...on When U.S. Airways Takes Away Peanuts, It's A Crime. When Jet Blue Takes Away Pillows, It's For The Greater Good.:
14:25, August 5th, 2008: Maybe both? I wouldn't call it slight of hand so much as a good idea, packaged well. Pillows and blankets would seem to be a rare place where cutting costs, promoting a green agenda, and addressing a customer concern meet. I think it was a thoughtful answer to a problem that many carriers have taken less delicate approaches to, such as charging for pretzels or checked baggage. It goes without saying, but it's much easier to sell a sensible, well-reasoned idea.
...on Google 4 Eva?:
16:11, July 31st, 2008: I found the layout intriguing but somewhat difficult. Same with the search results, which were wildly inconsistant. I had the same problem as mjandri whem searching for myself, as Cuil did not make me seem nearly as important as I actually am.
I think it will be extremely difficult to top Google in a couple of areas. Comprehensive, accurate results and simplicity in displaying them is one, I just don't see how to do it better (although I suppose if I did, I would probably be working for them). The other is in integration of other functions into the search, e.g. links to Google Maps when searching addresses or to Google Finance when searching for securities. Until someone can come up with a way to rival the breadth of Google's competancies and find a way to integrate them better, they will remain the name to beat.
...on Beer Is Beer, Except When It Isn't.:
12:59, July 15th, 2008: It will be interesting to see how Budweiser's aggressive marketing gels with efficiency-minded European tradition. Judging by the "Real Men of Genius: Leo Baekeland, creator of polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, the first thermosetting plastic" ad now playing on EU radio stations, there's something of a cultural barrier to be overcome.
...on Web 2.0 Not The Only Cool Idea Out There.:
13:26, July 11th, 2008: But is text messaging included?
...on Eco-Retailer Nau Comes Back From The Dead.:
16:56, July 9th, 2008: To be fair, a web-based business called Horny Nau could have caused some awkward misunderstandings.
...on The Economy's Bad! Let's Drink!:
16:41, July 2nd, 2008: Au contraire, this guy might be on to something. Diageo, I believe, tends towards classier beverages. Constellation distributes the venerable Fleishmann's & Mr. Boston's lines of "value" spirits. There's also the alarmingly named Montezuma tequila, which I would be willing to bet contains no bramble berry. If those aren't the drinks of recession, I don't know what is.
...on Hedge Fuel, Save Money? :
17:28, July 1st, 2008: This is a great idea, and seems like one that could be applied to other commodities as well. Are there any companies running similar business models based around other resources?
Has anyone signed United Airways up yet?
...on Maybe Some Web 2.0 Investments Are Kind Of Nuts...:
17:36, June 30th, 2008: I would pay Slide $10 to never ever send me a picture of Bret Michaels, and I'm pretty sure I can find 5 million people who agree with me.
...on What [Some] Investors Want.:
19:29, June 25th, 2008: We're terribly sorry, but we just don't feel that the world is ready for your Trombicycloscale. Best of luck with Inside the Actor's Studio.
...on This Week In Start-Up History: Microsoft Becomes An Inc.:
14:25, June 24th, 2008: -Oh yeah, we're bring in some entry-level graduates, farm some work out to Singapore, that's the usual deal.
-Standard operating procedure.
-Do they know this yet?
-No. No, of course not. We find it's always better to fire people on a Friday. Studies have statistically shown that there's less chance of an "incident" if you do it at the end of the week.
...on Enterprising Gossip Blogger Asks Readers To Pay Up, Faces Mutiny.:
19:58, June 19th, 2008: I think "depending on how useful the thing is" answers any questions about whether I will be signing up.
If Google started charging? I love gmail, but like celebrity gossip, email is something I've become accustomed to getting for free. If I could get a similarly functional product elsewhere and continue not paying for it, that's probably what I'd do.
16:13, June 19th, 2008: In seriousness though, this seems ill-advised. Will it be any faster than hitting refresh? Is it more convenient? If you're devoted to interweb gossip to the point where paying a fin each month to hear it first makes sense, you probably don't spend too much time away from the computer to begin with. Granted I probably fall within the target demo here, but don't most people want fewer computer recordings calling them?
14:51, June 19th, 2008: The good news is AT&T will be including this service in your iPhone data package.
