Archives by Subject: Business
How many elevators does $1 million buy?
My college career is alas winding down, so tonight I went to attend a reception for graduating students in NYU's Kimmel Center. Situated on Washington Square South, it houses NYU's one swankiest spaces -- on the tenth floor houses is the Rosenthal Pavilion, a large ballroom with a a great view up Fifth Avenue.
Tonight, the Rosenthal Pavilion apparently was holding a reception for members of NYU's Sir Harold Acton Society, an exclusive club for NYU trustees and those that have given over one million dollars.
And so older people in tuxedos and gowns passed through the Kimmel lobby. Kimmel has four elevators, but apparently one had been "reserved" for the event, an NYU representative told me. "They probably paid for it!" she said. Well, perhaps, but my ever-growing tuition probably helped too. "It's actually a common misconception that tuition only covers..." she shot back.
So then another elevator arrived. "Actually, we're using this one, too," I was told. Yeah, not so much. I walked into the elevator anyway, and the 30 other students that had been waiting followed.
Meanwhile, I receive frequent solicitations to give money to my Senior class gift! I wonder how many elevators that will buy?
I'm a big supporter of giving back to institutions. I'm very active in fund raising for the school I attended in Baltimore.
But this whole experience makes me less than eager to start donating to NYU.
Posted in on April 19, 2007, 12:42 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
OMG .MOBI
The new hotness in bed-and-breakfast marketing: .mobi websites!!!
Johannes Tromp says the Web site for his South Carolina bed-and-breakfast generates good business. But last fall, he found a way to reach even more potential customers: He made a version of the site for cellphones.
Mr. Tromp signed up for a mobile Web address with the newly available suffix "dot-mobi" and used a self-starter kit from a company called Roundpoint Ltd. to build www.kilburnie.mobi, the mobile site for his Inn at Craig Farm. He says he's gotten a surprisingly good response, with 30 to 40 new calls per month from interested travelers who heard of his inn by accessing the cellphone site.
"For people to find me, I have to make myself available any way I can," says Mr. Tromp.
30 to 40 calls a month from people visiting his website on mobile devices? I call bullshit. Most decently-designed sites will degrade gracefully on blackberries and the like -- no special site needed.
But hmm... I wonder if ScottKIdder.mobi is available?!?
Mini Web Sites Target Users of Mobile Phones [WSJ]
Posted in on April 05, 2007, 03:41 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
116,190,000
The Gawker Media network reached 116,190,000 pageviews for March, 2007 -- up from 60,275,000 pageviews a year ago.
· Traffic Chart [Flickr]
Posted in on April 02, 2007, 11:54 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Key Dfferentiators!
Quoted from a just-received press release:
"Commercial Audio Giant's High Quality, Heavy Duty, No Fluff Products Provide Key Differentiator in Crowded Market"
I'm sold!
Posted in on April 02, 2007, 06:00 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
They Say Imitation...
They at least could have copied the design better!
· Viral 'Studio 60' Gossip Blog Unlikely To Bring Up Aaron Sorkin's Problems With Drug Abuse And Mouthy Call Girls [Defamer]
· Defaker
Posted in on September 20, 2006, 06:24 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Get Your Facebook Card Holders!
I know that Facebook has had some problems, but this sponsored group from Chase is absurd.
Win an exclusive Facebook card holder? I bet that will impress the recruiters! And what the hell is "first look" status?
Posted in on September 10, 2006, 06:40 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Citibank Sucks
I currently use an American Express card almost exclusively. But when I received an offer in the mail regarding Citibank's PremierPass card, it seemed interesting. So, I applied.
Then, I received a letter stating that neither my address, nor my phone number, nor my income is verifiable or exists. They want original (NO COPIES) telephone bills, bank statements, credit card statements, utility bills (other than telephone bill), copies of tax returns, etc.
Yet on the same day I received this obnoxious letter, I received another offer from CitiBank. To the same allegedly fraudulent address!
For the record, my address is in fact on my credit report.
Posted in on September 06, 2006, 11:20 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Facebook's Giant Blunder
This morning, social networking megasite Facebook launched self-proclaimed "cool features" called feeds AKA stalker aides. You can see everything every one of your friends has done -- changed their relationship status, written on people's walls, changed their interests -- and exactly when they did it.
Facebookers are not happy. There are dozens of groups bashing the feature, the largest of which has over 20,000 643,000 (as of 5pm EST 9/7) members -- in under a week.
Mike Arrington got a secret preview of the features which he says will let users have "a much easier way of staying up to date on what their friends are up to." GigaOm writer Liz Gannes announces that "Facebook finally makes itself useful."
Mike and Liz: have you ever used Facebook? Not tried it out, but seriously used Facebook, day after day? This is not cool. It's one thing to stay up-to-date by seeing a friend has updated their profile. It's quite another to be able to view the history of their relationship status, and see exactly who and when they make new friends.
I feel bad for Facebook Feeds Product Manager Ruchi Sanghvi, whose name is plastered all over the anti-feeds groups and is likely receiving thousands of messages.
I feel especially bad because this mess is overshadowing Facebook Elections, which also launched last night -- and is a pretty cool feature.
My suggestion: Facebook needs to immediately make a very simple way for users to stop their items from appearing in anyone's feeds. Then, they need to publicize it. They say you can just change your privacy settings, but I don't see an option to disable feeds.
If Facebook chooses to ignore the impressive and loud feedback of its users, it may lose them.
Posted in on September 05, 2006, 07:49 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Ford's Executive Dining Room?
From an article in today's New York Times about the troubled Ford Motor Company:
In the executive dining room, the last of its kind at Detroit’s big automakers, waitresses take orders from a multicourse menu and bring silver finger bowls between the main course and dessert.
Uhh...
