Welcome to the anniversary party for the Carnival of the Capitalists! Today, the CotC is two years old. The first edition was held right here on October 12, 2003, and had 23 entries. When Jay and I started this, we weren't sure what would happen. In some ways, it has been very successful. Our average participation, support from the blogosphere (through links, etc.) has been more than we imagined. Some interesting and high profile people have read, and regularly read this because it is intended to be a "best of the business blogsophere." At the same time, the CotC continues to be ignored by the mainstream business media, which amazes me, given the quality of some of the posts you will find here.
You can read about how we got started here. The question after two years is… where do we go now? Jay and I have some ideas, but we would love to hear from you too.
Before we get started, I wanted to tune you in to a very cool project of the business blogosphere – MoreSpace. What is it? It's a book. A book written by nine business bloggers and managed by Todd. Todd's crazy idea was that these business bloggers may have just as much to say as the business gurus that sell a million copies. But it didn't stop there. Todd had this other crazy idea that we would self publish the book, give it away for free, and that people will still buy the hardcopy. Yeah, I know, it isn't the business model favored by groups like the RIAA, but it's the business model favored by consumers, and that is what counts. Who are the authors? I'm one. I wrote a chapter called "Why Business Matters." The others are bloggers you problemably have heard of, but I'll let you visit the site to see the full list. It's a great group, and everyone brings a unique perspective and topic to the project. Here is what the site says about it:
presents nine current business bloggers writing in their own unique styles. Each author challenges the premise that places of business can only be cold and uninspiring. By sharing their own experiences they offer up ways for you to re-ignite passion and enthusiasm in your work.
It isn't about blogging. It is about business. With nine different authors, you are bound to find a chapter you will like. And it's free if you want the e-version. But it doesn't stop there. Todd had one more crazy idea… and those of you from the old secrecy, command and control school of business will hate this one… he is making all the info public. Costs, sales, methods, files, it's all out there for you to see. No secrets. No games. Authenticity all the way. So check out the site, preorder a hardcopy if you want. Or just enter you email address and visit the page of each author to download a free copy of that essay. Thanks for your patience. Now on to the Carnival…
My Favorite Posts
Timothy Graysonis questioning whether or not consumers are really in control.
Each time I hear somebody say or see someone has written that, "The consumer is in control," I sense an aneurysm developing. This is particularly troubling to me since I too spent the better part of a year repeating that same mantra to anyone who would listen. Besides, it fits so nicely with the Web's democratic mythos, regardless of release version (i.e., Web 1.0 or 2.0). What makes my temples throb_business is, however, this patently ridiculous non sequitur being used to rationalize everything from Interactive advertising to select-channel media to increased market research budgets to nonsensical business plans.
In one of the deeper and more philosophical posts ever submitted to the Cotc, The Staple Gun presents Incurable Capitalism.
In an exchange economy, where the same money stands for a wide range of pleasures, this tendency is intensified: avarice becomes almost an investment, the practice of which gives wider rein to all other appetites. After yielding to avarice, we may sate our gluttony with finer food, or our sloth with ease and leisure while we pay others to toil; our wrath and lust are empowered to new potency; our pride is reinforced and our envy assuaged. So much of what we might covet is now ours for the buying that avarice and covetousness are scarcely recognized anymore as separate tendencies.
Photon Courier discusses fast fashion, made in the USA.
Financial Times (10/8-9) writes about the emerging trend toward a manufacturing and distribution technique known as "fast fashion." The idea is to manufacture clothing close to the customer, in small lots, and with very frequent design changes. Bebe, for example, makes about half of its merchandise in the U.S. Clearly, there's a tradeoff between flexibility and cost.
Jonathan Wilde from Cattallarchy gives us Captialism Appreciation Day. (Our favorite Holiday here at the Cotc).
I doubt there is an actual capitalism appreciation day, but as I sit here eating a slice of a large pepperoni pizza that only cost me $5.00 from Little Caesars, and drinking coke out of a shiny stainless steel coca-cola cup, I�ve been inspired to put in my two cents about how great it all is.
Marketing
Mark from SportsBiz looks at the demographics and stickiness of various sites and asks does Yahoo meet your fantasy?
