Everything About Business Except The Bottom Line: FunnyBusiness

1981 KRON Report Predicting The Future of Newspapers Would be Online

This is priceless.
 Check out the rotary phones and the gismo for the dial-up. You'll also appreciate the reporter's viewpoint that his job was safe because it took two hours to download the paper to the computer.  When you think about it, it has taken almost 30 years for the prediction to come true.

Starting A Business In This Business Climate

After learning about even more layoffs yesterday, I went searching through my Google Reader hoping beyond hope to find a good news story.

 I found it at B.L. Ochman's blog post: A Serial Entrepreneur Explains Why Q1 2009 is a Great Time to Start a New Business

So right now, in the worst economic climate, perhaps ever, my partner - programming and creative wizard, Caimin Jones - and I are in the throes of launching Pawfun.com - our new custom photo t-shirt site for pet lovers. Call me crazy, and I’ve certainly been called worse – but I don’t think there’s been a better time for a startup than Q1, 2009.[...]We think of Pawfun as a social media marketing laboratory - an opportunity to take what we know works, and apply it into a business we own that we can turn on a dime.

With not one dollar spent on advertising, we used our well-established social networks to generate more traffic in our first three days than some major companies get after years online. We launched before we were really ready because our first promo is about Obama pet mania. Wait another week, and it might be old news. It went viral in less than 48 hours through Twitter and posts on this blog. And we even made some sales. :>)

In case you decide to vote on the world's cutest dog, at Pawfun.com here's a better look at UMA

Wikipedia Dust Up : Should Revisions Be Flagged and Then Approved

Wikipedia is no Encyclopedia Britannica, but that doesn't treat many from using it that way. But to be certain Wikipedia is a WIKI

No article in Wikipedia undergoes formal peer-review process and changes to articles are made available immediately. No article is owned by its creator or any other editor, or is vetted by any recognized authority. Except for a few vandalism-prone pages that can be edited only by established users, or in extreme cases only by administrators, every article may be edited anonymously or with a user account, while only registered users may create a new article (only in English edition). Consequently, Wikipedia "makes no guarantee of validity" of its content.

Now, the founder of Wikipedia , Jimmy Wales is suggesting a change in how information is posted and  many are finding  the proposal too restrictive and the antithesis of what the wiki is all about.

The back story: Recently, some people posted information about Senator Ted Kennedy and Senator Robert Byrd that made it seem that the two senators had died. In response, Wales is saying that a review of changes to Wikipedia pages needs to occur before the new information is posted.

People are not greeting that suggestion with open arms.

One user posted that "Enabling Flagged Revisions will undoubtedly create backlogs that we will be unable to manage" while another said that there were "gaping holes in what you propose to do".

Mr Wales has now offered a compromise, asking those who were opposed to the changes to make "an alternative proposal within the next 7 days, to be voted upon for the next 14 days after that."

A system of flagged revisions has been used by the German Wikipedia site for almost a year. However critics say that the process is labour intensive and some changes can take days, if not weeks, to appear.
                                                                                                                               BBC NEWS

   

While there is so pushback on changing the process for posting to the world's most famous  Wiki , there are supporters of the new policy.,as Amanda Dolan commented on the BBC post,   "Anything that makes Wikipedia more accurate can only be advantageous ."

As much as I like the idea of the open access of Wikipedia, I like accurate information even more. Good Luck with that compromise.

Rant: Why I Detest Talking To Computer Playing A The Role Of A Customer Service Rep

On Friday I signed up for a month long trial membership to Blue Mountain Cards. The rules said that if I didn't cancel by calling a 800 # by the end of the trial I would be charged $19.99 for a year membership.  I decided to join the card service because I was looking for a funny card for my son's 25th birthday and my favorite card service Jacquie Lawson isn't really targeted to 25 year old males.

But after reviewing the card offerings at Blue Mountain, I decided they didn't exemplify the kind of humor my son would appreciate and went ahead and sent him a Jacquie Lawson card.

