...on Is There Ever A Silver Bullet When Saving A Struggling Company?:
19:54, July 24th, 2008: So your quarterback can't throw touch down passes anymore. Maybe you should buy him new shoes, get him a better helmet, throw more money at him, get him a faster car... that will surely fix the problem. WRONG!!!
Adding another piece to the puzzle isn't going to BUZZ consumers into submission. Like the Wired article states, it is the coffee stupid (and probably the crappy no crema, watered-down-shot-making-super-automatic "efficiency" machines) that have turned people off of SBucks and onto alternatives - making it at home, going to indiepunkbucks, or using the Bunsen Burner at college.
Starbucks, in my humble opinion, has thrown away the "art" of the barista in exchange for the Mickiedee's model. I think a throwback to semi-auto machines and small batch regional roasting facilities, and training baristas to be espresso gods again would be a step in the right direction. But hey, I still drink the crap because they are everywhere and mediocre (and mediocre is better than inconsistency any day of the week indiepunkbucks).
...on If You're Google, Life Is Still Good.:
14:23, July 18th, 2008: Any reason they exclude Financial Services Advertisers Brittany?
...on Bosses Find New Ways To Make Meetings Worse Than They Already Are.:
14:20, July 18th, 2008: Xerox should spend less time on Avatar meetings and more time servicing their customers... for example our machine that costs more than my car requires going through 50 phone people to get one jerk that says he doesn't handle our specific machine. C'mon Xerox
...on More Trouble For The SBA.:
14:12, July 18th, 2008: Not under this administration. They would switch babies at birth if it profited their coffers.
...on Quick! Let's Get To The Bank!:
14:10, July 18th, 2008: I don't think that we should be afraid of anything. After all, we are red-blooded, capitalistic American's and we've seen and corrected way worse. The fact that the media is focusing on this serves to purposes: 1) the market makers and entrepreneurs will always find opportunity in an adverse environment; and 2) the media will always bleed every last drop out of "bad news." We are coming up on elections, and in my optimistic opinion the news will soon change and soon will the consumer tide... that is if we someone doesn't nuke Iran on their way out. Not naming any names but it starts with a B and end with USH.
...on Wanna Buy An iPhone? Get Ready To Wait. And Wait...And Wait.:
11:39, June 19th, 2008: I won't be among them. However, I think this 15 minute activation wait will be great for Apple. Why? Because when the first iPhone came out it didn't only impact iPhone sales, but sales of everything else sold in the Apple retail store (computers, iPods, software, etc.). Now people will have to wait for a "Genius" to activate there phone and thereby peruse everything Apple has to offer... sneaky Apple.
...on Repeat After Me: Outsourcing Is Not Evil.:
11:35, June 19th, 2008: I have to answer this with a vagary... it depends. Some jobs require that the individual be up on pop culture or American business trends - the kind of common sense (if you will) that only comes from "being and American." You see this type of employee at marketing companies like Krispin Porter Bogusky or professional consulting firms like MasterPlans.com.
However, there are those more tedious jobs like manufacturing, call centers, etc. that don't require up to minute "American thought" that can save the corporation money, and maybe even turn out a better product.
...on McDonald's Remote Ordering System Baffles The Mind.:
11:29, June 19th, 2008: Off the top of my head I would say that it has something to do with efficiency. So, at any given location, during a slow time in the drive through, one person at the call center can service many locations.
My other thought is that this is a preliminary move before outsourcing drive through calls to somewhere else, like India.
...on Minority Business Feature: Tanka Bars.:
17:51, June 11th, 2008: Haven't tried one but I would. Sounds like a pseudo-Thanksgiving dinner in bar form... YUM
...on There's No Free Lunch In Business. :
17:45, June 11th, 2008: Thanks for the FREE advice
...on CEO Screw Ups: I Was Just Trying To Have Some Fun...:
16:57, June 6th, 2008: Hah... I guess bourbon isn't the drug of choice any more for getting your board to side with you on topics. Maybe Mr. Nichols should catch a ride with Snoop Doggs pilot... my guess is he wouldn't have the same complaints.
...on Small Restaurant Lets People Pay What They Want, Owner Apparently Not Crazy.:
16:52, June 6th, 2008: While this isn't a perfect example of 'user innovation' - a term coined by Eric von Hippel (a Harvard graduate, entrepreneur, and former McKinsey consultant) - it does seem to follow the trend of more user/customer driven business models. This month's Entrepreneur Magazine had a very interesting article on Threadless (www.threadless.com) an innovative T-shirt company with no designers that has $30 million in sales and 30% profit margins - a good read that will get you thinking about new business angles.