His company reported losses of $1.6 billion in North America last year and lost $1.2 billion worldwide in the first quarter this year.
Posted in on July 16, 2006, 09:53 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Google in New York
I had a great opportunity to visit Google's New York offices yesterday. Unfortunately, I had to leave early, but what struck me the most was the consistent focus on Google's mission: organizing the world's information.
For example, someone asked why Google hasn't considered charging for content instead of having it all advertising supported. That's easy: advertising facilitates access to this information.
One other interesting thing I hadn't heard about is the idea of partner-specific pages on Google Video, like this one for Sundance. "But how do you monetize those pages?" asked someone from the audience. The answer came without hesitation: "We don't."
Posted in on June 29, 2006, 12:37 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
MTV is With Leather
Posted in on June 20, 2006, 08:10 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
How to Mingle
From the always interesting Tricks of the Trade:
Always enter a conversations with a drink you are about to finish.
If things don't go well, all you need to do is take one last gulp from your drink and excuse yourself to get another, never to return.
If the conversation is going well, finish your drink and ask the other person if you can get them anything when you go to get another. They will appreciate the gesture even if they decline, and it impies that you'll be returning for a longer conversation.
· Mingler [Tricks of the Trade]
Posted in on April 30, 2006, 10:27 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Registering International Domain Names
Looking for international domain names?
A great place to start is this page, which gives you a direct link to the registry of each domain extension.
Posted in on April 10, 2006, 02:07 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Schmap Uses Photos from Flickr
Got a cool email today from Schmap asking permissions to possibly use some of my photos from Florence for use in some kind of online travel guide of Florence (like this one for Rome):
Hi skidder,
I am writing to let you know that six of your photos with a
creative commons license have been short-listed for
inclusion in our Schmap Florence Guide, to be published
mid-April 2006.Clicking this link will take you to a page where you can:
i) See which of your photos have been short-listed
ii) Submit or withdraw your photos from our final selection
phase
iii) Learn how we credit photos in our Schmap Guides
iv) Download one of our recently released Schmap Guides.
Pretty cool!
Posted in on March 29, 2006, 04:59 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Dell Hell: Currently in Purgatory
For those playing along at home, my Dell Hell episode is almost complete. After additional hours and hours on the phone, on the web, and over email, I think I've come to a resolution.
As far as I can tell, the original tech support team that helped me (in India, in case anyone cares) was entirely negligent. They violated numerous Dell policies, were unclear, and did not respond to follow-up requests for assistance. It's possible they even tried to sabotage the case number.
This final chapter resulted in a Dell US-based Small Business Customer Care representative and her supervisor staying on the phone with me, fighting the agents in India that were disconnecting and transferring me to automated systems. I owe an enormous amount of gratitude to these valuable employees, but don't want to print their names in case Dell decides to freak out.
Read on...
Last week, I decided this had to end, and called Dell and said I was a small business customer (more on this later) determined not to hang up until this was resolved. Now, I am a small business customer. I've even signed a reseller contract with Dell. Yet for some reason, this order was processed as a home office order.
Regardless, I reached a nice representative, explained the situation, and asked for her supervisor. In summary, my client had shipped the computer back to Dell over a week ago, and Dell had neither refunded my money nor begun processing an exchange.
The supervisor told me there wasn't anything they could do as it was the wrong department, but they promised to make a new case number, clearly explain what had to happen in the notes, and direct me to the correct department. I was then transferred to the Home Office department and sent to India. The representative was, again, incompetent. Even after pulling up the new case number and being told by Small Business policy states I should receive an immediate refund, she cited some nonsense and said I had to call technical support. I said I need to speak to her supervisor. Here's how it went:
Dell Rep: "Yes sir I will transfer you to the appropriate supervisor, please hold."
(hold music)
"Thank you for calling Dell's Automated Technical Support Status System."
At this point, I literally scream. Loudly. I couldn't believe after all that, I had been essentially hung up on. All of the sudden, I hear a voice:
Dell Rep: "Scott, Scott, are you there???
It turns out my amazing rep from the powerless Small Business department had secretly stayed on the phone with me to witness the incompetent representative ignore procedure, cite incorrect information, lie to me, then pawn me off to an automated system -- certainly not their supervisor!
My amazing rep was obviously horrified. She didn't know what to say, besides "This amazes me." We decided to try again. She called again, this time staying on the line and explaining the situation. This time, the Indian rep randomly disconnected us, or at least that's what my amazing rep's system indicated. She was once again speechless and didn't know what to say.
Finally, the third time being a charm, she was able to convince the Indian Home/Home Office rep to issue me the credit I deserved. After dozens of hours dealing with Dell, it is possible my situation may be resolved.
Some other notes:
- I had learned that you receive better service when you call and say you are a small business customer, not a home/home office customer. Home and home office customers are outsourced to India. Small business customers are handled in the US. I hate to sit here and give power to a stereotype, but it was absolutely my experience. With only one exception, every Dell representative I spoke to in India was incompetent.
- The credit card I actually ordered the computer on has since expired, so I doubt the credit can go through. We'll see how long it takes me get them to credit a different credit card.
- Don't forget to read about the evidence I uncovered proving that the refurbished system I was shipped was such a lemon that the previous owner eventually sent it back, too. Apparently, Dell didn't take this as a hint that something needed to be fixed.
- I am exhausted. Anyone know any good lawyers?
· Previously: The Dell Outlet: Lemons for Sale! [ScottKidder.com]
· Previously: Dell Hell, Indeed [ScottKidder.com]
Posted in on February 07, 2006, 01:53 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Outsourcing Homework!
I've been enjoying reading The World Is Flat, a refreshing look at outsourcing and its effect on our now global economy. If you are at all interested in business and technology, I recommend you read it.