Having not used the service I decided to cancel it today-- one day after I signed up for the trial.  A computer generated customer service rep answered my call, gave me five options -- canceling the membership was of course #5 -- no surprise there.
However before I could talk to a live person, I had to give them my phone number, my email and then spell my last name.
Is  C*E*N*T*O*R really that hard to understand? Evidently computers playing the role of a customer service rep have a hard time with that name. After five tries of having me spell my name --"letters only" -- they relinquished control and said they would connect me to a customer service rep --- that is what I wanted in the first place.  However, we were disconnected and I had to repeat the process all over again.
The second computer playing the role of a customer service rep had even more trouble spelling C*E*N*T*O*R  and eventually I was placed with a  live customer service rep.

Did I mention that what I detest more than talking to a computer playing the role of a customer service rep is a live one who has been instructed to try to talk me out of my decision to cancel?

Oh yeah, so after dealing with two computers playing the role of a customer service rep and explaining to the live customer service rep that I wanted to cancel he says, " but you just joined yesterday !" and then demanded that I give a reason for the cancellation.
Evidently telling him that I didn't like the cards was not a good reason because he offered me the year's membership for $11.99 instead of the original price of $19.99
Taking the bait because I was feeling pissy , I said, " Now why would I pay $11.99 for cards that I don't like?"
You would have thought that would have been the cue to end the conversation. But  the poor guy must have been instructed to try one more time to keep my business.
I was laughing so hard at this point that I didn't record what he said to try to prevent my cancellation
The email, confirming my cancellation just hit my inbox.

As you requested, we've cancelled your paid Membership - all Membership benefits have been de-activated. We hated to do it. Nevertheless, you asked - and at BlueMountain.com, your wish is our command.

 

On that note, if you wish to come back any time, we'd be all too happy to wave our Membership wand.

To rejoin, simply go to:

http://www.bluemountain.com/members/mwho.pd?TI=ewa18299&Q=59400

and sign-up, using the email address and password you previously used. 

 

Note to Newspaper Owners:Hell Hath No Fury Like A Reporter Scorned

In the early days of the Anthrax scare, I remember watching the Nightly News with Tom Brokaw who had to report that his assistant was the victim of Anthrax poisoning, At the time,he said to protect her privacy, he was not giving out her name.

Of course he wanted to protect her privacy. Lots of people appreciate privacy when the media comes snooping but the press doesn't allow it. The public's right to know and all that jazz.

Eventually her name came out elsewhere. I remember thinking at the time that an assistant to any other important American business person would not have been given the opportunity to stay anonymous even for an evening..

Like millions of others at the time, I was fascinated with the Anthrax story and followed it compulsively. However, exactly when Erin O'Connor's identity was made public, I do not know. I just found out who she was in preparing for this post.

I also found an interesting piece on MSNBC from September 11, 2006 by Casey Chamberlain who shared that she also was working at NBC at the time and was also infected with Anthrax. Her identity was evidently kept secret until she decided to share her story- five years after the fact

People who don't work for the media, usually don't get the same courtesy.Call it the Code of Silence among media members.

However,  that Code of Silence is cracking and one of the main crackers is The Gannett Blog - written by a former Gannett Editor Jim Hopkins. Hopkins  is taking a journalist's delight in holding Gannett and Gannett's executive's feet to the fire.

While not as humiliating as having automobile executives fly on private jets to  Washington to ask Congress for billions of dollars in a bailout, Hopkins is sticking it to Gannett Executive Bob Dickey for a trip out west that included a couple of stops - first one, a heartfelt chat with employees in Arizona who learned Gannett will  shutter  their paper unless a new owner is found by March--- and then stop two-- participation in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in Palm Springs.

It had already been a tough week. Amid rumors of big budget cuts, and a looming earnings report, Gannett had earlier ordered about 35,000 U.S. employees to take one-week, unpaid furloughs this winter. "That includes me, your publisher, everyone,'' Dickey told workers in a memo. "We all will be sharing the financial hardship."

I will now tell you how one of Gannett's highest-paid executives -- and one of its most enthusiastic golfers -- is sharing that hardship.

Dickey is in Palm Springs, the Southern California winter resort where the company is spending a bundle this week on one of pro golf's biggest corporate schmooze-fests: the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic pro-am tournament, starting tomorrow. With much of the nation shivering, this desert oasis made famous by Hollywood royalty is looking forward to mid-70s temperatures today.

