on content shifting, something I blogged about in January of this year. Here are some examples of content shifting from that...

Emilie de Ravin Tara Reed Avril Lavigne Bridget Moynahan Noureen DeWulf

Industrial Production edged up in May, Capacity Utilization unchanged

Ivanka Trump Blake Lively Christina Applegate Shana Hiatt Tara Conner

Caring

Erica Leerhsen Angela Marcello Paz Vega Rebecca Mader Eva Green

To Science And Art

I was passing by Cooper Union the other day and was struck by the words on the front facade of its iconic building on Astor Place. This phrase "to science and art" has been stuck in my mind since. I've...

Vinessa Shaw Rebecca Romijn Nadine Velazquez Pink Mila Kunis

The hard part (one of them)

Tricia Helfer Elena Lyons Brooke Burns Lena Headey Ali Larter

Viral Video: Kashmir Stylings on Facebook Facial Recognition

Whatever side of the Facebook facial recognition debate you are on -- is it privacy panic or a Big-Brother crisis? -- this video by Forbes blogger Kashmir Hill is pretty clever.

(Hey, Kashmir: Let me know when the aliens who really created Facebook and Google come for you, after they decide to start harvesting the Earth as planned using their nefarious photo-tagging tools!)

Tamala Jones Yamila Diaz Alicia Keys Tyra Banks Vanessa Hudgens

Brighter's Jake Winebaum Talks About Tooth-Loving Start-Up (Video)

One area of medical care has gotten little attention online has been -- wait for it -- dental care.
But before you click away from this story to avoid thoughts of root canals, it's the well-funded premise behind the latest start-up called Brighter from longtime online exec Jake Winebaum.

Leonor Varela Joanne Montanez Michelle Obama Kerry Suseck FSU Cowgirls

Content Shifting Presentation

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed thoughts and ideas for the Content Shifting talk I am giving tomorrow at the Read Write Web 2Way Summit. I spent some time yesterday and today putting together a draft presentation in Prezi....

Kristen Bell The Pussycat Dolls Isla Fisher Sophia Bush Megan Fox

THE GREAT DEBATE

The following was written by Jawad Mian, Portfolio Manager based in Doha, Qatar ~~~ I have tremendous respect for Akram Annous, a 30-something market intellectual, a mad scientist if you will but without the hair. He is a great writer and friend, and we both share a similar passion for the global macro world. We [...]

Alice Dodd Kate Walsh Autumn Reeser Camilla Belle Blu Cantrell

Where to Get Local Citations to Improve Rankings

According to the 2011 Local Search Ranking Factors survey put out by David Mihm, getting local citations was the most recommended off-site activity for small business owners looking to increase their SEO efforts. If you?re not actively trying to increase your number of local citations, you may fall behind a competitor who is.

First off ? what?s a citation?

A local citation is any appearance of your business name alongside its address or phone number. These citations serveRead More

From Small Business Trends

Where to Get Local Citations to Improve Rankings

Samaire Armstrong Selita Ebanks Michael Michele Marisa Tomei Shannyn Sossamon

Key Question: Is the slowdown temporary?

Alessandra Ambrosio Amanda Detmer Emma Stone Raquel Alessi Marisa Coughlan

The Trend Towards Lean Startups

The Trend Towards Lean Startups

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

The Trend Towards Lean StartupsThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Marketing podcast with Eric Ries (Click to play or right click and “Save As” to download – Subscribe now via iTunes or subscribe via other RSS device (Google Listen) There is a bit of a movement afoot in the startup world called the Lean Startup. [...]

Amber Brkich Gretha Cavazzoni Marla Sokoloff Jennifer Love Hewitt Tina Fey

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The hard part (one of them)

Katharine McPhee T.A.T.u. Amber Valletta Paris Hilton Victoria Pratt

14 Public Apologies for Private Lives

We the people of the United States of America are a very fickle people. We like to worship our celebrities. But we also like to tear down those celebrities and harshly judge them when they mess up. We also like to forgive them? if they... Read more

Rhona Mitra Kelly Rowland Danica Patrick Josie Maran Leighton Meester

Lawler: Early Read on Existing Home Sales in May

Saira Mohan Brittny Gastineau Ashley Tisdale Rachel Blanchard Sienna Guillory

Some iPad Help Please

I want to upgrade my original iPad's system software from 3.2 to 4.0. I've recently added some apps that don't run on 3.2. The problem is I have no idea what mac laptop I used to setup that iPad. I...