However, it's not just the players that have benefited from what the web has brought to fantasy games. No, fantasy games have become big business for the sites that sponsor them and none more so than Yahoo. The Yahoo fantasy site attracted 5.6 million unique visitors in August, about double the 2.9 million which ESPN.com, the number 2 fantasy site attracted, as reported by the TheStreet.com Interestingly, Yahoo offers its fantasy leagues for free, although players can add features for an additional charge.
Ankesh from MarketingEye talks about a lawyer's tactics for persuasion.
Abraham wins, not because he knows much about law, but because he knows much about human psychology. Over the years, he has developed a technique that is very successful in convincing jury after jury that his clients are innocent.
Mark A. Rayner at The Skwib presents Steeped in Irony, a humorous look at Tim Horton's latest effective advertising efforts.
Joseph DePalma wants to know if your customer service belongs to you
There is a huge difference between generic customer service, which is what most businesses deliver, and branded customer service, which is what you should deliver.
Yvonne from LipSticking shares some inspiration.
Just yesterday, at an RPCN meeting, where our alter-ego, Yvonne, holds the office of President this year, we had a roundtable discussion with 4 coach's. Two women and two men, all members of the ICF, chatted about the differences between coaching and consulting. The end result was recognizing that there aren't very many differences, and in a perfect world our organization and theirs should stop trying to compete with each other, and join forces to enable each other.
Which got Jane to thinking…why can't more people learn this fundatmental rule: that helping your competitors succeed is the best road to success for yourself?
Finance/Investing
The Watchful Investor on what to do about inflation.
Now that we have a solid understanding of inflation, we can better judge what investments will protect us during times of high inflation. Let's first review what inflation really is: an expansion of the money supply. Simple economics tells us that when the supply of a commodity increases, the price of that commodity will go down, all else held equal. Since money is the most marketable commodity, it behaves no differently. An increase in the supply of money means the price of money goes down. This means that the price of other goods in terms of money goes up. The money has thus lost purchasing power.
David Daniels on thinking about Q5
Now that it's October, we're officially into Q4 of calendar 2005. This is an important time for companies with fiscal year ends of December 31st. This is the time executives turn to maximizing revenue and closing sales to improve financial results.
In the course of this headlong effort to attain results even the most astute business people miss the most important quarter of all…Q5.
Warren Meyer from Coyote Blog wants to tax the bubble driven windfall profits.
A number of politicians are calling for taxing "windfall profits" driven by the "price bubble" in gasoline and oil. Previously, I narrow-mindedly opposed this, arguing that the whole point of the pricing signal being sent is to call for new supplies, which won't happen if the government takes the money away from suppliers.
Josephy from The Stalwart Blog says that we need 100,000 Jonas Salks.
We've been discussing lately the future of healthcare, and the role that technology and new institutions can play in getting us out of our mess. Given that many see a looming financial catastrophe brought on by an aging population and skyrocketing entitlements, there is a growing sense of urgency in tackling this calamitous mess.
Over at The Internet Stock Blog, David is talking about the acquisition of Weblogs Inc. by AOL.
1. Why did Jason Calacanis sell now?
2. Why didn�t News Corp, the NY Times, or even IAC out-bid AOL for this deal?
3. AOL has its own rich media assets; does it really need Weblogs Inc?
Moneywise writes about income from stocks.
The current dividend yield of the S&P 500 index is 1.79%. Because of this paltry current yield, it is very hard to imagine the broad index such as S&P 500 as an income producing investment. But, if you take a closer look at the numbers then you can see that common stocks can provide amazing returns through the dividend.
Harvey from Fiscal Times wesghs the pros and cons of index funds, mutual funds, and professional managers.
Sandeep from Datum looks at the problemlematic child in a VC's investment portfolio.
No matter how good you are, you cant do everything. However, it is an extremely tough problemlem to acquire new brains. Especially in a startup, where you may have to pay a lot more than they are actually worth.
Steven Silvers (whose favorite color, I always like to point out, is clear) thinks that the SEC's lack of disclosure creates more harm than good.