...on Sure It's Green, But Is It Profitable?:
12:46, June 6th, 2008: So if it is a cloudy day and your personal trainer makes you ride a bike instead of free weights... you know why
...on More Money: Here's Who Got Funded This Week.:
18:29, June 4th, 2008: Not everyone works as diligently as the team at Brass Tacks Brittany.
...on Why Can't Web 2.0 Get Advertising Right?:
18:26, June 4th, 2008: I would tell you but I've have to kill you... or be gifted a significant share in Google. But seriously, maybe Google can't make money off contextual ads on social networks because: a) the people on these sites have no money and thus aren't shopping; or b) the people on these networks are there to... uh socialize.
If you put an ad on everything, no matter how targeted, pretty soon you get consumers who are oblivious to ads.
My suggestion would be to make it new and exciting. People see contextual ads when they go to search engines and that's what they want. Give the people on social networks either one of two things: 1) ads for things that help them socialize better; or 2) a reason for clicking (dare I say sex, money, or rock and roll). Maybe these free loading MySpace users need something else free in order to part with their hard earned allowance.
...on Jesus Is Coming - Quick, Get Online!:
18:16, June 4th, 2008: How do you stay politically correct and respond to this?... "strategery"
...on Wal-Mart v. Craigslist:
17:19, June 3rd, 2008: Let's face it Best-of-Wal-Mart just doesn't have the same ring. Take for example the posting entitled "To the cute microbiologist who's gonna examine my stool - w4m." Will this have appeal to the conservative mom's buying back to school Mary Kate and Ashley wear?
...on Is Amazon's Kindle A Threat to Small Booksellers?:
14:43, June 3rd, 2008: Personally I think the paperback will go the way of the vinyl EP; sure "enthusiasts" will still use them but the populace will adopt the far easier electronic version. And if you've used a Kindle, you realize it freakishly looks like you are reading on paper. Kindle is on my Christmas/Birthday list and the only reason that I don't buy one now is I have about five books I need to get through before hand. Let's face it, Kindle plays to the lazy-bones nature of American's. Once the early-adopters get the word out on exactly how cool the Kindle actually is, I think the price will come down and the adoption will go up. Also, I bet later versions of the Kindle will do more stuff (Jeff, call me if you need any ideas). Don't forget the Kindle is earth friendly (I would love to see the carbon footprint books and newspapers leave).
...on Celeb Business Model: WuChess:
14:22, June 3rd, 2008: and in other news... visit WuKnit. The new retail store founded by Wu-Tang rapper ODB - focused on blending hip-hop culture and the urban trend of knitting. For your man who has everything, knit him a cashmere iPod cozy.
...on Why Can't Starbucks Even Get Wi-Fi Right?:
14:14, June 3rd, 2008: I can't profess whether or not Howie's strategy is a good one, he seems to be light years ahead on many fronts. However, I can make some speculations. 1) All news is good news... people are talking about Starbucks again; and 2)Maybe they don't want to give away Internet in mass and or get sued when someone hacks your laptop from a van outside because the process is too easy.
To the first point. Starbucks does have a history of keeping their locations up to date. So the question was, "how do we turn this capital expense into good press?"
Second, there are a myriad of stories of people visiting the "local" coffee shop with its free wireless and having someone in a van outside pirating their computer and personal information. I don't know if security is the reason, but if I could get some mileage out of "free wireless" and yet still protect my customers, it might be worth it. However, I don't suck up free internet to write a screen play.
Just some thoughts.
...on Will You Microhoo?:
13:05, May 20th, 2008: Will I Microhoo? Of course I will; cannot afford to let the search marketing channel fall off the radar. However, do I think Microhooing is good for the consumer/marketer? My answer is a difinitive... Hell No! I think a duopoly in the search space (and control of search results/information) is a bad thing. And for those of you who will tout the "bidding" element as a way to balance out the power, don't think that Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! haven't all thought up ways to arbitrarily maximize the amount search marketers pay per click.
...on Survey Says the Economy's in a Swan Dive. Entrepreneurs See Opportunity?:
13:11, May 16th, 2008: I'm always amazed at the ability of entrepreneurs to take heed to the ideological phrase, "for every adversity there is an equal or greater opportunity." It may sound like Green Peace is winning the battle on this one, but rising food prices, demand for freshness, and a little personal ingenuity has led WSJ to report on suburban farmers. I think maybe the adage should be change from: "When there is blood in the street, buy real estate" to "When the real estate sector sucks, grow vegetables."