Monica Bellucci Minki van der Westhuizen Katharine Towne Malia Jones Jennifer ODell

Dish Network bids $1.38B for TerreStar Networks

TerreStar Networks on Wednesday revealed that Dish Network had placed an opening bid of $1.38 billion for the ailing telecommunications company’s assets through a bankruptcy auction, according to Reuters. TerreStar has operated under bankruptcy protection since Oct. 19.

Dish Networks …

Kim Yoon jin Melania Trump Summer Glau Mía Maestro Virginie Ledoyen

Bernanke: "Failing to raise the debt ceiling would be self-defeating"

Kylie Bax Diora Baird Laura Prepon Ashley Scott Michelle Behennah

Bad Share Day: Yahoo Stock Limp After Investor Day (and Google's Swiping of Its Ad Title)

Apparently, reassurances about its relationship with Chinese partner Alibaba Group and some lively presentations by top execs at a six-hour investor day yesterday did almost nothing for Yahoo shares.

Neither did a report showing Google unseating Yahoo as the display ad market leader.

Melissa Joan Hart Bianca Kajlich Giulianna Ramirez Ashley Greene April Scott

Viral Video: Kimmel's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye (to Oprah Winfrey)"

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel bids farewell to daytime talk show queen Oprah.

Ivana Bozilovic Cristina Dumitru Cat Power January Jones Christina DaRe

Housing: Sacramento Distressed Sales at high level in May

Vitamin C Scarlett Johansson Christina Ricci Missi Pyle Jessica Alba

It?s About the Problem

Business comes from solving problems.� Innovation comes from solving problems in style?meaning that companies like Apple, Google and 3M

  • solve a problem that others have not, will not or cannot solve; or
  • they solve it in a cutting-edge manner; or
  • their solution is more cost effective and/or more fun.

There are a lot of ways to be innovative with your products. But ultimately, it?s not even about the product. It?s about the problem that the product solves.Read More

From Small Business Trends

It’s About the Problem

Aubrey ODay Drew Barrymore Marley Shelton Thalía Brooke Burke

Greece Downgraded Again

Julie Berry Lori Heuring Nicole Scherzinger Jill Arrington Tami Donaldson

How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries

How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small DiscoveriesThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Marketing podcast with Peter Sims (Click to play or right click and “Save As” to download – Subscribe now via iTunes or subscribe via other RSS device (Google Listen) True innovators make lots of little bets on ideas and small affordable actions that [...]

Asia Argento Charisma Carpenter Hilarie Burton Kelly Carlson Sara Foster

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Greece Downgraded Again

Leighton Meester Dominique Swain Jamie Chung Alicia Witt Radha Mitchell

14 Public Apologies for Private Lives

We the people of the United States of America are a very fickle people. We like to worship our celebrities. But we also like to tear down those celebrities and harshly judge them when they mess up. We also like to forgive them? if they... Read more

Paige Butcher Amanda Peet Xenia Seeberg The Avatars of Second Life Daniella Alonso

Getting funded is not the same as succeeding

Marley Shelton Thalía Brooke Burke Thandie Newton Liz Phair

Getting funded is not the same as succeeding

Carla Gugino Ana Hickmann Mischa Barton Jamie Lynn Sigler Stacy Keibler

More Contests and Awards for Entrepreneurs

This list of contests, competitions and awards for small businesses is brought to you every other week as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.

-
* * * * *

Idea Cafe Small Business Grant
Enter by June 12, 2011

Hurry! The deadline is tomorrow. Idea Cafe, The Small Business Gathering Place, is giving entrepreneurs the chance to win a cash grant and gainRead More

From Small Business Trends

More Contests and Awards for Entrepreneurs

Blake Lively Christina Applegate Shana Hiatt Tara Conner Drea de Matteo

A Couple Of Good Events Next Week

It has gotten to the point that there is an event (or multiple events) every day in NYC for the tech startup crowd. This week is particularly crazy with Internet Week. But I want to highlight a couple good ones...

Aki Ross Ashley Tappin Carmen Electra Amanda Marcum Leila Arcieri

10 Global Businesses that Worked With the Nazis

It?s scary just how efficient the Nazis were at directing an entire country, including its population and industry, towards their evil goals. Everyone knows about the big three corporations that worked with the Nazis. Hugo Boss designed the... Read more

Jill Wagner Susie Castillo Fergie Ivanka Trump Blake Lively

Wall Street/Government Revolving Door

Guess who is guarding the hen house . . . ? > click for ginormous version Hat tip Mike R

Majandra Delfino Maria Bello Jennifer Gareis Ashlee Simpson Donna Feldman

AMD hopes to change laptop landscape with Llano chips

Advanced Micro Devices launched its code-named Llano series of laptop chips that the company hopes will redefine mobile computing and steal market share from Intel.