Question. Which government agency rejects the most requests for information about what it�s doing?
It�s not the CIA. It�s not the Pentagon, either.
It�s the Securities and Exchange Commission — the same SEC that promotes unflinching commitment to corporate transparency, that investigates and sanctions hundreds of companies for hiding information of material interest to the public.
FMF at Free Money Finance presents How to Determine if You're Wealthy
A post on the formula from the book "The Millionaire Next Door" that lets people calculate whether or not they are wealthy.
See the comments for some lively "discussion" of the equation.
Michael Cale from Financial Methods sees the Fed saying do as I say, not as I do.
For years, the Fed has maintained that the best measure of inflation was the core PCE (this is the market based measure of Personal Consumption Expenditures that is published in the quarterly GDP report). The core PCE, like the core Consumer Price Index (CPI), excludes the cost of energy prices, which have been soaring.
Consumerism Commentary discusses ways you can stay away from fund fees.
As mutual funds have become more complex, fund companies need to spend more on marketing to explain their products. The expenses are then, as one would think, passed along to the customer.
Adventures in Money Making discusses living off dividends.
While surfing onlne, I came across this blog post: Real Estate as an asset class.
Basically this guy wants to be able to live off his dividends at some point and his blog is devoted to that. He's wondering how real estate fits in. He invests in REITS but isn't too sure about actual investing in Real Estate.
Well here's the skinny on investing in Real Estate for cashflow.
Jim Logan discusses The Art of the Deal
There are a lot of things to consider when making an offer for a business � price and terms are two of the big ones. But you�d be wrong to assume price, cash, scheduled payments, and ability to finance are the chief considerations of any deal.
Careers/Work
Skip Reardon from BeExcellent writes about your passion, and your dream job.
Stop "dreaming" – start doing. Take stock in yourself, identify your core skills, research the market – and go back to your passion.
Economics
Brian Gongol writes about investing in higher education.
The wisest state in the Union will be the one that most quickly realizes that its best investment in economic development is not in incentive packages, tourism campaigns, or special tax breaks — but in a solid investment in its post-secondary education system.
Joshua Sharf looks at the cost of lawsuit.
There ought to be a required reading list for members of Congress. High up on that list should be Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics. Any freshman Congressman who fails a test on the contents should not be allowed to take his seat. All sitting Congressmen and Senators would be required to pass before beginning the next session.
James Hamilton from EconBrowser notes that oil prices are falling.
Minerals Management Service reports that 78% of Gulf of Mexico oil production remains shut in as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and hurricane season is not yet over. Even so, the graph at the right (data source: EIA) reveals that oil prices have fallen almost 10% since Rita hit land. What gives?
The Canadian Capitalist discusses the Surplus Allocation Act.
Reacting to criticism that Ottawa is running up huge surpluses on the backs of over-taxed Canadians, the federal government tabled the Surplus Allocation Act in parliament today. On the surface, the plan sounds responsible and reasonable: Any leftover surplus will be divided into three parts: one part will be allocated towards debt repayment, one part towards social spending and one part towards tax relief.
Dave from VoluntaryXchange wonders who will win the 2005 Nobel Prize in Economics?
Time to stick my foot in my mouth again. The 2005 Nobel Prize in Economic Science will be awarded this Saturday; last year I just about guaranteed that Prescott would not win.
Caveat: I have no morbid fascination – if any of these people passed away this year I apologize (you have to be living to get a prize).
Ironman, from Political Calculations claims that the Swedes are sexist because working women are significantly worse off.
Henry from InsureBlog says then when it comes to medical insurance rate hikes, we are asking the wrong questions.
Recently, I received an email from a good friend (who is NOT a client) lamenting the latest increase in his family�s health coverage. I happen to know that said coverage is through a well-known and well-established carrier, and is in fact an HSA plan. He wrote �(m)y Health Insurance premium just went up $400!� Now, there was no indication as to whether that was $400 a month, or a year, nor did he mention what percentage of his premium that $400 represented.
According to TriplePundit, bike sales are up and you should get on board the bike bonanza.
As reported on Treehugger and many other sources, bicycle sales in the US have overtaken sales of cars. High fuel prices have a lot to do with it and apparantly the boom approaches that which took place during the 1970s oil embargo.