...on We're Realigning Synergies And Preparing For Our Daily Paradigm Shift. :
16:17, June 17th, 2008: At first I was excited to comment here, having worked previously for a large corporation under several levels of management. Then I read the full BBC article and realized that I had heard used, in utmost seriousness, just about every bit of jargon and cliched phrase mentioned therein used in utmost seriousness.
That said, I would add "reinvent the wheel" and "value-add" to the list.
...on Celeb Businesses: Elizabeth & James:
12:29, June 17th, 2008: $100 million?? Picking Jodie Sweetin in the "Post-Full House Success" pool haunts me once again. Sigh.
...on When Viral Video Advertising Goes Really, Really Wrong.:
18:12, June 11th, 2008: Refreshing to see Shaggy, Ja Rule, and the rest of the underdogs at Universal Music Group taking a stand against commercial hip hop.
...on Small Carrier Flies Again - For Now.:
13:29, June 11th, 2008: Speaks to the importance of looking for efficiencies even in fatter times. Who knows if it would have saved much money when fuel costs were 1/4 of what they are now, but it seems like the airlines got complacent and got burned when the marketplace changed. Carriers (or businesses in general) would do well to make changes when they aren't urgently needed so as to be better positioned when they are.
...on Big Business Cares About You.:
19:33, June 10th, 2008: The (small business) owner of my dry cleaner said the same thing, only with pants.
...on The Deep Web - As Scary As It Sounds.:
16:34, June 10th, 2008: In a pinch, which one would you hire?
I'd go with the gentleman in the green blazer. Clearly a team player, he keeps his eye on the task at hand instead of mugging for the camera.
...on Are You Getting A 3G?:
15:20, June 9th, 2008: You're all cheap and old fashioned. If anyone needs me on July 11th, I'll be camped out in Pioneer Place.
...on Wal-Mart v. Craigslist:
18:16, June 3rd, 2008: Walmart has been carrying slightly sanitized content for years without compromising its integrity, I see no reason for that to stop now. Take this post from walmart.oodle.com/discrete: "Home alone for the weekend. Looking for a _____ ____ ________ to _______ ______ my ______ ________ while ______________. ________ only." I think that gets the point across just fine.
17:19, June 3rd, 2008: I hate to say it, but they've got an edge in the search filters. There's an appeal to CL's austere look, but I've always had difficulty searching for specifics (utilities included, automatic transmission, sagittarius, etc.) without trying frustrating combinations of search terms. If Walmart can establish a clear edge in ease of use, I wouldn't be surprised to see them compete.
...on Is Amazon's Kindle A Threat to Small Booksellers?:
18:19, June 2nd, 2008: Not to mention, durability. I would much sooner shove a flexible, $13 paperback into my carry on or take it to the beach, than I would a piece of expensive, fragile-looking tech. I'm sure Amazon has put it through its paces, but it doesn't seem sand- or Transportation Safety Administration-friendly.
...on Hydrox Cookies Are Back In Stores...But Why?:
18:36, May 28th, 2008: Hydrox cookies are kosher, Oreos are tragically unkosher (the omission of delicious animal shortening probably explains the difference in taste). This is clearly a play at cornering the hebrew school snacktime market.
...on Starbucks Owns Circles, Stars, Sans Serif Font. Your Business Doesn't. :
16:35, May 28th, 2008: How about a whole town? In November, Ebay threatened to sue the owner of gotodepoebay.com (the owner has RE interests in Depoe Bay, OR) for infringing on their brand. Full story here: http://wweek.com/editorial/3303/8267/
...on Forget Google, Let's Live Search!:
13:12, May 23rd, 2008: Agreed. In a piece on NPR the other day, they mentioned a study wherein they'd shown that the biggest role the internet plays in purchasing is as a researching tool. The purchases themselves may or may not be made online. From what I've seen, Live Search doesn't yet approach Google's convenience as a search tool when making purchases, let alone as a source for nonconsumer research or other information. I think it will take more than 2-5% cash back on the occasional internet buy to have a significant impact on Google's market share.
...on Savvy Entrepreneur or Nutjob?:
12:19, May 23rd, 2008: The soil of a man's heart is stonier, Louis - like the soil up there in the old Micmac burying ground. Bedrock's close. A man growns what he can... and he tends it.
...on You Didn't Really Go to Yale, Did You.:
13:37, May 15th, 2008: I couldn't agree more. If there's one thing I learned at Oxford, it's the importance of honesty about your credentials.