This set of chips is the second major launch of AMD’s accelerated processing units, or …

Trista Rehn Moon Bloodgood Kristin Kreuk Molly Sims Monika Kramlik

Exclusive: Yahoo Loses Another Top Exec?Mike Gupta?to Zynga

Zynga has nabbed another top exec from Yahoo--this time, Mike Gupta, one of its key strategy and corporate finance execs, sources say.

He will have a similar role at Zynga, in charge of areas such as investor relations.

Jules Asner Whitney Able Kelly Clarkson Natalie Portman Jessica Biel

Yahoo Americas Ad and Media Head Ross Levinsohn Talks Up, Well, Yahoo! (Video)

Longtime Internet exec Ross Levinsohn only got to Yahoo about seven months ago as head of its Americas region, but he certainly isn't shy about touting its attributes vigorously.

Here he is in a video interview I did about it all, as well as his hair-tastic secret.

Foxy Brown Ivana Bozilovic Cristina Dumitru Cat Power January Jones

Grantham: Time To Be Serious (and probably too early) Once Again

Enjoy this Grantham embed (via PKedrosky) until GMO takes it down (you can access it at GMO) . I strongly suggest signing up at GMO’s site. Grantham Limits, Part II(function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();

Amanda Marcum Leila Arcieri Kate Mara Izabella Scorupco Carla Campbell

Monday, June 13, 2011

Is There a Myspace Mafia, Too? Because Leaving Seems to Have Paid Off for Many Ex-Execs.

When the selling of Myspace winds down in the next week or so, it'll probably attract a spate of comments about what a failure the whole social networking enterprise turned out to be.

That is, unless you think of the mob of former execs who have worked at the company over time, many of whom have moved on to some more golden opportunities after leaving Myspace.

Minka Kelly Carol Grow Erika Christensen Emilie de Ravin Tara Reed

After 15 years of development, Duke Nukem Forever sucks

Talk about a major bummer �? Duke Nukem Forever, one of the most anticipated titles this year that has been in developmental hell for more than a decade, is shaping up to be one of the most mediocre games of …

Paris Hilton Victoria Pratt Shakara Ledard Vanessa Marcil Rachel McAdams

If you're going to work...

Whitney Able Kelly Clarkson Natalie Portman Jessica Biel Christina Milian

The Myspace Sweepstakes Drag on?Another Bid Deadline Today As Sale Deadline Looms

The sale of Myspace by its owner News Corp. is still going, going, going, gooooooing on...

Shania Twain Gwen Stefani Sunny Mabrey Karolína Kurková Laura Harring

Talk About Discounting: Groupon Gets a Pre-IPO Smackdown

It has only just announced its IPO plans, but Groupon is already getting a good taste of the brutality of being more public in an increasing series of negative reports aimed at its business prospects and execs, just as the social buying phenom starts to market itself to Wall Street investors.

Christina Aguilera Kate Hudson Adriana Lima Brittany Daniel Kate Moss

Exclusive: Yahoo Loses Another Top Exec?Mike Gupta?to Zynga

Zynga has nabbed another top exec from Yahoo--this time, Mike Gupta, one of its key strategy and corporate finance execs, sources say.

He will have a similar role at Zynga, in charge of areas such as investor relations.

Melissa Sagemiller Roselyn Sanchez Soft Cell Beyoncé Nelly Furtado

Signs of financial distress?

Georgianna Robertson Reese Witherspoon Jordana Brewster Laetitia Casta Claudette Ortiz

Exclusive: Zynga About to File for IPO

Zynga is poised to file for its initial public offering, according to sources close to the situation, as early as this week, or next week at the latest.

The San Francisco-based online gaming company's valuation in its last round of funding was $10 billion, but it is likely to price itself higher in an offering, given the recent series of strong IPOs for Internet companies.

Kate Beckinsale Shiri Appleby Kelly Hu Michelle Rodriguez Mena Suvari

Viral Video: Kimmel's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye (to Oprah Winfrey)"

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel bids farewell to daytime talk show queen Oprah.