Scott, the Walking Encyclopedia wants to now why we don't sell a $100 laptop worldwide.
Why not sell them to individuals? Do so would cover the capital costs of putting together a production facility, and these could be marketed as a way to benefit folks in third world countries while benefiting consumers in the developed world. My guess is that MIT doesn't want to offend contributors in the PC industry that benefit from selling us bloated, overpriced machines.
Don Surber at Don Surber presents Revenge Can Be Profitable. Buy your old company, and sell it for a huge profit.
The Capitalist Bloggerasks if Asia's boom is nearing an end.
The talk of the world�s economy for the past year has been focused in one area, Asia. Both US investors and European investors have been investing heavily in the Asian markets for the past year, but is this trend going to hold strong? I don�t believe so. With rising energy prices worldwide and rates on the increase many small time investors are beginning to back out of the Asian market.
J Random American at Ideas In Progress presents Cat Diesel Power
Daniel Levesque at Raving Conservative presents Welfare and Racism
Let me begin by saying that the stated, and the actual original intention of welfare is to take care of people who cannot care for themselves financially. That is to make sure that single women with children do not end up on the streets, and that families who lose all income for an extended period of time to carry them through until they get back on their on feet. This is a good and noble ideal. It is a good way to use welfare to help people in a temporary situation. Take note that temporary job loss is covered by unemployment, the elderly have social security, and that disabled people get disability, neither of which is part of welfare.
Strategy and Operations
Big Picture Guy at Big Picture, Small Office presents Here Comes the Sun
As discussed in my previous post (see The One Thing), I am leading the denizens of the Small Office down a road that narrows. We will be focusing our resources, human and financial, on the products and programs that will bring us the highest returns.
Since our marketers believe that they are the sun, with the rest of the organization (and likely the balance of the known universe) revolving around them, it is problemably a good place to start the campaign.
Rosa Say from Say Leadership Coaching discusses the difference between mission and vision, and asks why choose between them?
Like many managers, I used to dread mission and vision discussions too. But not anymore; not since Managing with Aloha. Now these are among my favorite coaching sessions, for I learn just as much as I may teach, and usually about things I never imagined we�d talk about at all. Believe it or not, they are fun: the joy of the process is a purposeful strategy in my facilitation, for missions and visions evolve, and I want the teams I coach to adopt the process as well as the result. It�s extremely rewarding to witness management teams transform into leadership teams right before my eyes in the process; when we end those sessions we all walk out of the room ready to take on the world, come what may.
Frank Scavo from The Enterprise System Spectator highlights the recent troubles at Microsoft Business Solutions.
If you haven't heard, Microsoft had a major reorganization last week, creating three major divisions out of what were formerly six business units. The new organizational structure once again calls into question Microsoft's efforts to increase its share of the enterprise system market.
Evelyn Rodriguez of Crossroads Dispatches writes about Web2.0 and business models.
Web 2.0 isn't just about the architecture of participation (even broadening that to social architecture) but goes into the realms of passion, fulfillment and the intrinsic rewards of contributing and creating as part of collectively worthwhile projects.
Barry Welford at The Other Bloke's Blog presents Disruptive Technology – the blog versus the media
The blogosphere, or the world of all those blogs, already had the quantity to more than compensate for its possibly lower quality than traditional news media. Suddenly Google provides almost exactly the same immediacy that the traditional news media have. It will be interesting to see how the traditional media evolve to best cope with this formidable, disruptive technology.
Barry from The Big Picture thinks the internet helps pricing efficiencies.
One of the things that always surprises me about Economics is how long it takes for theory to be realized in reality. Self-interested economic participants are supposed to maximize their gains by being savvy, price sensitive shoppers.
Many people's own habits and laziness precludes that expected behavior — at least initially. Eventually, as it becomes more and more ingrained into the culture, we do begin to behave as the Economists expect. We may not shop around for gas at $1.89 — but at $3.89, a lot more of us do.