With this in mind, an article in today's Wall Street Journal about Computer Science students outsourcing their homework caught my eye:
But if U.S. companies can go online to outsource their programming, why can't U.S. computer students outsource their homework -- which, after all, often involves writing sample programs? Scruples aside, no reason at all. Search for "homework" in the data base of Rent A Coder projects, and you get 1,000 hits. (An impressive number, but still a tiny fraction of all computer students, the vast majority of whom are no doubt an honest and hardworking lot.)
A few examples: "I need a simple console-based program and a PHP script written that uses the openssl library." "I need 2 algorithms filtering -- median and Gaussian." "A C++ program that will implement a billing system using threads. Needs to be completed tonight if possible."
Indeed, some programming students appear to be outsourcing their way through college. "Pascal Rookie," from Colorado Springs, Colo., has put five school projects to bid. And while he may be a plagiarist, at least he treats his helpers well: Mr. Rookie has received the highest marks possible for a buyer in the eBay-like rating system used by Rent A Coder. "A pleasure to work with him," said one.
You can't tell from the site how much was paid for the help, but usually it's well less than $100.
· Some Students Use Net To Hire Experts to Do Their School Work [WSJ.com]
Posted in on January 18, 2006, 11:10 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
The Dell Outlet: Lemons for Sale!
Click to see the full size screenshot.
I recently documented the problems I had with a client's Dell refurbished computer. Up until now, I've been a big supporter of the Dell Outlet. No longer -- apparently, they don't fix machines that are sent back because they are faulty!
As this screenshot shows, I wasn't the first person to have major problems with Dell Service Tag 7PN0581. The previous owner had almost a dozen support calls with problems that seemed to focus on a blue screen error (the support history "detail" doesn't tell me much). They had so many problems that they ended sending the computer back. Just like I did.
Why wasn't this system fully tested? Even minimal testing would have discovered the serious problems this computer had.
· Previously: Dell Hell, Indeed [ScottKidder.com]
Posted in on January 13, 2006, 04:08 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Persuasion vs. Intimidation
As some explained to me recently:
If someone has something you really want, intimidation will not work. If they were intimidated, they probably wouldn't have that thing. Instead, you need to persuade them: how can you make it work for both of you?
Posted in on January 10, 2006, 11:49 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Movie Theaters are Not in the Movie Business
Popcorn, for example, because of the immense amount of popped bulk produced from a relatively small amount of kernels—the ratio is as high as 60:1—yields more than 90 cents of profit on every dollar of popcorn sold. It also serves to make customers thirsty for sodas, another high-margin product (supplied to most theater chains by Coca-Cola, which makes lucrative deals with theater owners in return for their exclusive "pouring" of its products). One theater chain executive went so far as to describe the cup holder mounted on each seat, which allows customers to park their soda while returning to the concession stand for more popcorn, as "the most important technological innovation since sound."
This interesting article says the movie theaters are not solely in the business of showing movies, but in fact in the businesses of fast food, "movie exhibition," and advertising.
(via Kottke)
· The Popcorn Palace Economy [Salon]
Posted in on January 04, 2006, 07:13 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
JetBlue and Las Vegas
The holidays have given me some time to do a lot of reading I've had on my wish list for a while, including Blue Streak, a well-written and interesting business biography of JetBlue.
I also managed to catch the tale end tonight of CNBC's Las Vegas, Inc, an excellent look at the mysterious business of Las Vegas.
Both are highly reccomended!
Posted in on January 02, 2006, 08:34 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Why PayPal Sucks
Lots of people don't like PayPal. But I've never had any problems with them. I use them with a lot of my clients, and we use them at Gawker to power our Shop.
Yet on today, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, their downloadable log files decided not to work. For no reason. And that's all they told me: "Please try again later."
This is topped only by an email received from PayPal earlier in the weekend:
I couldn't believe they were serious. After waiting a week for a response for a serious issue, they just decide not to answer my question and then have the nerve to tell me what to do if I have "further questions"?
PayPal sucks. Right now, at least.
Edit: Apparently the history problems are only with the accounts with the highest numbers of transactions. In other words: their best customers. Go figure.
Posted in on December 20, 2005, 05:53 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Bank of America Hates Italy
Here's my gripe: each time I withdraw money, using any ATM in Italy, I am charged $5 USD and another percentage surcharge -- on top of the exchange rate.
So... if I wanted to withdraw EUR 250, or USD $292.06, I ended up paying USD $299.97. USD $7.91 may not sound like too much to complain about, but imagine being charged ~USD $8 to access your account for several months.
The best part? My roommate John uses Bank of America, withdraws money from the exact same ATMs, but isn't charged any of these fees! I've called BOA's national call centers, my local branch, branches in other states, and everyone tells me the same thing: "Sorry, there is a $5 fee. We're not sure why you're being charged that second fee (the percentage), though. And we're not sure why your roommate has no fees charged. Maybe you can give us his account number?"
Citibank isn't the only bank with problems.
Posted in on November 29, 2005, 06:47 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink
"No Wilma, No Rubble"
Reading the New York Times online moments ago, I saw this ad for the Florida Keys. The Florida Keys are a beautiful place and I've spent a lot of time there, but using the destruction (and 47 deaths) of Hurricane Wilma as a selling point? Seems pretty insensitive to me.
· Hurricane Wilma [Wikipedia]
Posted in on November 14, 2005, 05:59 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
LinkedIn Contractdicts Itself
(Click thumbnail for a larger image.)
I'm a fan of LinkedIn.
So I was surprised to log in tonight and see one of the stupidest promotional blurbs I've seen in a while. I'm told that:
You have no new opportunities — users with at least 10 connections and complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities.
An impressive statistic and compelling reason to get more connections and complete my profile. But less than an inch to the right of this, I'm told I have 16 connections. And my profile is pretty complete.