Sarah Silverman Larissa Meek Gina Carano Sanaa Lathan Ana Beatriz Barros

Outsourced IT Jobs Return Home- Re-Employment in 2011

IT jobs, at one point, became very difficult to find, land and retain. The landscape of the industry was rocked by the ability to outsource labor and finding an IT job close to home was beginning to become a grueling and laborious hunt. The IT... Read more

Kim Kardashian China Chow Alecia Elliott Kat Von D Ana Paula Lemes

Exclusive: Myspace in Advanced Deal Talks With Investor Group, Including Activision's Kotick

And then there was one?

According to sources close to the situation, News Corp. is down to one possible investing group in its quest to make lemonade out of the lemon that its Myspace social entertainment hub has become.

In the lastest of many scenarios considered, several sources said its owner, News Corp., will continue to own about 20 percent of Myspace. The main bidder is a dark horse bidding group, which includes Activision Chairman and CEO Bobby Kotick as one of the potential investors.

Camilla Belle Blu Cantrell Jaime King Lokelani McMichael Freida Pinto

Agency

Virginie Ledoyen Lindsay Lohan Heidi Klum Vogue Charlize Theron

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Monitoring Relationship Status

Monitoring Relationship Status

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Monitoring Relationship StatusThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Growing a business these days is really about managing relationships. Business owners must learn to manage and juggle a complex and shifting combination of customer, partner, vendor, staff and advisory relationships in order to survive and grow. One of the greatest challenges in doing so is monitoring [...]

Rachel Perry Mary Elizabeth Winstead Piper Perabo Anna Kournikova Esther Cañadas

10 Infuriatingly Greedy Charities

Not all charities are created equally; at least, not all of them spend equally. The ways in which a charity spends its donors? dollars have been coming under increasing scrutiny in the past few years, as wave upon wave of scandals has rocked... Read more

Charlize Theron Eva Mendes Sarah Polley Aisha Tyler K. D. Aubert

Looking for the right excuse

Janet Jackson Georgianna Robertson Reese Witherspoon Jordana Brewster Laetitia Casta

Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims increase to 427,000

Rihanna America Ferrera Haylie Duff Talisa Soto Julianne Hough

Viral Video: Kimmel's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye (to Oprah Winfrey)"

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel bids farewell to daytime talk show queen Oprah.

Josie Maran Leighton Meester Dominique Swain Jamie Chung Alicia Witt

Viral Video: D9 Acting CEO Jane Lynch on the "R-Word"

"Glee" star Jane Lynch opened the ninth D: All Things Digital in a terrific bit of stand-up, posing as the acting CEO of News Corp. and making all kinds of comical proclamations.

But one thing she thinks should not be made fun of are loaded "R-words" that denigrate those with intellectual disabilities, as you will see in this riveting PSA.

Katie Holmes Victoria Beckham Missy Peregrym Sarah Gellman Eliza Dushku

Yahoo Americas Ad and Media Head Ross Levinsohn Talks Up, Well, Yahoo! (Video)

Longtime Internet exec Ross Levinsohn only got to Yahoo about seven months ago as head of its Americas region, but he certainly isn't shy about touting its attributes vigorously.

Here he is in a video interview I did about it all, as well as his hair-tastic secret.

Alessandra Ambrosio Amanda Detmer Emma Stone Raquel Alessi Marisa Coughlan

The professional's platform

Mischa Barton Jamie Lynn Sigler Stacy Keibler Rihanna America Ferrera

Chinese Rating Agency Says ?The US Has Already Defaulted? ? German Rating Agency Downgrades U.S. Debt

While Baghdad Bob Ben Bernanke says that everything is fine, China’s Dagong credit rating agency says the U.S has already defaulted. As AFP reports: “‘In our opinion, the United States has already been defaulting….Washington had already defaulted on its loans by allowing the dollar to weaken against other currencies – eroding the wealth of creditors [...]

Missi Pyle Jessica Alba Kylie Bax Diora Baird Laura Prepon

Irrational vs. unreasonable

Soft Cell Beyoncé Nelly Furtado Leeann Tweeden Bali Rodriguez

Selling nuts to squirrels

Emma Heming Vitamin C Scarlett Johansson Christina Ricci Missi Pyle

Agency

Angela Marcello Paz Vega Rebecca Mader Eva Green Lauren Conrad

Saturday, June 11, 2011

The Hacking Education Contest

On Monday I wrote about contests as a way to raise money. They are also a way to raise the profile of you and/or your startup. This post is about a developer contest that is in the latter camp. This...