DeputyHeadmistress at The Common Room presents Selling Books, Part One
We've been supplementing our income for years by buying and selling used books. I know of other families who have gotten out of debt this way. Some of us only subsidize our book buying habits, some of us put food on the table, and some of us do both. I think buying and selling items for resale through online transactions is a marvelous way to supplement the family income, although there are some pitfalls.
Everything Else
Martin from Egoist discusses his situation in Sweden, which is pitting bureaucracy against entrepreneurship.
Maybe I am not the right type of entrepreneur? I have a nagging feeling that I am lost in Douglas Adams's game, Bureaucracy, and I am being attacked by civil servants shouting: "Yes, Minister!" I hope this nightmare will end soon… I will take the opportunity to vent a bit and start a new feature called "Bureaucrat Busters." Andy Clarkson of the Charlotte Capitalist gave me inspiration with his post, It's The Spending Stupid.
The Skeptical Optimist has a new and improved U.S. national debt clock.
I think the years-old website for the U.S. National Debt Clock is still getting more hits than my weblog, so I finally decided to do something about it�specifically, I decided to give them a little free market competition.
Joe from The Tax Update Blog asks if Harriet Miers is promoting tax shelters.
The new Supreme Court nominee's law firm wrote opinions backing a tax shelter that the IRS later ruled a "listed transaction." Tax Analysts goes back to documents a report from Congressional tax shelter hearings for the details:
Wayne at Blog Business World writes about blogs and search engine optimization.
Blogs are becoming an important component in many business owners� toolboxes for marketing, public relations, and search engine optimization. The benefits of blogs for increasing visitor traffic numbers are countless…or at least a very high number.
Businesses in almost every industry can benefit from the blog boost in the search engines. There is little doubt that all websites will receive a healthy injection of relevance, simply by posting regularly to a business blog.
Clyde Smith of HipHop Business News discusses Jay-Z's appreance in Fortune magazine.
Jay-Z makes the cover of Fortune and Oliver Wang finds this "crazy" (but in a good way). I know what he's saying but I'm not sure anything can top Kanye West on the cover of Time magazine. Of course, I wasn't following Jay-Z as he worked his way up from the streets.
Mr. Satire at satire.myblogsite.com/blog presents Global Stock Markets & Financial Investment Firms Partner With Psychopaths At Local Mental Hospitals
Mike from Interested Participant discusses the discovery of a new oil field.
Obviously, this is dramatic news for Sri Lanka and South Asia with both India and China expected to be keenly interested. About the size of West Virginia, the country of slightly more than 20 million is currently an importer of oil. With a massive oil deposit harnessed, it's easy to predict a flood of petrodollars into the economy which currently has a GDP of approximately $80 billion.
Adrian Savage at The Coyote Within presents Choosing, Winning…And Letting Go
Simply put, values nearer the top of the hierarchy trump ones lower down when it comes to triggering behavior. That's why people may say they value something, but act in ways that show the opposite. They're telling you the truth. They do value whatever it was � just not as much as free beer, or going home early, or cuddling the cat.
Jack Yoest attends the National Review's 50th Anniversary Gala and comes away with a business lesson.
Professional sales reps and top managers know how to maintain this delicate balance of delivering and not allowing clients — or an audience — to misunderstand or to experience an underwhelming outcome.
Clear communication is the responsibility of the salesman. Not the customer.
It's just good business. And politics.
Multiple Mentality writes about the Georgia Gas Gouging Statute.
CBS 46 is reporting that Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue has extended the gas tax holiday to October 15. It was due to expire on October 1, although gas taxes shouldn�t have been assessed until after any gas bought before that time was put into the stations� underground storage tanks.
Elisa Camahort at Worker Bees Blog presents I'm Through With Lists
I vow to henceforth not use a single one of the ridiculous lists of "top" blogs ever again. Not the Technorati Top 100 (which I haven't looked at in months anyway) nor the Feedster 500 (which has mysteriously remain unchanged since its introduction in early August, despite theoretically being a monthly feature) and especially not this c|net list.
Thanks for reading. Please check your links to be sure they work. If I didn't have a post excerpt for you, it is because I couldn't pull up your post. If I left something out, email me at rob_business-at-businesspundit-dot-com.