I appreciated the tip, but how hard would it be to only show that message to relevant users?
Posted in on October 09, 2005, 07:12 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
How Many Blogs Did AOL Buy, Exactly?
"In online content that ranges from music to movies, travel to tech, food to fashion, medicine to mortgages, 85 new topical websites now call AOL and AOL.com home – providing online consumers with new micro-communities where they can connect, debate, editorialize, comment, and learn."
Or so says the press release announcing AOL's purchase of WeblogsInc. WIN claims to have 85 blogging sites, but how many do they really have?
As part of my work with Gawker Media, several weeks ago I was asked to undertake an analysis of WIN's properties. I went to each site listed on their sidebar and took note of the last two posts made on that blog. I also got rid of sub-blogs (Engadget: Wireless, etc.) and personal blogs.
My count was 31. Now, mind you, 31 is still a lot! Gawker Media only has 14 sites. But 31 is not 85.
How did they have so many "blogs"?
- For many blogs, the most recent "post" was the "Best of WeblogsInc" posts that show up on every blog every Friday. Check out the Xbox2 Weblog to see what I mean.
- Lots of posts were crossposted on multiple blogs.
- They counted categories within a blog as separate blogs. Engadget appears on the sidebar blog list 5 times: Engadget Cellphones, Engadget Wireless, etc.
Jason recently claimed that they were going to "retire" some of the blogs that haven't seen posts in weeks. We'll see when that happens.
Now that WeblogsInc is no longer an independent competitor to Gawker, this data isn't really confidential. You can download the spreadsheet below and see for yourself.
· WIN Analysis Spreadsheet [Excel File]
Posted in on October 06, 2005, 05:32 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
WeblogsInc Sells Out to AOL for $25 Million, Gawker Staying Put
The big news today is the sale of WeblogsInc to American Online. Good news for Jason and company, great news for Gawker Media.
I've had several people mention how Jason arguably sold out too late last time and didn't want to miss the boat again. Seems like he didn't miss it this time!
The question is what will AOL do to the company?
· Weblogs Inc Being Bought Out By America Online [PaidContent]
· AOL to buy Weblogs Inc. network [Reuters via. Yahoo News]
· Technorati Search: WeblogsInc
Posted in on October 06, 2005, 06:05 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Gizmodo Now Publishing in Seven Languages
Thanks to a groundbreaking partnership with global media powerhouse VNU, today Gizmodo begins publishing in a total of seven languages. Quoting from the press release:
Under the terms of the partnership, Gizmodo’s content will be translated from English into 6 additional languages, then augmented with local coverage for each market. Besides English, Gizmodo.com now will be available in French, German, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian and covering the Belgium market in Dutch as well.
Flags will be added to the homepage at www.gizmodo.com. Other versions of Gizmodo are accessible at fr.gizmodo.com (French), es.gizmodo.com (Spain), etc.
This is huge!
· VNU Partners with Gawker Media to publish Gizmodo, the “One of a Kind” Gadget Blog across 7 Territories in Europe [VNU Press Release]
Posted in on October 04, 2005, 09:28 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Italians Love Receipts
I'm just back from Rome, where I had an incredible time and will post more on it soon. But in the interim, I feel the need to tell you: Italians love receipts.
Italians give you receipts for everything, and when I try to refuse them, they are suprised. When I was on the train and ordered a three Euro sandwich, they gave me a receipt. When I went to the 99 cent store to get a bottle of water, they gave me a receipt. What's even sillier is the receipts are often void of the important information... such as what you bought. They just give the name of the establishment, its address, and how much money you spent.
As if I need a reminder of how much money I'm spending.
Posted in on October 02, 2005, 07:04 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
In Florence, ATMs Close Sunday, Too
The guidebooks tell you that in Florence, many shops and businesses are closed Sundays. It's possible that's true for the ATMs ("bancomats") too!
I just spent 30 minutes trying to find a working ATM. Only the seventh ATM I visited was actually working.
Posted in on September 25, 2005, 09:11 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Perche No?
Just off Via del Calzaiuoli lies Perche No? (translated: "Why Not?"), Florence's first ice cream parlor ("gelateria"). I stopped in yesterday for my first taste, and while all the people made it hard to decide which flavors I wanted, my chocolate and banana was delicious!
Many friends have suggested I go there, so I'm glad I took them up on their suggestion. Though apparently we aren't the only ones who enjoy Perche No?:
During World War II when the American army reached Florence after the Nazi withdrawal, they had the power grid specially reconnected so that Perche No?'s gelato production -- and G.I. consumption -- could continue.
This, at least, according to Frommer's.
Perche No?
Via dei Tavolini 19r, off Via del Calzaiuoli
Posted in on September 25, 2005, 07:26 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
College life... powered by Google?
I was suprised to see an advertisement on The Facebook sending me to a landing page for what appears to be a new advertising campaign targeting college students.
Under the heading "College life, powered by Google" appeared this (what I think is) poorly written copy:
You spend your life dealing with information. A lot of it is academic, a lot more is personal, it all matters, and you can probably use better tools for handling it effectively. On this page, we'd like to introduce you to a few of them.
[Side rant: "A lot of it is academic, a lot more is personal, it all matters, and you can probably use better tools for handling it effectively" is a pretty confusing sentence!]
Anyway, stock photos with college-age people tell me that Google SMS is the best way to "put the power of Google in my cell-phone-wielding hand," Gmail is "a better way to email," and Google Toolbar is a "smarter way to surf." Sounds a lot like the usual marketing copy -- not at all what I've come to expect from Google.
· College life, powered by Google [Google.com]
Posted in on September 18, 2005, 07:52 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
nineTnine Cent Invasion
One of the most suprising things I've seen in Florence is the "nineTnine Cent Paradise" shop less than a block from where I'm living. Everything there is, quite literally, 99 cents (in Euros, of course).