Soft Cell Beyoncé Nelly Furtado Leeann Tweeden Bali Rodriguez

Viral Poster: "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part One"

Move along, nothing to see here, Twi-hards.

No, really--nothing.

Julianne Hough Paula Garcés Genelle Frenoy Shania Twain Gwen Stefani

10 Hottest Women in Online Business

The online world is made up of women, be it moms sharing tips, too-good-to-be true Russian brides or barely legal women acting badly for men?s entertainment. The one place women are not is on the boards of big online firms ? or so the... Read more

Lil Kim Kelly Ripa Yvonne Strzechowski Rhona Mitra Kelly Rowland

CoreLogic: Negative Equity by State and more

Amber Arbucci Christina Aguilera Kate Hudson Adriana Lima Brittany Daniel

Busker's dilemma (busker's delight)

Thandie Newton Liz Phair Aaliyah Katherine Heigl Lorri Bagley

Full D9 Interview Video: Alibaba Group's Jack Ma

As we have in the past, AllThingsD.com will be posting the videos of all the onstage interviews from the ninth D: All Things Digital conference, which was held last week.

The first is one I did with Jack Ma, the CEO and Co-founder of the Alibaba Group, the giant Chinese online commerce company.

Amber Valletta Paris Hilton Victoria Pratt Shakara Ledard Vanessa Marcil

Apple seeks to intervene in Lodsys lawsuit targeting iOS developers

Apple on Thursday moved to intervene in a lawsuit by patent licensing company Lodsys over in-app purchases, according to FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller. Apple wants to put itself between Lodsys and seven independent iOS developers that Lodsys sued in district …

Paz Vega Rebecca Mader Eva Green Lauren Conrad Arielle Kebbel

Salman Khan on Colbert

I'm a huge fan of both Colbert and Khan and they got together to chat a few days ago. I heard about it in the comments to a post here at AVC. I just watched it and thought I'd share...

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Selling nuts to squirrels

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You Will Know Jack?Square CEO Dorsey Added to D9 Speaker Lineup

We've added Jack Dorsey, one of Silicon Valley's hottest entrepreneurs, to the D: All Things Digital conference stage.

He's now busy disrupting the online payments space with his Square start-up, and before that invented a little service called Twitter.

Heard of it?

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Viral Video: "The Smurfs" (I Have Absolutely No Defense Here)

Okay, it is the little blue peeps from the upcoming August 3-D movie "The Smurfs," and I like them. A lot.

No more need be said. Except: Smurf happens.

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Updated List: Ranking Economic Data

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Friday, June 10, 2011

The Myspace Sweepstakes Drag on?Another Bid Deadline Today As Sale Deadline Looms

The sale of Myspace by its owner News Corp. is still going, going, going, gooooooing on...

Whitney Port Minka Kelly Carol Grow Erika Christensen Emilie de Ravin

Irrational vs. unreasonable

Marisa Coughlan Shanna Moakler Portia de Rossi Jolene Blalock Nichole Robinson

Old Associations Are Still Alive

business cartoon

Usually, when I have to go to the mall, there’s so much noise and commotion that I sort of retreat into my head. I grew up in Iowa, so unless a crowd is mooing or clucking, I’m a little uncomfortable.

But one day while waiting for my coffee, I couldn’t help overhearing, “Tom?! Tom, is that you?! You old rascal, I thought you were dead!”

Both parties laughed heartily at what I assumed was some sort ofRead More

From Small Business Trends

Old Associations Are Still Alive

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Some Stats On Yesterday's Post

AVC on June 1, 2011: Total Unique Visitors: 45,055 (google analytics) Total Visits: 47,633 (google analytics) Total Page Views: 54,105 (google analytics) Total Comments on AVC: 415 (disqus) Total Comments on Hacker News: 175 Total Social Media Mentions: 1,453 (disqus)...

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Salman Khan on Colbert

I'm a huge fan of both Colbert and Khan and they got together to chat a few days ago. I heard about it in the comments to a post here at AVC. I just watched it and thought I'd share...

Kate Hudson Adriana Lima Brittany Daniel Kate Moss Zhang Ziyi

Small Business News: Search Engine Marketing

If you’re not depending on social media alone, �you probably rely on search engine marketing (SEM) to bring customers and referrals to your Website. Actually, you’re probably using some combination of the two. That’s good! It means you’ve got a good grasp on what it takes to get attention for your business in the global online marketplace. Our first link in today’s Small Business Trends roundup looks at the common ground between the two approaches. Enjoy!