In fact, Dickey is competing in the event itself, as an amateur -- something he's done for years. Amateurs pay one of two entry fees, $12,000 or $25,000, to play with a PGA professional and two other amateurs, according to Dawn Suggs, the event's administration director. The higher fee pays for a "goody bag" of gifts. Local charities benefit. All the contestants are men.

After this post was published, a spokesperson from Gannett responded -- something that the commenters on the blog found both fascinating and unusual.

2) Bob wrote a personal check to repay the newspaper so he can participate in the events.

3) The return to the paper in advertising and sales of the commemorative booklet will cover the cost more than seven-fold and possibly more.

4) Bob flew commercial to Tucson, then drove to the Palm Springs.

Reporters being reporters immediately jumped on the need for "Bob" to write the personal check to repay Gannett. The reporters are asking, "If his original intention was to pay for the tournament himself, why did Gannett write the original check?"

While Bob can spend his money any way he wants, the public appearance of spending money on a Golf Tournament when thousands of employees are being asked to take a week's furlough is not smart PR.

You just have to take a look at this week's  poster boy for stupid  spending decisions ( can you spend $87,000 for a rug when your company is in dire financial trouble) -- former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain to understand that spending as usual is not acceptable in today's economy.

It's also important for these executives to understand that just because a reporter is not employed does not mean they have lost their love for a big story-- and by the way You, business executive-- are the big story.

More to come...

Another year, Another Claim Of Female Infighting In The Workplace

Sometime near the start of the 21st Century, I stopped paying attention to all those studies that purport that women don't like working for other women.

It's not that I don't think that there are some horrid female bosses. I know there are. It's just that I don't think that the behaviors of male bosses have been as scrutinized or dissected. I think we tolerate a lot of bad male boss behavior that women don't get a pass on.

What we have here is  a self-fulling prophecy. Women have been set up to anticipate that their female boss will be jealous/catty/un-supportive/a frenemy/competitive/mean/backstabbing/ add your unattractive female characteristic.

Tell someone often enough that a situation is going to happen a certain way and that's how the person perceives the experience.

More on this, at my blog post on BlogHer  Isn't It Time We Set Aside The Childish Notion That Women In The Workplace Can't Get Along?

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Principal Refuses To Allow Staff/Students Watch The Inauguration

It's the last place you would have thought there would be an issue about watching the inauguration. But over at SatteliteGuys.US  there was an interesting conversation about a school principal who refused to let staff/students watch the inauguration.

Lots of people commented about the situation, providing suggestions on how to re-approach the principal.
When someone commented that he should contact the education board to point out that the principal was not holding an assembly or encouraging teachers to have students watch the inauguration, here was his very telling response about the reality of business culture -- even in the education system.

However, it's my third year so I'm still on probation so the principal could fire me for any reason. If I had tenure.......then the story would be different. In education you aren't supposed to make any waves for the first three years. After those three years......then it's like a wave pool! I'll bounce some of this off tenured teachers to see if they want to make a case.

I read somewhere that only 5% of businesses closed yesterday  in honor of the inauguration. However, even though it was a work day, most people--except for that very strange principal took time out to watch history in the making.

Turns out Web users smashed records for streaming-video consumption today, at least according to Cambridge, MA-based Akamai. Social-media sites also reported striking amounts of inauguration-related activity. Facebook announced that as of 1:15 p.m. Eastern time, users had posted 600,000 status updates through the CNN.com Facebook feed, averaging 4,000 updates per minute during the broadcast and peaking at 8,500 updates per minute when President Obama began his speech.

                                                                                                        

Xconomy

The Satirical "I'm Bernard Madoff Blog"

In the spirit of the Fake Steve Jobs blog which ended last year, there is now a Fake  Bernie Madoff Blog. If you are a fan of the humor style of Jon Stewart and Stephen  Colbert, you will enjoy the subtle satire of "I"m Bernard Madoff Blog."

Some people say I'm not so popular right now. But everybody is talking about me, all over the world. So, I must be pretty popular. SCROLL DOWN to find out why 4000+ people come here every day.