It actually makes for some pretty good deals -- 99 cent sodas, 99 cent binders, 99 cent packs of pens.
I don't think I've ever been in a 99 cent store in the United States, but I go to this one almost every day.
Posted in on September 14, 2005, 12:14 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Gawker Media Launches Deadspin, Sploid Redesign
Today Gawker Media launches both Deadspin, our new sports blog, and a redesign of our news site Sploid. While I can't promise 80% ads or a million posts a day, hopefully you'll check them out all the same.
Wonder what comes next?
· Sploid
· Deadspin
· Sploid: Do You Like Jigsaws? [Whitespace]
Posted in on September 08, 2005, 03:23 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
T-Shirt Polling at Gawker
Today at Gawker Media we're launching a reader poll for readers to vote for their favorite catch phrases. We'll print some of the ones that receive the most votes.
Jessica says it best:
Perhaps you feel like telling the world It's not whoring if you do it for free; maybe you're more the type to proclaim that Vogue is a food group.
Whatever you feel like, tell us!
Look for more t-shirts in the near future.
· Gawker Shop: Vote Now [Gawker Shop]
· Gawker T-Shirts: Vote Now for Your New Skeet Rag [Gawker]
· Gawker Shop
Posted in on September 06, 2005, 01:52 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
WordPress.com Announced (And a Similar System)
Looks like I missed a great presentation. While I am in San Francisco, unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to the Blog Business Summit and Matt's unveiling (kind of) of WordPress.com.
While details are still sketchy, it seems that it will be a hosted service based off of the Wordpress Multi-User version -- and it will be free! It involves the new version of WordPress (1.6), which among other things, apparently includes a new WYSIWYG editor.
While WordPress.com is currently invite-only (and invites will probably be hard to come by), you can see a similar service at PRBlogs.org. It, too, is based on WordPress Multi-User version "1.6-ALPHA-2-still-dont-use". I played with it, and it looks pretty sweet. Check out PRBlogs.org to see how the service may work if you can't get into WordPress.com.
It could be fun to watch how (apparently free) WordPress.com pairs up against TypePad -- Matt's presentation even got some mainstream press coverage.
· Presentation Feedback [matt.wordpress.com]
· WordPress commercial arm to compete against TypePad [Blog Herald]
Posted in on August 21, 2005, 12:30 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Observations: the San Francisco Bay Area
Posted in on August 18, 2005, 06:43 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Cry Me a River
This message arrived to my delight yesterday. Can't say I'm very upset.
I signed up for Columbia House years and years ago and despite my best efforts, I could never get off their mailing list.
I'm hardly the only one. Apparently, I had to send them a "send a certified, return-receipt-requested letter."
· Consumer Complaints about Columbia House [Consumeraffairs.com]
· Columbiahouse.com
Posted in on August 08, 2005, 07:24 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Why Can't Starbucks Have Normal Drink Sizes?
For some reason, the Starbucks I visited yesterday (to purchase a delicious Green Tea Lemonade!) was packed with lots of tourists. As I was waiting for my drink, I watched a grandmother and granddaughter trying to remember what they ordered. Was it Tall? Venti? Mocha? Frappuccino? They had no idea, and were awfully confused.
Starbucks gets a lot of attention for wanting to be the "third place" - home and work are the first two "places" - for its customers. It has happy employees (a 82% job satisfaction rate, compared to the usual 50%!)...
But why can't they just call tall, venti, and grade small, medium, and large?
EDIT:
As this guy says:
Tall, grande, venti? "All it means," says Mark Pendergrast, author of "Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed Our World," "is small, too much, or way too much. I refuse to speak Italian to order a size." He's not surprised, though, that so many of us do respond (25 million each week, generating $268 million in profits in 2003). "If you feel a bit humbled," he says, "when you approach the great Wizard of Oz Coffee Maker -- 'I'm so scared, can I get through this ordering process correctly?' -- that can be appealing. It's very clever marketing." [emphasis mine]
Perhaps it's clever marketing, perhaps it's the cult of the brand, but it still seems obnoxious to me.
Posted in on August 04, 2005, 09:33 AM | Comments (7) | Permalink
Alpacas: The "World's Finest Livestock Investment"
Did you know the Alpaca is among the world's finest livestock investments, at least according to ILoveAlpacas.com? Neither did I.
Alpacas are not inexpensive, ranging from $10,000 to $40,000 for breeding females and $5,000 to $35,000 for high quality males. High quality proven males with exceptional offspring have sold in excess of $200,000. In many cases, financing your alpaca purchase can be done right on the farm as many alpaca breeders offer financing.
Good to know I can get financing for my alpaca.
By the way, in case you're wondering like I was... the Alpaca is:
...one of two domesticated breeds of South American camel-like ungulates, derived from the wild guanaco. It resembles a sheep in appearance, but is larger in size, and has a long erect neck with a handsome head.
Yup. Now you know.
(via Steph)
· Alpaca Investment Potential [ILoveAlpacas.com]
· Alpaca [Wikipedia]
Posted in on July 28, 2005, 12:10 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
World of Warcraft: The Real Cult Consumers
During lunch with a friend today, the topic of World of Warcraft came up. For those like me who aren't hardcore gamers, it's a very popular multiplayer online game. Wikipedia says it had 240,000 subscribers in its first 24 hours on the market.
As of July, it surpassed 2 million paying customers in the US and over 3.5 million worldwide, making it the the most popular game of its kind in the world. Apparently, even Dave Chappelle plays it.
When someone talks about customer evangelism, JetBlue comes up to the top of the list. A recent New York Times article quoted a "trendwatcher":
"Flying JetBlue isn't just about taking a trip," the trend watcher Faith Popcorn said. "It has actually become something fun to do."