Overview

Why your businessRead More

From Small Business Trends

Small Business News: Search Engine Marketing

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Video: Om Talks About $6 Million Giga-Funding

Yesterday, I slogged through the rain to the downtown San Francisco HQ of the GigaOM Network to visit with tech blogging pioneer Om Malik and talk about the latest $6 million in funding for the tech news and analysis site.

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Fed's Beige Book: Economic activity continued to expand, "some deceleration"

Fed's Beige Book:
Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that economic activity generally continued to expand since the last report, though a few Districts indicated some deceleration. Some slowing in the pace of growth was noted in the New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Chicago Districts. In contrast, Dallas characterized that region's economy as accelerating. Other Districts indicated that growth continued at a steady pace.
...
Consumer spending was mixed, with most Districts indicating steady to modestly increasing activity. Elevated food and energy prices, as well as unfavorable weather in some parts of the country, were said to be weighing on consumers' propensity to spend. ... Widespread supply disruptions--primarily related to the disaster in Japan--were reported to have substantially reduced the flow of new automobiles into dealers' inventories, which in turn held down sales in some Districts.
...
Manufacturing activity was reported as continuing to increase since the last report in all but two districts, although many noted that the pace of growth had slowed.
...
Labor market conditions continued to improve gradually across most of the nation, with a number of Districts noting a short supply of workers with specialized technical skills. Wage growth generally remained modest, though there were scattered reports of steeper increases for highly skilled workers in certain occupations.
And on real estate:
Residential real estate sales markets showed continued weakness in most Districts, while rental markets strengthened. Most Districts indicate that home prices have declined since the last report: Boston, Philadelphia, Richmond, Atlanta, Kansas City, and San Francisco all report some downward drift in selling prices, while reports from the New York and Cleveland Districts indicate that prices have been steady, on balance
...
Commercial and industrial real estate markets have generally been steady since the last report, though there have been scattered signs of a pickup. Commercial leasing markets showed modest signs of improvement in the Richmond and San Francisco Districts. Boston and Dallas noted some firming in property sales markets, but Kansas City reported declines in prices for office buildings.
This was based on data gathered before May 27th.

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Kingmaker

Norah Jones Nicky Hilton Garcelle Beauvais Kristy Swanson Ali Campoverdi

The Myspace Sweepstakes Drag on?Another Bid Deadline Today As Sale Deadline Looms

The sale of Myspace by its owner News Corp. is still going, going, going, gooooooing on...

Ashley Olsen Danneel Harris Veronika Vaeková Eve Brittany Lee

Check In Apps vs Audience Measurement Panels

I spent a decade as an early stage investor and board member of comScore. In that capacity I learnt a lot about using representative samples to develop broad based market research on media viewing. This is the approach used by...

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Census Bureau on Homeownership Rate: We've got ?Some 'Splainin' to Do?

CR Note: Economist Tom Lawler has written several articles on the different measures of homeownership and vacancy rates. Although some readers? eyes will glaze over, this information is critically important for analyzing housing and the U.S. economy. I'm still thinking about the implications!
"Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!"
Ricky Ricardo, "I Love Lucy", 1951

From economist Tom Lawler:

My frustration with the conflicting data on US housing that comes from different reports from the Census Bureau, and the inability of Census analysts to explain the differences or even tell ?private? analysts what time-series data they should use to analyze US housing trends, has existed for at least a decade. Occasionally that long-standing ?frustration? has led me to write that it almost appears as if Census officials and analysts ?don?t care? about the conflicting data.

Whether that was or was not the case in the past, it most certainly is not the case today. In fact, some Census folks called me up yesterday to discuss some of the issues, and to let me know that (1) they are ?concerned? about the differences; (2) they understand that the differences in measures of key variables have significant implications for the outlook for housing and the outlook for construction employment, with potentially significant public policy implications; and (3) they are going to devote considerable time and effort to investigate the differences.

While this phone call was not ?on the record? and as a result I won?t discuss any details, one senior Census official agreed that Census has got ?some ?splaining to do!? I view this as a most, most welcome sign!

As a reminder of the key differences, below is a summary table of a few vacancy rate and homeowner rates from the decennial Census, the Housing Unit Coverage Study (HUCs) estimates (reflecting post-decennial-Census analysis), and the Housing Vacancy Survey (first-half averages).