For the next 2-3 years, while I'm sitting here in my co-op on 64th, I'll be updating this blog every day with my thoughts. Maybe I'll include hints about where I've parked some cash, opinions about all of those that I've worked with, some investing advice, and I'll provide reviews about our favorite restaurants, great books, online sites, and movies that I'm downloading.

Who Would Have Thought There Would Be Blowback To A Krispy Kreme Inaugural Day Free Giveaway

The last thing Krispy Kreme must have been thinking when they decided to create a fun, patriotic promotion on Inauguration Day would be that they would become embroiled  in  a Roe vs. Wade brouhaha?
 But that's exactly where  Krispy Kreme  is finding itself today as a radical pro-life group The American Life League claims victory in their war of words with the donut maker.

It started on Wednesday January 14th when Krispy Kreme announced plans to give away free donuts --no purchase necessary--on Tuesday January 20th in honor of Barack Obama's inauguration.

From the news release currently on their website as of January 19,2008 at 6:34 am central time.

The American Life League which is one of the Catholic Church's largest anti-abortion/pro-life groups seems to have gotten their undies in a bundle and on Thursday January 15th , issued a counter news release.

KRISPY KREME CELEBRATES OBAMA WITH PRO-ABORTION DOUGHNUTS Washington, DC (15 January 2009)

The following is a statement from American Life League president Judie Brown:

"The next time you stare down a conveyor belt of slow-moving, hot, sugary glazed donuts at your local Krispy Kreme, you just might be supporting President-elect Barack Obama's radical support for abortion on demand - including his sweeping promise to sign the Freedom of Choice Act as soon as he steps in the Oval Office, Jan. 20. [...] The unfortunate reality of a post Roe v. Wade America is that 'choice' is synonymous with abortion access, and celebration of 'freedom of choice' is a tacit endorsement of abortion rights on demand.Krispy Kreme did some copyediting and if you look at the news release on their website now, here is what you'll find

Meanwhile the bloggers blogged and Krispy Kreme said nothing. Then on Sunday January 18,2009 when many of us were enjoying the inaugural concert on HBO, the American Life League claimed victory.

In light of a nationwide marketing trend to capitalize on the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, American Life League challenged Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. Thursday on the propriety of using the phrase "freedom of choice" in their corporate announcement regarding a free doughnut giveaway on Jan. 20 - Inauguration Day. Subsequently on Friday, Krispy Kreme updated the announcement. The following is a statement from Judie Brown, President of American Life League:

"We are grateful to Krispy Kreme executives who realized the inappropriate use of the phrase "freedom of choice" and have changed their announcement, available on their web site.[...]The use of the phrase "freedom of choice" by any corporation, particularly when used to coincide with President-elect Obama's inauguration, is offensive and demeaning to the millions who have suffered either directly or indirectly through abortion.

Not sure where the ALL is looking but I am grateful that Krispy Kreme, at least on Monday morning, still had the original news release with FREEDOM OF CHOICE on its website. Freedom of Choice is an American concept--it's about our constitutional rights. It's at the very core of what it means to be American. How dare they try to hijack that beautiful concept for their political purposes?

As for Krispy Kreme I encourage all Americans to go to the chain and enjoy their free donut and buy a cup of coffee.Goodness knows the donut chain could use some additional sales. In December  the company  announced it had incurred a net loss in the third quarter of $5.9 million ( In 2007 the company still lost money but it was just $798,000.

As for the entire kurfuffle it just goes to show that no good deed goes unpunished.

Office Gossip: The Day After The Office Party

Saw This Post on A Job In Hell and couldn't resist sharing. It's been about a month since this was first posted. Would love to learn the back story.

You know the holiday party was good when the next day this email flies out across the office: "If anyone came across a wedding band in the men’s room at the party last night please bring it to to the front desk."

I didn't get crazy-drunk at the holiday party, but I'm guessing someone else sure did...

Fellow heathens have been trying to speculate which unlucky soul is the culprit. I point out that the email doesn't mention if it's a man's ring or a woman's ring that was lost in the men's bathroom...