Okay, so JetBlue is popular. Everybody knows that. But World of Warcraft, to me, is no less amazing. A Google search for World of Warcraft brings up 3,660,000 results (and almost 50,000 images!) while a Google search for JetBlue only brings up 796,000 results.
Apparently, it's not uncommon for WoW players to devote a suprising amount of their waking hours to this computer game. Plus, these 3.5 million people pay $15 each per month (even if they aren't playing). These sound like cult consumers to me.
· Wikipedia: World of Warcraft [Wikipedia]
· World of Warcraft Achieves New Miletsone with Two Million Paying Customers Worldwide [Blizzard Press Releases]
· A Discount Airline Creates Some Wealthy Admirers [New York Times]
Posted in on July 26, 2005, 10:06 PM | Comments (8) | Permalink
Why Google's $300+ Stock Price?
Catching up on my sky-high backlog of USA Today, I found an interesting article on Google's $300+ stock price. As of July 14, only nine stocks had share prices over $300.
Why hasn't Google split its stock? Why haven't the nine other companies? The article discusses those points.
One side effect of the high stock price that I've felt:
And while a stock price in itself is meaningless, Google is clearly sending a message to investors by not splitting. "If you go back to Google's prospectus, it says Google is not a conventional company and does not intend to become one," says Jay Ritter, professor of finance at the University of Florida.
· Google joins ranks of stocks north of $300 [USA Today]
· Previous posts tagged with Google [ScottKidder.com]
Posted in on July 25, 2005, 02:29 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Another Day, Another CollegeHumor Article
Another glowing profile of CollegeHumor/Connected Ventures appeared in this morning's New York Times.
They have received a lot of media attention recently, in addition to signing movie and book deals. Wonder what'll come next?
In other (more important) Connected Ventures news, with my new camera, I can finally post videos on Vimeo! You have no idea how happy this makes me.
· Sophmorically Incorrect [New York Times]
· Connected Ventures
Posted in on July 24, 2005, 11:25 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
WeblogsInc Network Compromised?
It seems like a whole bunch of the WebLogsInc network sites have been compromised. Many sites, including Jason Calacanis' weblog, their corporate site, Luxist, HackADay, their very popular Autoblog, and a bunch more display the following message:
Fuxz Ownz You!
fuxz0r@gmail.com
Click the screenshot above for a bigger version.
This seems to affect weblogs that appear to be running the "older" version of their custom-built BlogSmith software.
I've sent a whole bunch of emails to people over there, though I doubt they aren't aware of it by now. Hopefully they can take care of this soon.
Update: Brian Alvey, CTO and co-founder of WeblogsInc, responds:
Our oldest web server's FTP ports were not locked down in our firewalls. Not good. Someone ran cracking software, gained FTP access and defaced our sites. All of our other servers which run Engadget, Joystiq, TV Squad and any blog we've launched since January were untouched, but Hack A Day, Autoblog, Luxist, Gadling, Blogging Baby and several others were affected.
Not much left to say besides we got the holes on that old server closed and I can't wait to migrate everything off of it and decommission it. The new platform has no FTP. All files are managed via web form-based uploads. It's not the easiest way to get a large group of files to the server, but it isn't a hack waiting to happen like IIS's FTP server can be.
I'm not sure how practical it is to abandon FTP, but hey, whatever works.
Disclaimer: Yes, I work with Gawker Media, but it sucks when anyone's website gets hacked.
Posted in on July 16, 2005, 07:54 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Google's 300-Year Mission
An interesting quote from an article on Google's Search Service in today's Wall Street Journal:
Google's chief executive, Mr. Schmidt, calls Google's mission a long-term one. "It will take, current estimate, 300 years to organize all of the world's information," he says.
Where in the world did that estimate come from?
· For Soaring Google, Next Act Won't Be as Easy as the First [WSJ]
Posted in on June 30, 2005, 12:46 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Starbucks at New York Sports Clubs?
I was leaving the New York Sports Club I joined a few days ago yesterday and noticed they were having some kind of promotion. Set up in the lobby was a table full of free Starbucks coffee and food.
While I'm always a fan of free food, I had trouble understanding why they were packing the lobby of a health club with fat and calorie filled "food" from Starbucks. I noticed coffee cake (570 calories, 28g of fat per serving) and what seems to be "White Chocolate Macadamia Nut" cookies (470 calories, 27g of fat per serving).
I think Starbucks was sponsoring the day, but shouldn't whoever arranged this cross-promotion actually thought this through? On another note, they promised me there would be healthier food that evening.
Posted in on June 22, 2005, 10:29 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Viacom's Summer Redstone on Himself
With Viacom's recently announced plans to split into two publicly-traded companies, "Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer" and controlling stockholder Summer Redstone (whom, by the way, pulled in about $64 million last year) sat down for a candid interview with the Los Angeles Times:
Q: How will Viacom change without you as CEO? A: My role really won't change at all. I still control both companies. Les and Tom do not make a move without calling me and discussing it. They work for me. The management style of Viacom, in terms of its culture, attitude and personality, reflects my own views...
He's so modest. "Les and Tom" are, of course, Tom Freston and Leslie Moonves. Both were named "Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer" about a year ago and, for the record, both received similar compensation packages to their boss' last year. I wonder if they have to ask Summer to use the bathroom.
While I don't doubt Mr. Redstone's importance at Viacom, I'm not sure I've ever read a more arrogant response to a question by a major company's Chairman (he isn't, after all, CEO).