Select Housing Measures: Decennial Census (4/1)
 1990200020102010 vs 19902010 vs 2000
Rental Vacancy Rate8.5%6.8%9.2%0.7%2.4%
Homeowner Vacancy Rate2.1%1.7%2.4%0.3%0.7%
Gross Vacancy Rate10.1%9.0%11.4%1.3%2.4%
Vacancy Rate ex Seasonal/Recreational/Occasional Use7.3%6.1%8.1%0.8%2.0%
Homeownership Rate64.2%66.2%65.1%0.9%-1.1%
 
Gross Vacancy Rate, HUCS (4/1)
 1990200020102010 vs 19902010 vs 2000
Gross Vacancy Rate, HUCS110.5%9.2%11.4%0.9%2.1%
 
Select Housing Measures: HVS/CPS (H1)
 1990200020102010 vs 19902010 vs 2000
Rental Vacancy Rate7.2%7.9%10.6%3.4%2.7%
Homeowner Vacancy Rate1.7%1.5%2.6%0.9%1.1%
Gross Vacancy Rate11.4%11.7%14.5%3.1%2.8%
Vacancy Rate ex Seasonal/Recreational/Occasional Use7.5%7.5%9.9%2.4%2.4%
Homeownership Rate63.9%67.2%67.0%3.1%-0.2%

1 Obviously, there has not yet been a ?Housing Unit Coverage Study? for Census 2010!!!

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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Could It Happen Here?

10-year JGB first broke under 3% 16 years ago, on June 23, 1995, according to Japan’s Ministry of Finance.� It first happened here in November 2008, so we’re 2 1/2 years from that event. Below is a chart�covering the ensuing period for each subsequent to the first break under 3%.� I’m unclear as to what, [...]

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A Couple Of Good Events Next Week

It has gotten to the point that there is an event (or multiple events) every day in NYC for the tech startup crowd. This week is particularly crazy with Internet Week. But I want to highlight a couple good ones...

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Weekend Favs June Four

Weekend Favs June Four

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Weekend Favs June FourThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week. I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post this [...]

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Viral Video: D9 Acting CEO Jane Lynch on the "R-Word"

"Glee" star Jane Lynch opened the ninth D: All Things Digital in a terrific bit of stand-up, posing as the acting CEO of News Corp. and making all kinds of comical proclamations.

But one thing she thinks should not be made fun of are loaded "R-words" that denigrate those with intellectual disabilities, as you will see in this riveting PSA.

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Lawler: Existing Home Active Listings show Big Declines in Wide Range of Metro Areas

The following is from economist Tom Lawler:

Over the weekend I ?downloaded? historical data on active listings of SF homes and condos for 54 metro areas back to April 2006 from housingtracker.net (it was a pain). The historical data are monthly averages of weekly listings, and in May the 54 metro areas combined had 1,111,996 listings.

CR Note: the following graph combines two graphs from Lawler.

Below is a chart for all 54 metro areas [and] of the NAR?s estimate of the inventory of existing homes for sale over the same period (May 2011 data are not yet available).

NAR vs. HousingTracker.net Existing Home InventoryClick on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

May listings for the 54 metro areas were down 6.8% from last May; down 10.2% from May 2009; and down 26.1% from May 2008!

Obviously, the trend in listings for the 54 metro areas is materially different from the NAR?s inventory estimates over this period. Here is a table showing April 2011 listings compared to listings in April for the previous 5 years.

% Change in Residential Listings/Existing Home Inventory, April 2011 from:
 NARHT 54 metro areas
Apr-10-3.9%-8.3%
Apr-09-1.7%-12.6%
Apr-08-14.9%-26.0%
Apr-07-8.3%-20.9%
Apr-0613.3%-1.7%

There are numerous possible reasons for these differences. First, of course, the 54 metro areas in housingtracker.net?s report are probably not as a group representative of the US market as a whole. There is a heavy representation of ?bubble? markets in housingtracker.net?s list where listings soared in 2006/07 but have since fallen sharply (not true, btw, for all troubled markets, with Vegas and Reno being obvious exceptions). Second, HT?s listings may include some new homes listed for sale, which I think NAR tries to exclude.

Another big reason, however, is related to the NAR?s methodology for estimated existing home inventories. The NAR collects sales and ?months? supply? data from around 160 boards/MLS across the country, almost all of which are located in or adjacent to metropolitan statistical areas. The NAR assumes that the % changes in sales from these Boards/MLS reflect total sales across the country, and they apply these changes to ?benchmark? estimates of total existing home sales derived from an analysis of decennial Census/AHS data (the last benchmarking was based on 2000/01 data, but that same methodology can?t be done with the Census 2010 data). For inventories the NAR uses the ?months? supply? data from these Boards/MLS to derive a months? supply estimate for the nation as a whole, and ?solves? for the inventory level. (Though multiplication!)

Most analysts believe ? as does the NAR, by the way ? that the NAR?s methodology has overstated existing home sales for the past four years or so, with the overstatement emerging no later than 2007 and growing over subsequent years. Given the NAR?s methodology of using sales and months? supply to generate inventories, an overstatement in sales would also produce an overstatement in inventories, and a rise in the degree to which sales are overstated would result in an increasing overstatement of inventories as well. (In discussions of the NAR?s ?overstatement? of existing home sales, some analysts incorrectly concluded that one implication was that the months? supply numbers were understated. That is not correct.) Thus, inventories over the last 4-5 years have probably declined by more than that suggested in the NAR report.

There may be other differences as well. E.g., Boards/MLS do not all report active listings on a consistent basis.

But flipping back to the housingtracker.net numbers, it seems pretty clear that inventories in a large number of metro areas have declined significantly over the last several years, and have declined significantly more than a look at the NAR data might suggest.

To be sure, declining listings across most of the country is not necessarily ?bullish? for housing, as home sales have also declined ? that is, there has been declining demand as well as declining supply. Still, the declining supply is welcome news.

A table showing May 2011 listings compared to listings in the May of the previous 3 years is shown [below].
Active Listings, May 2011 Compared to May of Previous 3 Years, Various Metro Areas
 201020092008 201020092008
Albuquerque-4.9%-9.5%-20.8%Minneapolis-10.9%-11.5%-28.8%
Atlanta-9.9%-21.3%-41.6%Nashville-9.0%-7.3%-10.0%
Austin-16.8%-4.2%-11.2%New Orleans-10.1%-6.1%-14.4%
Baltimore-2.7%-4.9%-14.0%New York6.6%6.6%1.7%
Boise City-30.6%-39.9%-47.7%Newark7.9%5.2%-3.4%
Boston1.7%4.4%-20.4%Oklahoma City5.8%4.6%0.4%
Cape Coral-33.1%-40.2%-46.6%Omaha-2.3%9.5%-9.3%
Chicago-11.5%-13.9%-27.9%Orange County0.0%10.2%-8.7%
Cincinnati-5.6%11.7%2.5%Orlando-23.1%-48.3%-57.7%
Cleveland-3.1%1.6%-21.8%Philadelphia4.5%6.5%5.2%
Columbus10.6%14.3%-10.8%Phoenix-21.0%-31.7%-45.8%
Dallas-3.2%-2.6%-18.1%Portland-14.4%-17.7%-32.2%
Denver-8.2%-8.3%-25.7%Raleigh-5.5%0.1%-3.2%
Detroit-18.9%-38.4%-56.1%Reno8.7%3.5%2.2%
Edison9.4%10.2%1.1%Riverside2.6%-4.1%-39.0%
Honolulu-5.9%-20.5%-27.9%Sacramento-2.6%8.4%-22.5%
Houston-5.7%6.2%-16.0%Salt Lake City-15.0%-20.3%-20.3%
Indianapolis-8.4%-4.1%-19.4%San Antonio-0.8%-1.4%-7.6%
Jacksonville-17.4%-18.0%-32.0%San Diego2.9%30.8%-15.4%
Kansas City-3.0%-2.4%-22.4%San Francisco-3.7%-3.3%-29.1%
Las Vegas4.6%-2.8%-2.4%San Jose-6.7%-9.8%-28.2%
Long Island1.2%-1.7%-4.0%Seattle-15.0%12.1%-5.1%
Los Angeles2.7%6.1%-23.1%St. Louis-7.4%2.9%-13.4%
Louisville-4.0%-4.1%-11.0%Tampa-9.5%-25.5%-37.9%
Memphis-6.7%-12.9%-32.7%Tucson-7.4%-3.3%-20.1%
Miami-25.3%-45.9%-56.8%Va. Beach-6.0%4.3%-1.1%
Milwaukee-8.2%-3.1%-10.1%DC-4.4%-11.5%-30.7%
Source: Housingtracker.net

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