· Viacom OKs Plan to Split, but 1 Man Will Still Run the Show [Los Angeles Times]
· Google News on Viacom Breakup [Google News]
· Viacom puts stock in exex [Variety, subscription may be required]
· Senior Management [Viacom.com]
· Summer Redstone On Corporate Division, Immortality [Defamer]
Posted in on June 15, 2005, 05:11 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
TheFacebook Hot, Friendster Not
The New York Times announces TheFacebook's receipt of $13 million from "one of Silicon Valley's leading venture capitalists." On the same day, Friendster cans its CEO and "trims staff".
Friendster is so one year ago, anyway.
(via Zach Klein)
· Alexa comparison of TheFacebook and Friendster [Alexa]
· Thefacebook To Expand Social Network [MediaPost]
· Friendster CEO Fired [Google News]
· Student's Start-Up Draws Attention and $13 Million [New York Times]
Posted in on May 26, 2005, 11:51 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Adobe Purchases Macromedia for $3.4 Billion
The Wall Street Journal tells me that "Adobe Systems Inc. announced the acquisition of Macromedia Inc. for $3.4 billion in stock in a deal that will bring together the software of two companies with broad resources to distribute documents, video and other media to personal computers, cellphones and hand-held devices."
Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen, who will continue as chief executive in the new company, said of the two companies "we are probably twins separated at birth." I think that's going a bit far, but this is a huge deal that could have giant implications for web developers.
The mergers and acquisitions continue!
· Adobe Systems Buys Macromedia In Stock Deal [WSJ, Subscription Req'd]
· Google News Articles
Posted in on April 18, 2005, 12:18 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
My Day of Poor Customer Experiences
I just came back from a short trip to Washington on business, and it was awful. I kept running into poor customer experiences. A few specific culprits:
Amtrak is obviously having serious problems today. I travel Amtrak pretty regularly... in fact, last week I got a call asking me to participate in a focus group for them. So, imagine my surprise when booking my ticket yesterday I learn my Student Advantage discount now requires a three day prior purchase. They made no effort to communicate this to me. The only e-mail I get from Amtrak is trying to convince me to sign up for a credit card.
Today, Amtrak scored low points too. Fridays are peak travel times, especially on the Northeast Corridor. Apparently their fancy Acela service trains have cracks in the brakes and has been shut down "indefinitely," so everyone in the world tried to jam on an unreserved train.
For the record, I don't find Acela Express to be worth the almost double the cost. I've tried it a few times, and the trains have always left late and mysteriously crawled at some points. When you see cars getting there faster than the train, it's disappointing.
It was as crowded as a New York Subway -- I've never seen anything like it.
RadioShack was also disappointing. Minutes before I had to leave yesterday, I discovered my Dell Power Adapter had somehow frayed, rendering it useless. I had to use my laptop to make a presentation this morning.
My first thought when I arrived last night was to head to RadioShack -- surely they must have some kind of replacement power adapter. Well, they did, but it was out of stock at that store and every other store in the region. Yet OfficeDepot, right next door, had plenty in stock.
I ended up purchasing a Targus adapter. While it does power my laptop, my battery refuses to charge. Hopefully I can convince the $70 adapter to charge my laptop's poor battery. Otherwise, my laptop has turned into a paperweight.
How frustrating!
Posted in on April 15, 2005, 07:08 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
MTA Now Uses Address Verification for Credit Cards?
Hardly the most exciting story of the day, but as I was coming home from work today, I needed to refill my metrocard -- something I've done dozens of times. But this time the machine asked me to enter my billing zip code on the keypad.
As a merchant that accepts credit cards myself, I know all about AVS (the Address Verification System). You can send the system the billing zip code and the first part of the billing street address when processing the transaction, and use the results to help you determine if it's fraudulent.
Has the MTA had problems with people using stolen credit cards at Metrocard machines? Gas stations are notorious for being one of the places credit card theives see if a card is still active.
How will this affect the already-long lines at Metrocard machines during rush hour? Certainly I'm not the only one that was surprised by this.
It's also possible that this was some sort of fluke or test.
Posted in on March 31, 2005, 07:00 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Good Overview of NHL Disaster
While going through this week's newspapers, I enjoyed reading a good overview of the NHL's mess in Monday's USA Today.
I rarely try to hide my ignorance regarding professional sports, but have always been interested in the business behind them. How can they justify paying tens of millions of dollars to these professional athletes?
Well, apparently, the NHL can't. In the 2002-2003 season, player costs took up 75% of the NHL's revenue, compared with the 55% to 62% other leagues spend.
Posted in on March 24, 2005, 10:41 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
PR Company Discusses Blogging. Hilarity Ensues.
I'm sitting here in the Blogging vs. Journalism Psuedo-Panel. I call it a psuedo-panel because it is on the "day stage" within the exhibit hall, not in the panel rooms restricted to conference attendees.
It's being put on by PR powerhouse Porter Novelli. The moderator is Jason Teitler, Partner of Interactive Marketing -- whatever that means.
Now, as PR people, it's understandable that they seem to have issued a press release announcing this panel. It's certainly important for PR types to understand blogging. After all:
"This topic has considerable business and marketing implications, as companies will need to learn how to adapt to this changing environment to succeed."
But they're doing a horrible job with it. First off, when the moderator opened the panel, he read from what seemed like several pages of prepared remarks. Bo-ring. In every other panel I've been to, the moderator has opened conversationally... maybe using some talking points, but not prepared notes.
This panel is scheduled to go on for another hour, but if we keep getting interrupted by the overhead voice announcing the latest and greatest in the exhibit hall, who knows what will happen.
Give me a break. Clearly, PR agencies still have a lot to learn.
(Technorati tag: sxsw)
Posted in on March 15, 2005, 01:56 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
How Long Is An "Outage"?
As I've mentioned, I have a T-Mobile Color Sidekick. While I've had it for over a year, I've just recently got in the hang of how to use it properly and am loving it.
Imagine my displeasure when I found it stopped connecting to its network late Sunday. I assumed it was something I had broken, until I received this text message this morning:
Free T-Mobile Msg: We apologize for the service interruption. Voice calls and text messages are still functional. We're working urgently to restore full service
What a useless text message. I don't use my Sidekick as a phone, I think it looks stupid and I already have a contract with Verizon. Plus, the Sidekick is a tad bulky to bring out.
Apparently the outage was supposed to end today, but that isn't the case for me.
When something stops working for three days, it isn't an outage anymore. It's a failure. And I'm certainly not the only one that feels that way.
Posted in on March 09, 2005, 03:59 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Product Displacement
Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing Be Cool. Overall, I thought it was a great movie. But the product placement was unbearable!
I have a T-Mobile Sidekick. I've had one for several years, and like it. Apparently in Be Cool land, everyone who's anyone uses a Sidekick. And those who don't use prominetly-branded T-Mobile mobile phones. The worst part was when the camera panned over one of the character's sidekicks, causing it to fill the entire movie screen.
All this after watching four or five advertisements before the movie even started. And I don't recall the Manhattan movie ticket prices going down recently.
Give me a break! I understand product placement can make producers good money, but don't beat us over the head with it.
Posted in on March 06, 2005, 02:03 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
NYT: Wal-Mart Pulls in $20k of Profit a Minute
By the time you finish reading this, Wal-Mart will have raked in $20,000 in profit (yes, that's profit -- not sales), according to an interesting article in Sunday's New York Times.
"It recently reported that for the latest fiscal year, it had profits -- not sales, but profits -- of $10.3 billion. But, of course, that's one of those disembodied corporate numbers that mere mortals with $307.63 in their checking accounts can have trouble getting their minds around."
I'd like me a piece of that!
Posted in on February 28, 2005, 09:02 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Interesting article on Google from GQ
John Heilemann's "Journey to the Center of Google" is an interesting look into the usually tight-lipped Google. The article spends a lot of time discussing how founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin had trouble "growing up" and letting go to certain aspects of the company. It especially interests me given that I read Lucky or Smart? today and author Bo Peabody suggests that the B-Student entrepreneurs should always cede control to the A-Student managers, when the time comes.
"I asked him, 'How the hell do you make decisions? From the outside, it seems crazy.' Eric spent forty-five minutes trying to answer, but he couldn't describe it. And the thing was, he was proud of that. He said it was a new way of doing business. There was no hierarchy; they acted as a triumvirate of equals. They were breaking all the rules. I thought it was a disaster in the making."
My favorite is that co-founder Larry reportedly tried to ban telephones from the new Google office complex.
Posted in on February 28, 2005, 12:09 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Lucky or Smart? by Bo Peabody -- a Quick and Great Read
Today I went to take a look at the gates in Central Park... I hadn't seen them yet and didn't want to let the opportunity pass. On the subway ride there, I read Lucky or Smart? Secrets to an Entrepreneurial Life by Tripod founder Bo Peabody. What a great book!
First off, it's 58 pages, so I'm not sure if you can even call it a book. One of my favorite sections is the chapter called "Entrepreneurs are B-Students. Managers are A-students." It's something I've always believed. Here's a snippet:
"B-Students don't know everything about anything and are excellent at nothing. B-Students do, however, know something about a lot of things, and they can complete almost any task with some modicum of competence...Entrepreneurs are B-Students."
I'm a B-Student. Brad Feld does a great job at summarizing this book over at his blog.
Posted in on February 27, 2005, 07:50 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
USA Today's Ad Placement Blunder of Olympic Proportions
I enjoyed (and agree with) former New York Times columnist Robert Lipsyte's editorial on why he doesn't want the 2012 Olympics in New York.
With all the hooplah over the proposed site of a stadium critical to the Big Apple's Olympics bid, Lipsyte does a great job at saying what I have had trouble expressing.
But the best part was that beneath this giant editorial exclaiming "Olympic Unwelcome Mat" was a quarter page NYC2012 advertisement announcing that "Every neighborhood will celebrate."
Whoops. Hope the NYC2012 didn't pay too much for this ad to be placed below the editorial blasting what it's advertising.
Posted in on February 22, 2005, 06:40 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
United States Postal Service: Doesn't Deliver Customer Service
Employing around 843,000 people, the United States Postal Service is the second largest workforce in the United States. If it were a private company, it would rank 11th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations (based on revenues). Shouldn't such a large entity have decent customer service?
Today, I went to my local post office in search of a roll of stamps. After waiting in line for 10 minutes, I finally got to go to a window. The employee looked like she'd rather be burning in hell then working at the post office.
The line isn't a big deal for me. What was a big deal was that she spent three minutes counting what appeared to be nine dollars over and over again. But, hey, she had to do her job.
"A book of stamps please," I ask. I wanted to pay with my American Express Business Card. She swipes the card and hands me the receipt. I sign it.
After staring at the back of the card for thirty seconds, she decides that I "didn't sign the receipt like I signed the back of the card." She asks me to sign again at the top of the receipt. I do. "It still doesn't look like the back of the card."
"Is this a joke?" I ask. Usually, merchants will just ask for a photo ID if there's a question. I can sympathize with merchants... I have a merchant account with American Express and know how harsh they are. "Don't be fresh with me," she instructs me.
I decide to simplify the process and hand her my Drivers License. After studying it for thirty seconds, she decides I can be on my way.
I mean... did this really happen? I don't have a problem with the fact she wanted to make sure it was actually me, but it's hardly a stellar example of customer service. There are apparently 400,000 job applicants on a waiting list yet no turnover. Why not?
No wonder Congress made firearms possession by USPS employees a criminal offense.
To learn more about the USPS, you can read the PDF report of the President's Commission on the USPS.
Posted in on January 29, 2005, 05:19 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
